UnGuarded

The 2012 young adult novel UnGuarded by Ashley Robertson is a modern paranormal fantasy that puts its guardian angel protagonist into an impossible dilemma: should she protect the love of her life or her human charge? Forced to choose between different kinds of obligations, the angel risks losing her status and powers.

Some readers complain that the world of UnGuarded is poorly fleshed out, which makes the book seem as if it is from the middle of a series rather than a standalone novel. What we do know is that there are several different kinds of supernatural beings that interact with humans. On the side of good are angels, which are divided into rank and file guardians, each assigned a human to protect, and archangels, who are the top of the pecking order and what every guardian angel aspires to become. Angels have a variety of powers, though Robertson doesn’t explain either their potential or their limits. One of these powers is the ability to “orb” to different planes of existence, which are not well explained (though readers praise Robertson’s visual descriptions of outlandish places like the water world and the underworld). On the side of evil are demons, each of whom also gets a human to tempt and endanger. Also on the side of evil are vampires, who fit into this cosmology in a vague and undefined way. Typically, guardian angels fight on behalf of humans who don’t do anything terrible, while demons take greater and greater control of humans who give in to their wicked impulses.

Before the novel opens, Selene was a guardian angel who is close to attaining her archangel status. As a precursor to this promotion, she is sent to Earth to guard one last human: Caitlyn Harris. To do their jobs, angels can either take human form or remain invisible to their charges. Selene opts to seem human, and she and Caitlyn become close friends. However, while in human form, Selene finds that the boundless love that angels are capable of, and which is typically supposed to be directed just at their human assignees, for her has the capacity of becoming romantic love. She meets and falls in love with Cole, a vampire, despite the fact that love between a being of light and a being of darkness is forbidden.



When the novel opens, Selene is still protecting Caitlyn when she learns that a demon has abducted Cole and has taken him to Charon, a demonic plane of existence. Some readers complain that because this means we never see Selene and Cole together or get a sense of their relationship, it is hard to know why Selene loves Cole so much. In any case, despite being told by her mentor, the Archangel Raphael, to forget Cole, Selene is desperate to rescue him. However, she is trapped in an impossible bind: Going after Cole would mean leaving Caitlyn unprotected and thus susceptible to demonic attack.

After wrestling with the decision, Selene decides that her love for Cole means that she is willing to risk Caitlyn’s safety. But the choice is she makes comes with terrible consequences: when Selene’s decision is discovered by the other angels, not only does she lose out on the chance to become an archangel, but she is cast out of her order altogether, becoming fallen. Her powers begin to slowly fade.

Nevertheless, spurred by the fact that time is running out, Selene plunges into the demonic realm with the help of another vampire—the overwhelmingly sexy Luke, who demands a blood bond with Selene in order to work with her. In the process of working for Cole’s release, Luke and Selene develop feelings for one another, and Selene is caught in a love triangle. They manage to find and free Cole, but Cole is taken aback by Selene’s sudden uncertainty about their relationship.



There is no time for Selene to worry about Cole’s feelings for now, however—while she was rescuing Cole, Caitlyn was indeed attacked and suffered a grievous, life-threatening wound. Feeling guilty, Selene begs Raphael to fix her friend, but Raphael tells her that Caitlyn’s fate is already written in stone and nothing can be done. Selene decides to sacrifice herself to help Caitlyn; this selflessness spurs the angelic order to give her one more chance.

No longer completely fallen, and with some of her powers restored, Selene brings Caitlyn out of danger and saves her life. Afterward, Selene finds herself in a unique position: She is no longer completely of the light, nor is she a being of darkness. The angels task her with standing in between and keeping balance. She reaffirms her love for Cole, and the novel ends on a happy note.