In Shining Armor (Pax Arcana #4)

John Charming is, well pretty charming. I like his attitude, snark and I really enjoy the dialogue in the books. I enjoy the romantic interest Sig and how it took a little time for them to get to the together part of them. The only thing the reduces my enjoyment of this series is the amount of fighting. I hate to say it because it totally makes me sound all girly but there is a lot of fighting in this book and sometimes that is just boring to me that is really the only reason that this is more of a 3.5 read then a 4.5 read in my opinion. I used to watch Burn Notice and I really liked that way that as something actiony (totally a word) was happening the MC Michael would explain to you the viewer that during a car chase it isn’t about going fast it is about maneuvering or When faced with superior force, you can do two things. You can retreat quietly, or you can attack with as much fanfare as possible. John does this really well throughout this series with fighting or just trash talking the other guy or buying time. I like this part of the narrative and usually laugh at many of the things that he lets the reader know. Sig and John are really fun together. She keeps him on his toes and even when they argue it is entertaining. “That’s the problem with arguing with Sig. We start at point A and then go straight to step thirteen and wind up in phase orange and then, you know, we’re in the linen aisle looking for windshield wipers…” They have this kinda light and bantery relationship that I like and even when Sig is mad at John she is still there in the middle of everything with him tabling their disagreement for later. I like Sig for the most part and John has made her life a bit interesting. “Ever since I started hanging around you, it\’s more like \’Oh, look, something messed up is going on. Let\’s poke it And see what happens. Wow, it\’s even bigger and more messed-up than it looked like. Let\’s poke it again. Oh my God, where did those giant flaming woodchucks come from?” But then there is all the other stuff going on too. John not only is a Knight Templare tasked with saving the world from the supernatural bad guys and even from knowing about the supernatural at all. He is also a werewolf and so he has some divided loyalties trying to figure out how he is supposed to be both things. Add on to the he has his own Scooby-doo squad of friends and associates that include a Valkery, Super Witch, Naga, ex-Military kill everything guy and someone just on this side of being a vampire (it’s complicated) and you have a lot of things going on. For some reason I always laugh and really enjoy this series while I’ reading it but sometimes it is hard for me to put all the supernatural pieces together. I always enjoy the ride but the journey is sometimes a blur and then we are at the end. Still this is one of the male main character UFs that I continue to read on in probably because I enjoy the dialogue and the premise so much. It is always interesting to say the least but I continually rate each book as only about 3.5 stars. *shrugs* I do what I want. Great interpretation of lore and melding of the different creatures from so many different lores into one series. I think I continue reading just to see what crazy things Elliot James will come up with next.

In Shining Armor has its moments where it seems it has spinning wheels without any traction. In an effort to up the ante on the usual amount of intrigue these books have, the clues about what was actually going on are much looser. Because of this the last 10% of the book is spent with John’s voice serving as a mix of the author and the audience. Admitting the very loose connections while also trying to make it seem obvious. HOWEVER, it’s still a lot of fun and continues to help me scratch my Dresden File itch. The end of the book adds a lot to the overall mystique of the machinations set against John and the Templars. There are plenty of juicy cliffhangers at the end to keep the reader “Charmed” and hungry for more.

Wow! What a ride! So much becomes clear in this book. The \”big bad\” in this novel is really bad. The author plays fair and all the signs are there in retrospect, but I didn\’t see it coming. One of the things I really enjoy about this series is the incorporation of mythology. I was more familiar with the creatures this time (last time it was Japanese mythology), but since the myth is integral to the plot, that\’s all I\’ll say on that matter. You really need all of the background of the other novels for this one to make complete sense. That said, I loved it. If you are a fan of the series, you definitely need to get this one.

Loved

I really like this series and the whole idea of the keep magic hidden rule. The books are predictable but you start to care for the chracters which make them a good quick read.

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