THE ASYLUM INTERVIEWS: BRONX by Jocelynn Drake

The Asylum Interviews: Bronx
Jocelynn Drake

Rating: C-
Release date: 07/03/12
Synopsis from goodreads.com:
In Low Town, where humans walk and work side-by-side with elves, vampires, ogres, and all manner of creature, it's understandable that people occasionally need a little help in their lives. Whether is love, work, or ... other, tattoo artists are there to try to help turn the odds into your favor. When Gage's friend Parker needs help with his love life, tattoo artists Gage and Bronx are only too happy to help. But the incubus ends up getting more than he bargained for with his new tattoo, and his friends are forced to scramble to fix the mess they've created before someone gets hurt.


My thoughts on the book:
Let me start this review by saying that since it was a short work, the review will be shorter than usual. That being said, I did not enjoy this novella as much as I wanted to. Drake wrote from the first person perspective of Gage, a male tattoo artist. However, Gage, nor any of the other men in the novel, came across as men. They came across as a bunch of gossiping women. It was very clear that a female was writing this instead of a man, and I couldn't buy the male perspective for a minute. Men just don't sit around drinking and talking about feelings. They sit around drinking and talking about obscene things, video games, and sports. Not how much they love someone. That just really bugged me. Because of that, I couldn't get into the story. 


The world Drake created was intriguing, at least. I really love it when all of the supernatural creatures are out in the open like they are in this book. The way the world operates reminded me of Kim Harrison's The Hollows series. The writing itself was good, too, and the pacing was pretty spot on. I was never bored throughout this novel. As I said, my main (and really only) problem with this book is that I just didn't buy that the story was being told by a man about himself and his male friends. It just wasn't believable. However, the rest of the book was excellent, and I will be giving the full length novel a try as well before making a final judgment on the series. 

Overall, I'd say give this a try since it's just a novella. It gives you a chance to get to know the characters, for one thing, even if they do act like a bunch of gossipy old women. Also, it introduces you to the captivating world that Drake has created. Fans of Kim Harrison and Laurell K Hamilton will love this series.