Book Review - “Tom and Lovey: Under the Moon Into the Wood” by G.R. Jerry

”Tom and Lovey: Under the Moon Into the Wood” is a paranormal fantasy novel written by G.R. Jerry. Lovey is on a ten-year mission to avenge the death of her man, Bill. He was brutally sacrificed by the local lawman, a devilish fellow who goes by the name of Stargut. The sacrifice is a necessary part of his mission to create the perfect man-beast. Meanwhile, Lovey’s best friend, Patty, seems to be under some type of spell, and abandons her night after night.

In the midst of all of this, a stranger by the name of Tom arrives and moves in next door. He calls himself a preacher of sorts. At first, Lovey has no idea that he is much older than he first appears. He has been following the scent evil for a hundred years.

Now, Tom has arrived in the Village of Wrong, a rural town in the Midwest, to deal with its mutant inhabitants, mere creations of Stargut, known as “friends of the wood.” In the end, Tom, Lovey, and Patty will converge under the moonlight into the wood down by the river at the doorsteps of hell to face none other but the devil himself.

“Tom and Lovey” is a finely-crafted narrative in which the reader is spared no gory details. This book is not for the feint of heart. G.R. Jerry’s imagination is on full display throughout the book. The world building which he does is captivating and colorful. The Village of Wrong seems like it could be a real place that you hope you never pass through.

The characters in this book are definitely memorable. Tom and Lovey are well-written characters, and Tom’s backstory in particular is highly detailed. Every character is interesting and described well enough to see them clearly in your mind. This is definitely a strength of the book. It’s a character-driven story and the backdrop is well-done, as well.

The ending is somewhat predictable by what is written on the back cover. But there are definitely some twists and turns throughout the plot that I didn’t expect. There are a couple of things towards the end of the book that confused me a bit, but being paranormal fantasy, you do have to set aside your disbelief. Things that may have happened might no longer happen if the original cause is erased, for example. I won’t spoil much more than that in this review.

My honest opinion is that there is enough material in this novel to become the basis of a television mini-series or film series. This story deserves that level of treatment, as there is so much to tell in this book that it wouldn’t fit into a single two-hour feature film. I would definitely enjoy watching this story unfold on a television screen.

As for what it is as a book, “Tom and Lovey” is definitely a page-turner. The beauty of it is that it was playing out in my head like a film, and those are the types of books that I love. This is not my first experience with paranormal fantasy as a genre. But, it is the first paranormal fantasy novel that I’ve read from cover to cover. It is well worth the read. The characters keep you interested, and while I could see sort of where the story was going, I closed the book wishing for more. That’s always a good thing.

”Tom and Lovey: Under the Moon Into the Wood” is available in paperback from Amazon.


*I received a free review copy in exchange for a fair and honest review. This review is in no way influenced by any outside sources. No other compensation was received for this review.

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