Um...WOW. Seriously, that's all you need to know. Jaime outdid herself on this story. It's gut-wrenching and hard and beautiful and creepy, all at once. Her writing is fast-paced, tense, with beautiful description that gives just enough to keep you wanting but not so much that you get bored.

I truly can't think of words to make this review better. Just...go read it. Really. Go. NOW. :)

I cannot get enough of Jaime Jo Wright's books. By that I mean, she cannot write them fast enough to satisfy my reading itch! (hint - if you're reading this Jaime Jo, my new prayer is that you can write faster lol) She is quickly rising to the top of my favorites list, and I find myself talking with others about her books not only while I'm reading them, but well afterwards. Yes, they are that memorable.

First she draws you in with the creepy storyline, dual time period I might add. She brilliantly weaves all the layers together in just the perfect way. You don't find out a thing too early, and you're constantly on the edge of your seat waiting for the next thing to happen. The setting is captivating and creepy, if those two words can even be used in the same sentence. You can't help but picture yourself at the site of the asylum, both historically and in the present time. In fact, there was a deserted graveyard in the town I grew up in and as kids we used to go play there. I couldn't help but picture that setting being near the asylum, and it was cool to connect to the story like that (and yes a little creepy too). Setting aside, Wright takes you on this mysterious journey looking for answers to so many things. But at no point did it feel overwhelming. The two storylines fit well together and it almost became one big mystery rather then two separate ones.

Then there's the characters. Ladies beware, Rhett is a character you'll remember for a long time. He may come off as a little standoffish, but there is just something about him that makes me (and I'm sure others) swoon. He is a rough, tough, manly man. There is just no other way to put it. He's got a gruff exterior, but the insides of a teddy bear. Fiercely protective and loyal. I didn't think I would end up liking him so much, but Wright has a way about changing a girls opinion on a character. In fact she did so more than once (although I can't comment about the other because it'll include a spoiler).

This book has twists and turns, eery events, and the ability to pull a reader in without letting go. Even better, Wright was able to tackle a difficult topic - mental illness - both in today's world and in the past. I imagine there is much truth behind what she wrote, and I would love to see her research notes about it. My how far our world has come in the world of medicine and helping others. What's wonderful about this is how Wright incorporated it into the story. It wasn't forced, it didn't feel out of place, and it really didn't come at a surprise. It fit like a glove with everything else that was going on.

I could go on and on about my feelings on this book. Seriously. But instead, I just want to encourage you to read it. Maybe night at night, unless you have someone with you. And be prepared to read until your eyes pop out of your head - you won't be able to put it down! I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First things first, I’ve read Jaime Jo Wright’s previous two novels. Loved both of them, but The Curse of Misty Wayfair is my favorite. The split timeline is perfectly blended between past and present, each chapter bringing you more into the character’s lives and deeper into mystery. Heidi and Thea had a tangible presence, their essence so real I wanted to look up and carry on a conversation with each of them.

My favorite part…I can never figure out the who-done-it. I tried. I analyzed every conversation, agonized over every person, and I still couldn’t figure it out until mere chapters before the big reveal.

From the spiritual aspect, it’s a slow growing process, much like the characters’ growth. Heidi is used to running away when the going gets tough. Things like that don’t change overnight. The threads of spirituality and coming to know God needed time to spread, gently drawing Thea and Heidi toward their Creator.

The Curse of Misty Wayfair is told from Heidi and Thea’s perspectives, so we never hear directly from Simeon and Rhett. I seriously need to watch The Incredible Hulk after reading about Rhett. My only wish is that Rhett at some point would have done a ‘hulk-smash’.

Overall, a beautifully-layered story built on a foundation of God and hemmed with walls of mystery and romance.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley. I was not required to leave a review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Words can't describe how good this book is. The emotions and feelings that wove through my mind during this read were beyond what any other fictional book has ever done to me. It was vivid, to the point of feeling the coldness of the abandoned building and the fear in the moments of unsureness. The author delivers on such a high level in the building and strength in her characters that at moments I truly felt as though I was living and breathing as them. This was an all-consuming read, I couldn't do anything else in my life until I finished reading. To say I would recommend this book is an understatement, I want to deliver it all the readers I know just so they can have such a wonderful and epic experience.

Is it a ghost or her imagination? Is someone time-travelling? I had no idea what to expect in The Curse of Misty Wayfair by Jamie Jo Wright, which was great because the author had me hooked from the first page.

As the characters struggle to find out the truth of the strange goings on in the small town of Pleasant Valley, the reader is also left to wonder until the very end of the book. Wright did a superb job of keeping me in the dark until the last minute, making this a hard book to put down. However, there were so many rabbit trails that at times it was a hard book to follow. This would not have been an issue if I had hours to devote to reading this book in a single sitting. But unfortunately, my reading schedule is haphazard at best, making this book a confusing read if you couldn't remember where you last left off.

The characters are well developed, and the story is slightly spooky, filled with ghosts, insane asylums and forays into the past and future. The central theme is finding your identity (as each of our main characters - Heidi and Thea) try to do. What they find instead is the importance of who they are in Christ.

A great book with more than one surprising twist. I highly recommend it!

The book was provided courtesy of Bethan House Publishing and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

With this gripping story, Wright has raised the standard for this genre. Jaime Jo Wright uses wonderfully descriptive language to create a mysterious setting for her suspenseful tale. I especially enjoy how Wright intricately connects the stories from the two time periods. The characters were created with care and I appreciate that Wright handles those dealing with illness with honor and respect. Hopefully, the author’s accurate depictions and poignant lessons will lead to more compassion in our world. This book grabbed my full attention. I did not want to miss one word and I won’t miss her next book. I was given a copy of this book by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Jaime Jo Wright's The Curse of Misty Wayfair is this gifted and talented author's third book. From the very first page, I was intrigued. Several pages more, and it gave me the wonderful tingles that a Hitchcock movie causes its viewers to feel. Also, the stark, clarity of characters and eerie sensation a Stephen King novel imbues in its reader. The realism in this book might give you pause to not read it in the night, keep forging forward, this is one sensational read! It caused some two-cups of coffee mornings as I "burned the midnight oil" reading this story.

I only hope her next book will be coming out soon, I'm not sure if I'm patient enough to wait.

I LOVED this book. I seriously couldn’t wait to get back to it every time I put it down.

It is a bit spooky so if you struggle with that this might not be the book for you.

There is so much meat to this book. It really is about identity and finding it in your Creator and following Him. My heart ached, tears gathered and truth won!

Even though this was an entertaining read I loved the faith aspect, as well, that was woven throughout. It wasn’t preachy but left no guess as to the Who this book is really about.

If like books that are a bit different that I highly recommend this one.


A copy of this book was given to me. All opinions are my own.

Outstanding read! This author as the time slip genre down pat. Love her writing. The imagery is spectacular. Can't wait for her next one!

I don't know if I have the words to really describe this book. Fantastic! Amazing! Mysterious! Gothic! Intense! I started this book about a month ago, and was enjoying it, but due to the busyness of life, just kind of plugging along, until I got about one third of the way into the book. By then the story had picked up so intensely, that I could hardly put it down. I was finding every minute of spare time, neglecting important duties, just to read one. more. chapter! Within 24 hours I had finished the book, including a late night and afternoon reading segment in which I treated myself to a "reading day". So beware! You will want to make sure you have a little time to dive into this one!

Jaime has this amazing ability to pull her readers in, keep you in suspense, then surprise you at the end. This book is about hauntings and ghosts, and secrets of the past, bordering on Gothic and at times a little creepy. A tale woven over time, back and forth, past and present until it all ties together. But you may not figure it all out at first, the twists and turns will for sure keep you guessing. It took me a little while to get the whole family tree thing stuck in my head, but it wasn't a determent. It was more of an encouragement to keep reading.

The characters were great! I think I liked them all; in their own way, they all played an important role in the story. I could relate to various characters in the book, and felt drawn to them. Heidi, feeling like a misfit, always running from her problems rather than facing them; Vicki - hiding behind her self-righteous, got it all together facade; Rhett - the rescuer; Simeon - the silent quiet type; Thea - looking to find herself, her identity. I am pretty sure you'll find someone to relate to too. Probably one of my favorite people was Connie. She seemed to truly have it all together, a peace radiated from her as she "mothered" and shared her wisdom in a gentle loving way. The history was also very interesting - asylums, the art of photographing the dead, genealogy - gave me the urge to look some of these things up and learn about them.

I highly recommend this book, and any other book by Jaime for that matter. She is an excellent, very talented writer and uses her talents to bring glory to God. I was blessed with a copy of this book by the author and publisher. I was not asked or required to review positively, and all opinions are my own!

I had looked forward so long to read The Curse of Misty Wayfair. Jaime Jo Wright lived up to all expectations. At first, it was hard to get into this dual-time novel, but before too long something clicked. I was hooked on the apparition that keeps appearing in both generations. Take one insane asylum, a familial curse, a post-mortem photographer, and a modern-day woman who can’t rise above her family’s opinions; you have the recipe for a very gloomy story. (Thankfully, the story doesn’t stay gloomy.) Both Thea and Heidi are absolutely lost, looking for their identity. Their searches are leaving them unfulfilled. “We weren’t created to find our identity in life. We were created to discover our Creator. In doing so, our identity is defined.” Wise words.

The ultimate light of the book is the light of Scripture and finding one’s self in God’s attitude toward you, instead of others.’ However, humor, a look at autism, family secrets, and progress from old-time asylums also help round out the novel to make it fully appealing. (I loved the “creative cussing.”) Being from a rural area, it was hard to imagine someone who would be “suffocating by woods,” but I imagine, if one is used to the big city, it is quite possible.

Wright knows how and when to play the shock card. She does this with great aplomb. While I had some things figured out, other things I wouldn’t have figured out in my wildest dreams. Now I am glad there are other Jaime Jo Wright books out there. Must go find...must go find...must go read...

I was given a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher. I am under no obligation to leave a positive review, and all opinions are solely my own.

Wow! What a page-turner! I loved this story of two girls separated by time but connected by the same mystery. The suspense is great!

It took awhile for me to gather my thoughts after reading this amazing dual timeline mystery by Ms. Wright.

Thea Reed and Heidi Lane are two characters separated by a century but we see a close connection as the story unfolds. Thea was a traveling postmortem photographer in 1908 in Pleasant Valley, Wisconsin. An occupation that I have never given any thought to but found it weirdly wonderful. I loved Thea and my heart ached for her as she tried to find why her mother abandoned her.

Heidi has returned to Pleasant Valley where she experiences some of the same things that Thea had so many years before. I loved the relationship that Heidi had with Emma a young woman with autism. My heart went out to Heidi, too as she deals with family issues of her own.

The author tackles heavy topics including mental illness and anxiety disorders and does so quite well. The characters are well crafted and the writing is top-notch making me a very happy reader. The Curse of Misty Wayfair had my undivided attention from beginning to end which is why I highly recommend it.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and was under no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

I have endeavored to write this review, fee of spoilers. Jamie Jo Wright’s The Curse of Misty Wayfair is the latest as of 2/2019 of the author’s novels and it is a demonstration of the author’s growing talent. Her first full novel, The House on Foster HIll, held me spellbound. The Curse of Misty Wayfair holds a talented treatment of issues that need to be addressed, particularly in the Christian world. Her sensitive portrayal of characters make this latest book my favorite that she has written to date.
I love Thea and the play of her uncertainty mixed with her need to be stoic. Heidi’s familial struggles are so real in this book, I think most will see some familial pattern they have probably struggled with. Rhett is a man’s man, complicated and lovable.
While I was able to predict some of the plot, I was not able to do so until just prior to the revelation. I like the clues and evidence the author drops along the way. Due to my work schedule, I had to take frequent breaks from reading this book. They became agonizing as I was left to wonder what was going to happen next!

Honestly, I'm still struggling to decipher my impression of this book. For me, it started slowly, but once it got rolling, it picked up speed. In general, the writing is superb---on the literary side at times (probably why I felt it was slow in the beginning). The author has a terrific way of sucking the reader into what appears to be a ghost story and tying everything up in the end in a way that (mostly) wasn't expected.

I must say I didn't care for Heidi and had a hard time seeing her with Rhett. I kept wanting to say to him, "Ditch that girl. She isn't for you.". They were so different. The only commonality was in her need to feel loved, wanted, and protected and his personality trait as a protector. Otherwise, I found her too immature to really appreciate. On a positive note, I did like the way she related to Rhett's sister. I also had a hard time keeping the ancestors straight---the grandparents, the cousins, etc., but I liked Thea and Simeon...and their roles in the kept-me-guessing mystery that ended in a twist I didn't see coming.

Even with those issues, I can't not give it 4.5 stars for the quality of the writing, the brilliance of the plot, and the fact that it kept me motivated to find out what was really going on in the story, which is a lot.

Two tales twist together to reveal a superstitious mystery.
Traveling photographer Thea Reed has been making her way to the small town of Pleasant Valley, Wisconsin to locate the mother who abandoned her in an orphanage when she was four. Taken in by a photographer and his wife, Thea has learned the trade on production of memorial photographs, which she takes of Rose Coyle and her recently deceased sister Mary. As Thea settles in the small town, she learns of a curse that has been put upon the Coyles’ so that they often die unexpectedly. And each time before they pass, it’s said the ghost of a woman who was murdered is seen. Clues eventually lead Thea to an asylum just outside of the town’s border in the neighboring woods. Will her quest lead her to be haunted by the ghost as well?
One hundred years later, Heidi Lane ventures to Pleasant Valley, Wisconsin because of a letter that her mother wrote. Heidi always felt that she didn’t belong with her structured family, so she left out as soon as she could. Now her father has died, her mother has dementia, and her sister and brother-in-law are running a lodge complex. Her sister Vicki needs her help, but when she stumbles on a photo album in an antiques shop that contains a photo of a deceased woman who looks just like her with the name Misty Wayfair scribbled on the back, Heidi begins to have strange occurrences happen to her. From messages on a mirror to random notes to arson, Heidi starts to fear for her life. But will people believe her? Or just assume she is trying to get attention?
Wow! This book was really hard to put down at night because you felt like someone was going to be watching you though a window. Seriously, it puts goosebumps on your arms while you read it. What a great story that Jaime Jo Wright has brought to life. Two tales that intertwine to reveal the mystery behind a curse. It’s interesting to see that what may be solved can still live as a misguided legend for another century.
Both Thea and Heidi are similar in character. They are insecure, but for different reasons. Thea for her abandonment and Heidi for her need for independence. Both women also strike up relationships with men that are quite different from society as well, but still good natured at heart. The story flowed flawlessly between two time periods and several times I found myself wanting to just continue with one storyline to get the final answer but was so much more intrigued each time it switched.
If you love great fiction, especially with a storyline that will frighten you at times when reading, give this book a chance.
I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions express within are my own.

What a read! It’s taken me a couple of days to get my thoughts together after finishing The Curse of Misty Wayfair. This book is layer upon layer of mystery and truth with deep character interactions that leave you wanting more.
This is the third full-length release from Jamie Jo Wright, and just as the two books before, it has enough detail that a ‘normal person’ could have written several books using the material that lies within.
A novel that takes place dually in 1908 and present day Pleasant Valley, The Curse of Misty Wayfair follows two women separated by decades as they seek to answer the question “Who am I?” Tales of ghosts and mystery are intertwined in a story that touches on romance and the history of and progress we’ve made in mental health as a nation as well as the personal impact it has on everyone it touches. Both women learn valuable lessons, the most important being finding their identity in The Creator.
This is not a light-hearted easy read, but more a thought-provoking, intriguing read that will leave you wanting more. Best read in the daylight ;-)
I did receive an advance copy of this book from the publisher but nothing was required of me in exchange. All thoughts here are mine and given freely.

I have been a fan of Jaime Jo Wright's books since her phenomenal debut, The House on Foster Hill. The Curse of Misty Wayfair is her third novel and she has most definitely found her niche. Dual timelines are Jaime's forte and she deftly moves from one century to another like no one else can.
Thea is a photographer specializing in photos of deceased relatives. She's also an orphan with scant recall of her mother except that she had mental issues. The mystery deepens as she comes to know more about the people of the town she's staying in and encounters people like Simeon.
Heidi is the flipside of the timeline. She has returned home to assist her sister and discovers a photo of a woman bearing a striking resemblance to her. Written on the back is the name 'Misty Wayfair'. Soon there are strange apparitions appearing and other frightening happenings.
Perhaps one of my favorite things about Wright's stories are the way that she pens lines that pull at your heart. I have several such sentences hightlighted in the books that I own of hers.
Jaime Jo Wright has created a truly creepy gothic novel and one that I highly recommend. I can't wait to read her next one as they just keep getting better and better!
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book from Bethany House. All opinions are my own.

The Curse of Misty Wayfair by Jaime Jo Wright revolves around two women's search for belonging and identity separated by time yet in the same town. Wright uses a ghostly figure named Misty Wayfair in a photo album to tie the stories together. In 1908, Thea Reed is working a photographer and finds herself taking pictures in an asylum where she encounters the legend of Misty Wayfair. Fast forward to the present, Heidi Lane is summoned to the bedside of her dementia ridden mother and is haunted by Misty Wayfair. Wright provides a ghostly tale that reveals how the need to belong and knowing your identity offers a sense of contentment. Like all her books, Wright slowly reveals the connection, and it results in another great read.

Wow. That one word sums up The Curse of Misty Wayfair, the third book by Jaime Jo Wright. This book had me up at night, invaded my dreams, and kept me transfixed within the story.
We’re taken into 1908 and the tale of Thea Reed, a young photographer who specializes in memento mori. When Thea takes pictures for the Coyle family, she finds herself drawn into their sad existence and is mystified to learn about the curse of Misty Wayfair, a ghost said to haunt anyone who gets close to the Coyles.
Present day, Heidi Lane has returned to Pleasant Valley at the behest of her mother and it means facing an overly critical sister and secrets Heidi didn’t know existed. But someone else has been waiting for Heidi’s arrival. Strange occurrences and notes about Heidi’s sanity exceed bothersome and delve into terrifying.
Thea and Heidi search for answers to their own questions while unraveling a legend and trying to survive The Curse of Misty Wayfair.
One more word to describe this book. Outstanding. Worth every second of reading, this book tops my all-time favorites.