The Curse of Misty Wayfair

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. :)

Jaime Jo Wright wrote a page turning suspense and I can't wait to read another of her books! I was addicted on the first page to the very last page. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a suspense and mystery

Prepare to be held captive by a novel...

To be honest, I just don't know where to begin. My mind is so full after reading this book that I just don't know how to get my thoughts written down. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED this book. The Curse Of Misty Wayfair was not only author Jaime Jo Wright's best, but, it is probably one of my favorite reads. EVER.

After reading Jaime Jo Wright's previous two books I've come to expect a lot from her. But even I couldn't have anticipated how amazing The Curse Of Misty Wayfair would be. It is one of the most emotionally moving, powerful, and flat out eeriest books that I've read. To say that this book was a page-turner would be a gross understatement. I couldn't help it, I just couldn't put the book down. Everything else went to the wayside as I was held captive by the pages of a book.

What did I love about the book? Well, pretty much everything. It was dark, it was creepy, it was enough to keep you awake at night looking out the window into the shadows for a figure in white, but it was also so much more than that.

As with Jaime Jo Wright's previous books, The Curse Of Misty Wayfair is a dual timeline story with both a contemporary and a historical thread that are closely intertwined. With this book I connected with the heroines of both timelines right off the bat. There was just something about both women, and their love interests, that grabs the reader. All of them have been deeply hurt by circumstances, by the people around them, by choices. And all of them must fight their way through the darkness to a faith, no matter how fragile at first, beyond.

A truly wonderful book, The Curse Of Misty Wayfair is a must read for any Christian fiction fan, though, you may want to leave the light on when you go to bed tonight....

(I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are entirely my own.)

A deep and compelling literary novel, weaving both contemporary and historical settings, rich in emotion, faith, psychology, and history, THE CURSE OF MISTY WAYFAIR is a novel both stunning and compelling. I so identified with both protagonists: Thea in 1908, Heidi in our time. Their search for metaphysical understanding, for faith, for ancestry and roots, to understand "where they came from" and from whom: my heart resonated with them throughout. I seldom discover a novel as personally compelling as this one, and I'm off to devour author Jaime Jo Wright's other novels.

With little more than a name and place to direct her, Thea Reed arrives in Pleasant Valley to look for the mother who left her on the steps of an orphanage years earlier. When her search leads her to a mental asylum, Thea utilizes her skill as a post-mortem photographer to access the place. But her hunt unearths more than she bargained for. It reawakens the ghost of Misty Wayfair, a woman murdered decades earlier who townsfolk claim haunts the area and especially one family in particular.

A century later, Heidi Lane travels to Pleasant Valley, beckoned by a disconcerting letter penned by her dementia-ailing mother. Her search for answers leads Heidi to the ruins of an old asylum and the mysterious tale of the ghost believed to inhabit it.

Storytelling at its best, The Curse of Misty Wayfair delivers a spellbinding tale. An atmospheric and eerie read that haunts the reader long after its conclusion, Jaime Jo Wright seamlessly blends the past and present in a powerful story of identity and discovering it in our Creator.

Creepy without crossing into horror, Wright expertly uses vivid settings and descriptions to pin her audience to the edge of its seat and kick the heart rate up a notch, proving that one does not need to rely on blood and gore to deliver a deliciously suspenseful read.

The protagonists aren’t your typical (whatever that means) heroes. One won’t find a strapping FBI agent, modelesque detective, or brilliant lawyer but rather a gruff, grease-encrusted mechanic and a groundskeeper with tics and twitches. That is what makes them all the more loveable and heroic. They resemble people I know or can imagine encountering.

Wright masterfully created 3D settings that leapt off the page and had me feeling as though I experienced and interacted with the story world. Returning to reality proved jarring to say the least.

Despite only discovering Wright in December, I have already read all her novels. She has firmly planted herself at the top of my favorites list and become an author to emulate. Out of her three books, picking my number one choice would be impossible.

I strongly recommend The Curse of Misty Wayfair to readers who enjoy tales infused with a strong suspenseful element, a speck of romance, and a thread of faith. Now I’m off to re-read her stories because how else am I to make it until her next release in December?

Jaime Jo Wright has a way of writing stories with mysterious settings that are oh so creepy. She has also mastered writing plots that weave two different time periods together. I was drawn in right from the start and couldn't read fast enough. The pages come to life with vivid detail and the characters are well thought out. A spiritual thread is woven throughout the pages and provide layers of emotions. I am not a fan of spooky, ghost or creepy books, so I was hesitant to read her first book. Much to my surprise Jaime Jo Wright has penned the words in a way that I can read and be intrigued enough to keep going. I think it is due to the way she goes between time periods and every dark emotion or scene has a reason behind it - never just tossed in for the scare factor. 

If you are looking for a unique spooky mystery that is in the genre Christian fiction, you absolutely do not want to miss this book. I highly recommend this book and her other books, as she hits it out of the park!

Heidi Lane finds a photograph in an old scrapbook of a woman who looks just like her. This leads her on a quest to find out who the lady was. In searching for answers, Heidi finds her very life in danger too. This story takes place in two different time lines that weave the characters together. Jamie Jo Wright writes excellent dual timeline stories. Full of mystery and suspense and God's mercy and grace.

The twists and turns is this book will surprise even the most skeptical and prolific readers. Superb character development and perpetual events propel you through the pages. Mysterious and macabre yet spiritually fulfilling in a unique way that doesn’t stifle. With just a touch of gruff romance to round out the loneliness felt by the main character.

I was pleasantly surprised by this tale.

Jaime Jo always delivers such beautifully atmospheric and absorbing mysteries that never fail to keep me enthralled and just the slightest bit creeped-out (in the best way possible). She's mastered the blending of the historical mystery with the contemporary one to keep the reader guessing all the way through.

The Curse of Misty Wayfair looks, reads, and feels like an old ghost story (Don't worry, its isn't). With marvaoulus "on the edge" mystery and the joys of budding romance. You can't help but grumble when you have to put the book down and join the rest of humanity. The story covers two lives in different centuries that are effected by a town mystery turned ghost story. The event that brings such hell draws our two main characters, Heidi and Thea, to question where God really is in the midst of their lives and why He put them here in the first place.

I was given a copy of this book from the publisher. these views are my own.

If you are looking for a good mystery with suspense that is a bit scary. Don’t look any further. This book has it all. It will keep you reading and turning pages all night long. It may even keep you up all night. He he! It keep me up reading and because I was scared a bit. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

The Curse of Misty Wayfair
By Jaime Jo Wright

If you love a book that has two different threads of time that are woven together by a common factor you will love The Curse of Misty Wayfair. The early 1900s and present-day Pleasant Valley, Wisconsin, have one thing in common Misty Wayfair. Who or what is Misty Wayfair you ask? It is from her murder in 1851 that the legends that have haunted Pleasant Valley ever since have come from.

When Thea (Dorothea) Reed photographer of memento mori, also known as a mourning portrait, comes to Pleasant Valley, Wisconsin, in 1908 she is looking for clues to her past. A past that she has been lead to believe has roots there. Her only clues - scant memories of her mother and a letter detailing what little was known of her past. But Pleasant Valley seems anything but pleasant with secrets and rumors of a haunting by a woman whose appearance seems to foretell death. And the deaths all seem to be focused upon the Coyle family whom suspicion and rumor swirl in connection to the tale of Misty Wayfair. Thea wants to find the truth of who she is but most seem determined to discourage her attempts and she is warned away from the remaining Coyles, Rose and Simeon. But Thea is drawn to them in their grief and her curiosity keeps her from heeding the well-intentioned advice of the local residents or that of her late employer.

In present-day Pleasant Valley, Heidi Lane is making a visit to the family she has avoided for the last several years. Feeling that she never quite fit in and that she was never good enough for them she went away to college and has been running from her demons ever since. But a letter from her mentally failing mother has her returning to a home she never knew. A happy reunion is not about to happen anytime soon and when Heidi starts experiencing events that have her questioning just what is going on. And worse it seems as if someone is determined to push her mentally over the edge. And the old photograph that she discovered marked Misty Wayfair is seemingly linked to whatever is occurring and Heidi wants answers. But getting answers from her family may be a tad difficult and she's managed to annoy some of the local residents almost immediately, whoops.

The Curse of Misty Wayfair is Contemporary Gothic Fiction at its best. I really liked how the rumors about Misty Wayfair are engaged with by the various characters. Do you believe the souls of the deceased are trapped here forced to wander or did you believe that there is something beyond this that we know and see an afterlife that is not a wandering torment just beyond our physical life? Thea's upbringing was one that believed in spiritual hauntings. Heidi's upbringing was one as the youngest surprise child of a pastor and she chafed at the rules and don't that she felt stifled her. These two women with more than a century dividing them are linked by a place that is about to define what their futures will be but only if they can determine the truth of who they are.

Get ready for some suspense that will keep you reading, as you promise yourself just one more chapter until you reach the conclusion which for both story-threads has some unexpected results. Jaime Jo Wright has again worked wonders with her wordcraft and the winner in this is the reader who picks up this newest work.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by the publisher with no expectation but that I offer my honest opinion - all thoughts expressed are my own.

I think it’s official now.

I’m just a little more than slightly obsessed with Jaime Jo Wright’s hugely creepy, wildly imaginative, vivid, insightful, and completely engaging stories.

I usually don’t do ANYTHING creepy, but Jaime’s storytelling makes in The Curse of Misty Wayfair made it impossible to quit reading without knowing the HOW. Without following every extraordinary twist and shocking revelation to the final, spell-binding, wholly satisfying ending.

The heroes made me positively SWOON, and the heroines drew me into their sometimes tragic, always fascinating journeys of discovery.

I may or may not have questioned my own sanity a time or two through this fantastic book, but in the end, with age-old mysteries coming to light and long-dark answers being revealed, I was once again certifiably head-over-heals for my latest Jaime Jo Wright read.

DEFINITELY recommend. All the stars!

Note: I received a copy of this book for FREE, and a positive review was not required.