While the story is engaging, it reads solely as suspense. Probably could have done a better job conveying the actual illness of Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy.

Mother/daughter unreliable narrators kept me guessing throughout this intense, creepy novel by Wrobel. Family dysfunction is an understatement for Patty and Rose Gold Watts. The writing was concise, spot-on, and distinct and I look forward to what Wrobel writes next. Highly recommend!

They say, "Revenge is sweet." How true it is in Darling Rose Gold. As I held my breath throughout this book, wondering who would cave first, the ending remained a mystery and very climatic. Read this book. It was amazing.

In a story ripped from the headlines, author Stephanie Wrobel brings to life the effects of Munchausen Syndrome on both the victim and perpetrator in her stunning debut novel, Darling Rose Gold. Clearly inspired by the recent media attention given to the Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee Blanchard case, Darling Rose Gold tells the scintillating story of Patty and Rose Gold Watts. Patty is soon to be released from prison after serving a five year sentence for aggravated child abuse - specifically, she poisoned Rose Gold throughout her childhood, making her appear sick when she really wasn't, and relishing in the attention she received for the fastidious care she provided her ailing daughter. Now Patty is the subject of much unwanted attention, being exposed as the source of her daughter's deathly "illnesses." When Rose Gold picks up her mother the day she is released from prison and agrees to let Patty live with her and her newborn son, the community is shocked, but Patty Watts is not. She knows her daughter to be frail and spineless - she could never say "no" to her doting mother. However, what Patty doesn't know is Rose Gold has spent the past five years getting wise about the world, and let's just say that she hasn't invited her manipulative mother into her home out of the kindness of her poor, weak heart ...

Stephanie Wrobel is an author to keep an eye on in upcoming years, as her first novel, Darling Rose Gold, is a shining debut. Well-written and compelling, it is apparent right away that this page turner is not to be trusted - readers already know that Patty Watts is a deceitful liar, but Rose Gold isn't as innocent as she seems at first glance either. As readers delve deeper into this story of jaw-dropping family secrets and insidious revenge, they learn more about Rose Gold's desires and motives, and what eighteen years at the hand of her mother's abuse did to her psyche. Watching Rose Gold grow from a timid, insecure young girl to the formidable woman she is today is the true delight of this novel, which provides just enough similarities to current events, such as the Dee Dee Blanchard murder, to make it feel familiar to readers, but also puts a fresh spin on Munchausen Syndrome cases, and their perpetrators and victims.

Recommended to those who are looking for something refreshingly different to come out of the domestic suspense genre, and to those who enjoy tense thrillers that pull the wool right over your eyes. Especially recommended to anyone who was shocked and appalled by the story of Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee Blanchard,

I rarely give out five star ratings, but Darling Rose Gold gets one for keeping me thoroughly entertained and captivated throughout the duration of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Darling Rose Gold is all kinds of dark and twisty-- a stark contrast to the shiny title. Rose Gold spent her childhood in and out of doctors offices, mostly confined to a wheelchair with a shaved head due to hair that kept falling out. But despite the number of doctors visited... not a single one could find the cause for Rose Gold's mystery illness. It turns out, instead of looking for WHAT was making her sick, they should have been asking WHO was making her sick.

This thriller delves into Munchausen syndrome by proxy, betrayal, and revenge. I finished the book in less than 24 heart-pounding hours. Stephanie Wrobel expertly executes plot twist after plot twist, leaving you slightly paranoid and 100% satisfied as you close the book.

Read this if you want to feel better about your own mother/daughter relationship or if you are in the mood for a seriously twisted story of revenge.

First off, kudo to the cover designer because that cover is beautiful. I like the plot and I would definitely recommend it to any thriller fan.

One of the most chilling low key thrillers I have ever read. Too creepy for most words. Scary well written and with a twist I did NOT see coming. Will be a perfect book club book read for libraries.

"Mothers never forget. Daughters never forgive"

This book will be released in March 2020 and I was fortunate enough to get an advanced reader copy from NetGalley. Fans of Gone Girl and The Act will find much to love in this compulsively suspenseful read.

For the first eighteen years of her life Rose Gold Watts thought she was seriously ill. She suffered from allergies to most everything, used a wheel chair and a feeding tube but no one could isolate and treat whatever was wrong with her. It turned out that her problem was that her mother Peggy was a very good liar. Peggy is sentenced to prison for what she did to Rose and then is released after five years with nowhere to go. Everyone is shocked when Rose Gold takes her in. Is it altruism, forgiveness or something far darker? I stayed up late reading this one and highly recommend it. It's one of the best psychological suspense books I've read in a very long time.

If you have seen The Act on Hulu, you will start reading this book and think it sounds just like the show. It is not until more towards the middle of the book you realize things are not as they seem to be. Both Rose Gold and her mother are secretly plotting against each other, but who will prevail in the end?

have to admit this is not normally the type of book I read, and now I can say I know why. Although well written, the subject matter is so disturbing to me I found it hard to read. Rose Gold has suffered for years due to her mother making her sick, which in fact, was Munchausen’s. Both characters are mentally ill and diabolical, and I was too disturbed to really like the book. I can’t recommend bu thank Netgalley for the ARC.

I went into this book with uncertainty. I was skeptical that the book was basically just a retelling of the Gypsy Blanchard story. And while, yes, the author probably drew inspiration from Gypsy’s real life experience of munchausen by proxy, this book stands all on its own.

I was hooked from the very beginning. Rose Gold and her mom, Patty, are quite the characters! Reading about them was wild. The lines of good and evil are blurred when it comes to those two. I found myself, and I hate to admit this, feeling some sort of empathy towards Patty at times. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a seriously shady lady, but the author does a nice job of adding humanity to her character.

Another thing the author executed well was the plot twists. They felt intentional. What I mean is, the twists didn’t feel like they were there simply for shock value. There was just the right amount of foreshadowing sprinkled in. Which is tricky, because when an author drops too many hints it’s predictable, but not enough and the story line becomes unbelievable.

Overall, Darling Rose Gold is a solid debut novel. It is a story of obsession, relationships gone wrong, spite, and revenge. It is so much more than I expected. I definitely see this book doing well when it is released next year.

The premise of this book was super intriguing to me whenever I read it. However, the execution was extremely disappointing.

I expected to read a book that had been loaded up with some interesting information of Munchausen by proxy, but instead it was just a novel about a mother / daughter conflict and revenge that was strongly over-exaggerated. 

I do really like how the story line was twisted up and then reversed but ultimately, it could have went about 2,395,423 different ways and been way better than what it ended up being.

The timeline structure just wasn't that great IMO. The back and forth and the past and present didn't end up being tightly put together, it was just kind of all over the place. The plot wasn't strong enough. If the author wanted to make this out to be a vengeance story I feel like the vengeance and revenge could have been made to be much stronger and put together.

Highly recommend for fans of Hulu's The Act, true crime, and psychological character driven titles. Wrobel has given new life to a hot topic: muchausen by proxy. With all the media buzz surrounding Gypsy Rose Blanchard this could have easily felt like a knock-off, but it has its own appeal for readers who enjoy peaking into the dark.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review Darling Rose Gold.

A psychological family drama that keeps you wondering -- what is Rose Gold planning? Similar to the small town ganging up against Patty, you quickly realize that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

5 stars! This is my kind of twisted, disturbing read I just love! It kept me up way too late on a couple occasions, but I loved it! Highly, highly recommend! Well written, intriguing, riveting, disturbing, twisted, and absolutely shocking! A must read for those who love a good disturbing book that’s sure to keep you up late flipping pages! Unputdownable!

What a twisted story!! The book kept me wondering what was coming next. Even though I didn't like the characters I liked the book. The author did a good job depicting dysfunctional and twisted people.

I give this a 4 star rating

The overall plot to this story is told by two basically unreliable narrators. One side is from the daughter, Rose Gold, and the other from her mother Patty.

Patty is in prison for abusing Rose Gold for basically her whole childhood. She is poisoning Rose Gold to make her sick, and thrives off all the attention she gets from it. (Yes, this woman suffers from munchausen by proxy). Finally she is caught and goes to jail for it.

Fast forward about 5 years, and Patty is being released. And Rose Gold has offered Patty a place to stay. But after years of abuse, Rose Gold isn't herself so to speak. And that is what the whole rest of the story about.

I feel that Wrobel did a very good job getting into the details of munchausen by proxy in this story. Not only how it affects Rose Gold, but Patty herself. Both of these women are deeply traumatized by the life they led and by what is still happening to them. I can't say much more than that because this book just needs to be read and experienced without knowing more than that.

I would recommend this book.

This is a creepy disturbing page turning thriller . . Patty watts concludes her 5 year sentence for abusing and poisoning her daughter . But Rose Gold picks her up from prison and all seems to be forgiven or is it ? Told alternately through Rose Gold and Patty’s perspective., this story seems to be loosely based on Dee Blanchard and Gypsy Rose case. You will find yourself questioning and wondering about every moves these characters make. Like an extremely tense chess game you won’t be able to like away or put this book down

Having lived in Springfield where they Gyspy Rose murder took place, I felt this book relied a little heavily on that story line. I liked that it was told from Rose Gold and her mother's point of view. You were able to see the craziness from both ends. The twists and turns were surprising...especially the final one at the end. I would recommend this book to fans of psychological thrillers.

This is a really twisted story. It's the first I have read by Stephanie Wrobel, it hopefully not the last. She kept me guessing until the last page!!