Domestic Drama/Thriller | Based on a True Story

Darling Rose Gold is a “ripped from the headlines” debut that chronicles the aftermath of a munchausen by proxy case. I’m sure many readers have heard the case of Gypsy Rose and Deedee Blanchard as there have been movies and true crime shows about them. If you haven’t you can read about it here >> Gypsy Rose Crime Case . This book is NOT a true crime book and it’s NOT a story about that specific case, but as far as I can tell it is based on it. Not all the particulars are the same of course and this book can stand fine on its own without any knowledge of their story. It is interesting to read though, and I found myself to be rather gripped by the plot and the way it delivered.

Darling Rose Gold has all the trimmings of a great domestic thriller. Family woes that drive the characters actions, hidden secrets and obvious truths, enticing family drama that makes you want to grab a bag of popcorn and watch with shocked expressions, and a gratifying ending after an angst filled twist! None of the characters are particularly likable in this book but readers can find loose connections with them out of pity. Some may think that doesn’t make for a great book but in this case it REALLY does. I never felt the need to HAVE to like the characters I only needed to find some UNDERSTANDING about their motives. If an author can deliver this as Stephanie Wrobel does, then you know you have a winner on your hands.

While this may not have been a five-star read for me, it definitely was an engrossing one. I read this book in under 24 hours because I was hooked to the story line. I love a book that’s based off the truth (even if it’s loosely based on the truth) and the author made this one just as intriguing as if it WERE real. The entire plot leaves a sense of dread sitting in your stomach (kind of like you have a hard lump of coal there) and watching the spectacular twist at the end makes said coal disintegrate. I LOVED THE ENDING. Most readers won’t necessarily feel shocked with it as it’s somewhat predictable, but the way the author pieced it all together was PERFECT for the story.

With all that being said, I found this book to be a solid debut and I’m looking forward too many more books by the author in the future. I’d especially love to see some more “ripped from the headlines” type books because I find them to be sensational!

18-year-old Rose Gold Watts believes she is very ill. Allergic to everything, she lives her days in a wheelchair and the hospital is almost like a second home. Doctors can’t find anything wrong with her, and everyone is at a loss of what is making her sick. Apparently, it was her mother doing it all along.
Needless to say, that this is one hell of thriller. From the point where her mother is released from prison and Rose Gold agrees to have her live with her in her mother's childhood home, the scene is set for one twisted game of cat and mouse.
But who is who? Probably not who you think. This book will leave you open mouthed and wide-eyed until the very last page.

Loved this book to bits! I found myself completely captivated by Rose Gold and Patty's stories - they ways in which they provided insight into their mental illnesses was just so fascinating. Riveting and entertaining. What a treat to read!!

Darling Rose Gold is an entertaining book, but I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I hadn't recently watched The Act on Hulu. Rose Gold and Gypsy Rose Blanchard's childhood stories just seemed a bit too similar to me, though I'm sure that many cases of Munchausen by Proxy follow the same patterns, so I'm certainly not accusing the author of stealing the story. But since I recently watched the show, the book felt a bit repetitive to me.

That's not to say there aren't major differences between Rose Gold's story and Gypsy Rose's story. For one thing, Darling Rose Gold starts off with Rose Gold's mother being released from prison, where she's been for the last 5 years. Rose Gold is picking her up and is allowing her to live with her. Immediately you wonder why Rose Gold would do such a thing... Especially consider she has a newborn baby. Your mother has just been in jail for abusing you as a child and now you welcome her into your home to be around your baby? This definitely felt odd to me until I learned a lot more.

We'll get lots of flashes back in time to when Rose Gold first started living on her own (she was 18 when her mom finally went to jail) and then to the current day with Rose and her mom living together. We also get lots from her mother's point of view and we see that her mom still doesn't think she did anything wrong with her daughter. The book definitely ends in a way I didn't expect, though I'm sure some people saw it coming.

I can see this book being really awesome for anyone who doesn't know much about Munchausen by Proxy as it's a very interesting somewhat shocking illness that will likely have you doing your own research. But if you're familiar with it and especially with Gypsy Rose's story, you may not be quite as excited by this novel.

Patty Watts spent 5 years in prison for poisoning and starving her only child Rose Gold. No one in town is happy when Rose Gold allows Patty to stay with her after her release, but is Rose Gold truly under her mother’s spell again?
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What a dark and twisted take on mother daughter relationships. This book made me want to call my mom and thank her for being sane.
We get a dual time like in the alternating chapters with Patty’s being after her release and rebuilding her relationship with her daughter and Rose Golds spanning the time right after her mother’s conviction and the 5 years she was jailed.
I did not like Rose Gold as a character. I get she was traumatized but she made a lot of unnecessary and annoying decisions.
She needed more therapy.
Patty’s character was more interesting to me because her inner monologue did kinda made you question things and made you suspicious.
All that said I loved the ending. It had a couple little twists I didn’t see coming. I had a couple bones to pick but I’ll let it go.
3.75 stars

I kept hearing about this debut book by Wrobel. I was very impressed with it. It was very exciting and kept me turning pages. I think that I will purchase this book for the library and see if the patrons enjoy it too. It was a good thriller. Hope to see more by this author. Love the cover for it!!

This was a fun, intense read! A real roller-coaster ride. I loved how it alternated from the present to the past as well as the alternating voices of Rose Gold and her mom. The author kept you guessing the whole time whether the mom was truly guilty of child abuse or the daughter was guilty of manipulation. I will definitely recommend this book to my friends who enjoy a good psychological thriller. I will also read more by this author in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

being inside patty’s head was fascinating. she absolutely loves playing the martyr and self-sacrificing mother. but when rose gold doesn’t respond in a way she likes, we can see patty’s mask slip a little bit. and it is UNSETTLING.

this is clearly inspired by the gypsy rose blanchard case but i really appreciate that the author took that inspiration and diverged how she saw fit. this was a very sad yet quick & intriguing read, and i can totally see the gillian flynn comparisons. i'm excited to see this author's future works!

This well-written thriller kept me turning pages, staying up past my bedtime. Mother-daughter relationships are not my favorite theme. So many are so treacly sweet and/or woe-is-me tragic. This one, not so much. It was grittier, the characters spiraling further into a hole of irredeemable actions. However, I didn’t feel good about the book at the end. So much has been said about trauma porn in the publishing world lately, and this felt like it fit that bill — that it was doing a disservice to a huge portion of the population who suffer within a cycle of abuse. Maybe it’s the court-appointed special advocate (CASA) in me that triggered my internal grimace.
[I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley publishing for an advanced read. Wow! This book is so compelling, and I felt conflicted towards both of them at times. Wow, that's all I have to say!

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rose Gold is a victim of her mother's need for admiration and attention. She grows up under the care of numerous doctors with multiple diagnoses. Her mother, Patty, revels in the pity of her neighbors and keeps her daughter I'll. The lingering effects of the munchausen by proxy comes back to haunt both women and other people in their lives.

The book is well-written and compelling. It was difficult to put down.

Rose Gold Watts was sick until she was eighteen years old. None of the doctors could figure out what was wrong with her, it turns out, her Mom was making her sick. After being in prison for five years, Patty Watts has no one to turn to, except the daughter that sent her to prison. Will Rose Gold get her revenge on her Mother for ruining her childhood? Or is she just like her Mother? This is a great debut book that is dark and disturbing but makes you unable to put it down.

I simply did not like this book. There may be others that are drawn in by the squabbling family drama, but I found both characters were too repugnant to really care what happened to them. When the grandmother considers harming the baby to get back at the daughter, I was out. It was a line too far for me. Some other people may not be as deeply invested in what happens to children, and may only find it more salacious grist for the mill, but it popped me right out. It simply did not match up with my tastes.

This book was entertaining and had its moments where it was a page turner that kept you reading. A part of me wonders if my excitement wasn't due to the fact that I have watched the Hulu series "the Act", and have seen numerous documentaries surrounding the true story or Dee Dee Blanchard and Gypsy Rose. Ultimately, Darling Rose Gold was predictable and repetitive. It could've been compelling, but it was missing something that made you want to care about the main character. I understood her motivation but did not feel anything towards her. I think that is what separates this from the streaming series and etc. That being said it was amusing at certain points. I think that fans of the series will definitely flock to this book and enjoy some parts of it. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Completely dark and twisted but addictive thriller!
I loved it
I could not put this down! The writing was great, the characters were well developed, although I didn't know who was crazier at some points.

This debut novel by Wrobel is an unpredictable thriller with a complicated plot. At the beginning of the story, we are introduced to the two protagonists, Rose Gold and her mother Patty Watts. Patty is just getting out of prison after serving her sentence. As it turns out, Patty was in prison because Rose Gold testified against her. The novel is told from the points of view of both women. It seems that Rose Gold spent the first eighteen years of her life thinking she was extremely ill. What is the truth is that Patty was deliberately making her ill. Now, the two are together and both are set on revenge and both are equally evil. Let me just say that I did not enjoy reading this book but read it because of my commitment to do so. The two protagonists were like spawns of the devil to me, totally unlikeable and unredeemable. The book was a creepy commentary on mother-daughter relationships and not one that I would like to read again. I was just not prepared for the evil seeping out of the pages of this book. Think ROSEMARY’S BABY kind of evil and you will be close to what I felt as I read. Nothing was wrapped up in a pretty package with a bow. The mental illness portrayed was not treated; if anything, it was ridiculed so that I was left wondering why neither character could be helped. This book was a dark and wild ride and one I did not enjoy much. Fans of such dark thrillers might enjoy it, but be prepared for the darkness that just doesn’t stop!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Having just decided not to read any psychological thrillers for a while, I still had this in my queue. But no worries. This mother - daughter duel definitely kept my interest. Rose Gold spent her entire childhood ill. Five years ago, her mother was sent to prison, based on Rose’s testimony that her mother was poisoning her. My initial thoughts were that this was a Manchausen by proxy situation although that’s never mentioned. (I didn’t realize the story is based on a real life mother daughter duo.). Surprisingly, when her mother is released from prison, Rose Gold allows her to come live with her and her baby.

We get the expected back and forth between the two. Both of them come across as twisted, damaged souls seeking revenge. Yet, at other times, they also both come across as very sorry, sad individuals. Kudos to Wrobel for creating such interesting individuals that while certifiably bonkers also aren’t the typical insane cliches.

This isn’t a fast paced book. But the back and forth of these two warped women definitely worked to keep my attention. The book, while definitely a psychological thriller, also came across as very poignant to me. These two were both just so screwed up.

My thanks to netgalley and Berkley Publishing for an advance copy of this book.

Wowza!

That's really all I have to say about this one-just Wowza!

Oh-and read this....immediately!

ARC provided by NetGalley

P. S. If this didn't pique your interest, then read the dang marketing blurb-I think it's spot on and should hopefully grab your attention!!

This is a fast-paced thriller, full of unpleasant characters. The book opens with 23 year-old Rose Gold picking up her mother, Patty, from prison where she has spent the last 5 years on aggravated child abuse charges. Patty has Munchhausen by proxy and was keeping her daughter sick and malnourished until Rose Gold decided to testify and have her mother locked up.

Both characters have an axe to grind and the story follows this cat and mouse game until the end. It's just a question of what cat will get what mouse. The reader has empathy for both Rose Gold and Patty - they both were dealt terrible childhoods, but I was fine (almost) with the way things turned out.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a roller coaster from start to finish! Highly recommend. I got chills watching both characters spiral and felt conflicted at the times I felt sympathy for Patty and Rose Gold.