***I received a free copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel is an interesting story about Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Rose Gold has suffered for her first 18 years due to her mother, Patty, making her sick. At 18 Rose Gold testifies against Patty and Patty goes to jail.

The story is told in a dual timeline. Rose Gold tells the story in the past and Patty tells the story in the present.

Up to the age of 18 this story very closely resembles the real life story of Gypsy Rose Blancharde and her mother, Dee Dee Blancharde. The author does note that she studied the Gypsy Rose case while researching for this book.

The main part of this book is after Patty is released from jail. Rose Gold is still angry with Patty for making her sick. Patty blames Rose Gold for being out in jail. Can they live together and forgive each other? Does one or both want revenge?

While I did not find either of the main characters to be likeable, I did find the story interesting. How would it affect a child to have their mother be the reason they were sick? Can that child grow up to be normal?

Thank you to Netgalley, Goodreads, and Berkley Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Mystery & Thrillers
Release Date: March 17, 2020

This is a great debut novel that that definitely enfolds you into the story and the characters. It had a great story plot between the mother-daughter battle. It kept me guessing the whole way through.

What a fascinating journey into a very warped mother-daughter relationship! At different points in the story, I felt sorry for, and then appalled by, both of the main characters. This novel kept surprising me until the very end as multiple layers were peeled back to reveal the complete story.

I was provided an ARC of this title by Netgalley.

Darling Rose Gold wins the award for the best title and character name of the year. This is a fiction book about a tumultuous mother-daughter relationship that's hindered by Munchausen by Proxy syndrome. Rose Gold has been sick for her whole life but luckily she has her devoted mom to help care for her. Or is she lucky? It appears that her mom might be the reason behind her illnesses. The story is told through the viewpoints of both Rose Gold and her mother, Patty. The story also toggles back and forth between the past and the present. A gripping story that's told really well. Read and enjoy!

A twisty thriller about Rose Gold, whose mother is serving jail time for medically abusing her--convincing her and everyone else that Rose Gold was chronically ill, stuck in a wheelchair, and unable to eat except through a tube. Rose Gold testifies against her mother, but has a hard time adjusting to life as an adult, and as a healthy person--she has no idea how to be any of those things. When her mother is released from jail, Rose Gold picks her up and moves her into her house--the same house where her mother lived (and was abused) as a child. Rose Gold has big plans for revenge--but then so does her mother.

The author handles two unreliable narrators well, and the psychological warfare between mother and daughter is well-done. An entertaining read for those who enjoyed SHARP OBJECTS by Gillian Flynn.

Rose Gold has been sick all her life with a chromosomal abnormality. Or so she thought... At 18, Rose Gold finally realizes that she isn’t really sick - her mother, Patty Watts is to blame. She is reported and Patty ends up in jail for 5 years.

This book alternates between present day, when Patty is released and goes to “make amends” and live with Rose Gold and her newborn son. The alternating chapters narrated by Rose we told her flashbacks until it meets present day. Is Patty ready to take responsibility for her actions once and for all? Or does she have a more sinister idea. Is Rose Gold going to take Patty in with open arms?

This book was an excellent debut and I look forward to seeing what Stephanie Wrobel writes next.

Thank you to netgalley and Berkeley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Every year there's that book that EVERYONE is talking about. Well, really there are usually a few. The ones EVERYONE is saying are must reads. And almost all of them fall flat for me. I am saddened to say, this is another one that I had to sit back and wonder if I read the same book as everyone else. For me, this book isn't a must read.

After finally finishing this one, I sat there wondering what I just read. It wasn't riveting. It wasn't suspenseful. It wasn't thrilling. If I'm being honest, it wasn't all that interesting. After reading the book description, I thought for sure it would be one of those books I wanted everyone to read. 

The characters are twisted, and not in a good way. They are all unlikeable and don't deserve any form of redemption. Sometimes revenge is a dish best served cold. In this case, revenge is just insane. 

I struggled through this book. It's all over the place. At times, it made no sense. It's told from two point of views, both of them mentally disturbed. So one can imagine the mess you have to wade through to find a good story in there. I will give it credit though. It is creepy. Just not the kind of creepy I like or look for. 

If you're looking for your next favorite read, I'm not so sure this one is it. I'm still trying to figure out why people loved this so much. Sometimes, I can see why others love something I don't. I just can't with this one. Admittedly, I can't find a positive thing to say about this one.

The mother-daughter tug-of-war in DARLING ROSE GOLD is a sizzling, unpredictable, mesmerizing battle of wits and wills which will keep the reader on the edge of his/her seat. Enthralling suspense from a writer to watch.

This was quite a wicked little gem! I loved this mother daughter battle from the get-go. These two twisted individuals were the source of entertainment in this book. It was a battle of who was the worst, and like a car crash, you can't help but look through your fingers to see the casualties.

Rose Gold and Patty reconnect 5 years after Patty is sent to prison for poisoning Rose Gold from infancy until she was 15 years old. Rose Gold is now an adult with a child of her own, and Patty hopes to rebuild her relationship with her daughter. She wants nothing more than to get to know her darling grandson. It quickly becomes apparent that Rose Gold has learned a trick or two from her mother as Patty sees strange behaviors and cruel undercurrents coming from her daughter. Through the back and forth narrations alternating chapter by chapter, we get an inside look at what the other woman is thinking. Rose Gold's story begins immediately following her mother's imprisonment, and Patty's begins once she is being released. Through these alternating storylines, we see the big picture begining to form, and understand Rose Gold's motivation for her actions, which increasingly become more alarming. But really, with all of the heartbreak she has been through, can we really blame her in the end?

Great book!

In a case of art imitating life, 'Darling Rose Gold' feels inextricably linked to the real life story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, one of the most prominent cases of Munchausen by proxy syndrome in recent years and the seemingly unbreakable bond that develops between the perpetrator and the victim.
Wrobel's novel takes the premise of a mother (Patty Watts), devoted to her seemingly sick child (Rose Gold Watts), but who turns out to have been poisoning her the whole time and who gets sent to prison when her web of lies unravels. She then reunites mother and daughter when the mother leaves prison, and throws a baby girl into the mix - the daughter / grand-daughter of the twisted pair.
What at first seems to be the most selfless act of forgiveness on the part of Rose Gold, reunited with the woman who seems to be the only person in the world who truly loves her, soon reveals itself it dark undertones. The seemingly down-trodden victim, rejected by everyone she tried to get close to while her mother was serving her time, isn't quite so weak as she appears, with some excellent plot twists as the story hits its dramatic denouement.
Not for the faint-hearted, this is a tale from the dark side of mother-daughter relationships with two complex characters at its cold heart. As it accelerates to its heart-pounding climax, you won't be able to put it down.

I recieved an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and will recommend it often!

This dark, psychological thriller about Münchausen syndrome kept me guessing and second guessing right to the end. Great character development and a fast moving plot that alternated perspective between mother and daughter made this impossible to put down. I literally read it straight through. Highly recommended.

Wow!! I just can’t understand the thought process of the characters.

Please read this story go I can have others feel the way I do! I wanted to just reach into the pages and shake the woman and then Rose Gold needs to be given a medal upside her head for her the way she acts.

UGH!!

Wow! I wasn't sure if I'd like this book because it reminded me so much of a recent news story. Boy was I wrong. Just when I thought I had both of them figured out, a twist was presented. I think this will create a great book discussion whether readers like it or not. I give it 4 stars.
I had to come back and add to my review. I'm not sure why Darling Rose Gold hasn't been released yet, but I can tell you than I haven't been able to quit thinking about it. It was so clever! Even though I knew so much about the topic, I was still fascinated with Ms. Wrobel's ability to weave such an intricate story. I never knew quite who was the bad guy/good guy. I'm changing my rating to 5 stars.

It lives up to the hype. This book will have a long wait list at my library. This is just the thing patrons really like.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I wanted to like this book. While it wasn’t for me, I think a lot of people will like it. Munchausen syndrome by proxy is fascinating, and the book had a lot of potential. I liked the shifting perspectives between Patty and Rose Gold, and I felt uncomfortable while reading (which is not always a bad thing - I always respect when a book makes me feel something, even if it’s not a good feeling). But, I thought the characters fell flat and the dialogue was forced. A book with this concept should rattle me to my bones, but I found myself not caring.

In the aftermath of a conviction, Patty Watts is sentenced to prison for the years she spent keeping her daughter Rose Gold sick. After five years behind bars, Patty is ready to re-enter society and put the past behind her, make amends with her daughter, and work to convince those that lost trust in her that it was a misunderstanding. Rose Gold has spent the last five years discovering who she is, learning to take care of herself, and trying to move on from the destruction of her mother. With Patty out of prison and nowhere to go, Rose Gold has to decide if her mother dearest has learned from her mistakes, or are they going to go right back to how things used to be, and will Rose Gold let that happen? For Patty, is she really wanting to fix her wrongdoings or is this cat and mouse family saga just going to pick up where it left off?

Human behavior and mental illness are fascinating to learn about. While this is a tale of fiction, it is intriguing to venture into the minds of characters dealing with the repercussions of years of mental anguish. I think Wrobel did a lovely job playing to the readers perceptions of characters, forcing one to question who to trust. I appreciated being able to be inside the minds of both Rose Gold and her mother, it allowed for a reader to anguish between emphathy and hatred. It fueled the thrill of the read and the need to know how this tangle of a story would play out in the end. Add in some thriller-esk plot twists, and you have a whole mash-up of a read. I liked this thriller. It kept me hooked right from the initial description, to be honest.

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group, and Stephanie Wrobel for providing me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I have not read a Munchhausen by proxy story after the parent is caught harming their child.
Rose Gold's mother, Patty, is released from prison after serving five years for her involvement in the neglect and mistreatment of her daughter. A year prior to her release, Rose Gold and Patty started reconnecting and building a new relationship and appear to be closer than ever. Rose Gold lets Patty stay with her and her son Adam in their new home.

I did figure out the big twist very early on and the other twist midway through, but it was still fun to unravel how they got there. Would I recommend this thriller? Yes. This is a dark adventure, with some big twists and very fun to unpack.

Thank you for my advanced copy.

An easy and captivating read, relatable for victims of parental abuse. I think it's amazing how Rose Gold made the choice to take her life back, and settling for being the bigger person was not an option. A very cunning young lady who was it in for the long haul to seek her revenge.

Wow! First of all, that cover... beautiful and disturbing all at once! Actually I could say that about the book too. It was dark but delicious! The drama in this mother daughter relationship was so disturbing, yet not so horrific that I couldn't continue reading. Quite the opposite actually - it was extremely captivating. I held on to every word. I thought about this book at work, while cleaning my house and cooking meals. I could not wait to find out what happened next or read those past tense passages so I would understand what happened years ago. Neither character was particularly favorable. I could not decide whose side to take, if any at all. There were some twists and turns I could predict but others I did not see coming. I really enjoyed the author's writing style. Things flowed nicely, descriptions were done well (To be honest; some gave me chills, freaked me out and made me need to put the book down for a minute or two to regain my composure!) and I loved that even with the dark subject matter that there were moments of humor and I would catch myself smiling or chuckling a bit to myself. Definitely a must read for mothers and daughters, or read it and chat about it with your best friend. It would make for a great discussion with a book club too!

I would like to thank Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.