This novel has been getting a lot of hype on social media. It’s Stephanie Wrobel’s debut novel and it sounds dark and addicting. Which is exactly why I wanted to review it.

I mean, I am not going to lie, the main character’s name was Rose Gold and that was made clear in the summary and all I could think of was ‘gag me!’

I honestly wasn’t sure I could get past the name situation but I was eager to read this one all the same because it had all the complicated mother/daughter issues mixed with some psychologically thrilling elements so I was willing ot at least try and look past the name ‘Rose Gold’.

Summary
For the first eighteen years of her life, Rose Gold Watts believed she was seriously ill. She was allergic to everything, used a wheelchair, and practically lived at the hospital. Neighbors did all they could, holding fundraisers and offering shoulders to cry on, but no matter how many doctors, tests, or surgeries, no one could figure out what was wrong with Rose Gold.

Turns out her mom, Patty Watts, was just a really good liar.

After serving five years in prison, Patty gets out with nowhere to go and begs her daughter to take her in. The entire community is shocked when Rose Gold says yes.

Patty insists all she wants is to reconcile their differences. She says she’s forgiven Rose Gold for turning her in and testifying against her. But Rose Gold knows her mother. Patty Watts always settles a score.

Unfortunately for Patty, Rose Gold is no longer her weak little darling…

And she’s waited such a long time for her mother to come home. (summary from Goodreads)

Review
Right off the bat let me put this out there, this book is disturbing. If you want a thriller that’s more complex and dark, this is that thriller. I mean, I didn’t really like any of the characters….like not even a little bit but that added to the overall feel of instability and disturbing terror. I felt uneasy and on edge all at the same time. The characters are very very very f-ed up and have lots of issues so if you like your thrillers with less damaged characters this might not be the book for you but I did enjoy the level of crazy the author went to for these two characters.

This book was compelling and I found myself excited to read it even if the subject matter was darker and more serious, I still had a hard time putting it down. But I will say that about 3/4 of the way through we start wrapping things up leaving the rest of the book as mostly fluff filler which was a little disappointing. I mean it wasn’t bad but I just hoped that the ending would have come a little later or maybe been developed a little more rather than adding filler at the end, if that makes sense.

Overall I really liked the premise of this story and it is a true blue psychological thriller, there is no disputing that. Fans of psychological thriller will definitely want this one on their radar. For a debut novel this one is a solid read and I am looking forward to more by this author. Though I will say that I hoped for more of a solid ending, especially considering how strong this one started out. In the end, I went with 4 stars. A great debut!

Book Info and Rating
Paperback, 320 pages
Expected publication: March 17th 2020 by Simon & Schuster
ISBN13 9781982135041
Free review copy provided by publisher, Simon and Schuster, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
Rating: 4 stars
Genre: psychological thriller

I finished reading "Darling Rose Gold" in only a few days. Mimicking a real-life story, I was intrigued. Being a nurse, I had learned all about this sort of thing and the signs to look for. The level of manipulation is so high and the fact that the mother taught it to her daughter was fascinating. I was gripped to the book and unable to put it down!

My only complaint was that I was so engrossed in one character's POV, that it was hard to adapt when it switched... and by the time I got used to the new POV, it was time to switch again. It was hard to keep up with it.

**4.5-stars**

Patty Watts was arrested for and charged with poisoning her daughter, Rose Gold.
An alleged case of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, Patty was purported to have been abusing Rose Gold her entire life.
As a late teenager, Rose Gold confesses some things about her home life to a neighborhood friend and the adults around her end up putting the pieces of the puzzle together.
Ultimately, Rose Gold testified against her Mother in court and she was sentenced to five years. As you can imagine, this has led to an estranged relationship.
Darling Rose Gold follow two perspectives, both Patty and Rose Gold.
We follow Patty after she is released from serving her time and Rose Gold after her Mother is prosecuted up through the present day.
As Patty is released, she is picked up outside the prison gates by Rose Gold. It seems during the interim of her time away they have begun the process of healing their relationship.
Rose Gold is now a mother herself, of little Adam, and has purchased her own home. Since Patty has nowhere to go, it is decided that she will move in with them until she can get back on her feet.
This book is full of messed up twists and keeps its intensity throughout as the timelines come closer and closer to merging. I love this type of format. I always end up racing through so fast to get to that climatic scene at the end. About mid-way through I knew, hoped I knew, where this was going. It went there and I was hella happy about it. A revenge story is one of my favorite tropes of all time. This one satisfied me in that regard and was full of masterful manipulation.
I have often mentioned that I love a good long-game; this story had that in spades. Well played, Wrobel.
There were definitely parts that made me uncomfortable, particularly the focus on Rose Gold's ruined teeth, but I understand where the author was coming from in framing it that way.
Rose Gold and Patty definitely shared one of the most f*ed up relationships I have ever read. It's also one I remember for a long time.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to more from Stephanie Wrobel.

Be warned that this book is disturbing. But I really was fascinated with both these characters. I read it in one day because I could not put it down. I don’t want to say much more and ruin it but this book is as intriguing. And the cover is so gorgeous!

What a disturbing story this is in so many ways. Dealing with child abuse situations is always difficult. In this case, neither the abuser nor the abused is a likable character. (In fact, I didn't like any of the characters!) Mental health is an issue for both mother and daughter. And revenge becomes a main plot point of the novel. I'd say the emotional state of each main character is very well developed and leads to an interesting ending.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC to read and review.

Rose Gold Watts has always been sick. She was sick as a baby, sick as a child, in fact sick till she was eighteen years old. Her mother always took such good care of her. It was just Rose and Patty, her loving mother. Patty sacrificed everything for her daughter, spending her whole life nursing Rose Gold. No matter how many tests, how many doctors no one knew why she was so sickly. Till Rose Gold found out why, till she learned what a liar her mother really was.
Five years have passed Rose Gold has a baby son now and is living on her own doing well when Patty returns. Everyone is shocked when she takes her mother back in. Even more shocked when she starts getting sick again. Is Patty up to her old tricks and can she be trusted with her grandson?
Revenge is in the air the question is, who has the most anger and who is the most devious? Like mother like daughter?
A debut novel that delves into the mind of a child who has suffered munchausen by proxy from her mother and as an adult takes her in under her own care. Chilling and thought provoking with characters that hide their true secrets till the bitter end. This was definitely a page turner and I can't wait to see what Wrobel writes next!

I don't often read a book where I don't like either of the main characters, but I just couldn't like either Patty or Rose Gold. I had periods of feeling sorry for each of them, but they were both rather despicable in their own ways. The writing is good with alternating points of view as the story unfolds. I have to admit, though, that I found myself bored through much of the book. And yet I kept turning the pages. I saw where it was going early on though there were a few surprises at the end. By the time of the big reveal, it was all rather anticlimactic.

This one was pretty good, although there were times when I didn't like either character. I liked how the author switched off between both Patty and Rose Gold. The suspense kept me reading and I'm glad I kept going. What a messed up family!

My rating has nothing to do with the author, or the skill the book was written with. The writing was good. The plot, pacing, and twists were all excellent. I liked where the author took it. There was just something about both main characters POVs that made me feel dirty. Darling Rose Gold is about two extremely damaged and broken women. They weren’t better for this history, they were the opposite. They were horrible. I knew that going in. That was the authors goal, and she achieved it.

I just didn’t anticipate my visceral reaction to being in that type of persons head. It succeeded in raising my internal anxiety level, and not in a good way. It was an anxiety based on feeling icky. I couldn’t handle it.

It was because of that gut reaction that I had to rate this story lesser. Please don’t let that stop you from reading Darling Rose Gold. There is an audience for this type of book. There are people out there who love to be in the head of morally deficient characters the entire time. That person is not me.

DARLING ROSE GOLD is a dark domestic suspense novel featuring a majorly twisted and unhealthy mother/daughter relationship. Mother Patty has just been released after five years in prison for abusing her daughter Rose Gold. She was accused of intentionally making Rose Gold sick her whole 18 years for…attention? Or to keep her daughter totally dependent on her? Whatever the reason, it was horrible, and of course Rose Gold suffered physically and mentally.

I don’t want to give away spoilers, so I’ll just quote the blurb to (sort of) summarize the plot: “Unfortunately for Patty, Rose Gold is no longer her weak little darling…and she’s waited such a long time for her mother to come home.” It seems Rose Gold still has a score to settle with her mother even after her incarceration. Fair enough. Suddenly we’re learning Patty’s tragic backstory and wondering just what Rose Gold has in store…

DARLING ROSE GOLD was a quick and suspenseful read, as the two main characters try to manipulate each other. I wish, though, that the book had delved deeper into the psychology of Munchausen by proxy. In this case it felt rushed and simplified so the characters could concentrate on their vengeance. I ended up feeling bad for the wrong person, which may have been the biggest twist!

Though I had some issues with this book, I think fans of dysfunctional family dramas and twisty stories of revenge will enjoy this chilling debut novel.

I was intrigued by the subject matter of Stepanie Wrobel's Darling Rose Gold and requested an ARC. As I was reading the first half of the book, it seemed to be written exactly like the Hulu TV mini-series The Act, which was based on Dee Dee and Gypsy Blanchard. There was little that was not an exact copy of the show, and although I thoroughly enjoyed the mini-series, i didn't enjoy its exact recall in this fictional book


The remainder of the book tackled Rose Gold's discovery of her father being alive & her efforts to join his family and her reconnecting with her mother upon her release from prison. I found these parts to be somewhat rushed and the story was all over the place and hard to follow.


As much as I anticipated reading Darling Rose Gold, I sadly.found it to be unfulfulling and a missed opportunity.
.

Rose Gold Watts had a harrowing childhood. Her mother, Patty, allegedly poisoned and starved her over a period of years. After Rose testifies against her mother in court, Patty goes to prison. Upon her release, Patty, now fifty-eight, hopes to "start over," and Rose, who has an infant, Adam, reluctantly allows Patty to move in with her. Stephanie Wrobel's "Darling Rose Gold" is a disquieting thriller in which the author masterfully depicts two warped women who narrate their tragic stories in alternating chapters. Although we may not always empathize with them, we grow to understand why they behave the way they do.

When she reaches her twenties, Rose, who works as a saleslady, is lonely and bitter; she is ashamed of her appearance (her teeth are disfigured); and she has nothing to look forward to and no one to love except Adam. When Patty comes to live with Rose in Deadwick, the dull Illinois town where they both grew up, the neighbors greet Patty with contempt. They despise her for what she did to Rose, and have no intention of letting bygones be bygones. Still, Rose puts up with her mother's presence, and Patty seems eager to bond with her adorable grandson.

There are a number of twists along the way, some of which readers will anticipate. Others, however, are genuinely clever, surprising, and poignant. Wrobel compellingly and effectively demonstrates the ways in which abusive parents inflict deep and long-lasting wounds on their unfortunate offspring. In the case of Rose Gold and Patty, there are old scores to settle, and the conclusion of this well-written and intense tale is downright unnerving.

I wasn't really sure what to expect going into this book but it was a really interesting and completely creepy book. The book is less of a thriller and more of a character study and look into Munchausen Syndrom By Proxy. While it was fascinating, and vaguely disturbing, it was also a bit slow and a bit predictable. That being said I did find it hard to put down and overall really enjoyed it.

Mother-daughter relationships are fragile. You are either best friends or tolerant of each other. In Rose Gold Watts case, her relationship with mother is complicated. For the first 18 years of her life, Rose Gold believed she was seriously ill. Allergic to everything, practically lived in the hospital and used a wheelchair. Neighbors held fundraisers to help with medical expenses. The whole community took on the burden because no one could figure out what was wrong. As it turns out, her mother, Patty Watts, was the cause.

The novel begins with Patty Watts being released from prison after five years. With nowhere to go, Rose Gold takes her in. Of course the entire community is against the idea and has not forgiven Patty. What kind of mother tortures and lies to her child? But they both want to reconcile and build a healthier mother-daughter relationship. But has Patty really forgiven her daughter for testifying against her? And is Rose Gold still the naive darling little girl?

Oh what a twisted tale this weaved! Darling Rose Gold is such a great debut novel. I admit that I do not give debuts a fair try sometimes. The book cover, synopsis and book blurbs have to catch my attention. All criteria met so I was excited to try someone new. And let me tell you, bookhearts, Stephanie Wrobel is now on my watchlist; Darling Rose Gold deserves a spot in my best books of 2020. She did that!

Happy Pub Day, Stephanie Wrobel! Darling Rose Gold is now available.

LiteraryMarie

Wow. What absolute craziness! These two put the "fun" in dysfunctional. They are both very unlikeable, sociopathic and delusional. I loved their twisty, turny story and their horrible ways. It's disturbing, yet you can't turn away when you step into the mind of a sociopath and watch their tale and their lives unravel. And you get two for the price of one here! You can read a zillion reviews that will give you highlights of the story you'll find in these pages. I will tell you that if you can handle reading something disturbing, with a nice twist in the end, you will more than enjoy Rose Gold and her mother, Patty!

Twisty and dark! Told from the viewpoints of Rose Gold and her mother Patty, we learn the story of how Patty ended up in prison for munchausen by proxy and follow the events that occur after her release. I was concerned that this was going to be too dark for me but it was just right. Perfectly paced and chilling conclusion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for allowing me to read a pre-release in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion & review. To be honest, I went into this book thinking it was the same story as 'The Act' - the true story about Gypsy Rose Blanchard, which may have distorted my opinion a little bit and I wish I hadn't felt that way.

Patty Watts has dedicated her entire life to caring for her daughter, Rose Gold. She spent years racing her daughter to the hospital with multiple illnesses and sicknesses, unexplained and constant, all while hosting fundraisers and being an outstanding community citizen. Until she isn't - until someone suggests Rose Gold was never sick and Patty's lies come undone. After she spend five years in jail for aggravated child abuse, she returns to her childhood home to live with Rose Gold to make amends with her daughter. But is Patty Watts really ready to forgive and forget? Is Rose Gold?

Darling Rose Gold is told between two perspectives - Patty in the current day, and Rose Gold's in the years Patty was in prison and leading up to current day. I had never heard of munchausen before, so I went down the rabbit hole after finishing this book to learn more about it. I will be honest again and say I didn't think this book would get more than 3 stars from me until about 60% of the way through. It was a lot of explaining, which I thought was just an overview of everything I already knew about Gypsy Rose Blanchard - which turns out this book is not about AT ALL. I was very interested in the minds of both Rose Gold and Patty, as they were both so unhinged in their thought process.

Patty and Rose Gold are extremely similar, both twisted and riddled with instability. It seems as though Patty and Rose Gold are in a dangerous battle of revenge, Patty thinking Rose Gold owes her life to her for everything she's done for her, and Rose Gold feeling as though Patty owes her years of her childhood back for everything she took from her. The last few chapters of the book really captured me, desperate to find out who wins the war.

Thank you to NetGalley, Stephanie Wrobel, Simon & Schuster Canada and Berkley Publishing for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes I have a hard time with novels about things like this that happen in the real world and are in my field of work, so I was really concerned I would hate it. But it was the exact opposite, I was totally invested in this novel and found it quite the page-turner. I wanted to know what was going to happen and I loved having it go back and forth between Rose Gold and her mother. I loved the major twists thrown in toward the end of this novel; I was only shocked by one of them, but man! Was it ever good! I was compelled to keep reading this one until I was finished, definitely one that I was surprised by!

First off, I love a thriller with sick-o characters, the more twisted the better. However, I don’t know if it’s getting older or what, but I really hated the characters in this book.

This is not retelling of the Gypsy Rose Blanchard case, where her mother Dee Dee Blanchard falsely claimed that Gypsy Rose had all sorts of illnesses, probably stemming from Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.

Even though the storyline is obviously similar and even the main character’s name is similar, this is the story of a fictional Rose Gold and her mother Patti.

Patti is about to be released from prison for abusing Rose Gold.

Rose Gold is still suffering lasting effects from ipecac syrup that her mother made her drink. The constant vomiting has ruined her teeth. She has no social skills.

What she does have is a desire to get even with her mother. She goes at great lengths to plot a revenge.

While Rose Gold is clearly the victim here, she is not a likable character. Her level of meanness and craziness rival her mothers.

Not a pleasant book, but like watching a train wreck, I read it with morbid fascination.

I received an ARC of the book.

I can already tell that this is going to be a marmite book—some people will love it and love it instantly, others will dislike it greatly after a chapter or two.
If your first question is something like “Oh, is this based on the Gypsy Rose Blancharde case? (https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/michelledean/dee-dee-wanted-her-daughter-to-be-sick-gypsy-wanted-her-mom)” then yes, this book is probably for you (and the answer is yes—the author mentions the case in the acknowledgements, though the premise here is what if the two women lived together after the mother went to jail, rather than being murdered by her daughter’s online boyfriend).
This book also deals heavily with the psychology of abusers and the abused… and neither character is a great individual. You already know if you’re into the lurid—and if you want to see if these two destroy each other.