I have been seeing Darling Rose Gold book all over Instagram and was curious about it. Besides, the cover is just absolute gorgeous! When I found out that this story is similar to the true case of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, I knew that I had to read it! And just to understand the story more, I also listened to a few podcast episodes on the case of Gypsy Rose before reading this book. Yup, down the rabbit hole I go!

For almost two decades, Rose Gold Watts believed that she was seriously ill. Her childhood was filled with doctors appointments, tests and surgeries, and yet the doctors were not able to help her feel better. As it turned out, it was her mother, Patty Watts, who has been making her ill. Rose Gold's testimony will later sent her mother to prison and now after serving five years for aggravated child abuse, Patty is released. To everyone's surprise, Rose Gold takes her mother in and they stay together in her newly purchased house. It appears to be true forgiveness and reconciliation between mother and daughter but each of them has their own agenda.

This is one dark, twisty, psychological thriller which had me binge read during the weekend! I really enjoyed reading from Patty and Rose Gold POV with Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome as the theme. Not condoning Patty's action, but when reading from her POV I did understand how this syndrome affects her choices. The mother-daughter relationship is so toxic that you cant' really root or trust any of them. They are both calculative, manipulative, and you won't be able to tell if anything they say or do is sincere or just pure evil. However, I was a little discombobulated by the jumpy timeline and had to re-read some parts to understand the story. I also guessed the plot towards the end but it did not make my reading experience any less pleasurable. With that being said, I highly recommend this disturbing, mind-bending thriller to everyone! A must read for sure!


Quotes/sayings:

"Coffee was a rite of adulthood - only a kid wouldn't drink it."

"Because that's what mothers do. We shelter the hardest truths from our children to keep them safe. We take the hit so they don't have to feel the pain."

"… : you would never love your mother as much as she loved you. She had formed memories of you since you were a poppy seed in her belly. You didn't begin making your own memories until three, four, five years old? She'd had a running start. She had known you before you even existed. How could we compete with that? We couldn't. We accepted that our mothers held their love over us, let them parade it around like a flashy trinket, because their love was superior to ours."

"But nobody wants to hear the truth from a liar."

"But some of us cannot forget and will never forgive. We keep our axes sharp, ready to grind. We hold pleas for mercy between our teeth like jawbreakers. "

"They say a grudge is a heavy thing to carry. Good thing we're extra strong."


Pub. Date: 17th March, 2020

***I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from Simon & Schuster Canada through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All views expressed in this review are my own and was not influenced by the author, publisher or any third party.***

As a major true crime buff, I was so excited to get my hands on a copy of Darling Rose Gold. I avidly followed the Gypsy Rose Blanchard case that this novel obviously takes inspiration from. For most of her life, Rose Gold is sick. Turns out, it’s been her mother, Patty, making her sick all along. Having served her time, Patty is back in the community and to everyone’s surprise, Rose Gold takes her mother in. But both women have an agenda ... ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
This book is well written and I enjoyed how the relationship between Rose Gold and Patty was developed. I found Patty’s backstory to be particularly interesting. Unfortunately I think my obsessive digging and knowledge of the real case caused the book the fall a bit flat for me and I was left wanting more. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
That being said, it’s a bingeable read and I look forward to reading more from Stephanie Wrobel !⁣
⁣
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.⁣

3.5

I'm struggling with how I feel about this one. The concept of the book is really interesting and I was hooked from the beginning. The writing is beautiful and the research that went into the book shines through clearly. The alternating POVs and across the years was very captivating, I like how it allowed you to know what happened leading up to the points that were mentioned in present day.

However, overall the story just didn't sit well with me. I know that it's supposed to make you feel uncomfortable. Maybe it's the fact that I didn't care for any of the characters, not Rose Gold, not Patty, and not the father. Overall I think it was a good book, and definitely a captivating read!

What would you do if your whole live the one person who you thought was doing everything to care for you was really the person hurting you the most?
For Rose Gold that was her life. Her mother, Patty, appeared to be doing everything in her power to help Rose Gold but ultimately her mother was poisioning her. Patty went to jail but is getting out, and Rose Gold has forgiven her mother and is the one picking her up? Yes how crazy is that.
But Rose Gold isn't the naive child anymore, now a mother to a 2 month old son she has to protect.
Things start to get twisty and Rose Gold might have learned a thing or two from watching her mother lie over the years.
Patty thinks she has a plan to save her grandson from Rose Gold that seems to be sick again. All Rose Gold wanted was some sweet revenge.

A beautifully written book that had me drawn into the dual story perspective right from the beginning. I felt for Rose Gold as her mother didn't provide her with the best childhood. I really had no idea how this was going to end then BOOM right at the end a huge twist I didn't see coming again.

Revenge is so sweet

Darling Rose Gold was told from dual prespectives, a daughter and a mother, it was a quick read, I was drawn right into the story right from the beginning and it peaked my interest all the way through. It had an ending that I didn't see coming and would highly recommend the book.

A mother accused of poisoning her daughter has been in prison for 5 years, she's getting out soon and the daughter that essentially put her there is the person that's picking her up. Rose Gold has found out several more lies her mom told her throughout her life but has decided to ultimately forgive her mother and start fresh now her mother is out of prison. Patty is so ecstatic to gain her daughter's trust again and even more to be in her grandsons life. She's thrilled she convinced Rose Gold to let her live with her ands help out. Are both these women's actions genuine or do they have something more sinister up their sleeves?

Thank you to @simonandschuster for sending me this arc, I really enjoyed reading it.

"You've wanted to do the same. You have lain in bed at night thinking of all the exquisite ways you could punish the person who wronged you. You know the one-- even now, their face hovers in your mind. If icky, you think, not dating to finish the thought. "

This was a good book. Actually it was a GREAT book! It just wasn’t a great psychological thriller or suspense novel. If it was under a different genre then it would most likely have a full 5 star rating. It was wonderfully written and Wrobel does an excellent job at executing the novel from 2 points of view. I genuinely loved this book.
The thing is, I didn’t find this novel to thrilling or suspenseful. To me it was just a story about a young woman’s abusive childhood and her crazy mother. This book follows the life of Rose Gold Watts who, for 18 years of her life, was led to believe that she was ill. Finally she finds out that her mom, Patty Watts, was making her illness up because she loved the idea of Rose Gold relying on her.
As a psychology major, I’ve learned about the mental illness that Patty has and it’s called “Munchausen Syndrome.” Wrobel was clearly educated on this topic and did a great job at creating and developing Patty’s character.
Again, this didn’t feel like a thriller. It was just a story, and it was obvious how the ending would play out. It was well written, kept my interest throughout the whole novel and it had a great range of characters. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an intriguing read!!

Psychological thrillers are not my usual genre of books, but I was intrigued to read this book because of one of the main character’s history of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Once I started reading the book, I was captivated to see how the story would unfold.

The story is told in a dual narrative - Rose Gold and her mother, Patty. Rose Gold’s story begins while her mother is imprisoned for the abuse of Rose Gold. The history of the abuse unfolds as Rose Gold tells her story and the implications of the abuse on her life. She then sets out to inflict revenge against Mommy dearest.
Patty’s illness comes out in full force once she finishes her imprisonment and begins living with Rose Gold. It soon becomes obvious that any psychological therapy Patty may have received in prison has not been helpful.

I felt the storyline was well developed and kept me engaged. I was always wanting to read more in order to see what would happen next. I love good character development and this book did not disappoint. I appreciated the obvious psychological damage inflicted upon Rose Gold and her attempts at trying to socialize. This book has made me want to increase my “to be read” book shelf with more psychological thrillers.
I
recommend this book to those that enjoy psychological thrillers or general fiction.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada Publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange for the honest review provided here.

I am not usually a thriller fan but this book HOOKED ME IN SO FAST. Before this book, I was struggling with a reading slump and boy, did Rose Gold and Patty demolish it.

I really enjoyed the format of the story being in dual POV with one being the present and the other the past. It really rounded out the story to make everything come together beautifully.

I highly recommend this book and have already told multiple people that they need to read it.

Wow, what an excellent read! The characters of Rose Gold and Patty were so layered and complex! It was psychological warfare at its best! The twists were a delight! I never would have guessed the ending! I would love to read more books by this author!

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher Simon and Schuster Canada for an advance copy of this book for an honest review .

First of all, I love the cover of this book ( just had to say that)

Darling Rose Gold is the story of a mother who hurts (poisons ) her child ( Rose Gold )through out her life until she is finally caught and sent to jail for five years . When she is released from jail, mother and daughter reunite.

This is a slow burner and really took me a while to get into it, lots of twists and turns and you cannot help but wonder who will win this game treachery


3.5 stars ⭐️

Darling Rose Gold is thriller with a strong sinister feel to it.

Rose Gold Watts was always sick. From the time she was baby, she struggled with allergies and digestive issues that left her frail, weak and confined to a wheelchair for the most part, and spending much of her time at hospital and doctor's offices. For eighteen years her single mother Patty counted on the support of the community for financial and moral support as Rose Gold's illness consumed their lives.

When Rose Gold was eighteen, the cause of her illness was finally determined to be Patty. Patty was charged, tried, and convicted with Rose Gold taking the witness stand against her. In the five years that Patty spent in prison, Rose Gold got a job, bought a house, and moved on with her life, and is now raising a baby herself. When Patty is released, she has no one else for support, and nowhere else to go. She turns to Rose Gold for a place to stay, and the community is shocked to find out that Rose Gold has actually agreed to take Patty in.

Has Rose Gold really forgiven Patty for all that happened to her? Has Patty really forgiven Rose Gold for testifying against her in court? Has Patty changed in the last five years? The mother-daughter duo play out a twisted drama you can't help but wonder who will be the winner and who will be the loser. All Mother-daughter relationships can be a little complicated at times, but this pair raise that bar to new heights.

This sinister feel to this story is almost tangible. Told in alternating points of view between these two women, it soon becomes clear that Rose Gold is not the sweet, demure victim she was as a child, and Patty's years behind bars have not improved her disposition.

The plot was well thought out and had a good twist at the end. You might think you know what is going to happen, you might even figure out part of it, but you probably won't understand the whole thing until the final pieces slide into place at the end.


Happy Reading,
Christine

I was a bit worried about this one because I'm familiar with some of the recent Munchhausen's stories' in popular culture: Sharp Objects and The Act, so I figured this one wouldn't be much different from what I've already read/seen. Fortunately, I was wrong. We see the aftermath of Patty being convicted and going back into the real world and living with her daughter.

The book was very bingeable, with a few twists and turns along the way. It's interesting to read a book where there really isn't anyone you're rooting for! Not my favourite read of the month, but one that was a quick, interesting one!

From the minute I read the synopsis I knew DARLING ROSE GOLD was a book I needed to read and it did not disappoint. It is a captivating story based on some very heavy subject matter but, almost in spite of the serious topic, the book is really a character study of the two women at the core of it—Rose Gold and her mother Patty.

The book is told through their alternating POVs and, depending on which character was telling the story at the time, they had my full and complete trust. This meant that, in actuality, I couldn’t trust either of them. The twists and turns took me by surprise even as I was nodding in agreement. It was shocking and disturbing and satisfying and I couldn’t put it down.

I highly recommend this layered, fast-paced read and can’t wait to see what Stephanie Wrobel writes for us next.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read an advance copy of this stunning debut novel.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for sharing this book with me in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick read that I had trouble putting down. I am familiar with the Gypsy Rose story but there is a splash of fiction added to the tale. Though I really enjoyed the book, I didn't like the two main characters. The mother was horrible to her daughter as a child so I really wanted to sympathize with the daughter, Rose, but she wasn't very likable.

This is an interesting read with surprises that I appreciated. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy thrillers and mysteries.

There’s something special about reading an author’s debut novel when it’s just so outstanding that you know they are going to go on and do great things. I knew I was going to absolutely love Stephanie Wrobel’s first book Darling Rose Gold from the very first page. This dual perspective book about a mother and daughter dealing with the effects of Munchausen by proxy was just amazing. This book is easily going to find a place in my year’s top ten. I may even go so far as to say that it could be one of my favourite books of all time.

In case you are not familiar with Munchausen by proxy; it is a mental health problem in which a caregiver makes up or causes an illness or injury in a person under his or her care, such as a child, an elderly adult, or a person who has a disability. I have always been interested in learning whatever I can about this syndrome and luckily for my curiosity it seems to have found a place in pop culture with the recent true crime drama the Act and now with Darling Rose Gold. The syndrome itself is quite interesting and I recommend reading up on it. But for now, let’s get back to gushing about this book…

While I have heard a few others talking about this book I think there needs to be way more buzz about. IMHO, I think it’s going to be one of the best thrillers to come out this year. Stephanie’s foreshadowing was cleverly placed and very subtle. I was close to the end before I started questioning aspects of the story that hadn’t been explained. The story is well paced and very easy to read. So much so in fact I found myself not even having time to try and figure out what the twist or big reveal might be. I just wanted to devour the story as it was and ponder it afterwards.

This book is very layered. While it does deal with the difficult subject matter of mental health and abuse it is also a story of the connection between a mother and her daughter. Even though this book is a work of fiction it did bring to mind other real-life cases that I have read about. Usually it’s very clear who the villain is but with this the lines were blurred.

Stephanie’s storytelling is on par with Sandie Jones and Karin Slaughter. This is a woman with a bright literary future ahead of her.

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada and Netgalley for a copy of Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel for an honest review. Darling Rose Gold is available March 17th.

This is one dark book, and I loved every second. Patty is convicted of aggravated child abuse after it is discovered she has Munchausen by Proxy and has been poisoning her daughter her whole life. Rose Gold was home schooled, isolated from everyone but doctors and her mother, and lived with a feeding tube for most of her life. When her mother is in jail, she is alone for the first time in her life and probably understandable angry at life and her mother.
Rose Gold was someone I went into this book thinking I would be sympathetic to. But instead she was damaged and angry and does some wild things due to her rage and I loved that. She is ready for revenge and definitely her mother’s daughter.
Darling Rose Gold is very dark and you definitely won’t like any of the characters or even believe the lengths these two go to to manipulate each other, but I loved every second of it. Probably one of my favourite books of the year so far!

I think it was the cover that drew me to this book, plus seeing it out and about over social media. I loved the sounds of a thriller that would keep me on my toes.

I'll start by saying I know nothing of the news story that inspired this book and to be honest I have no intention of googling it because the thought, as a mom, is just mind-boggling. That being said be forwarned I am going against the flow with my short review. But I will start at the beginning.

This book got off to a great start, it was intriguing and got me curious as to 'the why' of Rose taking her mother in. Told with alternating POV's between Mom, Rose and a younger Rose I was given a clear picture of what transpired. While the book was well written the deeper I went the more I found it disturbing and really didn't like the characters anymore. Unlike others, I did not feel an emotional connection to Rose. I felt like a deer in the headlights and couldn't turn away, I had to see how it would end. Ultimately the book ended in a way that left me feeling unsatisfied.

My thanks to the publisher (via Netgalley) for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cat and mouse game from the beginning.

Patty was convicted for Munchausen by proxy based on her daughter's testimony. She poisoned her daughter for her entire life, until she was 17. Now, five years later, Patty is out and moves in with her daughter, Rose Gold. This is when the cat and mouse game starts and puts Patty on edge. Rose Gold has bought Patty's childhood home, a home she has horrible memories of. Rose Gold also has a baby boy, will Patty poison him too? Rose Gold doesn't take any chances in the beginning.

To me, it was told in a "Gone Girl" style, and I really liked it. Patty's POV was all present day and Rose Gold's are in the past and move up to the present. This way you see how her life has evolved as she's lived on her own and is coming to terms with what her mother has done to her. The closer you get to the present, the more on edge you become. Both women have dark secrets, and it kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen.

This book is full of twists and turns, a tight cat and mouse game between mother and daughter. When one thinks they have the upper hand Stephanie Wrobel throws in a twist that throws everything upside down. The cover is so beautiful, and the story inside is so dark, I love the contrast!

I would recommend this book, and I would read it again. I would also look out for Stephanie Wrobel, I really like how she handled the history, secrets, and suspense of this book. I liked the characters and their motivations were strong. She made you sympathize and hate Patty at the same time. It was well done and I enjoyed it. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you @simonschusterca for accepting my request on @netgalley to read and review "DARLING ROSE GOLD" by Stephanie Wrobel. Publication date; March 17th, 2020.
.
I am totally fascinated with everything to do with the real life case of Gypsy Rose. So when I read the synopsis of this book, I knew I had to read it. The fun thing was, this book took the case and twisted it and made it into it's own story. Darling Rose Gold, focused more on what happened after Patty was convicted and sent to prison for faking her daughter's sickness all her life. The real kicker is, it was Rose Golds testimony that sent her mother Patty to Prison. Fast forward 5 years later, Patty is being released from prison and needs a place to stay. For some very strange reason, the place she stays is Rose Golds? After being poisoned and lied to your whole life, why in the world would Rose Gold, allow her mother to move in with her and her new born child??
.
Like I said, this book really took the case and twisted it, but in a good way. This book was about more than Munchausen by proxy. This was about a mother-daughter duo who have so much hatred for one another, that they will do anything to punish the other. This was a book filled with secrets and deceit. They were both unreliable narrators in this story, I didn't know who was telling the truth ever. This book takes you on a twisted journey, a journey where you will have to figure out for yourself who you can trust and who is telling us the real story. At times, I felt myself feeling bad for Patty and Rose Gold, but most of the time I hated them both. They were super hateful characters, which made the book that much better. I think my favorite thing about this book though, was the ending. It took me by surprise and it was pure genius, in a super diabolical way.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon&Schuster Canada for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

OH. MY. GOODNESS! What a delicious cat and mouse game that I found between these pages. Stephanie Wrobel had me with my back up against the wall and the lights on at all times.

Five years ago, Patty was sent to prison, found guilty of aggravated child abuse, a model neighbor that shocked the residents of the town of Deadwick with her crimes. But now she's out and to the surprise of all, it is her daughter, Rose Gold that agrees to pick her up and offer her a home to stay in. Patty is hopeful that the townspeople will also extend the olive branch. But as the narrative alters between Patty in the present and Rose Gold in the last five years, one thing is clear, this mother-daughter relationship isn't ready to just let the past go.

The greatest thing about this story was that both Patty and Rose Gold were so incredibly convincing in taking me down the rabbit hole that I didn't trust either of them. I absolutely hated being in their twisted minds but admittedly I wanted to see which of them would ultimately triumph over the other. My mind changed many times as to which character that would be and I have to admit my jaw dropped a bit in the end.

Not sure I would recommend this as a great Mother's Day gift but if you're looking for an edge of your seat read, strap on the seat belt and hold on tight to the wire hangers. Definitely a contender for a favorite read of 2020

Goodreads review published 04/03/20
Expected Publication. 17/03/20