Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel is a dark domestic thriller about a mother/daughter relationship that will have you holding your breath, and then dropping your jaw in disbelief. This is a sinister and twisty tale that had me hooked from the very first page, and then continued to stun me throughout a fast-paced, gripping journey. This is one fun ride.

Rose Gold has spent years being abused at the will of her mother, Patty. Patty has served five years in prison for the abuse, and upon release arranges to live with her daughter and infant grandson until she is back on her feet. All appears to be forgiven by Rose Gold, much to the shock of the local community. But to what lengths will each woman go to reconcile herself with a haunting and unspeakable past? I could not turn the pages quickly enough to see how it all played out.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this ARC.

4.5 stars. Wow! This was so good! It's a twisted, disturbing mindf*ck that had me guessing. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going I was proven wrong. It's so well written and held me completely captivated. I liked all the characters and trying to figure it all out. A must read.

Darling Rose Gold is about a daughter who takes back her life by striking back at those who should protect and love her. This book takes many twists and turns as the story is revealed. A gripping, page turning book. #netgalley

I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. It was a well written book. I liked the variety of characters in it. It is my first book read by this author. I hope to read more books by this author.

This book is twisted in the best way possible! I didn’t think I would ever call a suspense book “fun” but this is definitely it....I laughed from shock at certain points. You know from the synopsis that this book will be a battle of wits, but the way the author developed the characters and advanced the story was so original. A definite must read.

Thank you to netgalley and Berkeley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Dark and twisty stars

Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel

Yes! This book was everything I needed to read. It’s was Dark (oh so dark), edgy and full of twists.

This is a mother/Daughter thriller but the twisted relationship is like nothing you ever want to be a part off. This read made my skin crawl in the best way, the way a well written thriller should.

I devoured this book and just couldn’t stop. An absolutely fantastic and sick read that is extremely well written and I highly recommend to all you dark thriller lovers.
ARC thankfully received by @netgalley
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Great thriller! I enjoyed reading from both mother and daughter point of views, kept me second guessing my theories. I figured out most of the plot early on but I still enjoyed reading to see how it would play out.
I do wish there was a bit more talking about the history of how Rose Gold was treated by her mom, but overall this was a great thriller!

3.5 stars. This was a well-written novel and the plot was really interesting (I finished it in just a day) but personally I don't enjoy books as much where all the characters are so deeply unlikeable. That was definitely the case of this book (and the whole point of it, so this isn't really a fault but rather a personal preference).

(Some content warnings for this book include: abuse, medical abuse, mild themes of disordered eating.)

A twisted mother/daughter relationship is excellent fodder for a thriller when done right. Darling Rose Gold draws inspiration from one of the darkest real-life mother-daughter crime cases in recent history, the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard by her abused daughter, Gypsy Rose Blanchard. Based on DRG’s blurb, I was expecting the author to lean much more heavily on the Blanchard story, but it is actually only a loose blueprint for the relationship between our two main characters, Patty and Rose Gold.

Patty has been released from prison after serving a five-year sentence for aggravated child abuse, having poisoned her daughter and passed her off as chronically ill for the entirety of her life. Despite their fraught relationship, Rose Gold is ready and willing to let her mother back into her home, but her motives for doing so are unclear. As the reader goes back and forth between their two, equally unlikeable narratives, we learn more about the impact of the lifelong charade on Rose Gold and how it has shaped her as an adult. The power dynamic shifts constantly as the two women as they scheme against one another, each trying to gain the upper hand.

I will be frank: I expected excessive ableism in this book, and also expected it to be more or less a mirror of the Blanchard story. Neither of those assumptions turned out to be true, and it’s all the more refreshing for it. Thrillers often deal with disability and illness in a strange, demonizing way, and DRG lost nothing by focusing on the psychological profile of its characters rather than the “faked” disability. Detaching from the Blanchards in all but core concept allowed for unpredictable twists while still cementing the novel in some semblance of reality.

My main criticism of DRG is that like many thrillers, it ends fairly abruptly, and the final portion of the book could be more fleshed out. There is a slight sense of rushing towards the end, which is a shame as it’s so much fun to read. Munchausen’s by proxy is a very popular concept for thrillers and TV shows alike, but Stephanie Wrobel does have an original take to offer, even if she is drawing from a real-life case. (My other criticism is that the cover art bears no relationship to the plot or even the thriller genre in general. What’s a butterfly doing here except to try and signify that this is a book written by/for women?)

This is a book you can get through in an afternoon, but it’s less of a nailbiter and more of a slow build to a climax that probably is not a huge surprise, but the individual twists and turns along the way should keep you more than occupied. If you liked this book, you might also enjoy the similarly named Darling by Rachel Edwards.

Thanks to Net Galley for providing an ARC for this review. Darling Rose Gold will be available from March 2020.

Great read. Reminded me of Gypsy Rose story. Well written that it kept me interested throughout. Great debut book from this author will be looking for the next one.!


Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an early release of this book.

I won't get into the synopsis, since you can read that here. But first, I'll just mention that I was expecting this book to be more about Rose Gold during her childhood, instead of the aftermath with flashbacks to her childhood. But really, that's my own fault, because I didn't read the whole synopsis before requesting this ARC 😂

I was definitely intrigued by the whole story; there's so much mystery about Rose Gold's whole past. The chapters go back and forth, alternating between the MC's present thoughts, her childhood, as well as her mother's POV (Patty). The POVs switches were well done and kept me on the edge of my seat. They weren't overdone or confusing.

Even though some twists were predictable at times, I had trouble putting this book down. I just wanted to know if Rose Gold would get her revenge 😅 I was a bit disturbed by her mental instability, but then I realised.. It's oddly refreshing to read about this imperfect, deeply flawed MC with her own load of issues. It's definitely more relatable. And it's actually scary how this story doesn't seem so far-fetched, that it could actually be plausible. That's how well the author spun her plot.

I also loved reading about Patty's childhood, to better understand what lead her to poisoning her own child. I always enjoy learning more about the villain's side of the story. It doesn't excuse her actions, but it demonstrates how her own abusive childhood deeply affected her for the rest of her life.

I really appreciated the author's writing style. It's fluent, no nonsense, and there are no spelling mistakes, which is kinda my pet peeve ahahah! Overall, I enjoyed this book. I didn't feel mind blown, but definitely captivated. 3.5⭐ for me.

4.5 Stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this wickedly entertaining thriller. It was diabolical, warped, and seriously twisted in an intense, riveting way. It is told in alternate chapters by a mother, ‘Poison Patty’ and her adult daughter, Rose Gold.

Neither woman is remotely likeable and the plot sometimes far fetched, but the suspense was maintained throughout. It was almost impossible to put down.

Patty apparently had Münchausen syndrome by proxy, with the victim being her child, Rose Gold. Throughout her childhood, Rose Gold was in and out of various doctors’ offices and hospitals. She suffered from mysterious and serious illnesses that were never medically diagnosed. Constant vomiting ruined the appearance of her teeth. Unable to keep food down, she became very weak and eventually had a feeding tube and was in a wheelchair.

Patty was sentenced to 5 years in prison for child endangerment and abuse, partly due to teenaged Rose Gold’s testimony. With Patty removed, the daughter’s physical health is restored. Rose Gold finally visits her mother in prison they seem to reconcile. When Patty completes her prison sentence, Rose Gold moves her into a house she has bought. This was Patty’s childhood home where she suffered abuse and never wanted to see again.

Rose Gold is now the single mother of a baby boy but is not revealing the identity of the father. Patty seems to adore spending time with the baby which makes Rose Gold uncomfortable and jealous. These are two lying, scheming women trying to outwit each other. Has Rose Gold forgiven her mother or is revenge brewing.? Will Patty revert to her old ways which lead to her imprisonment?

This was a gripping, dark and demented debut thriller. Recommended!