This book had an interesting premise, and I was excited to read it. Sadly, the story did not live up to the expectations, and that might not be on me. I found myself struggling to connect and get into the book.

I tried this one twice, but unfortunately, it was a DNF for me. The writing style just didn't suit me, though I'm sure it would suit others perfectly.

Unfortunately, not for me.

4.5 STARS!!!

So. This book. Rose Gold was terrifying and Patty was terrifying and the narration creeps up on you until you don't know who to root for. I'm a huge fan of alternating POVs and this one was one of the best examples I've come across. Neither narrator is reliable and you can't trust a single thing either of them are saying.
Rose Gold Watts was tortured and abused her entire childhood, made to believe she was deathly ill and unable to live on her own. Her mother, Patty, is the torturer and abuser, giving her daughter poison and ensuring Rose Gold will forever stay in her care.
Rose Gold narrates beginning 2 months after her mother's conviction and we go with her through her new found freedom as she attempts to make it on her own. The choices she makes and the metaphorical bombs she drops made my head spin in the best way.
Patty narrates present day, from the day she is released from prison to a few months later. The twist at the end was something I should have predicted but 100% didn't. Not fully.

What I liked (as spoiler free as I can): The unambiguous ending. What happens next?? I need more!!

What I didn't like: Ugh Patty. I saw another review mention that maybe it was too mean for someone who was clearly mentally ill, but she went through five years of prison and feels no remorse for what she did.

This is a dark story. You are going to be reading from the perspective of a sociopath throughout the story. Wrobel spends a good portion of the book focusing on Rose Gold's life after her mother's imprisonment and how it wasn't the vast improvement everyone thought it would be. Rose Gold is gullible and desperate for attention and affection and she's finding her way in the world mostly alone. I like that this story challenges the idea that once you get a child out of a bad situation, that everything will just magically be better. All of the sudden with Rose Gold, we have a young women who has never had to take care of herself before. She looks like an adult on the outside, but she is still very much a child from an emotional standpoint.

The twists in this story come rapidly at the end and you will constantly have the nagging feeling that something more is happening but you don't fully grasp it. I really enjoyed that as each piece of the puzzle slotted into place, I felt that the reader had been given all of the set-up they needed (no one likes an ending that doesn't have a solid lead-up).

It's hard to describe reading a story this dark as an enjoyable experience, but I did have trouble putting it down once I got going. I liked the cat and mouse nature of the two main characters and trying to figure out who was playing who. I also felt that the length of the story was perfect: not too much description, not so much action that we didn't see development. The cover design was also really haunting considering it's a pink cover.

This book came out right after the Gypsy Rose Blanchard case was getting a lot of media attention (Gypsy Rose was sentenced in 2016) and it is obviously resurging again now that Gypsy Rose has been released from prison. I can't help looking for this character when I see images of Gypsy Rose now. The themes are certainly similar and the case is mentioned in the author's acknowledgements page.

If you missed this one when it first came out and you like dark psychological suspense, I would recommend circling back around to it.

My rating: 3 stars

It's pretty good for what it is, but psychological suspense where I can't root for any of the characters just isn't my preference.

What a book. I can't imagine going through something like this. A unique story that I won't soon forget.

Sometimes a mother's love isn't quite what you want it to be. After surviving a childhood where her mother faked her illness for years and is sent to prison for it, the last thing anyone expects is for Rose Gold to take her in.

Loved the characters and plot. The ending was phenomenal and we're still thinking about it today! The skipping to different times was a little jarring, but it did make for a more interesting read.

This book reminds me a lot of the famous headline-grabbing case of Dee Dee Blanchard and her daughter Gypsy, which was probably one of the most famous cases of Munchausen by proxy documented publicly in my generation. It was even reenacted for a streaming series several years ago. While I don’t think this case alone was the inspiration for Darling Rose Gold, I’d guess it played a significant part in helping Wrobel understand how this mental illness plays out.

Unlike many mental illnesses, Munchausen by proxy refers specifically to a form of abuse where a parent or guardian (most common in mothers) makes their child believe they are sick as a form of gaining sympathy and meaning from that relationship. In Darling Rose Gold, we see this terrifying illness play out in flashbacks and the current timeline.

Rose Gold Watts spent nearly two decades believing she was sick when her mother Patty would use ipecac and other tactics to mimic symptoms of illness. Patty would poison Rose Gold, starve her, shave her head, and make her so weak that she was wheelchair bound for much of her life. Rose Gold eventually testified against her mother, getting her put away for aggravated child abuse.

In present day, Rose Gold has purchased the very home she suffered abuse from at the hands of her mother, working to update it as the home shell raise her own infant son Adam in. The book begins as Patty is getting out of prison and Rose Gold invites Patty to live with her in their old home. When I tell you how messed up this scenario is, I felt that Wrobel really delved into the longterm implications of this sort of abuse on the child. Does Rose Gold still need her mother around, or is she planning some form of revenge? And is it possible that she could suffer from the very same mental illness as her mother?

Weaving between past and present and alternating narrators from Rose Gold to Patty, Darling Rose Gold takes a different spin from other books because it picks up several years after when most books would end. It would be easy to see this as an epilogue to a book about Munchausen by proxy, where the formerly abused child now is a mother herself and is building a life away from her abuser. But Wrobel has done the opposite here, starting the book where we should be seeing the positive ending and exploring what happens to someone after this sort of abuse occurs.

But who is getting revenge on whom? Is Patty seeking revenge on the daughter who she thinks turned on her? Is Rose Gold seeking revenge on the woman who ruined her childhood? Or maybe neither of these are true—maybe this is a story of moving on and rebuilding a relationship? You’ll have to read to find out!

Thank you to Berkley for my copy. Opinions are my own.

My customers loved Darling Rose Gold— at least those with a taste for dark and twisted thrillers did! I understand how this debut novel earned a short list spot in Edgar Award nominations. The characterizations and pacing were superb. A nasty, tidy, immensely readable treat.

I'm currently clearing out all of the books that were published in 2019-20 from my title feedback view!

After starting this book, I found the content very triggering due to my own background with an abusive parent, and as such was not able to finish the book. I rated 5 stars due to the fact that the writing definitely made things feel very real!

This book was a wild ride! I read it in one sitting, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Would recommend if you're looking for a dark read.

I don't know what I can say here that hasn't been said by now. It's definitely a page turner. It doesn't have super glaring flaws. It's not entirely pleasant, even still.

I didn't finish this title because it was a bit too dark for me - focusing on abuse, trauma and rage.

This book was everything! We all the story of Gyspy Rose and her mom. Picture that but more in detailed and sooo much better. I was hooked so dang fast from page 1 and couldn't stop reading. I look forward to other books from this author.

WOW! This was my first read with Munchausen by Proxy and I'm floored! This story had my attention from beginning to end. What a disturbing, creepy and intense read.

This book definitely took me on a roller coaster! It was crazy and I definitely enjoyed it. I really liked how the daughter is a strong person now, and not a pushover like her mom wants her to be.

Patty Watts is getting out of prison. Everyone thought that she had abused her daughter, Rose Gold, but she was just trying to be a good mother and care for her daughter. Rose Gold didn’t need the wheelchairs or the feeding tubes of her childhood though; Patty was causing Rose Gold to be sick.
Now that Patty is out of prison, it seems Rose Gold is willing to forgive. She offers her mother a place to stay, but the nice gesture is not what it seems. Patty begins to suspect that her daughter may not be all that forgiving after all.
Everything is not as it seems in this dark, twisty tale reminiscent of the true story of Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard. Every character is flawed, and Wrobel reveals this by switching perspectives between Patty and Rose Gold in every chapter. This was a quick suspenseful read that every YA mystery reader should pick up.

Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

Was approved a while ago but the book somehow got pushed towards the back on my tbr. Wow, I don’t know why I took so long to pick this one up! It was such a roller coaster ride! I’ve already recommended it to two coworkers. Fast paced and read in like a day.

Wow! You hear the saying “Like Mother, Like Daughter” and think it’s just that.......a saying but nothing more........but is there more truth to that saying than you’ve always thought?
This story is a crazy ride and will have you questioning so much.
Can’t wait to read Stephanie Wrobel’s next book.