Patty Watts spent 5 years in prison for poisoning and starving her only child Rose Gold. No one in town is happy when Rose Gold allows Patty to stay with her after her release, but is Rose Gold truly under her mother’s spell again?
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What a dark and twisted take on mother daughter relationships. This book made me want to call my mom and thank her for being sane.
We get a dual time like in the alternating chapters with Patty’s being after her release and rebuilding her relationship with her daughter and Rose Golds spanning the time right after her mother’s conviction and the 5 years she was jailed.
I did not like Rose Gold as a character. I get she was traumatized but she made a lot of unnecessary and annoying decisions.
She needed more therapy.
Patty’s character was more interesting to me because her inner monologue did kinda made you question things and made you suspicious.
All that said I loved the ending. It had a couple little twists I didn’t see coming. I had a couple bones to pick but I’ll let it go.
3.75 stars

I kept hearing about this debut book by Wrobel. I was very impressed with it. It was very exciting and kept me turning pages. I think that I will purchase this book for the library and see if the patrons enjoy it too. It was a good thriller. Hope to see more by this author. Love the cover for it!!

This was a fun, intense read! A real roller-coaster ride. I loved how it alternated from the present to the past as well as the alternating voices of Rose Gold and her mom. The author kept you guessing the whole time whether the mom was truly guilty of child abuse or the daughter was guilty of manipulation. I will definitely recommend this book to my friends who enjoy a good psychological thriller. I will also read more by this author in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

being inside patty’s head was fascinating. she absolutely loves playing the martyr and self-sacrificing mother. but when rose gold doesn’t respond in a way she likes, we can see patty’s mask slip a little bit. and it is UNSETTLING.

this is clearly inspired by the gypsy rose blanchard case but i really appreciate that the author took that inspiration and diverged how she saw fit. this was a very sad yet quick & intriguing read, and i can totally see the gillian flynn comparisons. i'm excited to see this author's future works!

This well-written thriller kept me turning pages, staying up past my bedtime. Mother-daughter relationships are not my favorite theme. So many are so treacly sweet and/or woe-is-me tragic. This one, not so much. It was grittier, the characters spiraling further into a hole of irredeemable actions. However, I didn’t feel good about the book at the end. So much has been said about trauma porn in the publishing world lately, and this felt like it fit that bill — that it was doing a disservice to a huge portion of the population who suffer within a cycle of abuse. Maybe it’s the court-appointed special advocate (CASA) in me that triggered my internal grimace.
[I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley publishing for an advanced read. Wow! This book is so compelling, and I felt conflicted towards both of them at times. Wow, that's all I have to say!

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rose Gold is a victim of her mother's need for admiration and attention. She grows up under the care of numerous doctors with multiple diagnoses. Her mother, Patty, revels in the pity of her neighbors and keeps her daughter I'll. The lingering effects of the munchausen by proxy comes back to haunt both women and other people in their lives.

The book is well-written and compelling. It was difficult to put down.

Rose Gold Watts was sick until she was eighteen years old. None of the doctors could figure out what was wrong with her, it turns out, her Mom was making her sick. After being in prison for five years, Patty Watts has no one to turn to, except the daughter that sent her to prison. Will Rose Gold get her revenge on her Mother for ruining her childhood? Or is she just like her Mother? This is a great debut book that is dark and disturbing but makes you unable to put it down.

I simply did not like this book. There may be others that are drawn in by the squabbling family drama, but I found both characters were too repugnant to really care what happened to them. When the grandmother considers harming the baby to get back at the daughter, I was out. It was a line too far for me. Some other people may not be as deeply invested in what happens to children, and may only find it more salacious grist for the mill, but it popped me right out. It simply did not match up with my tastes.

This book was entertaining and had its moments where it was a page turner that kept you reading. A part of me wonders if my excitement wasn't due to the fact that I have watched the Hulu series "the Act", and have seen numerous documentaries surrounding the true story or Dee Dee Blanchard and Gypsy Rose. Ultimately, Darling Rose Gold was predictable and repetitive. It could've been compelling, but it was missing something that made you want to care about the main character. I understood her motivation but did not feel anything towards her. I think that is what separates this from the streaming series and etc. That being said it was amusing at certain points. I think that fans of the series will definitely flock to this book and enjoy some parts of it. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Completely dark and twisted but addictive thriller!
I loved it
I could not put this down! The writing was great, the characters were well developed, although I didn't know who was crazier at some points.

This debut novel by Wrobel is an unpredictable thriller with a complicated plot. At the beginning of the story, we are introduced to the two protagonists, Rose Gold and her mother Patty Watts. Patty is just getting out of prison after serving her sentence. As it turns out, Patty was in prison because Rose Gold testified against her. The novel is told from the points of view of both women. It seems that Rose Gold spent the first eighteen years of her life thinking she was extremely ill. What is the truth is that Patty was deliberately making her ill. Now, the two are together and both are set on revenge and both are equally evil. Let me just say that I did not enjoy reading this book but read it because of my commitment to do so. The two protagonists were like spawns of the devil to me, totally unlikeable and unredeemable. The book was a creepy commentary on mother-daughter relationships and not one that I would like to read again. I was just not prepared for the evil seeping out of the pages of this book. Think ROSEMARY’S BABY kind of evil and you will be close to what I felt as I read. Nothing was wrapped up in a pretty package with a bow. The mental illness portrayed was not treated; if anything, it was ridiculed so that I was left wondering why neither character could be helped. This book was a dark and wild ride and one I did not enjoy much. Fans of such dark thrillers might enjoy it, but be prepared for the darkness that just doesn’t stop!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Having just decided not to read any psychological thrillers for a while, I still had this in my queue. But no worries. This mother - daughter duel definitely kept my interest. Rose Gold spent her entire childhood ill. Five years ago, her mother was sent to prison, based on Rose’s testimony that her mother was poisoning her. My initial thoughts were that this was a Manchausen by proxy situation although that’s never mentioned. (I didn’t realize the story is based on a real life mother daughter duo.). Surprisingly, when her mother is released from prison, Rose Gold allows her to come live with her and her baby.

We get the expected back and forth between the two. Both of them come across as twisted, damaged souls seeking revenge. Yet, at other times, they also both come across as very sorry, sad individuals. Kudos to Wrobel for creating such interesting individuals that while certifiably bonkers also aren’t the typical insane cliches.

This isn’t a fast paced book. But the back and forth of these two warped women definitely worked to keep my attention. The book, while definitely a psychological thriller, also came across as very poignant to me. These two were both just so screwed up.

My thanks to netgalley and Berkley Publishing for an advance copy of this book.

Wowza!

That's really all I have to say about this one-just Wowza!

Oh-and read this....immediately!

ARC provided by NetGalley

P. S. If this didn't pique your interest, then read the dang marketing blurb-I think it's spot on and should hopefully grab your attention!!

This is a fast-paced thriller, full of unpleasant characters. The book opens with 23 year-old Rose Gold picking up her mother, Patty, from prison where she has spent the last 5 years on aggravated child abuse charges. Patty has Munchhausen by proxy and was keeping her daughter sick and malnourished until Rose Gold decided to testify and have her mother locked up.

Both characters have an axe to grind and the story follows this cat and mouse game until the end. It's just a question of what cat will get what mouse. The reader has empathy for both Rose Gold and Patty - they both were dealt terrible childhoods, but I was fine (almost) with the way things turned out.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a roller coaster from start to finish! Highly recommend. I got chills watching both characters spiral and felt conflicted at the times I felt sympathy for Patty and Rose Gold.

Rose Gold Watts has had a childhood filled with doctor’s visits, surgeries, hospital stays, and various other medical treatments. The kicker? She is actually a perfectly healthy girl. Suffering from Munchausen by Proxy, her mother, Patty, has been causing and/or faking Rose’s illnesses her entire life. But now that Patty is being released from prison after serving her child abuse sentence, a grown up Rose Gold is about to teach her mother that revenge is a dish best served cold...

Oh. My. Word. This book is going straight to the top of my 2020 favorites list, people! I absolutely loved every twisted, revenge-filled page of it and I know it’s one that I’ll be thinking about for a while! Local friends, there were several parallels between this story and the one that happened just across town with Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose! I can’t wait to see what Stephanie Wrobel comes up with next.

Thank you to Berkeley Publishers and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review! Look for Darling Rose Gold to release on March 17!

Rose Gold spent nearly 2 decades of her life believing she suffered from a chromosomal abnormality that kept her debilitated. She suffered from chronic pain, debilitating dizziness that kept her bound to a wheelchair, unexplained nausea that necessitated a feeding tube and hair loss that prompted a shaved head. Rose Gold was completely dependent on her mother, Patty, who was her sole caretaker. Unfortunately, as Rose Gold grew older she also realized that her mother was responsible for her illness.

With the help of Rose Gold’s testimony, Patty was convicted put behind bars for 5 years. Rose Gold tries to move on her life, on her own for the first time ever without her mother controlling her every move.

Upon her release, Patty is ready to pick up where she left off with her darling Rose Gold and her new grandson. Even better, Rose Gold welcomes her with open arms...or does she???

Oh, what a tangled web of secrets and deceit these two women weave! This story was twisted and I enjoyed every bit of it. It was a perfect case study for the age old "nature vs nurture" debate. Did these women ever stand a chance at normalcy given their upbringings or were they straight out of the pages of a book entitled "How to Raise a Sociopath"?

This was a dark tale of revenge and retribution. Munchausen by Proxy plays a small part here but don't be fooled - this is not a simple story of a cruel mother and her victim daughter. The real star is the dysfunctional and toxic relationship between this mother-daughter duo. Ultimately, this is a tale that will have you trying to figure out who is the the real monster as you quickly see that nothing is as clear cut as it seems.

I loved the sinister psychological journey this book took me on. I binged it in one day - unable to tear myself away from the disturbing tale.

This is a unique addition to the crowded psychological thriller genre. Mother and daughter face off through alternating points of view about the alleged child abuse through Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome on behalf of the mother. The intensifying pace and disturbing behavior of both mother and daughter are both entertaining and troubling and keep the pages turning. The quick reveals at the end come hot and fast and uncover long-awaited motives and truths that will leave readers' head spinning. Great weekend read.

This book “jumps the shark.” Rose and her mother reuniting strains the credibility of the story and I feel the plot is convoluted merely to serve the plot twists. Which are in the predictable side.