I give this a 4 star rating

The overall plot to this story is told by two basically unreliable narrators. One side is from the daughter, Rose Gold, and the other from her mother Patty.

Patty is in prison for abusing Rose Gold for basically her whole childhood. She is poisoning Rose Gold to make her sick, and thrives off all the attention she gets from it. (Yes, this woman suffers from munchausen by proxy). Finally she is caught and goes to jail for it.

Fast forward about 5 years, and Patty is being released. And Rose Gold has offered Patty a place to stay. But after years of abuse, Rose Gold isn't herself so to speak. And that is what the whole rest of the story about.

I feel that Wrobel did a very good job getting into the details of munchausen by proxy in this story. Not only how it affects Rose Gold, but Patty herself. Both of these women are deeply traumatized by the life they led and by what is still happening to them. I can't say much more than that because this book just needs to be read and experienced without knowing more than that.

I would recommend this book.

This is a creepy disturbing page turning thriller . . Patty watts concludes her 5 year sentence for abusing and poisoning her daughter . But Rose Gold picks her up from prison and all seems to be forgiven or is it ? Told alternately through Rose Gold and Patty’s perspective., this story seems to be loosely based on Dee Blanchard and Gypsy Rose case. You will find yourself questioning and wondering about every moves these characters make. Like an extremely tense chess game you won’t be able to like away or put this book down

Having lived in Springfield where they Gyspy Rose murder took place, I felt this book relied a little heavily on that story line. I liked that it was told from Rose Gold and her mother's point of view. You were able to see the craziness from both ends. The twists and turns were surprising...especially the final one at the end. I would recommend this book to fans of psychological thrillers.

This is a really twisted story. It's the first I have read by Stephanie Wrobel, it hopefully not the last. She kept me guessing until the last page!!

Fun, thrilling read that was slightly predictable, but with a twist or two at the end that I definitely did not see coming. With all of the build-up, I felt like the end was a little too quick. Still enjoyed the story overall!

This is a beautifully written story about a young girl whose life is changed forever by her mother who is now in prison for poisoning her throughout her childhood. In fact, Rose Gold's poor body had been so tortured by eating and then getting sick that her teeth were now rotten. The story takes a turn when Patty, Rose Gold's mother, is released from prison and Rose Gold seemingly "forgives" her. In fact, she allows Patty to move into a house with her and her son Adam. The house, purchased by Rose Gold, is Patty's old childhood home, a place that Patty has horrid nightmares of. As the story unfolds, we learn that things aren't what they seem. This book is extremely satisfying as far as endings go. In fact, the whole story is very well done and put together. A must-read for fans of domestic thrillers.

Thank you to Netgalley, Stephanie Wrobel, and Berkley Publishing for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an original, dark, disturbing novel. It’s gripping, but neither of the two main characters are likeable. Yes, you have empathy for them because of their terrible childhoods, but they make horrifying decisions that make your eyes goggle.

Rose Gold took the stand five years ago to put her mother away for a lifetime of child abuse, primarily through lack of nutrition and endless lies about her health. I’ve heard of Munchausen by Proxy from TV and movies like The Sixth Sense, but this is the first book I read in which the mother is ultimately incarcerated for five years for it.

The narrative bounces back and from when Patty is released from prison and Rose Gold takes her home with her and her baby son to during the time Patty is in prison to the events leading up to her going away. They don’t trust each other and you, the reader, aren’t exactly sure what’s true and what to trust.

I wouldn’t say this is a fun read, but it is compelling.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES MARCH 17, 2020.

Rose Gold Watts' entire childhood was overshadowed by illness, with her world revolving around hospital visits and medical treatments. She was only in school for a short time before she was forced into a home-bound existence with her dutiful caretaker and single mom, Patty. Rose Gold was emaciated, with a shaved head and severely rotted teeth as a result of her constant childhood vomiting. As a result of her illness, she and Patty were often the recipients of charitable acts by their community. When it was discovered that Patty had been poisoning Rose Gold during her entire childhood, Patty was tried in court and sentenced to five years in prison. As "Poisonous Patty" gained national notoriety with her face featured on the grocery tabloids, eighteen-year-old Rose Gold was making up for lost time and learning how to exist on her own. Since she had been sequestered for her entire childhood and coddled by her overprotective mother, Rose Gold knew little of the world outside her home. In the five years that Patty was imprisoned, Rose Gold learned to drive, obtained a job, purchased a small home, and had a child of her own. She was a very different Rose Gold when Patty was released than the one Patty had manipulated and abused all of those years. When Patty asked to live with Rose Gold until she could get settled, Rose Gold agreed, going against the advice of everyone in Rose Gold’s small circle of acquaintances.

The novel alternates between Patty's and Rose Gold's perspectives, telling the story of their lives following sentencing and after Patty's eventual release from prison five years later. The novel explores the ideas of forgiveness and revenge in this fictional case of Münchhausen Syndrome by Proxy. Was Rose Gold able to forgive and forget and move on? Has Patty changed for the better? The novel guides readers through a sometimes shocking labyrinth of and twists and turns that keeps them surprised and guessing until the very end.

Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel. While the premise was interesting and story was well written. It was a disturbing look into how far a person will go to get revenge. Rose Gold and Patty were not very likeable or relatable.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

"My daughter should never have been left to fend for herself. A few years without me, and she winds up pregnant and abandoned. Our neighbors can grouse all they want about my controlling ways, my dubious mothering. But they don't understand how much she needs me, how lucky she is to have me here to run her life for her. I'll right this sinking ship in no time."

Patty abused her child from the beginning. Making her sick, taking advantage of her innocence, and a child’s love for their parent. Years go by and finally Patty is arrested for the abuse of her daughter, Rose Gold. Can Rose ever forgive her mother? Prison changes people. Not just Patty, but Rose as well.

The town is shocked that Rose would take her mother in when she leaves prison. Is there a secret reason these two are together again? Maybe they can move on from the past. Everyone is watching, including Rose's co-workers, the neighbors, old friends, even strangers at the grocery store.

Shocking, but with traces of familiarity to real cases in the news, mothers guilty of “Munchausen by Proxy.” Rose has suffered in ways that changes her view of the world. It changes the way most people would deal with everyday situations. Now that Rose is grown, how does she see this childhood?

A carefully planned twist that makes the story even more disturbing. Patty and Rose will find their lives changed forever. I found the book a fascinating read. As a parent, shocked by the behavior of a mother. Even though this book is a work of fiction, there are far too many real cases that have occurred. A riveting read you'll find hard to put down.

Thank you Stephanie Wrobel, Netgalley, and Berkley Publishing Group
#michellesbookends #netgalley #berkleypublishinggroup #darlingrosegold

Rose Gold testifies against her Mother (Patty), who she believes made her deliberately ill throughout her entire childhood. Patty feels betrayed by the daughter she centred her whole like around. When Patty is released from her 5-year prison sentence for aggravated child abuse, Rose Gold (now a mother herself) stuns their hometown by forgiving Patty and taking her in. Patty plans to re-establish control over Rose Gold and her new grandson. But Rose Gold, sick of being the victim, has plans of her own. The books goes back and forth between them, and at different times, to tell a compelling story about love, betrayal, control and revenge.

This was an excellent book, which borrowed heavily from the Gypsy Rose Blanchard case, but was different enough that it didn't seem like just a ficitonalized account of that particular true crime. This is a novel about Munchausen syndrome by proxy but it's also a story about a lot of really horrible people. Really, the only people in the whole book I liked were Anna and the baby. Both Patty and Rose Gold were manipulative and for almost the whole book I was unsure who was really playing whom here, which I think speaks for how well this book was written. Rose Gold also gets to meet her father and his family and while I agree that Rose Gold's antics were completely out of line, I don't think her father and his family were especially welcoming to her even prior to her inappropriate behavior. The characters were well developed and I went back and forth on whether or not I felt sorry for Rose Gold (and Patty) and then something else would happen and I'd change my mind again. The one I really felt sorry for was the baby, who was used as a pawn in this vicious battle between mother and daughter. The end was also a surprise and not what I was expecting. I really liked this and read it in one day and would definitely recommend it to patrons looking for a good thriller.

Wow! Where do I begin?? This book took me on a roller coaster ride from start to finish. I had no idea which way this story would go next and the more you get into it the more you keep shaking your head and saying did that just happen? Some of it was a little far fetched but for the most part the story was pretty real and focuses some very real subjects like paranoia, revenge and Münchausen syndrome by proxy. I think the story is a pretty good depiction of serious mental illness and how that can affect people and families.
Overall the book is a winner. I liked how the author kept the story going right up to the end. You didn’t get the reveal at 75% through the book and the remainder of the book is all filler. This was great story telling. It will keep you shaking your head and rooting for sides you didn’t think you would. You’ll like and dislike characters all throughout the story and your opinion will change frequently. The author did a fantastic job of creating completely unlikeable characters and they will keep you turning the pages until the very end.

When Rose Gold Watts’ mother is released from prison, Rose Gold is there to pick her up, to give her a place to stay, to possibly begin the process of repairing a badly damaged relationship. The first twist: Rose gold is the reason her mother was sent to jail in the first place - convicted of child abuse in the form of Munchausen by Proxy. Neither Rose Gold nor her mother are reliable characters, and as the story unfolds, the reader must shift his/her sympathy from one to the other as details are revealed. The other twists are doled out slowly throughout the book, and the final one is not so much a shock as it is a way to tie together the pieces of the plot. I think what bothers me about the book is the missed opportunity to flesh out the mother’s story, to pull the reader into both sides more thoroughly, to banish the last of the distance I felt from the true motivations of both characters. It felt, too often, like the author was holding back, avoiding the really dark and difficult feelings which push the characters towards their most terrifying urges. It was an adequate story, it just wasn’t creepy enough.

I got my ARC from NET GALLEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One reviewer called it "Gone Girl on steroids", and I found that close to true. Here is a primer for all you new and budding parent wanna be's out there in how NOT to form a relationship. Wow , this was a roller coaster of a read for me.

This is a great read for psychological thriller fans who aren't necessarily into murder. I loved that both characters had sinister undertones, and I was held in suspense until the end. I'm also fascinated by true crime and this is one I think regular nonfiction readers/listeners will really go for.

Since a lot of reviews compared this book to the real life story of DeeDee and Gypsy Rose, I read up on that and see that while it might have been inspired by that story, I don't agree that it is a rip-off of it, as some contend. I actually think this is a much better story than the real thing, with a very clever scheme by Rose Gold to get revenge on her mother and others who have wronged her. The voices of both Rose Gold and Patty are distinct and rich; it's easy to feel immersed in their worlds. The sub-plots are interesting and convincing and cleverly contribute to the overall arc of the book. I would definitely recommend this book. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC.

I am a big fan of books in which villains are not quite villains and heroes are not quite heroes. People are never black and white. In this page-turner, told from the point of view of a "hero" and a "villain", you will go back and forth on who is doing the right thing and who is doing the wrong thing the entire time. Will you ever figure it out? This will be a great book for a book club to discuss. The author is a master suspense-builder and also a master at crafting multidimensional characters. Loved this book. So far my absolute favorite suspense novel of 2020!

Rose Gold had been a sickly child. Patty, her mother, took very, very good care of her. She made sure to get her to all the best doctors, and sacrificed her whole life to make sure Rose Gold had the best care. After almost 18 years of severe illnesses, her online boyfriend helped her realize Patty had been poisoning her over the years. With her mother in prison for 5 years, Rose Gold struggled to find a purpose for her life. Everyone saw her as a victim, but she wanted to be something more in their eyes.

When Patty was released from prison she had nowhere to turn, so Rose Gold made herself available. She needed to make sure her dear mother knows how much she loves and trusts her, because Rose Gold has a plan. It might not seem like anyone understands why she wants to be with the woman who ruined her life, but hadn’t she learned how to lie from the greatest liar in the world?

In alternate voices Patty and Rose Gold tell their complicated stories of revenge, love and hate going from past to present to fill in the missing gaps in the story. The author had me on the edge of my seat as I tried to suss out who was lying, who was telling the truth, and who was planning what to whom. I’ll have to admit she totally blindsided me, as I never saw Rose Gold’s plan coming AT ALL!

Highly recommended for Adults.

A psychological suspense novel that is a first rate debut from an author to watch. Perfect for fans of twisty plots and vindictive characters.