With a plot this blatantly ripped from the headlines, there is a high level of peril that the book ends up being nothing more than a cheesy squandering of your reading time. And for the first twenty pages I was cringing, believing this was the case. And then between one page and the next, I was captivated by where the author might be going with this canny reimagining/reinvention.
As mother and daughter reunite post prison stint for mommy not so dearest, you will ask yourself with every chapter, who exactly is torturing who here? The twists gave me shivers!

I was quickly immersed in this story about a Mother who made her daughter and everyone around her believe she was severely ill her entire life. After Rose Gold’s mother Patty serves her 5 years in prison she is released and wants to mend her broken relationship with her daughter. What follows after that made me not want to put this book down. I needed to get to the end to find out just what was going on.
Although there are tough subjects and heartbreaking times, this was a truly fast paced enjoyable read. I cannot say I’ve ever read anything quite like this story. It’s very unique. I enjoyed reading from both Rose Gold’s point of view as well as Patty’s. I felt the way the story was told made it easy to follow the different characters and time lines. Over all it’s a great read and I recommend to any one who enjoys psychological thrillers as much as I do!
Thank you Netgalley for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Release Date: March 17 2020
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

3.5/5 I couldn't put this book down, it reminded me of all the V.C. Andrews books I loved when I was in high school. A story about a single mother who suffers from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, poisoning her daughter, Rose Gold, almost from birth, and getting a 5-year jail sentence when Rose Gold presses charges against her when she figures out what's been going on. As Rose Gold begins to navigate a life without her controlling mother, meeting the father she never knew and thought was dead, she begins to question everything she was ever told. After four years of starting over again, she purchases her mother's childhood home, and begins to see her mother again, preparing to welcome her back into her life. As mother and daughter re-unite, neither fully trusting the other, we aren't sure who to trust: Rose Gold or her mother? Told in chapters alternating between the years Rose Gold lived alone during her mothers incarceration, and the months following her mothers release from prison (with flashbacks to Rose Gold's childhood throughout), we are given a peek into a mental illness that crushed two lives. While the book required somewhat of a leap of faith in some instances (it went a little too far into the "that could never happen' category) it was one of those books that keep you flipping pages to see what is going to happen next, wondering how it's going to end.

Darling Rose Gold is a twisted story about a toxic mother-daughter relationship fraught by Munchausen by Proxy.

Darling Rose Gold is told through two perspectives: the mother’s, Patty, and the daughter’s, Rose Gold. Patty’s perspective is in the present while Rose Gold’s perspective starts in the past and slowly catches up with present timeline.

Readers quickly realize both women are severely unstable. Patty from her own childhood and Rose Gold from the childhood she suffered through under her mother.

Darling Rose Gold is a battle of fortitude and perseverance as readers watch both women attempting to outwit the other. It isn’t until the very end that Wrobel reveals who won this final battle.

The pacing is incredibly slow as Wrobel takes her time unraveling the characters and letting readers get to know the characters through their motivations and actions. With this in mind, the ending shouldn’t be a surprise if you’ve been paying attention. However, the slow and methodical pacing goes out the window as the final few chapters are wrapped up too quickly.

Darling Rose Gold is compared to Sharp Objects. Unfortunately, Darling Rose Gold doesn’t hold a candle to Sharp Objects. Where Sharp Objects is subtle and well-thought out storytelling, Darling Rose Gold is brash and quick.

Overall, Darling Rose Gold is a quick read for those looking for a intimate look at a mother-daughter relationship with multiple layers of abuse and neglect as they attempt to outwit each other for the upper hand. Would I recommend it? Probably not. Sharp Objects is a much better iteration of this kind of story.

I love the book until the end. I want more. It can’t finish like that ! A complex mom-daughter relationship, abandon issues, manipulation.

Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel 

Synopsis: Rose Gold Watts was abused for the first eighteen years of her life. Her mother Patty, convinced her she was seriously ill however, she orchestrated the whole thing. Fast forward to five years later, Patty is released from prison, and begs Rose Gold to move in. What Patty soon comes to terms with is, her darling Rose Gold isn’t the weak little pushover she raised.

Review: This book was GREAT, one of the best parent/child dramas I’ve read, to date! The story is told in mother and daughters’ point of view which was insightful. It’s dark and twisted however, a bit predictable. Overall, it was a great and a fast paced read!

 4/5🌟

Thank you Simonschustercanada and netgallery for my advanced copy, in exchange for my honest review. This title releases March 17, 2020

This was tough to read. you want to find a character you can relate to, someone you can root for, someone you can despise and villanize and in an incredibly human portrayal, Worbel nuances the characters so you love them, hate them, despise them, root for them, are scared of them all within in a matter of pages.
You go through this journey and are left satisfied, unsatisfied, and unsettled, forcing you to examine your own beliefs around love, family, relationships, friends, guilt, punishment, just cause, and revenge.
Worth the read.

WOW!!! This book just blew me away!!!!

After seeing photos of this book on Instagram, I was intrigued about all the good reviews it was getting. And they weren’t wrong! I read this book at the fastest speed possible when I had to squeeze in work and adulting- I couldn’t wait to see what happened.

The book is about Rose Gold, the daughter of Party who was convicted of wrongdoing against Rose Gold. This book had so many interesting elements- from Münchausen syndrome by proxy, to emotional and physical trauma, to a dark and twisty thriller. From the beginning where Patty is being released from jail, to the dramatic story of Rose Gold’s life, the story kept my interest and had me truly wanting to figure out where it would all end up.

At times this book genuinely made me uncomfortable, but in the best way possible for a reader. It held my attention and I felt invested in the character and her story- I just had to know what happened next.

I would definitely suggest this book if you are in the mood for a dark and twisty read, with a story seemingly inspired from news and events in the real world. If you are anything like me, you will be unable to do much besides race to the end of the book to see what happens to Rose Gold.

The hype surrounding this book is well deserved, and I would highly recommend it!!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for my advanced copy of the book.

This book sounded like it was going to be amazing but unfortunately, I just thought this book was ok. I mean this book was predictable and the story was just meh.

Darling Rose Gold is not one I will be reading again in the future.

Loved the multiple perspectives and quick chapters. This is really engrossing and easy to read.
Intense and suspenseful, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this crazy story (and am so intrigued to learn more about the true story it's inspired by).
Great debut, I'm looking forward to more from this author.

Crazy mother reunites with crazier daughter.

Patty, who has Munchausen by Proxy, has abused her daughter Rose Gold for years. During her 18 years under her mother’s care, Rose Gold suffered from malnutrition and other ailments that have resulted in balding and rotting in her teeth.

After standing to testify against her mother, Rose Gold finds herself free at last when Patty is sentenced to prison. But not for long. After 5 years, her mother is out again, hoping to reunite once again with her estranged but beloved daughter. But both set out with agendas to meet.

What I Liked:
- Stephanie Wrobel didn’t try to victimize Rose Gold or portray her as innocent in any way. Rose Gold certainly not a likeable character and she doesn’t try to be. During her five years free of her mother’s grasp, Rose Gold tries and fails to integrate into society and lead a normal life. With each thwarted attempt, she seems to spiral deeper towards a darker and more menacing side.
- It gives a darker glimpse on humanity and begs you to wonder how much is nature and how much is nurture.
The story is told in both perspectives of mother and daughter and it seems that the apple doesn’t fall hard from the tree. Both are cold and deranged as their thoughts reveal how the consequences of abusing and being abused has changed them in different ways.
- They are both unreliable and sometimes when they recount their past together, it’s hard to know who is telling the truth. Rose Gold speaks of her mother’s acts of poisoning her to keep her dependent on her mother. But Patty reveals how Rose Gold is more cunning than an average child, taking advantage of her illness to seek favors and gain attention. Crazy runs in the family.
What I Disliked:
- It’s hard to believe that after everything that’s happened, Patty is allowed to move in with Rose Gold or that Rose Gold would even be willing to let her in. Despite having the motive to seek revenge, I don’t understand how that can eclipse the amount of trauma and abuse she’s faced.
- The pacing of the story felt a bit off towards the end of the book. At the beginning, the plot was slow and took the time to lay out the scene for us, but then so much happened in the last 20% of the book.
- The ending felt unrealistic and glossed over. The book had a great buildup with the back stories and tensions between the character, but the execution at the end was underwhelming.

Nevertheless, Darling Rose Gold is a chilling and dark story about a mother’s destructive love and a daughter’s revenge. If you enjoyed Sharp Objects or The Act, definitely give Darling Rose Gold a shot.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49223060-darling-rose-gold" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Darling Rose Gold" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1581066761l/49223060._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49223060-darling-rose-gold">Darling Rose Gold</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18965988.Stephanie_Wrobel">Stephanie Wrobel</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3202322977">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
This was a very dark intense book. It kept you guessing wondering who was the villain and what was going on in both the mother and daughters minds. While it did hold my interest I found it to be heavy in parts.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/20664902-barb-muylaert">View all my reviews</a>

Thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada and Netgalley for a free copy of this book for an honest review.

First impression before I even pick up the book. I’m pretty sure that this is a possible retelling of the Gypsy Rose story or it sounds a lot alike it. We will see!

Okay so this is definitely very heavily based on the Gypsy Rose case. This book wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great either.

Let’s talk characters, Rose Gold and her mother are both terrible people and you as the reader are made to hate them both. Totally understandable. As more characters are introduced you also think they might be okay people but they end up being duds as well. Basically the only likeable characters is the baby and it’s literally only because he is a baby and has had a shit life already and they use him as a pawn to get revenge on each other.

Plot line is kind of dull, as I said pretty much the Gypsy Rose story so it’s not like you are really surprised by anything that happens. Any of the so called twists you can see from a mile awhile. I more or less just want to know if Patty will go to jail for murder when Rose Gold doesn’t show up or if she won’t be able to help herself and will eventually go back to further torture her mother.

So what I did like haha. The cover is gorgeous. That’s about it. I’m not sure if I would recommend this book because it did fall flat for me overall.

5 stars for keeping me on the edge of my seat!

Rose Gold has had a terrible childhood. She was always sick, at her mother’s behest, and unable to participate in all the activities that young girls want to.

After some comments from her best friend Stephanie and some searching on the internet, Rose Gold begins to see that her caring mother might not be quite as she seems. An investigation ensues and Patty, the mother, is sentenced to 5 years in prison for aggravated child abuse.

Rose Gold, she never goes by Rose, has had so many life lessons and ideas engrained into her from spending all her waking hours with her mother. She was pulled from school at the first sign of a problem and homeschooled. It takes several years and a few bad experiences before Rose Gold begins to be able to think for herself. She is her mother’s daughter and that will decide the path she will take when she decides to reconnect with her mother during her 4th year of prison.

I admit I do like books that have difficult family relationships but this parental/daughter one is one of the most twisted I’ve ever read. I found it hard to put down and was surprised by the moments in the story where the characters were able to let me see a different side of them than I had been seeing. For moments I thought I was being too harsh on the mother, that perhaps this had all been a mistake but then in other moments I was taken back by the inner thoughts of the characters and their implications.

This book is clearly inspired by the story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard who is currently serving a prison sentence for arranging to have her mother killed. Her mother suffered Munchausen by proxy. Stephanie Wrobel has done an excellent job of getting into the mind of a person who deeply cares about how she appears over the health of another.

Thank you to @netgalley and @simonandschuster for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Darling Rose Gold is on sale March 17, 2020.

What do you get when you have a bat shit crazy mother with an even crazier daughter? This book that’s what you get! I’ve never found 2 characters to be so completely awful with not a single endearing quality. I don’t even know what to say about this book. It was strange and bizarre and one crazy psychological ride. I was surprised by only one of the twists in the book and it wasn’t anything jaw dropping just a part that made me think even less of these 2 woman. It was a quick binge read and It kept me engaged the whole time to see what happened in the end. 3.5 stars rounded up

Darling Rose Gold manege to get my attention, it was a quick read, but unfortunately I did not enjoy it as much as I though I would from the synopsis. This is pretty much just a revenge story and I recently found out that I hate revenge story, so this is more a case of not the right book for me then the book itself being bad. I got no pleasure or satisfaction from the way this book ended. I'll check out future work from the author, because the writing was fine and she still capture my attention for the majority of the book.

Thank you NetGalley for advance copy of Darling Rose Gold. This book certainly was an interesting read. Patty is convicted of poisoning her daughter, Rose Gold. On the day of her release, she is picked up and brought home to her daughter's new living accommodations. It seems as though the two have reconciled and have made amends, or have they? Five years have passed since Patty’s conviction and Rose Gold has gone on with her life, becoming a mother and making a life for herself in spite of what happened to her. This story takes some interesting twists and I enjoyed the manner in which the threads of the tale were slowing interwoven to make for an interesting ending. My one criticism is that this story is not an entirely complex one, so I was able to ascertain the ending. “What goes around, comes around” would be a nice summary of this story.

I love both Sharp Objects and My Lovely Wife so after being compared to those I had high expectations that this would be good! This book was a quick read for me but very intense. Rose Gold's mother is being released from prison after serving five years for aggravated child abuse, she was poisoning Rose Gold and making her think she was deathly ill as a child. It's told in alternating chapters, Rose Gold's chapters explain her childhood and life while her mother was away in prison. Her mother's chapters are a bit wild to read, she claims complete innocence in the abuse of her daughter.

There is a twist in the story that I didn't see coming! It was a really good book, I'd recommend it!

This story was so intriguing. I recognized that a similar story had previously been in the news.
I imagine that is where the author got the idea from. What she wrote is way beyond the real story.
She creates two characters that are both twisted and mesmerizing.
I promise, you won't be able to put this book down. I give this story a 3.5 out of 5.

So many twists and turns!
I was hooked the minute I started reading about the complicated relationship between Rose Gold Watts and her mother, Patti. At 23 years old, Rose Gold was in a continuous state of learning to live on her own after 18 years of being controlled by her mother. She believed she was ill, when in reality, it was her mother who was ill.
Patti's release from prison opens up a whole new can of thrills.
Confusion set in, as I wondered why Rose Gold seemed to have forgiven her mother for the atrocious childhood and abuse. The story switches between the two women, diving deeper into a pattern of abuse and ultimately, revenge.
I found neither of these women to be likeable characters, but the dysfunction and twists made it a fantastic read that I could not put down.
Highly recommend Darling Rose Gold to any fans of thrillers and suspense!