Title: Darling Rose Gold
Author: Stephanie Wrobel
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: March 17, 2020
Pages: 320
Book Source: NetGalley
“For the first eighteen years of her life, Rose Gold Watts believed she was seriously ill. She was allergic to everything, used a wheelchair and practically lived at the hospital. Neighbors did all they could, holding fundraisers and offering shoulders to cry on, but no matter how many doctors, tests, or surgeries, no one could figure out what was wrong with Rose Gold.
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Turns out her mom, Patty Watts, was just a really good liar.
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After serving five years in prison, Patty gets out with nowhere to go and begs her daughter to take her in. The entire community is shocked when Rose Gold says yes.
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Patty insists all she wants is to reconcile their differences. She says she’s forgiven Rose Gold for turning her in and testifying against her. But Rose Gold knows her mother. Patty Watts always settles a score.
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Unfortunately for Patty, Rose Gold is no longer her weak little darling…
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And she’s waited such a long time for her mother to come home.” – Amazon
Kim’s Review
People have a fascination with Munchausen Syndrome proxy. How could a person do such a thing to someone that they love. To make someone else sick just so you can have other people give you sympathy and tell you what a wonderful person you are for taking care of another person. Last year when The Act premiered, I had a lot of friends who watched and really enjoyed it. I still haven’t watched it, but when Darling Rose Gold began showing up all over social media, I decided to give it a read.
First off, that title. What a fabulous marketing idea. People had The Act, a true story about Gypsy Rose and DeeDee Blanchard, still on their minds. So if they enjoyed that show and they came across Darling Rose Gold, there was a really good chance that they would pick it up.
The story itself was very engaging. Although I knew Rose was trying to get back at her mother, Patty, after a five year prison sentence, I didn’t see all the twists coming. And I really enjoyed how Stephanie Wrobel wrote the scenes of rage and showed how unstable both of the main characters could be. Although some of the scenarios that Rose came up with were kind of far fetched, it was still an enjoyable read. And the way that Wrobel slowly revealed both of the women’s secrets was done exceptionally well. Even when the last page was finished and I was thinking about all the horrible things Rose did, I still felt some sympathy for her.
If you are fascinated by Munchausen Syndrome stories or enjoy reading about twisted mother and daughter relationships, you should definitely give Darling Rose Gold a read.
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