Darling Rose Gold ✦ Stephanie Wrobel

Guess what day it is? It’s August 29. Why is that important? Because tomorrow is my birthdayyyyy! I have other plans, So why not knock out a post just in time for the big day? How about a little real life connection?

Münchausen syndrome by proxy (MSP): a mental illness in which a person acts as if an individual he or she is caring for has a physical or mental illness when the person is not really sick. (Thanks Cleveland Clinic)

Case in point, Gypsy Rose Blanchard. For 20+ years of her life, she believed she had debilitating illnesses that confined her to a wheel chair, to have a feeding tube, and to take buckets of prescription drugs. She had to keep her head shaved, had allergies to everything, and had her teeth taken out. Turns out, it was all a lie and her mom put her through years of psychological and physical abuse and she was never sick. WHAT?! You read that right. If you wanna fall into a rabbit hole, google this case, it’s highly intriguing.

So how does this relate, you ask? Darling Rose Gold is about the relationship between a daughter who was a victim of Munchausen and her mother, released from prison, still denying any wrongdoing as she goes to take care of her grandson.

Morgan’s Rating

This book falls under the thriller category but it’s not your traditional bump in the night, goosebumps kind of thriller. This is all about psychological suspense. As a medical professional, this book grabbed me by the cojones and kept me captivated until the last page. Even after I closed the book I found myself craving more. As a reader, Stephanie, ma’am, you had me obsessing over characters I absolutely hated! You have a real talent, take a bow! This book is dark and complex and utterly compelling.

I’ll include a synopsis for the book at the bottom of this post! For now I’m content to rant about the characters. I have never read about two protagonists who I’ve hated more yet been so compelled to understand. Patty is an unstable individual with a “mother knows best” attitude and utter lack of remorse for anyone she bullies or mows down, especially her daughter Rose Gold. Rose Gold, on the other hand, is the victim of her mother’s need for acknowledgment, although sweet and innocent she is not. I could not even wrap my mind around the person she was in the first few pages to the transformation in the last. Both women are deceitful and want vengeance for their own selfish reasons. After all, mothers never forget, and daughters never forgive.

The story is told through two connecting timelines. Patty’s point of view is present day, after her release from prison. She wants to worm her way back into her daughter’s life and take over again, citing maternal instinct as her excuse. Everything she says and does rubs me the wrong way, but I think we are supposed to be uncomfortable with who these people are. Through Rose Gold, we see thoughts and actions from the time period where her mother is in prison. There were so many times when I wanted to feel bad for Rose Gold but every single time she messed it up for me. She and her mother both have homicidal thoughts that really make you pause. There’s a particular section on page 22 that raised some eyebrows. The first huge WTF moment on page 135 also got a physical reaction from me. I completely underestimated how the book would end and I feel so unsatisfied but in the best way. I will be thinking about this book for weeks to come.

In short, I totally recommend Darling Rose Gold. It’s dark and devious and delicious. You will have all kinds of negative feelings about the main characters and it’s delightful to not feel forced to like the protagonist. This is a winner!

“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.

Turns out her mom, Patty Watts, was just a really good liar. 

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. 

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. 

Unfortunately for Patty, Rose Gold is no longer her weak little darling… 

And she’s waited such a long time for her mother to come home.”

• 

• 

I was drinking a Gloria Jean Butter Toffee arabica coffee k cup with sweet cream and two scoops of sugar since you were wondering. What can I say? I’m finishing up my fifth night shift in a row.