Review- Darling Rose Gold

Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel

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.

My daughter didn’t have to testify against me. She chose to.

It has been a long time that I have read a thriller that made me so uncomfortable, in a good way. I was tense right from the start, and as the story went on I became more and more on edge. I found myself having to put the book down quite a bit simply because of how it made me feel. That is the sign of a good thriller in my mind!

Darling Rose Gold is told from two perspectives, a mother who was just released from prison for child abuse, and her daughter, the one who was abused. If you have watched The Act on Hulu or know anything about the Gypsy Rose Blanchard, Darling Rose Gold is inspired by that case.

I can find that the unreliable narrator trope can be lazy or overdone, but Darling Rose Gold gives it new life. The fact that I never knew who to trust and that I found myself sympathizing and despising both of our narrators is what made the book stand out to me.

Given the nature of the book, there is an element of predictability, but I definitely didn’t predict how it all played out.

I have been in a bit of a thriller rut lately, and this book has reignited my love for the genre. I can not wait for everyone to get there hands on it so we can talk about it!

Yes! If you enjoy a thriller that makes you feel so uncomfortable, please pick up Darling Rose Gold when it is published on March 17th.

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.