Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel

Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

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.

[Amazon CA] [Book Depository]

My Thoughts

I inhaled this book in about a day I could not put it down. Darling Rose Gold is told in alternating perspectives from Patty and Rose Gold. Patty was sent to prison and released 5 years later; this novel tells Patty’s story as it happens in the present and Rose Gold’s perspective in the past leading up to the present.  The reader is not privy to Rose Gold’s motives or what she is thinking or experiencing in the present until later in the book.

In some books flashbacks can distract from the story and they don’t add more depth to the overall plot. That was not the case with Darling Rose Gold. They were done tactfully and it made sense why they were there and what they added to the story.

Darling Rose Gold is thoughtfully planned out and leaves the reader in the dark about what is happening. Did Patty really change? Has Rose Gold forgiven her mother? The author plays with the reader all throughout the novel which makes for an excellent thriller.

It was predictable in some places, but I can overlook that with the writing style. The ending wasn’t what I expected, but looking at the book as a whole I enjoyed it, I would read it again and I would 100% recommend this book. That’s a win in my books right there. Darling Rose Gold is a seriously twisted novel. 

The characters are flawed but I think that’s what makes them relatable. I don’t want perfect characters; I want the messy and the realistic characterization. I enjoy books where the characters are written with passion and conviction that they aren’t black and white, there’s grey in there. The more you can humanize and make a character feel real the more I like the book.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those who enjoy a good thriller.