Rose Gold Watts has been poisoned all her life, literally
and figuratively. Her mother, Patty, led Rose Gold to believe that she was born
sick. There was never a moment when Rose Gold was healthy. Patty took her
to doctor after doctor, consented to countless medical procedures – including a
feeding tube, all the while playing the dutiful mother. She’s comforted Rose
Gold after a tough surgery, cleaned up after her, dressed her, and bathed her.
Friends and neighbors help by offering their support. Through it all, Patty is
always a devoted mother, doing anything and everything to cure her daughter.
But what if it was all a lie? What if Patty was making Rose
Gold sick? Why would a mother do such a thing? How does Rose Gold even begin to
recover? I was intrigued by all of those questions posed in Darling Rose
Gold, a debut novel by Stephanie
Wrobel.
The first eighteen years of Rose Gold’s life were controlled
by Patty. With her mother now in prison, Rose Gold is experiencing the freedom
she was once denied by her mother. She looks at foods, technology, makeup,
clothing, movies, and just the world in general with wide eyes. Everything is a
new taste. A new experience. Why did her mother try to keep the world from her?
Not everything in the world is bad. Despite being deeply self-conscious about
her physical appearance, Rose Gold puts herself out in the world. Not
everything turns out the way she wants it. She works a dead end job at a retail
store. She meets her online boyfriend, but is quickly disappointed. Her father,
whom Patty said was dead, reunites with Rose Gold – but even that relationship
quickly fractures.
Freedom is great but life hasn’t gotten much better for Rose
Gold. Why? Do all roads lead back to Patty? Rose Gold starts to visit her
mother in prison. She wants to know why Patty poisoned her. But will she get
the answers she wants?
Five years pass and it’s time for Patty to get out of
prison. Rose Gold, now a mother herself to baby Adam, wants to put the past
behind her. Or so she says (hint hint). It defies logic that Rose Gold would
take in the one person who damaged her life. But Rose Gold lets Patty live in
her home. But does Rose Gold have an ulterior motive? She’s no longer a little
girl that Patty can control. Maybe it's time for revenge? However, Patty is certain she can get the upper
hand again, and maybe even assert authority over Rose Gold’s life like she once
did.
I was definitely hooked by this story. Rose Gold and Patty
are complicated and unlikable characters. Yes, Rose Gold was also a bad
character. In the beginning, Rose Gold was sympathetic because her childhood
and trust in the world was so badly damaged. Once free, every little setback or
slight rejection became a reason for Rose Gold to go to the extreme. But I
guess that was a deliberate choice by the author. Patty was a horrible person,
from beginning to end. For Patty it’s all about power and who she can control,
who she can manipulate. It all made for an engaging and compulsive read.
Rating: OMG!!!
Note: I received a
copy of the book from the publisher (Berkley)
in exchange for an honest review.