Darling Rose Gold

Don't let the title of this book fool you! The soft colors and pretty words belie the darkness hidden under the cover. There is nothing “darling” about Rose Gold Watts or her mother, Patty Watts. In this story, this mother and daughter are pitted against each other in a sick tale of control and revenge.

Rose Gold Watts spent her entire childhood suffering with illness that her mother, Patty, intentionally caused. The book begins with Patty being released after five years in jail for child abuse. Rose Gold takes her mother into her home and even allows her to care for the baby that Rose Gold is raising. One would wonder why a victim of abuse would allow her abuser back into her life this way. Either she's weak or she's out for revenge.

Wrobel does not make it clear at first whether Rose Gold has a plan of revenge for her mother. This makes the story suspenseful as the reader is constantly wondering the reasons for Rose Gold's behavior. Patty's intentions are clear in the chapters she narrates, but Rose Gold's narrated chapters are mostly flashbacks that do not reveal her plans. It is not until we get closer to the end of the book that we can start to predict what Rose Gold's been up to.

I enjoyed the way author slowly revealed Rose Gold's personality as the book progressed. It was interesting to see it take shape. I didn't develop my true opinion of her character until the last quarter of the book. On the other hand, I knew I did not like Patty from the beginning.

This story has enough twists and turns to keep the reader engaged. It is an easy, fun read that is just dark enough to be enticing to a thriller fan. Stephanie Wrobel has made a solid debut with this story, and I look forward to what she writes next.