The novel “Darling Rose Gold” is a heavily anticipated psychological thriller by Stephanie Wrobel and follows a warped relationship between a young woman and her mother.

Rose Gold was told by her mother, Patty Watts, for her entire life that she was a sickly child, one without any hope of cure, even after all of the doctor visits and test runs. However, after eighteen years of believing she was incredibly ill from an unknown disease, she realizes the only person that was truly sick was her mother. Once Patty had served her time in incarceration, she was released and insisted upon mending her relationship with her daughter, Rose Gold. Patty claims to have forgiven and forgotten. Rose Gold seems to have done the same. But, Patty always gets even. And Rose Gold is no longer the innocent, naive girl that she raised. 

“Darling Rose Gold” is a very interesting story, describing an unhealthy and destructive relationship, resulting in only chaos and insanity. The two characters, although seemingly stable enough to function, have immense issues in their own rights. 

Patty Watts is abusive and overall mentally unwell, emotionally abusing people constantly and separating fiction from reality. She is convinced she has done nothing wrong after poisoning her daughter for her entire life. It is later revealed that she had Munchausen syndrome, and that she, herself, suffered from physically abusive parents, too. 

Rose Gold, however, is not any better. She seems like she is far more mentally fit, but she is also vengeful and secretive. She claims, “That’s what separates the sane from the not: knowing madness is an option but declining to choose it,” but lies frequently about horrible things, such as having cancer to earn affection, and constantly has aggressive thoughts of actions, like tearing off a person’s ponytail. 

It is a fascinating picture painted of how people with extreme mindsets might think or act or reason beyond that of most people. Knowing that the novel was, in fact, a modification of the true story of Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee Blanchard makes the story more scary. The novel is entertaining and compelling, but it is a bit strange and, at times, such as the ending, somewhat unsettling.