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cerysharrison 's review for:
Darling Rose Gold
by Stephanie Wrobel
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
First off, let me mention the positives: the writing is crisp and flows well. It's a very quick read. It's also engaging. The characters are clearly drawn. Their behavior and dialogue is consistent and credible. The arch of the story is plotted well, too. The chapters alternate between Patty's (Rose Gold's mother) and Rose Gold's perspectives. Patty's chapters are set in the present. Rose Gold's chapters effectively tell the back story that has led the two main chapters to their present, including the five years between Patty's prison sentence and the characters' present.
As with all well drawn characters, Patty and Rose Gold are not perfect. Neither are they entirely wrong or bad. They are flawed, but the reasons behind their flaws are understandable and, often, make Patty and Rose Gold sympathetic.
So, with all these positives, why did I give the book a 3 star (meh) review?
Spoilers!
It was because of the final two chapters. Ostensibly, the book is about Munchhausen By Proxy Syndrome but it's more than that. This is a book about revenge. Patty doesn't change. She doesn't evolve and (worse, in my opinion) everything the reader thinks about her from the first chapters is confirmed in the final chapters of the book. Rose Gold doesn't evolve, either. She becomes more sure of her abilities for subterfuge and manipulation. Possibly she will become a monster. Possibly. But that road for the character is up to the imagination of the reader. As a reader, I would have preferred to discover at the end of the book that Patty was the innocent in this pas de deux and that Rose Gold was more of a Bad Seed.
And on that note: if you want to read a truly mesmerizing book about manipulation and subterfuge, check out "The Bad Seed" by William March. No time for that? Rent the movie starring Deborah Kerr.
First off, let me mention the positives: the writing is crisp and flows well. It's a very quick read. It's also engaging. The characters are clearly drawn. Their behavior and dialogue is consistent and credible. The arch of the story is plotted well, too. The chapters alternate between Patty's (Rose Gold's mother) and Rose Gold's perspectives. Patty's chapters are set in the present. Rose Gold's chapters effectively tell the back story that has led the two main chapters to their present, including the five years between Patty's prison sentence and the characters' present.
As with all well drawn characters, Patty and Rose Gold are not perfect. Neither are they entirely wrong or bad. They are flawed, but the reasons behind their flaws are understandable and, often, make Patty and Rose Gold sympathetic.
So, with all these positives, why did I give the book a 3 star (meh) review?
Spoilers!
It was because of the final two chapters. Ostensibly, the book is about Munchhausen By Proxy Syndrome but it's more than that. This is a book about revenge. Patty doesn't change. She doesn't evolve and (worse, in my opinion) everything the reader thinks about her from the first chapters is confirmed in the final chapters of the book. Rose Gold doesn't evolve, either. She becomes more sure of her abilities for subterfuge and manipulation. Possibly she will become a monster. Possibly. But that road for the character is up to the imagination of the reader. As a reader, I would have preferred to discover at the end of the book that Patty was the innocent in this pas de deux and that Rose Gold was more of a Bad Seed.
And on that note: if you want to read a truly mesmerizing book about manipulation and subterfuge, check out "The Bad Seed" by William March. No time for that? Rent the movie starring Deborah Kerr.