The Recovery of Rose Gold, by Stephanie Wrobel {Book Review}

Can you believe that the festive season is upon us? It feels like just yesterday that the President announced that a national lockdown was being implemented in South Africa… I am truly in shock at how time has flown this year. Something that helps me pass the time though, is reading! Today’s review is a book titled, The Recovery Of Rose Gold (Darling Rose Gold in some countries) and this is one I’ve had my eye on for a LONG time! I was ecstatic to finally get my hands on a copy of this book.

What is The Recovery of Rose Gold about?

Rose Gold Watts believed she was sick for eighteen years.

She thought she needed the feeding tube, the surgeries, the wheelchair . . .

Turns out her mother is a really good liar.

After five years in prison, Patty Watts is finally free. All she wants is to put old grievances behind her, reconcile with the daughter who testified against her – and care for her new infant grandson.

When Rose Gold agrees to have Patty move in, it seems their relationship is truly on the mend. And she has waited such a long time for her mother to come home.

But is she still the pliable young girl she once was? And is Patty still as keen on settling an old score?

Because if mothers never forget then daughters never forgive.

My Review

Characters and story line

The Recovery of Rose Gold is told from the POV’s of both Rose Gold, as well as her mom, Patty. Patty has just been released from prison after serving 5yrs for child abuse and Rose Gold is the doting daughter who has seemingly forgiven her mother. The story follows what Rose Gold has been doing from the time her mother was incarcerated up until the day of Patty’s release. The narrative goes back and forth between the 2 women, as we try to determine if Patty really was guilty of her accused crimes, and also….is Rose Gold planning the ultimate revenge?

My Thoughts

This book was really interesting, dealing with this kind of subject matter, essentially Munchausen by Proxy. This book was the perfect filler to get me out of my reading slump. It was a quick read, and not complex at all. This wasn’t a case of ‘whodunnit?’…. it was a case of ‘Did she really do it?‘ and ‘What is she planning?‘.

The chapters showcasing Rose Gold’s attempt at independence and navigating life without her mother was really inspiring and sad. She wanted to get her life on track, get out of the shadows of being known as ‘a victim’ and also, she hopes for new teeth! You are rooting for Rose Gold, but she’s also got her own demons, understandable when you think of the life that she lead.

I do wish we got some more insight into Patty’s childhood and why she mislead Rose w.r.t. some of the events that would have shaped her life. I’d also have liked more of a showdown between mother and daughter, as through the chapters in the past, we discovered some interesting information that Patty had withheld from Rose Gold.

My Rating

The Recovery of Rose Gold has a Goodreads rating of 3.7 stars out of 5. I’m going to rate this one at 3.5 stars. The book was really something that monopolized my attention, I read it in 2 sittings… I could not put it down. The cat and mouse format, as we go from Rose Gold’s narrative to Patty’s is really done very well by Stephanie. I also thought the ending was deliciously wicked!

The Recovery of Rose Gold was sent to me by Penguin Random House SA in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.