Review: The Many Private Lives of Missy Cooke

The Many Private Lives of Missy Cooke by Jane Green
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I did finish this book, and while most of my previous review still stands, the final parts made up for the frustrations of the first part. As a matter of fact, the final parts had me eager to finish. Missy finally showed some growth, although she had to depend on a lot of people to get there. The book did not really give her a HEA as far as romance goes, but then again, this was not a romance novel. So if you can manage to get through the first third of this novel, you will have a fairly satisfying ending.

I am almost 60% done with this book, and if it weren't on my Kindle, I would throw it across the room and hit the wall with it. The rest of this review will come when (if) I finish this "growth" novel, since so many people seemed to have loved it; I must be missing something.

This book is written in three parts. In the first part, you will meet Missy Cooke, daughter of tech billionaire Marty Cooke. Marty and her Mother are divorced. So in this first part, we will explore how horrible Missy's life is with and without her father. We will explore every nuance of their relationship. Marty does treat Missy (at times) like crap. Missy has no backbone, and it is horribly obvious. I wanted to yell at her to speak up for herself, grow a spine, pull up her big-girl panties and just TALK to her father about the way he treats her. At the end of this section I was ready to DNF it, but being an ARC I felt I should give it a little longer to see if it redeemed itself.

Part two is about how Marty develops a horrible cancer and must go to Switzerland for months of treatment, leaving his daughter Missy as interim CEO. She is in her element and doing well at this new job. Still naive, but with her brains, she is perfect for the job. Sounds good, right? She is finally in her element, right? Well, no, because what is obvious to me is that someone is sabotaging her and has done so to the point that the stockholders have asked her to step down for a month or so, putting someone else at the helm.

If you are reading this book at this point, you will notice that (if you are smart and I know you are!) there appear to be two obvious people who might want to stab her in the back. My money is on a particular person, but I've been wrong before!!!

I have seen no growth on Missy's part, and I, as I said, am 60% done with this book. I'm frustrated, pissed, bored, and cranky.

*ARC supplied by the publisher Hanover Square Press/Harlequin, the author, and ATTL/Edelweiss.

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Summary : "From New York Times bestselling author Jane Green comes her most poignant and timely novel yet—the story of a tech titan’s daughter, who, in the face of family crisis, must step into her own power to redefine a legacy

Missy Cooke’s parents divorced when she was young. While her mother did her best to make ends meet, her father devoted his life to work—and his new family. Missy only knew him from afar. He was distant and aloof. But when he came to visit, his light shone bright. He was Silicon Valley tech titan Marty Cooke.

Now an adult, with tech world aspirations of her own, Missy’s life is a constant negotiation between her own desires and the towering expectations of her father. But when a devastating diagnosis forces Marty to step down from his tech empire, ipryy, he doesn't choose a seasoned executive to take his place. He chooses Missy.

Thrust into a world of high-stakes board meetings and cutthroat corporate politics, Missy is completely out of her depth. As interim CEO, she must navigate the immense pressure of her father's legacy while wrestling with a strained relationship with her boyfriend, the reappearance of a childhood crush, and the constant scrutiny of a world that sees her as nothing more than a privileged heiress, an image totally at odds with her modest upbringing.

From the glittering galas of the French Riviera to the hidden realities of ipryy's global operations, Missy's journey of self-discovery becomes a battle for the soul of the company. When she uncovers a dark secret that threatens to destroy everything her father built, Missy must decide what kind of leader she will become. Can she forge her own path and prove her worth, or will she crumble under the weight of her father’s shadow?

Propulsive, timely, and emotionally resonant, The Many Private Lives of Missy Cooke is an unforgettable family novel by a beloved author at the height of her literary power.