The Suite Life

by Suzanne (Sue) Corso

From the author of A Brooklyn Story and one of USA TODAY ’s celebrated “New Voices of 2011,” comes a new novel which exposes the over-the-top decadence—and corruption—of Wall Street’s elite.

Hailed as one of USA Today’s New Voices for her 2011 literary debut, Brooklyn Story, Suzanne Corso brings back the “true female voice” (The New York Times) of aspiring author Samantha Bonti in this breathtaking companion novel.

IT WAS THE DECADE OF BIG MONEY, BIG RISKS, BIG HAIR, AND BIG DREAMS . . . AND THERE WAS ONLY ONE BIG CITY WHERE IT COULD ALL HAPPEN

Growing up in Brooklyn, Samantha Bonti knew the writer’s life she was meant to live waited across the bridge in Manhattan. Summoning the courage to break free from an abusive mobster boyfriend, Sam finally leaves Bensonhurst and begins her new life, working as a temp in a Wall Street brokerage firm. Quickly, she’s swept off her feet by Wall Street player Alec DeMarco, a man of boundless energy, appetites, desires, and the wealth to indulge it all. In a whirlwind courtship, Alec showers Sam with exquisite gifts, the city’s finest cuisine, spontaneous weekend getaways, and, most of all, the love and security a girl from an unstable Brooklyn upbringing craves. But when the party’s over—when Alec’s high-flying career turns litigious and the big money is left on the table—will love be enough to sustain them? With her dream of publishing her novel still very much alive, Sam can’t back down now; she must choose the life that’s most true to who she really is inside.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit

336 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 2013

About the author

Suzanne (Sue) Corso is the author of three novels. Brooklyn Story, The Suite Life & Hello Hollywood, the last part of the trilogy; release (Simon& Schuster 2015). She has also penned the screenplay to Brooklyn Story. Corso has produced for the New York and London stages Roman Nights. She has also produced two documentaries; Indonesia, A Personal Journey and HEAR THEM ROAR, shot entirely at the Endangered Animal Rescue Sanctuary in Citra, Florida. This documentary was the foundation that inspired her children’s book Sammy & Sue™ Go Green Too! (2009) an eco-friendly, environmentally educational book. Corso is currently developing several shows for television and is a columnist to Downtown Magazine NYC.
www.downtownmagazinenyc.com

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

With this novel, I’m willing to hold my pencil in my right hand and my ballot in my left hand and make a noncommittal commitment and say this was an average read for me. It reminded me of hayrides and meandering joyrides. It provided insights into a world where affection proved at a premium and offered up sexless marriages and ambition and ego that overshadowed all other experiences and problems. It filled me with broken promises and unfulfilled dreams.

Suzanne Corso lets her love of Brooklyn and “The Big Apple” and Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, congestion, population overflows, toll roads and toll bridges and bountiful high rises and dollar bills and cab rides, limos, Mercedes convertibles, and BMWs and stock options and Wall Street and Main Street shine through on the page. What would a novel that includes the NYSE be, though, without acquisitions and mergers and accounting irregularities and power and authority and reckless greed and constant excess and careless abandon and penile injections and horny dogs and $20K a day porn stars. In that regard, THE SUITE LIFE reminded me of Congress and the DC area.

But this novel proved to be a bit more than just A Gay Day. Sure, it had the syrupy air and atmosphere of women’s fiction, but I enjoyed the somewhat loose connection to a Wall Street powerbroker with a private jet and helicopter and his Long Island compound, even if Alec DeMarco did like to shoot himself full of HGH, testosterone, steroids, alternative and natural medicine, designer drugs, and popped the occasional Percocet.

Since I could practically live on food and finance and books and movies, I didn’t mind all the references to stocks and bonds, trading companies, investment firms, and real estate and restaurants and shows, clubs, strippers, hookers, and escort services and porn, pot, and pills. But keep in mind, this book does have the occasional college age floozy and loose women who strive for more.

It proved to be a relatively light read where I could park my brain at the door and forget who I was for a few hours. And that was A-OK by me.

I received this book for free through NetGalley.

Cross-posted at Robert's Reads

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Growing up in Brooklyn, Samantha Bonti dreams of one day being a writer. She found the courage to break free from her an abusive mobster and eventually finds the man of her dreams. Alec is a successful Wall Street broker, but things are not as they seem and when he makes a risky business move, Sam is left scrambling to pick up the pieces of her crumbling fairy tale.

This isn’t really the type of book I would read but I liked the idea a novel about a writer, a mobster and a crumbling life. That was enough to peek my interests and I thought it was enough of a risk for me to try. Unfortunately it wasn’t a book for me and I should have abandoned it but I persevered. This novel didn’t have enough to deal with the mobster ex-boyfriend, which was one of my first disappointments. I got a sense that Sam wasn’t really as damaged by the relationship as the author wanted us to believe and I really struggled with that. I actually thought Alec was more damaging than the ex, with his emotional blackmail and need for control.

Let’s look at the relationship between Sam and Alec for a moment. The relationship felt a little too much like Edward and Belle from Twilight; I know some people think that is romantic but I really have a problem with it. Ordering for your date can be romantic but when it is a first date and they hardly know each other, it just feel weird and out of place. Also Alec felt too controlling and I got the impression he would sulk if he didn’t get his own way. There were also times I thought Alec would turn into Christian Grey from Fifty Shades of Grey; that might have made things a little different but still not my type of book.

I must admit that Suzanne Corso has a decent writing style and with a bit of work she could become an interesting writer. The Suite Life could use with a good hard editing, removing all the repetitiveness and cutting anything that was just filler but then the book would be too short. Some parts felt rushed and some parts dragged on too much, Corso needed to work more on backstory and show the reader just what Sam has been through. The Chick Lit approach feels like any pain and suffering has been down played and this really didn’t do the novel any justice.

There was also not enough to do with Sam’s desire to make it as a writer and it felt like she quickly abandoned her passions when she got a taste of the high life. The synopsis for this book made me think that this book was set in the 1980’s but I turned out to be the 1990’s. There wasn’t much nostalgia about the 90’s; the only real reference was repetitive mentions of Alanis Morissette. Also if Alec is so rich and living the highlife, I wonder why he was driving such an old car?

Having read this book I have since found out that The Suite Life is a sequel to Brooklyn Story and all the backstory and information about her mobster ex-boyfriend would be covered in that book. I suppose this book could work as a stand-alone but I think it was missing too much information that must have been covered in the first book. Will I read book one? Maybe, but I’m not in a hurry to find out about Sam’s life before Alec and there are just too many other novels to read.

This was an interesting reading experiment. I probably should have done more research on a book before reading it but sometimes it is fun to go in blind. While this book wasn’t for me, I’m sure that some people will enjoy it. I am more interested in diving into the emotions and looking at what drives and motivates people but The Suite Life just glossed over that. I’m not a romance or Chick Lit reader so I don’t know if this is the norm; I really hope not.

This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2013/...

[Gabby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read Suzanne Corso's book because I'm interested in how Wall Street operates particularly in light of the Madoff scandal. Corso didn't give much insight into much more than how phony and superficial the life style of people making huge megabucks really is. The main character, Samantha Bonti, says all she wants is to be happy, eating popcorn in bed and watching old movies on TV with someone who loves her for who she is. She says her main goal in life is to have a book she's worked on for years get published. The problem is, her character is written as someone who, in spite of all kinds of testimonials about her strong sense of faith, doesn't seem very committed to much of anything long term. Throughout the book I had the feeling I was missing something, and in fact, I was. There was a previous book published about Samantha Bonti's life in which she became involved with a gangster and had a very contentious relationship with her mother. Perhaps this story would have made more sense to me had I read the first book. Instead I was constantly put off by how stupidly Samantha went off with one bad decision after another. She seemed to have a firm grasp of hindsight, but very little self-awareness when dealing with problems in her life.

That said, I did like Suzanne Corso's writing. While she did repeatedly cover ground she explored previously, she found a way to phase the experiences in different terms so that I never simply rushed through any part of the book to be done with it. In fact, I would read this author again because I think the more she writes, the better she'll get.

I am giving this book 3 out of 5 stars and look forward to seeing what more Corso does in the future.

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for which I agreed to do an honest review.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I was not sure that I was going to like this as much as the first book, but the story held my interest. Alec was an out of control character, who I knew had to be too good to be true. I would get very annoyed by Samantha sometimes. I felt that she could have made a better effort to change her life for the better for her and her daughter. I'm going to read the last book in this trilogy and hope for the best.

[Dorre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received this book as an advance copy through net galley and devoured it in 3 days.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't waste your time. Completely unbelievable.

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is terrible.

[Eve Proofreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book chronicles the life of Samantha Bonti as she leaves relative poverty in Brooklyn for a wealthy Manhattan life with a Wall Street husband. For the first hundred pages or so, the book is uneventful. A woman who often refers to herself in the third person falls in love with a showy man whose main character traits are over-eating and listening to Alanis Morissette. Thankfully, the characters are subsequently fleshed out and become far more interesting as the market crash hits and the family self-destructs. Samantha learns that there are rather too many parallels between her marriage and a previous relationship with a mobster. If that had been done subtly, I might be more enamoured with this book. As it is, there is more telling than showing. The first person narrator frequently declares how clear the parallels are and repeats aphorisms.

I liked how linear the plot was. It was generally accessible and an easy, quick read. It has some lessons to teach about the perils of decadence and corruption and the importance of self-reliance. It has strong Christian themes, though relied too heavily on religiosity as a measure of good character.

It is a sequel, so perhaps I would have got more from it if I had read the previous instalment. I was interested enough to read it to the end. Generally, I think this book is a casualty of bad branding or marketing. I’m sure there is an audience that would really enjoy it, but the reviews I’ve seen so far all indicate that they were expecting something that the book didn’t provide. This could indicate that the synopsis was not representative of the content. Reviews complain that it is too much like ‘chick-lit’ or ‘Christian fiction’. I contend that if it had been marketed as such then it would have reached the right readers and perhaps seen fewer negative reviews.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the advanced review copy.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Suite Life
Corso, Suzanne
The suite life is a story of a young woman, who wrote a novel of her extraordinary survival being a mob girlfriend. She has made a life of her own, despite all the restrictions she had from the old relation ship. The heady way over the top world wind romance is dramatic in its scope and how drawn the main character is attracted to the overtly aggressive love of life leading man. Her hinted at troubled childhood, difficult past relationships, makes her enduring as she struggles with seeing the reality before her. The drawn out extremely morbid marriage, Alec's extravagance and neglect, his abusive obsessive drug addled nature makes the 12 first years of marriage similar to her abusive childhood. The hardest part is her attempt to turn a blind eye to his behavior. Her excuses and acceptance of his behavior only climax when his Wall Street financial world comes crashing down. All his ostentatious belongings, and possessions are sold. He is forced to borrow money to keep them into their small down sized apartment. His depression and his self medication set him in a spiraling down fall of self abuse and neglect that makes his financial downfall just more dramatic. Samantha is able to pull up her boot straps, work as a producer for plays that brings enough money to keep her and her child fed. She is able to finally establish herself with in her own right. As Alec spirals into psychological breakdown, she has the first step of success, and finally publishes the book she wrote so many years ago.

[Stephanie Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

'The Suite Life' is a contemporary women's fiction novel that follows main character Samantha "Sam" Bonti as she begins her fresh start after a breakup with an abusive boyfriend. Before she realizes it, Alec DeMarco - a notorious Wall Street player - is sweeping her off her feet. Alec showers Sam with affection, gifts, vacations, dinners out - the best that money can buy. But when Alec's career takes a turn for the worse and the money looks like it might be gone for good - will their love be enough to keep them together?

This was an interesting women's fiction novel that tells the story of a woman trying to get a fresh start in life and attempting to finally follow her dreams. Samantha is a great character - she's strong, smart, dedicated and hopeful for the future. I enjoyed watching Sam's relationship with Alec flourish, although it was a bit cliched and cheesy at times. The plot wasn't that original, but the author used detailed descriptions and great insight into the characters to give it an edge over some of the other books in the genre. The writing was well done and the story flowed easily from the pages. Although this is a romantic women's fiction novel, it also deals with important life topics such as abuse, finding yourself, love, and determination. Recommended for fans of the genre and those who enjoy romance.

Disclosure: I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

[My Book Addiction and More MBA · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE SUITE LIFE by Suzzane Corso is an interesting Women's Fiction/Literary set in New York. Sequel or companion book to her debut novel "Brooklyn Story",but can be read as a stand alone. The good, bad, and the ugly of the American dream. Aspiring author Samantha Bonti, leaves Bensonhurst for Manhattan, New York. With brides to cross, abusive mobster ex-boyfriend, and a whirlwind courtship with Wall Street Broker, Alex DeMarco, Sam finds she must choose between a dream and real life. Following a dream and finding oneself is harder than it seems. Sam was raised in an unstable household, craves to be an author, find love, security,acceptance and money, but can she kept what she finds or will she lose it all? Can you truly remain true to yourself in the high flying world of a lavish lifestyle, the wealthy and high finance?

A very emotional story to me with many twists and turns. If you ever wondered about the Wall Street elite, than "The Suite Life" is a must read, for it is filled with details. Based on the author's Brooklyn upbringing during the 1970's. Ms. Corso is a new voice to the Literary world and one to keep an eye on in the future.

Received for an honest review from the publisher.

RATING: 4

HEAT RATING: SWEET

REVIEWED BY: AprilR, Courtesy of My Book Addiction and More

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I must have missed something in the description of this book telling the reader that it is borderline Christian fiction. In the Prologue and Chapter 1 alone I counted 21 references to god, faith, religion, and church. I expected a book that focuses on a love story set up on Wall Street and New York City, where the relationship between the main characters is tested when the rich broker guy loses his money and Cinderella is left with a poor Prince Charming. Something like Erin Duffy's "Bond Girl", which I enjoyed. I have made it to chapter 5 and so far, this book is so full of cliches (rich guy showers poor girl with gifts and invites her to all the fancy restaurants, while telling her that he is so over dating models) that I can not continue. Maybe it gains depth once the rich guy loses his money, I don't know. I am also over the references to religion. This book really sounded good, but I am not interested in Christian fiction, so I am leaving it at that.

Copy provided through NetGalley.

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a sequel, but this book does stand alone. I didn't read the first one. Perhaps if I had I would have liked this book more. I don't feel that the main character is realistic or very sympathetic.

[Georgia]

Made it to page 27 and I had to stop. Alec is painfully cheesy and creepy, and Sam has a picture ofMary hanging above her bed. Not my type of book, even though I like chic lit. Maybe the book picks up after the market crash but not worth it for me

[Joanne Huspek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good effort, dragged a LOT at the beginning and almost lost me, but once the challenges began, the characters became more interesting.

[Ann Frohoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emotional and thought provoking. Reminds you of what's important in life.

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read that reminds us to not lose ourselves when we are part of something that may become overwhelming. Read my full review at http://bookqueenreviews.wordpress.com

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew it was going to run out of control at some point!

[Десислава Костадинова · Rating 1 out of 5]

Една от най-скучните книги, които ми се е налагало да чета.

[Mary Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book, looking forward to reading the third book in the trilogy. Sam needs to stop depending on men to rescue her.

[Gina Shupp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the book was good but it did drag at times.