One Night At The Penthouse Suite

by Bianca Mori

All her life, Cora Ciacho was trained by her father to be one thing: CEO of Ciacho Group, the company he built from the ground up. She assumes the role six months after he passes away, but must face new challenges: a borderline hostile board, a too-good-to-be-true investment offer, and a mother and sister who deal with their grief in different ways. Thank goodness for Stephen Cruz, the sweet, sexy man who’d rescued her from a party eight months ago and has stayed by her side ever since.

Stephen knows that he and Cora are worlds apart. He does his best even if he wonders if a worker bee like him is enough for the queen that she is. Their relationship sizzles in the bedroom, but as they go through a trial by fire, can his love overcome their challenges? Or will it fizzle as Cora tries to conquer the boardroom?

One Night At The Penthouse Suite is the second book in the One Night series, which feature high society romance tropes, HEA/HFN, and is categorized as Heat Level 3 based on the #romanceclass heat level classification on romanceclassbooks.com.

Genres: Contemporary, Romance

217 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 14, 2020

About the author

Bianca Mori writes contemporary romances, romantic suspense and crime fiction set in the Philippines, Europe, the United States and all points in between. Her steamy stories have been called “fast-paced and super-hot,” “engaging,” “vivid” and “engrossing.” She lives in Manila with her family and a hyperactive pug. Find Bianca on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as thebiancamori or at her website (www.biancamori.com).

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like the tone and pacing of Korean chaebol and revenge dramas with a dose of theatrics that Pinoy teleseryes serve, this book is PERFECT for you. One Night at the Penthouse Suite is an established-couple romance between the heiress and new CEO of a large Filipino corporation and a call center manager, whom we first met in a short story called One Night in the Streets of Makati.

In this book, Cora, the new CEO of the Ciacho Group of companies, is met with resistance by some members of the board, AKA the “old guards” of the company. They think she doesn’t possess the same managing chops her father did, so they put together a scheme that will ultimately expose her inexperience. All of this happens while Stephen, Cora’s ever-supportive boyfriend, battles his insecurities and comes to terms with what it means to be in a relationship with such a powerful woman.

Bianca Mori’s writing is so delicious and thrilling, and the pacing with which this story unfolded made it seem like I was watching a movie unfold. (Complete with a dramatic violin OST a la Innocent Man, LOL.) It had relationship drama, family drama, and even a bit of corporate espionage! And just like watching any good KDrama, I found myself staying up late to read “just one more chapter” because I needed to know what happens next.

I loved Cora and Stephen together and as individuals. I loved that Cora was shown to have a vulnerable side even if she literally owns 51% of this company (hehe). I also appreciated the look into Stephen’s true feelings and the way he was able to finally process them without losing his sense of self. I also super loved Celine and Anita Cacho and their powerful scene toward the end of the story. Tears were shed, true story. Any chance we could get Celine a HEA too? Ehem.

[Arystine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cora Ciacho has been trained by her late father to be the CEO of their group of companies. Six months after she lost him, Cora is ready to assume the role. She did not expect to face a board skeptical of her abilities. Cora is grateful to have her boyfriend Stephen by her side during these trying times. However, not everyone feels the same, especially those from the high society where Cora belongs.

This is the first book by Bianca Mori that I have read. And wow. What a powerful novel.👏 The story is intense, following a grieving daughter, a rookie CEO determined to follow, if not, surpass the accomplishments of her then CEO father. Stephen is a call center manager full of potentials. Together, they make a passionate couple surrounded by family members a bit wary of the difference in their social class.

While you would automatically think that this is a romance book, the relationship of the main characters here is already established. So what you can expect is how the main characters keep their relationship strong amidst the challenges that Cora faced as the new CEO: lack of trust by the Board members, corporate espionage, stubborn senior officers.

There are sizzling scenes here, tastefully done and expected from a couple still on their honeymoon stage. But what impressed me is how these scenes stood out, but did not dominate the story. The plot remained strong from beginning to end.

The characters introduced are unforgettable. I especially love Celine, Cora’s sister. The antagonists are larger than life. I was mesmerized with the lavish lifestyle, and I love how most of the chapters are named after an elite place, fictional or real.

Now I’m on the hunt for other books by the author.☺️

[kb · Rating 3 out of 5]

A romance between a CEO main character and a worker bee love interest tangled in corporate and family politics. Their story started in the #MakeMyWishComeTrue anthology, so in this continuation, they are already together, and are figuring out how they can truly fit in each other's lives. It can be quite an emotional read if you look deeply into what is being treaded on, such as the value of being enough, being a priority, and being a solid support system in a relationship. But don't worry, happy ending guaranteed! Bonus for sosyalan, island and India trips, cool sisterhood 😎 Check out her Takedown trilogy as well, especially if you like romantic suspense



Everything I read in 2020 here :)

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

One Night at the Penthouse Suite. A classic rich girl x poor boy trope. Don’t @ me, I’m Filipino and I love Asian dramas. The author did a fantastic job at ensuring this trope isn’t a cheap plot device but actually there’s nuances and layers to the story. This is also the hottest #romanceclass book I’ve read! I’m pretty surprised, I love it. This is a quick well-written and panty dropping romance.

You can expect:

- Poor boy x rich girl trope
- soft hero, ceo heroine
- explicit sex scenes!!
- tender and sexually charged scenes which is basically bullet point #3

I might read a detailed review later on. Overall, this is a bomb ass book, yoooo. I will definitely read Bianca Mori’s other books 🥳🥳

[Little_Halfpint · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great characters you’d root for!

This was a nice take on people trying to find their places as individuals and as a couple. Cora, the heiress, left in charge of a corporation and reluctantly dealing with all its politics; and Stephen, a guy who has loads of potential but is also so loyal to a fault. It was them against the world but they were such good people and clearly cared for each other that you couldn’t help but root for them throughout the book.

[Anjeli · Rating 4 out of 5]

You have no idea how much I freaking love the cover of this book and I fell in love with it even more when I met Cora, Stephen, Celine, Diego, and Anita. Such colorful characters. The story revolved around a world I cannot relate to, #RichPeopleProblems lol, but it's a nice insight. Bianca Mori has always been great with high society stories like this so I had no doubt and expected this book to call me poor in all ways possible. Loved it.

[Leah]

DNF @ ~30% on 3/26/22