In a classic underdog story, Ali Jafar is in a no-win position; recover the money he lost in three months or become the fall guy for the government’s insider-trading investigation into the firm. Maybe he can find a way to win. He will have to find a way to outfox the dark side of the finance world.

Warning: the finance bros in this book are so well written they will make you mad! The book was pretty suspenseful.

Thank you NetGalley & Atria Books for an advanced reader copy.

#Leverage #NetGalley.

Although I know next to nothing about the stock market and hedge funds, I really enjoyed this twisty financial thriller. The underdog goes up against the rich and powerful with nothing to lose, mixed with some sarcasm and funny lines.

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books, for this eARC for review. All opinions are my own.

This was written very well but I think this is written for a specific type of person and I don’t think that’s me.
The plot was just not holding my attention and I’m sorry for that. I tried to get into it and it was a suspenseful read but it’s not one I’m going to remember, if that makes sense. Finance and Wall Street is just very confusing for me. Thank you for the invitation to read though

First thank you to atria and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨3.75 stars

Synopsis: Ali “Al” works for a hedge fund and is a rising star until his biggest investment goes south. Instead of being fired, he is blackmailed to making back the money quickly or being sold out to the governments insider trading investigation

What I liked: this book was fast paced and you really felt the intense pressure he was under. I felt like the writing was so sharp and timely. The dark side that Ali turns too to get out of the situation seems so legitimate. I liked how it took on so many topics and the main character Ali doesn’t always have the answers. The way everything came together was really satisfying to me. It wasn’t too preachy but it feel very satisfying. I personally didn’t think the finance was too much but have a background in finance.

Ali Jafar-or as his boss calls him "Ali"- has been backed into corner after he lost a lot (a lot) of money at the hedge fund where he works. Now he's got to make it up and things are spiraling rapidly as he deals with some very dodgy characters and makes some very bad decisions. He's not a particularly likable or sympathetic character and that's kinda the point because you will find yourself rooting for him as he navigates racism, classism and finance bro culture. It helps if you're familiar with trading but this is enjoyable even if you aren't. It does go a bit over the top with the insider trading conspiracy and the bad guys (for want of a better term) are really despicable. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A nice debut thriller that's found a good niche.

Amran Gowani’s "Leverage" is a sharp, tense thriller that takes readers inside the high-stakes world of hedge funds and exposes the price of ambition. The story follows Ali “Al” Jafar, a rising star on Wall Street, until one disastrous investment wipes out hundreds of millions of dollars and threatens his future. Instead of being fired, he’s given a difficult ultimatum that pulls him even deeper into a world of money, power, and corruption.

Gowani does a fantastic job at blending the cutthroat pace of financial drama with questions of identity, pressure, and self-worth. Al isn’t just fighting to keep his job; he’s battling his own unraveling mental state, the ruthless culture of his firm, and the impossible expectations placed on him by the company's founder. This results in a narrative that is both darkly funny and deeply unsettling, showing how quickly success can turn into survival.

"Leverage" is a fast-paced, clever read. It manages to keep the tension high while also raising deeper questions about race, privilege, and the cost of playing the game, making it quite a compelling story.

This book was hilarious. I really couldn’t stop laughing. The main character was someone I worked with many times over. And he never stopped being funny. I would recommend this book.

I want to thank NetGalley and Atria books for this advanced reader copy and this is my honest review.

Leverage is a sharp, fast-paced financial thriller that dives headfirst into the adrenaline-soaked, morally murky waters of Wall Street. Amran Gowani delivers a timely and gripping story that feels so close to reality, it could be ripped straight from today’s headlines.

At its heart is Ali “Al” Jafar, a rising star at the infamous hedge fund Prism Capital. One catastrophic afternoon wipes $300 million from his portfolio, and with it, his confidence. But instead of a pink slip, Al’s ruthlessly powerful boss hands him a far more dangerous ultimatum: recover the money in three months or take the fall for a high-profile insider trading investigation. The stakes are astronomical, and the clock is merciless.

From there, Gowani pushes Al into the dark alleys of high finance, illegal trades, shadowy Eastern European connections, and deals that reek of danger. As the pressure mounts, so does the toll on Al’s mental health, creating a layered portrait of a man caught between ambition, survival, and morality.

The pacing is relentless, each chapter pulling you deeper into the chaos. The prose is crisp and cinematic, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. Gowani’s insider knowledge of finance shines through, making the market machinations not just understandable, but thrilling. The moral complexity, where “winning” often means losing yourself, is handled with nuance, and the moments of dark humor land perfectly, breaking the tension without undermining the stakes.

While the ending may feel a touch abrupt for some, it fits the whirlwind nature of the plot, leaving you both satisfied and a little breathless. Fans of Billions, Industry, and financial dramas with bite will find Leverage compulsively readable and eerily relevant in today’s economic climate.

A smart, propulsive, and darkly entertaining read, Leverage proves that in the high-stakes world of hedge funds, the most valuable asset you can protect might just be yourself.

This isn't what I normally read but I enjoyed it. It was thrilling to read and super fun to read a new type of book. I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to get out of a reading slump or wants a new read!

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

Leverage follows Ali Jafar, who works in San Francisco for a high powered Hedge Fund, Prism, and its maniacal owner, Paul Kingsley. As the book opens Ali's Fund VICE ( which involves investing in all things horrible ) loses $300 million in a day when its huge holdings in a pay day lender collapses. Rather than getting fired, Kingsley decides to test his once golden boy and offer him the alternative of recouping the $300 million in 3 months, or taking the fall for another trader's inside trading scheme.

Realizing the impossible task ahead, Ali finds himself risking everything by getting involved in "Black Edge" trading. When the first "tip" pays off Ali gets deeper and deeper involved with shady business associates, oligarchs and shadowy high ranking employees with information for sale. The more these stock trades or shorts pay off the more involved he becomes with his misogynist, homophobic, racist boss and realizes that maybe there are better ways to earn a living. He is such an asshole, he outs his on son, and unceremoniously fires him and has him escorted from the building, banished never to return.

Just as Ali is making his final push to repay Prism for his loses, Ali's life comes crashing down with threats of imprisonment for insider trading and stock manipulation. Facing the end of the road and not sure which fork leads to the best result ( Going to Jail or Helping the FBI ) Ali has to fight back to regain control of his spiraling life.

This fast paced "Thriller" could have been so much better. The incessant "jokes" involving Ali's bi racial parentage just come off flat and racist. His need to masturbate several times every day to relieve his very stressful life unnecessarily detract from an otherwise ok story; "we get it already"

There were really good moments and surprises, but the story telling, especially the constant suicidal ideation and planning, could have been eliminated and the reader still would have understood the stress "Al" was under and perhaps would be more empathetic towards it.

As a debut novel, this shows promise, but I think Gowani needs to tone down some of the extraneous stuff and focus on the plot more. I rounded up from 3.5 stars giving this first time author the benefit of the doubt.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was an enormous stress ball for me. I thoroughly enjoyed that this is not a book I would generally read, but I absolutely devoured this story. It was stress-inducing, anxiety-building, and truly an exercise in patience as I saw this book through to the end. I absolutely had to see how it ended! What a great book!

Thank you again for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC.

Leverage is the first ever financial thriller I've picked up, and it will likely be the last. This was just not one that I enjoyed and found myself disliking every character and every plot point in the book. It was not poorly written by any means, just not a gerne for me.

This was a DNF for me at 20% - I don't think it's a bad book, nor poorly written, but rather just not for me. I think this is a better fit for fans of financial thrillers with unlikeable characters.

The good is that this was very fast-paced. However, I do not think financial thrillers are for me. It was hard for me to become invested - none of the characters had any redeeming qualities. Also seemed unnecessarily crude at times and it didn't do anything to advance the story. Thank you to Atria for inviting me to read and to NetGalley for the advance copy.

solid and interesting thriller, although it's definitely weakened by how annoying the protagonist's thinking style is, at least to me. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

This is a very entertaining story of high-stakes finance, corruption, and revenge. There are themes of racism and unfettered capitalism, and the book is quite funny at times. The author’s familiarity with the world of Wall Street seems to have led him to use terminology that would go over the average person’s head, and while I did enjoy the story, some of this could perhaps be simplified. Also, who says “micturated” rather than “urinated?”

The chapters are labeled oddly: from First Chamber to Thirty-Sixth Chamber. I’m stop trying to figure out the use of the word Chamber.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Leverage is a dark, high-stakes workplace thriller set in the ruthless world of hedge funds. Al loses $300 million in a single day. He expects to be fired—but instead, his unhinged boss gives him an ultimatum: recover the full amount in three months, or take the fall for insider trading. Desperate and cornered, Al is forced to cross ethical lines and descend into the darker corners of finance to save himself.

This gripping debut from Amran Gowani is a relentless, anxiety-inducing ride. Drawing from his own experience in the finance industry, Gowani slams on the gas from page one—and never lets up. I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley & Atria Books for letting me read this ARC.

First, big trigger warning for suicidal ideation.

Ali Jafar, a trader at San Francisco's most prestigious hedge fund, is given a long-shot chance to redeem his career after losing the fund $300 million. His attempts to save his skin plunge him deep into the dark side of the financial world with little hope of making it out unscathed.

This book has its flaws, but it is entertaining. Everyone sucks. I rooted for the protagonist because of how awful the antagonist, Ali's boss Paul, was, not because I particularly liked Ali. The novel satirizes the notoriously toxic financial industry, but in a way too heavy-handed way. Ali is so sanctimonious and while showing the two extremes (hypocritical bleeding heart versus greedy but upfront sociopath) is part of the point, it's too much and makes him a bit too annoying and hard to root for. He's not wrong about the injustices he's witnessing, but it feels like they're shoehorned into every sentence and it's a bit exhausting. I would've liked to see the characters be a bit more balanced and not caricatures.

That all said, I was very invested in seeing if and how Ali would pull himself out of this mess and whether Paul would get his comeuppance. It's a relatively quick read and fun if you like to consume media about rich people behaving poorly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Leverage showcases the 'boys will be boys' network of hedge fund managers, profiling Ali Jafar, a Pakistani hedge fund prodigy who loses $300 million in a single afternoon. His firm’s egotistical founder offers a grim ultimatum: make it back in three months, or be framed for insider trading and take the fall for the company.

It's a fast paced financial thriller along the lines of 'The Firm', good guy tries to outwit macho bad guys and save his career and reputation, but at what cost? The author does a good job peeling back the onion on the corrupt, egotistical wolfs that run Wall Street, but that was not a surprise. I liked the satire of the writing and the dark comedic moments but found it a bit sad overall that this is a idea of what goes on behind the scenes of high finance, especially as it regards market manipulation and insider trading.

Content warning for suicidal ideation, and multiple scenes of masturbation, which I could have done without. Well written, and good for fans of 'Sucession', and like minded shows. The author has a finance background, which shows through here, and it is an impressive debut, but could have used some editing.

You are supposed to root for Ali, but he's done some bad things himself, so I wasn't really invested in his outcome.

This was a quick read, but I think it would be better to have more knowledge about Wall Street business. Al Jafar works for a large hedge fund company and the boss sends him to make a huge deal any way he can after he loses millions. It’s full of corruption, racist comments and lies. It was an interesting read and learnt a lot. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy. 3 star read