When Al found his way into Prism Capital, he hoped he wouldn't experience his successes crashing around him anytime soon. But unfortunately, that's not how the market works, Al has been lucky thus far, but when the latest market crash upends everything Al's boss gives him an ultimatum - make the money he lost back, or suffer the consequences. Al doesn't know who to trust, and in his desperation he could easily make things worse for himself.

Overall, while I appreciate the opportunity to read this book, I would say that I'm not the target audience but I think there are definitely others who will enjoy it more than me. While I appreciated the discussion around Al's backstory, and the fact that he doesn't look like the stereotypical finance guy and the overall twists and turns on the page of this thriller, I'm not very interested in finance, Wall Street and the things that come along with that discussion. I found myself paranoid while reading the book, the same way I image Al felt while trying to get out of the trouble he was in, but I had a hard time relating to some of the characters do to questions about the characters morals and ethics.

I appreciate the opportunity offered by Atria to read this book, I'm certain others will enjoy this book!

I have submitted a review on GoodReads, and I will post about this book being released closer to pub day on Instagram and will update the links at that time.

Maybe the amount of money Al lost ($300 million) seems like nothing to a bazillionaire, or perhaps not. Al is sure that he will be fired from his job at Prism Capital, but that is not what happens. His boss, Paul Kingsley has a better idea. He gives Al three months to either make the money back or go down hard. Hard as in going to jail for a crime he did not commit.
Easy Peezy, right? Well not exactly. Al honestly to me, wasn’t the most likable character. However, I wanted to know if he could pull off this impossible task or find another way out. The book is described as humor and satire, and I will say if you go in with that expectation, it was a different and often funny read. That is when it wasn’t focused on the incredibly corrupt world of high finance. somehow, even when Al made some incredibly dubious decisions, I wanted him to come out on top.

Thanks to Atria Books for putting this one on my radar. I have not heard much chatter about this one, but I really enjoyed it. This book was different from most books I read as it was set in the financial world - and I have to say that I learned quite a bit. Gowani did an excellent job of building tension, and I kept trying to figure out how the plot would unfold. This is Gowani's debut, and I thought that the character development could have been strengthened across the board, but I am hopeful that aspect of his writing will come along in future books. I definitely recommend this one, and I look forward to seeing what Gowani writes next.

I don't know anything about the author, but if I had to guess I would say that he is a half Pakistani half white man who worked a stint in finance and spent that time thinking he's better than everyone else, and at some point lived in San Francisco and hated it. Again, I don't know, but it strongly felt like the author found his life to be so interesting that he could make a few exaggerations and create a fictionalized version that would be of interest to other people. It also felt as though the author has a huge fixation on human waste (all kinds) and spent plenty of time with his thesaurus as he describes them to us.

Ali Jafar is a weird loser who hates his mother, lusts after a woman he hardly knows, and commits most of his time to his successful career at a San Francisco based hedge fund. The characters were so bland that they had to have names that helped you distinguish who they were. The main character has names literally straight out of Aladdin, so we have a chance to feel how poorly he is treated as an other. The vapid blonde influencer is named Karen. Brad is a frat-guy bully. I don't remember the names of the FBI guys, but they absolutely sounded like they were cops.

An asshole does some insider trading because he's being blackmailed by a richer asshole, then the FBI gets involved. That's the plot. I guess there were some elements of adventure, but calling this a thriller is a bit of a stretch.

1.5 stars, rounded up only because I was curious how it would end. Though I did end up being disappointed.

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

Wow I didn’t know what to expect was pleasantly surprised. If succession had a baby with suits this would be it. Filled with nerd culture references and a real lived in experience of the author. It feels very real a possible while also being so far fetched.
I know nothing about stocks and The financial world but I feel like I could go out and attempt to trade billions.
So many twists that I never saw coming and loved every second.
Zero notes.

Leverage is a fast paced, tensed and compelling read about the finance world.

Al who works for Prism Capital as a hedge fund manager is told by his boss in no uncertain terms that the 300 million that disappeared in a matter of hours that he must return this money within 3 months.

Al is flaggergasted . The odds of being succesful are not in his favour.

The chase is on.

Leverage is a relentless mix of secrets. lies, backstabbing and a twist that I certainly did not see coming.

I could not help but cheer for Al .

Leverage gives the reader an insight into the finacinal world and this book could not be more timely.

I will warn you that once you start reading Leverage is almost impossible to put down.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atia Books for the opportunity to read and review this debut novel Leverage.

Leverage
By Amran Gowani

Ali Jafar is a hedge fund employee who is doing well – until the afternoon that he isn't! When his biggest investment tanks all in one day, he loses $300 million and is prepared to lose his job. But that is not what happens.
Instead, his fund's founder offers him a deal he can't refuse: either make up the loss in three months or get thrown under the bus in the government's insider trading investigation!

The premise here is entertaining and the writing is good for a first book. But the verbiage of the stock market lost me in places. Also the protagonist's preoccupation with masturbation and suicide were somewhat distracting. Finally the overt racism – which does exist to some extent in most areas of society – adds little to the storyline.

If you are very conversant with the language of economics and the market, you will probably like this book.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

How do you win in business without losing who you are?

Leverage is a financial thriller by Amran Gowani. Ali Jaffar is a young man working on Wall Street who doesn't quite fit in with the world’s most awful boss. After losing $300 million dollars in one day, he is given the choice of making the $300 million back in the next 3 months or going to jail for the rest of his life. This book is extremely face paced and feels like a combination of The Wolf of Wall Street and the TV show Succession. If you are a fan of Succession, the “boar on the floor” scene comes to mind!

The main character of Ali is quick witted and humorous, I especially enjoyed the constant pop culture references that he used to his current situation. While I’m sure that it is accurate to the financial world, the amount of racism and sexism was a bit much for me, but didn’t pull me out of the book to the point that I didn’t enjoy it. In fact, it made me appreciate my job a lot more than I ever have. I can definitely say that the stress of being a middle school teacher is far less than the stress of being a financial advisor!

This was probably the first financial thriller that I’ve ever read and will definitely read more. If you enjoy financial movies or books, this is definitely going to be a book that you would enjoy.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Leverage has the bones of a good story, but the flesh is lacking. Besides being gratuitously crude, it feels like the writing of a 14-year-old boy who is going for shock value only.

An in-your-face look at the inner workings of Wall Street finance. Fast paced and gritty. Al is a frustrating yet compelling protagonist. His questionable decisions lead us into the dark underbelly of insider trading. I found it well-paced, with well-developed characters and believable motivations, with an interesting plot. The end had a satisfying, realistic conclusion with enough justice for everyone

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books who provided me with a copy of this book. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

A debut finance thriller, Leverage (2025) by Amran Gowani is based on his own experience of working on Wall Street. Ali ‘Al’ Jafar is a rising star at notorious hedge fund, Prism Capital but loses $300 million in a bad trade. Called into the CEO’s office expecting to be fired, Al is given an ultimatum – recoup the loss within three months or face being blamed for the company’s insider trading. A realistic tale of the ups and down of hedge fund management, insider knowledge and extravagant lifestyle unfolds with an expected twist and race against time. Overall, a fine thriller with a three star read rating. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without any inducement. With thanks to Atria Books and the author for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes.

I’m throwing in the towel at 30%. I think I gave it a fair shot. While I can often enjoy a caustic sense of humor, the narrator here is too over-the-top and the overt misogyny is particularly off putting. A person can be oppressed and be an oppressor at the same time.

Furthermore, I really don’t like how heavy handed the message is. I prefer books that illustrate things like racism and trust the reader to understand that it is racism, rather than books that feel the need to continually point out that this or that is a form of discrimination.

That aside, I really do not care enough about the bare bones of this story to compel myself to see where it goes.

I am immensely grateful to Atria Books and NetGalley for my copy.

**Features:**

- Financial thriller
- Explores greed, power, and racism within financial institutions
- Main character struggling with mental health

**Synopsis:**

When the portfolio Ali “Al” Jafar manages for hedge fund company Prism Capital loses $300 million in a matter of hours, Al knows his job is forfeit. However, much to his surprise and dismay, it turns out to be far worse. Instead of being fired, Al has to earn back the $300 million dollars he lost in three months or become the company’s scapegoat for the insider-trading investigation they are under. However, the deeper Al finds himself, it becomes clear that he has been playing a losing game from the very beginning and it will take more than ingenuity to make it out alive.

**Thoughts:**

This is not my usual type of book, but I’m really glad I picked it up! If you are into exploring the darker side of hedge fund companies, this is definitely the book for you. It can get a little technical in what it is describing, but if you are willing to deal with the jargon, the story itself is an interesting commentary on the inner workings of some of the wealthiest institutions. The story is told through main character Al’s perspective and is full of dark humor and ‘witty’ commentary as events unfold. Where a lot of the humor hit for me, I did feel that it also overstayed its welcome in a number of parts. That being said, it is definitely fitting for this type of character. Know going in that there is a lot of mention of suicide, both directly and indirectly, and it is often part of the humor. I am not at all sensitive to material like this, but even I found it a bit gratuitous without enough serious, deeper exploration of this mentality to balance it out. Additionally, there is a lot of mentioning Al masturbating for no real apparent reason.

This book is a financial thriller, but I would say it edges towards the more satirical side of the scale. In addition to the humor, the actions, choices, and personalities of the characters push the edge of realistic in order to convey its message. There is nothing terribly subtle or complex in the way the book explores its themes, but honestly it doesn’t need to be. I had fun with this book and would definitely recommend it to readers who wouldn’t mind some of its small quirks.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Ali Jafar, a Pakistani-American financier, works at a prestigious hedge fund based in San Francisco. When the fund suffers a catastrophic $300 million loss in a single day, Al is given an ultimatum: recover the money within three months or be scapegoated for insider trading and face years behind bars.

A financial thriller! A satire! An engaging, fast-paced narrative laced with thoughtful commentary on the power-hungry ruthlessness of Wall Street. The ending lost me a bit, but I enjoyed the ride. Would make a great series or movie.

This as my first financial thriller and I was intrigued from the very beginning. I was anticipating what was going to happen next. Had me a little anxious while reading lol. Overall, I really enjoyed this one!

I don’t think Im financially literate enough to read and enjoy this book.

It was super fast paced, I’ve never read a financial thriller type book. But honestly it was fun. It also took a very good look at the racially charged tensions in the 2010s in higher up fields like being on Wall Street. (Look at me, I know what that is now.)

But a lot of sentences I read I was just like “what?” Why was that put in in? It was super fast paced writing that flowed very well…except certain passages that REALLY pulled me right out of the moment. Also half the time I didn’t know what they were talking about because I don’t have a degree in economics.

Oooof. I have a difficult time with books without likeable characters and this was no exception. I agree with other reviewers that trigger warnings are warranted here for suicidal ideation.

Leverage

Some trigger warnings would have been appreciated. It wouldn’t have deterred me from reading, but I’d know what I was in for.

I do not think I’m this books target market. The “dude bro” mentality, overt sexism, consistent moments of touching oneself that had no context or necessity in the story but were thrown in at random, would not make this something I’d usually pick up.

The writing itself was really good. The authors ability to get his message across and his addictive writing style stopped this from being a DNF. It’s a great read for those interested in finance, okay with suicidal ideations, and sexist comments. The main character Al wasn’t entirely likeable for me, as he justifies his wrongdoings with the excuses that the world has wronged him. It is not easy to write an unlikable character but the author did it in a way that didn’t make me put the book down.

I definitely think there’s an audience for this book, and due to the writers talent I hope it finds the right readers. Writing is what moved this from a 1.5 to a 2/5.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.</i>

2.5 stars rounded down

Marketed as a thriller, this did intrigue me. But this was a miss for me, I’m not sure who the target audience is but I don’t think it’s me. While an interesting story, the almost fixation on crude sexual topics and suicidal ideation made this hard to enjoy. Not a bad book, just not a book for me.

Another rich and famous thriller! Somehow I never get tired of these though. This one follow Ali who works in finance and loses a massive investment. Instead of firing him, his boss makes him go and find the money! Not super realistic because honestly who can do that? I thought this was interesting because it explores the world of greed and also shows another side into the Pakistan culture which I found interesting. There was also some dark humor. It wasnt my cup of tea but might be for someone else.