The Spare: A Biotech Billionaires Novel

Biotech Billionaires #1

by Ava Rani

Gossip Girl meets Succession in this steamy romance about a tenacious Indian-American heiress who’s ready to prove she can lead her family’s business, and her best friend’s brother, a CEO hiding a secret that might be worth billions.

When the stakes are sky high, is love worth the fall?

Sloan Amari has spent years in the shadow of her older brother Henry, heir apparent to their family’s company, Amari Global. Determined to show she’s been the right choice all along, she’s become a powerful corporate attorney and is on track to make history as the firm’s youngest senior partner. Now, the role of CEO at Amari Global may be within her grasp and Sloan’s eyes are on the prize.

That is until Marcus, her brother’s best friend turned business rival, returns to Manhattan after spending time abroad leading his own company. They’ve had unspoken feelings for each other for years, but he was her brother’s best friend, and now he’s the competition. Still, after all this time, their electric attraction hasn’t waned, and bumping shoulders at work events and parties makes it hard to resist, even if they both have corporate secrets to keep.

With succession plans at Amari Global moving forward, can Sloan land the role she’s always coveted, or will her heart get caught in the crosshairs?

The Spare is the first book in a series of interconnected standalones in the Biotech Billionaires series. Look for The Heir, available now!

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Billionaire Romance, Fiction, Audiobook, Enemies To Lovers

Audible Audio

First published October 5, 2023

About the author

Ava is a USA Today Bestselling author and a desi-girl chasing HEAs

The daughter of two immigrants, her Indian-American roots peek out in different ways in her novels.

She writes diverse escapism. Flawed characters with real problems in an idealized world. Fall in love with the hero and the heroine. But also, fall in love with their friend group. Fall in love with their chosen families and the people who support them.

When she's not writing, she's living her best 'Charlotte Pickles' life and taking over the corporate world while being a wife and mom to an adorable kiddo and labradoodle. With hobbies from gardening to studying to being a sommelier, she's always looking for her next delicious treat.

Reviews

[Gigi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, this book? SO. GOOD. Marcus is the total dream guy; he’s been in love with Sloan for YEARS, and when he finally decides to go for it, he doesn’t hold back. We’re talking epic gestures here: he took her to race cars on an F1 track, bought her first edition books, and even learned a new language just for her. I loved how possessive he was, and the way he pursued Sloan was everything.

Sloan was such a strong, confident heroine. She knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to go after it. These two together were so cute. They had the best chemistry, with all the fun, flirty banter and a slow burn that was worth the wait.

Also, shoutout to Xander! What a gem! He was such a fun, supportive friend, and I’m lowkey hoping he gets his own book. Plus, major points for a South Asian heroine! Loved the diversity here.

All in all, this book had it all; banter, spice, great side characters, and a super swoony. The epilogue was perfect, and I can't wait to see where the next book takes us. Definitely add this one to your TBR!

Read this if you like:
🔥 Billionaire Romance
🔥 Brother's Best Friend
🔥 Slow Burn
🔥 He Falls First and Harder

[zoë ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗]

pre-read: saw someone on my goodreads feed rate this 5/5 stars and i instead add all of y'alls 5 star reads to my tbr, so i'm excited for this series!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take me home. 😩🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

Sloan and Marcus 😮‍💨

Okokok brothers best friend falls for best friends brother ya heard it here folks I’m cooked.

[amarachireads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read if you like:
- Brothers best friend
- Rich fmc and mmc
- He falls first
- Billionaire romance
- Powerful fmc
-Indo-English fmc

This was a good read. It gave me gossip girl vibes (minus the toxic relationships) with the rich old and new money aesthetics, tight knit friend group and rich elites. The first 40 percent of it is a little slow because the author sets up the characters and their background. I liked that because it set up future characters well. Once the book gets very into the romance part it’s faster but still a slow burn.

Sloan (f) and Marcus(m) and their two other siblings have been really close friends until Marcus leaves them all after tragic events and goes to build his business. He’s back and he and Sloane relationship starts rebuilding when they are in the same city together. Once the romance starts it gets their Serbs gets spicy and I was here for it 🤭.
This is the authors debut novel and I liked the diversity and I how this was written. There were pages in the book where the formatting was confusing about whose pov we were in but that was a minor things. I’m so excited to get Henry’s book next!

“I love you. Drunk on Christmas, patching me up on Thanksgiving, nearly set alight by a sparkler on Diwali, covered in colors on Holi, or eating paella on a random Wednesday. In whichever of the five languages you speak. In whatever outfit you make me want to rip off. I love you, Saanvi Sloan Amari.”

[Shana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75⭐️ | 3🌶

okay this was great. I loved it. The ana huang girlies will eat this up. the writing was easy to follow, the storyline was great. I loved the found family and the best friend's brother aspects. will for sure be continuing the series.

[bonreviewsbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐ Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC of this book. And excuse me, the Ana Huang girlies are going to eat this series up.

-billionaires
-rich competing families
-high society in NYC
-delicious tension
-brothers best friend and best friends sister
-spicy

I really had the best time. This is your standard billionaire romance but I think it belongs at the top of everyones lists. The series is going to have so much tension and so many great characters. Absolutely will be reading book two!! Sloan and Marcus have kind of always had a thing for each other but have never explored it or really acknowledged it. But when Marcus is back in NYC for business, world collide and Marcus realizes he couldn't just move to London and have his feelings disappear. But Marcus is hiding a huge secret that will rock all of their worlds. Sloan is also best friends with Marcus' brother, but I loved that that wasn't actually a tension between them.

And the secret Marcus was holding was so big, I was definitely scared that the third act would be unforgivable but I just loved the way this went.

[bean · Rating 4 out of 5]

"He knew me. Like a book he'd memorized in secret over the years."

Fantastic Vibes. Very Gossip Girl meets Succession-esq with the Billionaire socialite friend group meets corporate secrets vibe. Marcus and Sloan have had unspoken feelings for one another for years, to the point that Marcus has just returned after disappearing for 2 of those years because he couldn't bear to see her with anyone else.

I loved Sloan's whole boss-babe, take no shit attitude. Her and Marcus really made a great pair. It doesn't hurt that when they finally come clean about their feelings, he immediately goes insane in the best way by buying her an F1 car.. a shallot in Switzerland... among other things. (OH TO DATE A BILLIONAIRE).

There was a third-act conflict, I'm not gonna classify it necessarily as a break-up because they both kept emphasizing it was just a fight and they knew they were going to work things out. And I just loved the chaos of it.

[dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS BOOK DESERVES SO MUCH MORE LOVE AND RECOGNITION! i LOOOVE to read love stories set in high societies so i throughly enjoyed reading about sloan and marcus’ romance. marcus’ admission of love is probably one of the best that i’ve ever read:

”I love you. Drunk on Christmas, patching me up on Thanksgiving, nearly set alight by a sparkler on Diwali, covered in colors on Holi, or eating paella on a random Wednesday. In whichever of the five languages you speak. In whatever outfit you make me want to rip off. I love you, Saanvi Sloan Amari."

he literally ate that!

ava rani’s writing style reminds me so much of lauren asher’s in the dreamland billionaires series. just another stupidly cute (and really hot) debut to a series that i can’t wait to continue!

[Doroti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a perfect work as a debut novel!!! Especially because Ava, the author self published it 👏🏻🙌🏻
(Available on Kindle U)

The FMC, Sloan (half-deshi) girl is a boss.
Both the FMC & MMC are relatable characters. Ava describes the characters’ feelings, insecurities and reasonings perfectly. There was a good amount of layer to get through in the book.
+Perfect chapter length too!!

Tropes:
- best friends’ brother & brother’s best friend
- friends to lovers (he falls 1st)
- billionaire romance (both have 💸)
- strong female character
+ love the dual POV

There were:
- bedroom scenes
- funny encounters
- the friends are talking openly which I really like
- that being said: nice side characters


“Being a gentleman, I looked away. Being a living man, I only did so after a second of registering what I was looking at.”



* There’s a 2nd book already out (about Henry, Sloan’s brother a.k.a. the best friend whose sister Marcus, the MMC dates). & there will be a 3rd book coming out in summer 2024 about Xavier (best friend of Sloan and brother of Marcus)

[ash ³³ ᵈᵘ ᵈᵘ ᵈᵘ]

boring, pick me, whiny, annoying

[Margherita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the story, and it was exactly my type of angsty, but there were some stylistic choices that stopped me from being completely satisfied with it.
A few moments/scenes felt too quick, which made some angsty moment fade away earlier than they should have, and I wish they would have dragged out for just a little longer to get a more even pacing.
When they were having serious and deep conversations about their feelings, I felt like they always cut them short way too soon, never going deep enough (at least for my taste) which left me a bit dissatisfied and also worried that they weren’t saying enough to each other and that it would eventually end up with them fighting about it (I mean, it did end up in fights, but those too felt cut short somehow. I don't really know how to explain it well).

I'm extremely curious to read Henry's book because I still don't know how I fully feel about him and I want to get into his head and get to know him properly. And I'm also very excited about Xander's book because I absolutely love him and want to see him fall in love too.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Gossip Girl meets Succession but with less plot

[jnh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute! It took me a min to start connecting with the characters but I got there in the end. For me there was a bit more telling than showing than I would’ve liked but I’ll definitely continue the series I see the potential 🤌🏻

[Liber_Lady · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great Start to this Billionaire world

I loved the story. I loved how determined Sloane is, and how caring she is of their little group. This one is a classic brother’s best friend trope, and I was HERE. FOR. IT.
If you enjoy reading a billionaire romance with angst, forbiddeness with great diverse characters, and also amazing friendships, give this one a chance.

Highly recommend!!

[Eden]

DNF @4%

I could not do the first-person past tense in this book. I could not get into the groove of reading it and the writing was choppy.

[Navya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love South Asian representation in romance and this book really delivered without it feeling overdone! Also... I love a good billionaire romance and when I saw that the fmc for this book was inspired by Blair Waldorf, I knew I had to read it (Sloan was definitely generally nicer than Blair though lol). The main tropes were billionaire, brother's best friend and best friend's brother (with a hint of forbidden).

This book started off a little slow; however, the second half really flew by and the book got pretty addicting. I loved the core friend/family group (Marcus, Sloan, Xander, and Henry). The dynamic was really interesting and definitely Gossip Girl reminiscent - there are a lot of little references to the show sprinkled throughout the book as well!

Overall, I think this was an amazing debut novel! I'm excited for future books in this world! I really want one for Xander and Penelope... I'm already feeling the enemies to lovers vibes. I think the next book might be about Henry though because of the title.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so fast paced it pulled me rightttt out of my slump and I couldn’t put it down (finished in a day)! This is Gossip girl x succession x crazy rich asians. And let me tell you, it’s MESSY. I lovedddd how they were literally ALL billionaires.. heirs and heiresses of these super successful families.

I really appreciated how brilliant and hardworking Sloane is. We love a fierce and confident FMC.

The secret pinning from Sloane and Marcus for literal years made the pay off that much better and their chemistry explosive. This is a delicious spicy slow burn plus a brothers best friend AND best friends brother trope. The banter was immaculate.. probably why I couldn’t put the book down.

Xander was a fabulous and fun supporting character. I loved his and Sloane’s relationship and I genuinely hope he has his own book! His golden retriever energy reminded me of Jeremiah Fisher from TSITP (IYKYK)
Definitely will read book 2… and probably book 3!

[Melanie (mells_view) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the overall love story was cute. Hero pining after the heroine for years, so much so that he sort of moves away to control his want for her as to not ruin his friendship with her brother, thus sort of messing up the friendship anyway and the relationship with his own brother and the woman he’s avoiding. Like I enjoy that level of angst. I also enjoyed Sloan, the heroine, and the fact that she dealt with feeling unwanted or less than by so many in her life and once the hero confesses his feelings he sort of makes her everything to him. So I enjoyed all of that.

That said I could not force myself to care about rich people problems. Not in this economy. All the who will be CEO, board votes, job offers, etc. etc. it was like reading about getting teeth pulled. Not fun. A bit tedious. That’s my bad for picking up a billionaire romance without reading the blurb. I was recommended this series a while ago and figured why not because my library had copies. Not sure if I’ll pick up book two, which was the actual rec for the tropes, but this one was good even though it was not really for me per se.

*hoopla audio

[Fahima · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 77%
boring so i stopped reading😭

[Kaitlyn Schultz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as an ARC from Ava Rani and The Author Agency. The review below is my own opinion.

Blurb:

Marcus
They call me the bio-tech Wunderkind or the cold billionaire with a tragic past. Controlled, focused, and always a step ahead. I built my seemingly limitless success by pushing boundaries but never crossing them. There's no obstacle too difficult to overcome, and no situation is too complex to maneuver around. But after years away, coming home and seeing Sloan is a complication I can't manage. She makes my mind wander to places it shouldn't, making me want things I can't have. She's a forbidden temptation that may crack the defenses I've spent years building.

Sloan
My lot in life is to be the spare to a less-than-worthy heir, constantly living in second place. Relegated to the society pages instead of the business section, I'm determined to make a name for myself. A six-month assignment in London will do just that. I'll secure my position as the youngest senior partner at my firm and prove to my family that I was the choice they mistakenly ignored. My eyes are firmly fixed on the prize until Marcus sweeps back into my life. My older brother's best friend turned greatest business rival ignites something in me that I can't ignore. He maintains a facade of cool indifference, but his eyes tell a different story. One that threatens to set our lives alight.

Tropes:

🔥Billionaire Romance
🔥High Society Gossip Girl x Succession Vibes
🔥Best Friend's Brother
🔥Brother's Best Friend
🔥South Asian Heroine
🔥He falls; first, he falls harder

I loved the entire plot of this book and it kept me hooked from start to finish. I have a soft spot for a brothers best friend x billionaire romance but even more when it follows high society. I found the relationships from the beginning extremely interesting and built on love and respect. The love between Marcus and Ava was something to be admired and to watch his character transform from beginning to end was so perfect. I loved the heiress who decides to prove she can form her own path kinda vibe. I also really loved the epilogue and extended epilogue because I think every book should have one. Go get this book which releases August 24th!!! If you love any of the tropes listed above you will be in love with this book. The whole story in general is extremely capturing and the character development is spot on!!! You don’t want to miss this.

[cait.wms.reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just discovered a new auto buy author for me! I devoured this book in one sitting, staying up until 1am to finish it! I received this book as part of a book exchange, and I'm so glad I did! This was the perfect relaxing read for being snowed in and cozied up on my couch with my doggo. I found myself giggling and just happy throughout reading it.

I instantly liked Sloane from the first moment. She's tenacious and I appreciated her dedication to not letting her family think of her as second or "the spare" as our title suggests. I personally got the vibe that anyone who met Sloane and still doubted her was a bit blind. That girl was going places and taking no prisoners on the way!

Marcus was perfect for Sloane, and she him. Marcus saw her (all of her) and did not shy away or try to dim her shine. I think everyone wants that in a partner. I did appreciate that Marcus was still "flawed" because a man that perfect can't exist, even in books. :) I loved his scenes with Sloane and getting his POV, and especially his "turmoil" over her being his best friend's sister, BUT ALSO his brother's best friend. I also really enjoyed Marcus and Xander's relationship and how it healed and grew over the course of the book. I'm very interested to see how the relationship with Henry goes, since we know where it was when we "ended", and then where it seemed to be in the later epilogues!

Also, I started The Heir immediately, and I think my favorite tagline from Marcus is "I may have overcorrected".

[Diana Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marcus Sutton Added to the Perfect Billionaire List of 2023

In 2023 I have primarily read romance , but the books that stay with me that I wish I could stay in forever are books that take me around the globe , and give a written picture of amazing traditions and places I have never been . With The Spare we took a trip to the Hamptons at Thanksgiving , NYC for Christmas and Diwali and New Years Eve In London Marcus and Sloan celebrated Holi which sounded absolutely breathtaking, and I just wanted more description to be transported there celebrating with them .
With my curiosity I now am searching for other Desi writers and stories around these celebrations, and of course I am immediately going to dive into Henry's story with The Heir so hopefully there will be more in book 2 .
I loved Marcus and Sloan , I loved everything about his generosity, and thoughtfulness. If there is a template for the perfect book husband we have almost everything checked with Marcus Sutton .

“I love you. Drunk on Christmas, patching me up on Thanksgiving, nearly set alight by a sparkler on Diwali, covered in colors on Holi, or eating paella on a random Wednesday. In whichever of the five languages you speak. In whatever outfit you make me want to rip off. I love you, Saanvi Sloan Amari.” Before being with Sloan, I was trying to forget. Now all I wanted to do was remember. Every laugh, every smile, every single second. She lit up my world and made each moment better than the last.

He listens ..he gave her experiences of driving an F1 racecar , a chalet in the Swiss Alps where she loved going with her grandmother, searched the globe for 1st edition books so she could translate them herself . This is a person committed to loving her and showing how seen she is, how important she is in ways to just see her smile and hear her laugh. I just wanted more of them .

Where there was some conflict , (and thankfully no 3rd act breakup) I hope the author pushes emotion going forward. Did this book make me cry ..almost but it was a swoony moment. Did it make me laugh ? Also no . This book did make me feel the whirlwind of emotion , but the ending felt rushed. I felt like a fast forward was done , and it would have ended better on a honeymoon , or rushing to the hospital with Xander and Henry following behind . I wanted the whole fairytale as Sloan would have made a beautiful bride . I felt robbed.

Will i listen when this makes it to audio? ABSOLUTELY..Please have Shane East narrate with Zara HamptonBrown!

[Serena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read This Book If…you enjoyed the Dreamland Billionaires series!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
The Spare by Ava Rani

Genre: romance
Series: Biotech Billionaires # 1
Spice Level: 4/5🌶, 3-4 explicit scenes
Setting: NYC and London
POV: dual, 1st person, past tense
Tropes: billionaire, brother’s best friend, longtime crush, family friends to lovers

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this one! It’s a very classic billionaire romance between an entrepreneur and an heiress. The friend group was so fun and I’m excited for the other books in the series.

I love when the main characters are imperfect. He runs away, she runs her mouth, they are meant for each other!

I found the pacing to be a little off, with the conflicts happening earlier than I would have expected. However, everything was tied up perfectly by the end!

Memorable Quote: “You’d have to be insane not to fall for her. Hypothetically.”

[constança beatriz · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ 3.75

I picked up this book after seeing the positive reviews and what might be the most beautiful cover I’ve ever seen. I absolutely adored it. Anyone who knows me knows I’m a sucker for billionaire romance novels, but it’s been a long time since I’ve read one that stayed with me for more than a few hours 😭😭. This one did — and maybe even more than that.

It went far beyond my expectations, which were admittedly low. I often feel like books in this genre aren’t done particularly well, so I’ve started to lose hope. This story, however, made me giggle and completely melted my heart. I especially loved the way Marcus treated Sloane 🤭.

I really liked the main characters, though they weren’t without flaws. Interestingly, even though the FMC shared some traits and flaws that I personally have, I didn’t fully relate to her. The same goes for Marcus — though he did resonate with me a little more.

One aspect I didn’t love was how the story unfolded at the beginning. For the first 30% of the book, their relationship felt underdeveloped, and when they did start dating, it felt somewhat rushed. I think this part could have been explored more deeply. That said, the secret between them was genuinely impactful and believable as something that could ruin a relationship, and I appreciated how the author handled that tension.

Overall, the story was beautiful and fluid, and it kept me fully immersed until the end.

[vale garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75⭐️

rep: second generation indian-american fmc

OH MY GOD I DEVOURED THIS IN ONE SITTING I LITERALLY COULDNT STOP!!!! this was everything i wanted in a romance and MORE!! like this is what twisted love wanted to be tbh but THIS KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK OMFGGG!!!! IT WAS BOTH BEST FRIENDS BROTHER AND BROTHERS BEST FRIEND AT THE SAME TIME AND ALSO ITS ALWAYS BEEN YOU HELLO YES PLS AND THEY WERE ALL DONE SO INCREDIBLY WELL I CANT!!! NO AND THE THINGS HE DID FOR HER??!!!!! HE GOT HER A FIRST EDITION OF DON QUIJOTE, PAYED SO SHE COULD HAVE HER DREAM OF DRIVING ON AN F1 TRACK, AND EVEN PROPOSED ON VERSAILLES AFTER HE RENTED IT FOR THE DAY (aka MY FUCKING DREAM)??!!! YEAH IM SUCH A GIFT GIVING/RECEIVING GIRLIE THIS WAS TOP TIER AND THIS BOOK WAS IMMACULATE OMFG IM OBSESSED MY STANDARDS ARE THROUGH THE ROOF RN

[EmMegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 but rounding up because i’m happy with the ending and happy with everything in between. The third act conflict frustrated me alittle tooo much for this to be 5 stars it felt tooo much of miscommunication but i also understood Sloane as a character so i can’t truly complain, i loved Xander and Hen is okay too, the romance aspect of this book was amazing. Marcus is top tier book bf and the gifts he gave her?? would make any girl fall to there knees , men take notes 📖📝

[nay · Rating 5 out of 5]

We LOVE a man who yearns. Marcus? May you always be the man that you are 😮‍💨.

[Bethanys_books · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐️

This was such a fun billionaire romance! Can’t wait to continue the series and loved the dynamics between the main characters

[Alanna]

Very solid read! I loved the chemistry of the characters, romantically and in the friendships. and the over abundance of wealth was a fun little bonus! While being a billionaire romance can be shallow, there was a lot of depth to the characters who dealt with imposter syndrome, identity issues, feelings of unmeetable expectations, and found family.

[Cydney]

DNF @ 44%. 😵‍💫

This is like Ana Huang and Catherina Maura’s books had a very petulant child who is good at doing spot-on impressions of them.