I received an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.

The Spare is a billionaire friends to lovers romance with Gossip Girl vibes, since it is set in a somewhat high-society setting. It’s also a double brother’s best friend / best friend’s sibling story with south Asian representation and characters who are both pining for each other, and still has 'he falls first'.

“Sloan Saanvi Amari begs no man.”

The FMC is Sloan Saanvi Amari, who is the daughter of an Indian-American father and high-society British mother. She has grown up being ‘the spare’, since her older brother, Henry, is ‘the heir’ to their grandfather’s global pharmaceutical company. Sloan struggles with always coming in second, being overlooked and feeling insecure about her place in the world.

Nobody like the reminder that they weren’t someone’s first choice.

I spent my entire life feeling like I was straddling two worlds but belonged in neither. Half of each.

The MMC is Marcus Sutton, who has become the billionaire CEO of a biotech company. Marcus and his brother, Xander, grew up as close friends to the Amaris, and their families spend a lot of time together. Marcus and Xander have become a part of the Amari family, especially after loosing their parents when they where in their twenties.

Marcus and Henry went to college and business school together and is best friends. Sloan and Xander is also best friends and have a lot of inside jokes and supreme family vibes. The whole group had always been this close-knit unit and each other’s chosen family. However, a couple years earlier Marcus had to travel for work, and almost never saw any of them. This changes when Marcus only needs to finish a half a year more work in London, and Sloan is offered a promotion at work if she works in London for half a year.

“Seeing them made me miss home. Seeing you would have made me stay, and I had work to do.”

During their time together in London, they grow close again, and starts to realize what they really feel about each other. “This is endgame, Sloan. I wouldn’t have started this if it wasn’t.”

Marcus has been secretly pining for Sloan for a long time, chosen to stay away from the whole friend group and ignore his feelings. His parent’s death left him emotionally closed off, and he has always had a savior complex and felt like the Amari family had to take him in, instead of doing it out of love. Sloan has also been crushing on Marcus, and she can clearly see behind his cold businessman exterior. She was hurt by him leaving, and it takes a bit of time to open up to each other again.

There are some things going on behind the scenes of the Amari business orchestrated by Sloan and Henry’s grandfather. I was anxious throughout the book, to get the full story, and see how it might affect Marcus’ relationship with Sloan and her brother. I thought it was resolved rather nicely and was presently surprised with their growth and the trust they had in each other, to work together.

Xander is such a good, funny side character in this book. His friendship with Sloan is so pure, and all their inside jokes, banter and I-Owe-You-games are a very good addition to the story. Henry is more closed off, and not such a good brother to Sloan in the beginning, but he really evolves throughout the story, and I’m very excited to read his story in the next book.

Even though they both are pining for each other, this story has a slow burn, and the tension between Sloan and Marcus is just perfect! I was a bit frustrated with them at times in the first half of the book, since they refused to communicate clearly to each other. However, based on their experiences in the past and different upbringings, I totally get, why they acted the way they did.

“What if I didn’t come with you?” “I’d try tomorrow.” His voice was heartbreakingly vulnerable. “And every day after.”

Their friendship is very good, and Marcus is such a good match for Sloan. He sees the whole person; her professional ambitions, troubles with fitting in (her mother’s family ignored their existence), her being an awesome woman who don’t cower for anyone. Throughout the book, Marcus keeps surprising Sloan with thoughtful gifts and dates

Spoiler

(F1, cooking, Holi, special books)

, and supports her work, and he is such a dreamy boyfriend (except a bit of miscommunication…). Also, the spicy times is very well written, and their chemistry is off the charts.

Spoiler

Lastly, the epic I-love-you speeches in the end had me totally swooning.

“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.”

Smut:

Got this in a Goodreads giveaway… and I’ve already purchased the sequel. Got to love a billionaire romance