Thank you to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and I read it in one day. I loved the storyline and the characters. I felt for the MC in her dilemma. I would definitely recommend this book.

The Charmer finishes off the Biotech Billionaires trilogy, but also there are several characters that I'm desperately hoping star in a feature in a spinoff to this trilogy because there are so many more stories to tell! But when the series began with The Spare, we were introduced to Marcus, Henry, Xavier, and Sloane, a group of four split between two sibling pairs, Marcus and Xavier and Henry and Sloane. Marcus and Sloane kicked us off in The Spare and watching them fall in love (or more accurately, admit their feelings to us and each other) was delightful. As was watching Henry fall hard and fast for Selena in The Heir because that man went from being extremely commitment avoidant to being like, "Hello, yes, she's the one, where is the ring?" And now, in The Charmer, we finally get Xavier's story. Xavier, the life of the party, with the past of overcoming a spiral into addiction after the death of his parents. Xavier who clings to the people he considers his family now because of that history. And who does he fall in love with? Penelope. Penelope who would really prefer not to be the center of attention, Penelope who keeps her walls up because her birth family is sort of toxic, Penelope who needs a husband and a residence in Singapore to secure her inheritance.

Watching these two fall in love was really, really lovely. First of all though, let me just say, if you like Ana Huang's Twisted series, you really should pick up this one. Rich people doing crazy rich people things feels like the vibes of this book. If you like a fantasy of rich people doing crazy rich people things that only they can get away with but also caring about the state of the world, this book and series could be for you. I really love the way both of these characters were able to express themselves and their feelings. I love the nickname Poppy. I love the way they both prioritize and really see the other. If the sentiment "to be loved is to be known" then I feel like you might absolutely adore the way this book sorts itself out. I also appreciate that despite my comparison to Ana Huang, this book clocks in at only 352 pages so a much more reasonable length for a contemporary romance than some of Huang's behemoths. Anyway, all in all, I have enjoyed this entire trilogy and I would absolutely recommend it to you if you're in the mood for a spicy good time! (Oh, speaking of, this book has a list. Two lists, actually. And you know I love a good checklist!!)

The Charmer by Ava Rani is pure bookish magic wrapped in tension, banter, and butterflies. This one had me grinning, swooning, and yelling at my Kindle—in the best way. If you're into enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, and that delicious slow-burn that makes your heart ache a little, you're going to devour this.

The chemistry? Off the charts. The characters? Chaotic in the most lovable way. The vibes? Immaculate.

Highly recommend if you like your romance with spice, sass, and just a touch of emotional chaos.

Thank you very much to Ava Rani and Good Girls PR for this eARC!

I absolutely adored this book and wished I had read the series from the very beginning!

I went in thinking I would get a cute billionaire, marriage-of-convenience romance, and I got that, but so much more as well. The book addresses some surprisingly emotional issues, including family expectations, overcoming grief, and personal journeys. Despite these (at times) heavy subjects, the book never loses its lightness or sense of hope as the characters always bring that out (especially Xander!).

My favorite character, hands down, was Xander, a golden-retriever-lover boy, who was obsessed with Penelope from the very beginning. He was such a well-developed character, as he was able to maintain a sunny personality while still grappling with a traumatic past and its effects in the present. I can only hope that we all find a man as down-bad for us as Xander is for Penelope!

Overall, this is a phenomenal book that strikes a nice balance between cute and fuzzy vibes and deep human emotion and trauma. I will definitely be looking out for more work by Ava Rani!

Tropes:
- Billionaire
- Marriage of convenience
- Secret crush
- He falls first and harder
- Nicknames
- Goldenretriever MMC
- Broken heroes
- Found family
- 4 spice

This was my first time reading a book by this author and I was not disappointed. I loved every second of this.

ARC Read

Marriage of convenience
friends to lovers
found family


I loved every second of this. literally ate it up. Now this is book three I believe and it's the first for me for this author and I am so happy that I got the opportunity to read it because boy was it good.

Xander has been pining after Penelope for a while and when he catches her eith his family's ring on her finger and her 'betrothed' not taking a hint he steps in and they use that opportunity as her out.

Penelope has to be married in order to get her inheritance and her family will not let up.

Xander used their 'engagement' as an in with someone he wants to do business with so it becomes a marriage of convenience.

There was banter, Spice, drama, formed love and best of, NO THIRD ACT BREAK UP!

This book exceeded my expectations; it was such an amazing story, and the characters were so memorable. I was totally engaged throughout the entire novel.
The book was full of vivid descriptions and vivid imagery to the point where I felt like I had slipped into the pages.

The third installment of the biotech billionaires series - acquaintances (but perhaps feelings) to fake engaged to marriage of convenience to help with inheritance access.

I'm glad I picked up the first two prior to reading this one. While it could potentially be read as a stand alone, the found family aspect and things that are revealed about Xander [mostly] and the glimpses we have of Penelope make everything make a bit more sense if read sequentially. And it was fun to revisit the friend group, their love for each other and a little side of meddling and pranks.

I loved watching Xander and 'Poppy' fall from convenience to adoringly in loved. This was a great continuation of the series, some jet setting, some melt worthy moments and a little bit of love!






Thank you Netgalley, and Avon, and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for my review!

4.5⭐️ | 3.5🌶
Oh this might just be my favourite in the series! Xander & Penelope were everything I wanted out of Xander's book. The chaos, the emotions. I just love this group of friends and this world so much. I hated what Penelope's relatives put her through. I related to her and Arabella so that hit home. Whether this is the end of the Biotech Billionaires or we're getting Maya, Rohan and Tristan's books (maybe in a next series), it was a fantastic ending. I truly hope we do get the latter three's stories. And I'm living for these Bonus Epilogues. Thank you to HarperCollins, Netgalley and Good Girls PR for the arc.

This book was if Crazy Rich Asians met Suits - no but fr I enjoyed this so freaking much. From the arranged marriage which let me tell you Xander is so fine and swoonworthy but also Penelope was so Astrid coded and I loved it!!!

I swear Ava be creating her own Rani-verse of books cuz Imma be begging for multiple spinoffs!!!! Isa better be next but now I’m lowkey hoping for a Arabella book!!!

Also totally not rating this a gazillion stars cuz my name is in this book😎(totally counts even if it’s the wrong spelling).

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I’m so happy to have finally read Xander and Penelope’s story! I have been so excited to get Xander’s point of view ever since reading The Spare almost two years ago. And boy - did Ava deliver!

The last book in The Biotech Billionaires series centers on Xander, Sloan’s charming best friend who isn’t looking for anything serious. And although he keeps his relationships short and surface level, he can’t seem to stop thinking about Penelope. Penelope works with Sloan and while she’s part of her friend group, she hasn’t ever let herself get too close. But when the stipulations of her inheritance require her to get married by the end of the summer, she quickly realizes that she’s not okay with the plan set out for her and instead, leans on Xander to be her fake husband.

Penelope and Xander were EVERYTHING! I loved getting Xander’s inner thoughts and seeing just how down bad he was for Penelope. And the flashbacks to events from the first two books gave us so much more insight into who Xander is and how he dealt with grief. I also loved how Penelope found her strength throughout the book and prioritized her own happiness instead of everyone else’s. I absolutely loved this book and thought it was a fabulous way to wrap up the series. I can’t wait to see what Ava does next!

This was my first book in the series and I was a little skeptical coming into the series at book 3 but I didn’t feel that I was missing anything by not reading the others in the series. Xander and Poppy were so cute. I loved how attentive he was to her and how safe he made her feel. Poppy was so pragmatic in her thinking and I thought that would annoy me but surprisingly it didn’t. It made sense and honestly made everything much more believable at the end. It did feel like it dragged at times but overall a super cute read that gave Crazy Rich Asians vibes!

Thank you Good Girls PR, NetGalley and Ava Rani for the eARC

Why am I just tapping into this series now?! After reading The Charmer, I'll definitely go back to read the first two books, but I will say that this stand perfectly on its own. However, there's some moments mentioned between them that I feel like I can see more in the previous, so back I go to read them. I have a feeling we'll get more of a sense of the chemistry between before they finally become a couple in this one.

I loved how natural things were between them, they had a solid base of friendship, not saying that that is essential in any relationship. I just loved that about them. I quite enjoyed this duo and the ease around them.

The Charmer makes for such a light-hearted read, which my soul absolutely need. I LOVE the friend support that surrounds them, definitely one of the bests out there.

Absolute win for me and I can't wait to read the rest of this series!

Fake Marriage 📌 Rom Com 📌 Billionaire romance 📌
The Charmsr by Ava Rani is a true escape from reality between the pages and will sweep readers off of their feet.

Liked it, didn't love it
OVerall a fine read though
Penelope and Xander just didn't feel like a great couple to me

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️♾️
I feel like I have been waiting for this story from @authoravarani since I read the first book in the Biotech Billionaires (The Spare) because I LOVED both prankster and good time guy Xander and the woman he often picked on, serious and beautiful lawyer Penelope.

Penelope has recently learned that to fulfill her obligations and get her inheritance - and more importantly keep her mom from losing everything - she must get married. In the next few months. And while she *technically* has a fiancée back in Singapore, she feels like that match will ruin her choices. Enter Xander, her friend and colleague’s BFF, a venture capitalist who is also her client. ALSO!! HE’S BEEN HOLDING A FLAME FOR HER???? They agree (and I can’t wait for you to see how it goes down because my flabber was gasted) to a year long marriage of convenience so Penelope can get her inheritance and Xander can impress some investors. But obviously both of these dummies fall for each other, WHICH I LOVE.

The baggage these two have from their families - Xander’s was great but ended tragically while Penelope’s is the worst - is the big thing possibly driving a wedge between them, but Rani handles this *so* well. They each get to grow independently but also as a couple! I’m literally so obsessed??!!

This is for you if you love:
💍 found family
💍 MY WIFE
💍 crazy rich asians vibes
💍 marriage of convenience
💍 idiots in love (MY FAVE)
💍 a spreadsheet queen
💍 the absolute best “it’s always been you” moment
💍 spicy bucket lists
💍 golden retriever men
💍 blindfolds
💍 fictional billionaires
💍 the cutest nickname

I seriously cannot recommend this whole series, but especially this one, enough!! Go grab it!!

3.5 Stars

I’ll admit I went into this, the third book in the series knowing absolutely nothing, and not having read the first two books, but it didn’t detract from my experience at all. In fact, I want to go back and read those books since I really enjoyed the couples we met in this one.

Speaking of The Charmer, Xander more than lives up to the title. He’s the sweet, and yes, charming golden retriever who makes friends wherever he goes, but hides a surprising amount of trauma under that sunshine exterior. And he has a ruthless streak too, only when it comes to business and protecting his loved ones. The way he adores Penelope and adores her is a swoony as shit to behold. His care and consideration for her should be studied. Everyone deserves to be loved and taken care of by a Xander.

Penelope is the reserved, half Singaporean, half British aristocrat lawyer, burdened with expectations and stipulations from her family all her life, and buckling under that pressure. While I absolutely melted for Xander’s continued efforts to take the load off her shoulders and give her the moon and stars, I didn’t quite warm to her as much as I did some of the other characters. She’s a lawyer and while we see a tiny glimpse of that at the beginning and end, she comes off as a damsel for most of the book. I could so relate to her constantly buzzing mind though, and Xan knowing exactly how to quiet it? Goals. Her “fuck it” list and Xan’s quest to check off all the items on it was delightful, and added a generous dose of spice to the proceedings.

The writing is a little cheesy at times, and I thought it would be too sweet for me, but it hits just the right amount of adorable. Even without a melodramatic third act break up (which I love). Touted as a cross between Crazy Rich Asians and Suits, it fits the vibes but I would love to see more drama. Get messy, all you finance guys and lawyerly types. Gonna check out the other books to see if they do, since Sloane seems like she could cut a bitch. Speaking of, I fucking loved their little found family, albeit consisting of billionaires and politicians, and how unconditionally they were there for each other through everything. I loved the Indian and Asian representation. That’s also a reason why I was a little miffed at Penelope for triggering (not forcing) Xan to move his entire life across the world when they had such a wonderful support system in New York (something she’d wanted all her life), all to move somewhere she only had a fleeting connection to. Girl I’d never tell you to move away from everything for a boy, but don’t make the boy do that either. Anyway, that was a personal pet peeve that made me irrationally angry, but also it was fixed at the end. And truly that might be the truest happily ever after to me.

I thought Penelope and Xander communicated so well with having a marriage of convenience!! They were honest about their feelings immediately and didn’t play games about it. Xander is literally the sweetest MMC. He’s so thoughtful and showed Penelope that he truly sees her. His nickname for her “Poppy” has to be one of my favorite nickname especially because of the background story. He trusted and supported Penelope when she had to take care of some things on her own. 🥹

I really loved Penelope’s character!!!! Asian FMC, who chose to follow her own dreams than follow her family’s expectations. I love that she’s a lawyer who has hobbies and isn’t that “workaholic” stereotype 🙂‍↕️ I was happy to see that she was able to make her life her own while looking out for her family after feeling so guilty for choosing herself all those years ago 🤍

⋆⭒˚.⋆ the charmer

Bless the day I decided to fill for this arc. I’m madly, devoted and grateful for THIS story.

I was having an awful reading slump and I couldn’t concentrate with books. The Charmer was THE book that helped me to read again and I’m so so happy because this book is definitely a five ⭐️.

Xander and Penelope love story is what woman dreams for. This is my first time reading Ava Rani and what a wonderful introduction to her work. She’s so grumpy and sweet. He’s a cutely golden retriever.

Black cat + golden retriever ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS makes the best couple ✨📖🫶🏽.

All the scenarios were so fancy and dreamy. I always wanted to travel to Singapore and this book gave me some ideas for sightseeing 👀.

I’m definitely reading this group of friends books because THEY WERE THE PERFECT SIDE CHARACTERS 😭.

I’m begging you to read The Charmer because ITS SO GOOD!!!!

I’d like to thank Ava Rani and NetGalley for the copy.

Xander was more than I thought he was gonna be 😏 and I absolutely loved his and Penelope’s story! Their dynamic was beautiful and a such a great representation of loving one another while growing together and pushing each other to be best version of yourselves. 🥹

This man Xander, from the moment he stepped onto the page he was pining hard for Penelope. Both have a little crush on the other, Xander more so, he had no restraint in acknowledging Penelope as his fiancé. The marriage forces them together but they are quick to get to know each to the point they can’t keep their hands to themselves. Found family also played a big role with both Xander and Penelope, for bittersweet reasons they’ve both managed to created their own circle of family.