Oh my goodness. If you liked Crazy Rich Asians and any of Ana Huang’s books, then this is right up your alley. Precious story. Thank you so much to the Ava, Harper Collins Publishing, and NetGalley for my copy of this book.

Xander and Penelope may not have started off in a traditional way, but their love was so sweet to watch. Xander giving Penelope a safe place to land while she figures out how to be her own person and do things for herself has been so precious.

“Whether it was in the glaringly bright lights of Manhattan or under a blanket of stars in the desert, she was all I could see.”

more often than not, I’m doing to love and devour a marriage of convenience romance, and that was absolutely the case with The Charmer. Penelope and Xander provided a wonderful combination of angst, care, and heat. I enjoyed the business aspect of it, too, and the way all the friends in the group showed up in some capacity!
—

this and that:
♡ billionaire romance
♡ friends-to-lovers
♡ found family
♡ intercultural romance
♡ karma
♡ Kintsugi
♡ marriage of convenience
♡ Norman Rockwell
♡ open door spice
♡ poppies x green thumbs
♡ reconciliation
♡ Singapore x NYC

triggers:
☞ toxic family dynamics

I absolutely loved the love story in The Charmer by Ava Rani! It’s the perfect blend of friends-to-lovers and forced marriage, but what really got me was how he fell first—way before she even realized. The way he cared for her, the quiet devotion, the little moments where he showed just how deep his feelings ran? Chef’s kiss! Honey, he was gone for her, and watching her finally catch up to what was right in front of her was so satisfying. Their chemistry was undeniable, the tension was everything, and the way their relationship unfolded had me hooked from start to finish. If you love a romance where the hero is completely devoted and patiently waiting for his love to wake up and see it—this one is for you!

I wasn't sure what to expect since Ava Rani is a new-t0-me author but I'm glad I gave this a try. This series is new to me and I haven't read the prior books, but it didn't stop me from diving into this book, and Ava's writing style is so accessible and enjoyable.

Penelope and Xander's connection was such a joy to discover, though I'd wish we delved in a bit more (but perhaps the seeds were planted in earlier books for a better payoff?). We meet Penelope, who was weighed down by her own familial expectations yet didn't really know how to ask for what she wanted and just craved family, and Xander who was just down bad for her from the beginning, and ready and willing to help her discover herself, give her agency and to give her the home that she had always wanted. I've discovered a recent, irrational (?) pet peeve of mine is the proliferation of recent "billionaire romances" which turns out to just be a hot dude/asshole with money, so it was also refreshing that we have a billionaire romance that actually recognizes the fact that these characters are rich and operate in an echelon of society where inevitably they grapple with power, connections, politics, business and, yes, arranged marriages or marriages-of-convenience and actually have the characters face these head on.

Special mention goes to Xander and Sloan's friendship and the Central Park duck feeding sessions, and RIP to all the dresses that were ripped.

ahhh i loved this!! like, way more than i was expecting to?! it was so addicting and i sat and finished it in one sitting. this is my first book by this author but it’s clear to me now that i need to get into ava rani’s series asap rocky!!

The Biotech Billionaires series has been an incredible ride, and I’m genuinely sad to see it wrap up. With The Charmer, Ava Rani once again proves her talent for creating deeply engaging characters, emotionally rich relationships, and a plot that keeps you glued to the pages.

Xander and Penelope’s connection is pure magic. Their relationship is layered and authentic, and watching Xander evolve around Penelope is especially moving. He sheds his usual playful façade, revealing a man who truly sees and values her. After everything she’s been through with her toxic family, it’s incredibly satisfying to see him become her safe haven.

The friendships in this book, especially Xander and Sloan’s, add another layer of warmth and depth. The sense of found family throughout the series has been one of its strongest aspects—it’s a beautiful reminder that the people we surround ourselves with can be just as important as blood ties.

The book delivers all the opulence, drama, and high-stakes romance you could want, giving me major Crazy Rich Asians vibes. The marriage of convenience trope is done to perfection, and the contrast between Xander’s golden-retriever energy and Penelope’s more guarded nature makes their dynamic both compelling and fun.

Few series manage to leave such a lasting impression, but this one has. The Charmer is the perfect send-off, and I already know I’ll be revisiting these books in the future. Make sure to grab your copy on May 13th—Ava Rani has officially earned a spot on my must-read list, and I can’t wait to see what she does next!

Billionaire romances but both parties are powerful MCs, love that!! I will always eat up a good fake dating/fake marriage trope. The yearning was to die for, especially from Xander's POV. That man is seriously down bad. I love the teasing moments, "Poppy", and the realization of their found family.
I felt the romance itself was a little lackluster though.

For me this was more Suits meets Crazy Rich Asians, the law politics was interesting too!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the ARC!

Full review on my goodreads page.

Unfortunately I was not a fan, but it maybe a me problem rather than an author problem. The book was well written and although I jumped in at book 3 it was easy to follow.

That being said there was no real flow in the book, no necessary want to keep reading. Some days that’s exactly what I need, but today was not that day.

Thank you to NetGallet for the arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A sweet marriage of convenience book between two people who’ve been friendly with each other for years and slowly learn more about each other. Penelope and Xander were a good match for each other in terms of romantic needs, and I loved seeing them travel between Singapore and New York. I loved the elements of art and normally gift giving is hard to read about but it worked so well for Penelope. I’m gonna hold a soft spot in my heart for this book whenever I see or hear poppies now and think of this couple.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

A dazzling romance that delivers on every level! The Charmer by Ava Rani is the perfect blend of heart, heat, and high-stakes passion. If you love a marriage of convenience with sizzling chemistry, “my wife” moments that will make you swoon, and two billionaires who are equals in every way, this book is for you!

Penelope and Xander’s dynamic is pure magic. She’s the fiercely independent lawyer who refuses to be charmed, and he’s the smooth-talking banker determined to prove he’s more than just a pretty face. Their steamy banter crackles with tension, and watching their fake marriage turn into something real is an absolute delight. Plus, I loved that the previous MCs from The Spare and The Heir make several appearances throughout the book.

Best of all? No third-act breakup! Rani gives us a couple who communicates, fights for each other, and proves that love is the greatest power move of all. With its glamorous settings, corporate intrigue, and a swoon-worthy romance, The Charmer is an instant favorite. I highly recommend!

Everything about this book oh my God Xander was everything that I needed and everything. I knew he would be Penelope a.k.a. Poppy is literally I think she could be my favorite. I’m very undecided, but I knew that it was going to be Xander and Penelope since book one and I’m really happy that I got this, but this book was everything that I needed everything that I wanted the spice in this book was a 10 out of 10 honestly I could probably give it like a four.

My babes were in love from the beginning they just didn’t know it or they knew it, and the other one didn’t know because they didn’t know, but they were in love from the beginning and fought it almost every step of the way, until after they got married and once they got married, everything changed.

I truly enjoyed everything about this book. The character building in this book I think was so amazing because these characters have gone through so much and it’s one of my favorite things about reading Ava‘s books is that her characters are so important in her stories are so character driven Because her characters have so much depth to them and they always have so much going on and they have so much love for each other even when they’re angry at each other.

The found family I say for every book in the series and I’ll say it for this one I loved everything about it the found family top-tier. I need it in every book ever written thank you very much, but Ava really did a really amazing job with this book and I loved it so much . I can’t wait until it’s available for everyone to read.

I liked this whole series but the start of the charmer and the spare were just a little slow for me. In both I skipped some chapters to get to the story.

That said, this was a great round up of the series. The crew deserved this final happily ever after. The spice!!! And the very special relationship between Xander and Penelope.

Please read this book!

Read if you enjoy these tropes:
- marriage of convenience 
- my wife 
- they’re both billionaires 
- found family
- no 3rd act breakup
- lots of banter

The chokehold Ava Rani had on me is unhinged. I can’t say enough good things about the biotech billionaires series so I couldn’t wait for Xanders story! From what we learned about Xander in the series I knew The Charmer would be full of banter and spice.

Xander is a total billionaire playboy, Penelope is a billionaire heiress forced to follow her families expectations which leads for a marriage of convenience full of ups and downs but their connection is truly undeniable!

I can’t wait to see what comes next from Ava, thank you HarperCollins so much for the arc to my favorite series.

DNF @ 79%. This book was such a snoozefest. Xander and Penelope had no chemistry. The plot, even with the scenes in Singapore, was so boring. The marriage of convenience and tropes felt so forced. I absolutely loved The Spare, but Ava Rani’s last 2 books have been such flops for me.

This book was EVERYTHING. A billionaire playboy, an heiress trapped by familial expectations, and a spicy marriage of convenience??? Loved it. This series has been fantastic and I loved getting to read this installment, Can't wait to see more from this author.

Thank you NetGallery for the eARC! 1.5 ⭐️

I don’t know what to say about this book. I found the characters to be dull, but what really irritated me was the way they didn’t recognize their rich privilege. The plot centered around a fear of not getting her inheritance for her mother, and then her half-brother threatening her with blackmail (?) that seemed nonexistent. And then worst of all, the book ended with my most hated trope: pregnancy. I managed to finish this book, but I would not recommend it.

- marriage of convenience
- my wife
- they’re both billionaires
- found family
- no 3 rd act breakup

Rating 5/5
Spice 3/3


This third installment in this series is by far my favorite!!! Easily one of my favorite reads so far in 2025. There’s a perfect blend of cute and romantic with spice and steam.

Xander was just so loveable and it was well worth the wait for him to get his amazing fairytale romance when he played an instrumental hand in his friends’ getting theirs.

Penelope was such a strong FMC baddie and I loved how she saw through the importance of love vs fear (no spoilers can’t explain more). But I also loveddd how Xander really stepped up and out of his self protective bubble to be vulnerable and prioritize Penelope and help her come out of her people pleasing to be more liberated and herself too.

The gestures in this book 🤌🏽🤌🏽. Going through those lists Xander is such a romantic! We all need a Xander! But even Penelope with no list stepping it up was so sweet. And I have loved the concept of Kintsugi for so long it’s so cool to see it reflected in a book like this.

Wish I could read this all over again for the first time! Read this!! Such a good book! Fans of spice and romance will not be disappointed!

Can’t wait to see what Ava Rani writes next!

Thank you so much NetGalley for this eARC!

This book deserves all the stars. I could not put this book down. Read it straight through in one sitting. It was everything I wanted and more for Xander. I fell in love with Xander the first time I read The Spare in 2023 and it has never gone away. Penelope and Xander complete each other in the most perfect ways. The banter! The chemistry! The spice!! They’re a perfect balance and the marriage of convenience of it all is the perfect trope for them. The friendship and found family in these books is SO FRICKIN GOOD TOO!! It’s absolutely all around a 5💫 book for me.

Ava knocked it out of the park for this third installment of the series. I am so excited to read everything she writes, she is an autobuy author for me!! Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins publishers for the ARC!!

*+:｡.“𝓐𝓷𝓭 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓫𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓘’𝓶 𝓪𝓯𝓻𝓪𝓲𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾—𝓫𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓘 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝓫𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝔂𝓸𝓾, 𝓱𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝔂𝓸𝓾’𝓵𝓵 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓶𝓮. 𝓜𝔂 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽 𝓲𝓼 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓼. 𝓦𝓱𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓲𝓽 𝓲𝓼 𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓯𝓮𝓬𝓽𝓵𝔂 𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓬𝓽 𝓸𝓻 𝓻𝓲𝓭𝓭𝓵𝓮𝓭 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓬𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓴𝓼. 𝓢𝓸 𝓭𝓸 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓼𝓽. 𝓑𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓽. 𝓘’𝓶 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓼𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓭; 𝓘 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓽𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓲𝓽.”｡.｡:+*

Does these kind of men actually exist?? If so please show me the way. It's rare to read a book where the MMC loves the FMC since the beginning of the book, and it actually turns so good. There relationship is so healthy and their communication is excellent. If only it has less spice it'd have been a 5 stars

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕮𝖑𝖔𝖘𝖊𝖉 𝕯𝖔𝖔𝖗 𝕸𝖔𝖉𝖎𝖋𝖎𝖈𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕡 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤: 𝟚𝟜, 𝟚𝟞, 𝟚𝟟,
𝟛𝟚, 𝟛𝟜, 𝟜𝟚

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕿𝖗𝖔𝖕𝖊𝖘˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆
🌸 𝙱𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎
🌸 𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜
🌸 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎
🌸 𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚕 𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕻𝖗𝖊-𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

Ummmm, guys, I requested books 2 & 3 of the Biotech Billionaires series from Netgalley -big thanks to them & Avon and Harper Voyager - and just got approved for this one, guess I'll run to borrow the 2nd 🏃🏻‍♀️

A fun, easy read and my favorite book of the series! Penelope Chen-Astor is looking to claim her inheritance but in order to get it she needs to be married to someone of her family’s choosing. Refusing to be controlled like a pawn in her family’s game, Penelope looks for another option to gain some semblance of control—enter Xander Sutton who’s been smitten with Penelope since the moment he saw her.

Penelope and Xander are the perfect balance as a couple—she’s more reserved whereas he’s playfully charming. I’m a sucker for “he falls first” & any marriage of convenience trope and this book serves it all! The pacing of the plot was just right, and I loved how Xander and Penelope were just mature adults that didn’t act on at childish impulses. I was happy that there was no third act breakup and how they resolved conflict as a couple. That in itself felt truly refreshing!

Thank you again to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for a chance to read an advanced copy of this book, and give an honest review!