This is the third and final book in The Biotech Billionaire Series and can be read as a standalone.

This follows the story of Xander and Penelope, who found themselves in a fake marriage to save Penelope’s shares in her family business.

This was a celebration of wealth, family, friendship and love. I love how unassuming both main characters are. They grew on each other, took their time to fall in love and had each other’s back.

Like the previous books, I enjoyed the business side of this book- all the takeovers, mergers, acquisitions, contracts were refreshing to read.

I loved the friendship group and I’m glad that characters from the previous books all made appearances.

I love the ending and will miss all of the characters but looking forward to reading more from the author.

So thoroughly enjoyed this! To the point of not wanting to do what I had to do so I can read instead lol. This is the 3rd book in the series (which I did not know, but makes sense lol). And a new author for me. This was funny and witty, steamy and endearing. Xander & Penelope completely won me over. I look forward to reading the first 2 books in the series!

This book honestly surprised me in ways I did not expect it to. First of all, I am happy to say thank you Ava Rani for the lack of the third act miscommunication trope! Most spicy little romance books like this one always have it and I am happy to report this one did not. Secondly, can I just say I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of emotional depth these characters would have? Again, for a romance book like this, to see such depth in both the MMC and FMC is usually seen in other books.

“Not because I need more than one second to know you’re the one. My one. I realized something. Every person that came into my life and every single one that left it was a lesson. I thought it was that I had to hold on tight or I’d lose the person I love. But it was actually a lesson in resilience. Also so when this moment came, I wouldn’t mess it up.”

This quote, and honestly so many others throughout the book, resonated with me. It is a much deeper meaning to the idea of if you love something set it free and if it doesn’t come back then it was never yours. This time allowed both characters to truly find themselves and made this one of the best romance books I have read in a while. Not only that but, as someone else has stated, the whole crazy rich asians meets gossip girl also helped this book be one of the better ones I’ve read in a minute!

"You're my wife," he told me through gritted teeth. "Only I get to play with you."

For fans of Crazy Rich Asians and Suits.

If you’re a fan of big city settings, then this is the book for you as we are literally jet setting between NYC and Singapore (with a stint in the Hamptons).

Don’t be fooled though, in this billionaire romance BOTH are rich. However, the FMC needs to marry in order to receive her inheritance and there are a couple other obstacles in the way…

"But fair warning, I'm a little broken."
"No," she gently disagreed. "Just a bit bent."

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. I had not read books 1 and 2 but didn't feel lost at all and it was very easy to follow the story. The side characters were adorable and I really related to Penelope and her estranged relationship with her family and trying to make everyone happy.

I'm a sucker for a marriage of convenience and the ultimate "My Wife" moment and this story certainly delivered. I was actually surprised when the spicy bucket list was introduced and imagine my shock when the sweet golden retriever turns into somewhat of a Dom.

Unlike other billionaire romances, both MCs are rich albeit with a caveat for the FMC.
I do think the lifestyle could've been portrayed a bit more vividly, besides the general locations (NYC, Singapore, Hamptons), it didn't go into details of actual places they might visit, fancy restaurants or stores, It felt like the entire story was either set at the law firm, the member's club or the family home.

Some of the spending felt a bit random, like spending 40Mil on a photograph out of the blue, but I did like that the MMC was secretly pining for her for years and remembered all the small details she likes.

genre: contemporary romance
pages: 350
writing: dual POV
spice: explicit

Themes
-billionaire romance
-marriage of convenience
-Crazy Rich Asians x Suits vibes
-Singaporean/British x American
-forced proximity
-pining and jealousy
-"My Wife"
-Golden Retriever MMC with Dom energy
-People pleaser oldest daughter black cat FMC

Fave quotes
It was like his superpower. Xander collected friends and simply converted enemies.

"No threats? I think I'm growing on you."
"Like a barnacle on a sea turtle."

"You're drunk, Poppy"
"You're hard, darling."

"You ruined my dress."
"It won't be the last."

In comparison to Penelope, every illicit substance I'd misused in the past had the addictiveness of a breath mint.

"But fair warning, I'm a little broken."
"No," she gently disagreed. "Just a bit bent."

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
I entered in this blindly, I am glad it turn out so good.
It was slow in the begining but it was worth of time. Characters and plot every thing was good.
Penelope, She is a character I can relate the most. Sometimes she was frustrating but I know from where she is coming. She is smart and rich atf. She is not dismel in distress. And she communicate maybe not in the beginning but after the marriage she did.

Xender, man , he is whip from th e beginning just he doesn't realized. He will take any chance to make her happy and get close to her. AND never let anyone to hurt her. I really like , he was so good.
Their realtonshi was really good. Their chemistry were fire. And they way thet trust each other, I just liked it.

This book has a solid plot. And I really the storyline. It was so enjoyable, All the family drama and
family feud. Author did a really good job.
The narrative style was a little difficult to comprehend .

I will highly recommend if the marrige of convenience is your trope.

I don't usually pick up books that have MCs as attorneys because having worked in the legal field, inconsistencies really bother me. Something about billionaire marriage of convenience with diverse characters really spoke to me though and I'm glad I picked this one up!

Xander Sutton has it down bad for Penelope Chan-Astor and is only too happy to play pretend as Penelope's husband to help her claim her inheritance. He's wanted her for a long time, so this burn is sloooooow, but it's so, so good. So, yes, there is spice, but with a slow burn, don't expect it immediately - just enjoy that anticipation.

I really enjoyed and loved Penelope's and Xander's characters - they're both fun in their own ways, but each incredibly caring. As the burn starts to build, you'll be gripping your book as you read through their character arcs.

The only thing for me was a plot point or two in the 3rd act that didn't quite do it for me (no, I will not spoil them). Regardless of those plot points, I still really liked this book and now need to loop back to read the first 2 in this series! (I keep doing that! Finding the last standalone, but more fun for me!).

Synopsis: Penelope Chen-Astor has spent her entire life making sure she doesn’t ruffle any feathers. But when it comes time to fulfill the terms of her grandfather’s will, she’s *tired*. There has to be another way - one that doesn’t have her end up married to the man her family has chosen for her. Enter Xander Sutton, who would do anything to keep his friends close and safe. Surely they can meet the will’s terms and separate in a year with no consequences. Right?



My thoughts: I have been thirsty for Penelope and Xander’s story from Book 1 - I could tell there was *something* going on. And this story? It did not disappoint. It is sweet and spicy, and will break your heart then put it back together again. Plus marriage of convenience? Game. Over.



Sweet Penelope. She just wants to be seen and to be loved for who she is; she wants to be *free*. I loved the journey she went on to find herself, her voice, and her ability to make her own choices. And Xander. *sigh* Poor Xander - just trying to hold on to everyone he loves… Including Penelope. Watching these two dance around their feelings, while trying to convince everyone that their marriage is real, while also trying to convince their closest friends it *isn’t* real is just ~delicious~. And then there is the jet-setting across the globe, the corporate espionage, the high-profile & expensive dates, the found family vibes, and the banter. There is no shortage of things to love in this book.



And we haven’t even talked about the *spice*. The tension from page 1 is just so tasty. Their wedding kiss had me squealing, and when Xander finds a certain kind of -list- that Penelope has made? Screaming & kicking my feet. One caution: if you have any kind of attachment to or love of fashion, you’ll need to skip certain scenes.



I need y’all to pick up The Charmer. Please. But read The Spare and The Heir first, so you can fully appreciate the world that Ava Rani has created.

I've been waiting for Xander's book, and he was truly a charmer. I don't think I was expecting dating anxiety from him, but it made sense for his casual approach to dating. Who knew a marriage of convenience would get him the HEA he desperately wanted.

The Charmer was the perfect marriage of convenience story! The love was fast but seemed genuine. Readers of this story are in for a fun ride around the globe and a solid emotional journey with the two main characters.

Though it is the third in the series you do not have to read the first to enjoy this book. Highly recommend!

5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️♾️

Penelope is a world class lawyer who's family is trying to force her into an arranged marriage or else she could lose her inheritance and her mom will lose her shares. Penelope ends up last minute marrying her billionaire friend Xander to still get her inheritance.
The chemistry in this book is UNREAL. So good! I will definitely be reading the first two books in this series and every new book Ava Rani writes. The storyline is intriguing and flows while the spicy scenes are beautifully written. Ava Rani is officially a must read author for me!

*Thank you Good Girls PR for this ARC in exchange for and honest review!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

If you enjoy the following the tropes: Marriage of Convenience and by extension, fake “marriage”, Dual POVs, and a slow-burn romance (emotionally), you might want to give this book a shot.

Penelope is an FMC who is initially portrayed as guarded. Her background is sad and long story short, she is considered the ‘black sheep’ of her family. Xander, the MMC, is quite the opposite. He’s able to charm his way to anyone and despite his reputation for deadlines when it comes to romantic relationships, said relationships never end in grudges.

There’s an inheritance, a scheme and a marriage of convenience. And while that might sound very typical of a billionaire romance, I honestly really enjoyed this book.

First things first, this book is the <i>third and final</i> book in a series of interconnected standalones. I did not know this and while I felt there was some details and characters I should have already known, I was able to follow the plot easily.

Secondly, this book has spice! While I mentioned that this was a slow burn romance, the spice starts at around 50%. If I had to rate the spice level, it’ll be:
🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of 🌶️🌶️🌶️
This rating (which is totally subjective because it is based on my opinion that constantly changes as I read more books)
means that there are more than three open-door scenes thats either moderately graphic or 2 or more scenes that’s highly graphic.

I took note of 5 explicit scenes, 1 of which was explicit foreplay, but if you ask me, these scenes were about moderately graphic. This again, however, is totally subjective and can be different for others.

If I could name one thing that made this book enjoyable, it’s the MMC himself, Xander. While I am not particularly fond of his name and would prefer his full name, everything else about this guy has made me decide that he deserves to be in my list of book boyfriends.

I don’t know how to explain his character without spoiling the book, but if I could summarize him, it’s that <i>Xander knows how to love</i>. There are so many moments where I felt words were not needed especially when his actions were so loud. I’ll get more into the FMC and why this matters, but I don’t think there could be a better fit for the FMC than this MMC. I want to note that while I don’t read a lot of billionaire romances, the ones that I stumble upon always have a very possessive and arrogant MMC— which I do not like. Xander? Yeah, he has a jealousy scene, but I feel like it’s controlled and no lashing-out occurs. It’s honestly so refreshing to read up on an MMC like him because I don’t get the blaring “red flag” during his POVs and scenes in general.

Penelope— I am also not a fan of this name, but I like the way she was written. A lot of her character growth was based on the need for independence. Her story is one of familial obligations and dealing with a toxic family. This is a character who has a family, but longs <i>for a family</i>, if you catch my drift. And the reason why I like Xander so much is that many of the things he does it rooted to showing how loved the FMC is. This guy notices the little things and acts on it either to show that the FMC was heard or to show that she doesn’t need to do all things by herself. I may be completed bias at this point, but that speaks my love language and gets himself a ticket to my book boyfriend list.

In terms of the plot, I thought it was pretty solid. I did struggle with certain parts, like the politics and all the organization names but, I think I got the gist of it. Despite some grammatical errors here and there that will hopefully get fixed before the publication date, I also did not have much problems with the writing.

Honestly, there’s so many moments that I want to talk about, but it would spoil the book and I would hate to mark this review with spoilers so instead, I will share some of my favorite quotes.

> “Did it ever occur to you to find a different hiding spot?” he teased.
It wasn’t about winning the game, not for me. “I liked knowing she’d find me.”
That I wouldn’t be alone, waiting for someone who wasn’t coming.

^ This right here. I feel that you don’t outright get Penelope’s background, but you get moments like this that indicate and more importantly <i>show</i> what her childhood was like.

> “I’m a little broken.”
“No, just a bit bent.”

And my absolute favorite quote of all for this book—
> “What if in six months, it’s not Singapore anymore?”
“Here or Manhattan or Tokyo or Bali or wherever the hell you want to go. Take me with you, or have your adventures on your own and then come back to me. And not because I’m afraid I’ll lose you— because I ‘want’ to be with you, however you’ll have me.”

^ This is one of my favorite scenes and I so want to talk about it, but you’ll just have to get there.

So why 4 stars?

Despite not being able to put the book down, the first 30% of the book was really slow and I honestly could not remember what exactly happened or why it took so long to pick up.

I was also hoping to see more of Xander’s friend group (Jackson, Tristan, and Rohan) and I would honestly love to read a spinoff of their stories. Jackson though— is it me? Or is he like, nonexistent in this book. 💀 His name is mentioned, but I don’t think he even appears in person. I am not sure if perhaps that has something to do with the previous two books in this series.

Lastly, there are two flashbacks that play a significant role in the book. It is supposed to be impactful, as both scenes are referred to by the MCs, but I just didn’t feel that way. I think a little revising to include more dialogue would have made the flashbacks more memorable to the reader or, more scenes in the past to highlight the existing relationship between the leads.

Nevertheless, I truly enjoyed this book and I am so grateful to have received an ARC. Thank you once again, NetGalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for this opportunity. And a happy almost pub day to the author, Ava Rani! The previous two books in the series will now be on my long list of TBRs. 💕

The Charmer is the third novel in the Biotech Billionaires series by Ava Rani. I've been impatiently waiting for Xander and Penelope's story since the first book. Regardless, the story can easily be read as a stand-alone. The drama is well contained to this story despite being larger than life. It's a bit difficult to follow the business piece at first since there are so many moving parts, but it comes up often enough that it does flow together. Xander and Penelope are both complex characters who lead independent lives, they're easy to root for, and I love a solid friend group that comes together to support the MCs when they need it the most. I really enjoyed this series and this was a wonderful ending to a fun trilogy

Some things I enjoyed about this romance were the diverse characters, found family friendships, confident female lead, and "he falls first" hero. I feel like I might have enjoyed this book more if I had read the other books in the series first. While I did feel Xander's yearning, I didn't feel the vibes from Penelope much. I wish I had enjoyed this book more, and I'm so bummed that I couldn't get into it as much as I wanted to.

This was a new to me author and I didn't know what to expect when I started the story. I found a fun romance with interesting characters. While this was the third in the series, I found the story was easily enjoyed without having read the others. It might have made the connection to some of the side characters a little stronger, but it truly stands alone. I liked Xander from the start. Penelope took a little longer for me to feel strongly about but I ended up loving her too. The connection between the characters felt real having started as friends. I liked the story and how everything was resolved. I would read more from this author in the future. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Rani paints a portrait of the heart that never stops evolving. From the uncertainty of life to the heartache of love, The Charmer sets it's own rules. Penelope and Xander turn a marriage of convenience into a complicated battle of emotions. With neverending twists and captivating characters, The Charmer lives up to it's name.

This is my first Ava Rani book and safe to say it didn't disappoint me. A perfect combination of crazy rich Asian with all your favourite romance tropes included.

One thing I absolutely loved about this book is the flair and smoothness in Ava's writing. It felt so controlled, in a way that when the story needed to move fast it was fast paced and vice versa, the writing style was definitely new for me.

I also liked that we have strong MCs in this story. Full of family drama and a lot of business based decisions and elements in the story. I liked the fact that Penelope did not become a damsel in distress and kept looking for ways to get control of her life.

The diverse cultural backgrounds and lifestyle were very beautifully captured in this story.

This book is part of Inter-connected standalone series. However, while reading sometimes i felt confused/lost when parts from other stories where mentioned. Hence, would definitely recommend to read the first 2 books to get a grasp on the characters and background. Also, at the end, it felt that the ending was slightly rushed.

Overall, this is a good read

Ava Rani wraps up her Biotech Billionaires trilogy with a deliciously addictive finale in The Charmer, a sizzling slow-burn romance that blends fake marriage, billionaire charm, and corporate drama into a story that’s equal parts heart and heat.

Penelope Chen-Astor has worked hard to escape the gilded cage of her privileged upbringing in Singapore. Now a fiercely independent lawyer in Manhattan, she’s built a life on her own terms until her grandfather’s will throws a wrench into her hard-won freedom. To protect not only her own future but her mother’s financial security, she must marry and remain so for a year. The last thing she expects is for her longtime acquaintance, charismatic billionaire Xander Sutton, to become the solution to her problem.

Xander is a smooth-talking co-founder of Dawn Capital and a man who’s never had trouble turning heads except for Penelope, who has always kept him firmly in the friend zone. When a misunderstanding leads her family to believe they’re already engaged, Penelope proposes a year-long fake marriage to save face and secure her inheritance. For Xander, it’s the perfect opportunity to finally crack the armor of the one woman who’s always resisted his charm.

What begins as a practical arrangement quickly shifts as sparks fly, emotions deepen, and the boundaries of pretend start to blur. The chemistry between Penelope and Xander is electric, but their story isn't just about fiery attraction it’s about trust, vulnerability, and letting love in when the stakes are high.

Ava Rani elevates this fake relationship trope by layering in corporate espionage, complicated family dynamics, and high-stakes legal tension. The shifting settings from the glossy boardrooms of New York City to the sun-drenched tranquility of the Hamptons and the cultural elegance of Singapore.

As the third and final book in the Biotech Billionaires universe, The Charmer delivers a satisfying conclusion for fans who’ve followed this interconnected world of powerful women, swoony billionaires, and hard-earned happy endings. Xander and Penelope’s romance feels earned, their banter is sharp, and the tension simmers beautifully before boiling over in all the right ways.

If you love fake marriage tropes with a side of glitz, legal drama, and a reluctant heroine who meets her match, The Charmer is the perfect read to sweep you off your feet. Ava Rani proves once again that sometimes love really can outsmart even the best-laid plans.

The Charmer is my favorite of the Biotech Billionaires series.

Penelope needs to be married for one year to access her trust fund. Xander, her work best friend Sloane's childhood best friend, gets jealous when he's not on Penelope's spreadsheet of potential husbands. I love that Xander's mom's heirloom ring got stuck on Penelope's finger. It was meant for her. She starts calling Xander "darling."

While Penelope hates the nickname Penny that her brother and ex calls her, she loves when Xander calls her Poppy. Xander even remembers the first time he saw her in the office and what she wore that day.

Xander keeps the poppies alive for Penelope, while loving her from afar secretly for years. Xander is scared of leaving New York City, his safe place after his parents died. Poppy wants him to love her but not out of fear of losing her. Their marriage of convenience blossoms into a love story. Xander will do anything to make sure Penelope can gain her financial freedom from her family. Xander's love for Poppy is everything. He's even willing to leave his comfort zone for her. Where does one find a man like Xander Sutton?

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was an engaging read! I enjoyed the plot and would read it again.

In this swoony romance, Penelope, a reserved lawyer from a powerful family in Singapore, marries Xander, a charming billionaire, to claim her inheritance and escape her family’s control. Though this is the third book in a series, I jumped in without reading the others and had no trouble keeping up. It gave me major Crazy Rich Asians vibes with its lavish settings and family drama, yet the characters certainly brought their unique twists and kept me hooked. I really enjoyed the romance, and think it had the perfect balance between sweet and spicy. If you’re in the mood for a feel-good story that will leave you blushing and smiling, this is a perfect choice.