
Member Reviews

Another great addition to this series! For fans of Ana Huang this is a wonderful match! Love the characters and how the story continues on. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

I tried reading book 1 and didnt enjoy it so much that I don’t want to go back to try to finish this sorry I gotta put me first…
thank you nonetheless to netgalley & avon & harper voyager for this arc to review!

This book grabbed me by the cover and description and when I was approved for the ARC, I decided to read the first two books before I dug in and I’m so glad I did. I didn’t think it was possible to be even more excited for Xander and Penelope’s story than I was for Sloan and Marcus but the story building and nuance was perfect by the time we reached their part. I DEVOURED their story in practically one sitting, I just kept wanting to see what antics they could get into next. The “announcement” of their engagement had me cackling and I love how of course Selena got to work her magic. The build up had just enough familiarity for the story to have a bit of the friends to lovers feel but mostly the fake husband trope prevailed. The relationship development past the physical was handled really well too, no suffering through miscommunications and misunderstandings to get them to their endgame. Mature conversation instead of ultimatums or deception was a refreshing way to go. I don’t know if this is going to the be the final book in the series or not, I know they set up Cece or potentially Maya for some development. I think it would be hard to follow this one since part of what made it so successful is our inherent investment in the characters after seeing them support the previous two books’ protagonists. It will be interesting to see how it plays out but so far The Charmer was my favorite!
Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Charmer by Ava Rani is the third book in the Biotech Billionaires Series. I have not read the first two books, but I had no trouble jumping into this one. There are a lot of characters, and I’m sure if I had read the previous books, I would have kept them all straight early on, but I eventually got it. I enjoyed the pace and the author’s writing style. I quickly fell in love with Xander and Penelope’s love story and thoroughly enjoyed their journey. There is some “business talk” that I had trouble following, but in the end, I was able to understand it enough. I enjoyed the extended epilogue so much because it tied everything up in a nice little bow and you are able to get a glimpse of their lives in the future. 4 ⭐️ 3 🌶️

I love them your honour! Ava Rani wrote another banger and I loved that this story followed our resident prankster Xander along. It was so beautiful seeing him be vulnerable and learning a lot more from the seemingly-always-standoffish Penelope. I’ve grown to love these characters and I believe Ava truly handles their stories which such care and attention to detail.
I love fake dating, secret pining and billionaire romances and I appreciate that they all were given substance and nuance instead of going in the general direction these stories tend to do. Adversely, I hate the miscommunication trope but I think this was so well done and still lead to much-needed internal work that Xander had to do. The nods to the other characters without fully spoiling their own love stories was also perfectly vague. I just can’t believe this series is over but this was truly a spectacular way to end.

After finishing The Heir, I couldn't wait to dive right into Xander's story! I think this is my favorite of the series. Xander has always had a charm to him when he made appearances in the previous books and I honestly was waiting with baited breath to see how he was going to charm Penelope. The mutual yearning for years got me and I was rooting for them to get together. Xander was down bad for Penelope from the start and I loved that he showed up for her when she needed him most with no reservations even if he desperately wanted to stay away and protect his heart. I loved getting to see more of Xander's vulnerable side as he opened up to Penelope. Like both of the other books, the friend group was stronger than ever and stood by one another. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the gifted eARC. All opinions are my own.
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The Charmer is just as the title is! Charming. Penelope Chen-Astor is the epitome of a first born Asian daughter and has the sense of filial piety due to trying to access her inheritance to help her mom financially and to gain her independence from her Singaporean family. Throughout the book, she is working on how to be her complete self, how to be happy on her own by making decisions for herself, and to finally let herself fall in love! Xander Sutton is literally a dreamboat MMC. Xander has his own fears that he has to work on throughout the book, but the way he shows his love and adoration for Penelope was so swoon worthy. The Charmer was giving Crazy Rich Asians, New York glitz and glam, and a sweet and spicy love story that I did not want to end. Thank you so much Ava Rani, team, and NetGalley. I adored this book so much!

The Charmer is the third book in the Biotech Billionaire series and centers around the love story of Xander and Penelope. After reading all three of the books within the last ~30 days, this is definitely my favorite. Being an Indian American, it is always great to see my experience shown in media and on the page and even though this novel did not center around the Amaris - the culture was still there, true to the characters.
Ava Rani's books are not for the faint of heart as there are quite a few spicy scenes but that's not all that you see in her novels. There's a true love story being explored in each one. I'm not sure if I liked this one the most knowing I was building to it from book 1 or if the characters were ones that I could just fall in love with instantly, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel.
It's hard to share favorite moments without spoiling the novel, but when the characters find out the others' secrets - the way that they are written feels so authentic to them and their age without infantilizing them. I also loved getting to see the main characters from books 1 & 2 effortlessly thrown in to this novel (as with the others) and I hope someone out there has made a timeline because all of them slightly overlap, especially with the epilogues. My only hope is that we do get a CeCe novel...because she deserves it!
This was a fun, spicy, and easy to love novel and I gave it 4.25/5 stars. Thank you to HarperCollins, Avon, and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Book 3 of the Biotech Billionaire series, a stand alone with interconnected characters, and Ava saved the best until last! Xander Sutton, swoon worthy billionaire has been pining over gorgeous lawyer Penelope for a few years. Featuring my favorite trope, marriage of convenience, this book had it all, the banter, the steam and the love, both in friendship / support group and in finding each other for their well deserved HEA.

4/5 Stars
Thank you to Avon for providing me with an arc.
I love billionaire romances but one of my biggest issues with them is they tend to be very white especially trad published ones but this one is written by a person of color. This was fantastic and I loved the diversity in it plus the romance was amazing. I loved Xander and Penelope and how their relationship progressed from fake marriage to realizing they loved each other. I really want to go back and read the previous books in this series and I will be continuing with it if there are more in the future. You can read this as a standalone which I did and completely understand everything that is going on in this book. I think it would be even better if I had read the previous ones but I still loved it.

I have been waiting for Xander's book for so long that I just devoured this book. There is so much yearning and connection between these two characters that I just fell for them as a couple. The "I will marry you to help you" trope worked out so well including the fact that Xander let Penny shine on her own while cheering from back even when he had all the power to handle everything.
This book was a quick and perfect read for me.

This book was such a fun and light hearted read! This story centers on the relationship between Xander and Penelope and how they navigate their marriage of convenience. As the novel progresses, we get a deeper dive into their insecurities and how those exactly develop. While this book focuses on the romance between the two, we definitely get more from their story.
With Penelope's familial obligations, we see her develop into a strong, confident, and badass woman. She never fails to lose sight of her family values while still learning to prioritize herself. And Xander. What a beautiful, golden retriever of a man. I instantly fell in love with his when I first read The Heir. His charisma and personality shine through and how much he deeply cares for those around him.
Ava Rani develops the most beautiful found family and we learn how to lean on them when needed. But, she also empowers readers to be brave and truly seek out what you want not out of fear but out of desire for pure, unapologetic happiness. I felt that this book brought a lot of healing for many readers, and I especially appreciate how Ava Rani incorporates the familiar obligations that many Asian-American children face. Love this book for both the fun billionaire romance and the many lessons it brings.

If you ever read or watched Crazy rich asians and said I could go for some more of that vibe, this one is for you! This is the final book in a series of interconnected standalones following the biotech billionaires couples. I do recommend reading them in order because of how relevant and interconnected the found family dynamics are with this group. Penelope and Xander chemistry comes off the page from their first interaction! They really are electric and I will always and forever love a swooning devoted man. Swoony romance, so much banter, and a sexy time to do list. I can’t wait for everyone to experience their love story unfold.

I enjoy a good Billionaire romance and this one was a pretty good read. I enjoyed the characters and also the storyline. It was a bit predictable, but it made for a fun quick read.

The Charmer was such an enjoyable read even though it was predictable. It was lighthearted and easy to read, I flew through it reading more than half of it in one sitting.
This was my first book by this author but it won't be my last. I'm looking forward to reading more by her. I loved her writing style and the multicultural nature of this book. I don't think I've read a book before with a character from Singapore so I loved exploring what was shown of that country and its culture. I enjoyed the characters, Penelope and Xander, getting to know them and following along on their journey. I loved the way their marriage of convenience came together.
Although I started with the third book in the series I didn't at all feel like I was missing anything if anything it made me want to go back and read the previous books. I also loved that it didn't spoil the first two books.
This was a pretty easygoing read with light angst, some pining and steam. There were also sweet moments littered throughout. I definitely recommend especially to those who love found family.

The Charmer by Ava Rani is a romance novel. The story revolves around Penelope Chen-Astor, a high-powered lawyer who has distanced herself from her wealthy family's expectations in Singapore to build her own life in Manhattan. However, her grandfather's will stipulates that she must be married for a year to claim her inheritance.
Penelope asks for help from Xander Sutton, a billionaire and the co-founder of Dawn Capital. Xander, has always been drawn to Penelope, sees this as an opportunity to win her over. This starts out as a business arrangement and soon evolves into a deep connection. She learns to trust and allows herself to embrase the possibitlity of love. She is on a journey of self-discovery and manages how to balance her personal life with her career.
I thought this was a very enjoyable book and loved how the characters developed throughout the story.
I would recommend this book to my family and friends.

I really enjoyed this book and even though it is part of a series it reads well as a stand alone. In this story we have billionaire Xander and lawyer and heiress Penelope. Xander is a gorgeous billionaire who has always been careful not to get too deep into relationships, except something about Penelope makes him almost want to try. The trouble is, Penelope is already promised to someone else. Penelope doesn’t want to get married, but thanks to her controlling grandfather she must marry by the end of summer or she and her mother risk losing their inheritance. Enter a marriage of convenience between them, which quickly gets very complicated as real feelings start to develop. I loved the main characters and their emotional growth in this story. The side characters, friend group, and scenery around the world was lovely. This was a fun fast paced read with so much heart. I haven’t read the rest of the series, but now want to go back and catch up. I received an ARC, and this is my honest review.

This is the first story by Ava Rani that I have had the pleasure to read. At first, I was getting a little annoyed that the two main characters, Xander and Penelope, could avoid a lot of the misunderstandings/issues if only they would have a conversation to clear the air. Eventually they do and it was wonderful to watch these characters grow and mature. They each brought something to the other that was needed. You know how it goes ... two halves of a whole ... This is a nicely crafted friends to lovers/fake wedding story that checks all the boxes. Great characters and locations, along with good writing and dialogue.

ARE WE GETTING MORE?! This series completely took me by surprise. I am OBSESSED. Ava Rani does a perfect job of bringing high society drama to the pages of her book. After reading the Spare and the Heir, I was hooked on the setting / everyone being billionaires. But Xander brings the golden retriever, charasmatic, charming energy to this series that we do not see in our other MMCs. In this story the Crazy Rich Asians vibes were amped up even more, and we got to learn more about our super successful lawyer girl Penelope. Add in a marriage of convenience and "my wife" and I am drooling. Overall, I had A LOT of fun with this series, the vibes were perfection.

Thank you Netgalley, GoodGirlsPR and Ava Rani for this ARC.
I've been wanting to read this ever since book blurb. And I wanted to know more about xander and Penelope.
Throughout the book, there had been so many adventures, enjoyment, sadness and also yearning.
I really liked the storyline. And also how both xander and Penelope even though had this arrangement in the beginning but at the end they became a real couple.
Xander is the type of character that, if you ever met him, you'd be charmed by his personality. Penelope was the type that was confident, independent and Reliable.
Both had to go through hardships, together and individually at the same time. But they always made their way to each other.
Really enjoyed this book so much that it got me out of a reading slump. ❤️
Also the way xander did everything from Penelope's list, with her was my favorite. 🫠
P.S. I really loved the epilogue and extended epilogue, it was so wholesome. 🥹