This is a cute book. I had not read the previous installments which left me
just a bit confused, but in the end it did not really matter. I always love a
good story with a way to capture a man not likely to be domesticated
and this certainly delivered. It’s not to be over analyzed, simply enjoy the
lives we read about, and smile as Poppy and Xander truly fall in love~
with serious bonus points for the taming of Xander! Some R-rated
scenes, but they really are important to the evolution of the story.
My thanks to Aron Publishing for the download copy of this book for
review purposes.

3 stars

I love aspirational lifestyle stories. Reading about billionaires falling in love and throwing money around to live in luxury? Yes, please. So I was excited and primed to love The Charmer. Unfortunately, though, this book was largely a miss for me. The plotting felt rushed, and there were no real stakes. Penelope is estranged from her family which is a source of major strife throughout the novel, but every problem is resolved too easily and without any tension to build the storyline. The thing I love most about stories about billionaires is getting to read about the opulence and grandeur of a life I can only imagine (like Crazy Rich Asians or the Paradise Problem). The Charmer is light on any of those details, too, though, which felt like a real miss.

What Readers Can Expect:
-FMC of color
-Billionaires falling in love
-Fake marriage trope
-Family drama
-Found family
-3.5/5 spice

I love a fake marriage story, so I enjoyed the overall plot of this novel. Beyond that, though, this book didn't really deliver for me. So much of the chemistry between the FMC and MMC is told through allusion to events that happened in the past or through brief flashbacks so I never really felt like we got to witness it developing between them in real time. I also can't believe I'm saying this as a lover of all things smut, but there are so many back to back scenes of smut that do absolutely nothing for the story and feel like they're shoehorned in.

I liked the family drama and business intrigue elements of the story but they weren't super well developed which I think impacted the rest of the book. The characters felt very two dimensional, and every side character felt like a device not an actually developed character.

4.5 stars ⭐️ This is the third book of the Biotech Billionaires series. It’s romantic, cute and spicy!

What to expect:
- Marriage of convenience
- Both MCs are billionaires
- Friends to lovers
- Open door spice

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed The Charmer, even though I hadn’t read the first two books in the series—which I immediately downloaded on KU as soon as I finished. This one stands perfectly well on its own, but it hooked me enough that I want to go back and see what I missed.

The story follows a Singaporean-English woman caught in a complicated family situation. To secure her mother’s inheritance, she agrees to a marriage of convenience with a billionaire “charmer” who has a reputation for good-natured, serial monogamy and a genuinely good heart. What starts as an "oopsie" misunderstanding quickly turns into something much deeper, and watching their relationship shift was so satisfying. Their dynamic is built on great banter, real emotional connection, and chemistry that sneaks up on her (I do love it when he falls first.).

I like when a romance gives me strong character development, and this one delivers. The heroine is smart, determined, and deeply loyal, while the hero—who could have been just another rich playboy—is layered, kind, and absolutely the kind of character you root for. The writing is sharp, the pacing is great, and the scenes-especially in Singapore and the Hamptons-act as character as well as plot development. If you like marriage-of-convenience stories with actual emotional stakes, The Charmer is definitely worth picking up. 4.5/5

Ava Rani’s “The Charmer,” the third installment in the Biotech Billionaire series, centers around Penelope and Xander’s relationship. Even though I haven’t read the previous books, I was able to follow the story and get to know the characters well. It gives a glimpse into the lavish lifestyles of the wealthy and famous, from their exclusive social clubs to their private jets and fancy clothes.

This was a fun marriage of convenience contemporary romance with a lot of rich people. With dual POV, I loved being in each characters heads to see not only their own growth but also how hard they each fell for the other. Xander is swoony. All he wanted to do was given Penelope the tools to use them however she pleased. He truly would say "how high" if she asked him to jump. Xander grew equally as much throughout the story. They each learned to rely on the other to seek calmness and I truly loved that. Ultimately, I wasn't sure how the espionage plot was going to come into play, but I thought it helped push the plot forward in a way that felt satisfying. My first from the author and certainly won't be my last.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy!

Overall a good read, but sometimes a little confusing. Maybe because I haven’t read her other books, but there were definitely areas where I felt like parts of the story was missing, or there was an unexpected leap of logic. Most of it was about Penelope and Xander’s backstory, so it felt like it may have been over edited. And the way they got engaged definitely felt like it was missing some details. As I got farther into the book, the story felt more complete, though I continued to note areas missing full explanations.

In any case, this book was definitely a parade of the lifestyles of the rich and famous, from the over the top social club they belong to, to the private jet and fancy clothes.

"Lots of things are going to change, but them? We're stuck with them because when you love people, you can't really lose them".

I think this maybe my favourite book in the series! Ava really encapsulates quiet luxury without making it feel garish or over indulgent. This book has a “my wife” moment, a marriage of convenience, a bucket list and gave me 'Crazy Rich Asian' vibes. Plus when Xander bought a piece of art for Poppy? Definitely one of my fave moments. I can't wait for another book in the series cause I know Ava's cooking up something special.

Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager for the digital ARC!

it was very mature of penelope to say ‘i need to calm down. everything’s fine. i’m an adult.’ i liked them, but their relationship really relied on ~past events~ for the ~tension~. it’s not like there was missing information, but i wasn’t given enough time to marinate in it. it was just like oh ok, so they had a moment years ago?

maybe i should have read the first two books, but this was coupled with a lot of details about their individual pasts being glossed over. like we were constantly told about how they were a lil traumatized from their pasts, but it was all very vague. i’m not saying i need podcast deep dives, but bc nothing was expanded upon, it felt like they had archetypical backstories

the found family aspect … i mean good for them, as they’re really leaning into being super financially and politically powerful people who can get away with unethical things, but it’s okay bc their goals align with the greater good! guslib, gertkip, galboos✨

lmao this is nitpicky, but i feel like in the american pop culture sphere, people don’t usually refer to familial norman rockwell paintings as good … things … anyway, thanks for the arc netgalley & harper voyager

I really enjoyed this book! It was a quick read that kept me invested the whole time. The marriage of convenience was how their relationship started but I appreciated that it wasn't a super large focus. The characters had really good banter, and I love a good banter. I could actually see the chemistry between them which is the markings of a good romance book (and author!). It was a fun read that I would highly recommend. I hadn't read any of Ava Rani's other books prior to this one but am excited to continue reading her other work.

Such a cute series. Loved the characters. I binged all 3 this week! Thanks Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon

3.5/5

In real life, I am very anti-billionaire, but in books...that's a very different story. Literally. Heehee, see what I did there?

An attorney and a tech billionaire (especially hate tech bros in real life) fake date/fake marry. And that's always a fun and chaotic time.

I really liked how we got to see a depth to these characters, we saw them deal with their own personal issues as well as external issues. We see our FMC dealing with how she interacts with others, her people-pleasing and how that impacts the relationships in her life, especially with her family. I really enjoyed that depth to her because I didn't find there to be much depth in the relationship between her and Xander.

The pacing of this book also felt a bit stop and start at times for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

Excellent addition to the two already in the series! I liked the dual locations and the tropes!! I couldn’t wait for Xanders book since I started the first book!

A great start which sucked me in. Good premise, familiar without being redundant. Yet a bit too spicy for my liking and eventually it becomes less plot and story line and more of that.

I was so excited to read the 3rd book in the Biotech Billionaires series. I loved Penelope and Xander. They're both rich and who doesn't love a good marriage of convenience. This has all the great aspects of a good romance novel. What a way to end this universe.

In order to claim an inheritance, Penelope needs to be married for one year. She enters into a arrangement with Xander Sutton and it soon becomes clear their (steamy!) arrangement is anything but false. There was some depth to this in that Penelope was bound to her family in a way and she couldn't just walk away as her mother was impacted as well.

I really enjoyed Xander's character. While this is the third book in a series, I had not read any of the others and it stood alone no problem. I want to read the first two now, but am worried they might fall short in comparison to this one as I was really immersed in this storyline and the characters. I liked that Xander and Poppy were both billionaires...equals on that front so there was no rags to riches trope. That would have taken away from this love story. I also really liked not only having an epilogue, but an extended epilogue as well as The Charmer was dual point of view.

*Dual Point of View
*Multicultural Romance
*Friends to Lovers
*Arranged Marriage

Thank you to Ava Rani, Avon/Harper Collins, and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. I have not read the first 2, which at times I felt like I would’ve understood the friendships better, but it didn’t take away from me enjoying the story. Penelope finds herself in a situation where she has to marry not for love but to secure her and her mother’s future. Xander, while friends with Penelope, wishes it could be more and when the opportunity presents itself for him to be the one she marries, he jumps at the chance. Seeing these two work through their issues and become better people because of it was an important part of the book. They grew individually to make their relationship together stronger. I loved that they communicated with each other and did not jump to conclusions that could’ve been hurtful to their relationship.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and will go back to read the first 2.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy!

The Charmer by Ava Rani is the third book in the Biotech Billionaire series, focusing on the relationship between Penelope and Xander. Although I haven't read the previous books, I found it easy to follow the story and understand the characters. I appreciated how the author addressed Penelope's people-pleasing tendencies and her family issues, and I enjoyed glimpsing Xander's personality beyond his charming persona.
My main issue with the story was its flow. There were many instances where events were told rather than shown. I’m not sure if these details were explored in the earlier books. Additionally, I found the chemistry between Xander and Penelope to be dull. A lot of their attraction and relationship were described based on past events, but I didn’t witness these moments fully unfold in the present narrative. Overall, I was disappointed by how dull I found the story.

I just finished an excellent romance read. If you like reading about unexpected love, pick up The Charmer by Ava Rani.

I love billionaire romance and this was so much fun. it really reminded me of ana huang, I will read more from this author