“Just smile and do that brooding-stare thing.”

For this makeover, good looks only go so far…

As CEO of Inferno Brewing, Dante Russo has quite the casual image. Now, with sudden celebrity, he’s forced into a makeover.

In comes image specialist Olive Hayes—the same Olive who’d ruthlessly rejected him in college.

Now the tables have turned, and Olive is tempted by the man Dante has become.

Will Dante go for a little payback…or take this sizzle more than skin-deep?

Titles in The Image Project include — Billionaire Makeover —♥— The Billionaire Plan —♥— Billionaire Fake Out —♥—

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

Title:  Billionaire Makeover
Series:  The Image Project #1
Author:  Katherine Garbera
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  November 29, 2022
Publisher:  Harlequin Desire
My Rating:  4.5 stars

Billionaire Makeover begins The Image Project series with a romance that is both heartbreaking and uplifting as two former college classmates meet up again years later after some major attitude changes in both of their lives.

At one time, Olive was the best representative of a Mean Girl one could possibly find.  That her reputation hid a lot of insecurities is perhaps beside the point but is a factor in why she acted as she did.  Olive has since done her best to change her mindset and actions towards others, but it’s a daily struggle, and there is a constant ledger in her mind on how well she is (or isn’t) doing in her own life makeover plan.  She’s about to take on a client who seems familiar, but she can’t really say why – and that would be because Dante is a far different man from the college boy she publicly humiliated and then moved on with life as if nothing was wrong with her actions back then.

Dante is now the CEO owner of a very popular beer brewery, as he showcases his creations through Inferno Brewing.  As his voice has taken over the airwaves in advertisements recently, it’s now time for the man himself to show his face… which at the moment is rather lumberjack-ish at best.  Olive and her company have been hired to give Dante a makeover to show the businessman (billionaire) at his absolute best as he launches his latest creations.  Dante’s surprise at seeing the woman who rejected and humiliated him in college is somewhat tempered by the fact that she doesn’t recognize him as Danny, the tubby geek who helped her write project papers and was so hard crushing on her that her ultimate act of humiliation spurred him on to make the changes in his life that were far overdue.  She seems different now, and there is a spark of attraction between them… but has she really changed.  And is this the perfect time for some payback of his own?

I don’t think I can say enough good things about Billionaire Makeover to convey what a bittersweet, life-changing romance this truly is.  I think the majority of us have run into a Mean Girl or a Jerk Guy at least once in our lifetimes, and sometimes that encounter can change our opinions about ourselves for the better (or the worse).  In many ways, that’s what Olive’s humiliation of Danny did – he changed, became a man he was proud to be, and if he imagined running into the woman who had hurt him so deeply again, well, maybe payback would be sweet.

There are so many layers to Dante’s and Olive’s romance, their falling for each other, and the ultimate moment when truths are spoken.  I hurt for them both for different reasons and watching them come together again as adults, with Olive not knowing exactly who Dante was to her, was such an emotional journey.  We get to meet Olive’s friends and co-owners of their makeover company, Paisley and Delaney, while we get some hints of their personalities and possible stories to come in this series.  I’ve always loved this author’s work, but Billionaire Makeover is extra special… and it shows.

If you love a well-written, realistic, emotional romance with characters facing not only the past but their future as well, then you’ll want to pick up Dante’s and Olive’s story right now.

I own a Kindle edition of this title.

Available in print or for your favorite e-reader