Built for Pleasure: A steamy billionaire second-chance romance

by Kerrie Maxon

Emily When I met Ethan Wiggins, he turned my life upside down. A billionaire playboy who is vastly different from my ex. He is gorgeous, interesting, considerate, funny and charming, so what does he see in me ? Our night of passion is earth shatteringly amazing, until he leaves without a word. Then we bump into each other again. I am reluctant to have anything to do with him, but life has other plans. I turn to him for help, only to have my hopes dashed. Again. Can I trust him? Should I risk my traumatized heart again?
Ethan Emily intrigues me. A friend of a friend, she is a contradiction. Strong and resilient yet fragile and caring, genuine yet reserved and cautious, sexy yet understated. The attraction is strong, and I know with a bit of work I can get her into my bed. When I do, her impact on me is intense and frightening. I want more of her, but I don’t do relationships so I run scared. But she has left an indelible mark on me. It’s not long before I realize I haven’t gotten over her. But she wants no part of me. Then, when she’s in trouble I offer to help. Why do I feel so protective of her? Why do I feel so jealous of her male friend? How can I make her mine?

352 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 30, 2024

Reviews

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Built for Pleasure by Kerrie Maxon is part of The Drake Liaisons Series. After reading the first book in this series I already knew I was a fan of Kerrie Maxon’s writing. Plus reading the blurb made me so excited to read this book. I finished it pretty quickly in about a day, I didn’t want to put my kindle down. This was really well written and the plot moved consistently throughout. Also the descriptions in this book were so well done I able to picture not only the story so clearly but I could imagine the characters having these conversations. This is the story of Emily and Ethan and I really loved these characters as a whole. I loved how their relationship developed and the chemistry between them. Boy howdy, that tension in the book was just on another level. But I adored how Emily became Ethan’s home. Also I was absolutely digging that epilogue. Overall this is just hands down a great read! I can’t wait to read more books from Kerrie. If you haven’t read this author, I highly recommend that you do.

Final review:
5 out of 5 stars

[Sunflowerreads11 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Built For Pleasure by Kerrie Maxon

This book contains:
One Night Stand
Friends to Lovers
Teacher x Billionaire
Second Chance

This was my first time ever reading something by Kerrie and she honestly didn’t disappoint, I was hooked from the first chapter.

This book follows Ethan and Emily as they navigate their feelings for each other. Ethan is known for being a playboy but after getting to know Emily everything changes for him and he has to come to terms with all his new feelings.

Due to him processing his feelings there is a bit of miscommunication both from Emily and Ethan but I honestly feel it fit the book perfectly.

I also loved that the characters travel/lived in different places/countries. Loved that Australia was one of those places.

I will say there is some trigger warnings in this book with Emily’s past relationship.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait to see what Kerrie publishes next

[Maude Faubert-Turgeon (ms_reading_nook) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Built for pleasure is the story of Emily and Ethan. Emily is an Australian teacher who goes out one night with her girlfriends and meet Ethan. They sleep together and Ethan ghost Emily. The story follows them around a year later, when Ethan is back in England and Emily is over there backpacking.

I enjoyed the story. It wasn't an all time favorite, but it was good.

The relationship between Emily and Ethan is very cute and very lustfull. Emily is depicted as a strong and independant FMC and I'm here for it.

Now, I had some issues with the story.

I feel that it's kinda ironic that Emily is said to be such a strong woman who is done being played with but then she goes back to Ethan who scarred her when he decided to ghost her. It would be one thing if Ethan did some grovelling to get her back but he did almost none. That was a little bit disappointing.

Also, there was too much miscommunication. The vast majority of their problems could have been easily resolved if they would have taken the time to talk to each other. I get the miscommunication trope but I think it's something that should be moderate in stories.

Overall I did enjoy the book and it was a great story despite the miscommunication and lack of grovelling.

[page wandering Nurse EGG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ethan and Emily have a lot to work through from their pasts. Emily has been heartbroken and not looking for another boy who wants to muck around. Ethan is not a one girl relationship type, but will that change when he meets Emily or will he break her heart just like he does to every girl he meets. Thank you for this great book! 😍

[Natalie (Novels__&__Needles) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received as an ARC in return for my honest review.

❤️ Friends to lovers
❤️ Billionaire
❤️ One night stand

I went into this book having not read anything from Kerrie previously, I’ve seriously been missing out. The writing style flowed so well with a good overarching story narrative and great characters.

Emily and Ethan were great together, I was rooting for them from the get go. The chemistry and tension between them was palpable from day one so when they finally gave in again the sparks were flying.

I can’t wait to go back and read the first book in this series.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing!! The relationship between the two was my favorite yet. The way she wrote this was beautiful. I never ever ever wanted to put it down!

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily and Ethan are not your typical couple.

Emily is an independent woman whom has grown up in a single parent household. She has supportive friends whom she's very close with, and unfortunately, she's rediscovering her identity after a long term abusive relationship.

Ethan is a playboy with an endless bank account. He forms no attachments with women because he had his heart broken at 16 and doesn't want to experience the feeling of heartbreak ever again. When he lays his eyes on Emily at a club one night while out with his brother and business partner, he makes it his goal to woo Emily. Ethan runs after their physical connection because he realizes there is more between him and Emily than just sex...there's a true connection, a connection he's been running from since he was 16 years old.

Built for Pleasure takes place over the span of a few years; so it's not your typical love story that would be drawn out through a series. With this being said, the timeline in the book is handled very well, and you don't feel like you're truly missing anything that is occurring between the two main characters within their relationship and outside of their relationship when they aren't together as a couple. The character growth in both Emily and Ethan is written so well. Emily comes so far from the trauma she experienced with her ex, her mom's passing, meeting her father for the first time, and finding herself as a woman and sexually. Ethan develops from your typical playboy who is only looking for one thing to a man willing to do anything for the one he loves. He goes from detached to possessive. It's not done overnight, either. Kerrie Maxon really has a knack for writing character growth over time. Built for Pleasure was a very pleasant read. There are some very sensitive topics discussed on page and referred to off page, and they're handled well. The spice level isn't burning hot, but it's the right amount for the relationship in this book because Emily isn't looking for just another man wanting to get in her pants. She's looking for a man who wants to be her life partner and looking for a relationship like that doesn't mean the spice has to be potent in the story. I am definitely going back to read Built for Sin, Xander's story, because I truly enjoyed Ethan's story in Built for Pleasure; so I can imagine his brother's story is just as good. There will be a third book released, another side character's story sometime this year. I can't wait!

[Michelle Frater · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing you can say about Ethan: the man is definitely cut from the same emotionally unavailable cloth as his brother Xander. It’s not just shared DNA, they both have an uncanny ability to bolt the moment intimacy threatens to dig any deeper than the bedroom floorboards. From the moment Ethan meets Emily, he knows she’s different. Sadly, he isn't. Right from the start, his internal monologue had me internally screaming. “I feel there is much more to Emily than meets the eye. Setting myself the challenge of having my dick inside Emily by the third date…” Excuse me? Gross. Just when I was hoping for depth, we got frat-boy wisdom wrapped in a suit. And yet, infuriatingly, there was a spark, something undeniably real between them. The ease, the banter, the comfort… it was all there, like the setup to a perfect rom-com. Which, of course, meant the sex was going to be mind-blowing. And as expected, Ethan panics and sprints in the opposite direction. Classic. What made it worse was that he doesn’t even have the decency to give Emily a proper goodbye. No “It was fun,” no “I’m not ready,” not even a cowardly text. Just poof. Ghosted. Poor Emily—left not only heartbroken but about to face a rough patch in her life completely alone. Well, not alone, she had amazing friends. Fast forward a year, and Emily is in London, living her backpacking dream and hustling as a waitress to earn some extra cash. Enter Ethan, stage left, walking back into her life as if he hadn’t stomped all over it. My hopes were sky-high for some truly epic groveling. But nope. All we get is a meek “I’m sorry.” Seriously? To make matters worse, Emily accepts his apology far too quickly for my taste. Yes, Ethan has clearly changed—retired his playboy card, grown a conscience—but come on, couldn’t we have seen him actually earn her forgiveness? That’s the whole beauty of second-chance romances. That self-reflection. The grand gestures. To be honest, I felt Ramon (Ethan’s driver, friend, security guy, low-key guardian angel) did more for their relationship than Ethan himself. And that’s pretty sad. Even when Emily stops returning his calls and Ethan suspects something’s off, he just… lets it be? He knew where she lived, shouldn’t he have confronted her to find out what was wrong! Once again, it’s Ramon who swoops in to fix things. Maybe he deserves his own love story next (I know, wink, wink). Like Xander and Gina (or Georgie), Ethan and Emily’s journey to love is anything but smooth. Still, in the end, they make it. I just wish the path there had a little more grovel, and a lot more accountability.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Eron Wyst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Built for Pleasure by Kerrie Maxon delivers an emotionally charged, dual-POV romance that balances sizzling chemistry with wounded hearts. Emily’s cautious resilience and Ethan’s conflicted vulnerability create a push pull dynamic that keeps pages turning. The billionaire trope feels fresh thanks to genuine characterization, believable misunderstandings, and strong emotional stakes. Their intense connection, heartbreaking missteps, and protective instincts add depth beyond passion. Readers who enjoy second chances, slow trust building, and a hero learning to fight for love will be satisfied. Recommended for fans of contemporary romance seeking heat, heart, and hope wrapped in compelling, character driven storytelling that resonates long after finishing.

[Kirstie Ibrahim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily and Ethan are total opposites on the surface but there's chemistry. Things don't work out right away for these two however, time and growth for both is on the cards. Sometimes it comes down to right time and right place. Plenty of things going on in the story and plenty of sizzling action too.