I requested Not Guilty because I gave 5 stars to the last romance I read by Kris Bryant. Brit Ryder is a pseudonym Bryant uses, I am guessing for when she writes steamier novels. First this was sizzling, steamy and burning hot. I added erotica for the first time to my goodreads categories only because the book categorizes itself as a romance/erotica.

This is a well written romance about two strong and busy women who enjoy sex. Claire Weaver is a successful lawyer and newly appointed judge. She doesn't have time to date. She meets fire investigator Emery Pearson while visiting the Nelson-Atkin Museum of Art. After flirting they begin an intimate relationship without attachments. But Emery would like to be more than bed buddies. While this is going on there are side plots including an arson case, pressure from a new mayor and connecting with Clarie's best friend Jenn. All these make for a more in-depth story like I would expect from Bryant (Ryder).

I enjoyed these butch/femme characters and loved watching their relationship grow. I will say I almost took away a star for the initial meeting in the art museum. Not that they had sex but because Claire touched a Ruebens painting. I nearly had a coronary. NEVER TOUCH THE ART!!! But the book was too good to mark down over a fictional act. Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books, Inc for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.


Claire and Emery are surprise to see each other after spending a amazing night together. As they both doesn’t have time for relationship they decides to have a no string relationship because they both can’t deny the chemistry between them.

This was a good erotic read I like that it was a story not just about sex because most erotic stories are just that sex but this story had depth and the sex was wow it had me taking a long cold shower afterwards.

Pro tip: Do yourself a favor and read (or reread) Shameless before starting Not Guilty. I had read it four years ago and remembered it [quite] fondly, but couldn't remember the specifics. It takes less than two hours to read and adds a lot of context to Not Guilty. Shameless is the story, told in first person from Emery Pearson's perspective, of a blind date held in a museum with someone she met online. Any more details would ruin the story for anyone who hasn't read it, but Not Guilty begins with the same story told from the other person's perspective.

Kris Bryant has written all types of romances: age gap, workplace, vacation, teacher/student, rich vs poor ... each with memorable characters and compelling storylines. Not Guilty is her first full-length erotic romance, and not only is it the best in its class that I've ever read, but also my new favorite of hers. Many times erotic romances seem to be simply a series of sex scenes strung together with not much storyline, almost to the point of boredom. But Not Guilty would be a fantastic story even without the numerous *cough* varied *cough* smokin' hot *cough cough* sex scenes that are NEVER boring or repetitive. The main characters are perfect for each other and their explosive chemistry leads them to begin a no-strings arrangement - NOT a relationship, they don't have time for that. This alone is worth the "price of admission".

But Bryant doesn't stop there. She weaves in a political intrigue to keep things interesting; a best friend who is so well-written that I secretly kept waiting for the other shoe to drop; a return of a previous character; and some brave story choices that probably wouldn't have worked from any other author but were jaw-droppingly awesome here. What could have been a throw-away sex manual instead became a genre-defying romance with a completely satisfying epilogue, unputdownable in every way.

Pro tip #2: once you read Shameless and read Not Guilty, go back and reread Shameless again. The set up is even more impressive than you'll remember.