4.5* – Kris Bryant, aka Brit Ryder, promised this story would be hot and she didn’t lie!

Claire Weaver is a newly-minted judge on the eve of her first trial. A visit to the museum to get her nerves under control ends up in sizzling sex with a stranger and her strap-on. A stranger who happens to be one of the experts involved in the trial, Emery Pearson. Now that they’re not strangers anymore, Claire and Emery can’t seem to get enough of each other. Claire loves that Emery always knows what she wants, when she wants it and how she wants it, but she’s not ready for more than casual, albeit magnificent, sex.

If you’ve read Shameless, you already know Claire and Emery. Not Guilty is told in first person from Claire’s point of view. The story begins just before the events in Shameless, then goes on to follow the protagonists after that first encounter.

I love that the author is Kris Bryant who, under that name, writes romance with a lot of emotions. As Brit Ryder, she lets chemistry take the lead and it’s pretty amazing too. Claire’s life is all about work – and her new career as a judge – and no-strings sex. She’s very good at ending things when the women she’s having sex with start to get feelings. And the idea that she would get feelings is ludicrous. Until it’s not.

Some passages are a bit abrupt, which would have bothered me a lot more had the story not been told in Claire’s voice. I can easily imagine her being busy and impatient and, yes, abrupt in her quest to advance her career as well as for pleasure. She knows what she wants and goes for it unapologetically. And if character growth is important to you as a reader, Claire is an interesting case.

This book goes from erotica with scorching naughty fun casual sex to heartstrings-tugging romance with a side of crime. In romance as in real life, overly romantic characters sometimes mistake lust for love. In this story, love grows from lust. And as I wrote in the review of Jaime Clevenger’s One Weekend in Aspen Rach and I published at Les Rêveur, this is the kind of chemistry that’s so strong it has to be rooted in compatibility beyond sex. While I enjoy Kris Bryant’s romance novels a lot, I certainly hope she keeps Brit Ryder busy too.

Technically, Not Guilty could be read as a standalone but I recommend reading Shameless first (it’s a novella, it won’t take long to read and it’s just as steamy as this book). As it is, I thought Shameless was still fresh enough in my mind to not re-read it first, but I was only half-right, and ended up reading it again immediately after I finished Not Guilty. And though I remembered what had happened between both women pretty well, I had forgotten a third character, whom I hadn’t recognised in Not Guilty. It didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story but (re)finding out about her added a new flavour to it in retrospect. TL;DR: read Shameless first then enjoy Not Guilty fully.

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Not Guilty is the delicious sequel that continues Emery and Claire’s story from the amazing novella, Shameless told through Emery’s POV. If you haven’t read Shameless you’ll not only miss out on Emery and Claire’s smokin’ hot beginning, but you’ll also miss out on -THE- most incredible plot twist in the history of Lesfic. Moving on to Not Guilty, the POV flips to the Honorable Judge, Claire Weaver. This woman is my new hero and is the perfect combination of sexy, classy, and powerful that Emery is irrevocably attracted to. The feeling between them is mutual because Claire canNOT get enough of the tall, dark, handsome, and equally sexy butch in Emery. Their chemistry builds to new heights that I didn’t think were possible, but the next chapter and each encounter is sexier than the last, Somehow, what they least expected to happen lands these two career driven sharks in an almost comical pickle, jealous of other suitors and falling in love. Claire is an exceptional observer of human behaviors, and as she pieces together bit by bit what is happening between them I couldn’t help but be amused as she adamantly, but erroneously, tries to convince herself not to get too close. Emery is no better for it either and their sparkling dialogue had me just as invested as their sexy times. Truly one of the best novels of the year, Not Guilty will be on my reread pile next to Shameless for a long time to come. I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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.

When an author writes a story so good that you actually see it play out in your mind the instant you're reading it.........This is what Kris Bryant has done with this book. Not only was it smoken hot and holy cow do i mean H O T. I loved reading it from Claire's POV and watching the story unfold right before my eyes which made me want to hurry up and keep turning the pages. Bryant has always been a favorite author of mine and this book didn't disappoint; it tastefully written and gave us a great back story into the world of Claire and Emery. As we find out very early in the story their chemistry is off the charts and spot on which took this read to a whole other level.
I received an advanced readers copy from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

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.