Judge Me Not

by R.J. Layer

Lane Stanford, blindly driven by her influential father, has everything she wants, including power and status. She also believes she has everything she needs—no-strings flings with eager young women who like it when someone is in charge. She is utterly unprepared for the foundations of her rigid world to shake at the sight of beguiling blue eyes.
Ali Castle isn’t planning to be a waitress her entire life, but it’s a big step up from where she’s been. After an unforgettable night with the mysterious Lane, she wants to believe there could be more. But Lane has all the resources to discover Ali’s secrets.
A page-turning romance from the author of The Real Story!

Genres: Lesbian, LGBT

336 pages, Paperback

First published November 18, 2014

About the author

RJ Layer resides in the "Heart" of the Midwest with her partner and new wife, of over twenty-five years, and their two feline rescues. She is a certified romance nut, and loves writing lesbian romance. In addition to traveling to new places, RJ can be found relaxing in the rolling hills on the water. Their hideaway is the perfect place for dreaming up engaging characters and moving stories. She's also quite passionate about photography and reading every free minute she can find.

Reviews

[Diane (IF U'RE PRIVATE, PLEASE SKIP ME!!!) Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read! enjoyable,sensual and a captivating love story...it involves the slimy side of politics and the womanizing nature of women who abuse their stature of power then use others to get by..

[Lex Kent · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 Stars. This is the first book I have read, by layer. It was good, but not the easiest to read. It is absolutely filled with angst. So much angst, it made my stomach hurt. I kept waiting for something bad to happen. With two main characters, both carrying large secrets, you knew it wasn't going to be happy bliss all the time.
I liked the character of Lane, at least in the second half of the book, when she grew a conscious. I didn't connect to Ali as much, but she was sweet. I also like that Lane was a judge, but I would have liked to see her more in her courtroom.
I did have some problems with the storyline. For one, the book could have been easily shortened at least 50 pages. There was way too much repetition. Too much of Lane going to meetings. Too much of Lane freaking out/moping while drinking. And yes too much sex. Now I love some good steamy sex scenes as much as the next girl, but there was just too many. Sex, sex and more sex. It got to the point it wasn't adding anything to the relationship, and too many of the scenes were quite similar. This book just got bogged down with too much repetition. And I would have really liked this book, if Layer, just would have cut a bunch of scenes out.
If you are in the mood for a book with a ton of angst and a lot of sex, this book would be perfect for you.

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had some difficulty putting this book down. I wanted to read it in one sitting but I had to work the next day. That being said, this story is an emotional roller coaster and one's heart may need to take a few breaks. There are numerous times in the book when the author foreshadows some sort of sexual dalliance by one or the other main characters. I'm thinking while reading that I'm going to be seriously pissed if the author lets that happen! In any case, foreshadowing doesn't always predict the future and thus I am able to continue reading RJ Layer books. Postscript: there is a lot of sex in this book and the scenes are hot. If you like books that are more about the mysteries and less about the relationships, skip this one.

[Serene Love · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this was the first time I’ve read a book that I got mad because of sex scenes. It was too much. Too much unnecessary sex scenes. Like there were times that the story is not progressing because the MCs are busy having sex. It’s fine to project characters that are insatiable but not like that. They were having serious convo then the other will want sex instead. It ruins the story for me. And then when important sex scenes happen, it was not portrayed perfectly, like it was rushed. We need the emotional connection to the characters and the story and I never felt that here.

Some scenes also felt repetitive. A dealbreaker was when it’s a double POV and yet the words kept repeating. The story could have been shorter if those unnecessary scenes were omitted. The growth of characters too were too little —to none— for a book this long.

It was not that bad but it was just not for me. I just finished it for the sake of finishing.

[Sotheary · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the beginning is interesting and enjoyable, but the ending is a bit forced. There’re some concerning problems were left unsolved. So by the end of the book, I felt frustrated and a bit disappointed.

[wren4777 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book just made me angry. Lane is a colossal git, and has absolutely no intention of taking her relationship with Ali out of the shadows. Not even by the end of the novel.

[Becky Spears · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable and engaging story

I really enjoyed this book and honestly couldn't put it down until I finished. The characters were well thought out, the plot although done similarly elsewhere was deep, well paced and incorporated many different characters that enhanced the story.
Lane is a judge with control issues. She sleeps around, never revealing her real name and is deeply closeted. Her only care is her political aspirations and doing what she needs to in order to advance her career. And then she meets Ali and her entire world gets rocked. But Ali has secrets of her own that threatens to tear them apart. Like I said it's been done before but the author has a way of drawing you into the story and keeping you there.
My only issue was that some plot threads were not completely explored (specifically with Ali's past). I'm not sure if it's because lesbian publishing companies have an issue with going over a certain number of pages or what but the book could have been another 50 pages long in order to really flesh everything out. Regardless it was a great read and the author did a wonderful job.

[Gabrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

i almost DNFed this book, but i stuck through it. A so-so story, the narration was a bit draggy for me. The timelines and phasing too fast sometimes like the author was trying to put everything in in one go. But all things considered, if you want a steamy romance novel, then you can read this. :)

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
I will mirror what others are saying...there is a lot of unnecessary sex in the beginning of this book. I never thought I'd ever say that in my life. But it happened. I felt like it was every other page. Yet another book where the drama comes from the two leads not being adults and having a conversation. Ugh.