stˈiːvən hˈoʊldən fɹʌm ɹˈoʊlɪŋ stˈoʊn ɡˈeɪv ðɪ ˈælbəm ɐ fˈeɪvɚɹəbəl ɹᵻvjˈuː ænd ɹˈoʊt ðˈæt "wˌaɪl ɡˈɪlti ɪz ɐ ɹoʊmˈæntɪk ˌɛntɚtˈeɪnmənt wɪð nˈoʊ æmbˈɪʃənz bᵻjˌɔnd mˌeɪkɪŋ bˈɪliənz ʌv hˈɑːɹts flˈʌɾɚ ænd ˈɜːnɪŋ mˈɪliənz ʌv dˈɑːlɚz, ɪts ˈɔːlsoʊ æz bjˈuːɾɪfəli kɹˈæftᵻd ɐ pˈiːs ʌv ˈɪɹ kˈændi æz aɪv hˈɜːd ɪn jˈɪɹz".
Stephen Holden from Rolling Stone gave the album a favorable review and wrote that "while Guilty is a romantic entertainment with no ambitions beyond making billions of hearts flutter and earning millions of dollars, it's also as beautifully crafted a piece of ear candy as I've heard in years".