After several failed businesses the eternally optimistic Yasmeen Kiani feels like her next launch has to be the big break. When she sees a FOR LEASE sign at the corner lot on her street, she decides it’s time to try, try again. Yasmeen has decided that she is going to open the first in her Arlington, VA neighbourhood. Tyler Adams has been the president of every club or organization she’s ever been involved in. A full-time podcaster on top of helping her father lease his property out, including to a new business by a woman she finds incredibly attractive. Tyler isn’t used to facing opposition, but Yasmeen is no stranger to having to fight for what she wants and she’s about to teach Tyler that failure isn’t the end of the world—just the beginning of the war.
The second book in the series & it’s very easily read on its own. A well written book with strong characters & a well paced story. I really liked both Yasmeen & Tyler who were both strong womwn & I liked how what started as a fake relationship soon became real. I loved how their relationship grew & changed. Whilst I found it to be an entertaining book it was also thought provoking too
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I loved the first book in this series, Baby Bank, so when I saw book two was available on Netgalley as an ARC?? I clicked REQUEST super fast! I’m so thankful for the approval! I adored this book! I flew through it because it was so enjoyable. The characters are so lovable and I really found myself rooting for everyone. I also feel like I learn a lot about the LGBTQIA+ culture and life experience every time I read one of Robinson’s books and I really appreciate the way she lays it out and shows so many perspectives!

"Les Be Honest" by Sarah Robinson had me tapping my Kindle screen with a smile plastered across my face. It's the second book in her Queerly Devoted series, featuring standalone sapphic romances.

The whirlwind adventure follows Yasmeen Kiani, who stumbles upon a dream opportunity - a vacant space perfect for her vision of a unique lesbian bar in Arlington, VA. Enter Tyler Adams, the owner's daughter, and sparks fly (both of attraction and initial opposition). To overcome Tyler's conservative father's disapproval, they hatch a bold plan - pretend to be a couple.

What starts as a hilarious charade quickly evolves into genuine feelings, pushing both characters outside their comfort zones. Yasmeen, the free-spirited entrepreneur, grapples with commitment, while Tyler, the guarded executive, learns to open up.

Beyond the delightful rom-com elements, "Les Be Honest" offers thought-provoking layers. It shines a light on the importance of LGBTQIA+ safe spaces and delves into complex topics like sperm donation within the Black community. The author skillfully showcases diverse perspectives on coming out and family acceptance, reminding us that every journey is unique and individual boundaries matter.

While the romance takes center stage, I enjoyed the exploration of social issues woven into the narrative. It added depth and sparked reflection, making this story more than just a lighthearted read.

If you're looking for a fun, heartwarming romance with a dash of social commentary, "Les Be Honest" is a must-read. Just be prepared to fall head over heels for Yasmeen and Tyler's journey, and maybe even schedule a visit to your local LGBTQIA+ safe space afterwards!

My only minor gripes: Some side characters felt underdeveloped, and certain conflicts resolved a bit too neatly. However, these were small bumps in an otherwise entertaining and thought-provoking ride.

Overall, I highly recommend "Les Be Honest" to anyone seeking a sweet, funny, and insightful read with a strong sapphic romance at its core.

Yasmeen or Yas moved to Northern Virginia as her friends, Mila and Rachel, her former roommates moved on with their lives. Mila was married and living on the East Coast with her family. Rachel helped Yas move. Nia, Yas’s sister calls acting like the middleman for their father who runs a security firm and wants Yas to join him

On a walk around her new neighborhood, Yas met Tyler, property manager of a for lease storefront. Yas chats Tyler up asking all the questions about this property as Yas wants to open it as a lesbian bar/hair salon. After filling out the application form, they head to lunch

I loved this book even more than Baby Bank and the epilogue was a chef's kiss. The short story and mini epilogue were amazing too

*3.5

This was fun but it was just so fast paced that I don't think it left room for development. I don't think she even actually said I love you at the end of the book which was kind of weird.

I received an arc through netgalley.

"After several failed businesses—including an edible panties subscription box—the eternally optimistic Yasmeen Kiani feels like her next launch has to be the big break. When she sees a FOR LEASE sign at the corner lot on her street, she decides it’s time to try, try again. While there are over 1,000 gay bars in the United States, there are less than 25 lesbian bars total (a real life fact! See the Lesbian Bar Project)…and Yasmeen has decided that she is going to open the first in her Arlington, VA neighborhood. Unfortunately, the neighborhood is not on board with her plan.

Tyler Adams has been the president of every club or organization she’s ever been involved in. Class valedictorian, president of her college sorority, even prom queen twice, including a high school she didn’t go to. Tyler does nothing second best just like her father, a real estate mogul who she has a close yet tumultuous relationship with and who owns the building she lives in. A full-time podcaster on top of helping her father lease his property out, including to a new business by a woman she finds incredibly attractive, Tyler hosts one of the country’s most listened to shows on true crime yet her personal life and sexuality are the biggest mystery to her fan base.

Tyler isn’t used to facing opposition, but Yasmeen is no stranger to having to fight for what she wants and she’s about to teach Tyler that failure isn’t the end of the world—just the beginning of the war.

What Yasmeen didn’t expect was for Tyler to teach her some battles are not worth fighting…but the one for her heart is."



This is the second Sarah Robinson book I have read. I read and loved Baby Bank so once I saw this one, I requested with no hesitation. This was such a quick Sapphic read. The conflict was something that many people can relate to and the growth of the characters was definitely something to be admired. I will absolutely be reading more by Sarah Robinson. A huge thank you to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read and review.

Loved Les be Honest, a lesbian love story!

Yasmeen Kiani is out and mostly has her life figured out. Accepted by her family and comfortable in her own skin, she still hasn't figured it all out career wise just yet. Her latest venture -a lesbian bar that also does hair - sees her meeting Tyler Adams who’s the rental agent for the space she wants to rent. Their worlds are totally different. Tyler has career success who runs a successful podcast but hasn’t openly come out mostly because her father who supports and loves her, wouldn’t extend that support to her sexuality…

They meet, and become friends, of sorts…

They’re not dating, merely pretending to be a couple until the business venture takes off…

They find that they’re not actually pretending to be in a relationship at all, because they’re in a relationship for real!

Friends to business partners to more!

Can’t wait to see what Sarah Robinson plans to do next in herueerly Devoted series.

This is a pleasant, low-stakes romance by somebody who really, really cares about lesbian bars. That's fine, but it is written in a really awkward first person style, where there is so. much. explaining. In first person, we experience it with the the narrator, but over and over again, we get the narrator explaining things that she is experiencing. It gives the whole thing an arms-length feel, with the reader distanced from her emotions.

While reading, I assumed this was a first novel, but it appears that the author has written 25 (!) books before. I guess she just isn't interested in improving her craft, because this style is a rookie mistake.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley
Sweet and sexy sapphic heart. I loved this stayed up all night to finish.

Publication date: 13 February 2024
Rating: ★

Let me start with the dedication page and authors note. What a sweet thing to have at a start of a book. I also completely agree. We need more safe spaces and protection of the safe spaces that are available, it’s such a necessity to have and be provided with somewhere to turn to for help and comfort.

I’m gonna be honest, I love lgbtq+ books, I try to read a lot of queer books/authors so this is why o requested this book from NetGalley. However, it really fell flat for me, I had to DNF it. I’m really not keen on Yasmeen’s POV and I felt like a lot of words were just being thrown my way. The writing style was just taking me out of the book completely and I’m gutted that I had to DNF because the dedication really made me want to read about someone creating a safe space.

Even though this book wasn’t for me, hopefully it will be for you, even just to give it a try like I did.

Thank you NetGalley and Sarah Robinson for gifting me an ARC of Les Be Honest in return for an honest review.

This book was fun, a cute romance, and very set in the queer DC community. There’s a lot of actual DC places talked about, which is really cool as a DC resident. However, there were a lot of silly generalizations that were frustrating.

I also found both main characters a bit unlikable. The main trope was fake dating, but…. at no point did it feel like fake dating?

I liked the first book more, but I’m definitely sucked into the world and will be reading the rest!

“But in relationships, you either fight to be right or you fight to preserve the relationship.”

There were so many great, deep elements to this book and I loved how realistic the characters and their lives were because of it. My favorite is when the FMC gets vulnerable, as uncomfortable as that is. These ladies’ journey to love, opening a business, and navigating tricky family dynamics was beautiful.

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.

This started out a little low for me but it eventuality picked up and I enjoyed it. I like the characters and thought they were well written. I enjoyed the fake dating start but that was forgotten quickly, which I really liked. If you want a quick LGBTQ+ read then this one is for you. I would definitely recommend this book and Baby Bank as well.


Thank you NetGalley and Author Collective 20 for allowing me to read this ARC in advance for my honest opinion.

the premise of the book was super interesting but i got bored of the easy/flat writing style. 

Tyler is this rich white Podcaster and Yasmeen is a fat black future bar owner and they come together to convince Tyler's dad to rent the empty lot. 

the fake date became real too fast to incorporate it into the trope in my opinion. 

the bar is called KiKi, and i hate it. as a French speaker, we use "kiki" for a lot of nonsense stuff and it was just weird. it could have been named something funnier, with a pun. 

the fact that X (twitter) and Tiktok were used was annoying. what if those platforms don't exist in 3-5 years, then what? i personally hate when specific modern things are used because it might not make sense for other reader. 

I will say that Rachel is one of my fav character, and i relate to her in a lot of way but especially in her way of seeing family. 

the open heart conversation between Walter and yas was everything i needed to heal a little. 

please know that homophobia is present in this book.

A fun and hot read

Yasmeen has yet another business idea, and she hopes that this one won't fail. When she sees the perfect building for her lesbian bar/hair salon. Now, she only needs to convince the neighborhood and Tyler Adams, daughter of the real estate mogul who owns the place Yasmeen needs. But even if she's queer, Tyler is not as open about her sexuality as she would have liked, be it toward her father or the fans of her true crime podcast. But if there is one person Tyler's father can't say no to, it's her. And fake-dating Yasmeen might be the best way to get him to agree to their plan.

I had a lot of fun reading this romcom. I love when books involve determined and creative businesswoman and this one definitely checked that box. The fake-dating trope, which has my heart as well, made it even better, of course. I like Yasmeen and Tyler's dynamic and how they shouldn't work together but somehow did. It was really refreshing to see their relationship evolve from business to fake-girlfriends/friends with benefits to even more. They stayed true to their beliefs and what they want even if it clashes with the other's goals, but always managed to make it work, even if it wasn't always easy, and I found that quite inspiring. The spice was very hot and well paced thrhoughout the story, and the romance was very sweet and fun. The themes explored in the story were interesting as well, especially dealing with your sexuality as a public figure. The book felt sometimes a little slow and long, but it was good nonetheless.

I recommend if you want a fun, spicy, sapphic romcom.

"I am choosing every day to say that my love matters more than their hate and indifference."

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

yasmeen is starting again in a new place, shes trying to avoid going into her fathers business and though a couple of new businesses havent worked she hasnt given up the idea of being her own boss

so when she sees a vacancy sign outside a business premises she has a spark of an idea...

tyler adams is a successful podcaster and everything she touches turns to gold, so when yasmeen approaches her about the premises and her business idea, tyler got behind the idea but knew her father who owned the building would not be....

so a plan was hatched between yasmeen and tyler, and it didnt help that they were very much attracted to each other as well....

so the idea of a lesbian bar was born but they would have to win over tylers dad who was not a forgiving man and though he loved his daughter the idea that she was a lesbian was abhorrent to him

an interesting read showing an insightful view of how families can accept their children no matter what and the battles that are real for others whose families are still in the dark ages....there are also some fun moments its not all doom and gloom with this one

This was a cute romance. Yasmeen had such a fun and sassy voice, and I loved her goal of opening a lesbian bar. There are way too few left! There was plenty of chemistry between her and Taylor along with a fair amount of spice. And though I had trouble keeping track of all Yasmeen’s friends (a couple of them blurred together for me), Isa was awesome. I liked the way she simultaneously supported Yasmeen but also wasn’t afraid to call her on her crap.

The dating was only briefly fake before becoming real, so I’m not sure the story needed that trope. It might’ve worked better if they’d dated from the get-go. And while I felt Taylor was too willingly to put up with her hate-the-sin-love-the-sinner conservative politician father, I also recognize that’s a tough position to be in, so I’m willing to cut Taylor some slack.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.

Yasmeen and Tyler are so majorly different from each other but that doesn't stop the sparks from flying when they decide to fake date. They're hoping to get Tyler's dad on board to lease his retail space to Yas for a LGBTQIA+ bar/hair salon despite the fact that while his daughter is a lesbian he is very anti gay.

I absolutely loved Yas and Tyler! Their differences really made me fall even more for them. Tyler was the more reserved of the two and while her relationship with her dad is far from perfect she still loves him despite his faults. Yasmeen is much more direct and can tell it like it is but she still erects walls that can sometimes be hard for her to let down.

I feel that the author continues to take this series and use it to tackle issues that many people face today. I'm here for more. Bring it on!!

**Received ARC through NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed.**

Ever since the first book, I’ve been waiting for the next book in the series. “Les Be Honest” is a fun, flirty, and heartfelt interracial sapphic rom-com that was a great book to read.

Yasmeen is a black lesbian who has moved to a new neighborhood outside the Washington D.C. area. While out exploring, she finds a space that would be perfect to open a lesbian bar since there are less than 25 in all of the United States. And the building manager is Tyler, a Type A white woman who has a crime podcast and is also a lesbian. The two have chemistry and Tyler is determined to help the bar get off the ground. But circumstances test their new relationship and if the bar will be able to open.

I loved Yas from the beginning. She’s fun, outgoing and wants more inclusivity for the Queer community. And she’s trying to do something about it, actions speak louder than words. Tyler is passionate about her crime podcast and the bar once she learns how much Yas is invested in it making it a success. The two are complete opposites but it works for them. They balanced each other out and their chemistry was great. They had great banter and I laughed out loud several times while reading. The last few chapters touched on some hard things and were done wonderfully.

I had high hopes for Les Be Honest (Pub. Date February 13, 2024) by Sarah Robinson, a multicultural queer lesbian romance by the author of Baby Bank, which I really enjoyed.

The story is told from the perspective of Yasmeen, a queer black millennial trust fund young adult with ADHD, who has just had to move to suburban Virginia because of her roommate's marriage, While scoping out her new neighborhood, she gets the idea to open up a lesbian bar with a free hair salon in the back, in an empty storefront. The property manager, Tyler, is a white woman who lives in the penthouse suite because her father owns the building, and also has a true-crime podcast. They hit it off immediately.

But Tyler's father is a hard-right lobbyist who funnels his money into anti-LGBTQ causes. So Yas's idea of a lesbian bar and salon is not likely to get much traction with him unless Tyler is in on the idea. So Tyler becomes a partner in the business, and they "pretend" to be girlfriends as well. That's not too difficult because of the chemistry they have, but Tyler isn't really out to the public, and Yas has long since stopped dating women who aren't yet out.

Yasmeen doesn't understand how Tyler remains in contact with her father--how can she, when he doesn't accept her queerness? Yas's family has always accepted the fact that she's a lesbian, and her father, a security consultant, believes in her lesbian bar business plan and approves using her trust fund to finance it.

Will they convince Tyler's father to rent Yas the space? If not, what will they do? Will Yas be able to fulfill her latest project--the lesbian bar--that might be the one project that will keep her ADHD brain humming? And will Tyler ever be publicly out?

Maybe I expected too much. There's nothing wrong with Les Be Honest, it's a perfectly nice romance, but I had hoped that Robinson would more realistically portray the discussions that are likely to occur between two people in a multicultural (mixed-race) relationship. While Les Be Honest deals with Tyler's complicated relationship with her father, Robinson failed to include any conflicts that might have arisen between the characters because of their different races. While Tyler takes Yas to primarily white spaces, there's no discussion or acknowledgement of the anxiety Yasmeen might feel in those same spaces. So I felt it was a little superficial and wasn't sure that the author was the best person to write from the perspective of Yasmeen.

But it was weight-neutral. There was little discussion of fatness or weight.