Following several failed businesses, Yasmeen Kiani stumbles upon a new idea. 

After finding a retail space for lease in her new neighborhood, entrepreneur Yasmeen decides to open a queer bar in Arlington, Virginia, in the new romance novel Les Be Honest by Sarah Robinson. She quickly meets Tyler Adams, the property manager of the building whose father owns the space. But it’s not an easy journey for Tyler to convince her real estate mogul father that a queer bar is a solid idea. Together, Yasmeen and Tyler have to find a way to convince Mr. Adams (aptly unnamed beyond this or “Tyler’s dad”) to sign off. Here’s the tension—he’s vehemently homophobic and transphobic, with a tight-lipped “acceptance” of his lesbian daughter. 

The duo, with obvious sexual tension from the first time they meet, decide it’s genius to falsify a romantic relationship. The thinking behind the scheme is that if Tyler’s father sees her in a happy relationship with Yasmeen, Mr. Adams will have to say yes to the queer bar. It wouldn’t be fun without a little deceit. 

When writing her latest novel, Robinson, an Arlington-based queer and nonbinary romance novelist and therapist, was inspired by the Lesbian Bar Project—a campaign made to preserve and support the remaining lesbian bars in the United States. At the time of publishing, there are only 31 in the country, two of which call D.C. home—A League of Her Own in Adams Morgan and As You Are in Barracks Row. 

But Yasmeen’s idea isn’t just a queer bar, but a combined bar and hair salon. When she first finds the space, it’s built to operate as a salon. That doesn’t stop her, it fuels her. Yasmeen’s vision is for people to get free, gender-affirming haircuts. It’s even complete with a catwalk for people to show off their new styles.  

Yasmeen and Tyler are complete opposites—Yasmeen is known to push boundaries, and Tyler is a rule-follower. But their opposing nature, and their commitment to creating this queer haven, brings them together. 

It comes as no surprise that Yasmeen and Tyler go through a roller coaster of emotions, with much left unsaid and constant overthinking on both of their parts throughout the book. A fake, but also real relationship, will have that effect. While reading, it can almost be frustrating to watch it all unfold, like when Yasmeen scrolls on a dating app in Tyler’s bed after spending the night together. But from beginning to end, Yasmeen and Tyler learn a great deal from one another, and eventually, bring out the best in each other. 

Les Be Honest is a fast-paced read that hooks you in the first few pages when Yasmeen laments how one of her previous business plans didn’t pan out—sour edible panties. I also wonder why Shark Tank turned down that application, Yasmeen. 

The novel is the second installment of Robinson’s Queerly Devoted series. The first in the series, Baby Bank, follows Yasmeen’s friend, Mila Torres, in her quest to have children—and find love. The two books stand on their own though they follow the same group of friends. Les Be Honest, however, is much steamier than Baby Bank. If you want descriptive sapphic sex scenes, this book is for you. 

While filled with moments of silliness, the romantic comedy also has a serious edge, capturing the pressure of coming out and proving queerness. Tyler, who is also a well-known podcaster, isn’t publicly “out” when the book opens. There are also moments where self-harm is addressed, but rather than portraying emotional damage for the fun of it, Robinson puts the emphasis on healing from it. 

Tyler herself points to the recurring issue of trauma porn in other LGBTQIA novels early on in the book. Robinson writes, “it’s like that’s all the literary industry knows how to publish—stories of people realizing they are queer and going through some terrible tragedy to find their truth or live their truth.”

Robinson shows that happy, normal queer relationships exist. Yes, it can get messy, but that’s a universal truth. For that alone, Les Be Honest is a great read. 

Released on Feb. 13, Sarah Robinson’s Les Be Honest is now available for purchase. booksbysarahrobinson.com.