Cover Image: Baby Bank

Baby Bank

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Member Reviews

It was funny, sweet and very relatable. I loved Milas sass and self confidence. I loved the dynamics between the characters too. It was heartwarming to see.

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Tinder for babies!

The book straight (or not so straightly 😏) stood out to me, and I was curious to find out all about Mila’s and Ari’s story. It’s such an interesting premise. I enjoyed the humour. I also liked that baby daddy donor was more on the quirky side and that it was seen ultimately in a positive light. I have some things that I didn’t enjoy about the story such as the way a trans character was introduced or lack thereof. There wasn’t really any role beyond being mentioned. I also had issues with the development between MC & the LI, and how it ended didn’t add up. It felt like steps were skipped for me. I did still enjoy the book and was rooting for them to have a hopeful or HEA.

I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

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⭐️⭐⭐✨3.5/5

I was super excited for this book because it had such an interesting premise. Unfortunately, while it was rather humorous and provided some good laughs, it fell short overall and had a few problematic parts as well.

This book had one of the most unique storylines I have ever read. There was A LOT going on at times (almost too much) but the premise as a whole was pretty great - a mid 30s queer woman deciding to have a baby on her own, finding a sperm donor through an app (because of course there’s an app for that 😂), and then finding out your crush is the donor’s sister. Talk about complicated! The MC, Mila, was also a part time comedian and there were some great one liners in this book. But that’s where the good ends for me.

I found the writing style to be a bit rudimentary. There was a lack of character development and plot holes. It might have helped if we also got Ari’s POV. So much of her story isn’t fleshed out and it’s kind of all over the place. Her character arc didn’t make sense. The ending felt super rushed, too - no real build up. It just happened.

As someone who has experienced the process of insemination with a donor and who loves someone with fertility struggles - the story also felt unrealistic and invalidating with that part. It was way too quick and easy.

The story also had a lot of things just kind of thrown in there - and not always for the best reason. I think the author wanted to include some trans representation, but the way they did it was jarring and did not feel okay to me. Simply naming someone as transgender by sight alone (and that character having no further role in the story). And a statement about the baby “deciding” to be trans or enby when they grow up. I am non-binary. I didn’t CHOOSE this. I just am. The MC’s (half?) Latinx heritage also kind of felt like a throw in - like it was more for the diversity rep than because it was an important part of her identity. Same with Ari being Asian.

It was funny, but I definitely won’t read it again.

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I got an ARC of this book.

If you are a fan of fast talking, overly dramatic nonsense. This is the book for you. So I was both super into it and not at the same time. Imagine early TJ Klune or Gilmore Girls level fast talking. Some of the jokes were wonderful, some were just a little weird.

This was also a uhaul story to the end. Falling fast, hard, and blowing up your life while you do it. There was very little on the page of the main couple falling for each other. They talked a few times, because of how their work lives intersected. Then bam, sex, but boundaries? It was a strange trajectory.

The ending was also a little off. Despite rarely talking and taking huge breaks from each other because the MC just didn't know how to respect boundaries and others, they were engaged? I don't understand. I needed a lot more emotional work by both of the characters to really get behind it.

That all being said, I loved every single side character. Chicky was a hoot. I would gladly read a romance of Chicky and the minister. The other mothers from the sperm donor group were sweet. The MC's friends were interesting. Pretty much everyone that was not the MC was super interesting and I wanted more of. I think that is just the theme of my views of this book. I wanted more.

Not a bad book, but not quite enough to really be satisfying.

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Baby Bank has a lot going on, and I loved 95% of this book! For me this was a quick read that kept me entertained from start to finish. I laughed, I cried, and related to more than I thought I would. The characters are all interesting, and an interesting concept. I did feel that Ari's character went a bit deeper than the MC, Mila. I did like all the facets to Mila's life, lawyer by day and stand-up comic by night. Readers certainly can't be bored with all of the things happening in this book: 34 yo lawyer wants baby, uses an app to me sperm doner, meets his family, juggles ethical dilemmas, parties, roommates, and so much more. The plot of this book moves so quickly it is easy to get whiplash (the 5% I didn't like because I had to keep going back to see if I missed something.) I look forward to reading more in this series and more from Sarah Robinson.
Overall, a down to earth LGBTQIA+ romance novel that can appeal to romance readers in general.

Thank you NetGalley and Sarah Robinson for the eARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

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This was hard for me to review. I read the blurb for it and thought wow, there is an app for everything.

I thought this would be over the top and I wasn't wrong, but it just was not for me.

In here we have Mila, who wants a baby but not to have to pay for a legitimate insemination, who signs up for an app that will have someone show up and meet you in a hotel room.

This fella ends up being related to someone she really wants and then its off to the races on the whole romcom aspect.

I have to be honest, I did not like either MC, which made rooting for them hard. I also did not like the group of friends, but that may be just me.

But this was written well and if you can get past the whole aspect of how that pregnancy came to be, then you will have fun.

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Thank you to Sarah for allowing me to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was such a fun, light-hearted yet emotional rom-com. I loved the premise and the way everything unfolded. As someone who struggles with fertility, seeing a situation surrounding fertility/donors to get pregnant, made me feel really good. I love this! I highly recommend this one.

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What an enjoyable and quick read!!! This sapphic love story was a good read. I loved all the representation so I couldn’t put it down. I didn’t give it 5 stars because something was missing. I’m not sure if it’s because the book is short and we went through a fast short period of time. I just didn’t get depth of the characters.

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Bank Bank by Sarah Robinson is a delightful read! I have only read a couple F/F books, and so was not sure what to expect with this one, but it was such a swoony and fun romantic comedy. Very few rom-coms deliver on the laughs but the author truly gave us some cute and witty laugh out loud banter. Maybe wanted a little bit more of self reflection from Mia on becoming a single mom in DC with a limited support system, but that's just the formula we're used to as readers. The "found family" and representation this book presented with made up for the lack of conflict. It could have gone preachy but didn't. The author addresses the lack of conflict in the acknowledgements: "Why wasn’t there more trauma and conflict? Because there are an unending number of books out there to fill that need, but so few books that demonstrate happy, healthy queer people and relationships. Happy, healthy queer people who are out and proud, and go to therapy and have resolved past wounds…exist. Period....The reality is that queer people create families in dozens of ways, and live happy, healthy lives doing so. Or at least, have the potential to do so when they’re not targeted by others or the government." This book certainly delivered on all points.

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Mila Torres is a successful divorce lawyer by day, stand-up comedian by night. When she is told by her gynecologist that she should start thinking about freezing her eggs due to her age, she is first taken by surprise and asks how much does that cost. When she gets her answer she asks how much is it to buy men’s sperm, she can’t believe the cost. She decides it’s time to have a baby now. When mentioning it to a friend, her friends tells her to go to the Baby Bank app to find a guy. With her two roommates, she looks at the baby bank and picks one out. The guy is agreeable and tells her what to get and do. Later she finds out he is the brother to a reporter she has been trying to avoid. She realizes that she is attracted to the reporter. What will Mila do?

The author has written a lesbian romance that is funny and includes female empowerment. It also made me that family can be made of up of friends.I hope she writes more of this type of novel.

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This is a really clever book about Mila and Ari who connect in an unusual and meet-cute way! Attorney by day, comedian by night, pansexual Mila is determined to be a mother even though she is single. But when she discovers the sperm donor she has chosen is related to a journalist investigating something she knows, everything blows up--with comedy, panic, and a range of emotions that kept me laughing all the way through! II enjoyed this immensely and will read anything Robinson writes!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

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Baby Bank follows our main character Mila, a divorce lawyer who goes to her regular gyno checkup one day and ends up deciding she wants to have a baby… this leads us to the Baby Bank, which is essentially the Tinder of sperm donation; and Aston, the cutest freakin sperm donor to ever exist. Also enter Ari, a reporter whom Mila has been avoiding for months, who Mila discovers is her sperm donor’s sister… who she has a big bad crush on.
What ensues is pure comedic, romantic, LGBTQIA+ gold. We have romance, comedy, representation, women’s rights issues, normalizing non-traditional family structures, some phenomenal s*xy scenes… I ate it up. This is the perfect mix of lighthearted romance feels while also covering super important and deep topics; and I feel like Robinson did SUCH a good job with that balance!
The only thing that knocked this from a 4 stars was that the ending felt a bit rushed, but other than that I really don’t have any complaints, and I would ABSOLUTELY recommend this one! Baby Bank follows our main character Mila, a divorce lawyer who goes to her regular gyno checkup one day and ends up deciding she wants to have a baby… this leads us to the Baby Bank, which is essentially the Tinder of sperm donation; and Aston, the cutest freakin sperm donor to ever exist. Also enter Ari, a reporter whom Mila has been avoiding for months, who Mila discovers is her sperm donor’s sister… who she has a big bad crush on.
What ensues is pure comedic, romantic, LGBTQIA+ gold. We have romance, comedy, representation, women’s rights issues, normalizing non-traditional family structures, some phenomenal s*xy scenes… I ate it up. This is the perfect mix of lighthearted romance feels while also covering super important and deep topics; and I feel like Robinson did SUCH a good job with that balance!
The only thing that knocked this from a 4 stars was that the ending felt a bit rushed, but other than that I really don’t have any complaints, and I would ABSOLUTELY recommend this one!

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When Mila chooses to go it alone and become a mother, she uses an app called Baby Bank. Making her choice should seem easy, he’s handsome successful and what she’s been looking for in a sperm donor, that is until she realises his sister is the reporter Mila has been avoiding and that Ari is the one she wants.

Robinson writes a fantastic main character who is strong, independent, and who knows what they want. But this narrative is deeper running with themes of family and friendship, and telling us that you can choose the family you want.

I have read several books by this author and enjoy their style of writing, which flows easily. This author is one I know I will always enjoy.

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Baby Bank by Sarah Robinson is a sapphic romance that was enjoyable but had a lot going on.

This book is definitely a rom com as I laughed a lot.

The story was fast paced. I enjoyed Mila and Ari.
I enjoyed the author focused on reproductive rights and gender rights.

This was a light, funny read that I enjoyed.

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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5759349263

First, thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I LOVED this book! It’s such a fresh take on a rom com! The characters were lovable but still human and relatable, the banter is witty, and the storyline is fast-paced. I can’t wait to read the next one!

Also.. the mother-in-laws are 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼

Triggers are not a significant portion of the book but consists of mentions including: rape, abortion, death

Celebrations of LGBTQIA+, fertility choice, unique family, extended family, alternative conception, women, women supporting women

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While this book was technically written well, it lacked emotion and I struggled to make a connection. There wasn’t a whole lot of chemistry between the MCs and it seemed like they just kind of fell together. I also didn’t love that the story created such an EASY outlet to finding a sleek DK or and having a baby solo. I understand it’s fiction, but this would’ve been an excellent opportunity to bring attention to the struggles of infertility and/or getting pregnant as a single person.

I was given an ARC by NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

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Thank you so much to Netgalley for this eARC!

This was such a fun and easy read. I found myself laughing out loud many times and truly invested in the story. While there were a lot of side characters that felt a little underdeveloped, that didn't matter much to me because I liked the MCs and felt myself cheering for their successes.

I really enjoyed all of the representation in this. There was a ton of diversity of race, gender, and orientation and it was all given the right amount of attention. Nothing felt glazed over or belabored.

I'm at the age where I have quite a few friends who are going through their own pregnancy journies, and it's something I'm preparing for in the near future, so I felt like I was at the perfect point of my life to be the audience for this.

There were about 3 spicy scenes and none of them made my skin crawl! Yay for sapphic intimacy that it actually realistic!!

My only reasoning for the 4 stars, rather than 5, was that I felt like some of the pacing was off. The first half of the book felt slower and then there was a switch where everything was full steam ahead, in a way that just felt a little unnatural to me.

All in all, though, I really enjoyed this and was glad to have the opportunity to read it! I definitely recommend it to romance fans, especially the girls, gays, and theys.

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Baby Bank (Queerly Devoted #1) was a great read by Sarah Robinson. Mila Torres is a divorce lawyer who moonlights as a stand up comedian. She realizes that she is only a year away from the age of thirty five and her doctor suggests she should consider freezing her eggs if she wants kids in the future. She realizes that she wants a child now and not in the future. But she's single and living with her best friends. She hears a story about a free sperm bank online app called Baby Bank. She finds the perfect match and is meeting him at a hotel with her friends. Everything should have gone well except for when she finds out that the woman she's been crushing on, is her sperm donors brother. I enjoyed reading this book and cant wait to read more by the author.

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Baby Bank by Sarah Robinson has a quick and humorous hook that grabbed my attention immediately. Full of humor some witty, some corny, I kept finding myself laughing as the chapters flew by. I really liked the premise of this book, a 34 year old single professional woman decides it's her time to have a baby and immediately takes charge to make that happen. It seems a bit absurd to make a life changing decisions so quickly, but that's what I most liked about the MC Mila Torres. I love how effortlessly Robinson develops her cast of characters, each one possessing their own unique quirk.. The story flows quickly from one humorous or bizarre scene to the next and even though Mila wasn't always the most likable character to me, I still couldn't help but root her on. Overall this was a well written story that has great representation for LGBTQIAP+ community as well as a culturally diverse cast of characters. This was my first read by Sarah Robinson and I look forward to reading more of her work.

I received an DRC from Apple Books via NetGalley. I'm choosing to leave this review voluntarily.

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The worst thing about this book is that it isn’t longer. I didn’t know how much I needed a good queer, found family, characters in therapy for years, people fighting for what they believe in story. The characters are funny and kind and flawed and <i>real</i> in the best ways, and the book manages to touch on some very real and current issues in our society without feeling like a downer or hitting you over the head with problems. This is a quick read that I’ll revisit over and over.

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