Give Way is an enjoyable small town character study set in a lgbtq community.

This fairly low drama novella is the second in a series set in the town of Swanley, however you don’t need to have read the previous story to understand and enjoy this one.

I expected this to be a typical romance from the blurb, however on reflection it feels more like an exploration of how two mature characters each make the decision to embark upon a romance rather than the story of the romance itself. Outside of a couple of reasonably explicitly described hookups the two main protagonists rarely seem to interact with each other so much of the story development is explored through their interactions with other characters who are a diverse group.

It’s basically a gentle relaxing read, which is not a bad thing!, and made for a pleasant afternoon.

It's always nice to see stories with older characters just because of how rare it can be in all genres but especially romance. It was a very cute story, just not a great match for me personally.

A bit too much and too graphic sex scenes for my taste, but otherwise a sweet little book. A nice quick read, especially during quarantine when you can't do much else. It's not a very complex book, but rather a sweet little entertainment to be read whenever you can make some time for it. It's an easygoing book with no thrill or excessive drama - just pure open fiction.

I received a free ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A sweet and festive novella! I appreciated that the main characters were both older men, and I liked the realistic side relationships. There was some drama about them being far apart in age, which in terms of years lived as an adult they really weren't (one is almost 40 and one is in his 50s).

Really sweet story about an older gent who has suppressed his bisexuality for his entire life. Luckily he lives in a very queer friendly town, is surrounded with supportive and lovely friends (including his bisexual ex-wife).

Charming community in the Boston suburbs, Valentine Wheeler excels at those supporting characters! I'd have honestly loved more scenes with them.

My only complaint is in the character development of the two mains. They both seemed a bit two dimensional, the only real sparks are when they connect... and there's just not enough of that.

Kevin McNamara is a 60 year old divorced man. He's a retired lawyer and sometime politician in small but liberal Swanley, Massachusetts. Kevin's ex-wife is an avowed bisexual, but Kevin has only ever dated women--many women--since his divorce nearly 15 years ago. So, it's a little unsettling when Kevin meets a substitute package deliveryperson, Awais Siddiqui, and feels more than a little attraction.

Awais is a nearly 50 year old, out and proud, Middle Eastern man. He grew up in Swanley as a child, but moved with his family to South Carolina in his youth. He's now back in Swanley to spend time with his aging grandmother, and he's not averse to finding a good man with whom to settle down. Not that he thinks he'll truly find one in this small town, no matter how gay-friendly it is. Still, he sure feels a little spark of interest from Kevin, and when they meet again at a bar it seems like a great match. Except that Kevin indicates this will be his first experience with a man since some youthful experimentation.

The night is glorious, but Kevin is shook in the light of day. Though he is still interested in Awais, he's really not sure that he's bisexual. He needs to look deep within himself and reconcile his history of attraction with his actual feelings currently. Awais is disappointed with Kevin's luke-warm position, opting to be friends instead of lovers, but he doesn't have a lot of time to mope. It's the height of the Christmas mail season and overtime is abundant and necessary. That said, these men have a future, but it takes a little time to develop.

I really liked both Kevin and Awais. This setting of Swanley is really sweet as a small town. The secondary characters are really interesting, with Kevin's ex-wife and adult daughter encouraging him to be open-minded. Meanwhile, Awais' aunt is supportive and loving, and helps him not to be too sad for too long. There are some yummy and fun sexytimes, as Kevin experiences a sexual awakening he never anticipated. The resolution is tidy and speaks to a future of hope and love for two men who found themselves connected despite differences in culture, race, and experience. It was a quick and enjoyable read.

Kevin is a retired, divorced man in his 60s. He's known as a bit of a ladies' man in his small town, but a goodhearted one. He's certainly never dated a man, but the attraction is instant when he sees Awais, the new mail carrier. And it seems to be mutual. For his part, Awais is newly back in town and trying to figure out where he fits in.

This was an unexpectedly sweet holiday novella. Kevin and Awais both know what they want, and have to decide if being together is part of it. And the cast of family and friends around them are lovely.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

This is the author's second book, set in the fictional community of Swanley, Massachusetts, which is a culturally diverse small town with a strong LGBTQ community. Her first book, "No Parking" has the same setting and is a mature adult romance between two mature female characters.

Kevin McNamara, 60-year-old silver fox, meets substitute 45-year-old mail carrier, Awais, and very quickly realizes that he is bisexual and the two men share a steamy night of passion. But afterwards, the doubt starts and Kevin convinces himself he cannot see Awais again. But never fear, we do eventually get a fairly low-angst HEA.

While I apreciate that the MCs are mature, they each spent a lot of time parsing those numbers, as in (and I'm paraphrasing here) "I'm 20 years older than him (umm, no)" or "He's my son's age" (again, no). Awais mentions being "almost 50" a few times, again not quite true. It seems as if every interaction between town characters also references a time frame - lots of "boy, thirty years ago, we did this or that" or "I knew them for 20 years" etc. Maybe it was just me, but it seems a bit excessive.

Part of the charm of this story is getting a sense of the community and its residents, and while the author deftly weaves together the fabric of Swanley, be prepared for a lot of characters, and a lot of very brief character backgrounds.

NineStar Press doesn't give a page count for this book, but I would guestimate it's a bit under 200 pages. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of page time left for Kevin and Amais' budding relationship and while the author does a stellar job on the sex scenes, I wanted more time to get to know the characters, and for their relationship to deepen and grow a bit within the confines of this book.

In theh context of the whole series (I'm assuming the author will further develop the back stories of all those interesting characters), I'm sure we'll get more glimpses of Kevin and Amais' life together, but for now, "Give Way" is an interesting story that feels a bit too hurried and a bit too heavy on details.

3.5 stars and I will look forward to reading another book in this series.

I’m pretty sure that this is the first romance I’ve read dedicated to postal workers. 😊

It’s fitting because mail carrier Awais meets his future love interest, Kevin, when Awais delivers some packages to Kevin’s apartment building. Kevin has never really admitted to himself that he’s interested in men as well as women, but his attraction to Awais can’t be denied. After they sleep together, Kevin becomes uncomfortable and decides not to see Awais again, but that’s easier said than done when they keep running into each other in their entirely too small Massachusetts town.

I liked how the author made the small-town setting a key factor in Kevin's hesitation about being with Awais. Awais spent part of his childhood there, but Kevin doesn’t recognize him because Awais moved away when he was still young. When Kevin realizes that he’s slept with someone his ex-wife babysat, it wigs him out a little. A much bigger issue, though, is that it’s almost impossible to keep things private in a small town where everyone knows everyone else, and Kevin doesn’t get a chance to process before other people know and feel free to comment on his sexuality. Neither of those things are deep obstacles, so it’s reasonable that Kevin gets over them quickly, but the resolution did feel a bit rushed.

One other thing worth mentioning--I really appreciated that both men are older. Awais is only in his mid-forties, which isn’t uncommon, but Kevin is 60. I can’t remember the last time I read a romance with a character outside of their fifties, so that was a nice change.

All in all, it’s a good quick read, especially if you enjoy romances set in small towns.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

This book was pretty cute. The story line was a little out there, but that’s something I’ve come to expect in romance novels. The characters were a little hard to follow, there were so many of them. I wish the book had been a little longer to really flesh out the characters and the story a bit more, but all in all a cute sweet read!

A quick festive read with a lot of diversity and exploration of self.

In this book you don’t get bogged down with details which was refreshing, especially during the festive season. This one was also lacking in the usual melo-drama, so it was a fun read as well.

Looking for something quick and refreshing, then this one is for you.

A cute story. I appreciated the representation of older characters with three-dimensional side characters and relationships.

Give Way is a sweet, short small town romance between Kevin, a retired lawyer, and Awais, a postal worker. When they meet while Awais is delivering mail there is an immediate attraction, though Kevin has always identified as straight up to this moment. When he reflects, Kevin realizes he’s always been bi, but the mutual attraction with Awais allows him to finally recognize and act on that aspect of his identity. They meet again at a local bar and have a wonderful night, but when Kevin realizes he helped his ex-wife babysit Awais a few times, he suddenly feels awkward about the attraction. Awais worries that it’s Kevin freaked out about his sudden sexual awakening at his age, and he has some history of men experimenting with him, which leaves him leery.

This was a pretty quick read and overall pretty light. It happens concurrently to events from No Parking, which features Kevin’s ex-wife Marianne. I really enjoyed getting Kevin’s story and seeing more of Swanley. It’s a fun small-town romance with some really wonderful characters.

It was a short multicultural love story. I loved that different cultures were represented in a queer love story. The small town feel was also pretty good. I just felt that it wasn’t enough of a story. I did like the ending though.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

Wheeler presents a brisk and sensitive romance with "Give Way." The story follows divorcee Kevin and new transplant Awais, who meet-cute at their local small-town bar. It was an interesting choice to make the older Kevin be the one struggling with a bit of a post-retirement crisis and the prospect of starting a new relationship. The usual angst that comes with coming out stories and May-December romance was present, but with enough of a spin that the plot wasn't a foregone conclusion.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
A very sweet, short story about discovering your sexuality late in life. There is a lot of wonderful representation of different cultures, religions, sexualities, genders etc. I liked that while it was set around Christmas neither hero celebrated it (Kevin is Jewish and Awais is Muslim). The heroes fit well together and the dual point of view was well done.

Enjoyed reading this feel good romance.

I would say bisexual representation is done well. The writing is easy to get into and the small town cosy vibes is so vibrant throughout the read.

The multicultural representation is done well too I would say.

However, I just couldn't appreciate the use of some typical stereotypical expressions.

The main characters are mature and the other side characters make their presence known. I liked the ending.

Such a warm, cozy read!

Thank you, author and the publisher for the advance reading copy.