Diary Dates

by T.J. Masters

Postgraduate student Andrew Chin arrives in London not only to study, but to explore life away from his traditional family in Singapore. His adventure begins at the airport, where he finds the diary of a wealthy British businessman and endeavors to return it.

James Howard is twice Andrew’s age, and he’s not used to selfless youngsters. Despite a rocky first meeting, the two develop an unlikely friendship as James introduces Andrew to the city. James is looking forward to the festivities leading up to Christmas in London and maybe a celebration with Andrew. But will a nasty bout of the flu ruin their romantic holiday?

Not if Andrew has anything to say about it.

Genres: M M Romance, Friends To Lovers

52 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 23, 2016

About the author

T.J. Masters is a fifty-six-year-old author and life coach living in Hertfordshire just to the north of London, England. T.J. has shared thirty years of suburban life with his civil partner Ian, and they enjoy the love and support of T.J’s large Irish family who all live nearby. In 2009 T.J. took early retirement from a thirty-three-year school teaching career and decided to follow a new path. After qualifying as a life coach, T.J. found that he was coaching a couple of authors who were going through the process of giving birth to the book which “had always been inside them.” This rekindled T.J’s long-held desire to write and get published.

With a lifelong passion for books, learning, and the sharing of knowledge, T.J. woke up to the realization that he had stories to tell, books to write, and less than half a lifetime left to do it in. As for the kind of books he is writing… well, let’s just say that he decided to channel over thirty years of experience in the gay BDSM lifestyle into a genre where it would be most appreciated!

Alongside this passion for books and writing, T.J. also found an outlet for his inner geek and has become a great advocate for social media in various forms. Blogging has become a great outlet for T.J’s many interests including the writerly ones. The author has a website where he blogs regularly and he loves to interact with his readers and followers at http://www.tjmasters.com.

Reviews

[Tamika♥RBF MOOD♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars.

I enjoyed this story alot for the amount of pages that we were given. It was a cute novella. Definitely a slow burn between the two. It was more friends to lovers then expected. Andrew moves to London from China wanting to experience everything great about it and go to school. He is such a kind soul, and you get that right from the beginning when he finds a diary of some sort. His decision to locate the owner tells you the kind of person he is. I liked that he seemed so shy and timid around abrasive and bold James. It's kind of a facade for James because he is a successful business man, and expects everyone who comes in contact with him in some regard to want something from him. Well Andrew didn't and I think it blew James away. This started a really sweet friendship between the two. I loved seeing them go on their outings together and experience different things. This was a breath of fresh air and I felt like them being together was very organic to the soul. This was a first for me by this author and I really enjoyed it. Looking for more from this author.

[Melissa Mendoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Diary Dates
Author: T.J. Masters
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Reviewer: Melissa
Release Date: July 23, 20116
Genre(s): M/M Romance
Page Count: 52
Heat Level: 3 flames out of 5
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Blurb:

Postgraduate student Andrew Chin arrives in London not only to study, but to explore life away from his traditional family in Singapore. His adventure begins at the airport, where he finds the diary of a wealthy British businessman and endeavors to return it.

James Howard is twice Andrew’s age, and he’s not used to selfless youngsters. Despite a rocky first meeting, the two develop an unlikely friendship as James introduces Andrew to the city. James is looking forward to the festivities leading up to Christmas in London and maybe a celebration with Andrew. But will a nasty bout of the flu ruin their romantic holiday?

Not if Andrew has anything to say about it.

Review:
“Andrew’s face lit up with a broad smile and he kissed James on the cheek. They had just experienced something very profound and new to both of them. There would be time to consider the ramifications, but later.”

4 Diary stars!! Beautiful and emotionally well put together!

Andrew has just graduated from college and he’s looking to travel away from his super uptight traditional family. So when he arrives in London he stumbles on a diary in the airport, belonging to a rich businessman. He’s not determined to find this man and return it. James had some bad luck with younger men, so when Andrew shows up with his diary he’s taken aback by the generosity. These two start to hang out more and more and slowly start to develop feelings for each other. They both plan on spending time together in London for Christmas but when the flu sneaks its way into the house, it threatens to ruin their good time.

There’s so much heart in this book. I loved the whole idea of how they meet and the way their relationship develops. And the struggle that Andrew goes through with his feelings for James. This is a short book with so much depth and heart, it’s hard not to fall in love!


ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review. Reviewed by Melissa from Alpha Book Club

[Ruthie Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

~~I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads ~~

I really liked the scene setting in this short story, the cultural elements, and the smooth way in which these men got to become close. It is a really enjoyable read. It will bring a smile to anyone who lives in London or who has visited, as it is definitely written in the voice of a visitor. I liked the romance and growing awareness of each other - not unusually others noticed before they could acknowledge it themselves.

A good feel good story.

[Erick Alonso Salinas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I needed more drama

[Helena Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this rather sweet tale very much. Having said that, I’m not entirely sure I would call it a romance in the strictest sense of the word. But, I’ll get back to that in a moment.

For someone who has a thing about stationary and can’t imagine a life without a paper diary, this book pressed all the right buttons. A leather-bound diary? I’d be all over that and would be heartbroken if I lost mine. Throw in a beautiful pen and I may have ended up drooling just a little bit.

But, while the diary certainly plays its part in getting the two men together, it is not what this novella is about. We see most of this story through Andrew Chin’s eyes, and Andrew is a wonderful and endearing character. Whether it is a result of his background and culture or just who he is—I suspect it is a combination of the two— Andrew is a selfless soul, thinking of others before even considering himself.

James is just as much a product of his background and life as Andrew is. Whereas doing good is automatic to Andrew, James, a successful businessman, isn’t used to people doing something for nothing. I never thought he was out to insult Andrew, and yet he did hurt the young man with his constant offers to ‘repay’ him for his generosity. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when James at last seemed to get ‘it’.

I loved that this was a story about two men discovering who the other is and creating a friendship long before it turned into a romance. In fact, the romance and intimacy between James and Andrew only take up a small part of this story. And for me that both worked and didn’t work. It was good because I didn’t need detailed descriptions of their sexy-times to feel how close they had grown. The relationship between these two men is about a lot more than ‘just’ physical attraction and I’m glad that was established long before they got intimate. On the other hand, I also felt the story ended just when it was about to really begin.

As I said before, I'm not sure I'd label this story a romance. If the definition of romance implies a happily ever after for the characters involved, this story falls outside that definition. I understand why the author decided to end the story where he did. After all, Andrew is only in town for a year, and continuing the story until the moment he has to go back home would, without a doubt, have meant ending it on a sad note. The way this story ends means do get a 'happy-for-now' when we leave James and Andrew again and I appreciated that. If I had to label this story I'd call it the tale of a 'moment in time', a snap shot of a few months in the lives of two men. But I can’t help feeling that James and Andrew had more to share with me, although that may well be the result of my over-active imagination.

In short I’d have to say I enjoyed Diary Dates and the time I spend with Andrew and James. I also hope the author will revisit these characters at some point in the future because as it is, I’m somewhat worried about the rest of Andrew’s life.

[Morgan Skye · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a short story about a 24 year old grad student from Singapore who comes to London to study. On his first day he finds a “Diary” (Day Planner) of a business man and returns it to him only to befriend him and learn about London through his eyes.

When the business man, James, gets sick, Andrew takes care of them, and their friendship turns to something more.

**

While the story started off well, Andrew seemed like an adorably sweet if somewhat naïve young student and James was the perfect cynical older man, it never felt like a complete story to me.

We get the slow building up of friendship from the first meeting where things went so wrong, but I never felt the transition to lover. When it happens in the story, it felt very abrupt and out of place. The sex scenes felt awkward and not at all romantic, and I’d almost wished it had been fade to black, they made me feel so uncomfortable.

Several aspects of James’ character were never really explained and I didn’t feel like I got to know him or ever felt his attraction to Andrew beyond that of friend, so when he and Andrew become lovers it felt too much like the uncle-figure he’d been portraying suddenly being hit on by his nephew (or something less squicky but still out in left field).

This story was just a miss for me. Other reviews out there seemed to like it, so – as always – I recommend reading a few before deciding if this story might be something you’d like to pick up.

2 of 5 stars

[Dani Elle Maas · Rating 4 out of 5]

reviewed for Love Bytes reviews (www.lovebytesreviews.com)

A sweet, cute story that is my first thought. My immediate second thought is that it was too short. And then I don't mean that in the perspective of wanting it to keep going but plain simple as in it was too short. The beginning was wonderful, a slow work up, a meeting of people, friends generally becoming more but that becoming more is rushed and just thrown out there. That was such a shame in my opinion. I love the writing of the author, the characters and the story. But the end feels so rushed it left me feeling so unsatisfied. I mean without spoiling the story, what will happen to them both? What will happen when Andrew needs to go back? Also the development of their relationship which was brought in gently and very real in the beginning I would really like to see expanded from how they become lovers and more.

I am really struggling with the rating I have to admit. I liked the story, the writing , the characters as I mentioned before and there was so much potential. Again I would love to see a full novella on this just too be able to read the complete story. So I decided to go with 3.5 because it was more than just ok but....

[Mel Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The premise of this book is two people, one a young grad student spending time in a foreign country (England), meets an older very successful businessman thanks to his left-behind diary. The main character, Andrew - the student, is endearing from the start. Although there seems to be information sharing that doesn’t become relevant to the story, he is a decent and honest man - which is what captures the attention of James.

The story was an overall “cute” love story between two men that could create a future together. The issue I had though was that everything took place and built up, so artificially - until they all of a sudden came together. It felt rushed, which the first half of the book was anything but, and then it quickly ended with some serious future planning.

I liked both characters and think there is potential for a deeper exploration, but didn’t love the way the story unfolded - it left me wanting more of the story, instead of being told what happened.

Review Copy provided by Dreamspinner Press in exchange for an honest review. Reviewed by Mel from Alpha Book Club.

[T.M. Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Chin travels to London to attend university for a year. The day he arrives, he finds a leather bound journal and aims to return it to its rightful owner. Coming from a completely different culture, Andrew is taken aback when the older, but handsome, man offers to pay him for his troubles. Almost immediately, James Howard regrets being so curt with Andrew and sends his driver to bring him round for dinner and drinks at a local Pub, so he can make it right. What ensues is a genuine friendship while James plays tour guide for Andrew. While both men admire the other without saying the words out loud, a nasty case of the flu changes things a bit.

This was just a fast, fun read about not only a May/December romance, but a couple with a lot of years between them. I thought the story was well written and the pace was steady, my only issue was the almost abrupt ending. I seriously hope Masters either writes more shorts for this couple, or expands this edition because I would love to get to know them better.

[Anke · Rating 2 out of 5]

More like 2.5 stars (As some readers might find this review spoilerish, I'll put it under a tag)

The blurb sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a try. The story itself was nice enough, but it would have been even better if the romance had started before 78%. Until then it was a rather dry description of 'they did this and they did that', all telling and not much showing. That was especially annoying with the telling about all the Christmassy stuff they did while waiting for the actual Christmas, although as the blurb said it was especially important to Andrew. Then, while the blurb said 'maybe a celebration with Andrew' it played out a little different and - the end.

The whole story left me rather unsatisfied. Too much telling, not enough showing, not enough being involved as a reader into the story. I felt aloof and that was rather sad, a I totally love May/Dec stories. This one however was too superficial.

[Fiona Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a sweet and cute story. I usually read much more raunchy mm tales and was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book that focuses more on the emotional relationship and build up to sex than the actual act itself. The characters were diverse and the way they met quite clever which set the basis for the entire story. An unlikely pairing brought together by a lost diary, but their tale is all about chance and opportunity and taking the time to appreciate what you have, and it made me stop and think and contemplate the simplicity of the message the book conveys. I gave this book 5 stars because it left me feeling warm and contented. In a world full of turmoil, this was a welcome escape. I haven't read too many other books by TJ Masters, but I definitely will now.

[Chris Jeffreys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andrew comes to England for educational reasons. When he is at the airport, he finds a diary of a person, James, that has been left behind. He delivers the diary back to James who is a wealthy businessman. James is about 20 years older than 24 year old Andrew. But there is chemistry between the two and it ends up that they become lovers. (There is not a lot of time to develop any depth since the story is less than 50 pages.).

The story is predictable from beginning until the end. It was a pleasant little diversion, but really nothing more than that. Overall, three stars from me.

[Heather York · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diary Dates is a pleasant little holiday novella that warms the souls. May/December romances are not always easy to write, there's a fine line between the age gap making a difference and being completely ignored, TJ Masters has threaded the line wonderfully and still making this novella believably romantic. Another new author for me that I look forward to checking out.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I hate giving books low ratings, but I could not get into this at all, it took me 3 days to read it and it was short. I was bored with it unfortunately.