HELLO GUYS, I'M HERE WITH DAY 7 OF OUR COUNTDOWN TO THE HOLIDAYS BOOK REVIEW EVENT AND IT IS AMY'S TURN! BELOW IS HER REVIEW OF DIARY DATES WITH LINK AND AN EXCERPT! LET'S GET TO IT!
I LOVE THIS QUOTE! HERE IS AMY'S REVIEW!
Diary Dates
by: T.j. Masters
reviewed by: Amy
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.
When I read the blurb of this book I was quite excited, older/younger is my kind of book. Andrew travels to London for postgrad school and excited to be on his own away from his family. At the airport in London he finds a diary, with a name and telephone number inside. He decides the right thing to do is call and make arrangements to give this to the owner.
The owner of said diary was James, London businessman, whose diary is his whole life, his schedule, his notes, personal and professional. James leads a very lonely life of all work and not much time for fun.
When Andrew meets James to return the diary, James offers him money in return which Andrew declines. But they did end up going for dinner. This led to many conversations via phone, text, having dinner a few nights a week and getting to know each other. Then James falls ill and Andrew is there to nurse him back to health.
This is a very short story, of their meeting, dinners, time of getting to know one another and falling in love. If you are looking for sweet, little sex, mostly romance, this is for you.
the 4 London Christmas Sites rating :)
I LOVE THIS RATING, AND THAT REVIEW, GREAT JOB AMY!! BELOW ARE THE LINK AND AN EXCERPT!
EXCERPT:
“CABIN CREW, prepare for landing, please.”
The pilot’s voice interrupted the movie Andrew was watching. He turned to look out the window. Far below there were lights twinkling in every direction; they were descending over London. After more than thirteen hours in the air, the thought of arrival filled him with excitement and anticipation.
Andrew had worked hard and made his family proud of their only son. A great school record led to university and an honors degree. Never one to rest on his laurels, he had secured a job with a very powerful and respected medical engineering company. Now, after just two years in the post, his company was sponsoring his place at King’s College London for a master’s degree.
The postgrad course was a big thing, but for Andrew, traveling to London to do it really was the icing on the cake. A couple of senior colleagues at work had already followed this route and spoke fondly of their time in London. Life here was going to be so different from the traditional culture of Singapore. Andrew took life quite seriously for a twenty-four-year-old, so he had no great plans to go wild during his stay, but he was looking forward to being away from the watchful eyes of his large family for the next year.
He had accepted that marriage was expected of him, but he was in no hurry to satisfy his family on that count. Attending his cousin’s wedding last month had reminded him of his obligations. It wasn’t just the comments and questions from every older member of the family, especially the nosy aunts, but also the shame of the red envelopes to come. The lai see were traditionally given by the married couple to the single members of the family at the next Chinese New Year to highlight their status.
Now he was nearly seven thousand miles from home and free to live his own life for a while. For months now, Andrew had compiled a huge list of places to see and things he wanted to experience. He was eager to get started.
A crowd of weary travelers carried Andrew along the aircraft walkway, through corridors, and up escalators, moving as part of a winding snake of fellow visitors presenting their papers at passport control.
Andrew had arranged to meet a friend from his undergraduate days at the airport. Jenny was also in England to study and had been a constant source of encouragement regarding Andrew’s plans to travel to the UK. It would be good to see a familiar face, but right now the call of nature was telling Andrew that he needed to find a restroom before venturing out to meet her.
Andrew was pleased to spot a young couple whom he’d chatted with at Changi and later during the flight. They had stopped at a row of seats near the restrooms and appeared to be sorting out some of their own luggage. The only other occupant of the seats was an older, smartly dressed businessman, sorting through some papers. After exchanging bows, Andrew asked the couple if they would mind watching his luggage briefly while he went to the toilet. They agreed, and he rushed off to relieve himself and splash some cold water on his face.
The couple were ready to leave when he got back, and the businessman had already gone. Andrew bade farewell to his fellow travelers and turned back to his own bags.
On the end seat next to his suitcase was a notebook of some kind, its pages bulked up by odd pieces of paper, all held together with a stout elastic band. Andrew looked around quickly for the businessman who’d been sitting there, thinking that the book looked like something a businessperson might carry, but saw no sign of him. Unsure what to do, Andrew picked up the weighty book and pulled the band off. Inside the front cover was the name “James Howard.” Below it was a neatly written e-mail address and telephone number.
Just then Andrew’s own phone buzzed. He took it from his pocket to find a text message from Jenny.
Where are you?
The sensible thing would have been to find a lost property desk to hand in the diary, but the prospect of questions and laborious paperwork led Andrew to avoid that option. Resolving to contact the owner directly and hoping there would be some easy way to reunite him with his diary, Andrew quickly but carefully put the book into his rucksack and made his way through the customs hall to the exit.
No sooner had Andrew passed through the outer doors than a loud squeal announced Jenny’s presence. It wasn’t difficult to spot her in the crowd, jumping up and down, waving both arms in the air. As soon as he passed through the barrier, Jenny leapt on him, clearly pleased to see him and not at all shy about showing it.
“Welcome to London!” she said, beaming at him. He felt himself smiling uncontrollably in response. It hit him then that his journey was finally over.
The famous map of the London Underground appealed to Andrew’s technical mind, and many times recently he had called it up on the Internet and traced the long journey on the dark blue Piccadilly line from Heathrow Tube station to Holborn Station. This was close to the flat where Jenny lived and which was soon to be Andrew’s new home in London.
The train was packed, mostly with people traveling to their jobs in central London. They soon arrived at their destination and Jenny helped Andrew carry his luggage up a flight of stairs to the apartment. They spent the morning unpacking in Andrew’s room while they caught up on each other’s news.
Eventually, Andrew remembered the diary. Eager to get it back to its owner, he called the number he’d found in the book, but it went to voice mail.
A well-spoken masculine voice confirmed that it was the phone of James Howard. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Andrew hung up while he decided what he was going to say. In the end he left a simple message telling Mr. Howard that he had found his diary at the airport and wanted to return it as soon as possible.
THANKS FOR JOINING ME FOR THIS REVIEW OF DIARY DATES, AND THANKS AGAIN AMY FOR SUCH A GREAT REVIEW! GRAB THIS BOOK GUYS, IT LOOKS GREAT! SEE YOU TOMORROW FOR DAY 8!
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