A. Michael - My So-Called

Meet Tigerlily James: romance cynic, North Londoner and die-hard margarita fan.

Tigerlily James has been a member of the Young and Bitter Club ever since she was dumped on Valentine’s day. By her fiancé.

Surviving on a diet of cynicism and margarita-fuelled ‘Misery Dinners’ with her best friends, she’s become a romance free zone…and that’s the way she likes it. Until an invitation for The Ex’s wedding arrives. Suddenly in need of a plus one, Tig has little choice but to bin the takeaways, ditch the greying underwear collection…and start pretending to view the opposite sex as something other than target practise.

Then, she meets Ollie – ie. the perfect solution. No sex. No strings. Fake boyfriend. The only catch is that she has to pretend to be his girlfriend for three whole months.

Dating without the heartbreak: the best idea Tig’s ever had, right? Wrong!

Praise for A.L. Michael Praise Book List Title Page Copyright Author Bio Acknowledgements Dedication Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Epilogue Excerpt Endpages About the Publisher

‘I know it’s a good book when I shut the kindle cover and sigh with contentment. The Last Word totally did it for me.’ – 4 * * Review from Goodreads ** Review from Amazon from Angela * * Review from Goodreads ** Review from Amazon

‘This is a funny, funny book.’ 5 * * Review from Goodreads ** Review from Amazon to The Last Word from Rosee ** ** Review from Amazon

‘Fresh, fast and…had that magical romance feeling and a bit of hotness that you just can’t help but love. Absolutely brilliant!’ 5 * * Review from Goodreads ** Review from Amazon to The Last Word from The Book Geek Wears Pajamas

‘I LOVED THIS. I laughed, I cried, I fell in love. All of the emotions were felt in the reading of this book and it is definitely one of the best Christmas releases that I’ve read this year.’ 5 * * Review from Goodreads ** Review from Amazon to Driving Home for Christmas from Erin’s Choice ** ** Review from Amazon

‘I laughed, I cried and I was left with that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you read something wonderful.’ 5 * * Review from Goodreads ** Review from Amazon to Driving Home for Christmas from That Thing She Reads

* ‘I know it’s a good book when I shut the kindle cover and sigh with contentment. The Last Word totally did it for me.’ – 4 * * Review from Goodreads ** Review from Amazon from Angela * * Review from Goodreads ** Review from Amazon ‘This is a funny, funny book.’ 5 * * Review from Goodreads ** Review from Amazon to The Last Word from Rosee ** ** Review from Amazon ‘Fresh, fast and…had that magical romance feeling and a bit of hotness that you just can’t help but love. Absolutely brilliant!’ 5 * * Review from Goodreads ** Review from Amazon to The Last Word from The Book Geek Wears Pajamas ‘I LOVED THIS. I laughed, I cried, I fell in love. All of the emotions were felt in the reading of this book and it is definitely one of the best Christmas releases that I’ve read this year.’ 5 * * Review from Goodreads ** Review from Amazon to Driving Home for Christmas from Erin’s Choice ** ** Review from Amazon ‘I laughed, I cried and I was left with that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you read something wonderful.’ 5 * * Review from Goodreads ** Review from Amazon to Driving Home for Christmas from That Thing She Reads * Review from Goodreads ** Review from Amazon Review from Goodreads

** Review from Amazon

Also by A.L. Michael

The Last Word

Driving Home for Christmas

My So-Called (Love) Life

A.L. Michael

Copyright

HQ

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2015

Copyright © A.L. Michael 2015

A.L. Michael asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

E-book Edition © June 2015 ISBN: 9781474030700

Version date: 2018-06-20

A.L. M ICHAELis a twenty something writer from North London, currently living in Watford. She has a BA in English Literature with Creative Writing, and MA in Creative Entrepreneurship (both from UEA) and is studying for an MSc in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes. She is not at all dependent on her student discount card. She works as a creative writing workshop facilitator, and an English tutor, and is currently working on her fourth novel. She has an alarming penchant for puns, is often sarcastic when she means to be sincere, and can spend hours watching videos of Corgis on Buzzfeed. But it’s all research, really.

In the creation of this book, it occurs to me I have quite a few people to thank. Firstly, a big thank you to my publishers and editor for making this writing dream come true! Also a big cheer of appreciation for my parents who are as supportive of my creative career as Tigerlily's parents are in this book- but without being crazy hippies. Thanks to the friends who put up with the silences, the staring into space and the 'I just can't talk about it yet's whilst I was working on this. And finally, to the staff at the Village Hotel, Elstree, for keeping me fed and watered in both the pub and the café whilst I glared at my computer screen in their presence for hours on end!

To all those twenty somethings dealing with 'stuckness'- have courage, make changes, be brave. It gets better.

Contents

Cover

Blurb

Praise

Book List

Title Page

Copyright

Author Bio

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

Excerpt

Endpages

About the Publisher

Chapter One

I am really tired of being miserable, Tigerlily James thought as she marched out of Kings Cross Station. It was the last Thursday of the month, which meant the Misery Dinner at Entangled. She scanned the room for Dana and Ame, knowing that the likelihood they were on time was minimal, and headed over to her usual table.

‘Tigerlily!’ Ruby half ran over to her as she entered, pulling her in for a bear hug, all patchouli and cigarettes. Ruby was the owner of Entangled, but Tig had privately taken her on as a role model and personal saviour. Ruby had her shit together. Today her greying hair was tied back with a rockabilly red scarf, dangling ruby earrings getting caught on Tig’s hair as she pulled back. ‘Early for the Young and Bitter Club today, darling?’