Fake Mustache' by Tom Angleberger is one of those delightfully quirky middle-grade novels that just flies by. I remember picking it up on a whim because the cover was so absurd—a kid with a giant, fake mustache—and before I knew it, I’d finished the whole thing in a single afternoon. It’s a short book, clocking in at around 144 pages, but the pacing is so brisk and the humor so infectious that it feels even shorter. If you’re a fast reader, you could probably knock it out in 2–3 hours, but even if you take your time, it’s unlikely to take more than a day or two of casual reading.
The story follows Lenny Flem Jr., whose best friend, Casper, buys a fake mustache that somehow grants him mind-control powers. Chaos ensues, and the book leans hard into its ridiculous premise with a ton of energy. The chapters are short, the dialogue is snappy, and there’s barely a dull moment. I’ve recommended it to a few younger readers who aren’t huge fans of longer books, and they’ve all blown through it in a sitting. Even as an adult, it’s a fun, quick palate cleanser between heavier reads. If you’re looking for something lighthearted and fast-paced, this one’s a gem.
2025-12-08 19:05:59
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Faking it with the NHL’S Golden Boy
Ms. Grace
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"Try not to embarrass me out there, Sunshine," Tyler muttered.
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not the one with the ego, Sinclair."
**********
Flora Morgan lost everything in one day.
Her perfect relationship. Her dream job. Her reputation—all because of an embezzlement scandal she knew nothing about.
With thirty thousand dollars in debt, the last thing Flora expects is to end up tangled with Tyler Sinclair—the NHL’s most feared player. Cold, arrogant and tattooed. The man the media calls The Devil on Ice.
One mistaken identity.
One outrageous proposal.
One fake relationship neither of them wants.
Now she's living under the same roof as the most infuriating man she's ever met, smiling for cameras, modeling beside hockey's biggest star, and convincing the entire world they're hopelessly in love.
The problem?
Fake relationships have a dangerous habit of feeling real.
Especially when buried family secrets begin to surface, dangerous enemies start circling, and the past refuses to stay buried.
What happens when the cameras stop rolling... but Tyler still calls her his prettiest problem?
"I bet you can't make her like you."
"Watch me."
Neither of them knew the other one was having that exact same conversation.
Ava Bennett has never lost anything worth keeping. Not competitions, not arguments, and certainly not the cheer captain election she has spent three years bleeding for. She is disciplined, intimidating, and completely immune to Mason Reed's charm. Or so she tells herself.
Mason Reed has never met a girl he couldn't win over. Football captain, school golden boy, wanted by everyone and challenged by no one. Until Ava Bennett looks straight through him like he is nothing, and suddenly winning becomes personal.
When their friends separately dare them to do the impossible, both accept. Neither knows the other made the same bet. So when Mason proposes a fake relationship, the terms are coldly practical. His playboy reputation is costing him his shot at the Elite Prospects Football Program, the most prestigious talent pipeline in the state. Ava needs the popularity surge to pull ahead in the captain election. They hate each other. They agree anyway.
The rules are simple. No feelings. No jealousy. No catching feelings.
They break every single one.
But secrets this size never stay buried, and when the truth finally surfaces, it doesn't just destroy what they built. It forces them to confront the one question neither of them is brave enough to answer.
If it started as a lie, how do you know when it became real?
So......
Fake It With Me, Because the most dangerous game is the one where you forget you're playing.
Cassandra finds herself in a precarious financial situation due to her mother's mounting medical bills. Just when things couldn't seem to get any worse, fate intervenes in the form of the charming and prosperous Jasper, who proposes an irresistible proposition. He offers her a chance to pretend to be his wife for a year, which will help him handle his overbearing parents. Although the offer seems ludicrous, Cassandra finds herself in a bind and unable to refuse.
As they embark on this fake relationship, they must learn each other's habits and quirks, blurring the lines between their fabricated romance and true feelings. But complications arise when Jasper's stunning ex-girlfriend appears on the scene, leaving Cassandra to question everything.
In the midst of the unfolding drama, will Cassandra be able to navigate the complexities of her fake marriage with Jasper, or will the allure of his ex-girlfriend prove to be too much to handle?
Willow Knox never meant for anyone to read her private stories—especially not the ones about her stepbrother. But when star hockey player Kian Maddox finds her diary, everything changes.
To protect her from being exposed, Kian tells the whole school she’s his girlfriend. Now, Willow has to fake-date the guy she can’t stand, help him pass his classes, and pretend her life isn’t falling apart.
It started as a lie. But the more time they spend together, the harder it gets to tell what’s fake... and what’s not.
Can a fake relationship built on secrets survive the truth?
"You called me a spoiled princess who wouldn't last five minutes in the real world."
"You hacked my team's group chat and sent my rookie hazing photos to the entire athletic department."
Ivy Chen and Nate Callahan have history. Bad history. So when a reality TV show, a brother's scholarship, and one NHL reputation crisis collapses them into the same luxury off-campus house, fake dating, shared bed, live cameras it should be simple.
Pretend. Survive. Walk away.
Except Ivy already knows something she can't unknow: her anonymous 2 a.m. best friend, the one she's been trading secrets and stupid hockey memes with for months, the one who feels like the safest person she's never met is him. Nate. Her brother's grumpy, broody, insufferable captain.
The guy who stress-bakes at midnight after losses. Who has a hidden playlist of cheesy 2000s power ballads. Who looks at her sometimes like she's not a problem to solve anymore.
"This isn't real," she reminds herself daily.
The staged touches say otherwise.
Because somewhere between sharp barbs softening into playful teasing, stolen kisses that linger way past necessary, and quiet unguarded moments the cameras never quite catch the list of reasons she can't stand him stops growing.
Then comes the night after overtime, Nate still in his game-day suit, eyes warm in the low kitchen light.
"So what happens when the cameras stop rolling?"
His thumb brushes her jaw. Soft. Certain.
"Who said we're stopping?"
One semester. One championship run. One expiration date.
Neither of them is counting down anymore.
Ethan chuckled to himself and ran his fingers through my hair. Electricity ran up my spine as I tried not to react to how good it felt.
“God, you’re cute.” He said.
He leaned in and kissed me on the lips. I kissed him back, and we lingered in our embrace for a moment before pulling away. I could see something was shifting, was he holding me?
What were these feelings brewing inside of me? I told myself not to take them too seriously.
“You’re pretending.” I whispered to myself. “None of this is real.”
-
The offer was simple: one million dollars to pretend to be his girlfriend, then his fiance, in a space of six months. Everything she wanted was going to be at the tip of her fingers, including, maybe, making her best friend Jake a tiny bit jealous.
What could go wrong?
Everything, absolutely everything. And they both wanted it.
Let me break this down based on my own reading experience! 'Helmet for My Pillow' by Robert Leckie is around 300 pages, and it really depends on your reading speed and engagement level. I’m a pretty average reader—not super slow but not a speed demon either—and it took me about 8 hours total, spread over a week. The memoir’s gritty, emotional style made me pause often to soak in the intensity of Leckie’s WWII Pacific Theater experiences.
If you’re a fast reader or just skimming, you might finish in 5–6 hours, but I’d recommend savoring it. The vivid descriptions of Guadalcanal and Peleliu deserve attention. I found myself rereading passages just to appreciate the raw honesty. Plus, if you’re like me and dive into historical footnotes or maps, add another hour or two!