TJ Klune, you have my heart. ALL OF IT. It’s yours!! TJ Klune is at the TIP TOP of my auto buy authors. Epic storytelling that is all kinds of magical and inspiring. In the Lives of Puppets is this dystopian / sci-fi story is about family and LOVE. Oh and don’t let me forget … how to be a better human. The world building and characters within this story is simply crafted so beautifully. This book was full of everything I love. Smart banter between characters was awesome. I didn’t want this one to end. Go in blind and enjoy this masterpiece.

The BIGGEST Thank YOU to NetGalley, Tor Books and MacMillan Audio for this e-arc & listening copy in exchange for my honest review. I HIGHLY recommend. The narration is simply fantastic. The narrator, Daniel Henning, truly brought this story to life. My heart is FULL after listening to this book. It will stay with me LONG after I stop listening.. This story will tug at your heartstrings and change your life. You’ll be a better person after reading this one. Happy Reading!1

actual rating: 3.5/5 stars

klune has always been a master of storytelling, reeling readers in with his captivating tales and unforgettable characters. with each new release, fans like myself eagerly await another dive into his imaginative worlds. however, i have to admit that this one isn't my personal favorite, but that doesn't mean it isn't a solid addition to his repertoire.

here's the thing that caught my attention in this novel—there's a touch of repetitiveness. being a die-hard fan of klune's previous works, i couldn't help but notice some familiar elements that seemed to follow a predictable pattern. now, don't get me wrong, this repetition didn't ruin the whole shebang. klune's talent for crafting engaging characters and his signature writing style still managed to shine through.

speaking of characters, they're undoubtedly the highlights of this book. klune has this extraordinary gift of breathing life into his creations, and this book is no exception. each character, with their own quirks and motivations, grabbed my attention and got me emotionally invested in their journey. and even though the writing style didn't break new ground, it was still enjoyable and had its moments of tugging at my heartstrings.

but here's the twist: this book took a bit of an adventurous turn, which isn't what i usually expect from t.j. klune. now, i totally get the author's desire to explore new territories and dabble in different genres, but i can't deny that this diversion from his usual style didn't resonate with me as much. personally, i'm drawn to klune's ability to dive deep into the complexities of human emotions and relationships, and while the adventurous aspect was executed well, it didn't quite capture that essence i crave.

that being said, let's give credit where it's due. this book still carries that undeniable charm that t.j. klune brings to his storytelling. he can create engaging characters and deliver heartfelt moments like nobody's business. so, even with my reservations about the repetitiveness and the adventurous theme, i have to acknowledge the book's strengths. it managed to keep me invested, and i'm sure readers will find moments of joy and connection throughout the narrative.

in conclusion, this may not be my top pick from t.j. klune, but it's still a good book in its own right. sure, the repetitive formula and the adventurous aspect may not have hit home for me, but the characters and the writing kept me engaged. if you're a fan of klune's previous works, this novel might offer a slightly different experience, but fear not, it still retains the author's unique voice and his knack for crafting memorable stories. despite its minor shortcomings, it stands as a testament to klune's talent and leaves us eagerly awaiting what he has in store for us next.

“𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬.”

Took me a little while to get into this one, but once the characters clicked, I loved it. Nothing will probably ever top THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA, but this one made a Herculean effort. I ended up loving and connecting with every character, and though I was slightly underwhelmed by the ending, this was the feel-good story that I needed.

This was my second Klune novel and he is quickly becoming a favorite author. While I did not enjoy it as much as Cerulean Sea, I still loved it.

This is advertised as a Pinocchio retelling, but for me it was very subtle and had notes of Wizard of Oz throwed in as well. It felt original and new. I also was under the impression it was going to fantasy, but ended up being more Sci-Fi, which was a nice surprise and helped the story feel like its own. I loved all the characters. They all had their own personality and there was never any confusion about who was who. You easily fall in love will all of them, but end up still having a favorite.

I can't wait to see what Klune writes next. :)

*Arc provided by Netgalley and Tor in exchange for an honest review.*

It took me a while to really get into this story about a human raised by an android and other robots. However, once it clicked I couldn’t stop reading. The unusual concept - a retelling of Pinocchio - has TJ Klune’s trademark warmth and humor (I loved when Nurse Ratched engaged her empathy protocol one minute, then unleashed her true thoughts the next), along with messages of love and acceptance. I rooted for Victor and HAP and Gio and, for a while, I didn’t even think about it as fiction - that’s how engrossed I was. Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

🤖 BOOK REVIEW 🤖

REVIEW ⬇️
TJ Klune has created another magical world and invited us in with his latest, In the Lives of Puppets. He does this beautiful blend of fantasy and fairy tale but with an air of the familiar, always grounded in real-world dilemmas, emotions, problems, and relationships. I fell in love with these characters. They made me chuckle and root for them. My only small gripe is that the ending was a little drawn out, but overall, I loved it.

Recommended for a magical adventure with a warm slice of bread and a soft blanket for company.

RATING ⬇️
⭐⭐⭐⭐💫/5

SUMMARY ⬇️
In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots--fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They're a family, hidden and safe.

The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled "HAP," he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio-a past spent hunting humans.

When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio's former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic's assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.

Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?

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TJ Klune does it again with this book! I love how he crafts a blend of fantasy and romance. It's very entertaining to see human life from the perspective of a robot . It's such a sweet love story mixed with an adventure!

Review in Dutch, published in national newspaper de Volkskrant in The Netherlands

-- ‘In the Lives of Puppets’ van TJ Klune is een sympathiek feelgoodverhaal over de toekomst van AI --

Het thema van In the Lives of Puppets kan in deze tijd van slimme chatrobots bijna niet actueler zijn: de toekomst van kunstmatige intelligentie. In zijn nieuwe roman vraagt de Amerikaanse schrijver TJ Klune zich af wat het voor de wereld zou betekenen als er straks ‘levende’, mensachtige robots bestaan.

Hoofdpersoon Victor is de enige mens in een familie van robots. Zijn adoptievader Gio is een android – een mensachtige robot – en een briljant ingenieur. Samen met een grofgebekte zorgrobot en een kleine, angstige robotstofzuiger wonen ze afgelegen in het bos. Van de rest van de wereld krijgen ze niets mee, totdat Victor op een schroothoop een beschadigde android vindt, die hij opknapt. Deze android blijkt een gewelddadig verleden te hebben – een waarin, tot Victors schrik, ook zijn eigen vader opduikt.

Het onderwerp is klassieke scifi, maar TJ Klune (1982) is zeker geen klassieke scifi-schrijver. Zijn boeken hebben steevast een queer liefdeskoppel in de hoofdrol, een boterzachte kern en een happy ending – zoals in de bestseller The House in the Cerulean Sea. Met In the Lives of Puppets zet hij een stap in een nieuwe richting, met aandacht voor wetenschap en techniek en een dystopisch toekomstbeeld. Maar echt wetenschappelijk wordt het niet, daarvoor komt er te veel magie bij kijken. Androids kunnen bijvoorbeeld echte emoties voelen door een mechanisch hart met mensenbloed. Verwacht dus geen doordachte AI-theorieën, maar gewoon weer een sympathiek feelgoodverhaal dat lekker wegleest. En dat je toch ook een beetje aan het denken zet, over onze toekomst met AI.

Once again, another great book by TJ Klune. I don't know how he does it but he just makes me love his characters so so so much that my heart hurts. This story was beautiful, the characters were great and the world was just so delightful. I will be rereading this many many times.

A wonderful sci-fi retelling of Pinocchio full of rich characters, whimsical humor, and heart wrenching moments. I would recommend this book to any sci-fi/fantasy fans or anyone looking for a feel good story.

I am obsessed with anything TJ Klune. This story is a retelling of pinocchio but with robots. It is a lovely story about humanity, and the robots/AI we share so much of our lives with. This isn't what happens when the robots take over, but rather what happens when they already have and it's been years since they took control.
Warning, this will make you feel for the characters and expound your definition of family.

My third TJ Klune and it won't be my last. This was probably my least favourite of the three, but I still enjoyed it. He has a bit of a formula and I like it, although you would not want to read them too close together.
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There's always a queer main character, usually a male, adorable side characters, a love interest, and a wise character. And not all characters are human/alive. All also have deep reflections on humanity.

This one is a queer retelling of Pinocchio, and to me felt a little Wizard of Oz'y too. It took me a good while to get invested, but then I was and kept worrying that someone was going to be killed off. I was thinking it was very middle grade, until one weird section in Part 3, and now I think it could be but you would just need to skip some pages (and honestly it would not effect the story).
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It was nice. I liked it. Not a forever fave, and it's no Cerulean Sea, but still enjoyable.

I received an e-galley of In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune from Tor Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've enjoyed a few of TJ Klune's titles because of the way they make me feel and think about the world at large. In the Lives of Puppets followed along in that way but in a different way from TJ Klune's previous books. In this story, we start deep in the forest where Victor, a human, lives with his android father and two robots with hilarious personalities. Gio is hiding a lot of secrets - including the one in which will greatly affect Vic as he discovers more about the world that has always been kept from him; hints of which he explores through the salvage yards. When Vic's curiousity brings danger to the forest and their home, all secrets begin to be exposed and Vic must make decisions that will determine his and his family's fate. As always, TJ Klune writes these found family stories that you cannot help be drawn in by. Each character is so unique and as the story develops, so does your attachment to each of them.

THE LIVES OF PUPPETS by TJ Klune - This book is giving Pinocchio meets Wizard of Oz and for the majority of the time I liked it. The banter of the supporting cast is top notch and the beginning was really strong for me, but, once we got to the quest, my interest waned a bit. I was also very intrigued by his comments in his acknowledgements about his disappointment about this not being the story he wanted to tell. I think that impacted my feelings toward the book as well.✰✰✰

2.5 or 3/5 stars - This wasn't my favorite book, though there were things I enjoyed about it. Nurse Rached was funny; Gio was endearing; the concept of a world of machines and a hidden human, also interesting. But Vic was not so interesting to me, perhaps the most flat of the characters. Rambo was like an obnoxious toddler, sometimes cute but mostly annoying, and Hap was meh. The whole "Wizard of Oz" Emerald City thing was least interesting to me, and the odd Pinnocchio references didn't work for me either. I would have much rather stayed in the forest thinking about the world and what it means to feel and be a person rather than talk about machines who want to murder and have murdered all of humanity. And the Vic/Hap thing felt very forced and weird to me, just not quite the genuine connection I saw it was trying to convince me of. Idk, I'm glad I read it, but I also read "Psalm for the Wild-Built" simultaneously and that was an infinitely better exploration of robots and machines and humanity and life.

Love can transcend boundaries of time and memory.

Victor Lawson was raised in a happy home in the forest with his father Giovanni Lawson, who was not a human at all. Vic's best friends are Nurse Ratched and Rambo, two robots that he restored and brought to life. Vic and his father Gio are inventors and creators, turning scrap metal and junk into wonderful new inventions. Giovanni is an android, but his unique heart helps him be able to have love and affection for his son and his friends. When Giovanni is taken away one day by unknown forces, Vic must travel outside of his home for the first time to get him back. With his best friends and a new friend Hap by his side, he sets out on the adventure of his life.

This was a story that really moved me to tears. Found family is the family you choose for yourself, even if they aren't the same as you. The love between Vic and his friends and family who are robots was really heartwarming to see, and the first half was very wholesome. The second half was a bit hard to get through, due to the revelations of Giovanni and Hap's participation in the extermination of all humans, and I really felt for Vic, learning he is the last of his race. The other robots Vic encountered during his journey really showed how terrifying it would be to be in his position, and how alone you would feel as the last of a race. I definitely needed a day to recover from all of the despondent thoughts this book evoked in me. It made me think, and that is always something I appreciate in a book.

Vic is happy with his simple life. His days are filled with scavenging and inventing. When he stumbles apron a HAP and chooses to resurrect it, his entire life will be changed. Klune is a masterful with creating characters that will never leave you. The rag tag bunch in "In the Lives of Puppets" made this story come alive and questions what it takes to be a family. Vic as a leader allows for compassion and love as well as questioning a parents past. The reader will immediately become attached to the characters and need to find out how their journey ends. While Klune can craft gorgeous worlds and character interactions, in some parts it feels too drawn out and slows the pace considerably.

*Arc provided by Netgalley and Tor in exchange for an honest review.*

In the Lives of Puppets is best described as reverse Pinocchio meets I, Robot and Terminator. I've only read one other book by TJ Klune and I bawled like a baby reading it. This book left me with mixed feelings. The overall story of Gio and Vic was heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. Vic and HAP's relationship though made me slightly uncomfortable. There were times when I was cringing heavily even with Nurse Ratchet. I guess I just wasn't expecting sexualized or sexually aware robots. I don't know I guess I'm just not at a stage in my life where I'm prepared to think of my vacuum having sex or if any of that was genuinely necessary for plot. Perhaps I'll reread it at a later date and it will resonate differently, but right now this one just wasn't really for me.

TJ Klune is quickly becoming a must buy author. Although this book didn't live up to Cerulean Sea or Whispering Door, it was still wonderful and heartfelt.

This felt very different from the last few TJ Klune books I've read. We have moved into a futuristic world loosely based on Pinocchio. Here there are no traditional puppets, but a found family (like so many in Klune's works) of various robots and androids. Our human boy is very human but also has a lot to learn as he tinkers with his "father" and inventor, and with his machine friends that he has rescued and repaired.

I thought the voices in this were hilarious and overall it was a touching meditation on what it means to have free will and cut our own strings. Good sci fi makes us think about our world, and this does that beautifully. Four and a half stars, with a special nod to the inclusion of a whale, a blue fairy, and many other Pinocchio elements in a new and inventive way.