Headlines:
Quirky, HAPpy and sad
Found family (of course)
A story of halves

If In the Lives of Puppets leaves me with one impression it's the found family goodness that is Klune's signature move and he does it so well. This family however was the weirdest yet, one that really grew on me and dragged me on board with the whiplash dialogue.

This was a story of two halves, the first half I adored, the second half was less engaging as the characters moved from a take on Pinnochio to what felt like the Wizard of Oz to me. When the story completed and came full circle, it brought satisfaction (mostly) in culmination. It wasn't wrapped in a bow but it was enough.

The characters in this book were special. Vic at the centre but the pages were equally shared with Gio, Nurse Ratched (my personal favourite), Rambo and Hap. There were so many highlights and laugh out loud moments with Nurse Ratched; I loved her demented banter.

"I'm old enough to be your motherboard. Please do not flirt with me if you do not mean it."

There were themes gently behind the whole tale about humanity, the direction we're moving, what humanity strives for and overall about kindness. Klune never preaches, he just cleverly crafts the words.

Overall, this was a truly interesting standalone from Klune and one I will remember.

Thank you to Tor Books for the review copy.

A book about androids and robots that is so remarkably human and emotional, TJ Klune really nailed this.

The story follows the lives of inventor Victor, his dad Gio, sociopathic medical robot Nurse Ratched, and the adorable robot vacuum Rambo, when they come across a decommissioned and damaged robot, HAP — which they dub the Hysterically Angry Puppet. Soon, a journey ensues from their home of Ory-Gone to the City of Electric Dreams (aka once Sin City). A beautiful story of loyalty, friendship, love and humanity, this is like the perfect combination of Pinocchio and the Wizard of Oz.

I couldn’t love this story more. Also-loved that I read this as I traveled from my current home of Oregon, back to my home of Las Vegas and seeing these little reminders in the story just hit my heartstrings even more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for the ARC! Happy pub week!!

I loved this book almost as much as I loved House in the Cerulean Sea, which is a lot. The characters are loveable and relateable, the plot is quick and believable. I've never felt such strong feelings for robots before. Loved it, just loved it.

TJ Klune has a remarkable ability to write a story that fills you with so much warmth, It’s like settling in next to a fire on a cold day with your favorite blanket and just letting the warmth take over. You feel it all the way into your heart and soul. Insert happy sigh here.
This story finds an incredible cast of characters living in an odd home built into the branches of tall trees in the forest. An inventor named Giovanni, a small Roomba type robot named Rambo, a sociopathic medical robot named Nurse Ratched, a human named Victor and the mysterious android Hap, short for Hysterically Angry Puppet call this place home. When one of the group is captured they find themselves on a rescue mission as well as a journey of love and acceptance.

Another heart warming story with the same vibe and atmosphere as House on the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door. 5 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

#TJKlune #IntheLivesofPuppets #NetGalley

While this book is cute and has a very cozy steampunk-ish feel to it, it’s by far my least favorite of Klune’s adult fantasy books. The comedy is honestly the only complaint that I have but it was a constant thing. Rolling my eyes at every other attempted joke almost ruined the experience. I do love the premise, but the robot companions needed to be a little quieter.

What if humans had been eradicated and all that was left were a bunch of silly robots? What if you took Pinocchio and mixed it with The Wizard of OZ and made it queer? That is In the Lives of Puppets in a nutshell. Gio, android and inventor lives with his human son, Vic, Rambo: the vacuum, and Nurse Ratched (just as hilarious as she sounds). When they accidentally awaken HAP, Gio is hauled off to The City of Electric Dreams, and it's up to this ragtag crew to get him back.

I had to sit on this for a while because I had a hard time figuring out what to rate it. First the characters! The characters are so silly and mismatched but somehow they all work perfectly together. There wasn't a single character in this book I disliked (which is pretty rare for me really). And it's so hard to pick a favorite, but probably (definitely) Rambo. What I didn't like about this book was that it felt really long. Toward the end of the middle the story dragged and dragged and it took almost until the end to get me back into. In my opinion, it probably could have been pared down to make it more digestible. All that said, loved the characters and the story was fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

4.5 stars. Thank you so much for my eARC copy!!

OMG these characters absolutely wormed their way right into my heart, especially the dynamic between Nurse Ratched and Rambo. I wondered at the beginning if their dynamic would feel stale by the end but no. Not at all. 10/10 grumpy sunshine friendship between those two and I was totally here for it the entire time. And the dynamic between Hap and Victor was so sweet. And between Vic and his dad. So really just all of the main characters, I loved.

Like most of TJ Klune’s books, we follow these characters through a lot of personal growth and we grow with them, and that’s one of my favorite things about books from this author. But unlike his other books THIS ONE HAS A QUEST. So like what’s not to like right? Also can treehouse masters please recreate Giovanni’s house for me please? I can’t be the only one who would love to live in their wonderful treehouse abode.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune was absolutely beautiful. TJ Klune is an amazing writer that I have a hard time describing my feelings because I can’t even grasp the words I want so say in this review. TJ Klune’s storytelling is amazing and the characters are always unforgettable. This story made me laugh, made me sad because it was perfect. I loved the combination between Pinocchio and The Wizard of Oz. I adore this book so very much. Can’t wait to have a physical copy for my personal library. Thank you so much NetGalley for giving me this amazing opportunity.

This book is, at its base, a retelling of the story of Pinocchio, the puppet who wanted, above all else, to become a real boy. In a future dystopia, Giovanni Lawson lives in the wilderness with his son, Victor, and their robotic aides, Nurse Ratched, a nursing robot, and Rambo, a vacuum. Giovanni (or Gio, as he is sometimes known) came to the wilderness well before Victor was born, fleeing the Authority - the robots who have taken over the world, in an attempt to create a world that is more predictable than a world run by humans.

In this day of AI becoming more and more capable, this is a cautionary tale about what could happen if humanity loses control of its creations; and yet, it is also a hopeful tale, about what could happen if humanity's creations seek to become more and more like their creator. There are a few twists and turns along the way, but ultimately, this novel is a quest - to find help, to find family, to find hope. Recommended for high school and adults.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune is a book that I had huge expectations for. Unfortunately, they fell short. I like the premise of the story and the idea of the characters, but the character of Rambo the robot vacuum really got to me. In fact the lines that involved Rambo started to make me literally cringe that I could not go on. On top of this, I just thought that the story dragged on. I had to stop reading at 65% and hopefully I will get back to this one but for now, this is a DNF for me. DNFing a ARC is extremely rare for me because I want to respect the publisher and NetGalley for this opportunity, but. I could not go on with the story. I know I am probably in the minority with this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Admittedly, this wasn't my favourite by TJ Klune but then again, after how destroyed I was by Under the Whispering Door, I feel like my expectations were very high. That being said, I would love to be able to take a peek into this author's brain. It must be such a magical and wonderful, creative space! I'm not sure how he comes up with these stories but I love it! They are just so unique and his characters are so relatable. I haven't seen many Pinocchio retellings and was definitely curious as to how Klune would spin it. The side characters in this one are especially funny and got many chuckles out of me. I do wish that we got an epilogue so we could see the characters rebuilding, the ending felt a tad cut short as it is. Nevertheless, this was a fun read and was very imaginative!

Rating: 3.5 rounded to 4.

Content warnings: grief, genocide, gore, death, confinement, dementia, panic attacks/disorder, animal cruelty, animal death.

A huge thanks to Tor Books and Netgalley for the ARC for review. All opinions are my own.

This is my first TJ Klune book and I am obsessed. World building was masterfully done, the characters were all a lot of fun and it felt like an adventure. I absolutely loved the banter and the themes of found family, love, queer representation and being whoever you want to be. It was wholesome and comforting. Now I wish I had had a sociopathic robot and anxious vacuum for friends. Loved it!

Another cute book from TJ Klune. It wasn't to most heartfelt of his and I wasn't dying to get back to the characters or world. With that I also don't regret reading it. I might just be a bit tired of Pinocchio but this didn't bring anything new to the table.

QUICK TAKE: Klune's take on THE WIZARD OF OZ and PINOCCHIO, and I loved it. It's probably his funniest book yet (primarily because of the amazing robot supporting cast...Nurse Ratched is a hoot), and definitely my favorite of his after Cerulean.

I really like the way Klune writes. It's just a big warm hug. And even though the topic of human annihilation doesn't scream "cozy," somehow this book manages to be just that. I appreciated Nurse Ratched's sarcasm, as well as the relationship with Rambo. Would recommend!

I had heard so many negative comments on this book. I have to disagree. I really ended up liking this book more than I expected. The characters were so easy to like. An the concept was so fun and interesting. The ending was perfect.

Thank you NetGalley, Tor publishing and the author for my ARC. I preordered this as soon as I caught wind of it then prayed to all the deities for my NetGalley approval. I was at Barnes to pick up my order as soon as they opened on pub day.
🤖🦾🤖
A review won’t do this book justice, so I’ll just gush instead.
This is by far the best thing I’ve read all year🎉💖
Victor, a very human boy, must travel with his Android friends to rescue his Android dad who was taken by some very bad “people” who has no fucking joy in life. It’s an adventure and its love and it’s so damn beautiful, my petty little heart wobbled and tilted and made music.
🤖🦾🤖
You will fall in love with every single character, and yes my favorite is nurse Ratched especially with lines like these- “Feelings are detrimental to my existence”. I wanted to hug Rambo and also let HAP stalk me from behind a tree.
🤖🦾🤖
Klune definitely knows how to make you feel feelings in the best ways possible. Respect ✊.
This should be your next read, trust me, it’s just an unforgettable little treat. Highly recommend ❤️💖💖

his is my first advanced copy from net galley, and I did not expect to get it! TJ Klune does enjoy stories about found families in weird houses.

I expected the Pinocchio parallels, but when I noticed another re-worked story creeping in, I enjoyed the book even more. I would have never mashed those two stories together, but it worked well! The book was written in a way where I could see each piece as a scene in a movie, which is not typically how I read books. It didn’t get 5 stars from me due to a lot of cheesy dialogue and there were some parts that slowed down and took me out of the story.

One time TJ Klune made me fall in love with a green blob and I thought, this is the weirdest character that I will ever love this much...and then in this book I fell in love with a vacuum. Seriously, Rambo steals the show and is just amazing. If you're on the fence, read it for him alone.

This might be the weirdest book Klune has ever written, but as I completely expected, it absolutely worked and I loved every moment of it. Honestly, I saw a lot of past favorites within this story. Hap reminded me so much of Gavin from Brothersong (in all the best ways), some of the early on bad guys (staying spoiler free) took me back to Into This River I Drown, and as previously stated I fell in love with non human characters in very The House in the Cerulean Sea fashion. Maybe others wont see all this, but to me it kinda felt like a love letter to his readers without hitting you over the head with cameos. (Not to say I don't usually love the cameos that Klune weaves through).

Overall this is exactly what I've come to expect from Klune. It has strong found family vibes, some of the realest characters you will ever read (I would love to be friends with any one of them), a ton of laughter, and of course some tears. The love story on this one is really light, but it worked for the Victor and Hap. It was more of a story of family and humanity, and it was impossible to put down.

This is a story about what it takes to make a family.  In an unusual and isolated home deep in the forest, there is an unconventional family.  Three of them are robots: Giovanni Lawson, an older inventor; Nurse Ratched, a nurse machine; and Rambo, a small vacuum.  The fourth is Gio's son, Victor, who is a human, left in Giovanni's care when he was a baby.  The four have made a comfortable and warm life for themselves, supported by Gio's inventions and repairs of things that were scavenged from a nearby scrapyard.  

One day, Vic finds an unfamiliar android in the scrapyard labeled "HAP."  Eager to emulate his dad as an inventor, Vic repairs the android.  HAP at first seems standoffish, but gradually becomes a part of the family.  But bringing Hap into their family inadvertently reveals Gio's location to robots from a former life that Vic, Nurse Ratched, and Ramo knew nothing about.  When Gio is seized by these robots and taken back to the City of Electric Dreams, a center of robot life, Vic is determined to get Gio back. So he, Hap, Nurse Ratched, and Rambo leave their home for a long journey to the City of Electric Dreams to rescue Gio.  Through this journey, Vic learns much more about Gio, Hap, and even his own background, causing him to question his relationships with them and the wider world -- and what love really means.

I enjoyed this book.  It is an interesting and highly creative take on a Pinocchio story.  As in his previous novels, the author creates a rich and fully realized world that unfolds over the course of the book, combined with a highly engaging and emotional story.  I found myself completely invested in the relationships between Vic and his father, Vic and Hap, and Vic with both Nurse Ratched and especially Rambo.  It takes a special writer to make a robot vacuum into both one of the hearts of a story and also its comic relief.  The book also offered thoughtful insights about free will and the degree to which one should be defined by their past.

Strongly recommended!