When I Heard In the Lives of Puppets was a Pinocchio retelling, I knew I had to read it. While it had Pinocchio vibes, there was so much more to this story. Klune weaved a whimsical and heartfelt tale that blends fantasy, humor, and deep emotional resonance. The story follows a group of unique characters—each with their own quirks and personalities—as they navigate a world that is both imaginative and profoundly touching.

Klune's writing shines with wit and warmth. The characters, particularly the protagonist, Victor Lawson, and his companions—a charmingly sarcastic vacuum named Rambo and a reprogrammed Nurse Machine—are endearing and memorable. Their journey is filled with moments of joy, sorrow, and reflection, making it easy to connect with them on a personal level.

While I really enjoyed this story, my one issue was the immaturity in the story. I loved the friendships, but felt the male jokes were over the top at times. With that said, I loved where the story took us, and I need more Rambo in my life!

Thank you Tor Publishing Group, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

This was great! I could definitely pick out the Pinnochio references throughout the story. I really loved the story and the characters. There were some lines that felt repetitive and some scenes that felt drawn out. I also didn't love the narration for Rambo in the audiobook. Everyone else was great, but Rambo's voice grated on me a bit with the way the narrator chose to read his dialogue. I love this author and as always, his writing is charming, humorous and heartfelt.

Set in a world where robots and AI have lost patience with the follies of humanity and taken over. GIO, a creator and innovator robot runs away from the City of Electric Dreams and escapes deep into the forests. There he is in hiding, and raising a son, Victor. Victor has grown up in isolation, with no friends--so he has created his own from robots he found in the nearby scrapyards. While out exploring the scrapyards one day, Victor finds a very different kind of robot. He is humanoid, covered with realistic skin--which is missing large patches. Victor takes him home and begins to repair him, replacing torn skin with wood. Then he gives his repaired robot a robotic heart, powered by human blood, setting off a chain of events that will bring his world crashing down and teach him that nothing he knows is true. There is a lot to think about here. About the nature of humanity. About forgiveness. About hope.

This is my first TJ Klune book, and it definitely will NOT be my last. This was so cute. It really made me fall in love with the characters. I switched back and forth between ereading and listening to the audiobook. Tells a amazing story of found family and friendship that can warm anyones heart.

Anything that TJ Klune writes is pure gold. He knows how to write the perfect cozy fantasy. Although I preferred Under the Whispering Door and The House in the Cerulean Sea, this is still a fantastic book that I will be recommending to others.

Absolutely LOVED this book!!! My favorite tj Kline book so far!! I read the house in the cerulean sea recently and jumped right into this one. Dare I say, I liked this one even more. The robot personality and character development was on point. 10/10

I think that Klune could write a telephone book and it would be SO CUTE!! Another slam dunk great read here. Always a pleasure to read his books and you can see his heart in each one.

I love TJ Klune's work and this one was no different. The way their books pulls out emotions leaves me breathless and unsettled in a way I don;t experience often with books. There is a heart to the story that demonstrates unconditional support and acceptance. They feel like a hug. I felt a range of emotions as reading and love when a book makes me laugh out loud.

As always, TJ Klune is a must read for me. Billed as “The Adventures of Pinocchio, and like Swiss Family Robinson meets Wall-E” I was IN! It was silly and fun and emotional, and I just loved it so much. I know it wasn’t everyone's cup of tea, but for me, it was a hit!

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This is a hard book for me to rate and review, because there were some elements I really loved, and some that I didn't. Firstly, the audiobook for this is excellent. Truly, it's probably what saved the story for me. Daniel Henning's different voices for a multitude of characters was absolutely exquisite. I was truly impressed that this was not a full cast audiobook, because it often sounded that way. I am certain that I wouldn't have enjoyed this story, and maybe wouldn't have even finished it, if it hadn't been for his superior narration.

The novel itself is another story. The best word I can use to sum up my feelings is "confusing", because this story seemed to be trying to do too many things at once, and not excelling at any of them, nor being better because of the sum of its parts. The retelling of Pinocchio, combined with the adventure journey similar to The Brave Little Toaster, a Wizard of Oz element, along with some very obvious soapbox stances on topics, commentary on AI and robots, and a crude sense of humor (often sexual in nature, which was odd considering the characters were all robots and one asexual human) you would expect from a middle- to high-school-aged individual, made this feel messy. I really enjoyed the elements of the story that had that "Brave Little Toaster" feel, as that is a childhood favorite movie of mine. I really loved the characters Klune created. But overall this story was lacking for me, and left me unsure if I liked it or not.

This was a DNF for me. I couldn't get past the innuendos and silliness. I am not sure if this was meant for middle schoolers or adults. It's a shame, too, because I really loved this author's other books.

Such a sweet, quirky story about some sentient robots and the family that maintains them. TJ Klune is a master at world-building and creating characters that give you the feels.

Deeply captivating, I enjoyed what felt like a retelling of Pinocchio - similar but so different. While not my favorite TJ Klune, I'm am utterly here for all of their books.

Another good TJ Klune novel, my only build is that the story felt like it took a while to get where it was going. A take on Pinocchio, this was an interesting book but probably not my favourite work of his.

I enjoyed this book, though I didn't like it quite as much as The House in the Cerulean Sea, or Under the Whispering Door. That being said, the characters were interesting and the world building was good. It was definitely a little more bleak than his last couple books though.

4.5 rounded up

This is the third book I've read by this author. The human touch the author brings to all of his books has captivated me, but this one was truly different and heartwarming. It starts slowly, and it might take some time to get into the story, but after about 30%, you begin to get hooked. The relationship between the characters was excellent, I loved them all, and reading this book was enjoyable. I highly recommend the audiobook version too.

Love TJ Klune! I feel all of the feelings when reading his books his characters are loveable and be plots are amazing

I was unable to read the book due to it being taken off of netgalley to fast which was a real shame as it looks good.

I was super excited for this book. For one I love this author and two, the premise sounded amazing. While the book is still beautifully written and had some very good moments, it still felt like it was missing something. This one didn’t have the same spark that other Klune books have and thus it la def a little flat. I was expecting to love the characters and feel a million emotions and at time it felt like he was going to deliver only to move much too quickly away from the moment or get a sanitized version of events. I did read his note at the end and wonder how much of those forced changes impacted the quality of this story, but I guess we won’t ever know. Ultimately, I do think that it was a decent book with a thought provoking premise.

TJ Klune always does an exceptional job of making me FEEL for characters I never thought I could (i.e. monsters, robots, the grim reaper himself) and In the Lives of Puppets is some of his strongest storytelling to date.