
Member Reviews

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.

A good book. Very much in the vein of the author’s other books. Not sure anyone else writes love and loss and heartache and friendship quite so well. You can really deeply feel it. The world building is creative and just enough, though even more would be great(I would love to read a sci-fi horror prequel set in this world, though I think it would need to be by a different author since that isn’t what I want when I’m reading Klune). The characters are great--in some ways they're completely ridiculous, but also they're perfect.
I’m not a big fan of the Pinocchio story in general, but the allusions definitely worked for this book.

I'm sorry but this was so boring and wordy, how did this win an Goodreads award. I really couldn't get into it and I think it put me in a reading slump for about 2 months.

This was unfortunately a DNF for me.
The writing was bland yet confusing. I couldn't really grasp what was happening. It's unfortunate because I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea. I don't have much to say just because I didn't get far enough in the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for the early digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

This one just wasn’t for me. I’m sure it is a lovely TJ Klune winding novel but it didn’t suck me in like the others and I DNFed at around 20%. I just couldn’t get into it like his others.

This was a sweet and kind story. It didn't kick me in the teeth quite as hard as some of TJ's books (meaning I didn't SOB my face off). It was still enjoyable even though I kept turning pages expecting to be gut punched. Nurse Ratched was perfect. No notes.

As I huge fan of TJ Klune writing, I'm so sad to have not loved as much his newest book. I think the sci-fi setting and the robots were not for me. I found it hard to get attached to them and I was just not drawn into the story as much as I would have loved too. I still believe it would be strongly appreciated for many people. Maybe I'll get back to it one day and I will be in the right mood and I'll enjoy it very much!

This was a fun delightful read full of great, well developed characters that I loved! Klune built up a world I wish I could be a part of with this wonderful book.

I love TJ Klune so much. His world feels so big and buoyant and kind and problems carry danger, but there is some kind of love that encompasses his characters and the resolutions as well. Definitely an author I want to share with my kiddos as they get older.

T J Klune has done it again. How every book of his makes me feel like I'm getting a massive hug whilst reading I'll never know, but it's safe to say he has become an insta buy author. If you love queer stories that just fill you with an overwhelming sense of belonging, quirky characters you will fall in love with and stories that break you, but put you back together again, I can't recommend this enough.

Klune delivers a sweet cosy book which straddles the line between fantasy and science fiction with this book. The Pinocchio influences made for fun easter eggs to kind of look for whilst reading this book. I think that fans of cosy stories will have a really fun time with this book. Unfortunately, something that I am only starting to learn about myself is that I am not really the biggest fan of cosy stories. I think this book does what it sets out to do really well but for me I did not find the pacing of the book to be enjoyable. I also, unfortunately, really really did not like the romantic subplot in this story. Despite issues with the pacing and the plotting, the character work was impeccable, Ratched and Rambo were such incredible characters who had real depth and felt well-realised.

I may be a horrible person for these opinions but I truly want TJ Klune to go back to writing more like his Green Creek series. I miss the beautiful heartache from that which is also wholesome.

In a future where robots have taken over the world, humans have become extinct. But somehow a ragtag bunch of robots increase their sentience and begin working to a new tomorrow with humans rejoining the picture.
Told with Klune's typical whimsical style this book endears you with characters who are far from ordinary. This is a story loosely based on Pinocchio but really goes in a unique direction. If you like sci-fi and humorous characters this is a fun read.
Thank you #netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is another TJ Klune book about the meaning of humanity, regardless of whether or not one is human. About what it means to be a person, to have a soul. About pain, and about forgiveness. Also love and robots.

Fans of TJ Klune's hit "The House in the Cerulean Sea" and "Under the Whispering Door" will enjoy "In the Lives of Puppets". Yet again Klune is able to tell a heartwarming yet funny story with a queer romance and a found family set in a science fiction universe. This book was an absolute joy to read.

Knowing the context behind this with the character supposed to be autistic and showing their humanity by comparing it to robots, and him having erased the negative review he got from his autistic sensitivity readers and only thanking the two that gave him positive reviews leaves a sour taste in my mouth and I just can’t read this anymore

This book was a bit of a disappointment in comparison to his last. I was hoping for more loveable characters but the story line was hard to connect to and fell somewhat flat.

This book, in historical TJ Klune style was amazing. The characters were well-described and well-developed and the story was the absolute perfect thing that I needed on the day that I read it. TJ Klune is an auto-buy author for me and this book only reinforced that.

I cannot get into this book. I’ve tried reading it. Listening to it. Reading positive reviews to psych me up. Idk what’s happening. Just not my cup of tea. I love TJ Klune, but this book is too eclectic and crude..? I don’t get the friendships. I’m not relating to the robots. The energy of the book just isn’t for me. ✌🏼 Looking forward to reading more of what he writes in the future.
I received an advance review copy for free via Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.