TJ Klune does it again!



Although I wasn't a fan of the movie as a child, this was a beautiful retelling of Pinocchio that is crossed with Wall-e and I, Robot. Real boy Victor was a beautiful child raised by robots, so was uncertain about human life and reasons.



Nurse Ratched was paired perfectly with Rambo, the vacuum, for a comical side kick duo. Such a colorful cast of characters made for interesting twists along the way. A found family, dystopian novel that is sure to pull at the strings of your heart.

I really enjoyed this. The narrator was great at varying the voices and it was a heartwarming story.

In The Lives of Puppets is like if you mixed Pinocchio, Wall-E, and The Wizard of Oz together, but more adults and all the characters are queer.

This book has everything: talking vacuums, wooden hearts, wit, romance, and humans… pardon… a human… actually forget it said that! Engaging memory erasure mode now!

Like a lot of Klune’s books, I felt like a giant kid reading a fairy tale as I followed these characters to the City of Electric Dreams. There were a lot of ‘awwww’ moments as well as funny wit and banter. Prepare to fall in love will all the characters (never thought I would fall in love with a homicidal robot). I appreciated the many variations of queer rep we got, including ace, NB, pansexual, and many other sexualities among the different characters (especially since most of the characters were robots who defied binary gender).
After reading Under the Whispering Door as well, I’ve noticed that Klune is really good at making you think “well shit, how are we gonna get out of this predicament?!”, before the super cute and satisfying HEA.

This felt like a warm hug and I could see myself reading this again 🫶🏼

Rating: 🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖/5
Narrator: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️/5

I would also highly recommend the audiobook, because the narrator made me feel like I was listening to a Disney movie.

Thank you NetGalley & Macmillan audio for giving me this ALC*. And a special thanks to TJ Klune! All opinions are my own.

This was my most anticipated read of this year. I always fall in love very quickly with with tJ Klume's characters. This book made me laugh out loud. It was impossible not to love nurse ratched and her dark side. Her sense of humor matches my own. I will always and forever get every single book written by him! Though it may have been slow to start, it was worth it!

Such a great book. TJ Klune can do no wrong! The message was so great and the story line kept me so engaged. I LIVE this book!

I don't even know what to say about this book. It is not the type of book I would normally read/enjoy. But the audio was so outstanding. Sometimes I was laughing and touched and other times I was a little bored. I think it is a masterpiece for the right audience.

I want to preface this by saying I would read TJ Klune's grocery list if he ever published it. I think he is such a phenomenal author and has the ability to write such compelling and lovable characters. This book is no exception. I immediately fell in love with Vic, Rambo, and Nurse Ratched;' Rambo. being a stand out. What I loved about this book is that it was a deep dive into humanity and what it means to truly be human. I felt like the journey was straight forward and not much happened, but at the same time so much occurred. Vic and Hap's relationship, while odd being a human/robot relationship, was heartwarming. And the journey to find who you truly are was one that I enjoyed.

This was not my favorite of TJ's stories, but I will 100% recommend it due to it's lovable characters and intriguing plot. I was NOT a fan of the twist and unreliable narrator in the beginning. I thought that took away from the story and had me questioning things.

I thought the narrator did a PHENOMENAL job. I was so impressed with their voicework and it made me fall in love with the characters all the quicker. I will 100000% continue reading books narrated by him.

This pains me to say, but this book left me underwhelmed. I loved Klune’s other books, The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door, so I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy.

The writing is vivid; I enjoyed the world-building and the theme of a found family. The main character, Vic, was my favorite. He was the most relatable and level-headed. I enjoyed the relationship between him and his father, Gio. I appreciated Vic being asexual, but it felt a bit forced.

The characters Rambo and Nurse Rached bring forth Klune’s trademark quirky humor. For me, this humor aired more on the juvenile side and got old fast.

I had advanced copies of the book and the audiobook. I gravitated toward the audiobook. The narrator, Daniel Henning, did a phenomenal job bringing the story to life. He nailed providing nuanced voices to all the characters and delivered humorous parts enthusiastically and wittily.

Overall, I struggled to become invested in the storyline and had to push myself to finish this. The pacing felt off, and I didn’t feel the same cozy feelings I had when reading Klune's other books.

I hope others will find this story more compelling than I did because TJ Klune is a great writer.

This was slow for the first 2/3, but I adored the last 1/3. Such an imaginative and creative story. Rambo and Nurse Ratched were the best characters!

This novel was beautifully written, as are all of Klune’s novels. Full of hope, loss, heartbreak, and an humor, this work is perfect for SciFi fans.

Once upon a time, there was a boy living in a forest. His companions consisted of his father, GIO, nurse RATCHED, and a vacuum named RAMBO.

One day, an android labelled HAP is found in the scrap yard, triggering a sequence of events that leads to the kidnapping of GIO, and the subsequent rescue mission. With characters such as “The Blue Fairy” and references to pop culture, this stunning tale imagines a world bordering the line of artificial intelligence and humanity, and a story of the transformative power of love. The audiobook narrator performed exceptionally well, and I recommend that version to anyone wanting an immersive experience in this novel.

However, the story itself was not for me. This was a robot-SciFi-Pinocchio with a dash of romance, and while I loved the characters individually, the story itself didn’t resonate with me – likely due to my own aversion towards robot-human-romance and Pinocchio than with the author.

Klune is one of my favorite authors, and this book only adds to a phenomenal catalog.

In the Lives of Puppets explores humanity, duty, love, and sacrifice while being heartwarming, funny, and all-out interesting. I felt the pacing was immaculate, and the prose pulled me right in. The book heavily features Klune's sense of humor (although not nearly as over the top as it is in his Verania books), and of course, Klune's characters show up strong.

I personally feel Klune's biggest strength is how he writes his characters and how they experience growth, and this novel exemplifies that. Even though the book is mostly character-oriented, it still has a decent plot. It's nothing groundbreaking, and it retreads a lot of the same ground many robot-take-over books do, but it serves as a wonderful vehicle to explore these characters -- and for the characters to explore their own motivations.

In the Lives of Puppets does wrap up fairly neatly, and if you've read [book:The House in the Cerulean Sea|45047384] or [book:Under the Whispering Door|53205888], the tone, especially at the end, will feel very familiar. For me, that's a huge plus, but if you really didn't like the tone/feeling of either of those two endings, this one probably wont hit for you.

Ultimately, I feel Klune does a fantastic job of reinventing Pinocchio, exploring his characters, and giving them the tools to explore themselves. If you've been impressed with Klune's latest offerings, give this one a shot!

*Spoilers*

The narrator for this was astounding. Each character was brought to life perfectly. Rambo was my favorite.

This was suppose to be a different spin on Pinocchio. I could definitely see the tie ins to the original fairytale. While I enjoyed this creative story, I didn’t love it. Maybe I expected more because of all the hype? Maybe it’s because of the entire annihilation of human race by robots? Maybe it was that even robots tried to stomp out free will? There was a lot to like, it was very creative and full of details. It was not bad at all, I just wasn’t blown away. A solid read, which is still a good read.

This is my third novel by TJ Klune and it did not disappoint! It is not the favorite out of the three, but most definitely worth reading! It is a modern take on Pinocchio (which I must admit I don't believe I remember the full story) involving machines. I loved the humor of Nurse RATCHET and her screen messages, but I didn't love every single character like I have in others I have read by Klune. I read along and listened to the audiobook. I highly recommend going the audiobook route if you like them, the voices given to the characters are perfect.

This is the first TJ Klune book that I really slowed to a crawl while reading. I found the constant sexual jokes childish and offputting. I wasn’t rooting for any of the characters and I never felt like they showed me their heart. I typically love the way this narrator brings TJ Klune’s books to life but I found this one nearly unlistenable.

Wow it was like a train wreck I couldn't look away from. Quirky little book is definitely better to listen to it then read it for me. Thanks Macmillan Audio for an advanced audio . Quirky dystopian story of a happy family in the future living in the woods of Oregon. Robots, androids, human and an adorable vacuum. This band of misfits go on an extreme adventure, to find and save there father. TJ Klune readers no disappointment here. The narrator's voice for each character, reminded me of the old days of hanging around the radio for the Mystery Hour show. Great job. Love the characters Klune has dreamed up. Nurse Ratched lol , yes Ratched she'll give you a enema lickety split, a roomba vacuum Rambo who can't roll away from dirt, a hysterical angry puppet Hap, father Geo, and Vic a very special person.
This band of misfits go on an extreme adventure, to find and save their father. TJ Klune readers no disappointment here. Love it when I thought I would not. Woo Hoo! As Kirkus reviews says GET IT!

IN THE LIVES OF PUPPETS review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

🤖After reading and looooving two other TJ Klune books last year, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on his latest release! He just has a way of writing the coziest, most heart-warming fantasy stories, and this book was no exception!

🤖Here’s a summary of the plot:👇
In the Oregon forest lives a human named Vic and his family of robots: Gio, Rambo, and Nurse Ratched. While wandering the forest, they find a decommissioned android, and they work together to restore his programming. When the android (HAP) comes back to life, it sets off a chain of events that causes Vic to go on the run as his peaceful existence is threatened.

🤖First off, Nurse Ratched is quite possibly my favorite character out of any TJ Klune book I’ve read. I just loved every scene she was in. There were certain characters in this book I had a hard time connecting with and feeling invested in. I still enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend it, especially if you’re a TJ Klune fan!

🤖Thanks to @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for my advanced copy of this one!

4.5 stars Any trepidation. I had about not enjoying a book about puppets and robots in a post human world dissolved rapidly as TJ Klune used his signature writing style to take me into a world both unfamiliar and comforting. I adore the loveable band of misfits he cast; from the excitable hypochondriac vacuum Rambo to the sweetly sociopathic nurse Ratchet and Hysterically Angry Puppet (Hap)-who resembled a crotchety old man. It is effortless to get sucked into a story as strange and as it is humane. It speaks to fear, bravery, forgiveness, flaws, hope and love along a wild ride with odes to Pinocchio. I highly recommend the audiobook.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me a gifted copy of the audiobook in exchange for a review.

I received an audio ARC in e range for an honest review

This was my first book by this author and I absolutely loved it. It had a great mix of funny and dramatic moment and also the characters each had their own well developed personalities.

I didn’t originally realize this was a retelling. I feel there are so many retelling out there and I probably would have skipped this had I realized. I’m so glad that I didn’t though because In the Lives of Puppets is a perfect exploration of found families, much like Klune’s other works. A heartfelt read sure to please fantasy readers.

TJ Klune did the impossible. He made me root for a human/non-human relationship!

Is this the best TJ Klune book so far? You bet your ass it is!
Do I want a bunch of adorably homicidal robots now? You bet your ass I do!

But also, can someone check on TJ Klune? He writes such tender stories that it makes you think he is either living a fairytale type of love or he is aching to be loved like the characters in his stories. Yes, I absolutely Wikipedia-ed him and became very sad with the two lines of his personal life that's on there. But honestly, can someone hug him for me? He can take it however he wants to. A comforting hug or a happy for you hug, Whatever he needs.

Back to the book. In my opinion this is easily the best Klune book. Each of his characters were so charming and insane. He managed to write a vicious robot that would resort to violence and I'm not even mad about it. If this was a rom-com and there was some man posturing the way HAP does, starting bar fights to protect his girlfriend, being territorial and overprotective, we would hate it. But Klune writes HAP in a way that is just protective and territorial enough to be swoon worthy. Absolutely, you rip the head off anyone that tries to touch Vic! I support it! Claps all around.

This book is so fun and so witty, that you almost forget it's written by TJ freaking Klune so one minute you're laughing at the desperately anxious Roomba and the next you're clutching your chest because WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GO AND MAKE EVERYTHING SO SAD, TJ?

Really all you need to know about this book is this:
-An anxious roomba named Rambo
-A murderous nurse robot named Nurse Ratched
-A killing machine given a heart
-The ultimate found family
-A journey to never leaving anyone behind
-And an ultimate story of what it means to love.

The end. 10/10. 5 stars.