I honestly had such a difficult time getting even halfway through this. I had so been looking forward to it, and kept waiting for it to get better. It just didn’t. Perhaps I’ll finish it at a later date. I do love the characters, but they just did not juice in this story.

The Guncle Abroad- by Steven Rowley ✈️🏝️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ugh this book was SO WHOLESOME. For fans of “The Guncle” this crew is back five years later, as they travel to Italy for a family wedding. Filled with witty banter, this book highlights the intersection between love and grief, as well as understanding the complex bonds within families. I flew through this book, and would recommend to anyone who is looking for an entertaining and easy summer read! Thank you @netgalley for the ARC!

Five years ago Patrick’s sister-in-law and best friend passed away, leaving a grieving husband and two young children. Patrick stepped up and helped his niece and nephew deal with the loss of their mother, while coming to terms with what it would also mean for him.

Now, in Steven Rowley’s second Guncle book, Patrick is just completing a starring role in a successful sit-com while also navigating his break-up with his younger partner. Meanwhile, his brother, Greg, is getting remarried (in Italy) and his children, Maisie and Grant, are not at all on board with the idea. Enter Guncle Patrick, to once again help his family navigate this latest upheaval.

The Guncle Abroad is a story of forgiveness, self-awareness, family ties, and, most of all, love. The storyline is interesting, with some well-developed characters, and the dialogue is crisp. I enjoyed the added bits of information about the trio’s travels through Europe on their way to the wedding at a Lake Como resort.

However, at times it could be a bit tedious and repetitive and Maisie, in particular, was often irritating. But, that’s what a fourteen-year-old does best. Here and there the story seemed to wander a little off course, which I not only found to be distracting but it also seemed to slow down the pace of the story.

I didn’t enjoy The Guncle Abroad quite as much as I did the first Gunkle book, but it was still a good read for a hot summer day. NetGalley provided an advance copy.

Bummer alert! 🚨 While the original Guncle was funny and heartfelt, its charms didn’t travel abroad very well. 🥴😢
•
It just didn’t work for me. Everyone was grumpy and childish and annoying. Patrick’s malaise, the kids’ snark and unpleasantness. The traveling part in the middle was particularly hard to get through. So much geographical information and landmarks and unnecessary language. An homage to The Sound of Music which I’ve never seen. It didn’t flow and I couldn’t get into a reading groove.
•
I did love the ending 🥹 and I enjoyed Palmina’s character! Ultimately I think this was a case of the sequel not really being needed and just coming nowhere close to the original!
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Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the e-arc! Even though every book is not for me, I cherish the opportunity to read and review early!

Ok. So this was cute. A little bit cheesy, but cute. It was definitely a fun, start to the summer read. I appreciate Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

An adorable sequel to The Guncle! The witty humor of the main character and the author makes this an enjoyable and fun read, with a side of honesty, tough topics, grief and the love of family. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher/author for an ARC copy of this book. I will be reading all of Steven Rowley’s books from now on!

“GUP”, aka “Gay Uncle Patrick” is back at it again, teaching his niece and nephew lessons about life, while the kids wind up teaching him a few things as well. Five years after the fateful summer they spent together in Palm Springs, Patrick is back in the acting biz, wrapping up a movie in London when he gets a call from his brother asking Patrick to take care of the kids in the few weeks leading up to his wedding in Italy. The kids are not thrilled about their dad’s upcoming marriage to very wealthy Livia. Patrick once again dispels life lessons, this time while traveling with the kids throughout Europe. Once in Italy where the wedding will take place, he has to not only manage the kids, but also his brother Greg (is he getting cold feet?), his sister Clara, newly divorced and looking for love, as well as his own jealousy over the children’s new “launt” (lesbian aunt), as well as the loss he feels after breaking up with his love, Emory. . The rehearsal dinner is an unmitigated disaster, and no one knows for sure whether this wedding will take place after all. Or will the unexpected happen?

🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷 / 5

wow, i loved this one so much—and i didn’t think it could get much better than the first one 🥺🤍 these characters are some of my favorites because they tug at my heartstrings and make me laugh out loud. i’m so glad i read the e-book version because i highlighted so many quotes and excerpts that i’d love to revisit to give myself a good laugh or cry 🙃

this story is such an important one, and i’m sure it’ll resonate with lots of readers. it’s also so much fun to follow along as they visit so many amazing places and make so many fantastic references.

Steven Rowley, can you give me a next story about Guncle Patrick. The character is so over the top and I absolutely love it. To be back with Maisie and Grant as they are a bit older was fun. I spent a lot of my childhood in Italy and to see them going around Europe and exploring so many places I've been created a great deal of nostalgia for me. What really broke my heart was Emory and Patrick parting ways!

There were lots of moments where I wanted to remind Patrick he was the adult in the situation. However, as the uncle, Patrick's heart was always in the right place. His flair for the dramatics continues to make me smile.

If you haven't read The Guncle or The Guncle Abroad, please do! You won't regret it!

I loved the guncle, but this fell a bit flat for me. I couldn't quite relate to the sense of humor in this one, it felt a bit canned. Did enjoy the overall plot and setting.

3.5/5

The Guncle Abroad is just as much fun as you would expect it to be. While I didn't like it quite as much as the first, I still really enjoyed it. I think I missed the relationship building that we really got in the first book, but it was so fun to revisit these old friends.

Possibly even better than the first, The Guncle Abroad is adventurous, full of life lessons, and will have you laughing out loud then crying. We all deserve a guncle

The Guncle has been my go-to recommendation when people ask me to recommend a book I absolutely love. So I’m beyond excited to be back in Guncle rules, this time in Italy.

Like the first book, The Guncle Abroad had me cackling out loud so many times, especially if you listen to the audiobook, Steven Rowley’s Italian accent impersonation was hilarious.

The first book dealt with some heavier topics than this one, not that it didn’t have tender moments, it definitely did, but The Guncle Abroad is a more fun continuation of The Guncle world.

My real thoughts after reading:
1. Can I find a Livia to marry? Pretty plz? I want an after hour Prada shopping experience too.
2. I need a Patrick in my life, SO bad

4.3 ⭐️

Steven Rowley is a master at crafting real like characters who show us their fragility and humanity. Guncle was a masterpiece and this is a solid follow-up. I loved that even five years later, Grant and Maisie are true to their original characters, just older. Having just traveled through Italy I loved the accuracy of the locations, so perfectly described. Finally, Rowley's humor and wit make this Guncle as charming as ever.

It was so wonderful to return to this world and these fantastic characters! I loved the first book so much, and this one was very nearly as great. As always, Steven Rowley's writing is heartfelt and endearing. He always makes me laugh and then cry and then laugh some more. This book was sweet and funny! I enjoyed it immensely!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a fantastic follow up to The Guncle! I love that @mrstevenrowley narrates as well because he really is the perfect Patrick O'Hara.

I loved seeing him reunited with Greg, Maisy, and Grant again and as angsty teens too!

We get more meaningful and wonderful life lessons and wisdom, this time in the form of Guncle Love Languages. I love this series so much, and I hope there is another someday!

I laughed - I cried - I nodded along - I sang along to "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"

This was such a great summer read and I loved all of the places traveled to along the way. Another place added to my bucketlist!

Thank you @mrstevenrowley for a wonderful guncle follow up ❤️

Another great Guncle book. And first I wasn't sure, it wasn't endearing me as much as the first one, but like Patrick I also had to get used to the fact that 5 years had passed and everyone was a little more grown up a little more jaded now. And together we found our way to a new story. It was great

Another Guncle book, loved this one too. Our Guncle protag is so relatable as he reminds me of my best friend from high school from soooo many years ago, yes, on the cusp of 50.
I enjoy his bond with his niece and nephew which is the primary force behind their adventures in Europe becomes self inventory for and growth for all of them. And sometimes an armchair travel cures what ails the soul.
More, please!

2024 Pride Month

"I just think if I had kids, I would want them to be happy. At all costs. I'd want them to find their happiness.

I was delighted to be thrown back into Patrick's world. He teaches his niece and nephew about love and grief with grace. Sometimes he goes too far, but remember, he's only human.

We leave the last book with Patrick taking care of the kids, because his brother Greg is in rehab. Greg's wife, Patrick's best friend, has passed, and emotions are flying high.

This book takes place several years later. Greg is getting married to Italian nobility. Grant doesn't mind so much. It's all too much for Maisie.

(From watching Game of Thrones, I learned Maisie was short for Margaret. So is Daisy, e.g. Little Women. I won't even get into the strange diminutives for Elizabeth/Isabel. Or should I?)

I love this cast of characters, from old to new. The play on classism and misogyny was handled well, and with a certain amount of humor. I highlighted many, many things, but I won't bore you with them here.

Justice for stepmoms. Justice for Meredith Blake. Aperol spritzes are life.

📚 Buddy read with Christina

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons

I will never get enough of Steven Rowley’s work. The Guncle Abroad had the same wit and charm as The Guncle wrapped in a new, beautiful story. The audiobook is narrated by Steven Rowley himself which adds so much to the story. I loved being reunited with Patrick, Maisie and Grant and following along with their new adventures. These books are so heartwarming and heartfelt and I just can’t get enough. A must read for summer!