I was thrilled to receive this ARC, after loving the first book. Thank you NetGalley and Putnam.. it was wonderful to visit these characters again.

I enjoyed every moment of this book!! I absolutely love following Patrick, Maisie, and Grant adventure around Europe.

I am never the person to highlight books, but there was so many catchy dialogues. I probably would have highlighted the whole book! (Warning: there are a lot of good dad jokes)

I was thrilled to receive this arc and catch up with Guncle Patrick and his niece and nephew. In the second book of the Guncle series, Maisie and Grant (his niece and nephew) are struggling with the idea of their father remarrying after their mother’s passing. Patrick steps in to help and takes the kids on a travel adventure to try to teach them about love. Everyone meets up in Lake Como for the big wedding but it doesn’t go exactly as planned. Much like the first book, this was hopeful, uplifting, and funny. I enjoyed every minute.

I never want to stop reading about these characters. I love this family so much and I love the growth that has taken place since the first book and throughout this second one. I do, however, wish that the author would have included a letter for Patrick from Sarah for his birthday

Getting to revisit a world with these heartwarming characters was like sitting down with an old friend.

I loved this new Guncle adventure and can't wait to see what is in store next for him.

Let me preface this with I really enjoyed The Guncle … this book, just didn’t do it for me. I don’t really understand what Patrick was trying to teach these kids passive aggressively versus just having convos they ultimately had at the end. There were still so many LOL moments, loved Emory, Livia had no character development (Palamina , her sister , had more). It was hard for me to get through and I skimmed a lot.

Did I love this as much as The Guncle? No. Will I still gleefully devour every Guncle book ever written? Absolutely. I was so happy
to be back in Patrick’s world with his sassy quips and a new cast of characters. I LOVED Emory!

A brilliant sequel, this book kept me laughing while still making me pause and relish in the more contemplative, sober moments. A good testament that grief doesn't geo away, but it can be alleviated some with a strong community!

I'm just cutting onions. Don't mind me.
No, but Rowley and Patrick do it again. Another great read about our favorite GUP and his niblings, as well as his love life and perception of himself at midlife. I really enjoyed the mixture of deeper themes like grief, friendship, and growing older balanced with what feels like the lesser stakes rivalry between Patrick and the "launt" (I loved this plot line). The only thing that didn't work for me throughout was the "love languages" as a new kind of Uncle Rules, which I didn't think was needed. I did cry at the end, and I did enjoy the ride.

Everyone's favorite guncle is back. The kids are teenagers now and dad is getting remarried. It's not an easy transition for Masie and Grant since they are still missing their mom. Guncle Patrick takes them on a trip through Europe where he tries to teach them about love while pondering what it means himself. It was nice catching up with Patrick and the kids. Everyone is going through growing pains even Patrick things are changing and exploring that with everyone.

“The Guncle Abroad” is one of the best books I have ever read!! This amazing book made me laugh (a lot), dream, hope and wish that their story would never end. Patrick won my heart from the first page and I eagerly followed him as he traveled through Europe with his niece and nephew, Maisie and Grant. I feel this book is part travelogue, part family drama, and also a testament to love, which we know is all you need. I loved how Patrick used song lyrics to describe his Love Language list to the kids, and I found myself singing along to all the songs he had chosen. Patrick is a thoughtful man, with a gentle soul and the kids were lucky to have him in their lives. He has taught them about life, love, happiness and forgiveness and he loves them with all of his heart. I had fun tagging along with them on the train ride through the Chunnel on their way to France and I could just imagine seeing the beautiful lights of Paris through their eyes.

Patrick’s humor was infectious and he had me laughing so loud that my husband wanted to know what I was reading. I proceeded to read aloud to him, sharing my favorite parts of the book. The scenery throughout their trip, especially as they arrived in Lake Como, had me wishing I was on the guest list. I loved the interactions between the characters, the special memories they had of Sara and the fun they had when they were together. Everyone must read this life-changing book and I hope to someday meet Mr. Rowley to thank him for writing such a memorable and heart-warming story!

I absolutely adored The Guncle, and was delighted to find this sequel just as charming. I loved seeing the development and growth of the characters in the 5 years since the last book took place. I loved all the tidbits of wisdom and humor sprinkled throughout. The writing is clever and insightful, and feels light even when the content is not. There were so many tender moments. This book warmed my heart once again through laughter and tears. Another five star read for me!

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Group for sending me an ARC of The Guncle Abroad in exchange for an honest review.

The Guncle Abroad picks up five years after The Guncle. Patrick’s in the second act of his again-ascendant career, wrapping up filming a movie in London. Patrick’s niece Maisie and nephew Grant are upset because their Dad/Patrick’s brother Greg is getting remarried, and they’ve asked Patrick to try to stop the wedding. Patrick reluctantly agrees for their sake, but only if they travel to the wedding with him and let him try to show them why they should instead chose to accept their father’s new love and their second chance at having maternal love in their lives. However, the kids are 11 and 14 now, and much more immune to Patrick’s charms and persuasion, and who is he to tell anyone about love and family and happiness given that he’s about to turn 50 and recently ended his nearly five-year relationship with Emory?

There’s a meta scene in The Guncle Abroad where Patrick and his agent bicker about the value of sequels. It’s funny, but it does draw attention to the question of whether this sequel and its story were necessary to Patrick’s story. The Guncle was about a gay man who had turned his back on the world ten years earlier when his partner died learning to renter the world by spending a summer helping his niece and nephew begin to heal from the death of their mother. It was charming, funny, and sweet. By the end, you knew the kids were going to be ok and Patrick had reentered the world and found love to boot. The Guncle Abroad is similarly charming, funny, and sweet, and by the end, you once again know the kids are going to be ok. As for Patrick, he’s in a much better place from the start, so his story is a bit more of a standard midlife crisis tale. Still, by the end, you once again know Patrick is going to be ok too.

So does The Guncle Abroad pass its own sequel test? Maybe. It’s not bloated or stuffed with B-team actors or characters—his sister Clara comes off much better here, and Livia’s sister Palmina is no one’s Ewok 😄. I’d probably lean towards saying that The Guncle had given everyone their happy ending that this book had to (briefly) undo. But Patrick’s sequel test overlooks another important consideration: is the story fun? Are these characters you want to spend more time with? And the answer here is an easy yes. I’m still not sure this book was necessary, but it was entertaining to dip back into the lives of Patrick and his family. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Recommended.

This sequel to The Guncle is just as witty and charming as our initial introduction to Patrick, Maisie, and Grant. I was skeptical that the magic of the first book could be recreated, but even though the characters have aged, their unique bonds remain the bedrock of the story. The different stops through Europe were fun and my favorite by far was "the acts of service" during their visit to Austria. The tension between Palmina, the launt, and Patrick was a nice addition to the plot. The predictablility of the ending did not detract from the joy it brought. I'll definitely be recommending this book to my patrons.

I loved The Guncle so much and was SO excited when I saw the announcement for a follow-up. This book was everything I expected and more! It was endearing and funny. I literally laughed out loud so many times and was choked up just as many. Patrick’s relationship with Grant and Maisie is so special. I love their dynamic.

I can’t imagine losing a parent, especially a mother, as young as Maisie and Grant did. And then coming to terms with their dad moving on and becoming engaged to another woman is so hard. When Grant finally admitted that he wanted a mom to go through the motions of life with, I could feel the pain and longing. Poor Maisie coming into her teenage years and dealing with all of the things with becoming a young woman without her mom…..I was so heartbroken for her but glad that she started to come around with the idea of Livia being in their lives for the long haul.

I loved Palima (the launt) and the cool, smart, and sophisticated aurora she presented. Her banter and “rivalry” with Patrick was fun to read.

I could go on and on about how much I loved The Guncle Abroad. I hope there will be a third book in the series as I don’t want to be done reading about Patrick, Grant, Maisie, and the rest of the family. Thank you to Putnam Books for the ARC!

I love the witty banter with GUP and the other characters! It was so much fun carrying on with the story of him and his niece and nephew. I liked the real life struggle of moving on after the death of a companion…for both Patrick and his brother. I still loved the first one more, but this was a fun continuation of the story!

I was really excited to read this sequel to The Guncle and although it did not disappoint, it was not as good as the first one.

Once again, Patrick (Guncle) is called upon to watch is niece and nephew while his brother prepares to get married. Maisie and Grant are not happy about the upcoming nuptials and try to convince Patrick to stop the wedding. The story is cute and it truly about getting older and reflecting on what makes you happy. The travel in Europe was a nice addition to the story. I would definitely read a third book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rowley captivates us once again with the antics of Patrick, Maisie, and Grant, the beloved main characters from the Guncle. In this heartwarming and funny sequel, everyone is five years older, and the kids need Patrick's help as their dad is getting remarried in a big expensive wedding in Lake Como, Italy. As sequels go, this one is a delight. Patrick sets out to teach the kids about love, and the teacher becomes the student in the end.

The Guncle Abroad offers a thoughtful exploration of what it's like to open your heart to love after loss. There's also a beautifully complex parallel between Maisie's adolescent struggles and Patrick's feelings about getting older. I enjoyed the addition of new characters like Palmina, who challenges Patrick and offers up lots of opportunities for witty banter and Rowley's trademark humor. (I mean, who doesn't need both a Guncle and a Launt?)

I'd recommend this book any day of the week; it's the perfect comfort read!

Thanks so much to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for providing an ARC of the book for me to review.

4.25 stars!

It's always hard for a sequel to live up to its predecessor, especially one as beloved to me as The Guncle, so while this was a highly enjoyable read that I would recommend to anyone, it did not have the same magic of the first novel.

At the start of The Guncle Abroad we revisit Patrick, whose acting career was revived, his niece Maisie, and his nephew Grant five years into the future. Maisie has now become a sullen teen, while Grant is entering middle school. I did feel the Grant character was a bit too immature for his age at times and written as a younger character, which read as unrealistic to me. It might have been better to fast forward three years instead of five (since The Guncle came out in 2021 so that is the actual time gap anyway).

The kids are struggle to come to terms with their dad remarrying (a wealthy Italian woman), so Patrick takes the children on a European tour to help them understand love in advance of the impending nuptials. Instead of sharing his "guncle rules" a la the first book, this time he attempts to impart "guncle love languages."

There was a lot of trademark Rowley humor throughout the book that I really enjoyed, particularly with regard to love, cultural differences, and generational gaps. At times the plot pace was inconsistent, and I did not find it as satisfying or heartwarming as the original. Overall, this was still a great read and I hope this one is also turned into a movie, as I would love to see the scenic settings depicted in the book!

Thank you to author Steven Rowley, G.P. Putnam's Sons publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book to review.

I loved this book! Some of the descriptions get a little muddles but the overall message of love and acceptance is wonderful. I highly recommend this 5* read!