I’ve often found that sequels or second installments or what have you, can be pretty lackluster. thankfully that is NOT the case here. Rowley nailed this and stuck the landing. Patrick is back and as witty and Patrick-y as ever. I laughed, I cried (I do not not normally do this, I read books like this 😐 , no fault to authors it is who i am as a person i fear.) Seeing everyone again 5 years later with new & different problems and some of the same old, it was just so real, and executed so so well. I am so thankful that the world of The Guncle exists. I loved this book, 5 million stars. I will post a more coherent review closer to release date!

Steven Rowley's sequel to The Guncle did not disappoint! It was great to reconnect with Patrick, Maisie, Grant, and Greg. The Guncle once again showed that love always wins and provides his once young but now maturing niece and nephew what true love looks like in others. Patrick always steps up and guides them through the most tragic of circumstances. Teaching the Love Languages to help them see the beauty and honesty of love was magical! I always worry about sequels but this one was absolutely perfect with a wonderful ending! Would definitely recommend!

The GUP is back and it’s been five long years since his time with Maisie and Grant in Palm Springs. The kids are growing up and becoming their own people and are no longer as enamored with their guncle as they once were. Their father is on the precipice of getting remarried, and the children have the goal of stopping the nuptials. Patrick steps in and takes them on a whirlwind tour of Europe, from London to Paris, to Austria, to Italy, where the wedding is supposed to take place. Enter their future launt (lesbian aunt) and a whole host of new characters as nothing goes to plan.

As always, Rowley left me with tears of joy at the end - what a perfect end cap to my 2023 reading.

Sequel to The Guncle, years later, the kids have grown a bit and their GUP (gay uncle Patrick) takes them on a journey across Europe, laced with talk and memories of their mother, who has passed. This trip ends with the wedding of their father to an Italian woman. Full of kids with attitude, communication, family, compromise, love and surprises! I loved this book!

Fans of The Guncle will definitely not be disappointed by this continuation of Patrick’s journey! Steven Rowley is a master at exploring the intersection of grief and joy. Like the first one, this second book is full of heart, humor, big life questions and little witticisms. Traveling through Europe with GUP and his sweet niece and nephew was a fun romp. And the time spent in Italy was equal parts frivolously luxurious and emotionally fraught, in a totally engaging way. I didn’t exactly see the ending coming, which was rewarding. And now I’m wondering if there will be a third installation of The Guncle. I hope there will be! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the gifted eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I started 2023 with The Guncle, and so excited to end 2023 with The Guncle Abroad. I love how unique this story line is, and how eloquently it combines both humor and deep emotions. I laughed and I cried, and I enjoyed seeing all of the characters go through their own transformations and personal growth. I hope there's more in store for the Guncle!

The sitcom itself might be dying, but The Guncle Abroad is the sitcom we’re all dying FOR. The witty banter between Steven Rowley’s characters had me laughing out loud once again.

Maisie and Grant are growing up and it’s time for GUP (Gay Uncle Patrick) to teach them all about The 5 Love Languages - no, not those love languages - Guncle Love Languages. Weaving entertainment with inspiration, while traveling through Europe, Patrick is the Guncle we all wish we grew up with.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for providing an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

a fantastic sequel that does the first book justice while preserving the spirit of the first book!

i loved the guncle when i first read it; it was so charming and sweet and the relationships between patrick, grant, and maisie were so compelling and well-written. when i found out about the sequel, i jumped in my seat(i was very excited) and raced to netgalley to request it. i then proceeded to read the book in one sitting.

this book captures the spirit of the first book so well, but is also its own distinct story, yet it's still so funny and sad and touching all in one! i thought greg's storyline was so compelling and it was so nice to see grant and maisie, and see how they've changed! patrick was as funny as ever, but his guncle lessons(?) were so touching, especially when they were brought up in the last few chapters!

i really, really, really enjoyed this book! a great sequel and one of my favorite books i got to read this year! 5 stars!

thanks to netgalley and penguin group putnam for the arc!

I really adored reading Steven Rowley's "Guncle" a couple years ago & am thrilled to get the sequel, "Guncle Abroad"!! Here's the MC Patrick taking his two charges, Grant & Maisie, on a European family wedding trip, but now he may have competition for their affections with a new "Launt" (lesbian aunt), Sweet, heartwarming & laugh-out-loud funny, I enjoyed it as much the the original & loved the settings! My sincere thanks to Net Galley & the publisher for the complimentary DRC, my sincere pleasure to review it!!

This was the book I didn’t know I needed – and I’m so glad the Guncle has a second book!

I loved seeing all of the characters from the first book 5 years down the line and see what’s changed and what hasn’t.

Maisie and Grant join Patrick in London as he’s wrapping up filming a movie and he’s again in charge of taking them while their dad is getting ready to re-marry. The kids are very against the remarriage and the thought of replacing their mom, so Patrick tries to show them the meaning of love languages by taking them throughout Europe. I enjoyed the traveling aspect so much but it was only about half of the book.

There were so many life & love lessons addressed in this one!

I needed a cathartic group hug of a book and damn did Steven Rowley deliver. Yet again, the Guncle and his family is full of dramatic and comedic moments, but we find ourselves in a bit bleaker of a scenario than where we left him previously. Between Maisie and Grant wanting to stop the wedding and Patrick coming to terms with aging, there's quite a lot of strife in the O'Hara family. I loved the tour of Europe that we were given, complete with song and dance. While I didn't find myself enjoying it as much as The Guncle, I still devoured it and it was fun.

*Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

I was SO ecstatic to see that there was a Guncle #2 and I could return to this amazingly written character. The first book has stayed with me ever since I read it, and this installment did not disappoint either. We reconvene with Patrick doing well in his career, but perhaps a bit lonely emotionally. He sets off to Italy to re-connect with Grant and Maisie during their dad's wedding. Patrick encounters a lot on this trip, including a lesbian aunt and an older Grant and Maisie. Lots of humor and that witty zip abound in this book, and I just loved it! But Steven Rowley is so talented as he can mix that fun with serious, emotional, heartfelt characters while exploring grief and family and our bonds.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnman/G.P. Putnam's Sons for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒇, 𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒕, 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓.

Patrick, or GUP (Gay Uncle Patrick) is back in this heartwarming second installment. It's five years after the passing of his best friend Sara, and his brother Greg breaks the news that he's going to marry his girlfriend Livia in Lake Como. Patrick is pretty sure that his niece and nephew have mixed feelings about the union, so he volunteers to escort them throughout Europe so the couple can have some time alone before the big day.

Maisie is now 14, glued to a book, and ready with a sarcastic comeback. Grant is 11 and has lost his lisp (mosthly) and is fixated on his gaming console. But one thing they have in common is this--they do not want their father to marry Livia.

With his signature snappy dialogue, GUP once again stole my heart as he sets out to teach his young charges about love. Now that he's 50, he's become much more aware of his own mortality and realizes that he's not following any of his lessons. GUP decides to take a huge leap of faith that will change the course of his life, and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

I have come to love and adore this fictional family who was broken by grief in the first book. To see them well on their way to healing in this installment made me so hopeful to be able to recover from my own losses. I loved every word of this precious story, and I can't wait until it's out in the world. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Putnam for the early read. This book will publish May 21, 2024.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.

I was so happy to receive this book because I enjoyed The Guncle so much.

I found this book just as enjoyable. It was a fun read and highly recommend it.

This book was beyond phenomenal. It took everything special from the first installation and somehow elevated it to a level that I didn’t expect at all!

I laughed, I cried, I laughed while I cried???? Like it really had it all. I love seeing these characters 5 years later and see how they have grown and changed. Steven Rowley has such a unique and wonderful gift that should be treasured forever.

Im so grateful for the opportunity to read this ahead of its’ release, because this book is going to take the world by storm!!!

“The distributions of loss is inequitable, and Patrick and his family had endured more than their fair share. But he was done being sad. It was time now to celebrate.”

And that’s exactly what this book felt like, a celebration. A celebration of family and love, and a really sweet, heartwarming discussion on the different ways we can honor grief and those we’ve loved and lost, while not letting ourselves get stuck in it.

It’s one of the things I love most about @mrstevenrowley ‘s books. His ability to cover these big, painful and potentially very dark topics with a levity that keeps them from dragging you down. More than once I realized halfway through a chapter that I was crying happy tears.

It’s such an absolute pleasure getting to live in Patrick’s world again, and to see the growth of the characters we all came to love in the first novel. Plus some fun new ones! Palmina being my very favorite. Her verbal sparring with Patrick is absolutely perfect and hilarious.

Anytime Steven Rowley wants to return us to this world and these characters, I’m in!

Steven Rowley never disappoints. This was one of my most-anticipated books for 2024 since it was announced and I was so lucky to have gotten an ARC. I can’t wait to add the physical book to my shelf next year. Steven’s writing is incredibly witty and heartfelt, not to mention important. In the words of Gwyneth Paltrow: I laughed, I cried a number of times, I sweat, I danced, I got a shot, I ate, and I had many epiphanies. I loved being back in the company of Patrick, Maisie and Grant, and joining their adventure through Europe. This was the same caliber as the first (meaning if you loved The Guncle, you’ll love this one just as much if not more) and honestly I hope it’s not the last story we get with this family. An easy five stars!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

Patrick aka Guncle is back again. This time we get familiar with his brother and sister. Patrick's brother, Greg is getting married to his fiancé, Livia. It will be a family affair with his sister, Clara coming for the wedding. This means that it is up to Patrick to do is uncle duties again and watch Grant and Maisie.

I did not realize just how much I missed Patrick, Grant, and Maisie until this book. Maisie and Grant are more grown up, so they are not as easily charmed by Patrick's words of wisdom, which are a lot from movie/tv show references. Yet, these three share a special bond with each other.

It was nice getting to know Maisie and Grant's father. He is a good father. Clara is a hoot. She and Patrick share their sense of humor. So, you can imagine the fun times they shared and then you add into the mix, Livia's lesbian sister, Palmina. Fun all around. I absolutely loved every moment of this book.

The Guncle was such a memorable book and I hoped this story of the family in Italy would be the same. It came close. Everyone is a little older and the situations complicated. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. Rowley is an automatic author I will always read!

3.5 🌟 I loved The Guncle. This one, not so much. While Patrick was endearing in the first book, he was borderline annoying and somewhat unlikeable for much of this one. It wasn’t until the last 15% or so that I enjoyed him. And the trip with the kids felt rushed and uneventful. Meanwhile, I wouldn’t mind a book about Palimonia. 😁