Victor has lived his life together with his father and two robots in the middle of the woods. When he finds a broken down android in the scrap yard he couldn't have dreamed it would lead to the discovery of his origins and the secrets of humanity's fate. When robots destroy the home his family has built, Victor sets off with Rambo (a vacuum, a nursing bot, and HAP (short for Hysterically angry puppet), to find his kidnapped father GIO before he gets decommissioned.

I've enjoyed all of T.J. Klune's more mainstream books to date, especially Under the Whispering Door. While this title wasn't as strong for me, I stilled enjoyed it. There's a lot of discussion here on identity, what makes a person a person, the responsibility someone has to others, sexuality, and family. I really enjoyed the read. My only issue was the jokes throughout the first half of the book. They were pretty funny over all, but they were unrelenting. Every half page it felt like someone was making a quip or joke. Once the pace of the plot picked up and tone was more serious, I appreciated it more.

Klune’s books always have sweet moments and have the best characters, but this one was just not for me. I had a hard time getting into it with all of the mechanical bits and bobs at the beginning. The pace felt a bit slow, and it just took too long before things got going.

TJ Kline has a way of making readers in love characters in just a couple of pages, and In the Lives of Puppets is no exception. The book get a little wierd at the end, but I loved the characters so much that I would follow them anywhere. He's become an auto-buy author for me.

Loved it! T.J. Klune is a powerhouse when it comes to taking a story I would never have wanted to read and turning it into one that I can't put down.

I always love his characters. They are the soul of the story and I want to hang out with the characters. If you're looking for a found family story that feels both fresh and comforting, look no further!

Quick take: Klunes books always center around found family and this one is no different. I found this one to be funnier than his previous books (hello nurse ratched) and is my favorite of Cerulean Sea. You honestly can't go wrong picking up a book by TJ Klune.

Thank you to netgalley, T.J., and Tor books for an advance copy of In the Lives of Puppets.

Victor is a human in a world of robots. His ‘father’ is an android inventor, and his friends are a nurse’s station machine and a vacuum. They live amongst the trees and spend their days wandering and looking for salvageable parts for Giovanni to use in his inventions. On their latest trip they come across an android called Hap, and an unknown and frightening history involving Gio comes out.

Hap is unaware that they are still tied to the world of human-hunting and transmits information about Gio and his family’s location sending Gio back to his old life and spawning a rescue mission led by Vic.

I am convinced that T.J. just never misses. I’ve still yet to read his entire catalog, but everything I have read I’ve loved. Once again, I found myself crying happy tears and just feeling like my heart could burst.

This story was so creative. Pinocchio meets Terminator meets The Brave Little Toaster meets Edward Scissorhands meets Wizard of Oz meets Moby Dick meets probably 4 or 5 others that I forgot. What a wonderful mashup of stories that came out being nostalgic and yet totally original at the same time.

The world that was built felt so foreign but I could picture it perfectly in my mind. I love his ability to create a world in a standalone book.

Every character was so lovable, it was a perfectly imperfect found family, which is one of my favorite tropes in fantasy books, and also something that T.J. is an absolute master of.

I really tried. I love both his other books, but this was hard to read. I unfortunately DNF but I will try again. I can't not try again bc he is a beautiful writer.

Found family with a little Pinocchio and a little Wizard of Oz going on.Decent read but not my favorite of his works.

4.5 rounded up to a 5. A lovely fairytale with so many references to classic stories (Pinocchio and The Wizard of Oz and I'm sure a few more) but in a fresh and unique way. I loved all of the robots and their distinct personalities, and Victor is such a special human. Love the found family aspect and the message of how you can love someone for who they are while not forgiving past mistakes.

I was lucky enough to meet TJ Klune and hear him talk about this wonderful book, the rise of AI and all things queer. What an amazing man! He's smashed it out of the park again with this one. Now I'm not going to pretend this hit me quite as hard as House in the Cerulean Sea, nobody will ever come close to Chauncey, but I'm now convinced Nurse Ratched is my spirit animal. Who'd have thought you could write robots with such depth of character? Loved it, massive 4.5 stars, rounded up cause it deserves it.

This was such a heartwarming book! I was not entirely sure what to expect from a book that is compared to Pinocchio, but I loved every second of this. It was such an interesting book to read, and so heartwarming. Tj Klune is the king of found family, and my heart can't take it!

I absolutely loved "The House in the Cerulean Sea," so I approached this book warily. How could it measure up to such a heartwarming, touching book? Well, I have to say TJ Klune is now one of my favorite authors. This novel is a take on a mixture of "Pinocchio" and "The Wizard of Oz" but with robots and AI. Somehow Klune was able to create the most lovable characters, while also touching on some pretty serious (and terrifying) issues. I really appreciated the blend of lightheartedness and dark vibes (my favorite combination!). My only critique is that it was a bit too long, but overall, I just fell in love all over again with his writing (especially his ability to represent LGBTQ characters and anyone who might be considered a bit different by society's standards). I can't wait to recommend this to people and to read more of Klune's work.

Klune does it again. This book was whimsical, emotional and everything I’ve come to expect from TJ Klune. With lovable characters and a unique plot and premise this book is an easy 5 stars.

This is so different from Tj Klune’s other books that I have read. It was originally hard to get into but as you go it becomes more charming and easy to read. The characters are fully fleshed out (as much as an almost all robot cast can be) and it was overall very compelling.
The plot of this is essentially just comparing robots and humans. It explores how human emotion and actions cannot be replicated in robots and how many of the human qualities are desired by those who cannot have it. The conversation of the difference between machine and humans was interesting and seeing the development of Hap was wonderful. This book was sad at times but overall had a “cute” tone. I definitely recommend this book.

TJ Klune is an auto-read author for me and this book is another example of why. His writing is funny. magical, charming and heartwarming and I always finish his work with more hope than when I started.

Thanks to Tor for the copy to review.

There is a very Wizard of Oz feel to the story as Vic and his friends progress through the countryside on their way to the City of Electric Dreams. The characters they meet went a bit beyond my imaginative capabilities, especially the Blue Fairy. Eventually though the little band of travelers reach their destination and achieve a satisfactory conclusion.

I have found my new favorite character. If you've read this book, you know. TJ Klune knows how to pull on the heartstrings and play with the reader's emotions. I adored the character relationships, especially the relationship between Rambo and Nurse RATCHED. I could have done without the sexual innuendos that cropped up a few times which is the only thing that kept this from a five star. (I've rated it five stars here due to lack of stars but my actual rating is 4.5 stars.) Even though robots make up almost all of the characters in this book, Klune uses this narrative to show what it means to be human.

Personal Review : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Enchanting, just like TJ Klune’s other novels! Magical with Pinocchio and Wizard of Oz themes. The dynamics of the characters and their banter was witty and highly readable! These characters are well developed and relatable, which is TJ Klunes trademark! And can we talk about the sexual innuendos?!

Synopsis: In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots—fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They’re a family, hidden and safe.

The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled “HAP,” he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio–a past spent hunting humans.

When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio’s former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic’s assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.

Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?

Actual rating 4.5

I really loved so much of this book.

It had elements that I have grown to love from TJ Klune's work: unique characters, found family, humor. And I seriously fell in love with all of these aspects.

However, there were 2 things that made me not give it a full 5 stars.
1) I loved the fact that Victor was asexual and that representation was on page. But I (being on the ace spectrum myself) didn't like how the Blue Fairy displayed their gender identity. It felt like it focused too much on sex and genitalia for me.
2) Out of all of the TJ Klune adult novels I have read, this felt the most depressing near the end. Don't get me wrong, a lot of his books are heartwrenching, and this one did make me cry, which I love, but it kept the depressing tone too long near the end. Whereas other of his books turn very hopeful much sooner.

Literally, that is it. I loved everything else. I loved that this was a Pinocchio retelling, but so loosely. I liked being able to see the connections, but not know the whole story.

Another great book by TJ Klune!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As usual, I adored TJ Klune. His books have such whimsy and heart. I'll definitely continue to devour his stories in the future.