Thank you NetGalley!
The way TJ Klune writes characters is so heartwarming. I fell in love with his found family dynamic with House in the Cerulean Sea, and he’s done the same here with a completely different story. A spin on Pinocchio with robots. The stakes felt higher and not everything was wrapped up perfectly, which is occasionally pretty nice. Klune reminds us about the ups and downs of life in such creative ways. And his writing is so clever. The banter in this book, especially with our amazing nurse, was truly fun to read.

3.5 stars.
I wanted to be hooked by this as I was with The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door. I kept losing interest. I even paused 10% in to reread Cerulean Sea, thinking I needed a reset and to return with fresh eyes. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I were a bigger fan of and more familiar with Pinocchio.

Around 60%, it switched from more character driven to more plot driven.

It tells a lovely story about what it is to exist and to love.

CW: It has a lot more profanity and sexual innuendo than the aforementioned titles by this author.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for access to the eARC. The audiobook is also excellently performed.

Unexpected would be an understatement when describing this book. In a hidden home, a human named Victor lives with three robots—a fatherly inventor android, a sadistic nurse machine, and a desperate vacuum seeking love. When Victor repairs an unfamiliar android with a dark past, their safe life is threatened, and he must lead a journey to rescue the inventor from his former life, facing conflicting emotions along the way.

Another masterful creation by TJ Klune, this captivating novel embraces his signature writing style, leaving fans like me utterly enthralled. With its fictional yet thought-provoking narrative, the story delves into profound life questions and beautifully portrays the complexities of love and family. If you're craving a unique and unforgettable read, this is the book for you.

This book had me hooked from start to finish and was so unique from anything I’ve read. It’s a little bit of finding oneself, adventure, and the true meaning of family, while having feel-good/heartwarming vibes.

Vic is a human living with a robot family and when his father is taken he chooses to find and save him no matter the cost.

I was so intrigued by the blurb for this book and it fully delivered. The characters were great—I think my favorite was Nurse Ratched—and the story kept moving at a brilliant pace. I also adored the underlying messages.

**Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group, and TJ Klune for an ARC copy of this book!

“The heart, it’s…” He shook his head. “It’s something special. It will lift you up. It will ache without reason. If you response to it is the same as mine, you’ll find yourself feeling things you never thought possible.”

After reading Under the Whispering Door last summer — and after the book hangover it left me with — I knew I had to check out TJ Klune’s latest release. I’m not usually the biggest fan of fantasy/sci-fi, but Klune’s books usually know how to pull at my heartstrings. This time was no different.

In the Lives of Puppets is a retelling of Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio, but it’s not quite what you might expect. (I also got Wall-E, Brave Little Toaster, and The Wizard of Oz vibes.)

Quick synopsis: Giovanni Lawson, android and inventor, built a home in the forest with his human son, Victor, and their two salvaged machines, Nurse Ratched (Nurse Registered Automaton to Care, Heal, Educate and Drill) and Rambo, a Roomba vacuum.

While exploring the nearby scrap yard, Victor and his android friends find HAP (Hilariously Angry Puppet), a decommissioned android. Victor restores HAP, before discovering that the android & Gio share a dark past. Their quiet life in the forest destroyed, Vic and his androids journey to the City of Electric Dreams to save Gio…and their futures.

My thoughts: At times, the book felt slow, and I found myself waiting for action. But, on the other hand, Klune does a wonderful job of world-building (enough that my non-sci-fi brain can understand/picture robots). And the characters! I loved every single one, and most of all loved Rambo, the anxiety-riddled, goofy vacuum.

I’m saying it again, but Klune always finds a way to tug at my heartstrings. This book is hilarious, sad, heart-warming… If you’re a fan of his previous novels (I’ve only read House in the Cerulean Sea & Under the Whispering Door), then you’ll likely enjoy his latest.

And the most relatable quote: “I don’t know how not to be weird,” Rambo said. “That’s like asking the birds to stop flying.”

Final verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to TOR Books and NetGalley for the ARC. This book releases April 25.

TJ Kline does it again! For a book filled almost entirely with non-human characters, this is a story full of love, family, and humanity. I know he just released this one, but I can’t wait for his next!

Didn't get into this quite as fast as his other books, but grew to love the characters. I love the artwork on the cover. I'll read anything he writes. He knows just how to write about found families.

Another amazing book by TJ Klune! I read this one a lot later than I had hoped to, but I was roped in from the beginning. The witty, hilarious banter had me hook, line, and sinker. It was so refreshing to read. I’m convinced Klune can do no wrong in his work.

Let's be honest, I would read anything that TJ Klune writes. House on the Cerulean Sea was my Best Book of 2020 and Under the Whispering Door was my Best of 2021. It is safe to say that you will find this book from the list of spring 2023 book releases on a best-of-post!

In a forest, safe and hidden, live a human and three robots. When an unfamiliar android reveals a dark shared past of hunting humans, they are no longer safe. This book is a lot sadder than Klune's other adult books but has his signature sense of humanity in this sci-fi book.

I'm starting to believe that I'm just a TJ Klune fan because I receive an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher (thank you Netgalley and publisher by the way), and I end up devouring and loving the ARC which leads to me buying the books (typically a special edition version with stenciled/sprayed edges). 𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑷𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒔 is such a phenomenal book and one that I truly didn't want to stop reading. I know for a fact that it will be a re-read as I've done with Klune's previous novels. The characters were so well developed and "real" in an authentic way that made them relatable, which speaks volumes considering that they're robots. The world building was amazing and felt so alive (again "real"), which added to the enjoyment of reading this book. There were quite a few times where my heartstrings were tugged on, and it always feels amazing when any book is able to do that.

If you are a TJ Klune fan, this book will not disappoint. The most absolutely charming cast of characters. Lots of humor, a little drama, and tons of heart. If I am honest, after about 2/3 of the way through, I felt that this dragged on a bit. It probably could have ended a few times before it did (or at least some of the middle-end taken out) but I still enjoyed the time I spent with these characters!

DNF @ 31%

this one hurts, but unfortunately, this book was doing nothing for me. the house on the cerulean sea is one of my favourite books, under the whispering door felt like a huge step down, and unfortunately i feel the same way about in the lives of puppets. it feels like tj klune is trying to recreate the magic of cerulean sea by creating similar characters and jokes and themes and it's just not working. i can see where this story is going and i'm sure it has a beautiful message but i don't care enough about the characters to continue. i also have a bad feeling about the direction the story is going with the ace character (is he really gonna fall for a robot? are we really gonna lean into that stereotype?). i just have no interest in continuing and i'm very sad about it.

Thank you to the publisher for a gifted copy of this book.

I was really excited for another TJ Klune novel but I just could not get into this one. It was so slow and while I loved the side characters, it dragged for me.

Looking forward to the next one though!

I never thought I would care for robots but here I am loving the two robots that help the main character develop and complete his mission. There were so many twists and revelations that I loved, it’s not common that I can’t guess an ending, the ending in this book made me happy and sad, although I wasn’t as enticed with “Hap” as the other characters. I did enjoy the retelling and of course Nurse.

This is now my fifth Klune book and unfortunately I think this is my least favorite of what I’ve read of his so far.

Playing off of the fable of Pinocchio, we live in a world of robots where humanity is now mostly extinct. Giovanni, a master inventor, creates a human with a real heart but must conceal him from the government. However, after tragedy strikes, human Victor must take robot sidekicks, and murderous robot HAP to the City of Electric Dreams to grant them an impossible wish.

The elements of In The Lives of Puppets that are original are GREAT, but the parts that are adapted from Pinocchio are laughably awkward. Ideas like The Blue Fairy underground society and The Blue Whale transit are so weird in how forced they feel.

I also thought that sometimes the characters were hit and sometimes they were a miss. It just felt like some of his least authentic characters, who sometimes were just trying to make the audience laugh or cry but not realistically.

I’ll keep reading Klune, but this just felt so unlike the author I’ve come to love.

TJ Klune! Wow, this was my first book by this author and I absolutely loved reading it back in April. It was my first dystopian novel I'd read for a few years, and gave me similar energy to the Blade Runner movie (which I loved). I thought the premise was absolutely fantastic, and would honestly recommend this to so many people.

The book has tropes of found family, asexuality, queer love, and adventurous self-confidence. I absolutely loved it and it's a 5 star. Thank you to TJ Klune and Tor Publishing for this ARC!

TJ Klune has done it again. Just when I think an author can’t top themselves, here comes Klune. The Lives of Puppets is everything you’d expect from this author and more. If you’re thinking about picking this book up, just do it.

4.5 rounded up.

This book, like all other has a way of tugging at your heart and bringing all my feelings out! I don’t think I’ve read a Pinnochio inspired book before and I’m so glad TJ Klune was the one to do it. Seriously nothing to not love about this book

Overall I loved this story. It had all the elements I’ve come to expect in a Klune book, including one of my favorite tropes, found family. I loved that it also had ace rep and the nods to the wizard of oz story. I laughed a lot and got a bit teary eyed at parts of the story too. I will say this is also his most adult book and some of the sexual innuendo threw me off. I just wasn’t expecting it based on the previous two books I read. Still loved the book overall but just a note for anyone who might not expect it and be surprised like I was.

I personally didn’t enjoy this as much as the other TJ Klune books I’ve read, and I’m struggling to put the reason why into words. I’m really not sure what my problem was. It took almost half the book for me to feel interested, and while I’m glad I stuck with it and made it to the end, it shouldn’t have taken THAT long…