Oof. This one did not hit the same as TJ Klune's other recent releases. ☹️

Maybe I'm just not into Pinocchio retellings? Hard to say. I have really been enjoying weirdly wholesome robot stories lately, so I thought for sure that this one would be a hit, but unfortunately it was only okay for me. I could probably read a whole series of short stories following Nurse Ratched and Rambo's silly antics, but the central story of In the Lives of Puppets felt at bit lackluster to me for some reason.

Part of the problem is that I never felt fully invested in the relationship between Vic and Hap. Maybe too much was given away in the synopsis, but nothing about their dynamic surprised me or endeared me to seeing their friendship unfold and grow. I'm used to Klune writing very touching relationships, romantic and familial alike, but ironically this one felt like it was missing the characteristic heart I expect from his stories.

So, I'm definitely a bit disappointed in this one. In the Lives of Puppets was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and TJ Klune has been an auto-buy author for me since the release of The House in the Cerulean Sea, but this is my least favorite book of his so far. I don't think it's bad, but it definitely fell short of my expectations for it.

I found this one a little hard to get into but once I did I was hooked. I loved the basic idea of redemption and reflection back on your life. Also, Price was a great character!

Thank you to NetGalley, TJ Klune and Tor publishing group for the free e-book I exchange for a honest review.

This is just what I have come to expect from Klune. I love every minute of these beautiful fantasy lands that I can actually visualize. Nurse Ratchet and Rambo were my favourite and made me laugh so so often. I 100% recommend this one!

Going into this, I was already obsessed with TJ Klune’s writing style. To me, it’s so cozy and comforting even when the story gets tense. I loved the banter between Vic (our main character) and his robot friends. The setting was also very vivid and interesting.
I did feel that the book was a bit slowly paced. The beginning and end were super quick but the middle felt like forever. I also didn’t fully understand why the romance aspect was there.
If you love funny and quirky characters and interesting sci-fi atmospheres, check out this book! I’m looking forward to reading more from TJ Klune.

I want to preface this by saying I would read TJ Klune's grocery list if he ever published it. I think he is such a phenomenal author and has the ability to write such compelling and lovable characters. This book is no exception. I immediately fell in love with Vic, Rambo, and Nurse Ratched;' Rambo. being a stand out. What I loved about this book is that it was a deep dive into humanity and what it means to truly be human. I felt like the journey was straight forward and not much happened, but at the same time so much occurred. Vic and Hap's relationship, while odd being a human/robot relationship, was heartwarming. And the journey to find who you truly are was one that I enjoyed.

This was not my favorite of TJ's stories, but I will 100% recommend it due to it's lovable characters and intriguing plot. I was NOT a fan of the twist and unreliable narrator in the beginning. I thought that took away from the story and had me questioning things.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, I loved this book so much.

TJ Klune’s writing alters my brain chemistry, I swear!

This was a really unique twist on the Pinocchio story as it’s melded with Wall-E, and a generous dollop of Swiss family Robinson vibes.. but make it Sci-Fi and Fantasy! Sounds a little bonkers when written out like that, but truly if anyone couple pull it off it’s TJ Klune!

In true TJ fashion this story was laugh out loud funny at times, had me ugly crying at others, and I was highlighting sentences that were so raw and human so quickly I almost ran out of ink!

ITLOP boasts an immersive world that is so vividly depicted that it’s effortless to sink into! The characters are wonderful and perfectly crafted in a way signature to Klune. The themes of found family, love, humanity, and choice are woven onto every page.

This book is different from his others, while also feeling comfortingly familiar at the same time. This story will warm your heart, stir your soul, provoke thoughts and feelings, and have you rooting for and falling in love with robots!

Nothing but love from me!

“Once there was a woodsman made of tin. He said ‘I Shall take the heart, for brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world…’”

Oh this book was just so cute and magical. I am not a huge fantasy reader usually, but I swear TJ Klune writes fantasy in such a pure and wholesome way.. I loved every second of this book !!

Now a lot of people who have read this book have mentioned this is a slow burn, which I don’t entirely disagree with. However, the character building and story background we get throughout this story I really loved. I thought it was really great and necessary.

My absolute FAVORITE thing about this book were the characters—they are all robots, except Vic who is the only human. Every robot was created for a purpose. However, when they don’t serve their purpose any longer they are pretty much thrown away. Vic saves them, restores them while unknowingly influencing them with human qualities—love, empathy, bravery, loyalty, fear, sarcasm—it was really so amazing. Nurse Ratched was literally the best and funniest character I have read in a long time… she was hilarious

“They are not prepared for this gelatin” hahahaha (Beyonce translated by Nurse Ratched)

This movie takes the best of iRobot, Wall-E, Pinocchio, Wizard of Oz, and even Swiss Family Robinson, and adds a little bit of its own magic. I loved it so much!!!

I loved this book! Like loved! A lot. I will read anything and everything TJ Klune writes. Forever. It was magic and happy and sad and I’m going to read it again

Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for providing me with an eARC of In the Lives of Puppets in exchange for my honest thoughts!

I've got tons of love for The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door, two TJ Klune books that are as kindhearted and hilarious as they are devastating and insightful. The author just blends all of those emotions together so well, and it makes for a deeply moving reading experience. That being said, I have to admit that while I like In the Lives of Puppets, it didn't hit me as powerfully as I'd expected it to. Don't get me wrong, it's still plenty touching, warm, and funny, with the amusingly sadistic Nurse Ratched reminding me of Lucy from The House in the Cerulean Sea. But as lovable as the characters and their interrelationships are, as captivating as the worldbuilding becomes, I found my personal connection with this story noticeably weaker than the ones I formed with Klune's previous work. It's a strange thing to wrestle with, and I'm wondering if I'll feel differently about how its emotional beats play out over time. But for now, I'm left with some threads of dissatisfaction sneaking their way into my positive opinions.

Overall, I'll give In the Lives of Puppets an official rating of 3.75 out of 5 stars. It's not as high as I'd wanted it to be, but this remains a solid book, one that motivates me to keep reading Klune's work.

What an absolute joy this book was to read. I didn’t even realize it was a retelling of Pinocchio until I got into it. That was a nice surprise. I have really enjoyed every TJ Klune book so I wanted to go into this knowing very little.

The characters were hilarious and I connected with them instantly, even though they are robots. I absolutely adored the sass that all of them brought to the story. I would love more from this group of characters. Pure genius from start to finish.

In The Lives of Puppets is going to be hands down one of my favorite books of 2023. It is one of my favorite two books that I've read so far this year. TJ Klune writes about both the beauty and mistakes of humanity. The characters are incredibly endearing - I loved most of them and especially Nurse Ratched but also Vic and others. There were passages that I wanted to underline. I think this may surpass The House in the Cerulean Sea for me in terms of how much I love this book. Thank you so much for the early copy!

Klune is one of my favorite authors, and this book only adds to a phenomenal catalog.

In the Lives of Puppets explores humanity, duty, love, and sacrifice while being heartwarming, funny, and all-out interesting. I felt the pacing was immaculate, and the prose pulled me right in. The book heavily features Klune's sense of humor (although not nearly as over the top as it is in his Verania books), and of course, Klune's characters show up strong.

I personally feel Klune's biggest strength is how he writes his characters and how they experience growth, and this novel exemplifies that. Even though the book is mostly character-oriented, it still has a decent plot. It's nothing groundbreaking, and it retreads a lot of the same ground many robot-take-over books do, but it serves as a wonderful vehicle to explore these characters -- and for the characters to explore their own motivations.

In the Lives of Puppets does wrap up fairly neatly, and if you've read The House in the Cerulean Sea or Under the Whispering Door, the tone, especially at the end, will feel very familiar. For me, that's a huge plus, but if you really didn't like the tone/feeling of either of those two endings, this one probably wont hit for you.

Ultimately, I feel Klune does a fantastic job of reinventing Pinocchio, exploring his characters, and giving them the tools to explore themselves. If you've been impressed with Klune's latest offerings, give this one a shot!

When I first read [book:The House in the Cerulean Sea|45047384], I was gobsmacked. I fell in love with the author's style and began tracking down his back-list. Then I discovered IN THE LIVES OF PUPPETS was due out soon, so I quickly requested it from NetGalley and here we are. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the others I've read.

We join Gio in his strange little home in the woods. A couple runs through, acting as if they're being chased, and they leave their infant with Gio to keep him safe. Then they never came back. What follows is the charming story of Gio and his brood, which consists of robots. That's right, robots. We have Nurse Ratched, (a robot designed to care for humans), Rambo, (originally a vacuum), Gio and his new "son", Vic. Soon their serenity is darkened by a discovery at their local scrap yard, and life is never the same for them again.

This is an imaginative and creative tale, filled with humor and a bit of darkness as well. I loved the humor and laughed out loud more than a few times. Why is it then, that I was a somewhat disappointed? For a few reasons.

About halfway through the story, it changed from the peaceful, yet intriguing house in the woods to a quest. While this was just fine with me at first, I soon began finding myself reluctant to return to the story. Somewhere during that quest I lost my interest. It took me forever to finish because I just kept putting it off. Another reason was because I felt that this tale, (in certain ways), was almost exactly like the previous books of his I've read. Before I even got there, I knew how the story would end and I don't enjoy that when it happens. I like to be surprised. Formulaic stories can be good, but predictable, and that's how I felt about this one.

While definitely worth the read, I just felt that this tale did not measure up to what I've come to expect from T. J. Klune. I've rated it 3 stars: I liked it. The humor and characterization were top notch, but the story itself: predictable and a bit slow.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*

I really, really enjoyed this one! Klune has this way of making, what I felt was, a very action packed and plot driven novel still seem very quiet and contemplative. Set in a dystopian future, our characters always seem to be on the verge of grave danger and yet, still find humor and joy throughout their days. If anyone can write a whimsical, dystopian love story, it’s Klune. Full of adventure in a futuristic setting, at it’s heart, In the Lives of Puppets is a magical story of found family, loyalty, acceptance, and love.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

The author clearly has a knack for making the readers absolutely love whimsical robotic creatures and bringing out humour in every little conversation. It constantly throws Pinocchio vibes and especially the characters Rambo and Nurse Ratchet were top notch in the fun elements. If you have read the author's previous book, I felt the Cerulean sea was absolutely the best and this one though it is amazing will rate always below that one for me. They both have a similar theme where it stresses how much everyone's feelings matter and the innocence is so heartwarmingly cute. It is perfect fantasy meets sci fi meets heartwarming family love!

This book as enjoyable. I love TJ Klune's writing style and that shone through in this book. The concept of the book was great, and I enjoyed it as a Pinocchio retelling. However there were points where I felt like it was dragging and the characters were not as likable as in The House in the Cerulean Sea. The robots dialogue felt a little forced at times, but were still pretty funny. Overall not my favorite by him but very enjoyable and I will continue to read what he puts out.

This is my third novel by TJ Klune and it did not disappoint! It is not the favorite out of the three, but most definitely worth reading! It is a modern take on Pinocchio (which I must admit I don't believe I remember the full story) involving machines. I loved the humor of Nurse RATCHET and her screen messages, but I didn't love every single character like I have in others I have read by Klune. I read along and listened to the audiobook. I highly recommend going the audiobook route if you like them, the voices given to the characters are perfect.

Oh this author has done it again! I really tried not to cry, I told myself I wasn't going to cry, I cried.

The author has created yet another story that is just filled with beautiful family, love, humanity and the ability and freedom to choose who we want to be.

They seem to be the themes that the author has become synonymous with and his storytelling and I find comfort in its familiarity every time I pick up and cozy down to one of his books.

This is yet another book of his that makes your heart feel 10 sizes bigger than it is and makes your insides feel all glowy and warm. T. J. Klune is quickly becoming a master storyteller. He creates books that are soft and comfy as a blanket that you just want to wrap yourself around in.

A post-modern tale with echoes of both Pinocchio and Wizard of Oz, with the most unique cast of characters. It's a story of humanity, found family, and the power of redemption and free choice.

I loved it. Despite not being much of a sci-fi fan, I have loved everything I've read from TJ Klune.

TJ Klune's talent as a storyteller is undeniable. His stories are set in beautifully crafted worlds with well-crafted characters that captivate readers. The latest story he presents is no exception. It is a riveting tale that is filled with adventure, romance, and depth that will leave you contemplating long after the final page. The characters are incredibly impressive, and Klune's gift for character development is evident. He imbues even the most minor characters with unique personalities and idiosyncrasies that are captivating. My personal favorite was Nurse Ratchet, a brutally honest yet fiercely loyal friend that we all wish we had. Although there were some parts of the book that were tedious and made me skim through a few pages, overall, the book was fantastic. While Under the Whispering Door remains my favorite TJ Klune book, I am always thrilled to read anything he writes. This not being an exception.