Well my heart is both happy and full not only because I love TJ Klune but also because I love robots. Androids, AI with feelings, give it all to me in any form. Found family of robots? Yes. I'm going to put this on an endcap with Becky Chambers, Travis Baldree, and Sosuke Natsukawa. Can't wait to hand sell this book!

In the Lives of Puppets follows a world where machines have taken over. A man who is not a man builds a giant sprawling up through the trees. Gio is lonely in his creation; until one day a child appears in his life.
What a cozy read, evemwhen the majority of the book follows machines. The book has a found family element and that is meant literally. My favorite character was Rambo, because of how innocent yet fearless when it came to Victor.
The criticism I have for this book is pacing. The first 35% was world building and character development. The next 60% was their adventure to get to the City of Electric Dreams and the Blue Fairy. The conclusion was just snipets of their lives after the climax. The stakes didn't feel that high even though they should have.
Another thing I likes about 'In the Lives of Puppets' was surprisingly sex-positive it was. It wasn't a major plot point, but definitely part of the conversation.

Thankyou Netgalley and Tor for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.25 Stars

I loved House in the Cerulean Sea especially kids characters and dialogues. Secondary characters in this book reminded me of those kids. So it started strong for me. I loved Nurse Ratched and Rambo. They gave comedic relief and added heart to the story. Their banter carried the book for me. Main character Vic is bland. More so after introducing Hap to the story. I didn't care for the romance. But I still enjoyed the ride because I loved the themes of friendship and free will. However, it was too on the face sometimes especially in the dialogue between Vic and Hap. Those themes were beautifully done with Nurse Ratched and Rambo. My biggest negative in this book is with the last part. We already know what happens. I wish it was done in 2 pages instead of dragging for 20 pages. It reduced my rating from 4 to 3.25 stars.

I am incredibly envious of every reader who is yet to experience this book for the first time. TJ Klune has this almost magical ability to transport you into the imaginary world of his creation and once you find yourself there a part of that world will remain with you forever. Or maybe that's just the effect his stories have on me?

Inspired by Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio, In the Lives of Puppets is an adventure set in a future world in which machines have taken control and humans are no longer in the driver seat. Populated by characters who by the last page do not feel like a work of fiction, this story not only entertains and plays with your heart strings but also revolves around a lot of deep questions and themes - What makes us human? What makes a family? Who decides what is normal? What are the lengths we'd go to for family and for love?

This story had me cycling through so many emotions. I read quite a bit of it on my daily commute to work. Did I make a spectacle of myself by crying in public? Laughing out loud? You better believe it. Banter between anxiety ridden little vacuum called Rambo and no-nonsense potentially psychopathic machine Nurse Ratched (who also happens to be my favorite character) had me giggling on numerous occasions.

I tend to rate books compared to others of that genre/style/category but In the Lives of Puppets is a 5 star read of all 5 star reads and definitely a favorite not just of my 2023 but overall. When a book successfully entertains you, seduces you into thinking about it even when you're not reading and makes you feel all the feels, it and its author both deserve membership in the Favorites category.

Incredibly grateful to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for gifting me an ARC of one of my most anticipated reads of 2023! Note to publisher: I am already in a state of anticipation of whatever T.J. Klune might be writing/publishing next!

T.J. Klune does it AGAIN! I loved this journey. The novel is a queer re-telling of Pinnochio with a sci-fi twist. This was actually the author's most science fiction themed novels, the last two of his that i read (AND LOVED) were more fantasy based. There is still the same amount of whimsy. And the moments that pull on the heartstrings as I expect from the author. The parallels to Pinnochio were astounding.

From Amazon:
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?

Inspired by Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio, and like Swiss Family Robinson meets Wall-E, In the Lives of Puppets is a masterful stand-alone fantasy adventure from the beloved author who brought you The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door.

The supporting characters were the most HUMAN of robots you will ever meet.. Themes of love, found family, humanity and the power of memory abound.

The novel will be published on April 25, 2023. Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for the digital advanced reader copy! Get it when it comes out!!!!

This is such a phenomenal read! The character dynamics were written so perfectly and each character is so wholesome and distinct. I think the author does a great job bringing all of them to life and though all of them are robots (besides Vic), they're so complex. I personally really liked the pacing of the story. The development in the characters themselves as well as their relationships with each other created a very immersive story and I was completely sucked in to their world. If I had to pick a favorite character, I think I would go with Rambo but honestly, they're all amazing. The humor was one of my favorite things about this book. In the Lives of Puppets is full of fun and quirky characters and yet, there were so many emotional and heartbreaking moments. I also loved the representation in this book and I was rooting for the characters all the way!

I'm not sure why the jacket copy on the TJ Klune books I've read has been so misleading; I never know what to expect in a way that makes it hard to gauge my enjoyment of the book. I think I liked this more than I expected to, and I liked the way that familiar elements were incorporated into it. It's possible it just wasn't for me, but it felt like something was missing.

This was a cute and emotional read for most of us. TJ Clune just has this way with words and with building relationships that are heart wrenching every time.

We liked the House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door way better. But this is still good. You will still feel connected to quirky side characters. You will still get a story about found family.

This is a sci-fi type of book where the world is taken over by robots and there seemingly isn’t a lot of humans left. The story focuses on Victor, a human raised by a realistic human type robot named Leo. They live in the forest of what was known as Oregon. They have a quirky home built high into the trees, which sounds cool, and is made from found parts. Victor, like his father, Leo makes, invents and fixed things form found parts. He has a roomba that has severe anxiety and a nurse like robot who is a bit of a sociopath and completely hilarious (TJ has a way with side characters).

He discovers another human like robot and fixes him up bringing him back to life, Hap. And from there everything goes to shit.

Major spoilers follow:
Some intense robots find them and take Leo with them to the capital. Turns out Leo escaped a shitty dictatorship where robots took over the world and killed humans. He was in charge of inventing things and invented robots like Hap that went out to kill humans. And turns out there’s supposedly no more humans left except for Victor. Victor is devastated but determined to find his dad and takes his friends with him. Together they find a floating house/museum dedicated to humans and first robots. Another robot helps them get into the capital and they meet the blue butterfly who helped Leo escape the first time AND gave Leo a human egg (no knowledge how she got it she claims it’s the only one do we believe her?) also no info given on how it was fertilized (this is where we get down to the reasons I gave this four stars some of the things just don’t make sense and don’t get explained).

So they partner up with the blue butterfly to bring down the establishment. She’s been trying to give robots the freedom of choice to inspire them to live their own lives and think for themselves. Would like to know more info about her because the robot version of her sounded confusing.

They rescue Leo and take Hap back, who was destroyed. They overload the computer that connects all the robots and takes down the establishment (this happened quickly). Instead of taking help to rebuild Leo and Hap’s hearts from the blue butterfly (honestly this was a mistake because she could have gotten them back to normal) they leave and find a new home and he remakes their life. Leo isn’t quite the same but Hap kind of is.

However it had poor world building. Mashing up Wizard of Oz, Brave Little Toaster, and Pinocchio just doesn’t work well. The beginning was good but then it just dragged on and on and on and on and the “romance” was so poorly executed it just shouldn’t have been included. Also it felt weird that the human had less emotions than the robots. Like how are they learning and evolving when he’s so meh.

Favorite moments: anything with the roomba and the nurse robot. Hilarious.

I love TJ Klune. The House in the Cerulean Sea is my favorite book. However, I had to DNF this one. I’m not sure what it was, but I couldn’t get into it. I am going to end up buying it at some point and giving it another chance since I DO love the author. But for some reason, I had zero interest.

I would like to thank Tor Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this advanced copy of In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune.

I both read and listening to this book (read the first half, listened to the second) and feel it is another poignant offering from TJ Klune regarding found family and what it really means to be "human." In the Lives of Puppets is a reimagining of Pinocchio in reverse--the main character Victor is already a real boy, raised by machines. Each machine character is distinct and full, from Rambo (the exuberant Roomba) to Nurse Ratched (dry humor but fiercely protective) and Hap (a reformed instrument of destruction). Even Gio, Victor's dad, is full of warmth, patience, and life. As the events of the book unfold, TJ Klune's signature hilarious dialogue and ability to describe very complex feelings in beautiful ways is evident and he raises deep, thoughtful questions about whether people (or machines) can change and what it means to be "human." I enjoyed this book tremendously and will be recommending it to my library patrons.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

Fantasy/ Sci-fi

I was a little nervous to read this book as I’m not a huge Pinocchoi fan but I’m so glad I did. Klune is again able to bring together unlikely characters to create a unique world and a fantastical quest. Who else could make you fall in love with a crazy, clueless robot vacuum, a sassy robot nurse, and a hysterically angry puppet robot!? Filled with comedic relief, sadness and adventure, Klune has me rooting for humanity once again. Read this if you love ecelectiv characters, adventure and feel good books!

5 ⭐️ read

Thank you to @netgalley and @torbooks for this Advanced Reviewer Copy!

Coming out April 25!!

Y'all, this one just isn't that good. Klune is normally great. This is not his best. What makes Klune's stories sing is the balance of tension between warmth/humor and genuine stakes. These two things are very much not balanced here. The stakes, the big question, is "can you forgive those who participated in genocide" which is heavy. The humor is way to light and feels more forced that anything. The lead in this novel is Ace, which I haven't seen Klune write before. He does not stick the landing here either. The Ace lead is repeatedly mocked around his lack of sexual interest. It feels mean, not playful. I'll pick up Klune's next book, but I can't recommend this one.

I have seen so many mixed reviews on this one but I LOVED IT! I am not much of a book crier, but these little androids and robots got me misty several times. And the audio was superb!

This is supposed to be based on Pinocchio, and I can see that. But it also gave me a little bit of Toy Story and a little Oz!

The characters are all amazing and funny and quirky! We have Vic, a sweet, inquisitive, asexual human; Nurse Ratched, a sassy, sarcastic nurse bot; Rambo, a little vacuum robot with a big personality; and HAP, the Hysterically Angry Puppet, a sweet, attractive former killer robat who was rescued and given a heart made by Vic.

They set out for the City of Electric Dreams to save GEO, Vic’s father, who is a robot. You feel like you are with them and it is quite an adventure.

These little bots all captured my heart. I adored every minute. The audio was the kind that made you feel totally immersed in the story. This one will give you all the feels!

I adored every character for different reasons, but Rambo and Nurse Ratched were definitely favorites.

Many thanks to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio and Tor Publishing for both an ALC and ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What an absolute DELIGHT. T.J. Klune has done it again with the incredibly charming, creative In the Lives of Puppets. I was surprised to find it so laugh-out-loud funny (Rambo and Nurse Ratched were endlessly funny to me) but not surprised to find that Klune worked in extremely touching moments and thoughtful explorations of self, free will, and the world around our characters. That world was also a creative, nuanced take on Pinocchio and the plots of "robots take over" and "robots becoming sentient" that ranged from fun to profound.

This is my first Klune book and it absolutely will not be my last. While i thought the beginning of this novel was for lack of a better word odd, it wasn't long before i was completely sucked into this world. The characters are so much fun, obviously Nurse Rachet was my favorite. There were so many witty lines that i will be quoting for the foreseeable future. I felt that the character development, and story arc of Harp and Victor was done really well. The plot was so good. the ideas were fresh, unique and heartfelt. The world building was done so well i could see every bit of it in my mind. i have a feeling this will be a book that will nestle into the hearts of people for a long time.

5 stars

At this point, when I see that TJ Klune has written something, I'm not even messing around to find out WHAT; I'm just trying to figure out how I can read it immediately. So I came into this one with high expectations and limited information on plotting or any other details at all, and I think it's my favorite out of all of Klune's books so far (along with being a favorite of the year, for sure).

Klune describes this piece as "a queer retelling of Carlo Collodi's _The Adventures of Pinocchio_," but readers who are familiar with Klune's work will rightly know that there's going to be a whole lot more involved in this retelling than the average bear might anticipate. There are robots, tentacles, humans, quips, science, and magic all colliding here, and while that might sound like a wild story on its own, the noteworthy part is how heartfelt and emotional it is. I'm adding no extenuating detail about the characters or plot because I so enjoyed learning that as I read and hope other readers will have the same chance.

I can't recommend the audio highly enough. The narrator is superb and adds so much to the characters, the dark humor, and the depth of the storytelling. Folks who can access this version absolutely should. It's a treasure.

My love for TJ Klune has only grown while engaging with this most recent effort, and I can't wait to (1) share this with others and (2) read whatever comes next!

What if the world we had once lived in was run by machines? Humans were a detriment to society. Robots ran everything. But one robot re-created a human to change the world. Would the human be able to take down the robot world or would the robots reign supreme.

This is a book that questions everything humanity is, was and will be. In a society that is now being run by advancements in technology, Klune paints a scary picture of the future. He also asks the hard questions.

This story is more than a story of robots vs humans. It’s the story of questioning: can machines be empathetic, does a heart help you feel, can you be separated from your memories, are some lies important to tell?

What I loved about this story is Victor’s love for Gio, Nurse Ratched, Rambo and Hap. What I loved is that this was a unique approach to questioning societal norms. I could vividly picture the places in this book. While it was heavy in places to digest, I always walked away from reading questioning myself, my feelings and wha I would do.

I'm gonna be honest, I didn't finish this. I was so excited to receive this eARC because I LOVED The House in the Cerulean Sea. Unfortunately, I'm giving up on this one around 30% because nothing has happened and the robots are unnecessarily crass. I have questions about this world, so I may eventually go back to finish it, but so far, Vic has found a few cool things, wrestled with his humanity, and I've had explanations of his sexuality exposited to me when they honestly do not matter to the story thus far. The scenes explaining Vic's sexuality seem out of place in the context of the narrative and Nurse Rached's dialogue seems frequently to exist simply for the purpose of explaining aspects of Vic's or Gio's sexuality or personality. If Vic's sexuality is going to be a main point of this book, I'd love to see it developed the way any other character trait is developed in a novel. As much as I want to know what these "Old Ones" are or how Vic has come to exist as human in a world of android, I just don't know if I can get passed the current lack of narrative and use of exposition for important character development. It's even more disappointing knowing that these are things The House in the Cerulean Sea did exceptionally well.

Thank you to Tor and Netgalley for my eARC!

This book is a beautifully written, character driven story.

Before even 10% of the book I had fallen in love with this little band of misfits. Rambo especially stole my heart.

This book is the ultimate found family story. This little band of misfits shouldn't work, but totally does. If you are looking for cozy vibes and a journey style plot, then this book will be great for you.

However, as this was not my favorite of Klune's work, I still think his writing is unique and wonderful. He can create characters that you will love forever and not want to let go of. And he has a talent for making you look at our own world through the fantasy world he writes.

The plot really felt like it was broken up into 3 parts and at the end of the book I was wondering what was accomplished. However, I have learned sometimes no particular point and meandering through the story is the point of cozy fantasy.

Overall, if you love Klune's work, I recommend picking this up. I think this book would be great for younger middle grade / high school readers to read with their parents.

LOVED!!! This book was freaking adorable and so SO hilarious! I loved every single character but Rambo and Nurse Ratched will forever hold special places in my heart. It started a tad slow and around 30% I started listening to the audiobook of this one while reading along on my Kindle and let me tell you - the audiobook really brought the characters to life and that narrator deserves a raise. I kind of want to go back and listen to the first 30%! This book had me cackling so loudly the entire time and I loved it!

I did think some parts (especially the ending) were a bit drawn out but at the same time I liked that the ending wasn't rushed. Overall I had a fantastic time!

4.5 stars rounded up!