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!

Thank you Tor Books for providing me with an ARC.

I definitely enjoyed my time reading this book. Klune consistently writes magical worlds with adorable found families. I loved the pinocchio retelling aspect. You’re launched right into a silly family dynamic with hilarious banter. It’s a very cute and very heartwarming story.

Beautiful and thoughtful. This story will leave you with an ache in your chest (but in the best way possible).

I liked this book. It wasn't my favorite out of the other books I've read by TJ Klune, but it still had the vibes I was going for. I liked the forest setting but wish there was more of a cozy aspect to it. I'm typically not a big fan of sci-fi and especially sci-fi with robots, but I decided to give this a shot anyways. I didn't love it, I found it boring at times, but overall I would recommend it to certain people. My mom really loves all of TJ Klune's books, and I can see her enjoying this one, so I assume most of his fans will as well.

📗Book Review📗

Thank you to @torbooks for the eARC of In the Lives of Puppets.

In the Lives of Puppets is a general Pinocchio retelling, but only in very loose ways. There is only one human in this story, Victor Lawson. How this young man came to be and the journey he must take in this book are very imaginative. I liked the story and how it developed, but it wasn’t a book that had me dying to pick it back up when I had to set it down for real-life responsibilities.

My absolute favorite parts of this book are Victor’s companion characters of Nurse Ratched and Rambo, a hilariously sadistic nurse machine and a small vacuum respectively. The banter between these two machines is top notch and I would read any spin-off or novella featuring these two. Perhaps, they might’ve even stolen the show for me?

Lots of deep topics explored in this book, including what it means to be human. This was a thinker, but not a rapid page turner book.

I recommend this one to former Klune readers, but if you’re new to this author I’d probably recommend Under the Whispering Door first. Good, solid read, but not my absolute favorite from him.

This book had a lot of wonderful insight and was an intriguing concept for what could happen as humans continue to become increasingly dependent on technology. It poses a lot of questions, such as the meaning behind what it really means to be human, and makes the reader really think and reflect. The characters were lovable and quirky. It was a little slow in terms of pacing at times but overall this is an enjoyable read.

Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first TJ Klune novel, and I loved it so much. It’s a retelling of the Adventures of Pinocchio, but with robots. Victor, Gio, Rambo, Nurse Ratched, and Hap are the sweetest found family and a beautiful testament of love, loyalty, and sacrifice. It’s also a story about humanity and having the ability to choose who you want to be. Just… so good. There are some books in which the themes and stories will affect me for quite sometime after I read them, and this book is no exception. It took me a bit longer to read it than previous books, because I just wanted to sit with the story. I also love books that can make me laugh unexpectedly, and this book continued to do that from cover to cover. The banter from Nurse Ratched and Rambo continued to make me laugh so hard, and they reminded me of C-3PO and R2-D2 a bit.

Honestly? Robots aren't really my thing. But I adore this author and knew he wouldn't let me down. My copy is filled with highlights and notes because there is so much to love in this book.

Klune took some people's fear of a world in which robots take over and made it endearing by bringing the characters to life. You get to know all the characters intimately. There's Rambo, with his incessant rambling, Nurse Ratched, the sociopath, who has the best sense of humor, HAP, who's learning a whole new way of life, Gio, who made this all happen, and his son Victor, an exceptional young man. (Also, when I read Victor Lawson, I immediately thought of The Bloggess, and now I need her to read this.) The world seems hopeless at times, and this little crew is the shining beacon in that bleak world.

I want to talk more about Nurse Ratched because she was my absolute favorite character. She is always on. She's hilarious but so very complex. There are layers to her. She is thoughtful and caring, witty, and feeds well off others. She's emotional without showing it, and it feels like she has walls up to protect herself. I could go on all day because she's one of my favorite fictional characters.

I laughed so much reading this, and I love the humanity Klune brought to the robots. I also cried a few times. This book is an absolute whirlwind. The dystopian premise, the humanity, the love, it's all this fantastic bundle of goodness. When you finish reading, you will be left with so many feels that will stay with you for a long time, and I cannot recommend this book enough.

Thank you to TOR for letting me read an early copy of IN THE LIVES OF PUPPETS by TJ KLUNE. This book publishes on April 25.

I absolutely loved THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA, it's one I've bought multiple copies of for friends. I also enjoyed UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR by Klune quite a lot. When I finished both of those books, I wiped my tears and gave the book a little kiss after. This one didn't really leave me with the same feeling. This is a retelling of Pinocchio and it's a great story full of unforgettable characters and is super entertaining, but I can't put it on the same level as the other books I've read by TJ Klune. I still recommend this one!! I can't wait to talk about it!