All of the three T J Klune books I have read so far have one thing in common - finding love, family and acceptance in the most unlikeliest of places. Having very much loved his other two works, this one fell a little short for me and somehow felt a lot of things were forced and not natural. Albeit I loved it to bits and enjoyed the reading experience.

The story tackles themes of family, identity, and forgiveness in a poignant and thought-provoking way. It's a unique and enjoyable read that will leave you with a new appreciation for what it means to be human and the power of connection.

TJ Klune has offered a modern Pinocchio story that tugs at the heartstrings and keeps the reader hopeful right to the end. I appreciated the dystopian feel to the story, with machines running the world and humans being nearly extinct and therefore extra valuable in their scarcity. Vic has been raised by Gio, an inventor living like a hermit in a wildly creative treehouse away from civilization. Robots and machines have taken over and Gio lives in fear of the Authority discovering that his beloved Vic is actually a human. While scavenging for parts, Vic uncovers Hap, a broken robot who was once tasked with destroying humans, and Vic aims to revive him and give him a second chance. As always, Klune has created a human dilemma of need and vulnerability within community that rings true for most of us. He has also surrounded Vic with a couple of the most endearing and entertaining supportive characters in Nurse Ratched and Rambo. A satisfying and enjoyable read for ages teen and up.

In The Lives Of Puppets
By TJ Klune

Review
This story is absolutely brilliant, I read this in one sitting. The characters were all so well developed and beautifully crafted. TJK hits you with all the feelings laughter, happiness, sadness in this extraordinary retelling of Pinocchio. One of my favorite lines, “We do not fight with swords. We do not fight with guns or bombs or biological warfare. To fix what is in disrepair sometimes means breaking it completely and starting over again.” Mr. Klune is a rockstar author & storyteller.




📚Expected April 25, 2023📚

❤️Thank you Tor, NetGalley, & the brilliant author TJ Klune. I’m super appreciative & gave my honest opinion❤️

In a word - amazing! A sci-fi take on the classic Pinocchio was more heart warming and touching that I ever imagined possible. A human raised by an android, a Roomba with anxiety, a nurse bot with a dark sense of humor, and a robot learning to feel embark on a journey to save the inventor Gio. By the end of this book, I was so deeply invested in every character - it’s one I won’t soon forget. Highly recommend

This book does indeed have plenty of faults, but I'm willing to overlook the majority of them because I loved Rambo and Nurse Ratched that much. I would not hesitate to read additional books that include them.

I loved TJ Klune the second I read House in the Cerulean Sea. So I was eager for a Pinocchio retelling from him. It didn’t disappoint!

I really enjoyed this book! I’m already a big fan of TJ Klune so I had pretty high expectations going into it and I was not disappointed! The book is such a charm, the characters brilliantly written as always, the story gripping and the world so colourful and fully imagined. I particularly loved how Hap, a decommissioned robot which Victor discovered early on in the book, has a dark past which he does not remember, but which all the characters have to face head on throughout the book, which I think really does leave a poignant message that someone’s past does not define them. The central romance is of course perfectly written as is expected with Klune, and the ending had me sobbing as always. Would highly recommend!

Everyone go out and read this book!!!!
I have enjoyed Klune's past books but this one is my new favorite!
This is a retelling of Pinocchio set in a world of robots. The plot is a bit out there and it is definitely a sci fi book where you need to suspend belief but for me, every part of this worked!

I loved the quirky cast of characters. Especially, Nurse Ratched and Rambo who were endearing and hilarious and I laughed out loud every time these two bantered or joked. Vic was a great main character and his journey of self discovery and transformation was interesting to watch unfold. The support he received from his friends was the true definition of "found family". As with all of Klune's books, this one tackled big concepts such as sexuality, technology, and humanity.

Overall this is the most bizarre and unique retelling I've ever read. I could see how it might be an acquired taste but the unique plot and characters just added to the impact this book had on me. I will be recommending this to everyone!

TJ Klune's writing keeps getting better. This queer retelling of The Adventures of Pinocchio is bursting with heart, family, and (ironically) humanity. I loved this cast of characters and how Klune leaned further into sci-fi with this new book.

Klune's previous two novels, The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door, were both highly loved by me. I highlight this because I know what Klune is capable of bringing to the table, and I'm all about it.

There are times, however, that you can appreciate a writer's craft and yet a certain work may not hit the spot. I fear, for me, this is the case with In the Lives of Puppets.

The positives are indeed lovely. Once again, the author gives us whimsical, heartfelt characters that are easy to love and invest in. Quite honestly, I felt Nurse Ratched and Rambo 100% stole the show. Their banter, charisma, and loyalty were the epicenter of the themes I enjoyed: family, humanity, hope, and love.

That being said, I had a hard time getting behind the love story. I didn't think this relationship was brought to life in the way I have come to expect Klune to deliver. Many times, I was left thinking, "Ummm, ok. That's kind of weird." Or, "Yeah, no. I don't think so." It just lacked believability, and I wanted to FEEL it.

I also found it difficult to meld the worlds of the child-like innocence of these characters with the cringe inducing robot brothel, The Blue Fairy, and random raunchy comments from left field. Now, I'm not at all prudish OR easy to offend. The words themselves were not my issue. I just strongly felt it did not fit There is a time and a place, and the bawdy humor interjected missed both those marks. I had many times when I would physically wince and think, "Ewww. What?! Why? Oh ick." Sorry, it didn't work for me.

Final thoughts? A perfectly readable book that will be enjoyed by the majority of his fans. For me, the pros and cons were dished out in equal measure, and I felt it to be an ebb and flow experience. I was held enthralled only to then have to trudge through. A teeter-totter ride, that was more work than I would have liked. Not a bit of me, but still a fan.

(My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 rounded up)

Thanks to both the author and TOR Publishing for the digital ARC via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

TJ Klune's books never disappoint and In the Lives of Puppets is no exception. This is a heartwarming story about three robots who live in a treehouse along with a human, Vic. One day, when messing around in the junkyard that Vic and his pseudo-father Gio salvage pieces from to tinker with, Vic comes across HAP, an android. This discovery unspools a world of mysteries for Vic and the dark truth about Gio's hidden past. This book is about found family, love, and acceptance. I highly recommend reading it with a box of tissues nearby.

I am such a huge fan of Klune’s unique, whimsical writing style. His books make me feel like a kid again, and like the world is ok. Unfortunately .. this one did not turn out to be one of my favorites.

So let’s clear the air, this book is not about puppets, it’s about robots.. in a world taken over by them. Two of said robots did have me cracking up (Nurse Ratched & Rambo kept me invested).

This book definitely requires heavy use of your imagination. I recommend going into it knowing you most likely will not read it in one or two sittings.

Anyway, it’s a good book. There’s the classic Klune themes of love, hope, freedom and humanity. You will care for the characters. I just couldn’t help feeling like it was extremely drawn out!! And a bit odder than usual, even for TJ.

This both is and isn't what you expect.

With each book, TJ Klune takes another step down a path. It’s darker- but not in a bad way. Rather like the ocean. The lower down you go the darker it is, but that doesn’t change the wonder and life it contains.

As it says in the description, this is a queer retelling of Pinnochio. Instead of true puppets like we know them now this book uses machines and an apocalyptic future to tell the story. Instead of a world of humans with one living puppet, Klune flips the story on its head with one human surrounded by "puppets". What follows is a heart-wrenching journey with philosophical thoughts on each page.

Personally, this wasn't my favorite. It actually took me several weeks to finish. It has all of the talents that are a TJ Klune book, but the sci-fi nature of the story did not gel with me. The arguments of machine vs man and what is humanity have never interested me. Frankly, if it wasn't a Klune I would have DNF'd it. But the writing and the discussions (despite my dislike) were well done. I can't deny it a 4 stars as I truly think that is what it deserves. Maybe even a 5. I want to encourage all who are interested to read this book. If you don't like sci-fi, maybe give it a skip. But even then, look at me. I read it and still can really appreciate it.

I really enjoyed this Sci-Fi Fantasy story, but I would not really put it in the romance category, at least not in the usual sense that I associate with romances.

For me, this was more of a story about human Victor's relationship with his robot father, Gio, and his other robotic friends, with the barest smidge of a love story thrown in for good measure.

I loved the touching scenes between Victor and Gio, but since they were both fairly middle-of-the-road characters in terms of quirkiness, I was happy to see a bit of snark and humor introduced in the form of Nurse Ratched, along with Rambo providing a lot of enthusiasm and innocence.

Nurse Ratched's “Engaging Empathy Protocol" made me laugh, because one second, she was sweet and comforting, then she'd “Disengage Empathy Protocol" and be absolutely brutal and cutting to the same person in the blink of an eye.

One thing that I did find annoying was the frequency of HAP's robotic stuttering, which tended to feel distracting and constantly tripped up the fluidity of my reading of the story.

After seeing how the group had been living hidden in the forest as a happy family, it was pretty heart-wrenching when the Terrible Dogfish showed up and Gio was taken away, along with their home being utterly destroyed.

I found their journey to the City of Electric Dreams to get Gio back both engaging and entertaining, with several obstacles to overcome along the way, including finding help from an initially-malicious robot.

The parts with the Blue Fairy were compelling, as you weren't sure what their true motivations were and if they could be trusted, which added to the elements of danger and intrigue.

That's all of the spoilers that I feel comfortable with, though I will say that after leaving the city, the road to a full-on happy ending wasn't immediate, but they did eventually get there. Maybe not to the point of an HEA, but that's where the story seemed to be heading.

I'd rate this one at around 4 stars and recommend it for readers of TJ's *newer* books and if you're curious about the romance, it's about the same level of romance as that of his "House in the Cerulean Sea".

another banger by tj klune. it is by far my favorite out of his 3 newest ones. what i love most about this one is that the paternal love to his father is almost more present and in focus than his romantic love to the love interest. it is so refreshing and beautiful. also the friendships in this book were wonderfully written, typical for a tj klune book.

TJ Klune is a favorite author of mine, and will continue to be due to this absolutely stunning, hilarious, and heartwarming novel. A queer retelling of Pinocchio, I found this book to be exceptional and cannot recommend it enough.

As with all TJ Klune novels, the concept for this novel is extraordinary. What would happen if machines became sentient and what are the consequences of that? However, this is not a doom and gloom, this is the end, apocalyptic style story. Instead, it is a novel that makes the reader FEEL. I laughed. I cried, I thought, I wondered. I contemplated. It is only through Klune's unparalleled ability to craft such a world that a story about machines could feel so entirely relatable.

Klune creates a world that is familiar, yet unique. And he does this through his writing and his characters. I always think that Klune's writing and characters are sensational. But in this book, I feel both are elevated because of the ideas he conveys so effortlessly. Through his writing and through Vic, Nurse Ratched, Hap, Rambo, and Gio, he gets the reader to think about what it means to truly be human. What it means to defy expectations. What it means to love and forgive, to accept an individual for who they are in the present moment, for better or for worse. These poignant concepts, seamlessly conveyed through his writing and characters, are what makes this story so special.

Overall, the author has created a story that reminds us of the value of human connection, the possibilities of humanity, and what it means to be alive. Read this book. You won't regret it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for the ability to read this book in exchange for an honest review. And thank you to TJ Klune for writing such a remarkable story.

An interesting take on a classic retelling with hints of nostalgia, machine aesthetic, and traditional tropes we expect from Klune in the form of found family and queer romance. It’s Pinocchio meets Wizard of Oz in TJ Klune’s latest speculative fiction work!

I was so looking forward to reading this book. However, after trying three times, I've just been really unable to get into it. I loved TJ Klune's other novels. I think maybe this would be a good summer read so I will try again in the summer.

(i received this e-ARC from the publisher and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

while i've been on a streak of enjoying Klune's previous works, this did not hit the same notes like before.