I really enjoyed this book and I could not put it down. The story was so different from other fantasy books and I loved the characters.

🤖👦🏽In the Lives of Puppets👦🏽🤖

✍️: TJ Klune
✨:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📗: Kindle, eARC from @netgalley
🗓️: Pub Date April 25, 2023

✨my thoughts✨
This was a wonderfully sweet and adventurous story of Victor and his rag tag family of robots as they venture out of the life they’ve always known. This book was obviously Sci-Fi as most of our characters are robots and androids but it read like dystopian contemporary fiction. The character development was beautiful and I loved the story so much! This book delves into topics such as what humanity means, technology, the future state of machines and artificial intelligence. The idea of choice and exploration, of sexuality, and of going against what you are supposed to do.

This was a story of found family in a world of machines, of what love means, and why it’s so important. This book was an adventure, it was heart wrenching and exciting and lovely and warm. Would definitely recommend pre-ordering this one, out on 4/25/23!

What is your favorite found family story?!

Thank you NetGalley, Tor Books, and TJ Klune for the advanced copy of In the Lives of Puppets in exchange for my honest review.

Typically I am someone who is much more interested in plots of novels than characters, but in this case I was *obsessed* with the characters. I found myself falling completely in love with a little vacuum named Rambo, and a nurse robot named Nurse Ratched had me cracking up constantly.

In true Klune fashion, the ending had me in my feelings.

This is being likened to Pinocchio, but with robots, and that is pretty spot on. It's very cleverly written and the sense of humor on display throughout is right up my alley. The friendship between Rambo, Nurse Ratched, Vic, and Hap was probably my favorite part of the story.

In the Lives of Puppets will be on US bookshelves April 25!

This was my first exposure to TJ Klune as an author, and I have to admit I wasn't impressed. The story isn't very original. It's based on Pinocchio and also draws from Star Wars, I Robot, Swiss Family Robinson, The Jetsons, and even Wall-E. It reads as if it was intended for middle grade readers until you suddenly come across a curse word or discussion about sex. I can see kids picking up the book because of its colorful cover and their stiff parents getting mad once they start reading it together.

The two best characters are Rambo and Nurse Ratched, the comical robots that are Victor's friends. Their dialogue is very funny, but as you can tell from their names, even they aren't very original. (C3PO and R2D2 anyone?). Klune also has a tendency to bog the story down with too much detail. There's an entire chapter devoted to reassembling a broken android.

Unfortunately, if you read the blurb for the book, that's pretty much the entire story minus the candy-coated happy ending. Klune also tries to make this about father/son relationships or sexuality and gender, but the delivery is clunky. The best part is the brief passages where the characters talk about humans and the way things used to be and how we always wanted more but didn't realize we had everything (Klune even dedicates the book to civilization.).

However, it's obvious the author has a huge following so no doubt the book will do well and make a ton of money for him and the publisher. For me, it's just proof again that there's nothing new under the sun, as they say. I give it a very generous 3 stars.

Another winner in the Books for TJ Klune! This book was sweet & funny & sad & exciting all at the same time. It was a really interesting look at humanity & the creations we’ve made. I just really loved this book! Robots are not typically my thing, but when I tell you, I’ve never loved a vacuum more than I love Rambo… the characters in the book were wonderfully written. Flawed & with a bit of good humor. Please do pick up this book!

𝙸𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙻𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝙿𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚝𝚜 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

𝘝𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭. 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰 𝘝𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦.

𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚 🎭: sci-fi/fantasy
𝙋𝙖𝙘𝙚 🏃🏼‍♀️: slow/moderate
𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙚: 🚫
𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 🖤: HEAs, Pinocchio, The Brave Little Toaster
𝙏𝙒/𝘾𝙒 ⚠️: 🚫

The book started out really strong for me. The first half of the book had me howling with laughter- the dynamic and banter between Rambo, Vic, and Nurse Ratched were hysterical.

My expectations for this book were high. TJ Klune writes beautiful, unique, and wholesome stories. Unfortunately I did not connect with this book as much as I was expecting. It felt about 100 pages too long, and by the end I felt I had lost a bit of my excitement. It was trying to be Pinocchio, The Wizard of Oz, Brave Little Toaster, Toy Story, and Star Wars all at once.

I think fans of TJK will enjoy this story, especially readers who enjoy sci-fi and dystopian themes. His books always have incredible messages and heartwarming plots. I always say they should be turned into Pixar movies.

👏🏼👏🏼 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙙 to readers who enjoy any-age appropriate fantasy/sci-fi with happy endings.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

✨What to expect✨
•Sci Fi/Fantasy
•Lovable, quirky, & hilarious characters
•LGBTQIAP+ Rep

✨Thoughts ✨
I did enjoy this one, I really adored all the characters. Nurse Ratched
& Rambo were my favs, they were hilarious. I was laughing out loud with their back & forth conversations. Even though I did love their banter, it did become a bit repetitive after a while. I liked Vic, Gio, & Hap as well, I do wish we got a little bit more of Gio. As for Vic & Hap, I also wish we got a little more of them alone. I really loved the friendship and bond between Vic, Rambo, Nurse Ratched, & Hap.

Overall, I thought this was a cute and interesting read. The first half dragged on a little, but the 2nd half picked up I thought. I do feel like the ending wrapped up a little too quickly.

4.5 stars
Pinocchio meets Wall-E with lots of heart. Another wonderful story by T.J. Klune. Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC.

I truly was not sure if I should request this book when I saw it pop up on Netgalley. I absolutely adore Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, and his Green Creek series, but the last book I read by him — Under the Whispering Door — just did not click with me. I was worried that I had outgrown Klune’s work, and that I would never like another book by him. But I decided to chance it, and clicked REQUEST TITLE. Tor has always been nice to me, so they accepted my request, and here I am to tell you that (drum roll please) I absolutely loved In the Lives of Puppets. Klune has an absolutely dreamy way of talking about life, death, love, and grief that just really resonates (most of the time). Thankfully, all of the characters in In the Lives of Puppets were easy to like. There were no Wallaces here. (He was my main problem with Under the Whispering Door, but that’s neither here nor there.) Klune’s character work really shines here, and I am so happy to say that I just really loved this book.

In fact, the characters were really what brought this book to life. Our main character is Vic, a young man — a human in a world taken over by robots/machines. He is seemingly the only human left on earth, and his humanity really wears off on the machines around him. Said machines were all hilarious, heart-warming, and ah. I just adored them. Especially Nurse Ratched — she was laugh out loud funny a lot of the time. Same with Rambo, who I pictured as a roomba. What a little cinnamon roll. Victor’s father, Gio, was a human-shaped machine, and he had a heart of gold, despite his past. And lastly, but not leastly, there’s Hap. I won’t spoil what he is, but oh. He ends up breaking your heart, and putting it back together. Klune once again wins at the found-family game with this cast. Like, he just knocks it out of the park.

The plot was interesting enough to keep my attention, and I loved all the side characters, but I had one glaring issue with this book. Exactly how old was Victor supposed to be? He comes across as being very young, but I think that comes from being raised by literal machines, and being very naive. Throughout the whole book, I was thinking he was somewhere from like….16-19ish. Which would have been fine, if there hadn’t been a tiny little romance plot sprinkled in. As a whole, the romance didn’t bother me, but honestly? The book really didn’t need it. It would have been a fantastic example of a book strictly about familial love without it. But saying that, it didn’t hurt the book, either.

Either way, I really, really liked In the Lives of Puppets, and I am so so glad that I can go back to saying I like Klune’s work again! Four and a half glowing stars.

Adding TJ Klune to one of my all time favorite authors. Another poetic book that reminds me why I love reading so much. Perfectly written.

This was the third TJ Klune book I’ve read, and it has the warmth I’ve come to expect from his stories. I was a little hesitant when I heard it was based on Pinocchio because I’m not a fan of that, but this was great.

It’s a fantastic journey of a boy and his robot friends. His friends are the best! They made me laugh out loud. (And if I ever get a robot vacuum, I’m naming it Rambo.) The author really knows how to write characters you care about. And these characters- some of them have done pretty terrible things. The book has found family, character growth, and real heart. It made me ask myself what it means to be human, what makes us who we are, how do we move on from the past.

Is it sci-fi or fantasy? Maybe a little bit of both, but it’s accessible to non-genre readers. I highly recommend it. It comes out April 25. Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for my copy.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune is a book that intrigued me based on the beautiful cover and the premise that it's inspired by the story of Pinocchio. I wasn't sure what to expect but I was immediately hooked just a few pages in. I ended up finishing this in about two days. I couldn't read it fast enough. It's a fantastic book! I loved the fantasy/sci-fi aspect with the use of machines and robots. The characters all had their own voices and personalities. I loved reading about this family, made from spare parts. It shows you that no family is perfect and that's okay. You just need to have each other's backs, which is what these characters represented. They were willing to go to the above and beyond to prove that. It was easy to picture this book as a movie with the descriptive scenes and dialogue. This was my first TJ Klune book, which I wasn't proud of, but I honestly couldn't have picked a better one to start with! I am so grateful to the publishers for allowing me to read this before its release. TJ Klune has another hit on his hands with this book.

I went into this book with high expectations based on the last two T.J. Klune books that I read and loved. I’m sad to say that this book just didn’t affect me like his previous titles did.

I won’t go into the details of what this story is about, instead I will share my thoughts. In the Lives of Puppets did provide a creative story with quirky, lovable characters, but the thing that was lacking for me was the heart behind it all. I felt like I knew what the author was trying to do, but too much was going on at once for the overall message to be impactful. There was a lot of dialogue in this book, sometimes cringey conversations and comments and I felt disconnected from the characters- maybe robots just aren’t my thing.

Overall this was a three star read for me and I’m glad I read it. However, I would advise you to read The House in the Cerulean Sea or Under the Whispering Door if you’ve never read anything by this author.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC, this one is available 4/25/23.

I am a massive TJ Klune fan so I squealed with excitement to receive this book! It gives all types of Pinocchio vibes!

In a little home built into a large tree deep in the forest, there live a little family of three robots: Gio the inventor, Nurse Ratched the funny yet sadistic medical android and Rambo the anxiety ridden and lovable vacuum.. Gio's son, Victor, also lives there. Victor is human. Together they live happily and safely until everything changes when Victor, Rambo and Nurse Ratched rescue an android they have never seen before labeled HAP. Soon Victor will have to face his father's past and the world outside the only woods has have ever known.

T.J. Klune has done it again. In my opinion, he is a master at writing the "found family" trope and it just makes my heart so full. He really takes the time to make you fall in love with the characters, believe in the bonds they have with each other and leave you rooting for them to win. This story is meant to be influenced by the story of Pinocchio and I loved the twist of having Victor be the one human, or "real boy", among the robots. I honestly never thought that I would feel so much emotion from a group of androids, but I laughed and cried throughout the book. Also, I don't know if T.J. Klune has stated this, but I wondered if Victor was neurodivergent. My son is on the autism spectrum, and I saw many of his characteristics in Vic. It was wonderful to see a character like him go on an adventure and be surrounded by so much love.

If you loved The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door, definitely check this one out! T
Thank you to Tor Books & NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this boo

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wholesome AF. Again.
You’re a monster for making me feel….feelings, TJ Klune. Why do I keep reading their stuff?! Why?

Once again in love with the characters that were conjured into existence and seared into my memory forever. This is my favorite of TJ’s to date. Family, loyalty, forgiveness, acceptance. The usual topics when it comes to a Klune novel. This story is anything but typical, though. I think it’s better to go into this one blind, as even the synopsis is a bit spoiler-y. I will say that I found my spirit “animal” (robot) in Nurse Ratched, who is delightfully dark and sarcastic.

Thank you to @netgalley and @torbooks for access to an electronic copy. It’s excellent and I feel truly honored to be able to peep it early and let my friends know it’s a great read.

This book left me with an odd feeling. I loved the writing style, the main idea behind the story, and the cute robots. But I also hate the main character, Vic. He just doesn't seem human with many of the thoughts that go through his head (especially when the reader finds out he's likely the last human. He just doesn't seem to care as much as I feel like a normal human would.) I also did not at all enjoy the romance side of this story.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
Publication Date: April 25, 2023

Robots have taken over. Gio is in hiding with his human son, Victor, and their robots, Nurse Rachet and Rambo. Victor discovers a decommissioned android, Hysterically Angry Puppet aka Hap,  in a scrap-yard and decides to bring him home with the help of his robot friends. He doesn’t know when he brings Hap home with him, he is about to set off a series of events that Gio has feared for years and will change all their lives. It is a sort of really loose retelling of Pinnocchio meets Frankenstein but with robots, constructs and androids. 

This book is just as heartwarming and cozy as Klune’s other books. However it differs from The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door as there is a bit more adventure and a quest of sorts that the characters must set out on. There is the usual look into human nature with some moving scenes layered between comic relief and filled to the brim of loveable characters. Nurse Rachet in particularly was absolutely golden in terms of comic relief and character evolution. Well at times she lives up to the character she was named after she really is just a big old softie covered in metal and filled to the brim with sass.

It is also a really well thought out critique of just how weird and contradictory human beings are as Hap familiarized himself with all the weird needs and quirks of humans.

Just like with the end of any Klune book, I wanted to hug my Kindle because I felt like I just made a whole new set of friends all too quickly and now we were being forced to say goodbye. 

Thank you to Tor Books for providing an advanced reading copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

this book gave me Pinocchio vibes but like all. of his books TJ klune can make me cry and laugh I truly enjoyed reading.

First of all, thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for giving me an early copy of this book.

3 stars.
This is my first TJ Klune book, I have heard a lot of people raving and praising his books especially The House of Cerulean Sea, being one of the best cozy fantasy books out there. Personally, I was always a bit hesitant to read his books because it’s not a genre that I usually read and also because of the crazy hype and I’m scared that I’m not going to like it.
In the Lives of Puppets is a very unique book, I’ve never read a book about non-human characters like the robots in this book. It started off really slow for me since it’s a fairly new genre for me, but I’m glad I finished this book. Although the theme or the plot isn’t what I usually gravitate towards, I real liked the found family aspect in this book. Which is why I gave it 3/5 stars.

I will definitely try more of TJ Klune’s books in hopes to find a new favourite of his!

"New York Times bestselling author T.J. Klune invites you deep into the heart of a peculiar forest and on the extraordinary journey of a family assembled from spare parts.

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."

I think we also have to mention Philip K. Dick too right? I mean, "Electric Dreams."