Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

5/5 stars
How can I say no to any fairy tale retelling that is authored by TJ Klune? I can't. I was hesitant because the story of Pinocchio is not my favorite, but throw in sci-fi, complex characters, a fantastic plot, modern day Shakespeare level comice relief done by cyborgs that resemble Wall-E and Rosie, and surprising elements worked in (in a VERY innovative way!)...well, there is no way this isn't an amazing read. Daniel Henning really brought the characters to life with voices that made me laugh, cry, and sitting on the edge of my seat. It seriously felt like a full cast. Bravo!

Ok, TBH, I was skeptical about a book where the majority of characters are robots. But Y’ALL. I did not know it was possible to cry this much over robots 😂😭💚. Upside down Pinocchio meets Yellow Brick Road hero’s journey. This book is gold and I LOVED. IT. 😍🤖.
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Vic is a human who lives with his android father Gio, and robot besties, sadistic Nurse Ratched and adorable Rambo. Theirs is an idyllic life, set in a sprawling treehouse paradise. All is well, until Vic and his friends decide to salvage an android labeled HAP. A dark history involving Gio and HAP begins to unravel, one that leads to Gio’s kidnapping. Vic and his friends embark on a journey to rescue Gio. But can Vic set aside past betrayal in favor of love and forgiveness? And how many more dark secrets will he uncover along the way?
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This is a book about found family, friendship, and what it means to be “alive.” It’s about starting over, and not letting the mistakes of your past shape your future. It’s a story about the power of free will. I never would have guessed that a book about robots could tell us so much about the human condition 💚.
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(Shoutout to Nurse Ratched who had me LOLing and may be one of the funniest characters of all time 😂🤣!)
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I read and listened to this one. Narration by @danielhenningla was amazing, and paired perfectly with the physical pages 💚. Thank you to @torbooks @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for these ARCs in exchange for an honest review. This was my first Klune book and I’m hooked!
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In the Lives of Puppets - TJ Klune
5/5⭐️
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“You were made to bring happiness. You are alive in ways we are not. You are soft and fragile. But you are complex and disturbing and sometimes, foolishly brilliant.”

I was exceptionally nervous about starting a Pinocchio retelling. A friend read before me and encouraged me to pick it up. She was right. The robots are adorable. Klune has written a book that is hilarious and heartwarming. He has created a world that allows his characters to speak to life and how we want to be as humans. The Pinocchio thing did catch up with me in the second half, but the robots were worth it.

Get the audio. It's the right answer.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune is a book that I had huge expectations for. Unfortunately, they fell short. I like the premise of the story and the idea of the characters, but the character of Rambo the robot vacuum really got to me. In fact the lines that involved Rambo started to make me literally cringe that I could not go on. On top of this, I just thought that the story dragged on. I had to stop listening at 65% and hopefully I will get back to this one but for now, this is a DNF for me. DNFing a ARC is extremely rare for me because I want to respect the publisher and NetGalley for this opportunity, but. I could not go on with the story. I know I am probably in the minority with this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Admittedly, this wasn't my favourite by TJ Klune but then again, after how destroyed I was by Under the Whispering Door, I feel like my expectations were very high. That being said, I would love to be able to take a peek into this author's brain. It must be such a magical and wonderful, creative space! I'm not sure how he comes up with these stories but I love it! They are just so unique and his characters are so relatable. I haven't seen many Pinocchio retellings and was definitely curious as to how Klune would spin it. The side characters in this one are especially funny and got many chuckles out of me. The narrator, Daniel Henning, was also excellent - his individual voices for all the characters definitely brought them to life and highlighted their personalities. I do wish that we got an epilogue so we could see the characters rebuilding, the ending felt a tad cut short as it is. Nevertheless, this was a fun read and was very imaginative!

Rating: 3.5 rounded to 4.

Content warnings: grief, genocide, gore, death, confinement, dementia, panic attacks/disorder, animal cruelty, animal death.

A huge thanks to MacMillan Audio and Netgalley for the audiobook for review. All opinions are my own.

The narrator that does TJ Klunes books always does a phenomenal job. If anything brings me wanting more it is his voice.
Another cute book from TJ Klune. It wasn't to most heartfelt of his and I wasn't dying to get back to the characters or world. With that I also don't regret reading it. I might just be a bit tired of Pinocchio but this didn't bring anything new to the table.

My hopes and expectations for this book were sky-high … and TJ has still found a way to leave me speechless. An absolute masterpiece.

Who would have guessed that a cast full of robots could teach this human so much about humanity.
Absolutely my favourite book of the year.

I listened to the audio version of this book and Daniel Henning’s narration was excellent.

I really liked “The House in the Cerulean Sea”, so I was looking forward to this new book. It had both good and bad aspects in my opinion. The story is like a reverse Pinocchio mixed with WALL-E. Victor is a real boy living amongst robots in a post-apocalyptic world. Klune is really good at doing “cute”, and there are a lot of cute friendships and relationships: Victor and his Android father, GIO and Victor’s friends, a sentient vacuum and nurse robot. Those are the best parts for me.

Now for the things I didn’t like. It was probably double the length it should have been. The excess was the overabundant and repetitive dialogue. Each character had essentially one line and they would say different variations of it over and over again. It became very tedious.

Also, the story is written in a very “children’s book” manner, except for the sexualized humor and specific scenes. This made for an odd and sometimes jarring reading experience. For instance, there is a scene where the main characters walk through a brothel run by and for robots and we see into one of the rooms. It doesn’t have any impact on the story (at least that’s how it felt to me), it’s just there and then it’s gone. However, that may not be a problem for other readers.

I have loved every single book by TJ Klune that I have read. The writing is fantastic. The story will grab your attention and never let it go. I highly recommend this book and any TJ Klune book to everyone!!!

I had heard so many negative comments on this book. I have to disagree. I really ended up liking this book more than I expected. The characters were so easy to like. An the concept was so fun and interesting. The ending was perfect.

The audiobook brought all the characters to life for me and I found it hard to stop listening to.

Thank you NetGalley, Tor publishing and the author for my ARC. I preordered this as soon as I caught wind of it then prayed to all the deities for my NetGalley approval. I was at Barnes to pick up my order as soon as they opened on pub day.
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A review won’t do this book justice, so I’ll just gush instead.
This is by far the best thing I’ve read all year🎉💖
Victor, a very human boy, must travel with his Android friends to rescue his Android dad who was taken by some very bad “people” who has no fucking joy in life. It’s an adventure and its love and it’s so damn beautiful, my petty little heart wobbled and tilted and made music.
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You will fall in love with every single character, and yes my favorite is nurse Ratched especially with lines like these- “Feelings are detrimental to my existence”. I wanted to hug Rambo and also let HAP stalk me from behind a tree.
🤖🦾🤖
Klune definitely knows how to make you feel feelings in the best ways possible. Respect ✊.
This should be your next read, trust me, it’s just an unforgettable little treat. Highly recommend ❤️💖💖

I only ever read TJ Klune books as audiobooks. They’re just too good to miss in this format. The narrator, Daniel Henning, has narrated most of his books, and is fantastic. His voice is hypnotic, emotional, and unique. TJ Klune’s characters always stand out, but Henning makes them shine. As long as he is the narrator, I will always listen.
Every single TJ Klune character is special. I didn’t expect any less in this book. I fell in love with the raw emotion of Victor, the slightly sadistic Nurse Rachet, and the nervous Rambo. They made me laugh, cry and feel loved. Always an emotional rollercoaster and unnatural attachment to fictional characters, when I read TJ Klune.
The book is being compared to Pinocchio, and I totally see that, but I felt it was closer to The Wizard Of Oz. Four friends, on a quest to find themselves, in a strange land, meeting strange people? The wizard and witch are different, but still the same idea. I loved it. I loved the modern twists, the robot uprising, the mixing of blood and steel. And I loved Victor’s “Home”. His family. Omg I’m getting emotional just writing this!!
This is a not to be missed book. But try it as an audiobook, if you haven’t read him like that before. You will feel the book deeper, and want to hug it harder.

Robots were not as relatable as other characters from previous books. I almost gave up at the half of the book. I was glad that I stick with iy and still stand it will become a classic for long time. Like previous book ot send us a message for interpratation. What qe get from it - it is up tto us. AI is a big topic nowdays and this can be seen as it is. Also it can be seen as metaphor to world that we live. Another modern classic from T.J. Klune

In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune was a shocking emotional book and I loved every word. This is my first book by the author and now I'm going to have to read all of his other books. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I started listening to this audiobook but I was blown away by the vivid post apocalyptic, dystopian world. I fell in love with these characters! It's hard to believe how much I learned about humanity from robots. It takes a talented author to make me genuinely care for a talking roomba name Rambo. Hap, short for Hysterically Angry Puppet, was honestly my favorite character. My heart constantly ached for both him and Vic. Vic was such a unique character and a great asexual rep. The humor in this had me laughing over and over. I loved this emotional roller coaster of an adventure and can't wait to read more by the author.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Genre: Science Fiction/LGBT Representation
TW: Always check Before Reading
Spice: None
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️[5/5]
*Thank you NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for this Arc Audiobook in exchange for an honest review*
 
Plot:
Join Giovanni, a fatherly inventor, Nurse Ratched, a sadistic nurse machine, Rambo, a vacuum desperate for love, HAP, a hysterically angry puppet, and Victor, a human, in this epic story about adventure, discovery, love and found family. 
 
When Victor finds and repairs an android called “HAP”, the truth about Giovanni begins to unravel and quickly escalates when “HAP” accidentally alerts robots to Gio’s whereabouts. Gio is then captured and bought back to the City of Electric Dreams. Alone and lost, the whole family must muster all the courage within themselves and go on an epic quest to rescue Gio, overcoming obstacles and being forced to ask themselves the hard questions in life.
 
Thoughts:
Hats off to the narrator! A fantastic tale brought to life by the brilliant narration of Daniel Henning, breathing life into each character in a way that I have never experienced with an audiobook before. Absolutely 10/10! HIGHLY recommend getting the audiobook and either listening to it only or reading along with the audiobook.
 
In terms of the book, this was my first T.J. Klune book, and I am sold! His witty, funny, dark, and sometimes twisted humor played off each other in such a spectacular way. The juxtaposition of the sweetness of Victor, the innocence of HAP, the fearfulness of Rambo and the sadistic nature of Nurse Ratched was just brilliant! Their banter was adorable, and I caught myself laughing out loud various times. Nurse Ratched and Rambo were MVP in this book and by FAR my favorite characters.
 
This through provoking book brings you along a fascinating journey about hope, love, humanity and having the freedom to choose who you want to be. There are many lessons to be learned from such a beautifully written novel about what it means to be human, & the family you choose.
 
One of the things I loved about this book was that T.J. Klune’s writing made the world building intricate but easy to follow, giving just enough details to guide you there, but letting you add the final touches to the mental image. I appreciated this greatly while reading this book. If you have not read T.J. Klune before and are looking for a funny, witty, slightly dark and twisted queer book, then look no further than “In the Lives of Puppets.”

Thank you to Macmillan for the audio ARC!

The narrator was great - I liked the voices for the various robot characters :)

This was an interesting book. I liked the sci-fi aspect and found this heartwarming. The humor made me giggle more than once even though it was juvenile. The characters were wonderful - Rambo was my favorite.

The progression of the story had slow and draggy segments, but outside of that I had a really good time. I liked Victor as a character and I liked the details in the worldbuilding. I wish certain aspects had been resolved more fully.

Klune is wonderful at writing found families. I really love that.

This story had my heart - in a kind of reverse Pinocchio a humanoid robot, Gio, assisted by a robotic nurse and a cute and harmless vacuum who doubles as a friend raise a human child, Victor, far away from other sentient lifeforms. They live in their happy little bubble until this bubble is ruptured by their finding a lifeform that shakes things up that Victor repairs. This sets events in motion that lead to Gio‘s abduction and complete reset as well as setting Victor and his friends on a quest to find Gio and bring him home. This book tells a beautiful story, heartwarming and hopeful. It can also be seen as a wonderful parable on the development of AI and the human potential for self destruction alongside the hopeful qualities of a heart, family and the inspirations the frailty of human life offers.
I had access to both an advance audio copy and an eARC, and the audio was extra special - Daniel Henning does a one man - full cast production and imbued all the different characters with life !

What a magical, wholesome book full of wonderful characters and positive messages for readers, this is a book I would reread with my daughter and reccomend to everyone

This is a heartwarming story that mixes fantasy, science fiction, romance, and a retelling of "Pinocchio".

In a quirky house in the middle of the woods live three robots; fatherly inventor Giovanni Lawson, a self proclaimed "sociopathic" nurse machine called Nurse Ratched, and an anxious little vacuum known as Rambo. A human, Victor Lawson, also lives in the house. They are a happy if somewhat unusual little family. One day, Victor finds and salvages an android named HAP. Unknown to the little family, this android will completely change their quiet little lives in a way no one could have predicted. As Victor learns of Giovanni & HAP's past, he will have to deal with unexpected betrayal and decide how far he would go to save his family.

I absolutely love T.J. Klune and his writing. He has such a unique talent of creating characters that tug at your heartstrings, that make you love them, and I always miss his characters after I'm finished with one of his books. This story is no exception - I fell in love with Gio, HAP, Nurse Ratched, Rambo, and of course, Victor. Klune also creates the most atmospheric scenes, I could picture myself in the house in the forest with the characters.

This story was so lovely. It evoked all kinds of emotions from me, these robots may not have been human but they sure showed their humanity!! This story was sweet, wholesome, and most of all it is human. It makes you think about what it means to be human, and what a family means to you.

This wasn't my absolute favorite of Klune's novels simply because of the ending, but this is still a sold 4.5 star book for me!

The audio narration was *incredible*!! It was truly a performance, and it is one of the best audiobook narrations I have ever heard. Daniel Henning is an artist!

Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio, T.J. Klune, and Daniel Henning for the audio ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This was a miss for me. I was wondering at 5% if I should DNF because I was bored, didn't care about the story, and found the too-quirky characters to be incredibly annoying (especially the middle-school bathroom humor that undercut every interaction). I was wondering the same thing at 12%. At 35% I realized I still felt exactly the same about it and decided to cut my losses and say that this book isn't for me.

Part if it may have been the narrator, as the voices he chose for each character tended toward the whiny and irritating. He also tended to overdo the drama. He also voices Vic very young, and he is written very young, and I have to keep reminding myself that it says in the text he's 21 because he seems about 14.

It's disappointing because I think I *could* have loved Rambo and Nurse Ratched if there hadn't been quite so much middle-school bathroom humor in their every scene. And they had a lot of scenes. I actually still don't have a very good sense of Vic, and he's the main character. But his extremely quirky robot companions get most of the lines and page time which is weird.

I read through the big twist / reveal and I think it was supposed to be heartbreaking, but I didn't really feel anything? I didn't feel Gio was there enough as a character to make me care about what happened to him. Which is the same thing I feel about Vic, now that I'm thinking about it.

Since my feelings about the story haven't changed from 5% to 35% I think I can safely say that they aren't going to and it's just not for me.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Tor/Forge, and Macmillan Audio for providing an early copy for review.