Trigger Warnings: parental abandonment, cursing, fire, grief, kidnapping, imprisonment, violence, genocide, gore, death

Representation: Asexual

In the Lives of Puppets is a queer retelling of the classic, The Adventures of Pinocchio. 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. 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, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?

Another very interesting story from this author. Klune’s writing is magical and full of adventure. The story is so endearing and holds a mirror to our society as a whole. The exploration of genocide and technology, as well as the parallels to dementia and morality are very fascinating. Klune’s characters are very different but each is relatable and enjoyable. Overall, an interesting sci-fi tale with a great lesson.

This was such a sweet book. I loved the narrator for the robots. He did a fantastic job distinguishing them and giving them their own personalities. The story was insightful and had deep themes. There were several times when I had to stop and think about what the author said just to soak it in. I really enjoyed this.

I requested this based on my love for House in the Cerulean Sea by the same author. From the very beginning, there was some raunchy adult humor that I found gross. I’m rounding up my rating in the hopes that it might get better further along, but sadly I couldn’t finish it.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Another epic but insightful fantasy from TJ Klune in this sci-fi Pinocchio.

Like most of their recent work I found the best part was the eccentric and heartfelt characters.
Rambo reminded me of Carl from meet the Robinsons and Nurse Ratched reminds me of a mix of a robot from Love Death Robots and Bender from Futurama.

There are parts in the story that dragged a bit but overall I rather enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an advanced audiobook for review.

I'm really glad that this was my first TJ Klune novel! I was approved for the audio arc and the narrator, Daniel Henning, was absolutely amazing with the different voices for the characters! Every single character had their own distinctive voice and inflections. You could easily tell who was speaking during dialogue heavy moments. It's honestly one of the best audiobooks I've listened to, and I listen to a lot of audiobooks.

So, I thought that this novel was going to be a cozy story, but I was so glad that it became darker the more I listened. I didn't realize that it was actually more sci-fi than general adult fiction, which made me fall even more in love with the novel.

You have robots, androids, and one lone human, in a post-apocalyptic dystopian world. The characters go on a quest to save the MC's father. It followed the hero's journey perfectly, and the author managed to pull it off so skillfully without being overly tropey or formulaic. I loved the two robot characters, Nurse Ratched and Rambo. Their dialogue was so witty and it made me snort and chuckle several times.

75% of the way through it ended up being very Matrix Reloaded in that one scene with the Architect. But Vic, the MC, and the secondary characters did show a lot of growth because of that situation, so honestly, I won't hate.

Lastly, I liked that there was asexual representation with Vic, even though it wasn't really a huge aspect of the novel (which is totally fine honestly). His father, Gio, was very accepting. Vic wasn't made to feel alienated or questioned about it at any point in the novel by any of the other characters. His love interest was understanding too.

Anyway, this was a great book with a happy ending (despite how dark it became) and I'd definitely recommend it for lite sci-fi lovers or newcomers to sci-fi. I went ahead and pre-ordered the Waterstones edition with the beautiful sprayed edges.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this arc.

5 stars!

Oh my heart. The love between a boy and a machine. Can it work? If you’ve read TJ Klune’s works before, you know it’s more than possible. Truly wholesome. Klune always gives great LGBTQIA+ rep, and keeps the spice down low, which is kindly appreciated. Daniel Henning, the audiobook narrator, is so great at his craft. I love that Klune continues to use him for his works. The journey we’re taken on is one of a kind.

My favorite character is Nurse Ratched. The dry humour this robot has is priceless. She kept me smiling with all her cracked up jokes, sass, and flirting. “Initiate Empathy Protocol.” I couldn’t get enough.

I’d recommend this book for those who appreciate LGBTQIA+ literature, YA novels, a little fantasy with light, queer romance, and all lovers of Klune’s work.

(I received this audiobook ALC via NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you!)

I've loved TJ Klune's THITCS and UTWD so I was so excited to read ITLOP. In perfect Klune fashion this story is heartfelt with a great father/son relationship dynamic. The quirky and cute side characters were stars. The anxiety riddled Rambo and sociopath Nurse Rarchet were great and unique. I loved the take on what makes us feel and love. I didn't enjoy the audio narration but not because it was bad. If I'm not mistaken it's the same narrator as THITCS and I loved that narration but it just felt like the voices were the same for those characters that I loved so much. The middle section of this story really dragged for me. I found my brain tuning out. I didn't feel a strong emotional connection to the main characters either. Pinocchio has never been a favorite story of mine and this didn't really change that. I ended up giving this 3.5 stars.

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for this Advanced Listener Copy of In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune, narrated by Daniel Henning — out 4/25/23!

Ohhh, TJ Klune… 💚 Always hits me in my feels!

Klune comes up with the most unique and lovable characters, and he describes them in such a way that allows me to perfectly imagine what they look like. I can’t wait to see the fan art that is created for these characters!

In addition to the descriptions of the characters, I also loved the descriptions of the setting. The first chapter opened up with the explanation of what the ground house looked like, which was the perfect way to set the scene of the forest dwelling.

This book had all of the aspects that I loved about Klune’s other well-known novels, The House in the Cerulean Sea & Under the Whispering Door (which were both 5 star reads for me). The only thing that stood in the way of this book joining them in my 5 star library was the fact that it had a lot more scientific elements than the other two. Simply because I am not well-versed with the sci-fi genre, there were some parts that I was left feeling a little confused. However, this did not greatly impact my opinions on the book.

And can we talk about the narrator!? I am convinced that I would not have liked this book as much if it weren’t for Daniel Henning. His voice acting was amazing — he portrayed each character’s robotic voice in a way that made me feel like I was in the story with them.

In short, TJ Klune did not disappoint with this latest release.

After Vic finds and repairs a robot named HAP, a dark and secret history is revealed. Victor's father, Gio, is captured and returned to the City of Electric Dreams. HAP, Vic, and his other family members go on a journey to rescue Gio, and bring him home.

In the Lives of Puppets has the same "warm and cozy" vibes that I am used to from TJ Klune. It did start quite a bit slower, and I had a more difficult getting invested in the characters. Nurse RATCHED's behavior and demeanor were hilarious. I enjoyed her desire for drilling. While Rambo could get a little tiring (imagine a 6 year old who can't keep secrets), I did find some of his witty responses quite entertaining.

The subtle (or not so subtle) nods to Pinocchio were fun. It's been a long time since I have seen the movie, but I enjoyed looking up details about Pinocchio while reading.

Henning sounds like he's reading from a page and quite slowly at that, hitting the beats just a bit too hard. But his voice acting for the robots so far is spot on in terms of their characters.

Pinocchio meets the robot apocalypse but make it an MM romance

I loved everything about this. The characters were hilarious and deep despite being mostly robots. The concept was fresh, and the story was engaging.

Slower paced but only because I really wanted to immerse myself in the setting.

TJ Klune is a master of creating a fantasy world and filling it with characters you can’t help but love. His latest novel, In the Lives of Puppets, is no different. In his previous two novels he has given us a disgruntled or unhappy character and carried them through the narrative until they found their happiness. In this novel he starts us with a character that has it all, and then he takes it all away.

Daniel Henning, narrator of TJ Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea and In The Lives of Puppets never misses. His narration is the defining voice for Klune's works.

I loved these characters. Their emotion was palpable, whether it was joy, sorrow, or any emotion in between. I have not read such humanity in characters in a long time… and from robots no less!

Another highly imaginative book by TJ Klune. He has an amazing gift for building characterization that has you loving these objects and robots. A great storyline that keeps you engaged

It makes me so sad to say this didn't work for me. The author's 2 previous adult novels were such heart warming and wrenching joys that I could not wait to get my hands in this. To be fair, I am not a science fiction reader, and I didn't finish it. It was just a little too farm from reality for me and more dialogue than plot. Still love the author and would try again based on his author work for sure!

Thank you @torbooks @macmillan.audio for a copy of this sweet story. It's a retelling of Pinocchio told in the form of Victor, the only human on earth who is raised by robots. The robots in this story are so fun and the sarcasms of Nurse Ratched was such a hoot. The narration was so amazing with the different voices for each character. With the increase usage of AI and machine learning, it scary that maybe one day robots will take over.

I will never write off an author based on one book I didn’t like. I want to love everyone’s work so I am always willing to try anything. I was not a fan of the first book I read by T.J. Klune so I was excited to try again and I went in with an open mind.

For a good part of the beginning, I really thought I was going to love this book. The main characters are machines except for one human but for some reason the machines really made me nostalgic for a cartoon I used to love, The Brave Little Toaster.

I could not stop smiling as I was picturing these characters and this world. I felt it was genuinely funny and well-written. I don’t know what really happened next but I started to flip. I still really loved the characters but the humor started to get old and annoying quickly. For example how many times can a robot tell a very similar sex joke?

At like the 70% marker I started to wonder if I would even finish it. I listen to my audiobooks at a fast speed to begin with. I bumped this one up as fast as possible just to see this book through. It's a shame I listened to this book like that because narrator Daniel Henning really does an excellent job.

After reading Klune's other work I felt early on that I knew exactly where this book was going to go and unfortunately I was mostly right. There are excellent characters in this book but for me they are in a story that was too predictable and not interesting enough. I hate not liking someone's hard work so while this is not for me I still recommend checking this out if you are familiar with and like Klune’s other work.

In true TJ Klune fashion, this was as heartwarming and cozy as his other popular books.

Unfortunately, I didn’t connect to this one as much as I would have liked to. There are a lot of similarities between the themes (and its execution) of In the Lives of Puppets and his other works and it just ended up feeling a bit repetitive.

With that said, I do think that this was a good read overall, and I know that many are gonna absolutely adore this book and I completely understand why.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for providing me of an audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
Narrated by: Daniel Henning
Rating: 5 stars
Pub Date: 4/25

I don’t think five stars is enough to give this heartwarming retelling of Pinocchio. Every time I pick up something by TJ Klune, I think that it can’t possibly be as good as his last book. And every time, I’m wrong.

This book is not only an emotional tale of love and forgiveness, but it’s snarky, sweet, and oh-so funny. Victor is a human surrounded by robots who have become his family. Nurse Ratched is sociopathic, loyal, and hysterical without meaning to be. Rambo is an anxiety-ridden vacuum whose dialogue reminded me a lot of a robotic Olaf. When they find Hap (Hysterically Angry Puppet) buried in a pile of scrap, they bring him home to fix him up, and their lives are forever changed.

If you’ve read one of Klune’s books before, you know what I mean when I say there are no characters in literature quite like his. I loved the complexity of the relationships in the story and the idea that family doesn’t always mean that you’re related by blood. The love and loyalty they have for one another is heartwarming and something I will think about for a long time.

As amazing as all of his books have been, I think this is his best one yet. It’s compelling and unique and will make you think about what it truly means to be human. I laughed, I cried, and I fell completely in love with these characters.

I requested the audio after reading because I NEEDED to hear Nurse Ratched and Rambo’s banter. It was even better than I could have hoped! Daniel Henning does SUCH an amazing job with the different voices of each character that I was walking around the grocery store laughing out loud. If you’re an audiobook lover, I highly recommend grabbing this one when it comes out.

I am a huge fan of TJ Klune, and I think you should read this book! Read if you like:

*Dystopian themes
*Robots
*Robots making sex jokes
*Found family
*Asexual rep
*Road trip adventures

Thank you so much to Tor Publishing for my physical copy of this book. I will treasure it forever! Also, big thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my ARC and ALC.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Books for this audiobook in exchange for my review.
What a fun, whimsical retelling of Pinocchio!
This was a fun read, just like all of TJ Klune's books. Bringing life to a robot vacuum, a machine and an android, Klune creates a sweet, fun story about family and love.

Even if I read a dictionary twice over, I would not find enough words to praise this audiobook. Daniel Henning’s narration for TJ Klune’s novel House in the Cerulean Sea was instrumental in helping me fall in love with reading again after nearly a decade of not reading for fun, by showing me how wonderful audiobooks can be. As soon as I heard Daniel would be doing the narration for In The Lives of Puppets I’ve been waiting on the edge of my seat until I could listen.
I had very high expectations, and was still absolutely floored. The characters are already so unique; a monotonous sarcastic and sadistic robot, an anxious roomba, an angry assassin robot, an android father, a human son. Daniel fits a unique voice for each of them like a glove. The whole experience was a beautiful fairytale listen.

Once again I’ve had my heart utterly destroyed and stitched back together one piece at a time by TJ Klune. In The Lives of Puppets reminds readers the meaning of life—of humanity and our choices, loyalty—in all shapes and sizes, and love—and the complexity of loving others despite their deep flaws. I loved to learn about Victor and each of his robot companions, and the whimsical mechanic world that surrounds them, and I loved the dialogue they share.
I laughed, I cried, and I loved. I can’t ask for more than that.