In the Lives of Puppets is billed as a Pinocchio retelling, but I got some Wizard of Oz vibes, too.

TJ Klune has a magical mind. I adore all his worlds and characters. Cerulean Sea remains my favorite, but I enjoyed In the Lives of Puppets. While the found family formula is the same, Klune is able to make each world unique, and each character stands out. Klune's trademark wholesomeness and humor remain present.

My favorite aspect of any Klune book is the characters, and this did not disappoint. Nurse Ratched had me cackling. I especially liked her banter with Rambo. Vic and HAP's relationship is incredibly sweet.

If you love Klune's worlds and characters, this will not disappoint. By now, people expect coziness from Klune, but note that this is less cozy than Cerulean and Whispering.

My main gripe with the book is the pacing. Some parts felt slow, others a little rushed. Also, the book is a little long. I think the ending could have been shorter. My other issue was that while I am happy to see the social themes throughout, I prefer them to be more subtle. I found parts a bit soap boxy, more so than past books by Klune.

I did the audio, and it took me a bit to get used to Rambo's voice, but overall I enjoyed it.

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

Vic, his father Gio and two robots, Nurse Ratchet and Rambo, a roomba type vacuum, live together in the woods, after Victor was abandoned by his parents to Gio as they were fleeing... well it was never really defined what they were running from (though there is a better explanation later). When Vic finds a new robot, Hap, and fixes him up, it draws some unfortunate attention and sends them out of the woods on an adventure into a world Vic hadn't expected to reunite their family.

Despite a slow start, "In the Lives of Puppets," was a sweet story of a unique family that never gave up on one another. There was a lot of cute banter between the two original robots, Nurse Ratchet and Rambo , though sometimes a bit too much.
Overall, a very sweet, wonderful read.

Thanks to NetGalley for and e-ARC me in exchange honest feedback.

This book was just okay. I thought the concept was cool but Klune’s writing really doesn’t resonate with me.

That being said, I loved Nurse Rachet and Rambo! They were the only reason I kept reading this book. Klune’s side characters are amazing!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC audiobook of T.J. Klune’s IN THE LIVES OF PUPPETS.

When I learned the book was going to be a robot retelling of Pinocchio, I was excited to see how Klune would spin his magic. While I did not enjoy this story as much as I loved The House on the Cerulean Sea, the audio narration of Puppets was EXCELLENT!!

Daniel Henning is a master narrator. Each character’s voice was so distinct, unique, and hilariously narrated. It was pure entertainment to listen to this story.

Story: 3 stars
Narration: 4 stars
Overall rating: 3.5 stars (rounded up)

This story follows Vic, a young man who may be the last human alive. He is raised by his adoptive robot father, Giovanni, and accompanied by two robots he helped salvage, Nurse Ratchet and Rambo. Vic rescues and repairs HAP (Hysterically Angry Puppet), and soon after discover some unpleasant truths about their world after Gio is taken captive. The four set off to rescue him, and along the way learn what it means to have a heart. The story and its characters are often funny, but there are a lot of well-crafted and meaningful emotional scenes, plus tons of literary references throughout.

I am a little late to the party, but this book will be in my top 5 this year for sure. Klune did something with this story that touched that one string in my heart. I did not expect it to happen when starting with the ARC of this story, mostly because the author and I didn't see eye to eye every time. Of course here I had opinions. I swear, there were moments when I wanted Nurse Ratched (wink wink) to keep her promises and annihilate a little not-so-cute vacuum. But they are the best sidekicks one might ask for. Now to the main story.

The main character Victor, one day finds a discarded robot and decides against better judgment to fix it. This one decision breaks the whole Hell loose and becomes a coming-of-age tale. On his journey to make things right, we meet all kinds of entities. Each of them had a little spark of magic and personality that shined through dialogues. The main story was supposed to be a Pinocchio retelling, but I did not see it at all. Lucky for me because not only I found out about it after the fact, but also I truly dislike it. TJ Klune created his own story of journey, searching for love and loyalty. The end wrecked me big time without using tropes that usually melt me. I had the opportunity to read it and listen to it and then do both at the same time, and each gave me an amazing experience. I recommend it to anybody who likes cozy stories, stories that are deeper when you look, and stories about the future and robots.

The audiobook itself was an amazing production. I loved how each character had their own voice and it was easy to follow even tho I knew the story ahead of time. It could be easily used withouth the text and equally entertaining!

A real boy helps build and transform the world, with his robot companions. This book was very good. It had so much charm and wit. Rambo and Nurse Ratched are hilarious with dark and twisty humor. Hap is haphazard and protective. Geo is the caring father we all wish we had. I enjoyed this book very much. If you love Pinocchio and also loved the 2001 movie A.I., you would enjoy this book. The audiobook was amazing! Klune’s books leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling every time.

I enjoyed this book immensely. I had not read TJ Klune before and will now be seeking out other books by this author as a result of my experience with In the Lives of Puppets.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

*LOVED* the narrator for this novel! This is only the second novel I’ve read of TJ Klune’s, and I’m so excited to read more! This novel was just adorable. Parts of this novel reminded me of The Wizard of Oz and some of Pinocchio. In this novel, a family, consisting of an inventor android (Gio), a nurse machine, a roomba, and a human are safely hidden in the trees. The family is discovered when a salvaged robot alerts robots of Gio’s whereabouts and Gio is taken. The rest of the group goes on an adventure in search of Gio. This novel felt so human even though most of the main characters are robots.

Like every TJ Klune book, I seek the same joy I got from House in the Cerulean Sea! And for the first time, this one came close! the futuristic robots that took over the world setting was great, and the narrator is so dang skilled at bringing each character to life (whether they were actually alive or not!). The only thing is I found one robot really annoying to listen to and some of the dialogue was extremely childish.

The narration of this novel was superb! Daniel Henning has such a talent for bringing numerous personalities to life! I was entranced the entire story by the vocal performance!

I found this unique story to be quite intriguing and a absolutely hilarious at times. I really loved Victor’s character and his support system of Rambo and Nurse Ratched, even Giovanni and HAP! The robotic component of this story was so fascinating and kept me hooked. The seemingly non-existent human kind left me baffled and curious to know what the bigger picture was for this read!

The ending was where the story sort of fell apart for me. The City of Electric Dreams and Heaven were odd and took away from the innocence and wholesomeness of the story up to that point. I understood it’s importance to the plot of the story but I just didn’t connect to that portion of the story.

I went into this story completely blind because I love the way TJ Klune writes and creates intricate worlds and complex characters. In the Lives of Puppets was a solid read, just not a wow for me. There were parts I adored and parts I didn’t care for. Overall, it was a 3 stars for me.

In the most bizarre way possible, In the Lives of Puppets is giving Chobits if it was written by Becky Chambers. It takes the kind of hope-punk, feel good Sci-Fi genre Chambers has made her niche and adds in an uncomfortable romantic subplot between the last human on Earth and the robot he saves and reprograms. The star of the show is not the couple themselves though, but the vacuum cleaner sidekick and the snarky medical robot that accompany the two on a journey to save Victor’s dad.

Victor’s dad is very obviously the Giovanni of the “Pinochio” story that this book is very loosely retelling. It’s a journey book, one much more about the banter between the quartet as they try to restore the robot dad’s consciousness. These type of stories always seem to tread the same tracks of the circling question “what is humanity”, and I think this book took a little too many pages to get there… if it ever did.

I’m not sure this is necessarily a fault of the storytelling, but this book very noticeably raises the issue of there being a single human being left alive on Earth - and leaves it as that. It doesn’t really get into the existential dread that seems inescapable of being the last of your race in the universe. Victor just seems to take it in stride that all his friends and family are robots that only have humanity because he gave them his human blood. And doesn’t question at all the implications or his own existence, or eventual lack thereof.

In the oeuvre of TJ Klune’s feel-good adult novels - this fits itself solidly between Cerulean Sea and Whispering Door. It’s charming at parts, drags at others, and never quite answers all of the questions it raises. Uncomfortable romance subplots aside, I do feel like I’ll remember these characters and the easy way they’d slot into any other hope-punk Sci-Fi worlds in the same vein.

Thank you to the publisher Macmillan Audio for providing an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

Well. Here I am, doing a side-step dissent from the popular opinion. Imagine that.

I went into this book with super high expectations, which probably wasn’t fair, though I’m not sure it mattered. I liked the story, but I didn’t love it.

I did love the writing style, the atmosphere, and the cast of quirky characters.

Pacing felt sluggish.

I did not like the weird, awkward romance.

I wish this story had focused more on found family, and less on constant sexual innuendos that added nothing.

I listened to the audiobook. Daniel Henning, the narrator, is phenomenal! The production had the feel of a full cast of narrators. Henning was able to bring these characters to life, with completely different voices and personalities.

DNF'd at 45%. I could not get past all the sexual jokes. Add in a robot voice, I just couldn't go any further. I'm disappointed, because I love Cerulean Sea and Whispering Door, but this one wasn't for me.

I really liked that this is a retelling of Pinocchio but what really bothered me was just because it's a queer story does it have to be overly sexual. There were moments where things were said that they made me very uncomfortable like they're talking about penis sizes but their machines. Why? I've enjoyed other stories from this author where the story didn't just focus on sex. It's confusing to me that machines would be programmed to say sexual things if the person programming them isn't overly sexual.

I started listening to the audiobook first since I did get an arc of it but I had to stop 12% in. Rambo's voice was just too annoying. The upspeak was giving me a headache. I switched to the ebook and that seemed to go better, though I did find all the characters got on my nerves.

Ended up dnfing this book at 30%. I can not handle the overly sexual things happening in this book. It's so out of place. I feel like I'm hanging out with a bunch of 13 year old boys and to everything I say they reply back <i>"That's what she said."</i> It's a shame because I loved the authors other book; <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53205888-under-the-whispering-door" <b>Under the Whispering Door</b></a>. Sadly this one wasn't for me. I wanted to get the feels but just too many immature sexual jokes killed all vibes for me.

This was such a joy to read. If you have ever watched AI or the one movie with Robin Williams...this is it in book form. The love story was adorable. It was just a fun journey to take, that had me laughing and tearing up. The narrator did a great job and really brought life to the characters for me.

I loved this story very much. TJ Klune remains one of my authors because his books just hit differently. The world building is fantastic and the characters have a lot of depth.

The audiobook was a fun time and I found the narrator pleasant to listen to.

I just love how all of Klune's books have a found family that are not all human, monster or robot. There is such a sweet and human dynamic. There is always a vulnerable and tender note in these relationships and I just love them all. Cerulean, Whispering Door, The Extraordinaires- all so different but with this warm feeling of belonging when you find your people.
This was so fascinating. I love a good Robot, Android, AI takeover. Loved Nurse Ratchet she kept making me laugh and scaring me at the same time 🤣. Vic was such a great character and I love how these books also explain grief differently. They are all pretty accurate.

Just adored the narrator who took on each character and gave them their own lives - they were all so unique and so true to the written character in my opinion. There was so much humor, dry and sarcastic and it was delivered so perfectly. Also, Rambo's enthusiasm and Hap's stutter. There were so many distinct details that made it so real.

Thank you torbooks for the audiobook for my honest and voluntary review.

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I adored The House in the Cerulean Sea. I really, really liked Under the Whispering Door. This one just missed the mark for me. Possibly it was because it was an audiobook, and I didn’t like the narrator. The voice was just so robotic, which I understand for the speaking parts, but even the description portions were robotic, to the point that I checked to see if it was AI.

Victor Lawson is a man, raised by a robot, with robot best friends. He has never seen another human, but his family is enough. Then he finds an android in the trash heap, broken and decommissioned. He repairs him and gives him a heart. When their family compound is attacked by government robots, and his father is taken, Vic and the others set off to find him, and they find out about themselves along the way.

This is such a quirky and heartfelt story!

Klune has written such an addictive and nuanced novel with In the Lives of Puppets. It's so dang wholesome in a way that few can convey without being heavy handed or preachy. I am not even going to attempt a synopsis because there's so many moving parts in this one but they all are woven together in a way that will simultaneously break and mend your heart!

This is a sure bet for fans of the author and a worthy read for anyone looking for a thoughtful and heartfelt good time.