Rating: 4.75 leaves out of 5
Characters: 4.5/5
Cover: 5/5
Story: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Genre: Fantasy/Scifi/LGTB
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Yes

Want to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book.

This is hands down probably my favorite read of his so far. (Though I only have read one book. Lol) I do love the bits and pieces of Pinocchio themes dropped into the story. I don't actually like the OG story itself but T.J. did a really good job with making this his own. There was a certain thing I found a bit odd but other than that the story was great and did have me tearing up a few times.

#IntheLivesofPuppets;

“Sometimes, it's the smallest things that can change everything when you least expect it”

TJ Klune has a recipe to his works. If you like any of his other books, welcome to your new favorite book, In the Lives of Puppets.

I’ll be honest, I had no idea this whimsical read was a Pinocchio, but that’s what I get for not reading a synopsis, am I right? But looking back, it makes total and complete sense, and I appreciate that. We don’t see many Pinocchio references these days.

Daniel Henning doing the audio just adds on the TJ Klune touch. I listened to Cerulean Sea and fell in love with the audio. Henning does it again in Puppets. They completely understand Klune’s vision of his characters an executes it masterfully. There’s something so heartwarming, yet bantery, about their narration.

Overall, another hit from TJ Klune. Thank you @macmillanaudio and @tor for my gifted copies. In the Lives of Puppets is out now!

Another beautiful story from TJ Klune that reminds us that love exists in many different forms and can often be found in the most unexpected places.

A retelling of Pinocchio, the story sees a world run entirely by robots after they eradicated the human race. But deep in the forest lives the inventor robot Gio Lawson and his son, Victor, who is potentially the only human left on the planet. Gio, in an attempt to protect the secrecy of Victor, is captured and returned to the city. Along with a ragtag group of robots - including Rambo the vacuum, Nurse Ratcheted, and Hap - Victor journeys to the city to rescue Gio. Along the way, they meet many people who are both out to help and hinder their adventure.

Never knew I needed to read a robot love story unil this audiobook/book. How did I live without this genre in my life

First the audiobook review, the narrator was perfect . I don't think anyone else would have been right for voicing all these different characters IN ROBOT TONES. He made them all come alive. Between the sarcasm of Nurse Ratchet, the hopefulness of Rambo and the humanity of Vic.

Now to the story
This is my third TJ Klune and it was beautiful. The way TJ writes about love is touching.
Each books reminds you of the purity and rawness of love even between robots.

It's a mix of Wizard of Oz , Pinocchio with the classic Klune humor and touching kindness. Only this author could pull of a love story between a human created from an Android and an Android .
Every character stole my heart

Must be heaven!

If you asked me what one genre I don't like and could easily pass up, I would tell you sci-fi, but TJ Klune keeps proving me wrong. A little bit Pinocchio, a little bit Wall-E, with some Terminator thrown in for good measure, In the Lives of Puppets drew me in from the start and never let me go. I adored the little self-made family of Gio, Victor, Rambo, and Nurse Ratched and the clever cultural references that they tossed out in their sarcastic banter. In this future world, Gio and his son Victor are inventors, and Victor is always on the search for pieces to help him build things. While on an adventure to the scrap yards looking for parts, our intrepid explorers find a nearly intact android and bring him home to fix, eventually adding Hap (the Hysterically Angry Puppet) to their family. A series of events occur on this scrap trip, and with Hap, leading to the capture of Gio and an extended adventure to find him. My one tiny quibble with this story was the bit with the relationship that is developed in the story because I both thought that there was either not enough development of it, or no need for it since the love between the family that they'd built and the need to get it back was already emotional enough. I both read and listened to this book and Daniel Henning was a fantastic narrator, especially with Rambo, so don't pass up the opportunity to listen to him. Big thank you to Macmillan Audio, Tor Publishing, and NetGalley for the early read/listen to this great book. 4.5 stars

Well, I loved this. I described it to my dad the other day as reverse Pinocchio with a dash of Murderbot thrown in for good measure. I also called it a cozy sci-fi which made him chuckle, but I feel is really accurate. TJ Klune seems to have a knack for making plots that should feel warm and fuzzy feel exactly that way. Say an orphanage story, but with a charming house on an island and ghoulish, lovely children or horrible man dies and needs to reconcile with the things he did in life, but a cozy teahouse with a garden and gentle people. Now, he gives us a mass annihilation event enacted by robots, but featuring a sadistic nurse bot, an anxious Roomba that I want to adopt, an android whose sole purpose is to murder humans, and a real boy who loves them all. Oh, and a mission to save his android dad whose been taken by the big bads. Again, in other circumstances this would be pretty cut and dry sci-fi and still probably enjoyable, but in the hands of Klune you want to love and protect all our main cast and despite the bad things that happen throughout the story, you end it feeling like you just got a warm hug from the book.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for an audio ARC featuring the incomparable Daniel Henning! in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I have read and loved TJ Klune in the past, so was so excited and thankful to receive this ARC. However, this one just did not work for me. I am not a huge AI lover, but wanted to try because I have enjoyed his previous books that aren’t my typical genre. I really tried, but just could not connect with the characters or story. I have seen great reviews, and am sure it will work for some. I can’t wait to see what this author comes out with next! It is still so well written!

Hot -diggity-dog! That was surreal, explosive, and full of colorful characters with emotional overload!
The entire process was magnifying yet simplistic that was crafted with love and full of appeal for readers of all ages, colors, creeds, and backgrounds.
I love how it seemingly flowed from what appeared to be a fairy tale feel to a concrete slab of expressions that exuded far beyond the pages while crashing into the lust forestry of common sense.
We have many characters here from an inventor, to a nurse, and a human to boot. We also have the pleasure of seeing first hand the relationships collectively.
Sure humans are inherently flawed but are they evil?
Loyalty is it a companion or a farse?
Can loyalty be destroyed and will an olive branch being offered be suffice to mend a broken heart?
What if humans want to be prisoners of their own demise? Stuck in the land of forgotten?
What is the heart's greater good? What have you been created for? Who shall you respond too in kind?
If you become corrupted what shall we do?
OMG!
As if this wasn't enough to ponder all the senses ...
We have all the tools we need in life, what say you we shall do?
Truth can and will set you free but it will also bring you out from denial.
The question remains--Is there more to life than what you've been created for by your master?
Will Gio and Hap find common ground and rebuild the past>as who we care for tethers us.
Many may wonder how are you still standing?
Many will respond, " A wolf in sheep's clothing is still a wolf."
So, is being corrupt, cruel, greedy, selfish, and cunning a downfall to humankind?
Are sacrifices necessary for survival?
Growing wings and flying above it all is worthwhile but can a cocoon blossom into a butterfly when it's been held down and torn apart?
Can broken wings be repaired?
"With all great tasks come sacrifice."
In the "City of Electric Dreams" anything can happen as the last of the humans can see the monarchs. Love is hope. Hope is love!
Thank you to TJ Klune, MacMillan Audio, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.

I feel bad saying this but every book I’ve read of Klune’s I’ve like progressively less. That’s not to say it wasn’t a good book but it’s hard to top The House in the Cerulean Sea. I found this book hard to follow at times and I had to rewind the audiobook a few times to grasp what was going on. I really liked the characters and enjoyed the journey to find G.I.O. I think Rambo was my favourite as he had serious Chauncey vibes and I adored that character in a previous book. HAP was such a good example of a character being able to change despite being programmed for one thing. All in all I enjoyed this story and I was so happy that the narrator, Daniel Henning, was back. His interpretation of the characters and their adventure was fabulous.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Publishing for the advanced audiobook copy.

In The Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune - it was not really for me but it is very well written and I know a lot of people will enjoy it. The narration is fantastic for this audiobook.

In a Nutshell: I am on a book high!!! A lovely found-family fantasy based on ‘Pinocchio.’ This is in the classic storytelling style, so expect meanderings and adventures on the way to the destination.

Story Synopsis:
In an old forest is a strange little tree house, but even stranger are its denizens: an inventor – Giovanni Lawson, his twenty-one-year-old son Victor, and their two assistants Nurse Ratched and Rambo. What’s so strange about this, you ask? Well, except for Victor, the rest are all robots. But they are a family and they live happily.
Their situation changes when Victor discovers a faulty android in a scrap yard and restores it. Labelled ‘HAP’ for being a ‘Hysterically Angry Puppet’, this new member of the unusual family opens up strange feelings in Victor. But when Hap inadvertently alerts robots about Gio’s past, Gio is captured and taken to the City of Electric Dreams. Now it is upto the remaining four to get their beloved father-figure back.
The story comes to us mostly in the limited third-person perspective of Victor.

Bookish Yays:
😍 Carlo Collodi's ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’ serves as the foundation of this retelling, so if you know this classic children’s fairy tale, you will be able to understand just how faithful and innovative this retelling is. I love it when retellings retain the essence of the original without copying it entirely in format but giving it an innovative twist. As a retelling, this gets full marks.
😍 At the same time, the story shows influence from many other works. From classic tales such as ‘Swiss Family Robinson’, ‘The Wizard of Oz’, and ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest’ to even modern movies such as ‘Real Steel’ and ‘Wall-E’, the content is a treasure trove of Easter Eggs for fiction fans.
😍 A story is nothing without its characters, and in this story, the characters deserve most of the credit for the book’s impact. Giovanni and Vic have a loving parent-child bond. I quite enjoyed the role reversal from Pinocchio, in that a “puppet” (or a robot in this case) is the parent to a human. Vic’s conflict over his identity and his need for friends also comes out well. Hap and his internal conflict are powerfully depicted. But where the book truly shines is with Nurse Ratched and Rambo. Picture Nurse Ratched from ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest’, and you will understand how “she” is in this book. A sociopathic nursing robot who will win you over despite her sadistic tendencies. And then there’s Rambo. Sweet, adorable, hyperactive, silly Rambo who is way more than a roomba, though he does love cleaning with all his heart.
😍 Surprisingly for a book with just one human character, the primary theme is emotions. Be it love or envy or anxiety or hope or anger or empathy, every human emotion comes alive in the story. One of the oft-repeated ones is that of forgiveness – not just of others but also of oneself. Many characters struggle with their guilt, and the journey through the pages also becomes that of acceptance and absolution. It also highlights how easy it is to forgive the ones we love but we need to be open about our mistakes and forgive ourselves too.
😍 The imagery is amazing. The entire world and its residents are easy to picture because of the descriptive scene writing.
😍 Can’t expect an #OwnVoices work to go wrong with the rep! The Queer rep in this book is spot on, with one asexual character and one gay relationship.
😍 This could have been quite a dark fantasy being set in the apocalyptic world and dealing with tough topics. But the humour, the found-family theme, and the “raconteur-ial” storytelling style makes this quite a cosy fantasy. This might work negatively for a few, but I prefer light fantasy over dark ones.
😍 The ending. Not fully tied-up. Just hopeful. Not open. Just at the right point. Not incomplete. Just perfect! (I am quite biased towards books that leave me with a big teary grin at the end!)


Bookish Nays:
😔 A tad too many sexual jokes, maybe? The story’s main vibe was ‘cutesy’, so the corny references felt like too much, and even too juvenile at times. The humour in these felt forced.
😔 As this is a character-oriented work, I knew it would have a slower pacing. But the pacing is not consistent, though this didn’t bother me much in the audio version. The middle gets especially repetitive. The book could have easily lost at least a few pages without reducing its impact.


The audiobook experience:
Oh. My. God! If you are an audiobook lover, please read this on audio. I have a new favourite narrator, and his name is Daniel Henning. Referring to him as a mere narrator seems like an insult after the way he voiced every single character to perfection. What a performance! *Chef’s kiss!* Though quite a long audiobook clocking at 15 hrs 22 minutes, I never felt bored.
I must also mention the soulful music at the start and the end of the audiobook! It was perfect. A part of me wanted it to play throughout in the background of Henning’s performance – it was so stirring! 😍😍😍😍😍

To sum up, just like Rambo, I too was singing “I’m in heaven” as I completed this book. It was not perfect, but it was true to its purpose. As a story about kindness, family, love, loyalty, determination, hope and forgiveness, the novel will stir up all the right emotions if you pick it up with the right mind-set, prepared for the adventurous and roundabout way to the destination. Being human is so much more than being made of flesh and blood, and this story is a great way of knowing what humaneness is all about.
This is my first T.J. Klune work, and I assure you – it won’t be the last!

4.5 stars.

My thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “In the Lives of Puppets”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.

In the Lives of Puppets
by TJ Klune
Narrated by Daniel Henning

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Can I add more?
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the early listen/read!
TJ Klune does it again! Author lets his imagination soar and shares it with us the reader and the reader will not be sorry listening/reading this story. Loved all the characters and the life the author imagines for them. Rambo such a lovable character you can't do anything but love him.
The narrator is amazing! So much talent and able to give each character a voice of their own makes it even so much better.
The reader will definitely be pulled into this story. So hard to stop reading!

🎧Audiobook Review🎧

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

What I liked: This audiobook had a fantastic narrator. Could not have been better! I absolutely loved the characters - particularly Nurse Ratched and Rambo. This is a fun Pinocchio meets Wall-E type story. I also really appreciate the sarcasm and humour in this story.

What I didn’t like: As much as I LOVED The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door, I just could not connect with this book in the same way. I loved the beginning, but the majority of this story just didn’t keep me as interested as I would have hoped. This one is sci-fi and maybe that’s why. I’m not much of a sci-fi or fantasy reader, even though I did enjoy the other two books of his that I’ve read.

I gave this one a 3⭐️ rating. It was a solid read, but just not for me.

Many thanks to #netgalley @torpublishing and @macmillanaudio for a chance to listen to this audiobook (and the bonus of an ecopy as well) in exchange my honest review.

As always I enjoy listening to Klune's books. While this wasn't my favorite of his books it was still very enjoyable and make me laugh quite a few times.

After seeing so many excited comments from readers looking forward to this novel, I found it sadly disappointing. The premise, a future world in which man-made machines have been programmed to annihilate the human race, with a single human having somehow escaped, sounded potentially interesting, but ended up being boring and trite. The main characters, all machines but one, seemed juvenile and overly-preoccupied with the human's sexuality and other bodily functions (even though the remaining human was described as asexual), and their dialog often resembled that of five-year-olds. At 15+ hours, the audiobook was overly long, and at least one section, involving the confusing encounter with the Blue Fairy, could easily have been eliminated or markedly condensed. I guess it makes little sense to complain that the machines' personalities were so underdeveloped, but the same was true of the one human who remained as well. So flat, simplistic characters, juvenile dialog, and a plot the meandered far too long to reach a predictable conclusion, it all adds up to a waste of time for this reader.

I have to start out by saying how much I loved this narrator's reading of the story. The narrator helped this book come to life for me and the narration is my favorite part of this story. Typically, this genre is not my preference and I think if I had read this book instead of listened to the audiobook, I would not have finished it.

This story is very sci-fi and set in a world where robots rule. I think that the premise, in this day and age, is actually a little frightening. The book was fantastical and well written, however I could not really get into it because the genre does not interest me.

I would recommend this book, especially the audiobook to anyone who enjoys sci fi futuristic stories.

I DNFed this 3 chapters in. I was unsure after listening to the prolog of this, it felt different than other books by this author. Then things were just weird, which I know would probably make more sense as I read on but the story wasn't catching my attention. Then there was a joke about arrousal and the robot making himself a penis, that was the moment I decided this was not going to be for me and DNFed.

I'm giving this 3 stars on netgalley as I have to give it a rating and I can't give it an honest one since I didn't read enough.

I found it very difficult to get into the content of this book, mostly because of the narration. The way it was read came across as if it were for children and very theatrical, and it was hard for me to get past that.

That being said, the narration did seem to align with the way the story was written, so maybe overall this book was not one for me.

As a fan of TJ Klune's work, I was disappointed with this book. Interesting concept and the first few robot sex jokes were funny but they got annoying very quickly. I didn't like the narrator's voice.

Did Not Finish. The nurse robot is inappropriately crude and ridiculous. Very disappointed after Cerulean Sea that the author would have such an unpalatable follow up.