I was so excited to jump back into this world with these characters!! One of my favorite books I have read this year! I am always recommending Steven Rowley to patrons when they ask me what my favorite books have been or what I have read recently. I can't recommend his books enough!

Thank you to the publisher, author and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book.

I thought the first Guncle was cute and fun, showing the struggles and triumphs of adjusting to a life you didn’t ask for with people you love. Guncle 2 explored the same theme in a parallel way—Maisie and Grant preparing for a life with a step-mom five years after their mother’s passing.

As their future step-mom, Livia, is an Italian heiress, I did enjoy the scenic change to Europe as Patrick, Maisie, and Grant journeyed before their father’s wedding. I also felt Maisie’s understandable teenage reluctance to a “new mom” was well developed, especially contrasted with Grant<spoiler>, who battles with speaking up on how much he does want to explore Livia’s new role in his life</spoiler>.

Here, it was just that Patrick came off as painfully insecure and low-key a hater of lesbians in a borderline homophobic and misogynistic way (so weird with the hang up of the kids having a Lant). I can see from the other reviews, not everyone got that vibe—fair. Maybe it was the narrator’s tone that pushed this one over the edge into problematic territory for me. It just didn’t feel… kind.

Ultimately, the story still shines when it focuses on family dynamics and heartfelt lessons. Plus, I can totally see this being picked up by Netflix/etc for a series.

🎁 📚 𝓐𝓡𝓒 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀 📚🎁
4.5/5 🌟

This sequel to the wildly successful 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐞 has been out since May of this year but I’ve just gotten around to reading my advanced
copy - and I loved it! It’s a very worthy follow up. I was quite disappointed in Rowley’s interim book, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬, so am very happy to see he slipped right back into his groove with this one.

Catching up with “Guncle” Patrick O’Hara, his charges Maisie and Grant, plus some fun, new characters (including a “launt”-I’ll let you figure that one out) was well worth the wait. It was like sinking into a warm bubble bath - just a relaxing, fun, and heartwarming read with all of Patrick’s trademark humor and sensitivity.

This time, Patrick leads his neice and nephew on a trip through Europe to teach them about love languages ahead of their widowed father’s marriage to Livia, and Italian aristocrat.

Not only is this a fun romp through some beautiful European cities described with colorful authenticity, but it was an endearing story of family, growth and acceptance.

I won’t say more, but if you’re in the mood for a light but substantial read, pick this one up - but only if you’ve read 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐞 first! Otherwise, I’m excited and a bit envious for you to experience both books back to back!

Many thanks to @netgalley and @gpputmanpublishing for the privilege of reading an ARC of this delightful book!

#bibliophile #stephsalwaysreading#bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #tbrlist#5🌟reads#whatshouldireadnext #audiobookreview#stevenrowley#theguncle#theguncleabroad#netgalley#arcreview

PATRICK IS BACK & BETTER THAN E V E R!

Thank you ‎G.P. Putnam's Sons and Penguin Random House Audio for the gifted copies of "The Guncle Abroad." Steven Rowley's latest is out now!

Did we need a sequel to "The Guncle?" Absolutely not but I am not going to refuse when Steven Rowley says "Hey everyone! Have a whole new book where your favorite characters go on another adventure that will fill your heart with joy." Yes, you saw that right. Everyone is back and we're all going to explore Europe together.

This was truly a delight. I don't know how you could not love Patrick, Grant and Maisy just living life together again. My favorite part about this book is the big lessons we learn are all surrounding love. We obviously continue to get nods of "The Guncle Rules" which we know Patrick loves to throw into the world but this time the kiddos learn all about "Guncle Love Languages." Dare I say they might be better than Patrick's rules? All the love languages are filled with Patrickisms and will make you swoon or giggle.

Your heart strings will be pulled. You will cry happy tears (I did. The letter (IFYKYK)). You will snort with laughter. It is the emotional ride that I love taking. So if you loved "The Guncle" why not take a staycation with you're favorite gang of three and go to Europe?

To sum up all my thoughts on this book... why is Grant such a mood? The best literary goofball ever. His comedic timing and his innocence just makes me the happiest ever.

🎧 This is a PSA that Steven Rowley needs to do more audiobook narration. He is perfect at it. So obviously, I have no complaints about this audio rendition of "The Guncle Abroad" because Steven Rowley himself narrates. He NAILS performing this book and it made my whole life that Grant's lisp continues to appear even in his preteen years.

🥐 Everyone from "The Guncle" Returns
🥐 Europe
🥐 Weddings
🥐 Hilarious
🥐 Emotional
🥐 Navigating Getting Older
🥐 Highly Recommend the Audiobook

I took me too long to download this read, so I had to wait for my local library to have a copy to read. I'm so glad I did that!

The Guncle Abroad is another riotous comedy from Steve Rowley. Patrick's outrageous personality is as entertaining as ever. However, the book also delves into deeper themes of love, loss, and healing.

The European adventure is a transformative experience for Maisie, Grant, and Patrick. The Guncle Abroad is a delightful blend of humor, honesty, and heart.

After reading Steve Rowley's two Guncle books, I'm convinced that I'll read anything he writes. I'm a huge fan of his characters, his humor, his pacing, and his witty dialogue.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group for reuniting me with Rowley's characters. I knew I loved them but didn't realize that I missed them so much.

Steven Rowley has done it again! The Guncle is one of my absolute favorite books, so I was both nervous and excited to read the sequel. Nervous because the first one would be so hard to live up to. Excited because Patrick and the kids are one of my all-time favorite literary families. Turns out there was absolutely nothing to be nervous about. The Guncle Abroad retains all of the heart from the first book. Just like with book one, I laughed, cried, and immediately called to tell my mother and sister to read it. This is a fantastic book, and I hope it’s not the last we hear from these characters.

3.5 stars.

"The Guncle Abroad" by Steven Rowley is good, but unfortunately, not great. I think that "The Guncle" was so, so amazing that no sequel could ever compare or touch its greatness. Patrick O'Hara is back with his signature brand of sass and quick wit, which makes this book worth a read all on its own. Maisie and Grant are growing up fast in this follow-up. Patrick is on a mission to teach them about love before their dad gets remarried in Lake Como, and he is going to take them throughout Europe before that happens. While watching Patrick teach Maisie and Grant life lessons is fun, I did not feel the same emotional connection with this book that I did with the first one. I never even cried once, and I cry at *everything.* I never got invested in Greg's wedding or his subsequent remarriage to Livia. She feels more like a caricature as opposed to a realistic, lived-in person. I did like the newly introduced LAUNT, though. Their trip to Europe feels out of character are overly long and unnecessary. Maisie and Grant and Patrick's shenanigans are always fun, though. I thought the drama between Patrick and Emory was a little shoe-horned in as well. I don't think this sequel was necessary, but it was still a good read nonetheless. It has a lot of charm and wit and laugh-out-loud moment, even when the bones of the story leave a lot to be desired.

Thank you to NetGalley, Steven Rowley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

DNF at 44%. I thought I would be thrilled to be back in the Guncle world, but what I found was a lot of boredom. I’m very, very over books that travel through Europe. Very over it. It basically ruined the book for me. I loved the snark and sass, but also feel like we could’ve done without this book. It just didn’t need to be written. 🤷‍♀️

I loved the Guncle, and it was a delightful, heartwarming book, so I was very interested in the sequel. However, this goes on a long list of what I consider unnecessary sequels. (I’m sure someone has a Goodreads tag for that). The entire drama with Emory felt unnecessary, and if that were still at that level on communication in their relationship, it made the ending fell tacked on and concerning. Also, I’ve read other books recently where the age issue was done better. Parts of touring Europe were amusing at times but read very superficial. The issue with the lesbian aunt was entirely unnecessary and didn’t add to the book. I enjoyed seeing the children as the got older. I don’t generally recommend this and would just suggest rereading the first one if you are missing the characters.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I always love anything that Steven Rowley writes. Just like previous books this one also had a very beautiful message about life and love.

I really loved Patrick’s character and the way he interacted with the children. Some parts of the book were very heartbreaking and others were heartwarming.

I will continue to read anything from this author because I love the stories and the writing style.

I loved this book with my entire heart and soul. The development of all of the characters throughout this story was so well done. The letter at the end of the book destroyed me in all the best ways .

Our favorite GUP is back! This time in Europe and of course Maisie and Grant are with him. Uncle Patrick take Maisie and Grant on a grand European adventure while their dad is getting ready for his wedding in Lake Como, Italy. GUP was on a mission to teach the kids about love even if they didn't want to be taught. They end up in Lake Como for the wedding that Maisie and Grant do not want to happen.

I enjoyed the newest adventure of GUP, Maisie, and Grant. I loved GUP teaching the kids about love and him learning about love along the way as well.

Thank you Steven Rowley, Penguin Group, Putnam Books, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a great follow-up to The Guncle (and I recommend reading that one before reading this one) but it leaned a bit too much into the cheesy towards the end. It was a fun book anyway with a lot of heart. We catch up with Guncle Patrick and the kids five years later as their dad is getting ready to walk down the aisle. The kids are not ready for a new stepmom and Patrick is teaching them the five love languages this time instead of his Guncle rules.

My only real issue with the book, and this is a pet peeve of mine, is when adults let children dictate their decisions. Input is important, and careful consideration of how decisions impact children definitely matter, but children don't get to call the shots. A rude bossy kid is worse than a rude bossy adult. That impacted my rating of this book. Otherwise, this was a fun book with some favorite characters and maybe we will see them again in a few years.

I had been gifted an advanced readers copy of the ebook from Netgalley , but decided to get the audiobook from libro FM after finding out the author is narrating It. My review is unbiased. The author did a great job narrating the book. As for the actual content of the book I did enjoy the book a lot. It was entertaining. I was happy to have a sequel to “The Guncle” and revisit the characters with a few new ones! I will say I think “the Guncle” is slightly better, but “The Guncle Abroad is still wonderful. I laughed out loud many times while reading this book. The scenes played out like a movie in my head. One of my favorite scenes is when Patrick and the kids were doing “the sound of music” reenactment in Austria.

Omg I loved this so much! I don't give out 5 stars alot but this was easily a 5star. The Guncle Abroad feels like a warm hug and a much needed vacation!

Thank you so much for letting me arc read. All opinions are my own.

The sequel, the Gungle Abroad was filled with humor and heart.. The relationship between Patrick, his nephew Grant and niece Maisie is more heartfelt. Patrick's widowed brother Greg wants to remarry but Maisie and Grant aren't happy with that decision. Found family and grief are some of the topics that are mentioned in the story.

I will read any guncle book Steven Rowley writes!!! They are just so fun and wholesome 🥹

I read and really liked THE GUNCLE, so I was thrilled to see there was a sequel coming out… and dare I say I liked this one slightly more than the first?! I’m usually nervous to read sequels for books like these, but I am so happy this lived up to the expectations set by book one.

This packs an emotional punch while also being one of the cutest books to ever exist. We get to follow this family as they continue to navigate their grief from the first book. The adventures and things these characters get themselves into had me laughing out loud multiple times.

I hope I meet this one-of-a-kind family again in future books, but so long for now.

Really enjoyed this sequel. It felt like we were on vacation together. I don't often laugh out loud while reading but I did with this one!

I absolutely adored this story. The Guncle was cute, and while I enjoyed it, this story completely swept me away. It had the cutsy factor, of course, and it had the amazing sarcasm and "je ne sais quoi" that the original had. But it had so much more. The Guncle love language lessons kept me intrigued, and the lessons learned even for an old lady like me were immense. Throw in travel and beautiful locations, and I'm so there singing Do Re Mi. My favorite quote is, "It didn't matter who they were gathered to celebrate, so much as they were gathered to celebrate." A real lesson to learn along with Love IS Love.