Our fave GUP is back!! I was so excited to see a sequel The Guncle especially after how much I loved the first. Did I love it as much as the first? Maybe not. That being said I laughed out loud and treared up out of happiness. Steven Rowley really knows how to tug at my heart strings.

In the first book, I loved his relationship with his niece and nephew and all the little moments of learning and lessons. In the sequel, it was more centered on their dad, in my opinion. You still get the witty banter from Guncle though. I’m always here for GUP’s wisdom.

I think the whole Italy wedding felt like a drawn out side plot. I loved the arrival in Italy where you followed. Patrick and the kids. THAT was what I wanted more from this sequel. But the ending redeemed itself and you’ll love it.

Highly recommend if you are team guncle.

Thanks so much NetGalley and Putnam Books.

GUP is back, and he’s taking Maisie and Grant on a European adventure. Roaming around cities, traveling by train, plane, car, and boat…Patrick teaches his niece and nephew, Guncle’s lessons in love.

Through light-hearted banter, witty comebacks, and continuous comedic relief we delve into the harder stuff — sadness, grief, and loss of loved ones. Rowley has done it again, in tackling all the stuff we love to brush under expensive rugs, and never think about again.

I will continuously love these characters, the situations they find themselves in, and the way they navigate through hard topics that present in everyday life.

Thank you to Netgalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and Steven Rowley for an advanced reader copy to enjoy and review.

To say I was excited when I heard there was a sequel to The Guncle is an understatement. I love Steven Rowley’s writing and storytelling, and the fact that it surrounds a fabulous, QUEER, Auntie-Mame-like character just fills my soul with giddiness.

This Guncle tale is set a few years forward from when we last saw the characters. Guncle Patrick’s career has taken off after the success of the titular sitcom, and he reunites with his niece, Maisie, and his nephew, Grant, in the wake of his brother’s wedding. Maisie and Grant attempt to convince their favorite Guncle to stop the wedding. Let’s not forget to mention Patrick’s new “nemesis,” the bride’s gay sister Palmina, begrudgingly labeled as the Launt. What ensues is a heartwarming tale of midlife crises, overcoming grief, clinging to hope, and the importance of family.

It was so lovely to be back in the world of our favorite Guncle, Patrick O’Hara. I sincerely hope this isn’t the last of this sweet family that we’ve seen. This delightful sequel leaves us with a heartfelt reminder that family, in all its forms, remains the cornerstone of our greatest joys and deepest connections.

A HUGE thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for my eARC of The Guncle Abroad.

Every bit as good as The Guncle. The same wonderful characters, plus a few more, enriched and to be savored. Patrick once again has his niece and nephew under his wing as they travel through Europe, while he teaches them the Guncle Languages of Love. Witty, slap-happy-funny, and yet heartfelt. I have read all of Rowley’s novels and they are all well written with great characters. Well done, sir.

I absolutely adore Steven Rowley and he’s one of my auto-buy authors!
The Guncle Abroad is book two in The Guncle series by Steven Rowley.
Such a cute and adorable story. And I freaking devoured it!
This book is touching and funny but there is also an emotional side of the book.
The characters are all fantastic and develop perfectly throughout the book.
This is a touching story with a group of enjoyable-flawed characters.

Thank You NetGalley and Publisher for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

In The Guncle, we got to watch Gay Uncle Patrick guide his niece and nephew through grieving the loss of their mother. In The Guncle Abroad, Patrick is now tasked with helping his niblings accept that their father is getting remarried while taking them on a European vacation.

There was something about the first book that was simply magical. While I wouldn't say that the sequel had that same magical quality, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. Seeing Maisie and Grant a little older and wiser was so much fun, and I seriously enjoyed Patrick's rivalry with their new Launt (lesbian aunt). The beginning was a little slow, but it was all worth it for that ending.

Thank you NetGalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

The GUP is back and more witty than ever. I haven't laughed out loud while reading a book this much in a long time. It was heartfelt, adventurous, sassy and so loving. I felt like I was in the journey with Patrick and his "charges". A must read!

Thank you NetGalley and Steven Rowley for the chance to read this wonderful story!

I absolutely loved this story so much! I enjoyed the first book, The Guncle, but I feel like this one tops it!

Patrick was finishing filming his series for the Guncle before his brother's wedding in Lake Como. Grant and Maisie are a little older now and I feel like they have so much more of a personality. I loved getting to know them even more in this book. They are both unhappy that their dad is remarrying, but they have a different perspective on the situation. Grant is unhappy but looking toward the positive, he will have a mom again. While Maisie wants Patrick to talk to her dad and stop the wedding.

Patrick decides to take his niece and nephew on a little European adventure. It was a great adventure and was so easy to put yourself into the story. When they were in Paris, I felt like I was reliving a past trip to Paris from going to The Louvre and to having hot chocolate at Angelina's.

Once they get to Lake Como there are bachelorette parties to be had and rehearsal dinners to attend. Will Patrick really try to stop his brother's wedding? This is a must-read and worth putting on your summer reading list. It still has some Guncle rules like book one, only this time they are love languages. You will fall in love with these characters as well as laugh out loud many times.

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Guncle is a forever favorite of mine so it goes with saying The Guncle Abroad is one of my most anticipated summer releases!

Y’all Patrick is just the most lovable yet vulnerable character. I just adore him. He keeps it real and feels like your bestie. I enjoy his adventures through Europe with Maisie and Grant. The shenanigans and one liners are in abundance throughout the story which are my favorite! Leave it to @mrstevenrowley to make me laugh and cry at the same time. This is just the most heartwarming story and I hope there are more adventures with GUP in the future. Please do me a favor and pick up The Guncle Abroad today!

It's been a while since I read the Guncle so I must have forgotten how hilarious Steven Rowley's writing is! I loved this just as much as the Guncle! Patrick is such a loveable character. I will forever be calling Midol "Women's aspirin". If you love laughing while you read, pick up the Guncle and then the Guncle Abroad!

Thank you for the ARC for my honest review.

When Patrick’s brother, Greg, decides to remarry in Lake Como, Italy, Patrick resumes his ‘Guncle’ duties, and flies to Europe to spend time with Greg’s kids. Patrick’s niece and nephew, Maisie and Grant, are not excited about gaining a new step-mother, so Patrick swoops in to help cheer them up, provide a few laughs and a shoulder to cry on. Patrick could use some cheering up himself, having recently broken up with his boyfriend. Will he find his own happy ending?

Thanks to Putnam Books and NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

‘The Guncle’ was the first book I reviewed for bookstagram so I was super excited to receive an advanced copy of its sequel, ‘The Guncle Abroad’. It’s rare that a sequel is as good as the first book, but this one is just as good if not better!

I loved spending more time with Patrick, Maisie and Grant, especially in the backdrop of Italy and Switzerland, where the Guncle takes the kids on a ‘Sound of Music’ tour. This book is funny, warm and I just wanted to give it a big hug at the end.

If you decide to read this one, and I highly recommend you do, definitely read ‘The Guncle’ first. There’s a lot of backstory in that you’ll miss out on if you skip it.

3. 5 stars. I was so excited to read this and spend more time with all of the characters I fell in love with in The Guncle. This was such a funny and comforting read and one that I completed in two sittings.

To be honest, this does feel a lot like the fan service that it is, especially in much of the first half when GUP is traveling around Europe with the kids and dispensing Guncle lessons in love. The writing and the book are so much better when they tackle some of the harder issues like grief and growing up. Thankfully, it finds a way to recreate some of the original's magic in the end, causing me to burst into tears more than once. Even though this installment has a rather satisfying ending, I would still happily read any additional Guncle adventures.

Steven Rowley has done it again with The Guncle Abroad. The Guncle was my favorite book of 2021 and its sequel is just as good. Picking up five years after the events of The Guncle, The Guncle Abroad finds Gay Uncle Patrick, or GUP to those who love him, planning a trip across Europe to teach his niblings Maisie and Grant about love before their father remarries in a lavish Lake Como ceremony to a wealthy Italian heiress. Maisie and Grant still miss their mother and cannot understand why their father would want to try and replace her. The children enlist the help of Patrick to talk some sense into their father and convince him to call off the wedding. As they travel across Europe, Patrick teaches the children about the importance of love and the various ways it can be expressed. Of course Patrick begins to really reflect on the lessons he has taught and how they impact his own life.
The Guncle Abroad is another fantastic novel from Steven Rowley. He writes such amazing characters that you love not in spite of their flaws but rather because of them. His handling of grief and its long term effects is spot on for both adults and children. This book made me laugh out loud as well as cry. My heart hurt for Patrick, Maisie and Grant as they each processed the loss of Sara and its effect on their lives after five years but I also cried a little in happiness when Patrick gets his HEA and Maisie and Grant accept that life will move on but their mother will always be with them.

I thought the first book was well-done and complete. However, I loved revisiting these characters and seeing the kids grow up. Rowley takes a sensitive topic and delivers in a funny, caring way. Now I really hope we get more adventures with Gup and the kids.

Ahhhh my heart. I loved The Guncle, but I think this sequel has my whole heart. Steven Rowley has graciously allowed these characters back into our lives and it is the best thing ever. I simply loved how heartwarming, honest, and hopeful this book was!! Rowley’s characters have the best wit, and are so sharp. I simply love Patrick and his relationship with his niece and nephew.

Thank you @netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy!

The Guncle is one of all-time go to recommendations, and I'm so pleased to announce that its sequel is just as funny, charming, and full of heart as the original.

First of all, you will adore the expanded cast of characters, especially a new soon-to-be aunt that gives Patrick a run for his money. There are also countless literal laugh out loud moments. At the same time, it's a beautiful tale of grief and how to move on. Sarah's letter to Greg's future wife-to-be just got me!

Admittedly, the first bit when the kids and Patrick travel through Europe is not quite as tight as it could be. Hang in there!

Bottom line: Home run!

“There are a thousand ways that love ends, but there is only one it begins and that’s by opening your heart to another.”

Such a fun book! Steven Rowley’s follow up to The Guncle is a very enjoyable read. We get plenty of quality time with Patrick, Maisie and Grant, and we are also introduced to a new cast of characters in a beautiful European setting. Just like its predecessor, The Guncle Abroad can move the reader from laughter to tears and back again in a moment.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

I'll be honest--I enjoyed "The Guncle", but I didn't *quite* get the hype. This time I get it. This book is hilarious. This book is heartwarming. This book is smart. This book is hopeful.⁠
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This book takes place five years after the first, Gay Uncle Patrick is back and taking his niece and nephew Maise and Grant on a trip around Europe ending in Italy where their father is set to marry a new woman...something they're not quite ready for, so GUP's Rules are also back covering what it means to love.⁠
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While I didn't remember a whole lot of specifics from the first book, I didn't need to--the book reminds the reader enough of the characters and happenings from the first one that I didn't feel like I was missing out (though I do maybe want to go back and see how I feel about it now--I did listen to it the first time and I wonder if I would have enjoyed it more if I had read it).⁠
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I finished "The Guncle Abroad" in just a few days--it was a quick read and it was one I didn't want to put down. And what impressed me the most was that it was just very smart--there are funny one-liners and puns and "zingers" and references that are just perfectly placed. And there are also some life lessons and discussions on grief, love, sexuality, and family.⁠
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And I just have to say, I especially appreciate that there are several references in the book to film tourism and a book-stealing scene of our three favorites recreating The Sound of Music in Salzburg, Austria.

I love everything that Steven Rowley writes, and this was no exception. I loooooooved The Guncle, it made me laugh out loud, tear up, want to hug everyone I hold dear to my heart. I was. so pleased to meet Grant, Maisie and Patrick again. It was everything I needed: witty, sweet, and there was just a touch of intrigue. Watching the characters travel across Europe was a delight.

The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley
Narrator: Steven Rowley
Rating: 4.5 stars
Pub date: 5/21

Thank you so much to Putnam Books for my physical copy and to PRH Audio for my complimentary audiobook.

The Guncle Abroad picks up five years after the original, while Patrick O’Hara’s career is flourishing, but his personal life is not. Happiness eludes him as he grapples with loneliness post-breakup and the approach of his fiftieth birthday. But things take a turn when Patrick agrees to spend time abroad with Grant and Maisie, who are struggling with the idea of their father remarrying.

I loved The Guncle, and I loved this book just as much! Rowley seamlessly blends humor and heart again, making readers laugh out loud and feel all the feels. Patrick’s journey to restore his status as Grant and Maisie's favorite uncle while navigating the chaos of a lavish wedding was hilarious and heartwarming. The introduction of the "Launt" (Lesbian Aunt) and Clara's new love interest added extra doses of comedy and warmth to the story.

Patrick's witty reflections on love and aging are woven seamlessly into the story, providing moments of genuine introspection. His growth, paralleled with the evolving family dynamics, is touching and inspiring.

I went back and forth between my physical copy and the audiobook, and Rowley brings Patrick's vibrant personality to life with every inflection and perfectly timed joke. It’s a special experience to hear the author read his own work, and I’m so glad I was able to!

Fans of "The Guncle" will find this sequel to be filled with the same charm and wisdom as the original. For readers new to the series, reading the first book is a must to appreciate the depth and development of these wonderful characters.

"The Guncle Abroad" is a celebration of love, family, and self-discovery, proving that even at fifty, it's never too late to find happiness and embrace change. Steven Rowley once again captures the essence of familial bonds with his signature wit and heartfelt storytelling.