Sequels usually aren't my thing, but the Guncle taught me so much about grief in the first book that I knew I had to read the second one. Dare I say it, I loved this one just as much maybe even more. Get ready to feel everything, I laughed out loud, cried, cheered, I think felt every emotion throughout the span of this book. The Guncle 5 languages of love, showing the kids Europe was just spectacular. The banter between the older siblings. The other characters, the final setting of Italy. And of course, the lessons of grief and love. Just a beautiful story all around!

Thanks to Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review as always, all words are my own.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group, and Putnam Books for this advance copy of The Guncle Abroad.

I really wanted this to be a five star read for me. At some points it felt like a history lessons but there were definitely some really great parts. I thought Palmina and Patrick’s relationship was really funny to read about. I wish we got a little more backstory or anything with Livia. I absolutely loved seeing Emory, Grant, and Maisie again. The ending was A+ though!

I think writing a sequel to The Guncle is a no-win situation; that book was unique and hilarious and heartfelt. This sequel felt forced, to me. The first half was tedious; it does get going when GUP and the kids get to the dad’s wedding, but still didn’t find the magic for me.

Sequel to a charming Guncle, which takes place 5 years after the last one, so the kids are older and wiser. Greg, their dad, is ready to re-marry to Livia, a wealthy Italian woman. Patrick, GUP, is yet again in charge of the kids and takes them on a European tour to learn different love languages. Maisie is a teenager now, and sceptical about the new dad's fiance.

At first, I wasn't sure if the sequel was necessary, but I am glad I read it. It was funny and heartwarming, and like seeing good friends that you did not know you missed so much.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group for an early access to this book for an honest review.

This takes place five years after The Guncle. Grant and Maise may be five years older but they’re still children. Children that have had to grow up too fast.
GUP is here to teach the kids love languages instead of Guncle Rules - but there are some good throwbacks to the classic Guncle Rules!
I loved this second chance romance. Personally, I do not know what it’s like to be a child and watch your parent remarry, but I imagine that it feels a lot like what this book described. I thought it was handled beautifully and continued building on everyone’s journey through grief.
I feel like we got a lot of time with Maise in this one and it felt very relatable to being a tween/teen. I know Grantelope is still a young kid, but sometimes I forgot there were five years between him in the last book and this one. He still felt very young to me, but maybe that’s just his personality. I think I was just able to connect and relate to Maise more.
I’m very proud of Patrick for embracing his fear of loss and loneliness. Not just loss through death but also loss in new relationships, changing relationships. That fear of not being someone’s favorite person anymore.
Honestly, I thought the Launt rivalry was kind of weird in the beginning, but you get to understand that Patrick just really doesn't like losing people or change in relationship dynamics.
The ending was so sweet and had tearing up! It's not the ending I expected it, but it wrapped up really nicely.

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

The Guncle Abroad by Steve Rowley is reminiscent of a road trip back home — you’re not sure if you should head back given everything happening but when you do you’re glad you did. Sorry for the metaphor; The Guncle Abroad is sweet and full of characters that you’ve learned to love and adore even if you don’t enjoy the *whole* experience.

At first, I wondered why a sequel was even necessary. Rowley ended the first one perfectly. However, the more I read the sequel, I’m glad we got more time to spend with Patrick, Maisie, Grant, and the rest of the gang. However, that’s where my most critical thoughts lie — some of the new characters aren’t as easy on the eyes as the cast from the first one nor are they written as three dimensional. I wish I could have loved Paulimina as much as the kids but I found her to be annoying. Maisie, given her age in this one, is also fairly rude and full of angst but we are now dealing with a 14 year old filled with hormones and fury so I’ll allow it!

They’re brought together as Greg, Patrick’s brother and father of Maisie and Grant, is set to marry Livia, an Italian heiress (or as Patrick likes to call her, a “marchese”) and hilarity and aforementioned angst ensues. Patrick is still able to add a new style of Guncle rules but they aren’t as hard hitting as the first go around (inspired by love languages, they just don’t tug at the heart strings or make you lol like the set in the first novel.)

Ultimately, I’m glad we get to spend more time with these characters — we’re seeing a loving family and LGBTQ+ characters that aren’t put through the wringer but are loved by their family. And, given the world we live in, that makes up for any misgivings I had about the book. Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group and Putnam Books for the ARC.

In 2021, when I needed a bit of feel-good escapism, I read The Guncle. The characters of Gay Uncle Patrick, a 40-something actor in a bit of a slump, and his nine-year-old niece Maisie and six-year-old nephew Grant, stuck with me, and now here they are again, with five years having gone by.

Patrick’s career is back on track and he’s wrapping up filming a movie in London when his brother Greg tells him that in a month he will re-marry. His fiancée is Livia, a very wealthy Italian marchesa, and wedding plans are overwhelming. Patrick decides to take the kids on a European tour, ending up at Lake Como for the wedding. He needs that time with the kids to get them to be OK with the idea of their father remarrying. And also to treat them to his favorite Guncle things, like going on the Sound of Music tour in Austria and drinking fabulous hot chocolate in Paris.

The tour is fun, the tour is fraught with emotion, a lot of wine is drunk (by Patrick), and then they arrive at Lake Como with four days to the wedding. Four days filled with opulence and family, old and new. Patrick has a particularly tough time with Livia’s lesbian sister Palmina, who has a way with the kids but seems to find Patrick particularly tiresome. All those Guncle rules Patrick taught the kids five years ago don’t seem to be doing the trick of keeping him as their favorite and getting Maisie to move off her determination to interfere with the wedding. The rehearsal dinner and the wedding day are filled with drama—and comedy.

It was a delight to spend time again with Patrick, Maisie and Grant. It made such a nice break from the more serious books I usually read, and from real life. It was also a lot of fun to vicariously enjoy traipsing through Europe enjoying first-class hotels and amenities.

I seriously want Patrick AKA GUP to be my Guncle! I read the first book of this series and I loved this one as much as the first one.

Uncle Patrick is requested to take care of Maisie and Grant for a little bit before their dad’s second wedding in Italy. He tries to teach the kiddos about love and show them that he is still their favorite uncle. This is super cute and a little emotional in a good way.

I loved the characters minus a couple of them. They were funny and sweet.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I absolutely loved this book. This was a sequel to The Guncle. The man character Patrick is the gay uncle to his brother’s children, Maisie and Grant. This follows him trying to help them make sense of the fact that their dad has decided to remarry in Italy. The main character is so deliciously sarcastic and funny. The bedlam that ensues is heartwarming and heartbreaking. I totally recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Steven Rowley for allowing me to read this wonderful book in exchange for my review.

I had JUST finished The Guncle (5 stars, AMAZING book) and got wind that there was a sequel coming out and I was absolutely thrilled to be approved to read an ARC.

However…this book is precisely why I don’t like sequels. If there isn’t a clear cut path of where the author wants the story to go, it just doesn’t work and this one just didn’t. It had little bits and pieces of that cuttingly witty dialogue from the first book but I kept having to skip over great chunks of book because I felt like I was watching the discovery channel. I came here for Patrick and the kids, not to be described the Austrian countryside in painstaking detail. It was giving ‘I need to meet a word requirement’.

I wanted to love it, I really, really did. The little bits we got of Patrick and the kids being themselves was great. Everything else just fell flat for me. The Guncle will forever live on as a masterpiece for me but I’m gonna pretend this one doesn’t exist.

“The Guncle Abroad” is an absolute delight! Steven Rowley masterfully transports us to the picturesque setting of Lake Como, Italy. Patrick O’Hara, our beloved guncle, grapples with family dynamics, love, and self-discovery. The witty banter, heartwarming moments, and unique connections between characters make this sequel a must-read. Rowley’s blend of humor and heart shines through, leaving readers longing for more adventures with Patrick, Maisie, and Grant.

Re-entering the world of The Guncle with Maisie, Grant, and GUP was enjoyable. Just like the first book, The Guncle Abroad was funny and heartwarming. The adventures they took, all while trying to instill the joys of love, was well written. I hope there’s another book added to this series.

I loved The Guncle very much, and was excited to learn there would be a sequel. But, to me, this book fell short of my expectations. Everyone seemed so angry—Patrick, the kids, and the other characters brought me down instead of lifting me up. The sequel was missing the heart of the first book, the jokes felt forced and fell flat.

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕝𝕖 𝔸𝕓𝕣𝕠𝕒𝕕
𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗥𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝘆
Literary Fiction
320 pages
Pub Day: May 21, 2024

Sʜᴏᴿᴛ Sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs
Patrick is on an adventure through Europe with his niece and nephew to teach them about love as they make their way to their father’s wedding.

The kids aren’t thrilled about the wedding, and Patrick hopes that his actions will help them look at their father’s marriage in a different light.

Mʸ Tᴴᴼᵁᴳᴴᵀs
Patrick is ripe with personality. Steven Rowley makes it jump right off the page! I love the snarky comments and the overall way he handles life.
Maisie really comes into her own as well. She is now a teenage girl and has plenty of snarky comments herself. I like seeing different sides of her as the story progresses.

The Guncle Abroad shows the love and struggles between family members. Many feelings and emotions are expressed as they make their way across Europe.

This enjoyable story jumps ahead five years from The Guncle’s adventure and continues as Patrick teaches the kids what he calls Guncle’s love language rules.

I felt a difference between The Guncle and The Guncle Abroad. Although it continued the characters’ stories, I felt it had a whole other feel on some level.

💕Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing this ebook for me to read and review.

Confession - I’ve read and loved all of Steven Rowley’s novels and loved all of them. Guncle Abroad is no exception. Continuing the story from the first book, all of our favorites are back and while they are not in the same places we left them, they still have a lot of living and learning to do. 5 stars. Loved loved loved.

I adore all of Steven Rowley’s books. But, Patrick, the loveable Guncle, whose adventures with his nibblings continues here is my favorite of all of his characters (and, boy, can he write charming and quirky characters). Glad to be back.

I am so thrilled we got to return to the world of The Guncle with Maisie, Grant, and GUP. Just like the first book, The Guncle Abroad perfectly melds humor with heavy topics to create a book that is heartwarming. I hope Steven Rowley someday blesses us with another installment in this series.

The Guncle was one of my favorite books that I read last year. When I heard there was a sequel, I knew I had to read it!

It brings back all the fun elements of the first iteration: Guncle rules — or rather Guncle’s love languages explained, — witty banter, and heart-warming moments.

The book picks up five years later. Patrick’s sitcom is a hit, and he’s now landed new achievements as an actor… all while his romantic life has fallen apart. Patrick’s brother (and Maisie and Grant’s dad), Greg, decides to get married to Livia — who’s also a rich Italian client’s daughter.

Steven Rowley takes us on a tour of Europe as Patrick’s niece and nephew hope to convince their GUP to stop their dad’s wedding. (While Patrick grapples with somewhat of a mid-life crisis.)

In the end, I enjoyed the continuation of these characters’ stories even though I was satisfied with The Guncle’s ending. The second half seemed a little off with pacing, but it wasn’t enough to ruin the story for me.

At its heart, the story is about family, love, and moving forward with grief. It’s filled with bits of wisdom and even a “duel” between GUP and Launt (lesbian aunt) Palmina.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group, G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Guncle Abroad releases May 21!

I was thrilled to see a sequel for Steven Rowley’s gem, The Guncle. The Guncle Abroad pulled me in from the start with Rowley’s whip smart and funny writing. The characters are engaging, multi layered and the dialogue was so fun. The plot took place five years after the original book and in EUROPE! Have the fun was delving into stories of places I have loved and experienced and imaging the characters seeing them too. Thank you so much, Net Galley, for the advanced copy of this wonderful book!!

Thank you, thank you to Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC of The Guncle Abroad via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

In Rowley’s follow up to 2021’s the Guncle, Patrick O’Hara is back! Its now been five years since the fateful summer that Patrick spent with his niece Maisie and nephew Grant following the loss of their mother. Patrick remains their fateful GUP, and continues to fill their heads with Guncle rules to live by – imparting his wisdom and wit in ways both big and small. But now Maisie and Grant have plans of their own. Their father is getting re-married unless they’re able to stop it, and they want Patrick’s help to derail the impending nuptials. Whisked away on a European excursion, Patrick attempts to craft unforgettable memories their mother would be proud of while teaching Maisie and Grant some of the most valuable lessons yet. But that doesn’t mean Patrick doesn’t have a few things to learn himself…

It’s so nice to read a book that’s just… easy. It’s like eating the exact meal you’ve been craving, and it satisfies with every bite. Rowley crafts something really beautiful here – an ode to blended families, to the power of memory (and what it means as we get farther from it), and the impossibility and necessity of reinvention. We only have this one life, as precious and fragile as it is. It’s quick. And it’s never too late to start over. Filled with pop culture references, incredible destinations, and great hilarity, The Guncle Abroad is the perfect breezy, feel-good summer reading. Patrick, while preoccupied with his age, is still plenty young, and certainly young at heart. As a character, he perfectly encapsulates growing up; a blend of knowledge and fear, straddling the blurry line between knowing everything and knowing nothing. Kids admire the adults in their lives for their intelligence, their protection, their love, but often those same adults are making it up as they go along, just doing the best they can.

The word delightful was invented for books like this, though the lighthearted nature of its pages doesn’t mean it sidesteps harder topics like loss, grief, self-doubt and uncertain times. If anything, it reminds us that in those moments, it’s the people we surround ourselves with that really get us through, and help us create something new. The past informs us, it shapes us, but it also ultimately has to make way for now. Now is pretty good, too.