A truly wonderful follow-up to The Guncle, this novel lets you explore the complications of grief as it ages, and the way that Patrick's relationship with his niece and nephew has changed as the kids grow up and become more of themselves is so touching.

I'm nearly finished with this one thanks to NetGalley and and really enjoying it. This follow-up to The Guncle is a bit more lighthearted but not without conflict and emotion. The European setting is fabulous, and I just adore the experience of reading the heartwarming stories of Patrick and his niece and nephew. There's even a wink in the text alluding to sequels that create conflict in order to justify themselves, but this one feels fitting.

Ugh. The Guncle. I just adore you!

The first book forever has my heart and I’m happy to report that I loved this one almost just as much. I usually hate sequels so congrats to you 😂

This one takes all the things I loved from the first (the witty charm, the heart warming moments and just overall a fun enjoyable read) and takes it abroad! France, Italy… that travel itch will come out full force if you pick this one up!

Keeping this one short so I’ll just say there was so much to love about this book from the settings to the cast of characters. I laughed, I teared up… sometimes at the same time which I didn’t even know was possible 😂 I just really really enjoyed it. The perfect pool side read for this summer 🙌

“The Guncle Abroad,” by Steven Rowley, is the second book in the duology “The Guncle.” It has been five years since Maisie and Grant—now fourteen and eleven—stayed the summer with Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP) after the loss of their mother to cancer. Forty-nine-year-old Patrick O’Hara has left Palm Springs and relocated to New York. Patrick and Emory have been dating for five years, but their sixteen-year age gap leaves Patrick panicking as he prepares for his imminent dotage. Not wanting to date a caregiver, Patrick ends his relationship with Emory.

Back in Connecticut, the niblings (nephew and niece siblings) are dreading their father Greg’s upcoming nuptials to Livia, a wealthy Italian marchesa. In the weeks leading up to their wedding in Lake Como, Italy, Greg pleads with his brother to take his children for a few weeks. After his second successful sit-com comes to a close, Patrick is happy for the distraction from his heartbreak. Hoping to reverse the children’s resentment towards their father’s wedding, Patrick takes them on a multi-country trip through Europe. He teaches them the components of love and the different love languages, in hopes of healing their hearts as he previously helped to do during their period of grief after their mother’s death.

Similar to his infamous “Guncle Rules” Patrick creates “Guncle Love Language” axioms in the form of famous song titles to help the children learn the true meaning about love.
1. “Silence All these Years”
2. “The Finer Things”- Don’t save them for a day that may never come, enjoy them with someone you love now.
3. “Don’t Need No Credit Card to Ride this Train”- nothing money can buy beats life’s free joys with the people you care about.
4. “Simply Remember Your Favorite Things”
5. “Together Forever with You” –spending time together. And wanting to move heaven and earth to make that happen. With the right person, time flies. Forever goes by in a blink.

As the children embark on their journey through Europe (a portion lasting about a third of the novel) trying Parisian hot chocolate, listening to the Sound of Music lore in Austria, and tasting gelato in Venice, Maisie, the ringleader of the niblings, becomes more determined to find a way to stop the wedding and makes Patrick promise to talk to her father. When they arrive in Lake Como at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Patrick meets his rival, Livia’s sister Palmina, the prospective new “launt” (lesbian aunt). Patrick finds himself overextended, managing his brother’s cold feet, his sister Clara’s man-eater obsession, and controlling his fears that Palmina (Paloma), will overtake him in his niblings affection and adoration.

As a fan of Rowley’s first installment, I was disappointed with the dull, lackluster portions at the beginning of the novel. The best portions of “The Guncle” were the back and forth banter between the children and their GUP, but this section lacked that vibrant prose that Rowley is known for. The novel picks up in both pacing and entertainment when everyone arrives at Lake Como for the wedding festivities. The “hand jive” teasing banter between Palmina and Patrick is hysterically funny, and the Gustavo mute dubbed “Groot” is laugh-out-loud hilarious—both scenes are Rowley’s finest to date.

As with the first, the novel is filled with several redeeming, memorable quotes, but below are my favorites:

“Love is something special to be protected. Because if you don’t protect it, if you don’t honor it as something rare and precious, it’s easy to walk away from.”
“You’ll never know what you want until you know for certain who you are.”
“A brave face is not the same thing as being brave.”

Thank you NetGalley, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and Steven Rowley for this ARC! I look forward to reading more books by Rowley in the future.

I could have given this five stars for the Sound of Music scenes and Gustavo alone, but it’s so much more than that. Patrick is taking Maisie and Grant on a European tour before ending up in Italy for their father’s wedding. This time around he’s teaching them Guncle Love Languages, rules about love that he has stolen from song lyrics. As with the first book, it’s laugh out loud funny in spots, heartbreaking in others, and just a tidge over the top. This one isn’t quite as much of an emotional ride as the first, but this one is more about living with grief when it’s not as sharp and moving forward with life. We have new characters, including the kids’ new launt, and deeper sibling relationships between Patrick, Greg, and Clara. Overall, this was a great sequel - even if Patrick thinks that sequels are just a cash grab too bloated with stuff that wasn’t good enough for the original 😜

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy and a chance read this early. All opinions are my own.

As a new reader to Steven Rowley, I was excited to receive the ARC of this book, since his first book Guncle received so much positive feedback. Rowley takes the reader on an unforgettable journey. His ability to blend humor and heart, along with humanity, in this novel should be celebrated. "Guncle Abroad" takes the reader on Patrick's latest journey. Steven Rowley's description of Patrick makes him so loveable. As Patrick tries to figure out the ups and downs of his new surroundings, readers are treated to a rollercoaster of emotions, from laugh-out-loud moments to emotional reflections on love, loss, and the complications that go along with family

This novel is a celebration of friendships, family, and the power of love. Rowley' is able to make his characters leap off the page and come to life before your eyes., This story takes the reader on an adventure with realistic characters, who you wish you were friends with in real life. I hope we see more of Patrick's antics in the future! Whether you're a fan of Rowley's previous work or new reader of his work, "Guncle Abroad" definitely needs to be on your TBR list!

I adored the original Guncle book and could not wait to read this when I saw it become available! Thanks to #NetGalley and #Putnam for the ARC!

GUP does it again - and shows the kids how to love through all of his quirks, quotes and adventures. The characters are relatable, the scene realistic and the adventure palpable. You find yourself rooting for characters you didn’t originally love!

But, overall it was just lacking for me. It felt predictable and I didn’t love that it went back and forth in time. I can’t exactly pinpoint what I didn’t love - but mainly the predictability.

Five years after ‘The Guncle’ takes place, Greg (Patrick’s brother) is set to get remarried. Maisie and Grant are hesitant about the upcoming nuptials and losing their memories of their mother, so Patrick takes the kids on a European adventure. The group visits London, Paris, Austria and Venice, with Patrick teaching the kids about different love languages, before reaching Lake Como (where the wedding is scheduled to take place). The Guncle Abroad is a fun and witty read about family, love and grief. It features some of my favorite locations on Lake Como, which brought back good memories as I was reading. I liked the addition of Palmina (the kid’s future ‘launt’) and the growth of each of the characters since we left them in The Guncle. Additionally, the ending felt appropriate, based on earlier events. Overall, I enjoyed every minute of this book and would definitely recommend to those who enjoyed The Guncle!

5/5 stars

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

Happy to spend time with GUP and the rest of his family. A wonderful romp through Europe. And a thoughtful look at how we show love and understanding with those closest to us.

I laughed, I cried, I loved every page. This was a wonderful follow up to the first, a delightful romp through Europe and Italy, and a fitting exploration of emerging from grief and finding happiness moving forward. This sequel did not disappoint!

Another great read from Steven Rowley! The Guncle Abroad is the sequel to The Guncle and we get to read all about our favorite cast of characters again at 5 years later.

The Guncle Abroad is laugh out loud funny one minute and then has you in tears the next. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

NetGalley ARC - overall a satisfying sequel! Patrick’s witty humor had me laughing the whole book and I enjoyed the kids aging

Guncle Abroad was the perfect sequel to the Guncle! We get a chance to watch our favorite characters come to life once again with another phenomenal story!

LOVED. I loved the guncle and i loved this one just as much. These characters feel like my family and i just love them. Steven Rowley does such a good job writing the experience of grief and how that looks different for different people. This series is so beautiful and adventurous and I highly highly recommend.

The Guncle Abroad reminded me of all I loved of The Guncle. I was so excited to go on vacation with him in Europe and see ALL (not all, but so many great) sights. It was great to catch up with the family and meet some new members. Such a fun read!
Thanks @mrstevenrowley for the gift of Guncle (and book 2!)
It was everything I hoped it would be.

Guncle Patrick O’Hara is in Europe, filming a show, when he gets the call that his brother Greg is re-marrying. The bride to be is a wealthy European herself with a title and the wedding is to be in Lake Como, Italy after a rather quick romance. The kids are not excited and are sent to Patrick for some uncle time to get them ready for the big day. He shares with them a few of his Guncle Love Languages, and reflects on his own love language and what caused issues in his own relationship.

The Guncle was cute when the kids were younger but now that they’re teens, they feel really bratty in Guncle Abroad. Plus a gay man focusing on love languages when the entire premise was created by a misogynistic homophobe without really discussing that really gave me the ick.

Thank you so much to Putnam for the advance copy!

This book will be published on May 21, 2024.

"What happened to you? You used to think I was fun."
"We grew up."

The Guncle & Steven Rowley will always hold a special place in my heart as that book was one of the first books I read and posted about on my bookstagram page. And Steven was one of the first author's I ever did a zoom q&A with. It is one book that I always recommend to friends!

So when the announcement came out that we were getting a second book, I was THRILLED! And this was just everything. Patrick's divaness was in full swing especially when he felt like he was in competition with Maisie & Grant's new soon to be launt (lesbian aunt).

The book takes place 5 years after the book (which I loved). This book had so much heart, adventure, love, & the best banter. I found myself laughing a many times at the dialogue. The conversations with children once again were the best parts! I absolutely just love Patrick's relationship with Maisie and Grant. It is so special and I only hope as the children continue to grow they don't lose that relationship.

One thing I did enjoy about this book was that we got to see more of Patrick & Sara's relationship as well more of Greg. This book takes place in Europe and we are taken to different countries and Patrick is trying to instill love lessons to both Maisie and Grant as they are having apprehension for their father upcoming wedding.

"Why is she so special? Like, what's the appeal?"
"No one really knows."
"Oh, so she's like you, then, Famous, but no one knows why."

I do wish I had done a re-read of the first book because I couldn't remember the specific personalities of each of the characters. With that being said I thought Steven did a good job with putting some throwbacks from the first book into this that I recognized. Another reason why I wish I did the reread was to see how much grief made up the first book. Because grief was definitely a side character in this book more so than what I remember in the first. We hear from all 4 key players in the book on how the lost of Sara is still hurting 5 years later. I did not get emotional while reading but the last couple of chapters I think could make those who have lost a parent figure could be put in their feels.

I do wonder if this will be a duology or if we will be getting a 3rd book.

If you were a fan of the Guncle, I think you will really love being back with this family!

Steven Rowley does it again with this heart-warming tale of another addition to Guncle duology. He writes for anyone who needs to feel love from family when maybe you aren't getting it from your real family.

The Guncle Abroad is the perfect foll0w-up to Rowley's hit, The Guncle. In fact, I enjoyed this book even more. Rowley has taken these characters that I love and made them more layered and given us a more in depth look into their lives. I wouldn't mind checking in on these characters, say every ten years or so.

“A guncle’s work was never done.”

“He would teach these kids about love, how to love others, and how to be loved in return.”

It was fun being back in the world of GUP (Gay Uncle Patrick), his niece Maisie and his nephew Grant.

This sequel takes place five years after The Guncle. Maisie and Grant’s father is engaged to an Italian heiress and they are traveling to the wedding at Lake Como. On their way there they are seeing the sites in Paris, Vienna and Venice.

The Guncle is a stronger book but this was fun, a little cheesy at times and full of heartfelt banter. The scenes in Italy were my favorite and I think this would have worked better for me as a short story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review. [Quote is from the uncorrected review copy.]