Once again, my heart was squeezed at the Life Lessons and Guncle Rules that were brought to us courtesy of Steve Rowley. It’s been five years, and Maisie and Grant are growing up, and their dad is getting married. The kids are having a hard time, so GUP (Gay Uncle Patrick) takes them on a European journey to learn about expressing different love languages and applying them to the coming changes with their dad’s impending nuptials.

As with “The Guncle,” we are treated to humor and witty comments from Patrick, who has an ulterior motive to slowly bring the kids around to the idea of the marriage. Those of you who came of age in the 1980s will enjoy the references to the Robert Palmer Girls, Air Supply, and The Sound of Music.

We learn lessons, too: acceptance, change, family, and that it’s okay to be scared.

The Guncle is back - this time traipsing across Europe trying to teach Maisie and Grant about love as they make their way to their father’s wedding to their soon to be Italian step-mother. Patrick O’Hara is on point - helping Maisie and Grant learn that love after loss is possible and necessary, while also making me laugh out loud while doing so. As soon as I saw this on Netgalley, I knew I just had to have it. And as expected, it most definitely did not disappoint! A must read (but read The Guncle first!)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this title!

So happy to be back in the Guncle world! I adored the European setting, specifically Italy and the grand hotel tremezzo! These characters are so enjoyable and their banter so much fun! I love the witty comments throughout this. I really enjoyed the guncle love language tips, they were so cute! The ending was emotional, it was a great conclusion. However, I didn't feel like I got interested in this one like I did the first book. Overall, still recommend this wonderful read.

"And I finally moved, not on, but forward.”

I've never requested an arc so fast in my life!

Gay Uncle Patrick is BACK with more adventures and guncle lessons but in Europe. This was such a fun read that had me laughing out loud and tearing up at work at the same time.

Picking up 5 years after The Guncle, Maisie and Grant are thrown into a whirlwind of change: dad is getting remarried. This marriage comes with not only a stepmother but, to Patrick's demise, a super cool new Lesbian Aunt aka launt-- which absolutely doesn't exist according to Patrick.

As the kids and Patrick navigate lessons about love, they also begin to unfold lessons about loss. Maisie and Grant are learning to accept a new maternal figure in their life, and Patrick is fearful of being replaced by Gay Aunt Palmina while also confronting his own romantic relationships and his fear of losing more people who are close to him.

Y'all, this was cute.

I loved The Guncle so much! It was a story filled with so my heartbreak and healing that I felt was very relatable. The sequel definitely hit its mark with the one liners and more healing. I love this cast of characters and I especially loved all of the European travels. This is the perfect book to read on vacation that has a bit more than a typical beach reach. An enjoyable sequel that I would recommend to fans of the guncle!

It was so nice to be back in the world of The Guncle! Maisie and Grant’s dad is getting remarried in Italy and Patrick is helping them navigate this new life. Patrick experiences a lot of growth in this book, examining his own relationships. Just like in book 1, I laughed and cried. I just didn’t love it quite as much as the first.

I absolutely loved The Guncle and was so excited to see this book! Set five years after the first book i felt like I was catching up with old friends. And there is some tongue and cheek humor but I love from the first book back in this one...

This was as cozy and comforting as I hoped it would be! It took a while (for me) to get back into the rhythm of the characters -- but the book hit it's stride about half way through and then I sailed to the end. I hope that a third book comes out that focuses even more on Maisie!! Until then, I look forward to what Rowley comes out with next!

I was nervous that the sequel to The Guncle, a book I completely adored, would let me down. Thankfully the GUP’s still got! Getting to revisit Patrick’s world with the heartwarming characters and relationships was like catching up with an dear friend.

Maisie and Grant are near grown and adjusting to the idea of yet another big change to their lives and aren’t thrilled, to put it mildly. Fortunately, Uncle Patrick is there to make things better while also working on his own path forward.

I loved this next chapter in the Guncle’s adventure and we get more!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the advance copy.

Thanks to the comfort of characters I know and love, sprinkled with Europe and a few new characters, the return of Guncle is everything I wished for.

If you love The Guncle you'll love The Guncle Abroad. If you havent read The Guncle, what are you waiting for?!

PS If you have a Guncle it may hit in a deeper way. It did for me!

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

I was so excited when I saw that the The Guncle book was expanding into a series! This is the second book following the Guncle story line, picking up right where we left of! Patrick is filming abroad and in typical fashion finds himself watching his niece and nephew for an extended period of time. But this time they are older, more opinionated all while Patrick is going through his own midlife self analysis. I enjoyed seeing all the characters back together again. It is such a fun and quick read and really comes full circle for all the characters.

I'm so happy the Guncle is back.! Oh how I enjoyed traipsing through Europe with Patrick, Maisie, and Grant. I look forward to future adventures.

3.5 stars! Did I love The Guncle? Yes. Did I love this sequel? Not as much as the first, but yes. Would I read a third book? Absolutely! While I didn't think this book had quite as much charm as the first, I found myself rooting for the characters once again and I loved the ending. Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review - pub day is 5/21/24!

Rowley's writing is as witty and engaging as ever, with laugh-out-loud moments interspersed with moments of quiet reflection and emotional depth. His descriptions of the Italian countryside are vivid and immersive, transporting readers to a world of rolling hills, vineyards, and sun-drenched piazzas. Through Patrick's eyes, readers experience the beauty and magic of Italy, as well as the universal truths and challenges of the human experience.

At its core, "The Guncle Abroad" is a story about the power of love, resilience, and the bonds that connect us across distances and differences. It is a testament to the transformative power of travel, friendship, and embracing life's unexpected twists and turns. Whether you're a fan of the original novel or new to Patrick's world, "The Guncle Abroad" is a must-read that will leave you laughing, crying, and longing for your own Italian adventure.

This is a sequel that I didn't need but that I also wanted, without knowing that I wanted it.

GUP, Maisie, and Grant are back and ready to hit Europe! We've got a wedding to prep for, growing pains to deal with, and a non-stop script of sassy, hysterical, and unabashed life lines from the incomparable Patrick O'Hara, which all amounts to another enormously ebullient novel.

It's a travel book without being a travel book and a life lessons book full of life lessons. It's hilarious, of course, especially Patrick's rivalry with Palmina, the kids' soon-to-be "launt" (lesbian aunt, to Patrick's horror). Once I started, it was hard to stop. Plus, I cried this time.

Patrick O'Hara makes a return in Steven Rowley's "The Guncle Abroad," reuniting with Grant and Maisie five years after their summer of grief. Together, they embark on a trip to Europe ahead of their father's wedding. However, Grant and Maisie, not happy about the impending marriage, seek Patrick's help in thwarting it. As Patrick imparts lessons on love to his niece and nephew, he confronts his own feelings of loneliness at nearly fifty, contemplating its implications on his love life and acting career. Amidst it all, the children's excitement over their new "launt" - a lesbian aunt - adds a fresh dynamic to their relationship with Patrick. Determined not to lose their affection, Patrick engages in a playful competition to maintain his "guncle" status.

If you liked “The Guncle,” “The Guncle Abroad does not disappoint!

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

I'm glad GUP and kids were back! This was a fun book, though I wish I was listening to the audiobook like book 1. The narration was everything and I felt like by reading book 2, I missed that a little bit. Patrick's relationships and his special rules for life were enjoyable really showed his character. Teaching love languages through Europe was a special part of the book. Overall, I highly recommend.

Five years have passed since actor Patrick O’Hara (aka Guncle) ended his caretaking arrangement with his brother, taking care of his niece and nephew while their father recovered after his wife’s death. Patrick has gone on with his life since then, restarting his acting career and staying close to his beloved niece and nephew. Now, in “The Guncle Abroad,” Patrick is reunited with them as they travel to Europe for their father’s wedding in Italy. As often happens, the children are not happy that their father is remarrying and are determined to stop the wedding, with Patrick’s help.
The story that follows is full of laughter, misadventure, and love. Patrick reacquaints himself with the day to day challenges of his niece and nephew even as he is considering what his life is as he faces turning 50. “The Guncle Abroad” is full of love, family, sadness, humor, and sarcasm —everything that I Iove!
Thank you to publisher G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for a free download for review. And thank you to author Steven Rowley for creating Patrick O’Hara!

The Guncle Abroad
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The way I squealed when this popped up on my NetGalley shelf, I was so looking forward to reading this sequel and it did not disappoint! The moment we step out of Heathrow our European dream starts. From eating macarons while drinking the most decadent hot chocolate you’ve ever had in Paris, to pretending to be Julie Andrews and floating through the foothills in Austria, to finally heading to Venice where you’re more likely to hop on a gondola than step foot in a car. The Guncle Abroad navigates the inner workings of family and what comes next after loss. It’s honest, witty, real, and hilarious. I loved seeing how all the relationships in the story evolved from the first book. To me it almost felt like a coming of age story regardless of your age. I’m so happy this book exists ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Yay! The Guncle is back!!! And this time his brother Greg needs him to watch Maisie and Grant while he prepares for his wedding to an Italian marchesa. Five years has passed and Patrick is firmly established in NYC and has recently broken up with his boyfriend Emory whom he misses terribly. Maisie is a sullen teenager and Grant is a typical preteen boy complete with all the body noises and gestures that are part of that age. The kids don't want their dad to remarry and they work hard to enlist Patrick to come to their side and prevent the marriage. Patrick is of course nonplussed by all this and decides to take the kids to Europe for several weeks before the wedding takes place on Lake Como in Italy. What happens along the way is laugh out loud merriment. One of the trips they take is the The Sound of Music tour in Austria and I haven't laughed this much in a long time when I read this.
Every character in the book is well done and each has their own wonderful personality. Patrick meets his nemesis in Palmina, the lesbian aunt (Launt) who is also sister of the bride. Jealousy abounds.

This book is full of witty banter and clever dialogue. I certainly hope Steve Rowley gives us more of the Guncle in future books. Such a fun book.
I highly recommend this.

Thank you Putnam and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.