I loved Cerulean Sea. Whispering Door was decent. Wolfsong was a crime against humanity and this one bored me to tears.
Long story short - this, very probably, will be my last Klune.

I knew this book was going to make my heart *feel* within minutes of starting it. There are a couple of authors whose books have a similar effect- T. Kingfisher, Becky Chambers-who just have a really lovely way of creating relationships with heart- and Klune can join the gang. I loved, loved, loved all the character- Rambo and Nurse Ratched particularly- as well as Gio and Hap. A wonderful merging of Pinocchio and the Wizard of Oz: a hybrid fairy tale for the modern age. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

This beautiful sci-fi, dystopian story is all about family, love, and what it means to be human. My second Klune book has been an absolute joy to read.

I want to start off by saying I’ve just recently been dipping my toes in Sci-fi and although I would say this is quite soft Sci-fi, I still loved all the science, AI, robot elements. It was an interesting take on a fantasised future if robots were to take over.

The cast of characters were unique, loveable and I couldn’t fault any of them. There was a place in the story for each of them and it was such a moving story.

One of the most important things I’m taking away from this book was the amount of times I absolutely CACKLED at Nurse Ratched. She was hilarious and just my type of humour. I’ve said this before but I very rarely find books funny, the lack of tone throws me off and jokes just don’t land with me but this was something else! Her and Rambo’s friendship and back and forths were brilliant and loving and so contrasting, full of sarcasm and innocence.

Thank you so much NetGalley, the publisher and author for a review copy. I’ll be getting myself a physical copy soon!

A retelling of Pinocchio in Klune cosy fantasy style - what’s not to love!

This was quite an emotional book, that certainly took me a while to get through. The story was great and I did care what was happening to the characters, which is what a good book should do.

Overall, I liked this book. Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

T.J. Klune just manages to make my favourite trope work every time! I fell in love with all the characters we were introduced to and enjoyed reading about their interactions the most. While I don't think this was better than House in the Cerulean Sea, I do think it was an absolutely amazing book and I did not hesitate at all giving this five stars. I've never read the original Pinocchio story, I've only watched the Disney adaptation, but I could see some of the references that they've used in the movie as well. Highly recommend if you love a queer (there was some asexual rep that I had no idea of, but it made my ace heart sing) found family story!

In the Lives of Puppets is a fantasy following the perilous journey of Victor, a human, and his three companions; a vacuum, robot nurse and a human killing machine. Think Pinocchio meets Frankenstein meets The Wizard of Oz and you’re getting close!

The setting description, story telling and, most of all, character building is what sets TJ Klune firmly in place as one of my favourite authors. He is a master at creating characters that you instantly fall in love with, and in my case keeping you entirely too invested in the welfare of a Roomba!

Having attended a book event for the release of In the Lives of Puppets I witnessed TJ Klune respectfully push back on the presumption that In the Lives of Puppets is another cosy fantasy with some comparing it to Cerulean Sea. However, I would say not to be deterred if you are looking for something that still loosely fits the cosy fantasy vibe as it does not stray too harshly. The overall plot and themes of the story are dark and heart wrenching, however between the overexcitable Roomba and morbidly hilarious nurse, In the Lives of Puppets remains a light enough read that had me laughing out loud from start to finish. Having said that, I also held my breath throughout the last section of the book anticipating the typical heart break I have come to expect from Klune!

Overall, I rated In the Lives of Puppets 4.5/5 stars as, for me, it just didn’t hit the the same way as Under the Whispering Door and House in the Cerulean Sea but is still an excellent read.

As a TJ Klune fan, I look forward to his future works.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Another great TJK book that tugs at the heart strings and gets you feeling *all* the emotions 😭. Although not my favourite TJK book, there is just something about the way he can create these magical worlds and such diverse fantastic characters. Highly recommend!

Another cosy fantasy by the king of cosy fantasies!
This time a retelling of the tale of Pinocchio, a unique story full of heart and wonder.
What's not to love.

I spent 5 weeks trying to read this and just couldn’t get past 30%. I decided to DNF this book as I really wasn’t enjoying the story
I loved the prologue but the rest of the book felt very different.
I didn’t like any of the characters, in fact I quite disliked them. They felt one dimensional and there was nothing to make me root for them. Other than Rambo who was adorable but a cute sidekick isn’t enough to carry a 400+ page book.
This book felt as if another person had written it, there was no heart or warmth or whimsy that I’d grown to expect from the author. I thought the best plan was to stop reading rather than force myself to continue with a book and story I really wasn’t loving

In The Lives Of Puppets is a retelling of the story of Pinocchio but it’s also a lot more than that. The story centres around Vic, who is a boy that was created by his android father in his cabin in the middle of the woods, which exists in a post-apocalytic environment. Vic and several robot friends then have to embark on a quest through the fantasy world to try to put right a terrible event that occured.


I thought this story was good without being exceptional. I think TJ Clune’s previous book, The House on the Cerelean Sea, explored the idea of a found family better than this book. I didn’t really connect with the main character, Vic, so found it hard to really care enopugh about the events of hte story because he didn’t feel like a fully fleshed out person. And I felt the story plodded at times. On the positive side, I liked the supporting characters that went along with Vic on his quest and the dialogue between them was often funny and lightened the mood of the story.


I enjoyed reading this book but it wasn’t a classic. It felt like it was a bit too long for the story it was telling, the central character felt a bit underdeveloped and I didn’t have a great deal of enthusiasm to get to the end of the story. But the fact I did go all the way to the end is proof that it was a decent enough read, as I would abandoned it if it was bad. I just wasn’t blown away. Having said that, I think the intended audience for this book is a good deal younger than me, so maybe I’m just the wrong person to read this sort of book.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Publisher for letting me read this. Tj Klune definitely knows how to pull on your heart strings. Each of his books have been nothing but perfection and this was no different. He can do no wrong.

This book broke my heart and put it back together in the way that only TJ Klune can, and the characters are some of the most endearing I've ever met (how can you resist a talking vacuum called Rambo?) Suffice to say, it was a five star read and has leapt up to a spot on my favourites list.

Thank you so much for the advanced copy for review.

Like The House in the Cerulean Sea, this is another highly imaginative book with love (in many forms at its core)

Once again Klune has created a memorable cast of characters from loving Gio, human Victor (nods to Frankenstein) the attention seeking childlike Rambo and the sinister Nurse Ratchet who has to activate an Empathy Protocol/mode. A lot of humour arises from her .

It's an empathetic riff on Pinocchio/Frankenstein with themes of love, responsibility of creators, friendship and courage.

Absolutely loved it. Klune's writing is so nuanced showing compassion one moment, to comedy and tragedy . That's a rare skill, but what stands out most is the warm feelings that he evokes in his writing

Extraordinarily good. Absolutely loved it.

In the Lives of Puppets is a retelling of Pinocchio focused on the importance of found family.

We join three robots who live in the trees - Giovanni (the dad of the family), a sadistic nurse machine (Nurse Ratched) and Rambo - a vacuum. They live with a human - Victor.
They are all safe and happy until HAP, an android, is discovered and then some dark truths start to become revealed.
Giovanni gets kidnapped and then the rest of the family set out on an adventure to bring their family back together.

I'm really divided with how I feel about this book. I loved the relationships between the characters. Nurse Ratched and Rambo were really funny and I could have read a book of just conversation between the two. Unfortunately the plot for me was a bit too predictable and was just missing something. However - it was still a good read.

TJ Klune has such a unique talent for writing books filled with the most lovable characters which makes it impossible not to smile while reading the book! This is a loose retelling of Pinocchio, full of magic, love and friendship that will make any reader feel cosy! Absolutely recommend and I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author!

I absolutely loved this book! It's so beautifully written and I loved the fairytale aspect of it. This book was just wonderful

In this story we meet some amazing characters, an inventor named Victor, a mysterious android called Hap (Hysterically Angry Puppet), an anxiety-riddled Roomba vacuum named Rambo, and a sociopathic nursing machine Nurse Ratched. We follow them as they are trying to save Victors Dad while making lots of friends along the way!
This amazing sci fi experience was a phenomenal and heart working book! As you follow through this story you can picture the world around you so easily in your head and escape from reality. The world building was amazing and wasn’t over the top as it was merged in with the characterisation throughout.
This amazing book gives you all the feels with its amazing writing and character building. If you love a cosy sci-fi this is 100% the book for you
Thank you netgalley for giving me the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Thankyou so much for a copy of this E-Arc.

I loved the story from start to finish. Typically there’s always one character that you don’t like as much as the others. However I think every character in The Lives of Puppets brought their own story and characteristics that I loved.

Overall a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

4.5 stars

For me, TJ Klune never misses. His writing is emotive and really brings his characters to life, and he has this amazing ability to inject real humour into his stories, and this book was no exception. I was laughing so much at so many lines throughout this - Rambo and Nurse Ratched are two of my favourite characters ever now; they were both hilarious in their own way and I would honestly die for Rambo.

That being said, I did struggle to root for the romance within this book - I just didn't feel the chemistry necessarily between Victor and Hap, but I did still really love both characters, and I didn't want to leave this world when I finished the book. It's a little strange but in the best way, and I just couldn't get enough. TJ Klune just has a way of making you FEEL deeply, and I think that it is the best thing about his books. You can't help but feel for his characters, and the worlds they live in.

I have to admit that one thing that is bringing my rating down was the scene in 'Heaven' with the Blue Fairy. I just don't see what the need was for a robot brothel to be included in the story? It felt quite jarring, and really discordant with the cosiness that had been present in the book beforehand.

I can't wait to see what the author brings out next, I will of course be reading it as soon as it comes out!

Gio, the General Innovation Operative, is a humanoid android living in the middle of the forest in an expansive treehouse that he's self-built. He has a human son, Victor, whose existence has a mythical quality, he was apparently left with Gio by a couple in trouble. Then there are the robots that Victor has found in the Scrap Yards: Rambo, an anxious and excitable robot vacuum who is obsessed with vintage movie Top Hat; and Nurse Ratched, a medical robot with sociopathic tendencies and a fondness for drilling.

Life is good but then one day they discover another humanoid android in the Scrap Yards. It has residual power in its battery and they decide to take it home to repair and save. They succeed in awakening the robot and christen him Hap for Hysterically Angry Puppet. It soon transpires that Hap's original designation was something drastically different and his discovery is about to change everything and send them on a treacherous journey...

Once again TJ Klune shows us that he is the master of found family stories. Everyone is so well defined and quirky and fit together perfectly. I love Rambo and he had so many great moments! Victor was lovely in his worry for everyone and it's always nice to see asexual representation. He also gave me a lot of autistic vibes reading him and if he was I'm surprised that Nurse Ratched didn't have the necessary diagnostic capabilities.

I did feel that I had to knock off a star for world building and the ending. I just wanted more of both. The ending felt very abrupt and I wanted to know more about how it all became machines and what happened to the humans.