In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune | Spoiler Free Review

"Sometimes, it's the smallest things that can change everything when you least expect it."

In the Lives of Puppets is TJ Klune's latest queer fantasy romance, following The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door. It's a loosely based Pinocchio retelling that follows a family of machines and one human boy, as they set off to rescue one of their own from a mysterious enemy. 

I really enjoyed this novel, though I will say that it is my least favorite that I've read from TJ Klune so far. Which I find a little funny, considering the rep in this book most matches my own identity. Victor (our protagonist) is an asexual 21 year old, and though it's never confirmed on page, I'm pretty sure his love interest is also ace. It's very refreshing to see asexual characters anywhere in fiction, let alone in a romance where they are the main character. 

Another thing that I really resonate with when it comes to Victor are his mental health struggles. Again while it's never put on page (probably because the robots who raised him don't actually have the language to discuss this properly) I'm pretty sure he has anxiety and depression. Also he's autistic. I don't care what anyone says, Victor is absolutely autistic and I love that. It makes me want to write an email to TJ Klune and ask if that was intentional or not. He has difficulty defining emotions even as he's going through them, he hates certain fabric materials when they touch his skin, and he has an aversion to sexual thoughts and acts (while there is no direct correlation between asexuality and autism, a lot of autistic people also identify as ace, including myself). 

The other characters were equally lovable. Rambo was adorable and Nurse Ratched's monotone voice was hilarious (I imagined her voice as a really disgruntled Siri). I especially enjoyed watching Hap evolve into someone entirely new, every time he had a revelation about the world or Victor or himself I got so excited, like I was watching a child take its first steps. And everyone's compassion and loyalty to Victor definitely made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 

"...I have decided what you were made for...You were made to bring happiness."

I'm not entirely sure why I didn't love this book as much as the others, except that I just didn't feel as invested in their happy ending. I've noticed that TJ Klune's books follow a formula and this one was no exception, so I think I was expecting the twists and turns to happen. And then they did. Which is definitely no fault of the authors, what book doesn't follow a formula at this point. But that is one of the biggest reasons as to why I don't read romance, and that's on me.

I recommend In the Lives of Puppets to readers who like Disney's animated Pinocchio, redemption arcs, and found family tropes. 

I gave this novel a CAWPILE score of 6.14, which comes out to 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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I think the best and most confusing way to describe this book is "inverted WALL-E." Do with that what you will, I guess. 

I almost didn't get to do this review because someone requested this book from my library and so all of my holds disappeared, so I had to read this in a single day if I wanted to get it back to the library on time and dodge a fine. Thankfully I managed to do so, but I admit I probably sped through it a little too fast, as I don't actually remember a whole lot from the story even though it's been less than a day. Oh well.

Until next time, friends!