In the Lives of Puppets: New Book Review

 If you love science fiction, do not miss this fantastic new book! I immediately bought Klune's other titles (how did I not know about him??!!) and am starting one tonight. 

In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots--fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They're a family, hidden and safe. The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled "HAP," he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio-a past spent hunting humans.

When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio's former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic's assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming. Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?

Author TJ Klune invites you deep into the heart of a peculiar forest and on the extraordinary journey of a family assembled from spare parts.

Amazon Buy Link (or tap the cover image)

My review from Goodreads/Amazon:

5 stars! 

I loved this story imagining a universe where androids have determined humans are a danger to the environment and Earth and seek to eliminate them. I mean, they aren't wrong. What could be a very dark tale is kept highly humorous through rescued robots Nurse Ratched and Rambo the flaky Roomba-style vacuum. Ratched's sociopathic yet delightful tendencies and Rambo's wandering and babbling lighten up the journey of Victor, possibly the only human left on the planet. 

If you are a fan of science fiction, this book is right up your alley and filled with humor, sadness, and the ultimate questions sci-fi often addresses: What gives life meaning/purpose, and what's the point of life anyhow? Friendship (even with creatures totally different from us), acceptance for who we are, love, and all of the answers follow. 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy.

The Lion of Lark-Hayes Manor: New Book Review

 

A charming middle-grade novel about old magic, new adventures, a winged lion learning to roar, and a young girl fighting to be heard—perfect for fans of classics like The NeverEnding Story .
 
Poppy Woodlock believes in magic, but so far, she hasn’t found any. It’s been two weeks since her parents moved their family to Oregon to undertake their biggest project revitalizing the once-grand Lark-Hayes Manor. Her older brother instantly found his place, but after being thrown into middle school midyear, Poppy is feeling…invisible. So she retreats to where she’s always felt most at books and magic. And if the fantastic and supernatural exist, certainly they can be found in this mysterious old estate.
 
A late-night prowl leads Poppy to a desperate water nymph, with whom she strikes a dangerous bargain. In exchange for the thing she loves most—her favorite book— Poppy now has the secret of a her very own flying lion. Sampson is exactly what she needs to prove magic  does  exist and, more importantly, that she is not to be so easily dismissed.
 
But the cost of ancient magic is astronomic.

Tap here for my five-star review on Goodreads.