Skip to main content

Review: The Guncle Abroad

The Guncle Abroad The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

🌅The Guncle Abroad isn’t just a sequel—it’s a reunion with your favorite cocktail-wielding, caftan-loving uncle who can turn any family drama into a comedy of errors. Five years after his summer crash course in parenting, Patrick O’Hara’s career is on the rise again, but his love life is in shambles after a breakup he can’t quite justify. Enter his niece, Maisie, now a sharp-tongued teen with a flair for Stephen King novels, and his nephew, Grant, an 11-year-old gamer with a bottomless appetite for gelato, magic, and presents. When their father announces a wedding in Lake Como, the kids enlist Patrick to sabotage it—never mind that Patrick actually likes the bride.

What follows is a European escapade of sibling squabbles, cross-generational snark, and Patrick’s own midlife identity crisis, complete with “Guncle Love Languages” ranging from the finer things in life to the joys money can’t buy. Along the way, Patrick faces unexpected competition for “favorite relative” status, navigates the prickly territory of teen emotions, and wrestles with the question of whether he’s ready to let love back in.

Steven Rowley delivers what fans of The Guncle came for: razor-sharp banter, laugh-out-loud set pieces (yes, there’s a Sound of Music 🎶singalong), and genuine warmth. That said, the emotional stakes aren’t quite as raw as the first novel—Patrick starts this story in a better place—so the story arc leans more into midlife self-discovery than deep grief. A few subplots, like the kids’ flip-flopping feelings about the wedding, feel stretched thin, and I sometimes wished we spent less time on adolescent antics and more on Patrick’s adult relationships. I definitely wished for more time with Emory this time around.

Still, Patrick remains the irresistible heartbeat of this series—funny, flawed, and endlessly quotable. Whether he’s philosophizing over mimosas (“I suffer from a rare condition where my body doesn’t produce its own alcohol”🍹) or doling out hard-won wisdom about love and identity, he’s the kind of fictional character you wish you could invite to brunch. This is a warm, witty escape about family in all its messy forms, and even if the sequel wasn’t strictly necessary, I’m glad it exists—because time with Patrick is always time well spent. Solid 4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Follow along & like! All reviews posted here on Goodreads and Blogspot: https://1stlightdawnreads.blogspot.com/

Bookstagram and Booktok:
https://www.instagram.com/1stlight.dawnreads/
https://www.tiktok.com/@1stlight.dawnreads

View all my reviews

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Firebird and the Wolf

The 2nd book ( Crimson Oath ) in the paranormal romance series from Elizabeth Hunter is out, and it's another edge-of-your-seat tale of intrigue and passion with two great characters you can't help but want to see together.  Follow on TikTok < 1stlight.dawnreads >  
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Once and Again

Once and Again by Rebecca Serle My rating: 5 of 5 stars “…happiness is determined not by getting what you want but by determining which things to hold on to and which things to let go.” 🌅 Since discovering Rebecca Serle five years ago, I’ve been hooked on her stories of magical realism. I’ve consistently rated them 5 stars, and this one is no different. Why do I love them? They are part of a group of stories that sneak up on you quietly and then completely undo you. In  Once and Again  Serle blends magical realism with raw family drama, delivering a tale that is as much about love, memories, and regret as it is about the impossible question of  what if . At its heart, this book follows three generations of Novak women, each of whom carries a silver ticket granting them the chance to rewrite a single moment in their lives. For Lauren, caught between her faltering marriage, her longing for motherhood, and the reappearance of a pas...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Guncle

The Guncle by Steven Rowley My rating: 5 of 5 stars 🌅I was so looking forward to this book from the cover and description alone. From the moment Patrick O’Hara—semi-retired sitcom star, caftan enthusiast, and kid christened GUP (Gay Uncle Patrick)—reluctantly agrees to care for his young niece and nephew for the summer, you know you’re in for a story that will make you laugh until your cheeks ache and tear up when you least expect it. What begins as a short-term arrangement after the loss of the children’s mother (Patrick’s best friend) and their father’s stint in rehab becomes a transformative season of unexpected family, unfiltered humor, and tender healing. Patrick’s Palm Springs lifestyle—equal parts martinis🍸, snark, and Oscar Wilde-worthy one-liners—is hilariously ill-suited for two grieving kids, yet it’s in this clash of worlds that Rowley finds the novel’s magic. Through “Guncle Rules” that range from irreverent (“Rule number five:...
Post a Comment
Read more