What do you think?
Rate this book
Gearbreakers #1
Gearbreakers
Two girls on opposite sides of a war discover they're fighting for a common purpose--and falling for each other--in Zoe Hana Mikuta's high-octane debut Gearbreakers, perfect for fans of Pacific Rim, Pierce Brown's Red Rising Saga, and Marie Lu's Legend series.
We went past praying to deities and started to build them instead...
The shadow of Godolia's tyrannical rule is spreading, aided by their giant mechanized weapons known as Windups. War and oppression are everyday constants for the people of the Badlands, who live under the thumb of their cruel Godolia overlords.
Eris Shindanai is a Gearbreaker, a brash young rebel who specializes in taking down Windups from the inside. When one of her missions goes awry and she finds herself in a Godolia prison, Eris meets Sona Steelcrest, a cybernetically enhanced Windup pilot. At first Eris sees Sona as her mortal enemy, but Sona has a secret: She has intentionally infiltrated the Windup program to destroy Godolia from within.
As the clock ticks down to their deadliest mission yet, a direct attack to end Godolia's reign once and for all, Eris and Sona grow closer--as comrades, friends, and perhaps something more...
We went past praying to deities and started to build them instead...
The shadow of Godolia's tyrannical rule is spreading, aided by their giant mechanized weapons known as Windups. War and oppression are everyday constants for the people of the Badlands, who live under the thumb of their cruel Godolia overlords.
Eris Shindanai is a Gearbreaker, a brash young rebel who specializes in taking down Windups from the inside. When one of her missions goes awry and she finds herself in a Godolia prison, Eris meets Sona Steelcrest, a cybernetically enhanced Windup pilot. At first Eris sees Sona as her mortal enemy, but Sona has a secret: She has intentionally infiltrated the Windup program to destroy Godolia from within.
As the clock ticks down to their deadliest mission yet, a direct attack to end Godolia's reign once and for all, Eris and Sona grow closer--as comrades, friends, and perhaps something more...
405 pages, Hardcover
First published June 29, 2021
834 people are currently reading
46.3k people want to read
About the author
Zoe Hana Mikuta
5books1,154followersauthor | 24 | Seattle
THE COVEN TENDENCY
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS
GEARBREAKERS DUOLOGY
THE COVEN TENDENCY
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS
GEARBREAKERS DUOLOGY
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,902 reviews
January 16, 2021
This is my official, professional blurb:
An absolute joyride of a story set in a vivid, arresting world. Gearbreakers is sci-fi at its very finest, combining the grandeur of mecha fighting machines with the intimacy of (splendidly feral) found family. Zoe Hana Mikuta is a talent to be in awe of.
And this is my unprofessional Chloe blurb:
OH MY GODDDDD THIS BOOK IS SO GOOOOOD. Listen. Gearbreakers blows all the other girlies out of the water with absolutely kickass characters who have such tangible wants that come right from their bloody, beating hearts. It's got feral-then-soft romance, it's got unhinged mentor figures, it's got beautiful writing that keeps the pages turning effortlessly. Teen readers everywhere absolutely must rejoice and pick this up.
An absolute joyride of a story set in a vivid, arresting world. Gearbreakers is sci-fi at its very finest, combining the grandeur of mecha fighting machines with the intimacy of (splendidly feral) found family. Zoe Hana Mikuta is a talent to be in awe of.
And this is my unprofessional Chloe blurb:
OH MY GODDDDD THIS BOOK IS SO GOOOOOD. Listen. Gearbreakers blows all the other girlies out of the water with absolutely kickass characters who have such tangible wants that come right from their bloody, beating hearts. It's got feral-then-soft romance, it's got unhinged mentor figures, it's got beautiful writing that keeps the pages turning effortlessly. Teen readers everywhere absolutely must rejoice and pick this up.
June 28, 2021
if I had to read one more version of “you do not have my permission to die� in this book I was legitimately going to gouge my eyes out
rtc, possibly 1.5
rtc, possibly 1.5
// buddy read with ju (tag later)
July 22, 2021
I’ve been putting off writing this review because I honestly have no clue how I’m meant to do this stunning book justice. I fell hard for Sona and Eris and their story and just absolutely adored this book from beginning to end. Unfortunately however, the ending has left my brain all mushy with no thoughts except feral sapphics, found family and when can I read the sequel?
What first struck me about Gearbreakers was the writing. The prose was gorgeous and vivid and expertly wielded to capture the atmosphere of the book. From the towering power of Godolia and its mechas, to the deserted wasteland of the Badlands, every setting was so clearly, beautifully described. The contrast between our two main locations and their people was so stark and I loved seeing the crossover through Sona’s character.
I absolutely adored reading from both our main perspectives, Eris and Sona. They each had distinct voices, personalities and motivators and this clearly influenced each of their decisions. They were each feral and determined and ready to do anything to protect those they cared about, particularly each other and Eris’s team of gearbreakers. Speaking of, I adored Eris’s team and the found family of misfits vibe they had going on. Reading scenes with them all, especially with a newcomer in the mix, was just a joy.
I adored reading the slowburn build of Sona and Eris’s relationship from enemies to something more. I felt that the development was at the perfect pace to build tension and fit with the characters� distrust of the other and the intense, impossible situation they each found themselves in. They each complimented each other so well and I loved reading their banter and flirting. Their tender moments stood in harsh contrast to the violent, dangerous situations they were in which just made them feel all the more special and raised the stakes perfectly.
I found the development of the plot to be at the perfect pace to allow the characters to develop and learn to trust one another, while remaining fast paced and creating a lasting tension. The fight scenes and mecha takedowns were so fun to read and I loved the questions they brought up of what it means to be a god, and what it means to kill one. The whole concept of mechas and pilots was unlike anything I’d ever read and served to create a vivid, engaging world and story.
Gearbreakers is a love story at its heart and maybe that’s why I loved it so much. With feral sapphics, found family and giant mecha deities, Zoe Hana Mikuta has created a stunning book guaranteed to leave a lasting impression. If you need me, you’ll find me anxiously awaiting the sequel and hoping that my girls will make it through it intact.
I also talk about books here: | |
*eARC received in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley*
What first struck me about Gearbreakers was the writing. The prose was gorgeous and vivid and expertly wielded to capture the atmosphere of the book. From the towering power of Godolia and its mechas, to the deserted wasteland of the Badlands, every setting was so clearly, beautifully described. The contrast between our two main locations and their people was so stark and I loved seeing the crossover through Sona’s character.
I absolutely adored reading from both our main perspectives, Eris and Sona. They each had distinct voices, personalities and motivators and this clearly influenced each of their decisions. They were each feral and determined and ready to do anything to protect those they cared about, particularly each other and Eris’s team of gearbreakers. Speaking of, I adored Eris’s team and the found family of misfits vibe they had going on. Reading scenes with them all, especially with a newcomer in the mix, was just a joy.
I adored reading the slowburn build of Sona and Eris’s relationship from enemies to something more. I felt that the development was at the perfect pace to build tension and fit with the characters� distrust of the other and the intense, impossible situation they each found themselves in. They each complimented each other so well and I loved reading their banter and flirting. Their tender moments stood in harsh contrast to the violent, dangerous situations they were in which just made them feel all the more special and raised the stakes perfectly.
I found the development of the plot to be at the perfect pace to allow the characters to develop and learn to trust one another, while remaining fast paced and creating a lasting tension. The fight scenes and mecha takedowns were so fun to read and I loved the questions they brought up of what it means to be a god, and what it means to kill one. The whole concept of mechas and pilots was unlike anything I’d ever read and served to create a vivid, engaging world and story.
Gearbreakers is a love story at its heart and maybe that’s why I loved it so much. With feral sapphics, found family and giant mecha deities, Zoe Hana Mikuta has created a stunning book guaranteed to leave a lasting impression. If you need me, you’ll find me anxiously awaiting the sequel and hoping that my girls will make it through it intact.
I also talk about books here: | |
*eARC received in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley*
June 10, 2021
(2.5, rounded down)
I had extremely high expectations going into this book, but I was both let down and underwhelmed after reading. I had a lot of problems with this book across the board, which I'll address later in my review. My biggest problem by far was the plot, or lack there of. The premise of this book is really interesting, but the execution was poor. The plot was clearly not thought out, and the story seemed stagnant to say the least as a result. Additionally, the worldbuilding gave the readers very little to go on, especially with such an extensive dystopia featured.
I also took issue with the overall romance in the book. The main character was in a previously established relationship with a man, but clearly cheated emotionally with the other main character. When talking to some bisexual friends, they felt like this fell into negative stereotypes of bisexual people, women especially so. And for a book so widely promoted as a women loving women romance, it left much to be desired in that category. There was so little basis in the relationship that I almost didn't want them together. I'm not even sure this book qualifies as sapphic relationship period.
Another problem I had with this book was the lack of clear cut queer rep. The author said that the main character was lesbian but nowhere is that indicated. The same can be said with the bisexual main character.
It seemed like this book was going for the ever popular found family trope but left the side characters so underdeveloped that it fell flat. The side characters' only traits were being crazy jokesters but it was so painfully overdone that I wanted to throw my phone across the room. This book redid the same two jokes every other page, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. The dialogue felt like it was constantly reusing the same practiced comebacks that made me want to slam my head into the wall.
Overall, the plot was non-existent, the worldbuilding made no sense, and the characters were so painfully annoying that even they couldn't save it. I realize now how mean this review sounds, but I was genuinely so excited to read this book and had my expectations shattered.
The premise of the book is really good, so I hope the author is able to improve in the second book. I am actually curious to see how they work with the ending, because it was very underwhelming while still being insanely dramatic.
I had extremely high expectations going into this book, but I was both let down and underwhelmed after reading. I had a lot of problems with this book across the board, which I'll address later in my review. My biggest problem by far was the plot, or lack there of. The premise of this book is really interesting, but the execution was poor. The plot was clearly not thought out, and the story seemed stagnant to say the least as a result. Additionally, the worldbuilding gave the readers very little to go on, especially with such an extensive dystopia featured.
I also took issue with the overall romance in the book. The main character was in a previously established relationship with a man, but clearly cheated emotionally with the other main character. When talking to some bisexual friends, they felt like this fell into negative stereotypes of bisexual people, women especially so. And for a book so widely promoted as a women loving women romance, it left much to be desired in that category. There was so little basis in the relationship that I almost didn't want them together. I'm not even sure this book qualifies as sapphic relationship period.
Another problem I had with this book was the lack of clear cut queer rep. The author said that the main character was lesbian but nowhere is that indicated. The same can be said with the bisexual main character.
It seemed like this book was going for the ever popular found family trope but left the side characters so underdeveloped that it fell flat. The side characters' only traits were being crazy jokesters but it was so painfully overdone that I wanted to throw my phone across the room. This book redid the same two jokes every other page, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. The dialogue felt like it was constantly reusing the same practiced comebacks that made me want to slam my head into the wall.
Overall, the plot was non-existent, the worldbuilding made no sense, and the characters were so painfully annoying that even they couldn't save it. I realize now how mean this review sounds, but I was genuinely so excited to read this book and had my expectations shattered.
The premise of the book is really good, so I hope the author is able to improve in the second book. I am actually curious to see how they work with the ending, because it was very underwhelming while still being insanely dramatic.
September 24, 2021
� 4.5 stars
Godolia wished for gods so badly that they set about creating them, secured with the invention of Windups, giant mechanized weapons piloted by cybernetically-enhanced individuals. Now Godolia’s tyranny is endless and those that resist are at the mercy of their cruelty. Eris Shindanai is a Gearbreaker, a rebel tasked with crippling Windups from the inside and bringing Godolia to its breaking point. On a day that ends with a mission gone badly, Eris is captured and brought to one of Godolia’s prisons. There she finds an ally where she least expects it, Sona Steelcrest, a newly enhanced windup pilot with loyalties of her own. Sona has successfully infiltrated the Windup program in an effort to quell Godolia, and though the two could not be more different, they share a common goal: to destroy Godolia’s tyrannical reign from within.
As a fan of pretty much anything sci-fi-related, Gearbreakers ticked all the boxes for me. A brilliant debut perfect for fans of Pacific Rim, Red Rising, and the Legend series that could not have possibly lived up to those comparisons any more so than it did. Set in a world with divided loyalties and an oppressive regime, this intense novel brings heart-stopping action sequences and a wholesome found family all together under one roof. With an exceptional cast of characters to follow, each with their own motivations, reading this was like slowly easing open a door and unlocking all of its secrets. Zoe Hana Mikuta certainly takes her time to set the stage for what's currently at play in this futuristic society but makes everything down the line all the more rewarding. I loved gradually learning more about each of the characters and the part they had to play in the rebellion and to one another. While each of these characters felt distinct and could stand on their own, by far the best part of the book was seeing all that they could accomplish together. The camaraderie and more lighthearted moments between the crew spaced out the serious parts of the story and helped solidify the found family aspect I was looking for. There was definitely a lot to keep up with at times, give or take some heavy lifting at the beginning, but where Gearbreakers excels is in the thick of the action. Every battle or skirmish was so vividly described and clearly thought-out I felt as if I was there. It's not often I can visualize a whole scene or action sequence and Gearbreakers did that for me. An added bonus is absolutely the romance between Eris and Sona, two people on seemingly opposite sides of a war, drawn together by their desire to end it. The tension and small moments they had together completely outsold everything else for me and I will be needing more immediately. After the way this ended, I am not sure I can wait until 2022 for the sequel. Zoe, please pay for my therapy, my lawyer will be in contact.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review
Trigger warnings: death, blood, violence, torture
Godolia wished for gods so badly that they set about creating them, secured with the invention of Windups, giant mechanized weapons piloted by cybernetically-enhanced individuals. Now Godolia’s tyranny is endless and those that resist are at the mercy of their cruelty. Eris Shindanai is a Gearbreaker, a rebel tasked with crippling Windups from the inside and bringing Godolia to its breaking point. On a day that ends with a mission gone badly, Eris is captured and brought to one of Godolia’s prisons. There she finds an ally where she least expects it, Sona Steelcrest, a newly enhanced windup pilot with loyalties of her own. Sona has successfully infiltrated the Windup program in an effort to quell Godolia, and though the two could not be more different, they share a common goal: to destroy Godolia’s tyrannical reign from within.
As a fan of pretty much anything sci-fi-related, Gearbreakers ticked all the boxes for me. A brilliant debut perfect for fans of Pacific Rim, Red Rising, and the Legend series that could not have possibly lived up to those comparisons any more so than it did. Set in a world with divided loyalties and an oppressive regime, this intense novel brings heart-stopping action sequences and a wholesome found family all together under one roof. With an exceptional cast of characters to follow, each with their own motivations, reading this was like slowly easing open a door and unlocking all of its secrets. Zoe Hana Mikuta certainly takes her time to set the stage for what's currently at play in this futuristic society but makes everything down the line all the more rewarding. I loved gradually learning more about each of the characters and the part they had to play in the rebellion and to one another. While each of these characters felt distinct and could stand on their own, by far the best part of the book was seeing all that they could accomplish together. The camaraderie and more lighthearted moments between the crew spaced out the serious parts of the story and helped solidify the found family aspect I was looking for. There was definitely a lot to keep up with at times, give or take some heavy lifting at the beginning, but where Gearbreakers excels is in the thick of the action. Every battle or skirmish was so vividly described and clearly thought-out I felt as if I was there. It's not often I can visualize a whole scene or action sequence and Gearbreakers did that for me. An added bonus is absolutely the romance between Eris and Sona, two people on seemingly opposite sides of a war, drawn together by their desire to end it. The tension and small moments they had together completely outsold everything else for me and I will be needing more immediately. After the way this ended, I am not sure I can wait until 2022 for the sequel. Zoe, please pay for my therapy, my lawyer will be in contact.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review
Trigger warnings: death, blood, violence, torture
November 23, 2021
premise of the book: hehe
the book: not hehe
the book: not hehe
November 14, 2024
THIS MADE ME FEEL SO MANY THINGS
November 26, 2021
*mixed feelings has entered the building*
This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I’m just a sad about how I ended feeling about it. I just was not into the characters and the plot even though theoretically this would have been a story I would be into..
I think the main reason that I could not continue this was because the plot just felt non-existent and all over the place. The progression of the world-building wasn't working for me and I do have to say that it does focus a lot more on the character relationships than what what I wanted which was weird because I usually love character-driven plot.
I do think that if you are in it for the friendship and found family aspect, you are still going to get that. But just like with almost any story, I think we can agree that you need to at least be invested in main characters perspectives, which is not what happened to me *disappointed sighs*. I probably would have continued reading this for that found family aspect though. Those parts were the good parts. (and you know... sapphic... *twinkle*)
I can see this being loved by people who like relatively lighter Sci-Fi that focuses more on found family bonding and the enemies-to-lovers aspect. It just wasn't for me.
DNF @40%... Do with this knowledge what you will.
that dedication page tho 🥺💕
// arc buddy read with katie <3 we love to see it
*Thank you to the publisher -Feiwel Friends/Macmillan- for sending me an ARC to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I’m just a sad about how I ended feeling about it. I just was not into the characters and the plot even though theoretically this would have been a story I would be into..
I think the main reason that I could not continue this was because the plot just felt non-existent and all over the place. The progression of the world-building wasn't working for me and I do have to say that it does focus a lot more on the character relationships than what what I wanted which was weird because I usually love character-driven plot.
I do think that if you are in it for the friendship and found family aspect, you are still going to get that. But just like with almost any story, I think we can agree that you need to at least be invested in main characters perspectives, which is not what happened to me *disappointed sighs*. I probably would have continued reading this for that found family aspect though. Those parts were the good parts. (and you know... sapphic... *twinkle*)
I can see this being loved by people who like relatively lighter Sci-Fi that focuses more on found family bonding and the enemies-to-lovers aspect. It just wasn't for me.
DNF @40%... Do with this knowledge what you will.
"To the reckless, lovestruck kids.
(The former may be lethal, but the latter makes it worth it.)"
that dedication page tho 🥺💕
// arc buddy read with katie <3 we love to see it
*Thank you to the publisher -Feiwel Friends/Macmillan- for sending me an ARC to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
September 14, 2020
I wanted GEARBREAKERS to be an dark, action-packed YA sci-fi, but with the feel of a coming-of-age story. It's the 'found family' trope above everything else, always. Read:
-deity-mechas w/: thermal cannons, swords, wings, etc.
-renegade girls w/: tattoos, cyberpunk weaponry, overalls, leather jackets, those panicked/tender sapphic thoughts
-a crew of loose cannons w/: nights dancing around in the common room, sneaky charcoal drawings of Eris, burnt popcorn and jasmine tea and chess, 200-ft mecha takedowns as a fAmIlY
-(hypothetically, of course): ' what if I was tattooing you, you on the couch w/ your head tucked over mine and me kneeling on the rug, fireplace burning slow and y(our) new family dancing around us after our first mecha takedown together . . . and we were both girls '
*5/5 stars b/c I think it's super cool
-deity-mechas w/: thermal cannons, swords, wings, etc.
-renegade girls w/: tattoos, cyberpunk weaponry, overalls, leather jackets, those panicked/tender sapphic thoughts
-a crew of loose cannons w/: nights dancing around in the common room, sneaky charcoal drawings of Eris, burnt popcorn and jasmine tea and chess, 200-ft mecha takedowns as a fAmIlY
-(hypothetically, of course): ' what if I was tattooing you, you on the couch w/ your head tucked over mine and me kneeling on the rug, fireplace burning slow and y(our) new family dancing around us after our first mecha takedown together . . . and we were both girls '
*5/5 stars b/c I think it's super cool
September 9, 2022
After I finished Gearbreakers at 1:30 am, I looked up from my phone and for a few minutes pondered how I felt about it, what I liked and what I didn’t. The list of dislikes was endless. The list of likes was near-empty. Honestly, I don’t know if this is a case of “this book wasn’t for me� or the book just not being very good. I have a lot of thoughts, which I have tried to put into words in this (for my standard) long review. If you’re interested in hearing my thoughts, feel free to continue reading, but be aware that this is an overwhelmingly negative review with a lot of messy thoughts.
The book opens with Sona, one of the two main characters, having been transformed into a sort of cyborg-type creature who can pilot one of her city’s mecha-deities (also called Windups). Her story, in the beginning, takes place in Godolia, a sort of city-state that worships Gods in the form of giant robots, and pilots use those robots to� defend the city? And also to wipe out towns in the “Badlands�, the wasteland around Godolia. Some information is provided about wars from the past that have transformed the area into a wasteland, and at this point, there are only a few towns left that exist to provide resources for Godolia.
The other point-of-view character in Gearbreakers is Eris, who is part of a group of people called “Gearbreakers�, whose mission is to take down the Windups that enter the Badlands. She captains her own crew of underage Gearbreakers who work together to take down Godolian robots. On one of her robot take-down missions, Eris is captured by the Godolians and taken to the Academy, where the mecha pilots, including Sona, reside. The entire first half of the book follows Eris as she gets captured, is tortured by the Godolians, and plots her escape with Sona, who is secretly anti-Godolian.
One of my major problems with this book is the worldbuilding, which simply does not make sense. Vague references are to wars that have happened in the past, but it never quite becomes clear how Godolia came to be. At some point in the past, people have decided to merge all the major world religions, but it never becomes clear whether those are the religions on our Earth, or whether this book takes place in a secondary world. It would make sense for it to be a future version of Earth since some of the Windup classes are named after figures from religions in our world, for example, Valkyries or Archangels. Eris also mentions that she is named after one of their world’s gods of discord—Eris is the Greek goddess of discord. The problem is that if in this world, all the major world religions have been merged, it would make no sense for Greek and Norse polytheism (see Eris and Valkyries) to be merged with Christianity (see archangels). The characters also speak of “twin hells�, suggesting that two different religious concepts of hell have been combined, which, to me at least, also just makes zero sense. If you are going to make references to real-life religious concepts from past and present, I would at least like some more explanation for how these have been merged.
Godolia as a state is also a vague concept. There are some descriptions of how the city looks, but it does not become clear how the city operates on, for instance, a political level. It is apparently led by five “Zeniths�, but it never becomes clear who these Zeniths are, what they do, or how they come into their positions. Apart from that, the only aspect from Godolian society that is explored is the Academy, where soldiers are trained, and the pilots who control the mecha-deities. Other than that, I have so many more questions about Godolia. Why do they want to erase the Badlands people? They are mentioned to be at war with other nations, but where are these nations? Who are they? How did Godolia come to be? Do all Godolians believe that they are somehow superior to the people who do not live in Godolia? These questions just scratch the surface of my frustrations with the lack of insight that is provided into the setting of Gearbreakers.
A significant part of the book also takes place in the operation base of the Gearbreakers, a place called the Hollows. This seems to be a collection of buildings where crews of Gearbreakers all live on their own floor, which is clear enough. The side characters introduced in this setting, however, are simply unmemorable. Eris is the captain of her own Gearbreakers crew and leads a bunch of kids in their effort to take down Godolia’s Windups. The problem is that none of these kids are memorable. They form the found family that is at the core of big parts of the story, and yet I could not keep most of them apart. I finished this book some 15 hours ago at the point of writing this review and I cannot remember most of their names, let alone tell you anything about them. That is a problem when large parts of the book focus on the connections between Eris, Sona, and these kids.
Eris and Sona as characters also were not very memorable to me, if I’m honest. There were points in the book where I could not keep their points of view apart because both of their inner narratives are so heavily defined by anger and hatred for Godolia. Their anger is righteous, that is true, but without a clear background for the conflict between Godolia and the Badlands, I simply could not care less. Both characters are feral, angry, and aggressive, and I’m not necessarily opposed to that, but sometimes it felt like these characters were being aggressive for the sake of being aggressive and it got to a point where I started rolling my eyes at Eris in particular. As I wasn’t the biggest fan of either of their characters, I also did not particularly care for their romance. Also, when an author calls the book “a rom-com with robots� in her acknowledgments, I expect a bit more focus on romantic development.
The plot and structure of Gearbreakers also left a lot to be desired for me. For a large part of the book, there does not seem to be a central plotline other than vaguely trying to rebel against the Godolian state. Towards the last third of the book, they finally seem to be working towards a final goal, but even then it is not structured well. There is a big battle happening around two-thirds into the book, but the final part of the battle is just� skipped over with a scene break? I was so confused and frustrated. In general, there are parts with emotional and romantic development skipped over in the last third that I would have been interested in seeing, whereas there are parts in the first two-thirds that I think could have been skipped over. Honestly, I sort of got the idea that the author first came up with characters and a romance and then realized that maybe the book also needed a plot and a world to take place in� and never properly developed them.
All in all, Gearbreakers was just a massive disappointment. I can hardly pinpoint a single thing about the book that I actually liked, and I think this is genuinely one of my least favorite YA speculative fiction books I have ever read. I would be interested in reading more of Zoe Hana Mikuta’s work in the future because she is a young writer who does seem to come up with really cool concepts. I definitely won’t be reading the sequel to Gearbreakers, though, even though that ending was mean.
Content warnings: torture, blood and gore, mass murder, familial death, gun violence, immolation, body mutilation
The book opens with Sona, one of the two main characters, having been transformed into a sort of cyborg-type creature who can pilot one of her city’s mecha-deities (also called Windups). Her story, in the beginning, takes place in Godolia, a sort of city-state that worships Gods in the form of giant robots, and pilots use those robots to� defend the city? And also to wipe out towns in the “Badlands�, the wasteland around Godolia. Some information is provided about wars from the past that have transformed the area into a wasteland, and at this point, there are only a few towns left that exist to provide resources for Godolia.
The other point-of-view character in Gearbreakers is Eris, who is part of a group of people called “Gearbreakers�, whose mission is to take down the Windups that enter the Badlands. She captains her own crew of underage Gearbreakers who work together to take down Godolian robots. On one of her robot take-down missions, Eris is captured by the Godolians and taken to the Academy, where the mecha pilots, including Sona, reside. The entire first half of the book follows Eris as she gets captured, is tortured by the Godolians, and plots her escape with Sona, who is secretly anti-Godolian.
One of my major problems with this book is the worldbuilding, which simply does not make sense. Vague references are to wars that have happened in the past, but it never quite becomes clear how Godolia came to be. At some point in the past, people have decided to merge all the major world religions, but it never becomes clear whether those are the religions on our Earth, or whether this book takes place in a secondary world. It would make sense for it to be a future version of Earth since some of the Windup classes are named after figures from religions in our world, for example, Valkyries or Archangels. Eris also mentions that she is named after one of their world’s gods of discord—Eris is the Greek goddess of discord. The problem is that if in this world, all the major world religions have been merged, it would make no sense for Greek and Norse polytheism (see Eris and Valkyries) to be merged with Christianity (see archangels). The characters also speak of “twin hells�, suggesting that two different religious concepts of hell have been combined, which, to me at least, also just makes zero sense. If you are going to make references to real-life religious concepts from past and present, I would at least like some more explanation for how these have been merged.
Godolia as a state is also a vague concept. There are some descriptions of how the city looks, but it does not become clear how the city operates on, for instance, a political level. It is apparently led by five “Zeniths�, but it never becomes clear who these Zeniths are, what they do, or how they come into their positions. Apart from that, the only aspect from Godolian society that is explored is the Academy, where soldiers are trained, and the pilots who control the mecha-deities. Other than that, I have so many more questions about Godolia. Why do they want to erase the Badlands people? They are mentioned to be at war with other nations, but where are these nations? Who are they? How did Godolia come to be? Do all Godolians believe that they are somehow superior to the people who do not live in Godolia? These questions just scratch the surface of my frustrations with the lack of insight that is provided into the setting of Gearbreakers.
A significant part of the book also takes place in the operation base of the Gearbreakers, a place called the Hollows. This seems to be a collection of buildings where crews of Gearbreakers all live on their own floor, which is clear enough. The side characters introduced in this setting, however, are simply unmemorable. Eris is the captain of her own Gearbreakers crew and leads a bunch of kids in their effort to take down Godolia’s Windups. The problem is that none of these kids are memorable. They form the found family that is at the core of big parts of the story, and yet I could not keep most of them apart. I finished this book some 15 hours ago at the point of writing this review and I cannot remember most of their names, let alone tell you anything about them. That is a problem when large parts of the book focus on the connections between Eris, Sona, and these kids.
Eris and Sona as characters also were not very memorable to me, if I’m honest. There were points in the book where I could not keep their points of view apart because both of their inner narratives are so heavily defined by anger and hatred for Godolia. Their anger is righteous, that is true, but without a clear background for the conflict between Godolia and the Badlands, I simply could not care less. Both characters are feral, angry, and aggressive, and I’m not necessarily opposed to that, but sometimes it felt like these characters were being aggressive for the sake of being aggressive and it got to a point where I started rolling my eyes at Eris in particular. As I wasn’t the biggest fan of either of their characters, I also did not particularly care for their romance. Also, when an author calls the book “a rom-com with robots� in her acknowledgments, I expect a bit more focus on romantic development.
The plot and structure of Gearbreakers also left a lot to be desired for me. For a large part of the book, there does not seem to be a central plotline other than vaguely trying to rebel against the Godolian state. Towards the last third of the book, they finally seem to be working towards a final goal, but even then it is not structured well. There is a big battle happening around two-thirds into the book, but the final part of the battle is just� skipped over with a scene break? I was so confused and frustrated. In general, there are parts with emotional and romantic development skipped over in the last third that I would have been interested in seeing, whereas there are parts in the first two-thirds that I think could have been skipped over. Honestly, I sort of got the idea that the author first came up with characters and a romance and then realized that maybe the book also needed a plot and a world to take place in� and never properly developed them.
All in all, Gearbreakers was just a massive disappointment. I can hardly pinpoint a single thing about the book that I actually liked, and I think this is genuinely one of my least favorite YA speculative fiction books I have ever read. I would be interested in reading more of Zoe Hana Mikuta’s work in the future because she is a young writer who does seem to come up with really cool concepts. I definitely won’t be reading the sequel to Gearbreakers, though, even though that ending was mean.
Content warnings: torture, blood and gore, mass murder, familial death, gun violence, immolation, body mutilation
June 28, 2021
Thank you to YallWest and NetGalley for allowing my to review an advanced reader’s copy of this book. I received an eArc of this book in a YallWest giveaway and accessed it through NetGalley.
Gearbreakers was one of the arcs that I was most excited to read this year. It’s a young adult futuristic world with a sapphic romance. It sounded right up my alley, but I was so disappointed by it. My expectations were way too high for this book.
I appreciate how much work the author put into writing this book. It was cleverly written and the amount of skill it takes to create a world like the one in this book is incredible. I think that this book will find its intended audience and people will love this book, but it just wasn’t for me.
The major fault for me with this book was the characters. I’m really into character driven stories, but I couldn’t find any characters that I liked throughout this story. The main characters were the biggest issue for me, especially Eris. Sona was very robotic and I had troubles connecting to her. I felt that her emotions and her reasons behind her actions, especially her hasty decisions, could’ve been delved into deeper, but they unfortunately weren’t. Eris� oh boy, I hated her guts. She was extremely annoying and she was so full of herself, a trait I detest in most main characters that I read about. Side characters can sometimes make a story enjoyable for me, but there were too many of them to keep track of and a lot of them had the same personalities.
Another major issue was the amount of info dumping thrown onto the reader at the start of the book. It was overwhelming and slowed down the pace of the story. It made me lose interest in the story and it was a struggle to force myself to keep reading.
In the last 30% or so of the book, it felt like there was a lot of fade to black for scenes that I actually wanted to see. There were battles left unfinished and romantic moments that would’ve been nice to see, but the fade to black or brief time leaps as some might call it ruined those moments for me.
To end with a positive though, the romance caught me off guard. I knew which two characters would fall in love but their romance was a slow burn with lots of chemistry that made my heart flutter because it was cute.
Was this the worst book I ever read? Absolutely not but so many parts of this book disappointed me and the book was a drag to get through.
Gearbreakers was one of the arcs that I was most excited to read this year. It’s a young adult futuristic world with a sapphic romance. It sounded right up my alley, but I was so disappointed by it. My expectations were way too high for this book.
I appreciate how much work the author put into writing this book. It was cleverly written and the amount of skill it takes to create a world like the one in this book is incredible. I think that this book will find its intended audience and people will love this book, but it just wasn’t for me.
The major fault for me with this book was the characters. I’m really into character driven stories, but I couldn’t find any characters that I liked throughout this story. The main characters were the biggest issue for me, especially Eris. Sona was very robotic and I had troubles connecting to her. I felt that her emotions and her reasons behind her actions, especially her hasty decisions, could’ve been delved into deeper, but they unfortunately weren’t. Eris� oh boy, I hated her guts. She was extremely annoying and she was so full of herself, a trait I detest in most main characters that I read about. Side characters can sometimes make a story enjoyable for me, but there were too many of them to keep track of and a lot of them had the same personalities.
Another major issue was the amount of info dumping thrown onto the reader at the start of the book. It was overwhelming and slowed down the pace of the story. It made me lose interest in the story and it was a struggle to force myself to keep reading.
In the last 30% or so of the book, it felt like there was a lot of fade to black for scenes that I actually wanted to see. There were battles left unfinished and romantic moments that would’ve been nice to see, but the fade to black or brief time leaps as some might call it ruined those moments for me.
To end with a positive though, the romance caught me off guard. I knew which two characters would fall in love but their romance was a slow burn with lots of chemistry that made my heart flutter because it was cute.
Was this the worst book I ever read? Absolutely not but so many parts of this book disappointed me and the book was a drag to get through.
November 24, 2021
it's a real feat to take concepts like cyberpunk sapphics/giant mecha vs human fights/bunch of ragtag kids found family and write such an underwhelming, uninspired, boring book but zoe hana mikuta truly pulled it off.
March 21, 2021
My blurb:
Dark, fierce, thrilling, and tender, GEARBREAKERS will make your blood sing. Set in a ruthless, vividly imagined world against the scope of gods and sword-fighting mechas and a crushing war, Zoe Hana Mikuta deftly balances the brutal with the hopeful. An electric heart beats on every page of this breathlessly paced cyberpunk adventure.
(IT'S SO.... H HGHHGGHAHHHGHGH!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Dark, fierce, thrilling, and tender, GEARBREAKERS will make your blood sing. Set in a ruthless, vividly imagined world against the scope of gods and sword-fighting mechas and a crushing war, Zoe Hana Mikuta deftly balances the brutal with the hopeful. An electric heart beats on every page of this breathlessly paced cyberpunk adventure.
(IT'S SO.... H HGHHGGHAHHHGHGH!!!!!!!!!!!!)
June 11, 2021
WHAT JUST HAPPENED
Gearbreakers is one if not my most anticipated book of 2021. I don’t read much Sci-Fi, but the plot instantly hooked me. Gearbreakers is told in duel POV between 2 girls from opposite sides of a war. Sona a “a cybernetically enhanced Windup pilot� and Eris “a Gearbreaker, a brash young rebel who specializes in taking down Windups from the inside�.This book is filled with all of my favorite tropes, found family, touch her and I will kill you, hurt/comfort, forced to work together even though we don’t really trust each other, there was even a part where they gave each other TATTOOS AHHHH, I loved it.
The world building was a lot, and I can definitely see this not being for everyone but personally I really enjoyed it. The two main characters Sona and Eris were so easy to love and want the best for. I was rooting for them the entire book. Their backstories and beliefs make them so likable and they were both so strong. I’m glad this was told from both of their POVs because getting their inner monologue was nice. I can strongly say they are some of my new favorite main characters.
The found family was one of my favorite parts,I loved it but some of the characters were a bit undeveloped. I think that if the author had gone into more detail about them, their interests, backstories, and relationships it would have made me fall in love with them a bit more. But I think that as a group the crew was super cool and their bickering was funny. I would 110% want to be part of Eris’s crew.
I cried a couple times reading this, THE ENDING GOODBYE . I need to stop reading uncompleted book series because I need to know what happened next right now. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WAIT A YEAR
This is 100% in my top 10 book and I was blown away I can not wait for the second book. If you loved Crier’s War, Skyhunter or Legend you should check this book out!!
Gearbreakers is one if not my most anticipated book of 2021. I don’t read much Sci-Fi, but the plot instantly hooked me. Gearbreakers is told in duel POV between 2 girls from opposite sides of a war. Sona a “a cybernetically enhanced Windup pilot� and Eris “a Gearbreaker, a brash young rebel who specializes in taking down Windups from the inside�.This book is filled with all of my favorite tropes, found family, touch her and I will kill you, hurt/comfort, forced to work together even though we don’t really trust each other, there was even a part where they gave each other TATTOOS AHHHH, I loved it.
The world building was a lot, and I can definitely see this not being for everyone but personally I really enjoyed it. The two main characters Sona and Eris were so easy to love and want the best for. I was rooting for them the entire book. Their backstories and beliefs make them so likable and they were both so strong. I’m glad this was told from both of their POVs because getting their inner monologue was nice. I can strongly say they are some of my new favorite main characters.
The found family was one of my favorite parts,I loved it but some of the characters were a bit undeveloped. I think that if the author had gone into more detail about them, their interests, backstories, and relationships it would have made me fall in love with them a bit more. But I think that as a group the crew was super cool and their bickering was funny. I would 110% want to be part of Eris’s crew.
I cried a couple times reading this, THE ENDING GOODBYE . I need to stop reading uncompleted book series because I need to know what happened next right now. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WAIT A YEAR
This is 100% in my top 10 book and I was blown away I can not wait for the second book. If you loved Crier’s War, Skyhunter or Legend you should check this book out!!
August 15, 2021
Admittedly, Gearbreakers has a REALLY shaky start but if you have the patience for it, keep reading - because at the 20-ish% mark, the writing gets better and the story takes OFF. And it is glorious, unexpectedly emotive, and such a fun read.
- Follows two queer Asian girls, Eris and Sona, on opposite sides of a war - who then discover that they are fighting for a common purpose. Together, they work to destroy the mecha weapons and the tyrannical reign of Godolia, and perhaps fall in love with one another too.
- The beginning is difficult to get through. The writing at the beginning was superfluous and a bit excessive, and I found it difficult to grasp what was going on - and I can see this becoming a huge turn-off for readers.
- And then, randomly 20% in, the story just... gets so much better. In fact, it becomes really bloody good. The writing improves (and stops trying hard), the story becomes sharp and engaging, and the characters intriguing and likeable.
- Though there's action, I think this is ultimately a very emotive and character-driven book. The story is about teens and kids who become soldiers to fight a senseless and violent war. It's heartbreaking, and the way that Zoe explores this - through so much emotion and anger and rage and grief - was so powerful and good.
- I actually loved how identity is explored here, especially through Sona's narrative - how she is made in the image of her enemy, loses herself along the way, and grapples with the loss of her identity and agency after being made a soldier.
- I loved Sona and Eris together, my two darling queer darlings. The romance between them is unlike anything I've read before - it isn't romantic, per se, or soft, but there is a fierce tenderness and an undeniable connection between them. I loved that.
- Again, I was not a fan of the beginning. But the other 80% of the book was glorious, fast-paced, and exciting.
Trigger/content warning: death of loved ones, physical and graphic violence, torture, multiple blood mentions, graphic deaths.
I received a digital advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.
- Follows two queer Asian girls, Eris and Sona, on opposite sides of a war - who then discover that they are fighting for a common purpose. Together, they work to destroy the mecha weapons and the tyrannical reign of Godolia, and perhaps fall in love with one another too.
- The beginning is difficult to get through. The writing at the beginning was superfluous and a bit excessive, and I found it difficult to grasp what was going on - and I can see this becoming a huge turn-off for readers.
- And then, randomly 20% in, the story just... gets so much better. In fact, it becomes really bloody good. The writing improves (and stops trying hard), the story becomes sharp and engaging, and the characters intriguing and likeable.
- Though there's action, I think this is ultimately a very emotive and character-driven book. The story is about teens and kids who become soldiers to fight a senseless and violent war. It's heartbreaking, and the way that Zoe explores this - through so much emotion and anger and rage and grief - was so powerful and good.
- I actually loved how identity is explored here, especially through Sona's narrative - how she is made in the image of her enemy, loses herself along the way, and grapples with the loss of her identity and agency after being made a soldier.
- I loved Sona and Eris together, my two darling queer darlings. The romance between them is unlike anything I've read before - it isn't romantic, per se, or soft, but there is a fierce tenderness and an undeniable connection between them. I loved that.
- Again, I was not a fan of the beginning. But the other 80% of the book was glorious, fast-paced, and exciting.
Trigger/content warning: death of loved ones, physical and graphic violence, torture, multiple blood mentions, graphic deaths.
I received a digital advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.
August 2, 2021
2.5 stars
This was underwhelming... :(
This was underwhelming... :(
January 11, 2022
*takes a deep breath*
AAAAAHHHHHHHH
Thank god I am done and did not DNF my first 2022 book. I have so many thoughts about this book, so if my review is messy, I apologize in advance. It is also going to be long... Just check the ratings on the categories and the TLDR at the bottom if you wanna skip over it. This is NOT a friendly review, so if you really love the book, be warned.
Plot Concept: 5/5
This story markets itself as a wlw enemies to lovers set to the backdrop of a dystopian world where giant human-powered mechas rule it all. It sounds right up my alley! In fact, I was very interested and invested at first. The world seemed pretty cool, the characters had potential, and I was looking forward to watching two girls on opposite sides of a war grow close and find out that they're really fighting for the same cause. Sadly what I got was not really that.
Plot Execution: 0/5
Let me start off by stamping out the enemies to lovers rumor. They were NEVER enemies. Eris hated Sona for a whole 5 minutes before coming around to her. Sona was enchanted by Eris the moment she laid eyes on her. I'm so tired of books that push the enemies to lovers narrative and they are not enemies to lovers.
The wlw aspect of this also fell short for me, because they start the book with Eris in a relationship with someone already. And because you have the meta knowledge that Eris and Sona will end up together, you know there's only two paths that are likely to be taken in this regard: Milo will die or he will be made into a raging douchebag. So from Eris' very first chapter I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop and also being mad about it. It's a terrible cliche for a love triangle and it's lazy as hell. The story could have taken out the Milo/Eris relationship altogether and it would not have suffered, so I don't know why it's there to begin with.
I will give it to the story for having the dystopian world filled with mechas but ... the worldbuilding is practically nonexistent, so it gets no points for that. I don't know what the world is like. I don't know what the town that the gearbreakers live in is like. I don't know what Godolia is like other than they're the Big Bad Evil. I don't know even what most of the scene settings are like and often was just picturing these characters in the fucking void. There is so much purple prose going on in the characters head at any given time, yet none of that gets transferred to describing the world around them or anything in that world being fleshed out.
Then we have some glaring plot holes that just serve to jar me out of the book even more like... Why does Godolia slaughter its own resource villages? Whole, entire villages? Sure, there is more of them (I guess, because we are told late in the book, even though early in the book it made it seem like most of civilization was wiped out in wars), but its still nonsensical? You didn't bring me enough coal! Now I shall destroy the entire village so I never get ANY coal from here again! Muahahahaha. My god.... how fucking stupid. The villain of the story literally comes off as a children's TV show villain.
On the same vein, Godolia is so smart but they just put this fancy tech into pilots and dont have any trackers or shut down switches? They can't simply power off a rogue fighter? They control every breath anyone in their city takes, but having a failsafe for turning humans into metal gods slipped their mind??
It also must have slipped Jenny's mind that as an impossibly prodigal engineer, she could have been using the downed mechas to create weapons and robots for her cause all these years. She makes super fancy gloves for her and her sister with fire & ice powers that can recognize their DNA and somehow not harm them and then sits on her thumbs for years without ever considering using the tech coming out of Godolia.
This story felt like a first draft that should have been patched up but was rushed into bookstores instead.
Pacing: 1/5
The pacing for the beginning was fine. I was interested enough in this new world and what was going on to not think about how fast or slow anything was happening. And then somewhere around 30-40 percent, they leave Godolia and.... the book comes to a grinding halt. They're mostly puttering around doing fuck all for the next 30-40 percent of the book, pages upon pages being filled with Quirky Found Family and interpersonal drama that is so lacking in depth or nuance that I wanted to weep. I considered DNFing multiple times at this point, but I pushed on. I deserve a gold star.
Then, all at once near the ending, Things Are Happening!! I WANNA GO TO WAR! I WANT A LIGHTERSABER! I'M A MAN!!! WAR!!!!! Or something like that. I started to black out at this point and barely could follow the fighting, but I think Sona started killing people indiscriminately? She mentioned something about not caring about the bystanders. I don't know, my brain was fried by the end of this book.
Writing: 1/5
Many times while reading, I had to think to myself, "Calm down, Edgelord." The attempts at being philosophical about men making 'gods' were sometimes cringeworthy, and so fucking overdone. Please, we get it, we GET IT. There was so much repetitive writing in here that I began to wonder if the author had some mild short term memory. It wants SO bad to be seen as a groundbreaking, edgy dystopian with ""feral"" main characters causing chaos and havoc. It is practically begging you at every page to take it seriously, but I was so often rolling my eyes. You want an edgy dystopian sci-fi that didn't get on its hands and knees to implore you to see it as an edgy dystopian scifi? Read Divergent or The Hunger Games or The Maze Runner. This book could really take a page or two or two hundred out of them to improve itself.
Also, I can't end this section without bringing up how stilted and ridiculous a lot of the dialogue felt. Sona doesn't use contractions, for reasons unknown? What is this character choice? Why does she speak like this? It makes her sound so robotic and awkward. And then the rest of the dialogue from the other characters is just infected by the problems I talked about above. I wish I could provide examples, but I may cry if I have to pick the book up again.
Characters: 0/5
These characters are so bland, underdeveloped, and boring that - barring physical ability - any could be switched out with another and it would barely change the story. I can't tell you anything about the side characters. We practically have found family being shoved down our throats but it is so unearned and the characters are so similar that it feels like some satirical farce. When bad things happen to the characters, I feel nothing. I have no connection to them, no interest in their plights (or victories).
Even with the two main characters, I felt no attachment. Eris' only defining qualities are hating Godolia so hard that she's constantly angry and loving Sona. Sona's defining qualities are ... also hating Godolia and loving Eris? Except make her super inconsistent in tone and personality from one chapter to the next. In fact, sometimes I straight up forgot which POV I was reading because the characters are so damn similar.
I also would have liked to see some indication on how mentally fucked up these kids are due to being child soldiers and killing people, some PTSD and night terrors about the horrors they inflict and maybe a mental breakdown or at least some in book acknowledgement that the characters lack of feeling toward killing people, even enemies, is very much Not Normal and sad and terrible. But we did not really get that. In fact, one of the first things Eris does in the book is talk about shooting someone dead after they hesitate to kill her because she's a teen and feeling 0 things about doing it. Begging authors who write about times of war to research the psychological effects of war.
Romance: -5/5
Ladies, you ever meet someone and a couple days later they're asking doesn't it feel like you belong to each other? Not with. To. And how about after that she disregards your own free will and choices to try to force you to be captured by the enemy for your own good? Ladies??? 🤪 🚨🚩🚩🚩🚨
The romance was just. Terrible. I get where someone could enjoy it, and I appreciate the bi/lesbian rep, but rep alone doesn't make something good. The insta-love aspect of this relationship was enough to make me gag. I saw someone refer to the romance as slow burn and I have to ask... fucking WHERE? As I mentioned, Sona takes to Eris immediately, before they've even talked to each other. Eris needs only a minute of convincing to place her trust in Sona and begin making googly eyes once they're out of Godolia. And this is while she is still with Milo.
Yes, queen, we love a bisexual character playing into the harmful stereotype of being a cheater who can't stay in a monogomous relationship. 🥴
No, really, she gets weirdly intimate with Sona while still dating Milo, like wrapping arms around her from behind and pressing a cheek to Sona's back and then asking her if she wants to slow dance in an empty room. And then kissing her relatively shortly after breaking up with Milo because she doesn't actually need time to heal from that relationship as she was already romantically invested in Sona before it even ended.
Every sappy moment between them just had me thinking, "Jail for author! Jail for author for 1000 years!" And sure, not every bit of representation needs to be perfect or morally good, but it should at least be emotionally tasty to make up for it. (See: NBC Hannibal.) This was not tasty. This was not even palatable. :(
Overall Enjoyability: .5/5
The TLDR is that the romance was underdeveloped, the characters were underdeveloped, the world was underdeveloped, and it all came together in a silly little diet grimdark novel. I can understand what would draw people to it and make them like it, but it is very much not my cup of tea.
AAAAAHHHHHHHH
Thank god I am done and did not DNF my first 2022 book. I have so many thoughts about this book, so if my review is messy, I apologize in advance. It is also going to be long... Just check the ratings on the categories and the TLDR at the bottom if you wanna skip over it. This is NOT a friendly review, so if you really love the book, be warned.
Plot Concept: 5/5
This story markets itself as a wlw enemies to lovers set to the backdrop of a dystopian world where giant human-powered mechas rule it all. It sounds right up my alley! In fact, I was very interested and invested at first. The world seemed pretty cool, the characters had potential, and I was looking forward to watching two girls on opposite sides of a war grow close and find out that they're really fighting for the same cause. Sadly what I got was not really that.
Plot Execution: 0/5
Let me start off by stamping out the enemies to lovers rumor. They were NEVER enemies. Eris hated Sona for a whole 5 minutes before coming around to her. Sona was enchanted by Eris the moment she laid eyes on her. I'm so tired of books that push the enemies to lovers narrative and they are not enemies to lovers.
The wlw aspect of this also fell short for me, because they start the book with Eris in a relationship with someone already. And because you have the meta knowledge that Eris and Sona will end up together, you know there's only two paths that are likely to be taken in this regard: Milo will die or he will be made into a raging douchebag. So from Eris' very first chapter I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop and also being mad about it. It's a terrible cliche for a love triangle and it's lazy as hell. The story could have taken out the Milo/Eris relationship altogether and it would not have suffered, so I don't know why it's there to begin with.
I will give it to the story for having the dystopian world filled with mechas but ... the worldbuilding is practically nonexistent, so it gets no points for that. I don't know what the world is like. I don't know what the town that the gearbreakers live in is like. I don't know what Godolia is like other than they're the Big Bad Evil. I don't know even what most of the scene settings are like and often was just picturing these characters in the fucking void. There is so much purple prose going on in the characters head at any given time, yet none of that gets transferred to describing the world around them or anything in that world being fleshed out.
Then we have some glaring plot holes that just serve to jar me out of the book even more like... Why does Godolia slaughter its own resource villages? Whole, entire villages? Sure, there is more of them (I guess, because we are told late in the book, even though early in the book it made it seem like most of civilization was wiped out in wars), but its still nonsensical? You didn't bring me enough coal! Now I shall destroy the entire village so I never get ANY coal from here again! Muahahahaha. My god.... how fucking stupid. The villain of the story literally comes off as a children's TV show villain.
On the same vein, Godolia is so smart but they just put this fancy tech into pilots and dont have any trackers or shut down switches? They can't simply power off a rogue fighter? They control every breath anyone in their city takes, but having a failsafe for turning humans into metal gods slipped their mind??
It also must have slipped Jenny's mind that as an impossibly prodigal engineer, she could have been using the downed mechas to create weapons and robots for her cause all these years. She makes super fancy gloves for her and her sister with fire & ice powers that can recognize their DNA and somehow not harm them and then sits on her thumbs for years without ever considering using the tech coming out of Godolia.
This story felt like a first draft that should have been patched up but was rushed into bookstores instead.
Pacing: 1/5
The pacing for the beginning was fine. I was interested enough in this new world and what was going on to not think about how fast or slow anything was happening. And then somewhere around 30-40 percent, they leave Godolia and.... the book comes to a grinding halt. They're mostly puttering around doing fuck all for the next 30-40 percent of the book, pages upon pages being filled with Quirky Found Family and interpersonal drama that is so lacking in depth or nuance that I wanted to weep. I considered DNFing multiple times at this point, but I pushed on. I deserve a gold star.
Then, all at once near the ending, Things Are Happening!! I WANNA GO TO WAR! I WANT A LIGHTERSABER! I'M A MAN!!! WAR!!!!! Or something like that. I started to black out at this point and barely could follow the fighting, but I think Sona started killing people indiscriminately? She mentioned something about not caring about the bystanders. I don't know, my brain was fried by the end of this book.
Writing: 1/5
Many times while reading, I had to think to myself, "Calm down, Edgelord." The attempts at being philosophical about men making 'gods' were sometimes cringeworthy, and so fucking overdone. Please, we get it, we GET IT. There was so much repetitive writing in here that I began to wonder if the author had some mild short term memory. It wants SO bad to be seen as a groundbreaking, edgy dystopian with ""feral"" main characters causing chaos and havoc. It is practically begging you at every page to take it seriously, but I was so often rolling my eyes. You want an edgy dystopian sci-fi that didn't get on its hands and knees to implore you to see it as an edgy dystopian scifi? Read Divergent or The Hunger Games or The Maze Runner. This book could really take a page or two or two hundred out of them to improve itself.
Also, I can't end this section without bringing up how stilted and ridiculous a lot of the dialogue felt. Sona doesn't use contractions, for reasons unknown? What is this character choice? Why does she speak like this? It makes her sound so robotic and awkward. And then the rest of the dialogue from the other characters is just infected by the problems I talked about above. I wish I could provide examples, but I may cry if I have to pick the book up again.
Characters: 0/5
These characters are so bland, underdeveloped, and boring that - barring physical ability - any could be switched out with another and it would barely change the story. I can't tell you anything about the side characters. We practically have found family being shoved down our throats but it is so unearned and the characters are so similar that it feels like some satirical farce. When bad things happen to the characters, I feel nothing. I have no connection to them, no interest in their plights (or victories).
Even with the two main characters, I felt no attachment. Eris' only defining qualities are hating Godolia so hard that she's constantly angry and loving Sona. Sona's defining qualities are ... also hating Godolia and loving Eris? Except make her super inconsistent in tone and personality from one chapter to the next. In fact, sometimes I straight up forgot which POV I was reading because the characters are so damn similar.
I also would have liked to see some indication on how mentally fucked up these kids are due to being child soldiers and killing people, some PTSD and night terrors about the horrors they inflict and maybe a mental breakdown or at least some in book acknowledgement that the characters lack of feeling toward killing people, even enemies, is very much Not Normal and sad and terrible. But we did not really get that. In fact, one of the first things Eris does in the book is talk about shooting someone dead after they hesitate to kill her because she's a teen and feeling 0 things about doing it. Begging authors who write about times of war to research the psychological effects of war.
Romance: -5/5
Ladies, you ever meet someone and a couple days later they're asking doesn't it feel like you belong to each other? Not with. To. And how about after that she disregards your own free will and choices to try to force you to be captured by the enemy for your own good? Ladies??? 🤪 🚨🚩🚩🚩🚨
The romance was just. Terrible. I get where someone could enjoy it, and I appreciate the bi/lesbian rep, but rep alone doesn't make something good. The insta-love aspect of this relationship was enough to make me gag. I saw someone refer to the romance as slow burn and I have to ask... fucking WHERE? As I mentioned, Sona takes to Eris immediately, before they've even talked to each other. Eris needs only a minute of convincing to place her trust in Sona and begin making googly eyes once they're out of Godolia. And this is while she is still with Milo.
Yes, queen, we love a bisexual character playing into the harmful stereotype of being a cheater who can't stay in a monogomous relationship. 🥴
No, really, she gets weirdly intimate with Sona while still dating Milo, like wrapping arms around her from behind and pressing a cheek to Sona's back and then asking her if she wants to slow dance in an empty room. And then kissing her relatively shortly after breaking up with Milo because she doesn't actually need time to heal from that relationship as she was already romantically invested in Sona before it even ended.
Every sappy moment between them just had me thinking, "Jail for author! Jail for author for 1000 years!" And sure, not every bit of representation needs to be perfect or morally good, but it should at least be emotionally tasty to make up for it. (See: NBC Hannibal.) This was not tasty. This was not even palatable. :(
Overall Enjoyability: .5/5
The TLDR is that the romance was underdeveloped, the characters were underdeveloped, the world was underdeveloped, and it all came together in a silly little diet grimdark novel. I can understand what would draw people to it and make them like it, but it is very much not my cup of tea.
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
December 25, 2021DNF @26%
This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2021, and I’m so disappointed that I wasn’t able to finish it. I started this book eager to dive into a sapphic cyberpunk novel that included some of my favorite tropes: enemies-to-lovers and (queer!) found family. I will admit that I was intrigued by the first chapter; I found myself liking the writing style and was excited to continue. However, as I continued, the chapters droned on and on and I quickly regretted my thoughts.
Although the writing style seemed beautiful at first, I grew to hate it. While I am someone who loves purple prose, this author’s writing style takes the idea of purple prose to such an extreme extent that the words simply do not make sense. Every paragraph was increasingly longer than the next, drenched in flowery adjectives that made me forget what the point of each sentence was in the first place. I only got through 28% by skim reading, and after that, I couldn’t go on. Perhaps because of this, I was not able to differentiate between the main characters� perspectives, and did not care about what was happening to them enough to continue reading.
All that to say, this did not work for me, and I don’t have any plans on coming back to this in the future.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a spot on this blog tour hosted byColored Pages Book Tours! This did not affect my opinions in any way.
This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2021, and I’m so disappointed that I wasn’t able to finish it. I started this book eager to dive into a sapphic cyberpunk novel that included some of my favorite tropes: enemies-to-lovers and (queer!) found family. I will admit that I was intrigued by the first chapter; I found myself liking the writing style and was excited to continue. However, as I continued, the chapters droned on and on and I quickly regretted my thoughts.
Although the writing style seemed beautiful at first, I grew to hate it. While I am someone who loves purple prose, this author’s writing style takes the idea of purple prose to such an extreme extent that the words simply do not make sense. Every paragraph was increasingly longer than the next, drenched in flowery adjectives that made me forget what the point of each sentence was in the first place. I only got through 28% by skim reading, and after that, I couldn’t go on. Perhaps because of this, I was not able to differentiate between the main characters� perspectives, and did not care about what was happening to them enough to continue reading.
All that to say, this did not work for me, and I don’t have any plans on coming back to this in the future.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a spot on this blog tour hosted byColored Pages Book Tours! This did not affect my opinions in any way.
Want to read
October 18, 2021literally in love with cover, concept, & the korean gays .....
but unfortunately i have seen some snippets of the writing and they all look incredibly terrible, so i am very excited to hate read this with m-eight 🙏
but unfortunately i have seen some snippets of the writing and they all look incredibly terrible, so i am very excited to hate read this with m-eight 🙏
July 8, 2021
im very mixed about how to feel... rating might change idk
edit: decreased rating from 3 to 2 because i honestly didn't enjoy this book that much and it was one of my most anticipated releases.. rtc maybe
edit: decreased rating from 3 to 2 because i honestly didn't enjoy this book that much and it was one of my most anticipated releases.. rtc maybe
August 12, 2021
3.5 / 5
rtc, lots of mixed feelings
before reading:
DID SOMEONE SAY CYBERPUNK SAPPHICS??? AND MECHAS???? i need it now
rtc, lots of mixed feelings
before reading:
DID SOMEONE SAY CYBERPUNK SAPPHICS??? AND MECHAS???? i need it now
August 4, 2021
This book was very hard to get through and I'm having a hard time putting my finger on why; I will try to articulate my thoughts here, but they will be sporadic.
First of all, I felt like the story really dragged. The action scenes were often, and went on for an unenjoyable amount of time. The more calm scenes also felt just too long. I think the book would really benefit from cutting out at least a sentence from each page.
I also found the world building and concept to be, while very original, just not very compelling. Perhaps I'm just not a fan of sci-fi, but I found the whole concept of a war with machines and people to be.. uninspired? Boring? I did really like the character of Sona, and I thought her internal narration was the most interesting part of the book, but the concept of machines vs humans on the whole was just very boring to me.
I really enjoyed the writing style in this book. I think the author knew how to write things beautifully. However it was still very hard for me to get through regardless? I think my distaste for the plot overshadowed my like for the writing style in the end.
Overall, the plot felt like there was very little structure. This may be cheating since you normally wouldn't research an author before reading their book, but I know the author said she didn't write an outline for this story before she wrote it, and it kind of shows.
Overall, I just wasn't a huge fan of this book. However I did enjoy the audiobook, so if you think you'll like this book I would definitely say the audiobook is worth a listen! The narrator does a great job :) 2.5 stars.
First of all, I felt like the story really dragged. The action scenes were often, and went on for an unenjoyable amount of time. The more calm scenes also felt just too long. I think the book would really benefit from cutting out at least a sentence from each page.
I also found the world building and concept to be, while very original, just not very compelling. Perhaps I'm just not a fan of sci-fi, but I found the whole concept of a war with machines and people to be.. uninspired? Boring? I did really like the character of Sona, and I thought her internal narration was the most interesting part of the book, but the concept of machines vs humans on the whole was just very boring to me.
I really enjoyed the writing style in this book. I think the author knew how to write things beautifully. However it was still very hard for me to get through regardless? I think my distaste for the plot overshadowed my like for the writing style in the end.
Overall, the plot felt like there was very little structure. This may be cheating since you normally wouldn't research an author before reading their book, but I know the author said she didn't write an outline for this story before she wrote it, and it kind of shows.
Overall, I just wasn't a huge fan of this book. However I did enjoy the audiobook, so if you think you'll like this book I would definitely say the audiobook is worth a listen! The narrator does a great job :) 2.5 stars.
April 30, 2021
Mecha queer girls
Sold
A huge thank you to Edelweiss and Feiwel and Friends for the arc!
As one of my most anticipated reads of 2021, I stack up against my expectations higher than the Eiffel Tower.
Cover: check. Synopsis: check. Comp titles: CHECK.
Characters: Ok, I loved them both equally for their fierceness and their loyalty. But I had a strong connection with Eris because she's my feral baby and I love her to death.
The plot: interesting in its own right, but I had trouble keeping up with some things and I'm not sure if it was because of the structure or if I was reading too fast. Honestly, I found myself losing interest at about 30% in, but kept on trucking because I wanted to see what happened with my babies.
My emotions: OK, I wasn't expecting the book to have SO MUCH HEART, but here we are. I mean, I wasn't even asked permission for the author to put my heart into a vice. It's a heavy book, with a lot of loss and heartache and will run you through the gauntlet.
All in all, I liked this book a lot and despite the lagging and the confusion, my little brain kept chugging on with Eris and Sona.
Stellar debut.
Sold
A huge thank you to Edelweiss and Feiwel and Friends for the arc!
As one of my most anticipated reads of 2021, I stack up against my expectations higher than the Eiffel Tower.
Cover: check. Synopsis: check. Comp titles: CHECK.
Characters: Ok, I loved them both equally for their fierceness and their loyalty. But I had a strong connection with Eris because she's my feral baby and I love her to death.
The plot: interesting in its own right, but I had trouble keeping up with some things and I'm not sure if it was because of the structure or if I was reading too fast. Honestly, I found myself losing interest at about 30% in, but kept on trucking because I wanted to see what happened with my babies.
My emotions: OK, I wasn't expecting the book to have SO MUCH HEART, but here we are. I mean, I wasn't even asked permission for the author to put my heart into a vice. It's a heavy book, with a lot of loss and heartache and will run you through the gauntlet.
All in all, I liked this book a lot and despite the lagging and the confusion, my little brain kept chugging on with Eris and Sona.
Stellar debut.
May 14, 2022
I fear she did not slay the way she wanted to�..
Like tired unoriginal uninspired tropes and worldbuilding, repetitive bullshit, static motives and characters, I’m very disappointed :/ wanted more from a YA sapphic sci fi fantasy but oh well
Like tired unoriginal uninspired tropes and worldbuilding, repetitive bullshit, static motives and characters, I’m very disappointed :/ wanted more from a YA sapphic sci fi fantasy but oh well
May 19, 2023
How does this have less than 4 stars?? Criminal.
May 12, 2022
I adored this.
Who doesn’t want to read about a F/F couple falling for each other whilst toppling corrupt governments?
Who doesn’t want to read about a F/F couple falling for each other whilst toppling corrupt governments?
July 8, 2021
i'm kinda disappointed because i have seen so many great reviews about this book that i had to pick this up and so i had high expectations, but it ended up being a lot messier than expected from what the author describes it was gonna be and i mean the whole plot, at first the characters were even cool and could have a good background but then they became annoying and repetitive! another thing was the world building, that made no sense at all and for the most part of the book i couldn't understand what was going on and why the characters were acting the way they did! oh and the writing style....maybe it's just a personal choice but that's right here is not my cup of tea, a lot feels too much...repetitives dialogues and words, at certain point it became painful to read and i had to force myself to finish this book.
February 16, 2024
there was supposed to be a full review but its been months and i forgot everything that happened in this book
August 6, 2021
★★� ½ � // 3.5 s t a r s
Review
Gearbreakers has definitely been one of my very anticipated books for 2021 and while it didn't let me down, it didn't live up either. Going into the book, I was ready for a super action-centered book about robot-fighting basically (I guess the summary should have warned me though). However, what we get is more along the lines of a romance with some enemies-to-lovers and robots.
The writing. It was, for lack of better words, weird? The one thing that threw me off is how obviously written in the present tense it was when in most books we're super accustomed to a super-switchy past tense. Obviously, once you look past that you're left with descriptions upon descriptions of things that are written in paragraphs but could've been accomplished in a sentence. If you ignore the excessive use of words the humor was pretty top tier.
Sona and Eris were both pretty great MCs, however, both their personalities were basically the same thing. Which is super strange because protagonists usually have really different personalities, but oh well. The rest of the main side characters were pretty great but not exactly attachment-worthy. That was kind of sad because the funny side friend is almost always my favorite character, but no side character was hashed out enough to make it to favorite level.
All in all, Gearbreakers was pretty great for a debut, and I'll still be looking forward to Godslayers, especially after that cliffhanger.
Read...If You Liked...
Review
Gearbreakers has definitely been one of my very anticipated books for 2021 and while it didn't let me down, it didn't live up either. Going into the book, I was ready for a super action-centered book about robot-fighting basically (I guess the summary should have warned me though). However, what we get is more along the lines of a romance with some enemies-to-lovers and robots.
The writing. It was, for lack of better words, weird? The one thing that threw me off is how obviously written in the present tense it was when in most books we're super accustomed to a super-switchy past tense. Obviously, once you look past that you're left with descriptions upon descriptions of things that are written in paragraphs but could've been accomplished in a sentence. If you ignore the excessive use of words the humor was pretty top tier.
Sona and Eris were both pretty great MCs, however, both their personalities were basically the same thing. Which is super strange because protagonists usually have really different personalities, but oh well. The rest of the main side characters were pretty great but not exactly attachment-worthy. That was kind of sad because the funny side friend is almost always my favorite character, but no side character was hashed out enough to make it to favorite level.
� Yeah, we’re small. Yeah, we’re human. But we’re also gearbreakers and we’re here to dismantle the fuckers who thought we’d just sit back and take it. �
All in all, Gearbreakers was pretty great for a debut, and I'll still be looking forward to Godslayers, especially after that cliffhanger.
Read...If You Liked...
June 28, 2021
My rating: 5/5 stars
I’ve finally found it. The book I would sell my literal soul to live in. You have absolutely no idea how badly I want to be a Gearbreaker.
If Legend and Crier’s War had a baby and let Six of Crows babysit, it would be this book. Sona and Eris had the most Day and June romance I’ve read since Day and June. Just for reference, Day and June destroyed me.
Battle couples. If you love battle couples you will love this book. Guaranteed.
Okay, now for some actually coherent thoughts. Maybe. Right from the beginning I knew I would love this book, but I never could have pictured how absolutely it would destroy me. It did take a minute to get into it, but once I was in it there was no turning back. I loved Eris instantly, but Sona grew on me more gradually. But wow I love her so much now.
I wish I could go back and read this entire book for the first time again. I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy because just look at that cover. Look at it. Gorgeous. I still can’t believe I actually just read this book.
The one thing I wished this book had is just a smidge more worldbuilding. The world itself was pretty straightforward, your classic Hunger Games-esque capital city forces the rest of the country to work for them and kills them if they don’t, but I really want to know how we got there. Was there a war? A gradual overtaking of power? Hopefully the sequel will clear some of that up.
Speaking of the sequel, if by some one in a million chance Zoe Hana Mikuta is reading this: hi, I loved your book with my entire heart and soul, my whole being. And if you just, maybe, sent me the next one, I promise I wouldn’t tell anyone. Pinky swear.
Worth a try. I will be thinking about this book for months to come. It was one of those where all I wanted to do was read it. When I wasn’t reading Gearbreakers, I was definitely thinking about it.
The crew had the best found family vibes and oh my god the banter. Not just between the main couple (although that was simply amazing) but the entire cast had impeccable sass and I loved it so much. The way they adopted Sona despite her being the enemy still makes me want to cry.
And the battle scenes! This book had so much action and it was the best. Every chapter had something to keep you reading, I was literally never bored.
Back to the romance, the way Eris and Sona talk about each other, even before they fall in love, is the most heartbreakingly adorable thing ever. I just love them so much. This was the sapphic romance that made my pride month.
Was this the best book I’ve read in 2021 so far? Almost definitely. Would I do almost anything to read the sequel like, right now? You know it. Just please, please, please read this book.
I would recommend this book if: you enjoyed Legend, Crier’s War, or Six of Crows, you are looking for a sapphic romance to ruin your life, you like tropes like enemies to lovers, found family, and rebellion
I would not recommend this if: you are a contemporary reader
I’ve finally found it. The book I would sell my literal soul to live in. You have absolutely no idea how badly I want to be a Gearbreaker.
If Legend and Crier’s War had a baby and let Six of Crows babysit, it would be this book. Sona and Eris had the most Day and June romance I’ve read since Day and June. Just for reference, Day and June destroyed me.
Battle couples. If you love battle couples you will love this book. Guaranteed.
Okay, now for some actually coherent thoughts. Maybe. Right from the beginning I knew I would love this book, but I never could have pictured how absolutely it would destroy me. It did take a minute to get into it, but once I was in it there was no turning back. I loved Eris instantly, but Sona grew on me more gradually. But wow I love her so much now.
I wish I could go back and read this entire book for the first time again. I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy because just look at that cover. Look at it. Gorgeous. I still can’t believe I actually just read this book.
The one thing I wished this book had is just a smidge more worldbuilding. The world itself was pretty straightforward, your classic Hunger Games-esque capital city forces the rest of the country to work for them and kills them if they don’t, but I really want to know how we got there. Was there a war? A gradual overtaking of power? Hopefully the sequel will clear some of that up.
Speaking of the sequel, if by some one in a million chance Zoe Hana Mikuta is reading this: hi, I loved your book with my entire heart and soul, my whole being. And if you just, maybe, sent me the next one, I promise I wouldn’t tell anyone. Pinky swear.
Worth a try. I will be thinking about this book for months to come. It was one of those where all I wanted to do was read it. When I wasn’t reading Gearbreakers, I was definitely thinking about it.
The crew had the best found family vibes and oh my god the banter. Not just between the main couple (although that was simply amazing) but the entire cast had impeccable sass and I loved it so much. The way they adopted Sona despite her being the enemy still makes me want to cry.
And the battle scenes! This book had so much action and it was the best. Every chapter had something to keep you reading, I was literally never bored.
Back to the romance, the way Eris and Sona talk about each other, even before they fall in love, is the most heartbreakingly adorable thing ever. I just love them so much. This was the sapphic romance that made my pride month.
Was this the best book I’ve read in 2021 so far? Almost definitely. Would I do almost anything to read the sequel like, right now? You know it. Just please, please, please read this book.
I would recommend this book if: you enjoyed Legend, Crier’s War, or Six of Crows, you are looking for a sapphic romance to ruin your life, you like tropes like enemies to lovers, found family, and rebellion
I would not recommend this if: you are a contemporary reader
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,902 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.