I am honestly obsessed with this book. I love the world of Windups versus Gearbreakers, and how it’s so fully developed. The fast-paced action is fitting with the developing alliances, quick wit, and surprising betrayals. Sona and Eris are cutthroat protagonists, who will do anything it takes to protect the ones they love. Their slow burn relationship was sweet and an optimistic complement to this dystopian world. Crew dynamics were so much fun to read and brought some lighthearted humor. Gearbreakers was an enthralling read with an ending that leaves me waiting for the next book!

I truly enjoyed this book. I couldn't put it down. For one of the few sci-fi books I've ever read, this was by far the best written one. I was deeply stuck with the book and the characters, every single one, that by the time I was on the last page I was surprised it had ended. I don't know how to feel about the ending, but I can't wait for the next book.

Content Warning: Death of loved one, torture, death (graphic), gore, and violence (graphic).

When the world was at its most lost, humanity built its own deities rather than searching for them. The massive mechanized weapons, called Windups, gave power beyond imagining to the nation of Godolia, allowing for the decimation of neighboring groups. Now, the only rebellion left against the Windups is a mysterious group called the “Gearbreakers,” for the way they sabotage and destroy the machines. Eris Shindanai is the leader of a group of Gearbreakers, but after a mission goes awry she finds herself held captive by the Godolian forces. While being held, she meets Sona Steelcrest, a cybernetically modified Windup pilot who should be her enemy, but who may have her own motives for being part of the Godolian army. Together, the two of them may have the power to stop Godolia, no matter how high the stakes.

Honestly, I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. I thought the premise was promising, and I was so excited to get to meet the characters (both of which were actually quite enjoyable). Ultimately, my biggest issue was the pacing. The story jumped around very quickly, so it was rather difficult to follow. I found myself struggling to understand the context of what was being said, as there was no specification when it came to timeline. I believe that with more time, Zoe
Hana Mikuta’s writing will become more refined, so I will definitely give her future books a chance. Beyond the trouble with the pacing, I had quite a bit of fun reading Gearbreakers, so I would still recommend giving it a chance!

My Recommendation-
If you enjoyed reading Skyhunter by Marie Lu or This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria, you might want to pick up a copy of Gearbreakers! I would recommend this book to fans of the found-family trope and of chaotic queer energy.

I just finished this book and I feel like a meteor hit my soul and left behind a crater.

That ending packs a PUNCH.

The book as a whole is riotously-paced — the speed at which the plot moves and evolves is reminiscent of the chaotic nature of the ensemble main cast, who are young and boisterous and act unafraid of death because it's something they have to face so much.

But okay, the review. I want to say this book is enjoyable, because it mostly is, but the way Mikuta didn't pull her punches with the ending just has me reeling.

Ultimately, yes, this is a story about teens fighting to save the world even though the world sucks, about hope flaring in the most hopeless of places, about love in all its myriad, messy forms, about worshipping gods that do not deserve it and trying to destroy them. It's messy and moves fast and brutal, just like the world of the story it tells. Maybe someday I'll be able to write a more coherent review, but for now I just have to say, it's well worth the read.

Zoe Hana Mikuta’s Gearbreakers will ruin your life and I mean that in the best way possible. She makes you fall in love with every single character and then tortures, kills, or separates them from each other and makes your heart explode in your chest and tears fall from your eyes for at least 30 minutes after you finish reading.

If this doesn’t convince you to read Gearbreakers, I don’t know what else will.

Besides a complete emotional collapse, you can also look forward to possibly the best found family I’ve ever read. They are scruffy, sarcastic, and loveable fighters that will beat the crap out of each other but will also tear anyone limb from limb if they try to hurt one of their own.

But before I get ahead of myself, let’s talk specifics of this sci-fi story.

Gearbreakers is a queer, YA sci-fi book that will blow your mind
The story begins with Sona, a cybernetically enhanced pilot of Windups. Windups are pretty much these big robot/transformers that Godolia uses as weapons.

Sona’s life was destroyed when Godolia and their Windups came to her home and destroyed everyone she ever loved. But when she made her way to the city, she was soon recruited to be the thing she loathed the most. A Windup pilot.

But as much as she lets them believe she is with them 100%, she is actually making plans to destroy them piece by piece.

Her opportunity comes sooner than she expected when Godolia captures a Gearbreaker named Eris. Sona tricks her way into Eris’s cell and tries to get Eris to believe that she’s on her side.

The rest can be found at https://culturess.com/2021/06/29/gearbreakers-this-book-will-ruin-your-life-and-you-will-love-it/

Mecha. Fights. This made me think that maybe sci-fi is for me in like the best possible way....plus emotions were emoted.

Our two main characters are sona and eris and you get perspectives from both. Sona steelcrest has just been cybernetically enhanced to pilot the giant robots known as windups which the country she inhabits, godolia, uses to enforce their tyranny. Eris, the other mc, is a member of the Gearbreakers, which is a force of people living in the badlands (separate from godolia) who are working to destroy the windups and end godolias tyranny. Eris is a leader of a team of teen gearbreakers who are all mismatched together in this little found family that I fell in love with and I guarantee you will too.

I’ll be honest that the plot really takes a backseat in this, you’re really going to want to go into this for the characters and their dynamics. One of the side characters is Jenny, and she is THE SHIT I want her to step on my neck. She’s absolutely ruthless and she’s an engineer, building different contraptions to help the gearbreakers including eris’ since gloves that make eris become deemed the frost bringer. Jenny doesn’t even take shit from like, the elders of the group and basically runs everything. I love her and I want a novella of just Jenny doing day to day shit and making everyone around her intimidated while she does her engineering shit.

The real shunning star of this is the sapphic romance which is just… the absolute fucking best. It’s enemies to lovers, forced proximity, we begrudgingly have to work together, turns to slow build of trust and then eventual feelings revealed and I fucking LOVE IT. It gave me similar feelings
To haunting of bly manor. So if that appeals to you, READ IMMEDIATELY. There’s this one scene where they’re at the gearbreakers home area, at their teams home, and eris and sona are shooting the shit and they start dancing together THE FEELINGS IN MY CHEST. It melted my cold dead heart.

I do have a couple of minor complaints.
First that eris was tortured by godolia, mostly off page, and once she gets out of that situation it never really gets brought up again and I was like… so you’re just fine? No lasting effects? Alrighty. Seemed like a bit of an oversight there in the editing.

Second I feel like the whole “we worship these mechas” religion thing wasn’t a fully delved into aspect, which is a shame because I love religion and cults in fiction. I would’ve appreciated on page depictions of the people who are really under godolias tyranny and don’t realize it’s tyranny and actively think of mechas as gods.

I really loved the ending although I saw it coming, there were very few like shocking reveals and big gasp moments. But it did leave me very hyped to see what happens going forward and worried for our main characters.

Also, if you loved this then you’re gonna love iron widow. Please read both.

4.5/5

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 Gondolia to its breaking point. On a day that ends with a mission gone badly, Eris is captured and brought to one of Goldolia’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.

Trigger warnings: death, blood, violence, torture

This book is easily one of the best books I've read all year (and that's saying a lot as I've read 39).

In this book, we follow Sona and Eris who are on seemingly opposite sides of a war. However, it it soon revealed that perhaps Sona's loyalties aren't as deep as Eris was led to believe. Eris, chaotic like her name's meaning, seeks the adrenaline rush of taking down the animatronics that have been taking innocents lives to keep Godolia in power. Sona, a pilot of a Valykerie- one of the most prestigious forms of animatronics- allowed herself to become a monster, all so she could avenge those she's lost.

The main characters are two of the most badass female leads I've ever read in a work of fiction. They know who they are, what they want, and how to get it. It's rare for me to like a shifting POV in a dystopian novel, but this has to be an exception. Each time the point of view shifts, I am able to clearly see how, though Sona and Eris differ in many ways, the way they perceive situations is very similar. I l also love how they are both strong and caring which can at times be seen as mutually exclusive .

The world building in this novel is exceptional. It is easily intertwined in the story so it isn't overwhelming. There are subtleties in the work that allow you to construct this world bit by bit. The more I read, the more immersed I was in this world and the closer I felt to the characters.

If you take anything from this review let it be this: Read this book!! I will buy any of Zoe Hana Mikuta's work from here on out.

*3.5 stars
Thank you so much to netgalley and Fewel and Friends for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a fun YA sci-fi! The concept was so interesting and the ending left me so excited for book 2. What really stood out to me about the book was definitely the relationship between the two main characters. The slowburn was done so well, and the payoff is fantastic. The part of the book that definitely left me wanting more was the worldbuilding. I would have liked a little more background on the setting and history of the world. Overall though, this was such a fun read and if you're looking for more sapphic stories, I would definitely recommend!

DNF at 9%

Just not feeling it, and it got even worse when I got to Eris' POV.

Sure to be a winner for someone else as the idea is fantastic, but I'm not jiving with the writing style.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review

"how do you kill a god?" / "from the inside out."

sona is a windup pilot: a cybernetic mecha operator who is a soldier for godolia–the tyrannical government in this dystopia. eris is a gearbreker: a rebel from the badlands who takes down mechas from the inside out. when one of eris' missions goes awry and she finds herself imprisoned in a godolia prison, their paths meet. but sona isn't like other windups. she wants to take down godolia just like the gearbreakers do.

dystopian ya used to be my go-to genre. reading about teens taking down the government, the stakes of falling in love in the middle of a war, the escapism that came with reading about dystopia. it was always so fun. i've strayed away from dystopia as an adult since it started feeling like i was living in a dystopia half the time. and also most of these books featured straight white characters. i didn't see myself in the fictional revolutions, if not for some tokenized character that was vaguely asian-adjacent.

gearbreakers is not that. sona and eris very much fall into the enemies to allies to....yearning. eris is shaping up to be a disaster bi and i love that for me. if i understood correctly, both of them are asian-coded (y'know how dystopia goes, but there's korean sprinkled lightly in the book which is so very refreshing.)

most of all though, this book reflects on how the dystopian world breeds these kids to fight in wars that they didn't start. how learning to fight is what keeps them alive, but also what kills them. how they are forced to face their mortality at a young age because they don't know how much time they have or which battle will be their last. how some are bred to fight until the fight becomes them completely.

at the heart of this book is a found family that leans on each other to survive, and a pair of sisters that push each other to be the best. so if the sapphic yearning wasn't enough for you, there's that.

content warnings: violence (off-page torture and on page gore/body horror), death, general ya level sci-fi horror

Gearbreakers is a fast-paced debut sci-fi YA novel that asks the question of if there is any truly effective way to fight gods. I really enjoyed this book or the first 70% of it at least. I fell into the story of two girls fighting against a government that has created gods from a combination of machines and the enhanced humans who pilot them. However, at about 70% through the novel, I could suddenly see the final twist clearly and knew that I personally was not going to enjoy where this book was headed. This is a book with a sequel to come, and the last 30% of the book really served to set up this sequel and raise the stakes for that book.

The ending of this book is going to be divisive for readers. It will either leave people begging for the next installment or wondering what the point of the book was. For me, I was left questioning what the point of the book was and whether anything that happened in this book mattered if this was the setup for the sequel.

I enjoyed the action sequences throughout the book, especially the ones that showed how well Eris' gearbreaker crew functioned, and even though parts of this book felt like filler between action sequences, I found that they didn't drag down the pacing of the book which allowed me to breeze through reading the book. 

The book itself is a bit repetitive at times, and I wish that the found family aspect was better developed because it felt like the crew was just an assortment of random people that each cared only about two or three other members of the crew except for Eris, who led the crew and therefore cared about each of them.

The love story between Sona and Eris felt rushed toward the end of the novel, and the deepening of their relationship felt like it just served to raise the stakes for book two. They were moving slowly from enemies to friends to lovers which I was fine with and would have been fine if they had not even reached the point of lovers until book two. Instead, they went from somewhat friendly to absolutely in love and would not willing to separate in the last third of this book.

In a world where gigantic robots are part of a ruling empire’s weaponry, and they enhance Pilots with technology to create cyborg-like humans who operate the machines, a group of talented rebels find ways to take them down. When one of the rebels, Eris, is captured, she receives help to escape in the unlikeliest of places – a Valkyrie Pilot named Sona, who has her own agenda of defeating the empire from the inside. Gearbreakers tells the story of how these two teenagers join forces to accomplish a common goal and begin to develop feelings for each other along the way.

Eris, nicknamed Frostbringer for the technology she uses to damage and defeat the machines (called Windups), is the leader of her rag-tag group of feral rebels, who call themselves Gearbreakers and live in the Badlands. Everyday is a struggle for these groups, since they are similar to outlaws and do not surrender to Godolia’s will. They are, however, very good at taking down Windups – so much so that each Windup is equipped with two guards to prevent Gearbreakers from destroying them.

Sona is a cybernetically-enhanced human and part of the elite group of Pilots who are specially trained at the Academy. We eventually learn that she plans to take down Godolia from the inside, motivated by rage and anger from what the regime did to her family and her town years ago. When Eris shows up at the Academy and is taken prisoner, Sona sees her chance to join the Gearbreakers and defeat Godolia.

This debut novel from Zoe Hana Mikuta is mostly well-paced, although it is slow at some parts. The feelings that Eris and Sona develop for each other was believable – it seems difficult for authors to create a romance among strangers, not to mention enemies. But Mikuta does this very well. And even if most of the characters weren’t 100% relatable, they are very likable. Who wouldn’t be impressed by teenagers destroying 100-foot mechas, only equipped with knives?

While the premise of gigantic robots isn’t super original (Pacific Rim, anyone?), I really enjoyed where Mikuta took the story. The idea that the Pilots don’t feel pain unless they are connected to the robot adds a psychological component to an otherwise basic concept. We also get different types of mechas and the implications of how this technology advanced over time, and will continue to do so. I also commend Mikuta for exploring what a cyborg-like human might think or act like, and how she would be perceived by those who are not her peers.

My only criticism of Gearbreakers is that I wish we got more of Godolia’s background and how the way of life came to be. For half the book I kept wondering why they built the mechas in the first place, why Godolia forces were so brutal that people felt the need to form rebel groups and fight back. While there is some explanation, readers are left to extrapolate for themselves.

Overall, Gearbreakers was a fun read and easy to get into. I loved Eris’s ferocity and Sona’s blunt nature. The last quarter of the book has great momentum and a cliff-hanger ending that makes me grateful for a planned sequel (releasing Summer 2022). I also appreciated the representation for the Asian-American and LGBTQ+ communities. Part sci-fi, part fantasy, and part romance – this story has a little something for everyone.

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 enjoyed the storyline of this book, and the only thing that really annoyed me was the pluralization of curse phrases. It made the flow of reading awkward and didn't really serve a purpose to the plot or backstory.

Sona Steelcrest was stolen off her life and her parents the day the mechas descended upon the village. Working her way to becoming stronger, becoming something that she hated is just part of her plan for revenge. Turned into a living machine, wires, and blood, Sona could easily control a mecha.

Mechas are revered as deities. Humans look towards these weapons as Gods while the world around them fell apart. Ranging from Berserkers to Valkyries, every unit has its own roles to play. The only people humbling them, cutting their wires and killing their Pilots, are the Gearbreakers.

Gearbreakers are reckless and seek the thrill of destruction. They would pick apart the mechas with glee and would gladly watch the organization burn. Each of the Gearbreakers had suffered some sort of loss and experienced hardships under the hands of the Windups.

Losing the human side of herself and letting herself be infused with wires and metal plates, Sona struggles with identity. She seemed a little detached from her own body, willingly sacrifice anything to be experimented on. Whenever she faced hostility from the other Gearbreakers, Sona’s only response is passiveness and indifference.

Eris Shindanai, captain of her own Gearbreakers crew, is reckless and a loose cannon herself. She has no qualms about slaughtering anything in her way. Not caring about rules, Eris’s fiery personality and bravery land her in precarious situations but she always seemed to be able to escape.

The chemistry and overall bond in Eris’s crew were strong and effortless. While they might curse and scream and threaten each other’s deaths, you know they would do anything to make sure the crew is safe. This family of unmanageable fighters has their own personalities and roles to play in the team so it was easy to differentiate them while reading.

The romance is a slow-burning one. Eris and Sona have an initial attraction as they mused at how beautiful each other was in their minds. However, with them being on opposite sides initially, nothing really happened. As they spent more time together though, their friendship and camaraderie developed into something deeper and more romantic.

Overall, I had great fun reading Gearbreakers. It was non-stop sword fights and cutting down 200ft deity-like machines. Eris and Sona are both forces to be reckoned with. Zoe Hana Mikuta has gifted us a wonderful science fiction debut with fearsome queer girls who aren’t afraid of anything. Elated that this will be a duology! I don’t think I can handle having only this book as a standalone. There’s so much more to explore in Godolia.

dnf @ 19%

the world building in this book was way too confusing for me to continue on with. it was hard to imagine what was happening and at what pace it was happening at. i’m really sad this didn’t work for me because it was one of my most anticipated releases

I really, really wanted to love this book, but it fell flat. I normally love the found family & enemies-to -lovers tropes (esp. when they’re sapphic) and dual pov storytelling, but the execution was not the best. Despite the books shortcomings, I will be reading the second book because the story was just interesting enough for me to want to continue.

“It makes sense that, when the times were desperate enough, when the people were frenzied enough, at a certain point we went past praying to deities and started to build them instead.”
ARC provided by the publisher Feiwel & Friends / Macmillan Publishers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When two people from opposite sides of the war find each other with a common chaotic goal to destroy and wreck havoc. A half bionic Windup pilot with a dark past and a gearbreaker with a dangerous taste for adrenaline. Two unlikely enemies team up to bring down the gods and panic in gay a few times in this explosive YA scifi debut.

First and foremost I would like to thank Colored Pages Tours for choosing me as one of the many amazing book bloggers for Gearbreakers tour from June 23rd to June 29th. Thank you as well to the author and publisher Feiwel & Friends / Macmillan Publishers for providing a digital ARC (Advance Readers Copy) as part of this blog tour. Also for sending a physical copy of the book!

Because they did not simply create another Pilot. Another soldier. Another protector. They created nothing short of their own downfall.

Gearbreakers is a young adult sapphic scifi debut by one of the most hyped young authors Zoe Hana Mikuta. This soon to be adapted book will be the first of two books that will kick off the start to a thrilling, adventurous, and action packed series. Marketed as a book perfect for fans of Pacific Rim, Pierce Brown’s Red Rising Saga, and Marie Lu’s Legend series this book fulfills my fantasy of a sapphic version of Gundam or Gurren Lagann. Before diving deep into the book I would like to highlight the beautiful cover of this book done by the amazing Taj Francis and designed by Mike Burroughs. The illustration of the cover is just perfection with Sona and Eris up front and the font choice reflects the story so well. The head of the giant windup in the background is so subtle and the color scheme is also stunning! The cover definitely got me excited to dive into the book.

The story of Gearbreakers takes place in a world where one nation proclaimed to be the capital of the world and the world’s only super power that emerged victorious from the Springtide War, a world war during which each nation battled each other using Windups to assert dominance and claim the limited amount of resources. Godolia became the nation that conquered the world during the war as they were the first to build the first generation of piloted Windups contrary to the common autonomous system. The Godolia’s technological advancement in syncing pilots to the giant two hundred feet robot proved to be superior to the other nation’s windups. Since then Godolia has continuously oppressed and exploits other nations to serve their needs for resources. Standing in defiance of Godolia’s power are the Gearbreakers, a chaotic resistance army that take down the god like Godolia Windups.

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.

Mikuta created a world that is reminiscent to movies like Mad Max combined with the small walled cities in the anime Attack of Titan. Godolia is a crowded metropolitan city, separating the city is a wall that divides the city from the ravaged outside lands dubbed as the Badlands that have been heavily ruined by war and where the resource villages are located. The world building is simple, impactful, and vivid. Though some parts of the world could’ve been explained in even more detail and in depth it didn’t hinder me from enjoying the whole story. I liked the contrast between the Hollows and Godolia in the story. The Hollows is the Gearbreaker’s sanctuary that is hidden somewhere in the Badlands where there the skies are clearer, surrounded by trees and plants, and contained some of the natural essence of earth that don’t exist in Godolia. In Godolia the sky is covered with smog, the air is much more polluted, and it is jam packed with the human population. Unless they live somewhere of significance, such as the academy, life is harder and more dangerous on the streets.

Though I adored most parts the world building and the full scale of the world that came to view when I reached in the middle of the book. The quarter part of the book (~30% of the book) the writing is quite a hurdle to get over. Though I enjoyed the book there are parts that made it a bit hard and challenging. Mikuta’s ability in conveying the sheer emotions of her characters and setting the right mood of the story through her writing is articulate. Though I favored her writing style later on in the story; during the earlier chapters the prose felt scattered, the history felt convoluted, the world building is hard to follow at some parts, and the mythos could’ve been much more concise. I have to admit that I had to reread these earlier chapters to fully understand the world, it’s as though the first time I read it I only got fragments that I have to reread it at least twice to completely understand it. From the reviews I’ve read I am not the only one that struggled with this. I was too immersed in the vibes and was in prime condition for reading that I continued reading until the end. It did get better significantly the further you go into the story as the plot finally picks up and the messy scattered prose became much more cohesive. I would say that I adore the writing style as it carries the right amount of sharpness, sometimes brutal, captivating, and refreshing. I encourage readers to push through the earlier chapters as the writing doesn’t persist further into the book. The amazing story is worth it to push through the earlier chapters.

It was from hate for them, hate for myself and the way my recklessness and childishness had forever bound me to this nation and the dream of its destruction, and hate of what I would become to achieve it.

In Gearbreakers the story follow two perspectives, Sona and Eris. The two are from the opposite sides of the war. With Sona standing on Godolia’s side as she established herself as one of the most elite and skilled pilots of the Valkyrie windups. On the other side is Eris Shindanai, the rebel leader that loves the thrill of a good Windup take down and when you think Elsa is icy, Eris is the blizzard. I loved the way Mikuta structured the story as the first half shows the contrasting life between the two main characters before they met each other. When they finally meet the crackle of tension and mutual pinning bleeds out of the page. Mikuta ability in fleshing out her characters by showing a depth, humanity, and emotion is astounding. There are so many heartbreaking and hear fluttering moments that thinking about it gives me chills. Though some moments felt a bit repetitive on Eris’ perspective whenever she’s in battle I liked her character growth and her role as the mother hen of her group. Eris shows her affection is the most tsundere way possible contrasting her sister, Jenny Shindanai, that is more unhinged and sometimes more vicious in expressing her feelings. Eris is a born leader, her strength and commanding presence carries an edge that tethers between the fearlessness of a Gearbreaker and a compassionate leader that cares for her team.

And when I meet her gaze, the one that somehow seems to simmer more viciously than the artificial light forced into mine, I forget myself and draw a breath.

Sona on the other hand is complex and carries with her the weight of her pain close as a reminder of the tragic reality she is living in. Her development as a character is prominent in propelling the story forward. At first her intentions were simple and innocent but it then grew to be something grand as Sona is given an important task that might turn the tides of the war. Personally, Sona is much more well fleshed out than the other characters as her development comes to a full circle by the end of the story. Following Sona’s train of thought is painful to an extent as she struggles to accept her robot side as it dawned on her what Godolia did to her and what she put herself through. These struggle are heavily explored by Mikuta showing a different perspective in the war through Sona’s character. But overall Sona’s journeying is clearly centered around her humanity and how she measures her humanity not just from her physical aspects but also a deeper root such as her mind and heart. Luckily, Sona has Eris that helps her by giving her support and affection when Sona needs it most. The chemistry and tension is crackling, they are so intimate with each other it’s as though I’m invading their privacy.

“I will not die in a Windup. I will not die following their orders, and I will not die as their protector. I will die human or I will not die at all.”

The side characters in Gearbreakers all have a unique quality to them that is endearing and playful. Eris’ crew consist of some of the youngest members in the Hollows, a rag tag team bunch deemed as problematic became the perfect members for Eris to lead. When Mikuta introduced these characters it was done in such a way that left a deep impression on me. It’s surprising how this story carries themes of war and children that are forced to pick up arms to join the resistance. How Mikuta brings forth this thematic story might be a heroic at some points but there are also moments when the humanity and child like innocence breaks the surface of that bravery. For instance each of the Gearbreaker aren’t afraid of death (so they say), at their young age death shouldn’t loom over them everyday but they have lived with it for so long it became a habit. But when death finally knocks on their door or all of the power to break free is taken from them the terror is clearly depicted by Mikuta. I love this about the characters even during dire moments they choose to fight until the end, kicking and screaming taking down as many of their enemies with them. The found family aspect became the safe haven for the characters and vital in their continued efforts in fighting the war. It goes to show that there is comfort amongst the pain and fear that follows them everywhere.

Because you choose sides in war and I chose the one that makes me feel human, and this I will not apologize for.

Final thoughts, Gearbreakers is an overall good book and I highly recommend anyone to pick it up. If you love dystopian, robots, found family, and feral strong female characters this is the book for you. It is action packed, filled with robot against robot fighting sequences and robot against humans scenes that left me floored and highly entertained. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this book though I have issues with the last act of the story hopefully it will be resolved in the sequel. I’m looking forward to how Mikuta will continue the story because there are many possibilities that left me curious. Fair warning the ending is infuriating to say the least in a good way, My emotions are still reeling from it. Once again I highly recommend for anyone to pick this up and enjoy the sapphic mutual pining all the while killing robots, toppling nations and being as feral, angry, and ruthless as possible.

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.