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.

Are you ready for your next sci-fi read? Look no farther.

Let me start by saying I’m typically not a sci-fi reader, however Gearbreakers was an amazing introduction into the genre. Sapphic cyperpunk was honestly exactly the book vibes I didn’t know I needed. First I loved that both girls were able to explore their sexuality without it having to be they were coming out. They just were and it was perfect. I also adored the found family aspect of this story.

The first 30% of the book I will say is a slower start, but after that it really picks up and I was flipping through the pages on my kindle that I read 70% of the book in a day.

Fans of enemies to lovers will love the banter and the opposites attract mentality this books displays. Our main characters find themselves on opposite sides of a war, but sides can be deceiving.

I was on the edge of my seat for a majority of the book needing to know what happened next. And the ending??? Let’s just say I need book to ASAP!!!

I picked up the Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta because I was sold on the intriguing premise of a cyberpunk adventure, queer romance, and that gorgeous cover. Overall, I liked the book however, it could have been better.

Mikuta’s writing is beautiful, and the world-building is incredibly solid. She executes the science fiction lingo perfectly. Her visually descriptive writing conjured awe-inspiring images of gargantuan machines (called mechas) serving the oppressive regime of Godolia and crushing the rebels.

It’s action-packed. Barely a page goes by without a (jocular) fight breaking out among the rebel crews or a showdown between a mecha and a group of rebels.

Moreover, Gearbreakers is perfect for young adult readers. There is so much angst in almost all the characters. Why wouldn’t there be? Everyone in the Badlands has lost someone to Godolia’s cruelty. The rebels wear their anger on their sleeves.

This suits its target audience, unfortunately, I found it overbearing. I would have liked the book better if Mikuta had dialed down the angsty tone a bit. Further, the book is intricately detailed. Her descriptions of the gadgets and the mechas were a joy to read. However, sometimes too many details bogged down the story.

Between the two protagonists, I liked Sona more than Eris because the author describes her emotions better than Eris’s. The book is touted as a queer romance. The romance between Sona and Eris is not traditionally romantic, but there is a tender connection between them.

To sum up, Zoe Hana Mikuta is an author to look out for. Her Gearbreakers will win many a hearts.

Many thanks to the publisher for my free copy of the book. This does not affect my opinion on the book.

Gearbreakers was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, so I am a bit disappointed. That said, overall, the vibes were excellent, as was the diversity, though the plot felt underdeveloped.

The language in the first 20-30% is definitely flowery. I tend to like flowery imagery so I wasn’t too bothered by this, though there were lines here and there that felt convoluted. What bothered me more was the handling of the world’s context. There was a page or two that was very heavy with information, but I still feel like I gleaned “Godolia bad, Badlands good” and not much else. Don’t get me wrong, the premise is still compelling—there’s something so cinematic about intelligent, reckless teenagers bringing down God-like mechas—but there’s ample room for development in this world, and I do think it will shine through better in a sequel.

The heart of this novel lies in the relationship between Eris and Sona, two queer Asian girls on opposing sides of a multigenerational war. Gearbreakers actually reminded me of The Poppy War in the way that Mikuta depicts teenagers struggling to find family and love in the midst of a senseless, overwhelming war. The characters—even the more bloodthirsty ones—are all likable, though I admit to having trouble distinguishing some of the side characters. Throughout the novel, I physically felt the characters’ rage as well as the fierceness with which they protect one another. Gearbreakers promised the found family trope, and it delivered.

The plot, in comparison, felt flimsy. The recklessness suited the characters, but I guess I expected more precision by the end. There was a lot of rising action, but the actual climax confused me, and I think the big reveal and the subsequent falling action passed by too quickly. It left me unsatisfied, though I suppose that was intentional considering that there is a sequel planned.

Come for the vibes, stay for the characters, and hopefully, return in the sequel for stronger worldbuilding and pacing.

This is a *fantastic* YA sci-fi book that I cannot WAIT to recommend to every sci-fi-loving teen I know, work with, and just meet on the street. It's a fast-paced book of found family, cyberpunk aesthetics, 200-foot mechas, easy-to-follow action, and love in so many different forms (familial (both by blood and by choice), romantic, and friendship).

GEARBREAKERS is a dual-perspective book between Sona Steelcrest and Eris Shindanai--girls who think they're on opposite sides of a brewing war in Godolia, but who are actually fighting for the same cause. Sona is a Pilot for Godolia's mechas--known as Windups--and has numerous cybernetic enhancements to make her as effective--and as deadly--as possible. Eris, on the other hand, is a Gearbreaker: someone from the Badlands who takes the Windups down and fights for the rights of the people in the Badlands. Once Sona and Eris learn they are actually both vying for Godolia's downfall (and once they slowly start to trust each other), they work with Eris's team of Gearbreakers to work toward their most intense--and dangerous--attempt to fight Godolia yet.

I loved so much about this book. There were few parts that I disliked and/or that annoyed me, and they were so few and far between that I was rarely frustrated for long. For instance, I don't really know what Godolia or the Badlands look like... but I was so immersed in the immediate scenes/descriptions that I wasn't too bothered. There were only a handful of chapters that started with a note about time/scene (e.g., "0900," "Heavensday," etc.)... but I was so engrossed in the overarching narrative that the inconsistency didn't really faze me. The first few chapters were a little slow... but I got SO into the story afterwards that the action was worth the wait. Basically, there was little for me to criticize in the book, because anything that I *could* have critiqued didn't impact my overall reading experience OR my enjoyment of the story in any way. The story was THAT engaging, from beginning to end.

Since I did love so much, I'm going to do a top-five-favorite-elements-in-the-book extended bullet list, or my review could go on for days. So, what did I love?
1) The character development of both Eris and Sona was extremely well done. Both girls have extremely strong wants/goals from the very beginning, but as the book goes on, their goals begin to shift slightly as they change their outlook(s) on other people, Godolia, and what it means to be at war. The *strength* of their wants/goals never leaves, but that strength sometimes changes directions, and it was really satisfying to see the characters grow in ways that acknowledged that their fight(s) meant different things than they did at the beginning of the narrative.
2) The action was SO easy to follow!! Seriously, there are 200-foot mechas fighting each other on the ground; 200-foot mechas fighting each other in the air; people fighting INSIDE 200-foot mechas; and so much more. I never felt lost, and those high-intensity scenes were super easy to imagine.
3) The found family of Gearbreakers has my entire heart. There are 6 people in Eris's unit (excluding Eris herself), but they all have unique personalities, Gearbreaking specializations, and hobbies/habits/tics. I would read companion novellas about each person in that unit, to be honest.
4) Jenny is absolutely unhinged and I love it. She has an almost-dangerous amount of confidence, but it's necessary in war. She knows EXACTLY what she wants, how to win, and how to get what she needs in order to secure her wants/wins, and NOTHING will stop her. She may go so long without sleep that she slurs like a drunkard, and she may be willing to fight literally everyone she meets in order to see her visions through, but wow is she FUN and STRONG and EXCITING and POWERFUL and I love it.
5) [THIS ONE HAS SOME MINOR SPOILERS] The "romance" between Eris and Sona isn't overwhelming. They clearly love each other by the end, and their care for each other was apparent in the ways they reacted to Sona's winding, the ways they handled the other Gearbreakers' opinions, and, most importantly, the ways they expressed their CARE for one another. They didn't need to be constantly making out or professing their love to each other to clearly have that love, and not only did that feel very in line with their characters--they are both definitely people who show love through actions above anything else, let's be honest--but it felt very natural in reading about the budding love between two former enemies who still have difficulties trusting each other, despite *wanting* to give the other person their entire heart.
Bonus) The book said "jade" three times. That's all.

Anyway, I am in love with this book, and I hope that so many other people--especially teens--fall in love with it as well. I CANNOT wait for the sequel, and I cannot wait to talk with people about this book, too. Make room on your shelves for GEARBREAKERS, because you will not regret it.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

There's a lot of great things about this book -- the concept of mecha fights and rebels bold enough to climb inside them and shut them down was really cool. I liked both of the main characters, Sona and Eris, and there's a lovely found family aspect to this book as well. This is also a great choice if you're looking for a sci-fi sapphic read! Reading this overall was a really enjoyable experience.

However, there were a few things that kept me from giving this a higher rating, and I want to give my honest opinion. Sometimes I got a bit disoriented by the writing, not understanding exactly what was happening or feeling like I missed something that I guess I was supposed to assume happened. The sequential movement of time could have been a little easier to follow. It also took me a long time to get through the first part of this book, but once I did I read it pretty quickly and was very curious to know what would happen.

And the ending ... let's just say I would really like book 2 in my hands right now but I guess that'll be over a year from now, sadly. If you like betrayal and suspense and a good cliffhanger, Gearbreakers will supply you with all of that.

Gearbreaks is a nice antidote to many YA books in that our heroines are much more nuanced than simple 'good person fighting bad guys.' The author does not shy away from the young women killing masses and messily nor being casual in sex. In this way, the dystopian genre gets a nice reboot. At the same time, it does feel very much like a debut effort with some clunky writing and flow issues affecting the reading experience. But I think most will find this an exuberant and action-packed read with some truly kick-butt heroines.

Sona is a mecha pilot - the elite of the elite protecting Godolia interests. She has gone through cyborg-like surgery, body parts replaced with machinery, in order to pilot the god-like mechas. Rebel Eris scrabbles for existence in the outlands. Her mission is simple: destroy the mechas and kill the pilots or die trying. But Sona has a secret - she is from the outlandes originally and saw her family destroyed by Godolia. Now, all she wants is revenge. She's going to find it with Eris - if she can survive the rebels first.

Right from the start, when one of our main characters casually gets out of bed after a night of meaningless sex, you know you are going to be in a harder-hitting YA novel than most. Combine that with the merciless nature in which both heroines slaughter individuals and this hits the right notes for a more grounded and truer dystopian society than most.

Sona is a more broken character, having lost everything early in her life and now enduring more than living. Her mission is to destroy Godolia from within - she just doesn't know how she is going to accomplish that yet. Eris, on the other hand, is all spark and fire; she knows she will die young and have to watch her teammates/friends die one by one. She is a product of the tyranny of Godolia and the environment. When both meet, one personality is cold efficiency and one is fiery ambition. Yet ironically ice wields fire and fire wields ice as weapons.

The worldbuilding is established enough but told in rather simplistic terms. Sona's mecha pilot teammates are your prototypical 'imperialistic' soldiers, assured of their power and righteousness. The rebels are rag tag and lacking organization; a fatalistic and loosely held together group. Eris' group in particular is a 'bad bunch' rejected by other teams and fiercely loyal to her. Both groups were well established and had a variety of personalities; and yet, those personalities felt somewhat shallow and cliche. more prototypes than people.

There is a subplot of a jealous teammate of Eris' that was tedious and one note. And at times, I had to reread several times to understand what was happening in both action and downtime scenes. The book ends on a clear cliffhanger but does complete an arc of sorts in that things come back around to the starting point neatly. The romance is nicely understated (it never overshadows the dangerous situation they are in) and does evolve organically. As well, this is a character driven piece with a nice mix of action sequences.

In all, an enjoyable read with a lot of twists, action, anarchy, and with two very strong heroines. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

First of all thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I don't even know where to begin when talking about one of my most highly anticipated 2021 releases. Gearbreakers follows in the perspective of two girls on opposite sides of a war, who have the same motives. To destroy Godolia.

This book had me laughing, crying, screaming, and every emotion in between. I had gotten so attached to the Gearbreaker found families, they actually reminded me of my own friend group. It usually takes a lot to get me hooked on dystopian sci-fi books but Zoe beautifully created an entire world with characters you can' t help but grow attached to. I will admit, it did take me a little to get through the world building of this, but you always have to truly give dystopian books a chance when starting. My official review blurb would probably be that Gearbreakers is a book that will get you hooked on the plot, to the characters, and have you begging for more (Especially after the ending!@#$%^$#@) I need everyone and anyone to mark June 29 in their calendars and immediately buy and read this book, you will not regret it!

I may have had too high an expectation for 'Gearbreakers', to the point where I’m left feeling disappointed after reading. Despite this, there are a lot of things that I enjoyed in this book, especially the found family.

'Gearbreakers' is told through a dual POV and the main characters are two young girls named Eris and Sona.

Eris is a Gearbreaker and one of the youngest captains. She leads their crews on missions to take down Godolia’s mechas. She’s intelligent, tough, and incredibly brave. One would describe her crew as the rejects, but she fights to give them a family with a place to call home. Eris fights with her heart on her sleeve and I admired her character so much.

Sona is a newly enhanced Windup Pilot and a product of Godolia. The government has taken her apart and replaced her with parts that no longer make her physically human. She’s fierce, strong, and underneath her hard exterior, she’s a kindhearted person who just wants to be seen.

These two characters may seem like they are polar opposites, and in some ways they are. Despite being a weapon for Godolia, Sona shares the same goal as Eris, though. They both want nothing more than to see Godolia torn to shreds. This is how the two eventually end up on the same team instead of fighting one another after their paths cross.

I really enjoyed both Eris and Sona. In fact, I loved all of the characters in 'Gearbreakers'. There were a lot of them to keep track of, especially in the beginning when names were just being thrown around. Once the story hit the middle mark their individual personalities began to stand out on their own, though. I was able to enjoy them all more and they were the saving grace of this book.

The plot held a lot of promises, especially after reading the blurb, but overall it was very confusing. I had a hard time following along because of the writing. The pacing was off and I was left with more questions than anything else. Zoe Hana Mikuta had a great vision for this story and the writing held promise. There were vivid descriptions and well-thought-out plans, but unfortunately at times it felt like there was too much telling rather than showing. Usually, I find it hard to connect with books with this writing style and that may be why I didn’t enjoy my reading experience as much as others.

When Eris and Sona begin working together the plot feels a lot smoother. The world is more fleshed out at this point and it was easier to follow along with. There were still moments where I was left confused, though. It just made me want more from this book than what I got.

Overall, 'Gearbreakers' fell short for me. There are a lot of fun aspects to this story, especially for readers who love sci-fi and mecha stories. The characters are fantastic and the splash of romance we see from two Asian female characters is lovable when it’s so rare to see in YA. But the plot is extremely confusing at times and probably needed to give readers fewer descriptions.

If you’re a fan of sci-fi then I would still recommend checking out 'Gearbreakers' to give it a try! This may just be a case of this book wasn’t for me but others will love it.

Thank you to Feiwel & Friends and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC.

Trigger warnings: blood, body horror, child death, death, death of a parent, emotional abuse, gore, grief, gun violence, kidnapping, medical content, murder, pyshical abuse, torture, violence, and vomit.

I’m not much of a sci-fi reader, but even still, Gearbreakers found its way onto my anticipated reads of 2021 list. After all, how could I not be interested, after hearing “Two girls on opposite sides of a war discover they're fighting for a common purpose--and falling for each other”?

Admittedly, I’m still not entirely sure how I stand with Gearbreakers — I’d picked up and put back down Gearbreakers maybe four or five times until I finally got into it. I never really made it past the first ten pages each time, until one night when I turned off my electronics, and told myself that I’d be finishing this book that evening no matter what. I’d read a couple reviews prior to starting Gearbreakers that said it picked up around 25% in, and I’m inclined to agree. I’m unsure if the slow start to Gearbreakers is typical for sci-fi stories, or if it’s just the book itself.
I’ll start with what I liked about Gearbreakers — I enjoyed the yearning, and the soft moments between Sona and Eris, the found family, and for the most part, most of the characters. Eris and Sona — as well as the rest of the Gearbreakers — were messy and flawed, and I loved how chaotic and feral they could be. I loved Jenny’s protective nature, and her fierce loyalty. What I enjoyed most of all, was the anger, grief, rage, and hope that the Gearbreakers were allowed to feel. The way Gearbreakers explores identity is one of my favorite things about it. It’s character-driven, and quite fast paced too — once I got past the initial 20% that I kept getting stuck on!

I also really appreciated that it’s told from a dual perspective; being able to read from both Sona and Eris’ different points-of-view really highlighted their differences and experiences. I found them to have very distinct voices, with Sona being a little more emotionally detached, and Eris being a lot more warm. Unfortunately, I found that at times I struggled to keep track of what was going on, and I’m not sure if that was due to structure, or if I was simply reading too fast.

While I’m struggling to distinctly identify aspects that stood out to me, I did tab a lot of quotes, and enjoyed the way Zoe writes. I think overall, Gearbreakers is a book that’s based on vibes and the aesthetic, and I admire it for that. On the other hand, I didn’t love the worldbuilding as much, and was left confused a couple times. I’m not sure that I still understand how Godolia works. I also wonder if the majority of this book is really to set us up for the sequel, and I suspect that I’d like it a lot more if I read both Gearbreakers and its sequel in one sitting.

All that being said, while I was a little disappointed by the execution of this story, I’ll probably be thinking about the ending forever — and will definitely be checking out the sequel!

Zoe Hana Mikuta said she likes to write about angry kids. In this debut novel, she does it to perfection.

"Gearbreakers" is a non-stop, intense ride through giant mecha fights and explorations of PTSD and complex grief. Set in a Mad Max-esque, fight-for-survival Badlands ruled over by mega-tech city Godolia, "Gearbreakers" also explores morality and the meaning of revolution.

To make a long story short, this is one of the best rebellion stories I've ever read. You see kids so fervent on their mission they're tipping the scale to fanatical, and using tactics of mass destruction that make them question their morality. Which is something I absolutely loved about this book. Often, there's only one big antagonist; but this is an entire way of life that they're bent on eradicating. And Mikuta makes you wonder if they made the right decision.

I literally cannot say how much I loved Sona and Eris. Two angry girls who are bent on taking down the system that oppressed them, killed their friends and family. Also, the found family trope in this book is explicitly queer and so well-executed.

More than the setting and the themes it explores, "Gearbreakers" is just pure fun. As a fan of giant robots and angry girls who are allowed to be angry, this book was right up my alley. I loved that technology had become similar to gods; that layer was so incredibly poetic and the quotes that came from it are honestly tattoo-worthy.

I actually have no complaints about this book, except that I'll have to wait for the next one.

This book depicts a very interesting dystopian sci-fi world, where the line between the haves and the have-nots is immense. You will be rooting for Eris and her crew the whole time! The battle scenes are very detailed and really entertaining. I will say that I was a bit disappointed there was much less of a relationship between Eris and Sona than I was led to believe. The book is being label as having queer romance, but it doesn’t. Basically towards the end of the book they realize and acknowledge that they have feelings for each other, and that’s it. Nothing happens. My assumption is that it’s being set up for more relationship details in the second book coming out next year. Oh, and I wish that the name of the country was different. Godolia looks way too much like gondola, and that’s how my brain kept reading it. But I was definitely entertained while reading this book and would certainly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for this advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

As always thank you to NetGalley, Zoe Hana Mikuta, and Feiwel Freinds for an advanced copy of this read!

Godolia is merciful, or so they say. Neither Sona or Eris have found it so. As the sole survival of a town destroying even, Sona joined the ranks of the Mechs, aiming for the highest of all giant robots, the Valkyrie. She aims to take down Godolia from the inside. The Gearbreakers do just what their name implies, break down the gears that run these mech-deities. Eris is particularly good at bringing down the giants until she's captured. Sona decides in a split moment that Eris is the key to bringing down Godolia. Will they escape the tyranny of one ruler for another? Or will their vengeance ever be complete?

I loved the concept of this book. Ladies either in giant robots or taking down giant robots in an attempt at rebelling against the system that has done them both dirty, vengeance and sci-fi in spades, as well as a very slow enemies to lovers. I did enjoy this book, but I've got pros and cons.

Pros: LGBTQ representation, giant robots, intensity from the get go, enemies to lovers, so much sass, reasonably well written side characters, found family, interesting plot twists.

Cons: The intensity never stops, there's a weird attraction moment that felt toxic, and the second half just felt... like it was suffering from a little too much filler. We needed x, y, and z to happen but there's going to be a second book. My biggest issue was that even before I knew there was going to be a second book I could feel in the writing. The way plot was left open, the way so many things weren't resolved.

Overall, an enjoyable read but suffers a smidge from filler and sheer intensity.

Read if you like: LGBTQ rep, giant robots, rebellions, and enemies to lovers and kind of back again.

Thank you NetGalley and Feiwel Friends for a digital ARC of Gearbreakers!

CW: violence, torture, death

I have YET AGAIN fallen into the trap of reading an arc of an expected series. But honestly, I don’t care because I enjoyed this book so much. The worldbuilding at the beginning did leave something to be desired, especially in such a complex dystopian/sci-fi society. However, the first chapter had me hooked and the dual POVs allowed the story to pick up quickly. I ended up finishing the book in two sittings.

Sona and Eris are two girls on opposite sides of the war: one a cybernetically enhanced Windup pilot within Godolia, the other a Gearbreaker rebel specializing in taking down said Windups. Naturally, we see some of the hate to love and forced proximity tropes. However, Sona is the biggest reason to stick around because she is such a compelling (and witty) character. Granted, the unhinged side characters and their chaotic found family certainly don’t hurt either.

After THAT ending, I am definitely looking forward to how the next book will play out.

Cyberpunk sapphics. I repeat, cyberpunk sapphics. This is everything I ever wanted rendered in a YA novel. What a phenomenal read.

Gearbreakers was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 and it definitely did not disappoint! The writing was stunning, and the world immediately drew me in. I loved all the characters and can’t wait for the sequel!

I came for the giant robot dystopia and stayed for the found family. This book checked off a lot of material I love: sci-fi/dystopia, sapphic, found family, stressful ending, interesting world. So, if you’re looking for a sapphic, dystopian robot story with a funny and loveable found family that has an ending leaving you stressed but wanting more, this is the one. Can’t wait to get the physical copy in my hands.

4.5

Okay, let's preface this by saying I typically don't read much sci-fi, but this just drew me in from the description immediately! And it did not disappoint!

Sapphic, found family, violence, Pacific Rim-esque action, this has it all!

The beginning had some pacing issues for me personally, but once it picked up, it picked up fast! I really enjoyed seeing the different POVs and the descriptions and dialogue were top-notch.

Highly recommend! Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan for the eARC!

What if Transformers or Pacific Rim was told from the point of a view of angry girls on opposite sides of a war? Unexpected, queer, and propulsive with amazing found family vibes, Gearbreakers is set in a post-apocalyptic world where two girls who find something worth fighting for in each other.

Oh, did this fill my Pacific Rim/Transformer heart so well. I loved the world and the characters and felt that this was such an interesting take on story that's well known!