Eris is a Gearbreaker who takes down Windups. Sona is a cybernetically enhanced Windup pilot. They’re supposed to be on opposite sides of the war, but they’re fighting for a common purpose. They also start to fall for one another.

It’s seriously my favorite book that I’ve read within the past year at least. I’ve already started recommending it to people, and I’m now following the author on social media to be sure I know when #2 is in the works. So good!

There are also some lovely friendships, and readers can look forward to the tech-savvy Jenny, Eris’ sister. Hand this one to fans of Hunger Games, Marie Lu, Divergent, and the like. Fun, science fiction novel with a wlw romance. I’m so excited for others to read this one, and I look forward to the sequel once that is available. Be prepared to be left with a cliffhanger.

Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta was one of my most anticipated books of 2021. Give me a story about mecha god-like machines that shake the earth, angry queer girls, and enemies-to-lovers, and I will probably be first in line to read it. Though Gearbreakers was not quite what I expected, I ultimately enjoyed this action-packed story, primarily for its unexpectedly compelling and evocative themes.

The story follows two girls – Sona and Eris. Sona is a cybernetically-enhanced soldier, trained to pilot giant mecha weapons called Windups. Though trained by the tyrannical nation of Godolia, Sona harbours a secret: she has infiltrated the Godolia Windup academy to destroy it from within. Eris, the other narrator in the story, is a Gearbreaker. Living on the outskirts of Godolia, Eris is part of a resistance and specialises on taking down the giant Windups that terrorise the free Badlands.

Let’s talk writing, because I think this is going to be discussed at length when this book releases in the mid-year. This book has an incredibly shaky start. Though burning with emotion and intensity, the prose is cluttered, the adjectives excessive, the mythos a little confusing, and ultimately challenging to read. I found myself having to re-read certain passages because it was difficult to understand the actions taking place in the narrative, especially during Sona’s chapters. I’m stubborn though, so I kept reading, hoping that the writing would get better.

Thankfully, the writing did get better significantly. At around the 20% mark, the story starts to shed the superfluous descriptions and starts telling a good story. Whether the writing style in the first 20% was intended to be atmospheric or indicative of Sona’s anger and angst, I don’t know. But, what I can say is that the messiness of the first chapters are not indicative of the writing style in the rest of the book. In fact, the writing is later fantastic and riveting, sharp and violent not like a whetted dagger but a serrated blade. Admittedly, Gearbreakers has a shaky start, one that may turn some readers, but is the story that follows worth sticking around for? I think: yes; give this book a chance and you might actually have a great time.

What pulled and pushed me through the story was the two wonderful protagonists, Sona and Eris. Both are these fanged, angry girls who are made of fight and danger and a stubborn will to survive. Though I loved Eris as a character, loved the way she steadily falls for Sona and fights for those she loves, Sona was just such a phenomenal character who I enjoyed following and I loved how her character development explores identity in a way that we only really see in science-fiction. Made and remade into the image of the people that she swore to destroy, her character reminded me of Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell (and I say this as high praise), wherein her identity is constant flux across the story. Sona’s character arc was thoughtful and gripping, and I enjoyed the in-depth portrayal of the emotional conflicts of being a living weapon.

Gearbreakers was also surprisingly thematic – and the themes explored in this were compelling. As you may expect, Gearbreakers is an action-packed story filled with brutal fights and surviving a ruthless world. Underneath that, underneath the action and the edginess, Gearbreakers is also a profound and bittersweet story about teens and children caught in the crossfire of a senseless war. Set in a world where peace does not exist, where the monsters are mechas made to be like gods, mere children have to swallow their fear and harden themselves to a world and future where they are primed, trained, and prepared to kill and die.

Throw on top of the fact that Gearbreakers follow two queer teens – Sona is lesbian and Eris is bisexual/pansexual – and we have a fiery story about two girls who find something to live for, rather than to die for, in a time of war. I loved how the story builds up this profoundly desolate world where surviving is by the skin of your teeth and graze of a bullet, and then we just get this… tenderness, where two girls find a home in each other, find someone to come home to. The romance in this is slow-burn; it’s unlike any romance I have read before, in that it is so deeply passionate and incendiary without physical intimacy. Rather, the intensity of their romance is how fiercely they will protect and fight for the other – and I loved that so much.

In addition to Sona and Eris, we also have Eris’s Gearbreaker crew. The found family in this was wonderful – a group of kids who goof off, act silly, play with each other, and when they aren’t doing that, are killing or trying not to get killed. I found myself shaking my head while reading, muttering to myself, “they’re just kids.” I felt heartbroken, sad – and loved that the story evoked these feelings. Though some of the crew aren’t particularly memorable, the overall found family dynamic enriched the atmosphere: that, in a world where bonds are made scarce by the desperation to survive, nothing matters more than the people that you love.

Though Gearbreakers has an unsteady start, the story finds its momentum and fires off with its fight, viciousness, and violence to make it an entertaining and compelling read. This looks like it will be the start of a series (whether it will be a duology or trilogy, I don’t know), and I genuinely look forward to reading whatever comes next. The emotional moments are this story’s greatest strengths, and I would certainly love to see Zoe write more angry girls who are feral, dangerous, and, very rarely, soft.

I went into this book with my hopes and expectations incredibly high. And somehow...it managed to exceed them.

Here is a list of out of context reasons I loved it because I still can't form coherent thoughts:

- CHARACTERS. Messy, witty, beautiful characters.
- Found family!!
- Sapphics that tattoo and flirt at the same time.
- CYBERPUNK SAPPHICS DID I MENTION
- Slow-burn enemies to allies to…
- Badass !! action !! scenes!!!
- the fuck you but i love?? you dynamic
- WOMEN

EArc provided by Netgalley and Macmillan publishing in exchange for honest review.

There was a lot of cheesy dialogue that was similar between the two main characters. Things like "You don't have my permission to die today." A lot of it felt forced and hard to take seriously.

The beginning didn't flow well for me, making it hard to stay interested. I feel more explanation could be given about this world and what's going on. The dual perspectives in the beginning don't add much for me other than more to be left wondering about.

I came really close to not finishing this at all. It was a struggle just to get to 30%. I ended up mostly skimming the rest of the book to see if it would catch me.

Thank you very much Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am SO happy to have received this ARC and happy to report that I LOVED this book, one of my most anticipated book releases of 2021. It has everything I could ever want: a sci-fi setting that has the vibes of Pacific Rim, a found family aspect a-la Firefly, and two girls falling in love.
This book is YA but it does NOT shy away from anything, especially not the horrors of war. There are very bloody and violent scenes. These characters are ruthless - I've seen them described as feral, which I agree with. But you love them all the same.

The amazing writing pulled me in from the very first chapter, and the two perspectives of Sona and Eris were each written very differently, so the two characters felt like they had very different personalities from the start. I feel like sometimes dual POVs tend to sound the same, but this book masterfully differentiates from them. All the characters in this book feel lifelike.

My only complaint is that it could get a little bit info-dumpy at times; there was a passage at the beginning that info-dumped about a war, which I feel could have been conveyed to the reader just by weaving it into the story and character's conversations. Despite this, Gearbreakers was an incredibly impressive debut novel, and I can't wait to read more by Zoe Hana Mikuta.

Two girls on opposite sides of a war discover they're fighting for a common purpose--and falling for each other

I went into this book with my hopes and expectations incredibly high. And somehow, still it managed to exceed them. Here is a list of out of context reasons I loved it:

CHARACTERS. Messy, witty, beautiful characters.
Found family!!
Sapphics that tattoo and flirt at the same time.
CYBERPUNK SAPPHICS DID I MENTION
Slow-burn enemies to allies to…
Brilliantly described mecha-windups
Badass action scenes!!!