Enemies to possibility, romance, and rebellion - Gearbreakers has it all. While the start was pretty rocky - in terms of all the world construction and getting to know the POVs - I quickly became obsessed. At the beginning, it's just difficult to get a handle on the technology, the differences and the intricacies of Eris and Sona. Conceptually, cyborgs and SF worlds will always get to my heart. So I was overjoyed when it became a bit clearer and I was able to focus on the story and the characters.

Gearbreakers blooms into a story about found family, rebellion, and loyalty. For fans of Skyhunter, Gearbreakers has to be the best reading companion! I loved the side characters, the ways they're all reeling from the effects of the rebellion, the days they spend running for their lives, and the nights haunted by loss. The ways we fear the symbols of death, oppression, and loss, but they're just made of metal. Gearbreakers examines the different avenues of rebellion. Of commitment and what we are willing to lose.

- Wow, what a ride GEARBREAKERS is! It's the slow burn sapphic mecha pilot burn the world down story I didn't know I needed.
- The battle scenes in this book are AWESOME. I was on the edge of my seat every time.
- I do think there were maybe a few too many characters in the crew to keep track of, and I wanted a bit more worldbuilding, but I'm hoping that all comes in the sequel. I'm following Eris and Sona through to the (probably bitter) end.

Gearbreakers is the grungy sapphic thrill ride I never knew was missing from my life. I was entertained start to finish. The action drew me in, but the characters sealed the deal.

You can expect:
- feral murder babies in a delightfully dysfunctional found family
- Lots of badass giant mech fights
- Humans with cyborg-esque body modifications
- Tough girls who get shit done and are soft only for each other
- Action-packed tactical sequences
- THE YEARNING

I could go on and on about how fantastic this world and its characters are, but one of the greatest highlights of this book is purely Mikuta’s writing. I literally can’t handle that this is only her debut. The writing flows so beautifully and is so poetic. Mikuta writes in a way that evokes so much emotion, so many tiny snippets of familiarity that you can’t help being fully immersed in whatever she’s describing. I loved everything about this story, but the writing is so good that I’d come back to this author’s future work even if I didn’t. It’s a serious treat to experience.

So pleased that we are being blessed with this book during Pride Month. A true win for us all.

I already can’t wait to read this again!



Extra special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

CW- death, murder, violence, torture, body horror, kidnapping
-
Gearkbreakers is a sci-fi story that follows two girls that are on opposite sides of the war as they realize that they have a common goal.
-
This book was WONDERFUL. It is truly pure sapphic goodness, and I loved every second of it. The way everything was interwoven together was truly amazing.
-
One of my favorite parts of this entire book was the found family. That is one of my all time favorite tropes, and it was done so well here. Each character had a distinctive personality and different relationships with each other and it was just all so well thought out.
-
I cannot wait for the sequel to come out! I would recommend this to fans that enjoyed Six of Crows and the sci-fi aspect of The Ones We’re Meant to Find.
-
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillian Children's Publishing Group for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book blew me away. It is marketed as a cyberpunk sapphic sci-fi novel and it was exactly that. I absolutely loved this book. The found family is this book was so amazing. There is queer Korean rep in this book and i've never felt so seen in a book. This book was phenomenal. THE ENDING. I need the next book NOW please.

Gearbreakers was one of my most anticipated releases for 2021, and also one of the highest on my TBR, so I was beyond excited when I got an ARC! I mean, pitched as a sapphic enemies-to-lovers, filled with mechas, robots, angst, pining, angry queer girls, and found family, who wouldn’t want to pick this book up? Although it had a slightly unsteady start, after around the 30-35% mark, the pacing, and tone of writing dramatically changed – leading Gearbreakers to be a new favourite!

Thank you so much to Macmillan International for providing me with a copy of ‘Gearbreakers’ in exchange for an honest review! This did not affect my opinion in any way. All quotes are from an advance copy and may differ in final publication.

"Godolia, like a mouth in the desert, breathing in its age. In comes the world. Out come its Gods."

I don’t think I’ve ever read a story like Gearbreakers before. With a unique plot, setting, and storyline, I think it just brought something fresh. Even though it was so different, it was never too hard to understand, and I found myself immersed in the story within the first few chapters. Because this story was so distinctive, I found myself longing to know what happened next! I feel like it would have been so easy for this story to become cliché or overly-trope-y and I find it admirable that it managed to stay original throughout.

The writing was fueled by emotion, and the word choice really helped increase the intensity and fervour of conversations between the characters. There was so much rage, and fury when these characters were fighting for the things and people they loved, and after around the 20% mark, Zoe Hana Mikuta’s beautiful prose helped accentuate, and enhance that.

As I mentioned earlier, this story followed a really unique concept, which also meant there was a really distinctive world. Even though I had absolutely no background knowledge about Godolia, or the hierarchies and systems, this book was written in such a way that by the time I’d read a few pages, I knew all about the setting. There was also no info-dumping at all, and I was never confused at any point in time, which is something I loved. The worldbuilding was atmospheric, descriptive, and helped increase the stakes, and severity of plot twists.

"We went past praying to deities and started to build them instead..."

Gearbreakers was like the perfect pitch for a novel. When I first heard that it would have found family, Asian representation, enemies-to-lovers, angry queer girls, angst, pining, tattooing as a form of affection, mechas, and swordfights, I both, wanted to read it ASAP, and was also scared it wouldn’t live up to all the high expectations I had. I was lucky enough to be able to read it before its release date – and luckily, it lived up to almost all of my expectations as well. Along with all of the above, and everything it initially promised, Gearbreakers also had sister dynamics that made me feel SOFT. No, these dynamics weren’t a main part of the story, but through all the interactions between Eris and Jenny, you could see how protective Jenny was of Eris, even though she tried not to show it, and seeing that dynamic was so heartwarming!

Morally grey, complex characters are my favourite, and Gearbreakers was full of them. Although I wouldn’t necessarily call both of the main characters in this book morally grey, both of them were certainly very complex. It was so interesting to see how their past experiences, and the differences in the way they were brought up affected the decisions they currently made. I loved the banter, and both the conversation and dialogue felt so natural!

There were also a LOT of action-packed scenes full of fights, and strategy, mechas and violence, which I found really fun. These fast-paced chapters highly contrasted with the more intimate ones that only featured the crew, and because it was balanced so well, I flew through the novel. Seeing how the character personalities varied from when they were alone, or with people they trusted, versus in the battle field just added a layer of depth to the story.

As I mentioned earlier, the start to Gearbreakers was slightly uneven. The writing felt messy during the first 20% and the story only fell into complete rhythm by the 30% mark. Although, yes, this may seem like a while – I was emotionally invested in the characters and their stories, and to be honest, the entire story after that was completely worth the wait.

"To the reckless, lovestruck kids. (The former may be lethal, but the latter makes it worth it.)"

Overall, although it had a slightly rocky start, Gearbreakers was full of unexpected twists, surprises, and was an action-packed story that kept me gripping the edge of my seat in anticipation throughout. This book was one of my most anticipated for 2021, and let me just say, it did NOT disappoint. Filled with mechas, giant machines, angry queer girls, morally grey characters, enemies-to-lovers, and set in a futuristic society with loads of political tension, Gearbreakers was the science fiction of my dreams.

I wanted to like this one; I really did. The concept sounded great. But on starting, I found it overwritten; full of details that seemed there mainly to show that the author can craft long and flowery sentences (even if they're flowery sentences about giant robots). There are far too many sentences where there are metaphors and similes just to show that the author knows what they are.

I found the plot similar -- it's full of dramatic confrontations and reveals, but it felt like they were there mainly to be DRAMATIC. -- right up and including the fairly unsatisfying cliffhanger ending.

This will probably still work for some people who are in it purely for the aesthetics of giant robots in a post-apocalyptic setting. But it didn't work for me.

Gearbreakers
by Zoe Hana Mikuta
Macmillan Children's Publishing Group

I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this entertaining book!

I really enjoyed the premise of the story! Giant machines with humans that are cyber-enhanced that plug into these great machines and become one. They then destroy any enemies, which is anyone that is against the very controlling government. To become one of these pilots is full of pain and possibly death. Very cruel training from an early age.

The resistance fighters know a trick to bring down the giant machines and that is to jam up the gears in the middle of it. There is a couple of guards in the middle but no one expects them to get that far. That's why they're called Gearbeakers.

One pilot went through all this training to turn against the government. She helps a gearbreaker escape. But can they trust each other? Love is in the air despite the distrust from others.

This is where I found the book went downhill. It was then all about teenage love angst. The last half the book was more about romantic feelings than action, butt kicking, machine action! I know it's a teen book but there are giant machines! Lets get busy not kiss face!

It's a LGBT book so if this offends you well don't pick it up!
I found it entertaining and loved the action packed scenes. Teens will like both, action and romance, lol! I am just not into romance books. Definitely an author to watch!

(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.

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.

this book was enjoyable and i believe many will love it, but there were a few things i was disappointed by.

the plot was unique and exciting, but it was also very confusing in many parts. it took a really long time until i was able to understand what was happening.

also, sometimes i would get confused on whose chapter i was reading, but it wasn’t a major issue. despite these, there was a lot i enjoyed!

i loved reading eris and sona’s interactions! the characters were very lovable and easy to root for. the found family aspect was great as well!!

while i this book wasn’t all i hoped it would be, it still has a lot of amazing aspects that i think i’m many will enjoy!

Thank you so much to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What an amazing debut from Zoe Hana Mikuta! Gearbreakers was a brilliant sci-fi novel filled with show-stopping action sequences and scenes between amazing characters that kept tugging at my heartstrings. The diversity and representation in this book was phenomenal and I truly think every sci-fi lover should read this book. 4.5 stars from me!

Gearbreakers is set in a world under Godolia’s tyrannical rule, aided by giant mechas (essentially giant mechanized weapons) known as Windups. Those who live in the Badlands constantly face war and oppression instigated from the cruel Godolia overlords. Eris Shindanai is a young rebel who specializes in taking down Windups from the inside, known as a Gearbreaker. 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.

The characters in this book were so unique and I was so invested in learning about their backstories and motivations. At first, it was hard to keep track of each character’s role, as there is an ensemble of side characters surrounding Eris and Sona, but soon it became clear that each character has a distinct drive and purpose in this war, which made them so interesting to follow. I personally loved Sona’s character development. She’s super cheeky and I loved all her little comments towards Eris and her friends. Seeing her struggle with wanting to feel human while also being a cybernetically enhanced Pilot was also heart-wrenching and I wish I could reach through the pages to give her a hug. I felt so bad for her towards the end of the book as the cliffhanger was set in place and I’m hoping everything works out for her and Eris in Book 2! Overall, the tension between Sona and Eris was so good. I was at the edge of my seat for every longing thought, and look,and touch between them.

I think my favorite aspect about this book was the action sequences. This book is ACTION-PACKED. I’m a huge fan of Pacific Rim and honestly any robot movie and reading Gearbreakers literally made me feel like I was thrust into the middle of the battles depicted on page. They were so vividly described that I could feel my heart skipping beats during every action scene. There’s also nothing I love more than found-family and seeing these group of characters take down these 200ft mechas was so incredibly cool. The futuristic world that Zoe Hana Mikuta builds in Gearbreakers is every sci-fi lover’s dream and I would do nothing more than to see this book be played out on the big screen.

I highly recommend picking up a copy of Gearbreakers when it hits shelves on June 29 or pre-ordering it now!

Four words: Sapphic robot love story. I wholeheartedly enjoyed this book and absolutely devoured it, The writing is beautiful, it's fast-paced and Asian women-loving-women, could there be anything better?
Sona Steelcrest, a part human part robot "Pilot" is part of the government section that quite literally pilots robots. She does not agree with anything the nation she works for does, and when she meets Eris Shindanai, a crew leader of a rebel group known as gearbreakers, they form an unlikely alliance to take down the government that destroyed their world.
These characters have so much rage and anger in them, and I love it so much. They're kids in a war trying their best. There's a found family trope and despite the small screen time they had, the side characters were so easy to fall in love with. There was such an amazing mix of humor and sadness and action, if you get the chance, read this!
I did feel like the book was confusing at times, especially in the beginning, but everything ties together nicely. I can't wait for the next book!

Everything about this was perfect and I'm obsessed with it. Nothing hit the spot more than a post apocalyptical world with lesbians. Highly recommend for the world building, the well fleshed out characters and the romance.

4.75 Stars
Content warnings at end of review!
Thank you to Netgalley and Fierce Reads for an arc of this book!

Sona has been turned into a Valkyrie--an elite class pilot to the the giant Windups that Godolia uses to control the people of the Badlands; her body is no longer her own. As a Gearbreaker, Eris has devoted her life to taking down Windups and hating Godolia. But when Sona offers Eris a chance to escape capture, the girls team up with the rest of Eris' Gearbreaker crew to take Godolia down.

This book is so good! It has an incredible mix of fantasy and scifi elements, and the world-building and mechas are so incredible to read about! Sona and Eris are chaotic and feral main characters with hatred in their hearts and fire in their veins but I love them so fiercely.

I really like the writing in this book, as well, and all the amazing elements of Found Family, enemies-to-lovers, and more! This was honestly the Queer SciFi I needed to read and I highly highly recommend!

My only (tiny) complaint is that I sometimes forgot whose POV chapter I was on, so there could have been a little more distinction between Sona and Eris' voices.

I can't wait for the sequel!

Pub Date: June 29, 2021

Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

I had to DNF at 40%. I found this book just wasn't for me, and I know this book has its audience. I am tempted to revisit this at another time, but could not get into it at this time. I found the duel POVS didn't add anything and felt like a singular pov may have aided itself to more twists. The world was fun. I am grateful for this level of representation in this genre.

Queer robot mecha-pilots and found family? Violence and sorrow and joy and FIGHTING ROBOTS?


Sign me up (for the 9th grade and up crowd!)

I loved this book! The world building was so creative, the writing was very eye catching, and each character was perfect in their own way. I highly recommend this book.

THIS BOOK. This book is a must read for everyone. It’s perfect to dip your toes in if you are new to the sci-fi/mecha world and done in such a beautiful way! For all of us who grew up with Evangelion Neon Genesis, this hook was made for you. While the mechas aren’t in the same position as NG, this brought back all of the nostalgia of retro anime and girls not afraid to get their hands dirty.

Zoe Hana Mikuta's debut novel is nothing short of utterly encapsulating. In a dark world of mecha deities and endless war, Gearbreakers is able to capture the messy, beating hearts of every one of its characters who defy all the odds of their homeland and manage to hope for more out of their lives than they've been given. Told through two perspectives - Gearbreaker, Eris, and Windup pilot, Sona - we are introduced to their world through sharp, angry eyes. These girls are just as messy and dark as the world around them, but with beautifully distinct voices, and a softness that permeates through every page, no matter how hard they try to hide it underneath hardened exteriors. This is a book about found family, about kids who were forced to grow up too fast, but who still manage to be teenagers, even when taking down terrifying machines. And especially when listening to music in their getaway car, tattooing each other with gears on the couch, and dancing together in the common room.

The story intrigues you with Goldia's terror, but it grips you with the tenderness of its characters, and their loves for one other. Underneath the spectacle of 200-ft mecha's brought down from the inside and sword-slit throats is the equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming story of children trying to survive, and make the most of their days together. Every one of these characters is aware of their own mortality, and to face manmade Gods, they also have to be ready to die at any moment. But from Gearbreakers beginning to end, Eris and Sona instead find that they have more to live for than they thought because of what they can find in each other. Their slowburn romance is just as well written as the rest of this stunning debut, and to watch these two unapologetically queer girls fall for each other in a way that's more akin to a fire's beautiful and terrifying intensity than anything else is truly a wonder to behold. The lengths these girls are willing to go to protect one another is a testament to just how strong their feelings for one another, far more than physical intimacy or "I love you"s on the page could bring.

I say without a doubt that this story is one that will live in my heart for a long time, and that this duology is already shaping up to be one of my favorite sci-fi series of all time. I look forward to its end, and beyond that, the rest of Zoe's career as an author. If her stories and characters already are this compelling, I can't wait to see what she creates next.

As soon as I saw that cover, I knew I had to read this book! The premise also sounded so interesting, and we got to see a f/f relationship in a science-fiction novel. Unfortunately, Gearbreakers had a lot of potential but was ultimately a disappointing read for me.

Sona is a Pilot, trained to fight in one of the Windup weapons. She’s incredibly good at what she does, but secretly, she despises it and everything Godolia stands for. Meanwhile, Eris is a Gearbreaker, one of the rebels trying to take down Godolia. When she’s captured, Sona offers to free her with one condition: that Eris take her with her. At first, Eris is wary of her, but as they get to know each other better, she finds herself trusting Sona more and more.

I’ll start with the positives! I liked the characters: Sona has a very interesting character arc wherein she is struggling to remain human against what Godolia has programmed her to be, and Eris is fighting to protect her family and has such a big heart. Jenny, Eris’s older sister, was a great mentor who pretends to be heartless but secretly would do anything for Eris. Sona also joins Eris’s gang of misfits, and I really liked seeing this found family.

This book was a quick read, mostly because the plot is so fast-paced. Meanwhile, Sona and Eris’s romance is so soft; their moments hit even harder in such an action-packed book! Also, I believe that Sona is a lesbian and Eris is bisexual, and that they are both Korean-coded.

Before I started this book, I had read a review stating that the writing at the beginning was a bit hard to get through but seriously improved around the 25% mark. I knew this going in and can attest to this, except that for me, I didn’t really find any improvement until about 40% through. Sona’s and Eris’s chapters are written in very different voices, which is great! I love reading distinctive points-of-views.

I know that Sona’s chapters were supposed to read as detached because her character is cold yet feels so much. However, the prose in her chapters read so clunky in a way that it was difficult to parse. Similarly, Eris’s chapters were more of a fun, bouncy tone, but this felt superficial to me, perhaps because it was so different in tone compared to Sona’s.

Again, for me, the writing got better around the 40% mark but then it kinda got rough again for me very quickly. It didn’t help that I couldn’t really grasp the worldbuilding because it felt like this book was built off pure vibes in a way that did not work for me. I think the premise had a lot of potential and still does! Perhaps the world will be more fleshed out in the second book.

I rated this book 3 stars because I’m conflicted about how I feel about it. The premise had potential and I liked the characters well enough, but the writing and the worldbuilding left a lot to be desired. Still, I enjoyed this book for the most part, and these are just my personal opinions! Maybe you will like this book more than me. If you are interested in Gearbreakers, please don’t let my thoughts stop you from checking it out!