An exhilarating story, it has everything I love and was looking for in a book, with a fantastic found family plot. Zoe is an amazing Author, I sincerely recommend this book.

Now about the audiobook, the narration was terrific and made me dive into the story and the audio quality was really good.

This book was dissapointing to me! The writing was quite confusing, most of the time I did not understand what was going on and the characters and their relationships fell really flat for me. The world building was well done, but the rest could've used some improvement.

As a debut novel, Mikuta's Gearbreakers is a good work. The characters were enjoyable, the relationship is decent (something Young Adult novels often bungle I find), and overall, I enjoyed the time reading this book. If you're in the market for a sapphic young adult novel, then I recommend picking this up and seeing if you enjoy it too.
Full review on my YouTube channel.

“I cannot choose what I have been made into, but I can choose what I do next.”

It’s fitting to rave about GEARBREAKERS this week, since I feel about as patriotic towards America as Sona and Eris feel re: Godolia. This young adult dystopian novel, the first in a duology, is utterly fierce and completely satisfying. It’s about a nation that has created their own gods, massive mechas known as Windups operated by cybernetic pilots, and uses them to relentlessly oppress the people, particularly the resource villages that provide essential supplies. Enter the Gearbreakers, rebels who fight back against Godolia with everything they possess. When Eris, an infamous Gearbreaker, is captured, she discovers an unlikely ally in a Windup pilot. Sona’s family was murdered when she was a kid, and she’s been plotting her revenge ever since. The two team up to break out of the Academy where the pilots are trained, join up with the rest of the Gearbreakers, and launch an ambitious plan to bring Godolia to its knees.

I’ve been so excited to read this since I heard about it, and Mikuta’s story delivered on everything promised: blistering cinematic action, prickly slow-burn romance, an evil empire you love to hate, a group of ragtag fighters you can’t help but root for. I absolutely adored Eris especially: stubborn, hot-headed, fiercely loyal, and a total softie who secretly loves romance novels underneath that grumpy outer layer. Both Eris and Sona have their own internal struggles regarding their roles in this war neither of them chose, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they both continue to grow, independently and together. I loved seeing two queer Asian girls as leads in this brilliant, defiant narrative. And the writing! It’s bloody and poetic and gripping and beautiful. These feral sapphics were exactly what I needed and I can’t wait to read GODSLAYERS, the final book that was just released last month. Thanks to Recorded Books/Feiwel & Friends for the ALC! The narration, performed by Catherine Ho and Cindy Kay, is excellent.

Content warnings: violence, imprisonment, torture, injury, murder, death of a loved one, body modification, suicidal ideation

I use audiobooks as background noise normally, but I found myself many times having to stop what I was doing because I was so invested! As a lover of anime and a queer person myself, I loved seeing elements of what is stereotypically anime in this novel of female love. Bought the book physically to re-read and fully digest it.

Gearbreakers is packed with intense action and the kind of pining that makes my heart sing. While it took me a while to get into the plot and adjust to the world that was being built, once I felt fully involved I really appreciated the bonds built between characters and the inventive nature of the universe. The enemies to lovers concept was done so well, and I found Eris and Sona's mutual yearning absolutely stunning. I loved the way they interacted and found their relationship really beautiful. I listened to an audio ARC and thought that the narration was super well done. I'm looking forward to the second book!

I wouldn't say that this was bad, more disappointing because I was super hyped for this, This book promised found-family and sword fighting mechas and really underdelivered it. The relationships held little value to me and the relationship between Sona and Eris moved too fast and felt half-baked at best.

What I liked, was the writing and the worldbuilding, I think the author really nailed that part. the world was great, just the dystopian vibes with large junkyards, long long deserts, the deliciousness hopelessness of one tiny human fighting against the mecha, and then the delight of actually winning.

The audio is actually amazing, definitely give the audio a try if you're going about to read this. I genuinely think I would have enjoyed this book more if I hadn't gone into it with really strong expectations and riding the hype train.

After a bit of a choppy start, Gearbreakers shifted into a super fun read. I really enjoyed the world building, the characters and the overall vibe of this story. Sona and Eris were absolutely delightful and I was down to follow them on their mission while we explore their relationship further. If you can power through the first few chapters, there is a really solid read that is full of action, heart and spunk. Will definitely be picking up the sequel.

While I enjoyed the audiobook, I would've preferred to read about this physically as I feel it would've put me in the zone quicker.

3.75/5 stars

Seen from the outside, this book has everything I could possibly have wanted: rebellion, hungry/angry protagonists, revenge story, sapphic MCs, badass fight scenes, found family... But it never really dug in.

Take the beginning for example: we are seeing inside of the Big Bad nation from the perspective of its heroes. We're supposed to believe that this MC cares enough about these other people for the betrayal to hurt and at the same time have fostered enough anger to want to betray them in the first place. I didn't even know there was animosity there until she switched sides; it came out of nowhere, in my mind.

Then the middle section, which is just a looong stretch of "I want you to be part of the found family but they're afraid of what you represent". But, again, these side characters don't blossom because we don't spend enough time with them. They mostly blend together in a puddle of limbs and names. So when shit goes down you recognize them by their names/roles and not as people.

And then at the end, there's very suddenly some exposition about how the government works. Like, cool, could have used that early on but now we're going to interrupt this torture sequence to explain why the rebellion failed.

I do appreciate that Mikuta often highlights the fact that all of these characters are kids and talks about the lost childhood and why these kids shouldn't be so lost to their anger, hurt, and cruelty. But when the villain (that we introduce in the last chapter, oh by the way, because we didn't know how the government works) is ALSO a kid? That's a bit too much.

I found this book to have a really interesting context, but not such a great execution. I think reading the synopsis and reviews had me hooked, but I found that the actual story was a bit boring and slow.

I did think that the world and the plot was super unique, it just felt like there was a lot of info dumps at once, which isn’t really my favourite. I found that it made it hard for me to really get into the book because I would just get bored.

I think that the action scenes were really good, and really grabbed my attention. I feel like if the author had found a way to incorporate the information the readers needed to know a little more smoothly, the book would have been really great.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and author for an e-arc of this book.

This book was incredibly repetitive, which is annoying in itself, but add to it that none of the characters were likable and you get a hot unenjoyable mess like this.

I really wanted to love this book! The narrators did a good job. I just didn’t connect to the characters. I loved the setting and the way the story was going, but I just didn’t connect with it. I may come back and try this again to see if reading it will be better, but it is not high on my list. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this read in exchange for an honest review.

Gearbreakers is a sapphic, found family sci-fi dystopian novel about Sona, a girl turned deity whose purpose is to assert the sovereingty of the Academy and their mechas, and Eris, a rebel who'd do anything for her crew and her sister. They're fighting on oppositie sides of a war but find out they have a common goal: destroying the Academy. Maybe - just maybe - feelings will get involved.
I really loved this book. I fell in love with Sona and Eris (and Jenny, Eris' badass sister), their inner dialogue was the best part of this book.
It took me a while to get into this book, probably because even if the main characters were well-written, I found that the side characters were left hanging. It took me a while to know who was who because they didn't really have any depth. It's a debut novel, there's definitely room for improvement.
Another thing I liked, anytime I sat down to listen to this audiobook, I was pulled in by the world-building, the mechas, the fights, the Badlands and its inhabitants.
Overall, Gearbreakers was a very entertaining read, I can't wait to see what the author has in mind for the sequel! I'll definitely be reading it, and you should too!
I'm giving this book 5 stars because, even if it's not perfect, it's all and more of what I had expected of it.

Ok, I think I was in denial about this because the concept and the cover art were SO COOL, but sadly, I don't think it's working for me.

I felt like I was dropped into the world without enough setup, and even though intellectually I could piece together what was happening, there wasn't any emotional weight behind it. That gave me some cognitive dissonance when one of the main characters, who is essentially on her own undercover mission to destroy the evil empire, was interacting with the members of her "team."

While the POV from the other main character didn't have that problem, I still felt like the series of events didn't really have any logic or probability behind them.

Maybe I've just become An Old(tm), though, so if you dig techno-post-apocalyptic queer teens fighting imperialistic robots, definitely try it out!

Gearbreakers is a well-written book about teen struggle against injustice. However, it was not the book for me.
I had a hard time getting into the book and keeping the characters straight. First, it’s in present tense, which makes it hard for me to connect with the work. Second, it’s in first person dual point of view. While there is dual narration, and each viewpoint is read by a different women, I still had a hard time distinguishing the characters. The word choice, mannerisms, and voice of the two characters were very similar, so it was difficult for me to keep the two povs distinct.

Third, the book does not give a lot of information about the external world. Most of the story takes place inside office buildings or in the internal thoughts of the povs. I felt very detached from this book because I could not picture the characters’ surroundings.

Fourth, this book is about a teenage guerrilla rebellion. It is unclear why teenagers are in charge of everything, but it has realistic violence perpetrated by teens, including torture. With my current mental status, I cannot handle realistic violence or torture in my reading.

Because if this, I DNF’d the book at 40%. This was primarily due to my current intolerance of violence, but also because I had not connected with the characters or the world by this time.

The two narrators, Catherine Ho and Cindy Kay, both do an excellent job.

Sapphic characters taking down deities that are actually ginormous robots. I should have known I would enjoy this so much.

Godolia is the ruling power of the world because of the literal grip they have on those in the Badlands. They use Windups, giant weaponized mechas, to squash any threats that might threaten the city. But they aren't infallible, as a group of rebels discovered long ago. The Gearbreakers are a reckless and brave bunch who take the Windups apart from the inside. So when a Gearbreaker and a Windup pilot cross paths and choose to team up to take down Godolia, you've got one hell of a story on your hands.

The story is told in dual POV from our two main girls.

<i>Sona Steelcrest</i> is one of the modded pilots Godolia places inside their dangerous mechas. After completing her training, Sona is more machine than human, the better to connect to her Windup. She has a mechanical red eye, wires for veins, and she no longer feels pain. That is, until she hooks herself up to a mecha. For Sona, this sacrifice is all part of a long revenge game. Godolia killed her family and destroyed her entire home years ago, and she means to tear the whole thing down from the inside. I really liked the arc of Sona's character. There is a lot for her to parse through in terms of identity and how to fit in with the right side when you look like the wrong side.

<i>Eris Shindanai</i> is a Gearbreaker. One of the best, actually. She has adapted old tech that lets her freeze Windups and pilots, and it's made her a formidable opponent to Godolia on the field. She is the beleaguered captain of her own crew, and they definitely test her patience. I think I liked her best. There is a lot of spark in her and she is very outspoken and fiercely protective of the right people.

The mechas were really cool. At times it felt like there were some inconsistencies about them, such as their size and how they work, but I definitely appreciate the effort that was put into this book to make it work. Likewise the rebellion that ties into it, even if I felt like I needed more to understand what the rebellion stemmed from. The idea of Gearbreakers going head to head with these metal monsters and taking them down from the inside is breathtaking in its simplicity but it's the delivery that makes this shine. The characters, the found family aspect, the identity crises, it's all so good and keeps things entertaining in the quieter moments.

I was fortunate to receive an audio version of this book from the publisher, but I think this format hurt my reading experience. Personally, the narrators were both too similar, had poor tone delivery, and didn't much differentiate between voices . And with it being first person POV, the distinction between chapters was so desperately needed. I often couldn't tell if we were in Eris's or Sona's POV, and it took a while for me to get grounded in each chapter. It also sucks because it made it a struggle to pay attention and follow the action scenes. I tended to come out of those with the gist of what happened.

Sign me up for the sequel immediately because I am absolutely finding out how this baby ends!

Gearbreakers has so many things in it to get excited about, mechas, rage against the government, a queer relationship. It is fast paced in a delightfully creative world. Unfortunately it fell short for me. I couldn't connect to the characters at all and I found the fascination for each other grounded in so little it confused me. I was excited to get into the world at the beginning but sadly nothing gripped me. I wouldn't say this is a bad book at all, and perhaps it just wasn't the book for me, but nothing gripped me to keep me interested. I found myself daydreaming while reading rather than focusing on the story in the book. I absolutely think this book would be good for some, just not me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received the audiobook for this book. The audiobook was ok and so was the story. I would suggest reading or listening to this is book if it is an anticipated read for you but if not you can skip it.

When I first saw this I saw Pacific Rim and was like aww yeah boss ladies piloting giant mechs. I didn't read the rest that the people who owned the mechs became bad. However I still loved this story once I got on board with the plot. The characters were awesome and well developed and the story had twists and turns. I also enjoy when the relationships develop naturally, instead of just instalove.

Audio-ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review



Audio review - both narrators captured their characters well. I found Sona's pov a little harder to get into because the narrator was slower (even at 1.5 x speed - I have to listen at something that starts to approach me reading speed or audio books are not fun for me at all). But overall this was an enjoyable audio book.



Book review - this was a bit of a sleeper agent. I requested it because it was sff audio and it looked like it could be fun. I ended up really enjoying it. Honestly, if you are super into mechs, then this could be a 50:50 love:hate it scenario. I am vaguely entertained by mechs and robots in sci-fi so I didn't have a horse in the race either way. Which meant I was free to just enjoy the story. And I really did.



As others have noted, the beginning is ropey. I like in media reas beginnings but you still need to make me care about the characters. And I didn't really care about Sona until quite a bit later. If you like body horror, though, then that start might grip you. We come in as Sona wakes up having been modded so that she can bio-mechanically interface with a huge mech - a valkerie. Sona's motivation is not a desire to 'become a god' however. She is bent on revenge for the deaths of her family and wants to take down system from inside. Meanwhile, Eris is a gearbreaker; part of a resistant movement of humans who know how to get inside a mecha (bear in mind they're about 15 ft tall) and disable it from the inside.



From there, the two girls are on a collision course to meet and that's where the story really picks up. It's a fast paced, violent, bloodbath with found family. Fun! And there are sapphic feelings in there too. Plus, an interesting look at ends justifying means. Both sides are using child soldiers after all and no one has properly questioned it at all until Sona and Eris start talking to each other.



Overall I really enjoyed this. I found it a light, entertaining read compared with the sci-fi I normally prefer but your mileage may vary on that score. (It has to be very bloody violence with a psychological component to really bother me. If you don't like body horror or even off screen mentions of torture, this may not be for you.) I think this is more NA than YA, despite the age of the protagonists. Four uncomplicated stars and I look forward to the next one.