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sydsmeets's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Blood, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
fanboyriot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Bullying, Self harm, Slavery, and Death of parent
bree_h_reads's review against another edition
Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
The ideas behind Gearbreakers aren't bad at all, but their execution left a lot to be desired for me -- I kind of wish I had just rewatched Evangelion or a Gundam series instead. I'll hesitantly keep an eye on Mikuta's future releases, though, as the flaws may even themselves out with age and experience.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, and Alcohol
Eye trauma/gore.emily_mh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The characters were definitely the strength of this book. The two POV characters, Eris and Sona, were distinct from the off which was a great sign. It only got better when the narrative drew out their complexities. Both are filled with anger and the purpose of toppling Godolia. Eris has been trained to be a leader and feels so much responsibility and love for her crew. Her emotions feel like a vulnerability for her and so she grows thorns even though she just wants to be soft. I felt particularly compelled by Sona, though, being a person straddling the lines between human and bot and desperately trying to land as the former. She is terrified of herself and what she’s done, so her deepest wish is to be loved regardless. I found the scenes where she grapples with herself so heartfelt. I just got so attached to both MCs in a way that doesn’t often happen to me. I think the raw writing style really showcased the emotional state of the characters, giving the reader something real to resonate with.
Because Eris and Sona were such dynamic characters, the romance they shared was utterly believable. While there is instant attraction (at least on Sona’s part), it wasn’t instalove. Instead, Mikuta makes sure to include a range of scenes where the MCs explore and deepen their connection. The tension she crafted was spot-on. In my opinion, this was a good execution of the enemies-to-lovers trope.
In terms of world-building, I understood why the mechas were created and how they shaped the world as it was in this book. However, there was bigger-picture context missing in terms of how far in the future we were and what the global situation was. I also wanted more description of how religious colonisation impacted culture in Godolia and beyond. I was interested to know if religious and political conformity meant cultural conformity as well, as there was some evidence to the contrary in this book. I wanted to know what clothes, food, languages, etc. existed and why. So in this way the world-building was not fully realised and ended up being a bit plain.
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Medical content, and Alcohol
Moderate: loss of a loved one Minor: gamblingrecycled_personalities's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Abandonment, and Alcohol
puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol
whatjasread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
- and it's sapphic
- I think the book was too long for what it was, not a lot happened in 400 pages, it could easily have been shorter
- the found family element was great
- i liked the dystopian rebellion vibes, although i do think i needed more vitriol throughout
- i don't think i'd personally pick up the second book, just because i don't think it'll hold my interest, but this was a solid book
TWs: child abuse, blood, torture, vomiting, explosion, violence, gun use, fire, injury, death of child, death of parents (before book)
Tropes/themes/rep: rebellion, sapphic cyberpunk (bi+ FMCs and secondary FC), found family
Graphic: Child abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
relin's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Minor: Vomit
cottlestonpie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual content, Vomit, and Stalking