HOLY SHIT! Ok it’s like a little slow at the beginning BUT I SWEAR JUST KEEP GOING IT GETS SO GOOD. I’m immediately buying the sequel.

I did enjoy Gearbreakers for the most part, but I like to focus on the bad and stating my opinions often comes off as roasting so here we go.
Also, I thought Milo could go die in a hole from page one.  :)

0.25 stars is being docked off for the amount of times characters were described as 'growling'. A Dark and Hollow Star got a pass in my mind because they were fae and it was stated that their throats were different and it was more of a threatening I'm-gonna-kill-you (I don't remember much actually) sound than a tone of voice or grunt of frustration, so yeah. But as far as I know, everyone's human (well, apart from the Pilots obviously, but let's ignore that). I just hate it when characters 'growl' or 'purr', we aren't cats.

Also, this book could've been way shorter. Like, I swear every paragraph was just Eris or Sona (why did Sona never use contractions, it really made everything feel choppy) complaining  about how bad Godolia was and how ✨angry✨ they were and how they'd do anything. Put that energy into developing the world and the side characters.

The crew! What a missed opportunity. Found family is by far my favourite trope, but I have standards and tend to only think of something as found family if it is truly god-tier. This was not it. I was disappointed. The only character I was interested in apart from Eris and Sona was Xander, and possibly Voxter but he wasn't really a member of the crew (Voxter has so much potential), but everything still felt so shallow and wasted.

Jenny was so annoying and I found her interactions with Sona so uncomfortable.

Juniper was an empty shell, I felt nothing whatsoever for Theo, Nova kind of felt like a cliche comic relief that wasn't even funny with nothing to her, and Milo was an insufferable and whiny straight boy (he probably would've been the love interest if the book wasn't gay and I'm so happy he wasn't).

 #JusticeForXander 

Xander was done so dirty. Justice for Xander. We didn't see his body, so I hope he's still alive. I still don't know why he didn't speak much, but way to kill off your only possibly semi-speaking or selectively mute character for shock value. And I didn't feel sad, because I didn't know much about him. I just felt frustrated at the author. But he was probably one of the least annoying characters. HE HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL.
And the fact that he wasn't completely mute was seen as almost a relief? SOME PEOPLE CAN'T SPEAK WITH THEIR MOUTHS AND THAT'S OKAY AND YES YOU CAN BE SEMI SPEAKING BUT IT FELT LIKE THE STORY WAS SAYING 'OH, DON'T WORRY, HE'S NOT MUTE IT'S FINE' AND I'M LIKE I DON'T CARE BUT SO WHAT IF HE IS THOUGH I HAVE A FEELING HE WOULD'VE BEEN TREATED AS A PROP OTHERWISE AND I'M LIKE AAAAAAAA???? sorry. I'm annoyed. And probably overly sensitive. (Legendborn spoilers)

Also the characters' reactions reminded me of Whitty's death in Legendborn because it was supposed to be so sad but I was like 'I barely know you, you're just a name that pops up sometimes'.

I did like the prose and metaphors and poeticism and stuff but I couldn't tell the difference between Eris and Sona, but I also know it's really, really hard to differentiate first person perspectives.

The dynamic and romance between them was pretty good, imagine a kind of cyberpunk rebel dystopian thing, but Eris is Vi from Arcane and Sona is Caitlyn. 10/10.

Also this is definitely a case of the characters' lack of autism making them kind of unrelatable, how do they tell how someone is feeling and read expressions that well? Tell me your secrets please.

But the fight scenes were good, despite the fact that I still can't make my mind up on the morally grey decisions by the characters, and I kind of skim-read the last few chapters lol. I will get the next book, though, and the cover is amazing.

- i haven't read a lot of cyberpunk (have i read ANY?) but this was a treat
- 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

UPDATE: moving this down to 1/5 stars

i think the worldbuilding really falls flat, especially the introduction of this 'religion' around the Windups and then it means absolutely nothing to the consequences of the universe other than one (1) vaguely pseudo-religious holiday that is more about a nation celebrating its might than anything.... also there are certain things that make it feel not at ALL centuries removed from our current culture. it's difficult for me to believe that this story takes place in a war-torn world where there's one all-powerful governing force that decimated its enemies, hundreds of years removed from our own time, while having the characters speak and behave like modern kids/teens while drinking hot chocolate and reading old romance novels (because i guess there aren't books anymore?).

additionally, i had several issues with the characters. i really feel like this tries to lay on the found family dynamic a bit thick, with a level of annoying hijinks that eventually lose their comedy and become bland and repetitive. milo was especially disappointing, because i was hoping for a much more nuanced reaction to eris' return to camp with sona in tow.... that did not happen at all. his reaction and the way his character is treated in the narration felt weirdly overzealous and then set up an entirely predictable subplot for this character, who becomes reduced to a two-dimensional draco malfoy-esque nuisance (my sincerest apologies for the hp reference, it was the only thing that came to mind to describe how i felt about this character and how he was framed by the story). he could have been sidelined so much better than he was in order to make way for the relationship between eris and sona. all the other characters, even eris and sona in some ways, suffer similar fates to being not fully-realized and complex characters. SPOILER INCOMING: i can't remember which kid it was, but one of them dies and i didn't really care at all or apparently even remember the kid's name. maybe he was the one that sat on the top of the bookshelf? who's to say? i shouldn't need to say this, but killing off a member of a found family group in something that is supposed to be a dramatic and pivotal moment should elicit more emotion than just, "oh. that sucks."

all in all, this book reminds me far too much of legend by marie lu, which i think is the much better story when it comes to both worldbuilding and character work.

Gearbreakers is a science fiction adventure story that follows Sona, a cyborg soldier who powers a giant mecha and plans to takedown the empire of Godolia from the inside, and Eris, one of a band of renegades (gearbreakers) outside Godolia who short-circuit the mechas to defend against their destruction. This is a great premise and an okay book, limited by its dialogue and portrayal of characters emotions. 

Sona is a more interesting character than Eris, caught in desire for revenge that often feeds helplessness at her own body’s service to the nation she hates. Sona constantly fights her nausea and shame at being other than human, and deals with the gearbreakers’ mistrust of her, while also understanding it. 

The gearbreakers as a group are interesting, though few are isolated as individuals (and those who are either have special roles or die, unsurprisingly). Mikuda’s youth as an author comes through in the dynamic of Eris’ crew of teenagers, who are reckless, play pranks, and hardly acknowledge authority throughout the novel. While I’m sure this was meant to be fun and lighthearted, I didn’t find this rapport that entertaining. Jenny, Eris’ older sister, is a skilled and hot-headed engineer with great ideas and leadership qualities, but she’s also violent and emotionally stunted in a way that also didn’t engage me. Eris herself shares a lot of traits with these others, tough and mad, distinguished mainly by her loyalty and protective instinct. This trait paired with Sona’s sense of isolation means the recognition in each girl that that the other can save them feels real. The relationship between them made sense and worked for me. 

A few other characters—Milo, Victoria, the gearbreaker leader—are painted as antagonists without much development. They sometimes seem to know the protagonists’ fears and jab right into them without logical reason why they would. I was frustrated by how Milo was written, because he is an emotionally stunted misogynist, but he also raises some valid concerns that nobody pays attention to. (I did not take issue with Eris’ treatment of him, though; she clearly cares for him and their relationship is a great reflection of teenage emotions and how they shift and develop). The anger running a current through every page, reiterating who the bad guys were abs why they are bad, became a repetitive barrage with no much-needed changes in tone. 

That said, the portrayal of Godolia was a strong point in the narrative. It reminded me of the governing structure of The Hunger Games, more than anything else. Mikuta writes an empire that places others in servitude, backed by victory in war and a religious conviction of supremacy. It was entirely believable and unfolded well. There are few surprises in the story or the behaviour of the leaders, and both these characters and the worldbuilding itself are, perhaps, limited. I was nonetheless impressed with Mikuta’s work on this element of the novel, especially. 

I don’t tend to like a series that doesn’t wrap up its individual volumes, and was somewhat disappointed in the ending for this reason. I haven’t decided whether I will complete the duology when the second book becomes available. 

Enjoyable sci-fi - mechas and take down the oppressors - and found family & possible love.

I really enjoyed this one!

Rep: Asian bisexual female MC, Asian lesbian female MC with an eye implant, Asian genius female side character, queer normative world.

CWs: Blood, body horror, child death, death, fire/fire injury, gore, grief, gun violence, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, medical content and unconsented medical experimentation, murder, torture, violence, war. Moderate: Car accident, colonisation, confinement, cursing, death of parent, emotional abuse, genocide, medical trauma, mental illness (anxiety and PTSD), police brutality, physical abuse, self-harm, toxic relationship, xenophobia. Minor: Panic attacks, vomit.