I absolutely fucking loved this book - I wasn’t sure if it was quite going to be a 5 star read for me but given how much I crieddd at the end I have to give it 5 stars 
Since this book is almost exactly 400 pages it was perfect for me to read 100 pages at a time - I originally read the first 100 back in November over thanksgiving break and then just didn’t get back to it for a bit cause of business and fantasy slump etc 
But I’m so so so glad I finally did and I desperately need the next/final book in the duology now 

- 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

After over 10 weeks, I finally finished Gearbreakers. I wanted to love this story and the characters and the entire experience, but sadly it all fell a little bit short for me. 

Let me start by saying that the writing was beautiful. The introspective bits were so well done, so thoughtful, and so lyrical I stopped to reread several lines more than once. To me, the writing alone could have elevated this book to an adult category because it did such a great job at eliciting emotions in the reader that matched the characters’. Sona and Eris were such rich characters and their respective thoughts and emotions matched the sci-fi setting and war laden world. I loved the author’s acknowledgement at the end where she described her own book as a rom-com that happened to have robots. Sona’s and Eris’s relationship was tender and loving and I loved having Sona’s perspective throughout the book. 

One of the things that fell short for me was the setting. Considering the genre and the uniqueness of the plot, I expected the world-building to have been more detailed and extensive. For some reason I felt like I was reading a book where I got to pick my own setting since very little described where or how things were supposed to be. Overall I felt there weren’t enough paragraphs that focused on the setting and setting alone. 

Along with the descriptions, I was properly confused about the time passage. I could not tell you how much time passed throughout the book. Because I couldn’t pinpoint the time and any sort of progression, I started to feel like Sona and Eris weren’t connecting in a way that was realistic. I wanted a slow burn budding romance and I can’t say I know whether or not I got that! 

The last five chapters were very engaging (and worth picking the book back up) but again: I didn’t understand enough about the Academy, the setting, the Phoenixes and Archangels and other robots to appreciate the action enough. 

I will absolutely read its sequel because I know the author loved her characters and so did I. 

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.