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aubreyprobably's review against another edition
The pacing of this book just felt so incredibly rushed. Like it was supposed to be a trilogy. Not typically one to hate it, but this book is also just a little too YA ish.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
shannonreadssometimes's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
“For the reckless, lovestruck kids. (The former may be lethal, but the latter makes it worth it.)"
Buckle up guys because this is going to be a long one. I've finally decided that these two books are my favourite books EVER.
Queer mecha dystopia with found family and enemies to lovers? HELL YES!!! Before I even read Gearbreakers or Godslayers, I knew it could be one of my favorite books of all time. Zoe Hanna Mikuta was just 21 when she wrote the first one, which is insane to me as a 20yo. If I ever get my ass in gear ( ;) ) I can only dream of writing something half as good as this.
Set in a dystopian future of Godolia where a tyrannical government rules with an iron fist thanks to the giant mecha deities they’ve created, each the size of a skyscraper inspired by epic myths and legends-leviathans, valkyries, archangels (each design is so cool and detailed and jaw-dropping and so seamlessly interwoven with the book that chunks of description are one of the best parts). Our mains, one an enhanced 'mecha pilot', who had her world destroyed by the 'Windup' Deities and began the soul-destroying training at a young age to become a pilot so to secretly destroy Godoloia from the inside out. The other is a “Gearbreaker” whose only mission is to take down the massive machines. Though they seemed like enemies to each other, both want nothing more than to topple the mecha-monsters and their masters (cuz inside each one is a genetically and mecha modified human). To quote Mikuta herself, its full of “mechas, enemies-to-lovers, crisis of humanity, girls liking girls, found family full of idiots, renegade kids, and crazy weapons.”
However, she goes on to describe it with, “The overall conflict arc in Gearbreakers is something that has been seen before in YA, right, just taking down the evil government. But I wanted to differentiate past that initial structure with all of the emotional arcs. I feel like something lacking in this recognizable conflict arc was how much it weighs on the individual. And especially in YA, I feel like the fact that the protagonists are kids is largely understated.” And this I wholeheartedly agree with. While this book is similar enough to the likes of Divergent, Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, etc, the character depth is a whole new level. The arcs, and the conflicting emotions- there are no entirely good characters, we're all morally grey here.
More than that, this is a book about war. About war, and the kids caught up in it. Especially the sequel, where Godolia is now taken over by just another kid. These are young adults and kids the age of 13 who have been given a gun and told there is no way to survive except to kill. And to make the writing even better, Mikuta actually addresses the emotional distress that comes with growing up in war. The internal conflict, the self hatred, the despising what you have done but knowing you wouldn't take it back. Mikuta created two girls so violently wrecked with revenge and gifted us the chance to watch them grow from it, while healing the world. It is so dark and twisted and angry, and it is so beautiful and loving and truly kind. These people are the cruelest there are, hardened by the worst trauma, and if they can grow from it and learn to not only love others, but to love themselves too, then maybe there's hope for us as well.
ALSO?? the sequel literally has one of my least favourite tropes (time skips) and it worked so well I loved it so much. This book has a multitude of LGBT identities (bisexual, lesbian, ace, etc) and yet has such a beautiful focus on friendship too (AND SIBLING BONDS! WHICH I ADORED! NEVER LIKED TWO SISTERS IN A BOOK AS MUCH AS THIS BEFORE!)
Honestly, I could talk about this book all day, I really could, but I'll sign off here. Just know I am BEGGING yous to read this! This is my dream dark fantasy LGBT book, and I can't find a fandom for it.
Buckle up guys because this is going to be a long one. I've finally decided that these two books are my favourite books EVER.
Queer mecha dystopia with found family and enemies to lovers? HELL YES!!! Before I even read Gearbreakers or Godslayers, I knew it could be one of my favorite books of all time. Zoe Hanna Mikuta was just 21 when she wrote the first one, which is insane to me as a 20yo. If I ever get my ass in gear ( ;) ) I can only dream of writing something half as good as this.
Set in a dystopian future of Godolia where a tyrannical government rules with an iron fist thanks to the giant mecha deities they’ve created, each the size of a skyscraper inspired by epic myths and legends-leviathans, valkyries, archangels (each design is so cool and detailed and jaw-dropping and so seamlessly interwoven with the book that chunks of description are one of the best parts). Our mains, one an enhanced 'mecha pilot', who had her world destroyed by the 'Windup' Deities and began the soul-destroying training at a young age to become a pilot so to secretly destroy Godoloia from the inside out. The other is a “Gearbreaker” whose only mission is to take down the massive machines. Though they seemed like enemies to each other, both want nothing more than to topple the mecha-monsters and their masters (cuz inside each one is a genetically and mecha modified human). To quote Mikuta herself, its full of “mechas, enemies-to-lovers, crisis of humanity, girls liking girls, found family full of idiots, renegade kids, and crazy weapons.”
However, she goes on to describe it with, “The overall conflict arc in Gearbreakers is something that has been seen before in YA, right, just taking down the evil government. But I wanted to differentiate past that initial structure with all of the emotional arcs. I feel like something lacking in this recognizable conflict arc was how much it weighs on the individual. And especially in YA, I feel like the fact that the protagonists are kids is largely understated.” And this I wholeheartedly agree with. While this book is similar enough to the likes of Divergent, Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, etc, the character depth is a whole new level. The arcs, and the conflicting emotions- there are no entirely good characters, we're all morally grey here.
More than that, this is a book about war. About war, and the kids caught up in it. Especially the sequel, where Godolia is now taken over by just another kid. These are young adults and kids the age of 13 who have been given a gun and told there is no way to survive except to kill. And to make the writing even better, Mikuta actually addresses the emotional distress that comes with growing up in war. The internal conflict, the self hatred, the despising what you have done but knowing you wouldn't take it back. Mikuta created two girls so violently wrecked with revenge and gifted us the chance to watch them grow from it, while healing the world. It is so dark and twisted and angry, and it is so beautiful and loving and truly kind. These people are the cruelest there are, hardened by the worst trauma, and if they can grow from it and learn to not only love others, but to love themselves too, then maybe there's hope for us as well.
ALSO?? the sequel literally has one of my least favourite tropes (time skips) and it worked so well I loved it so much. This book has a multitude of LGBT identities (bisexual, lesbian, ace, etc) and yet has such a beautiful focus on friendship too (AND SIBLING BONDS! WHICH I ADORED! NEVER LIKED TWO SISTERS IN A BOOK AS MUCH AS THIS BEFORE!)
Honestly, I could talk about this book all day, I really could, but I'll sign off here. Just know I am BEGGING yous to read this! This is my dream dark fantasy LGBT book, and I can't find a fandom for it.
brainpieces's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cecibaspe's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
4.25
hihowartthou's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
margitbjaadal's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- 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
kaitlyn_murgatroyd's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
uisimportant's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
lexereads's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I just don’t understand why it took till the last 5 chapter to kill Enyo, he should have died in the 1st half of the book. And then when he did die it was an implied death, like why did we gloss over this death that was supposedly the change of the world. The relationships in this book fell flat compared to the 1st, when June died it was anti-climatic when it should have been a huge event. The writing just tanked, I couldn’t tell what was happening at important parts because it was so vague in an attempt to sound masterful.
01ivi4's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.75