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sydsmith23's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Violence and Torture
thaliareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
Gearbreakers was a no-brainer 5 star for me, but for some reason, I struggled through Godslayers. I'm not sure if I wasn't as invested once I got through the cliff-hanger left by the first book or if it was the fact I had to speed up the audio book to finish it in time with my library check out, or even the fact that I was not feeling well and probably didn't have full brain operation to comprehend, but it just didn't click in the same way. However, I still enjoyed the book when I finished it, and I loved the characters. I think I'll have to re-read this at some point and read the physical book instead of listening to the audio so that I fully absorb all of the content.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, War, Suicide, and Torture
Minor: Confinement
Overall, this book does deal with the overall themes of trying to finish a war, and with that there is all varieties of violence and some more graphically described injuries. Minor spoiler, less so after the content of the first book:alouette's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
not as good as book 1 if i'm being perfectly honest, but still action-packed and exciting with plenty more of that awesome world-building. the side characters got more fleshed out while Eris and Sona fell a little bit more flat in this one, which really was a shame. i understand that they already had the "falling in love" part of their story but the synopsis really hyped up Sona's corruption to be a bigger, more irreversible deal than it was. this didn't feel as intricately plotted as the first book BUT it was still a great conclusion and i'm glad there were some happy endings to be found in all the war and loss.
and i even took pleasure in some of the supposedly sad endings! sona's love for enyo sat wrong with me for a lot of scenes so the turn it took for them was a relief to me lol
and i even took pleasure in some of the supposedly sad endings! sona's love for enyo sat wrong with me for a lot of scenes so the turn it took for them was a relief to me lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Violence, Blood, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Religious bigotry
autumnrevisited's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I loved the first Gearbreakers so much and this was a very good addition to that story. It closed up a lot of the intentional loose ends while still leaving room for the world to expand in itself. It also showed the world of Godalia in a way that more expansive than the first book. My only critique would be it did some time jumps that, while necessary, made the flow stumble a little.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Murder, Abandonment, Blood, Child death, and Grief
ramunepocky's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Child death, and War
zoiejanelle's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
(Praying the author never reads this review because I desperately want to be friends with her, but I’m going to be honest here!)
Godslayers pales in comparison to Gearbreakers, but was overall a good book that brought much more depth to the overarching conflicts in the series. The main reason this book isn’t a 5/5 for me is the middle… it is just so slow… which I understand. This series is, at its core, about war, and war can be excruciatingly boring. I didn’t experience the same sort of thrill that I got from book 1. The payoff, though, was worth it!
I also got lost in Mikuta’s writing. In book 1, the poetic style was charming, romantic. In this book I was confused and had to re-read several very important passages to understand what was going on. I totally understood the point of the style. It lends itself to allowing the reader to have startling, emotional realizations and experience what the characters were experiencing through sensory detail, but I’m dumb and need action scenes to be very clear or I can’t visualize the scene.
As for the good stuff…
This book explored more of Jenny’s character as well as Eris’s crew which was really fun. I also loved the new characters — especially Enyo — and reading how they interacted with our original cast. The twists and turns were great, and I must have said “oh, shit!” at least ten times (especially towards the end). I was very scared that this would be an ambiguous ending, and in some ways it was, but please rest assured this is a hopeful ending and provided the much-deserved closure our characters needed. I still highly recommend this series and it will hold a very special place in my heart for years to come.
Godslayers pales in comparison to Gearbreakers, but was overall a good book that brought much more depth to the overarching conflicts in the series. The main reason this book isn’t a 5/5 for me is the middle… it is just so slow… which I understand. This series is, at its core, about war, and war can be excruciatingly boring. I didn’t experience the same sort of thrill that I got from book 1. The payoff, though, was worth it!
I also got lost in Mikuta’s writing. In book 1, the poetic style was charming, romantic. In this book I was confused and had to re-read several very important passages to understand what was going on. I totally understood the point of the style. It lends itself to allowing the reader to have startling, emotional realizations and experience what the characters were experiencing through sensory detail, but I’m dumb and need action scenes to be very clear or I can’t visualize the scene.
As for the good stuff…
This book explored more of Jenny’s character as well as Eris’s crew which was really fun. I also loved the new characters — especially Enyo — and reading how they interacted with our original cast. The twists and turns were great, and I must have said “oh, shit!” at least ten times (especially towards the end). I was very scared that this would be an ambiguous ending, and in some ways it was, but please rest assured this is a hopeful ending and provided the much-deserved closure our characters needed. I still highly recommend this series and it will hold a very special place in my heart for years to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Blood, Mental illness, Torture, and Grief
Minor: Vomit and Suicide
loveat1stwrite's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Suicide
siegga's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Suicide
sapphosgrandchild's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-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
I have never read anything better. This book broke me and then healed me (a little). Mikuta gave everything and more. The pacing, the romance, the raw, beautiful characters, the writing—perfection. Favorite duology by far, and the bar is high.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Violence, and War
Minor: Mental illness
birthisacurse's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gore, and Violence