A review by talonsontypewriters
Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

adventurous tense medium-paced
  • 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

I was really looking forward to this since I'm a huge mecha fan and have heard great things, but perhaps my expectations were too high. The worldbuilding is... virtually nonexistent; the side characters are all forgettable and interchangeable, and Eris and Sona aren't much better; their relationship is poorly developed and unconvincing; the pacing is very disjointed, rushing through the opening only to screech to a complete halt for the majority of the book and then seem to remember there's a main driving plot only in the last like 5 chapters; the writing is simultaneously painfully purple and dry as hell, managing to say in two paragraphs what could be achieved in a sentence while also frequently not really saying anything at all. The heavy helping of classic YA dystopia melodrama also made me roll my eyes so hard and so often I thought I was going to give myself a headache.

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.
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