Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta (Gearbreakers #1)

Reviewed by GGGinny

What I drank: beer. Im at a “summer festival” and Ive enjoyed the beer garden

Goodreads Overview:

Two girls on opposite sides of a war discover they’re fighting for a common purpose–and falling for each other–in Zoe Hana Mikuta’s high-octane debut Gearbreakers, perfect for fans of Pacific Rim, Pierce Brown’s Red Rising Saga, and Marie Lu’s Legend series.

We went past praying to deities and started to build them instead...

The shadow of Godolia’s tyrannical rule is spreading, aided by their giant mechanized weapons known as Windups. War and oppression are everyday constants for the people of the Badlands, who live under the thumb of their cruel Godolia overlords.

Eris Shindanai is a Gearbreaker, a brash young rebel who specializes in taking down Windups from the inside. When one of her missions goes awry and she finds herself in a Godolia prison, Eris meets Sona Steelcrest, a cybernetically enhanced Windup pilot. At first Eris sees Sona as her mortal enemy, but Sona has a secret: She has intentionally infiltrated the Windup program to destroy Godolia from within.

As the clock ticks down to their deadliest mission yet, a direct attack to end Godolia’s reign once and for all, Eris and Sona grow closer–as comrades, friends, and perhaps something more… 

Drunk Overview: there are giant robots used to “protect” godolia, but theyre ultimately used to opprese the surrounding communities that provide the resources that Godolia needs. Sona has been promoted to Valkerie class (the highest) for these terrifying mechs but wants to dismantle to systen from within. Eris is a gearbreaker, the community that rose to take down the mechs during planned attacks. She and Sona meet and shit goes down.

Drunk Thoughts: As an adult, the breakdown between YA and not YA doesn’t make sense to me. This book was bloody and horrifying at points, but probably not more than the hunger games?

• Again, Im not the proper judge of what is and isn’t YA.
• Sona has a goal to take things down from within but there didnt seem to be an actionable hoals there?
• The section where shes on the Valkerie team seemed both too long and too short. I dont think enough happened yo warrant how long it was, but it was also too short to make me give a shit about the other “pilots”.
• Somebody died and it just felt like a non issue.
• The book picked up once they wete outside of the mech compound or academy or whatever.
• I almost wish the book had been restructured to start there with the academy being flashbacks…
• But again, a lot of the gearbreakers ended up flowing into each other.
• Eris’ team had distinct personalities but I never really bothered to learn their names.
• Really, the stakes were so high that it didnt seem worth it. They did a suicidal job so some of them were going to die.
• Thats also tge perspective of someone who has read ebough to know ehich story beats to expect. Again, this is YA and meant for an audience that hasnt read like I have.
• Apparently, Im more conflcited about this than I thought. I rememebered enjoying it despite its flaws, but with a few beers under my belt its hardernto remember the good parts.
• The perspective shift was also a little bit odd. The way that Eris/Sona though6 didnt seem to be well mirrored in thr way they were perceived.
• Okay, the good. I love the idea of giant robots. Not much attention was given to how they were built, but I enjoyed the fights.
• I liked the description of gearbreaker life. It felt very lived in from the worn books to the dorm style of living. I think that did more to humanaize and give character than most of the book.
• The imagery was well done. There were a few scenes I could picture really well.
• That feels like a shorter list than this book deserved biy thats all I can think of right now.

What it Pairs With: a shot of vodka. Drunk it or use it to sterilize something.

Rating: 2.5/5