Gearbreakers

Written by Zoe Hana Mikuta

Narrated by Catherine Ho and Cindy Kay

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 she soon discovers Sona has a secret: She has intentionally infiltrated the Windup Pilot Program in order to destroy Godolia from within.

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

A Junior Library Guild Selection

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781705043189

Zoe Hana Mikuta

Zoe Hana Mikuta currently attends the University of Washington in Seattle, studying English with a creative writing focus. She grew up in Boulder, Colorado, where she developed a deep love of Muay Thai kickboxing and nurtured a slow and steady infatuation for fictional worlds. When she is not writing, Zoe can be found embroidering runes onto her jean pockets, studying tarot or herbology, or curled up with a cup of caramel coffee and a good, bloody but heartwarming book. She is the author of the Gearbreakers duology (Gearbreakers and Godslayers).

Reviews for Gearbreakers

[Airun 357 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sapphic slow burn very well written, it's from the pov of the two protagonist and it has a god-damned cliffhanger! Ahhhhh can't wait for the sequel!

[electrascaife · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Post-apocalyptic YA novel about a small group of resistance fighters living in the wastelands vs. the people in charge, who modify young people into living bots who can't feel pain and who pilot the giant mech that goes out to destroy the resistance. One of the pilot bots is a young woman who is secretly wanting to smash the system from the inside, and when she helps another young woman, who's been captured as a resistance fighter, to escape, they form an unlikely partnership to bring down the mech and the whole ruling establishment. They've been trained their whole lives to hate each other, but something stronger keeps pulling them toward one another.A Juliet and Juliet story set amongst a group of excellent characters and an interesting plot. This one ends on a cliffhanger, so be prepared to want the second book right away.

[dairyqueen84 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

No worldbuilding, flat characters, no plot to speak of.

[reader1009-863136 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

teen sci-fi (leader of rebellion falls in love with the beautiful cyborg trained by her enemy; with giant mecha battles and a found family of misfit rebels)tons of action/fighting scenes, but also a surprising amount of lovesick pining, with a cliff-hanger ending in which the two women are parted (but expected to reunite in the next book). I'm not a huge fan of either of those things, but I did appreciate the diversity (queer reps, an Asian protagonist) and I do think others would enjoy it.I'm not a fan of the ending, especially since Eris would have KNOWN FROM EXPERIENCE that the enemy's recapture of Sona would result in her "corruption" and torture (especially since she spent the last hundred pages pining after her), but the whole world in which they inhabit is pretty dark--unending war, servitude, inhumane treatment, abuses of power, and conditions which would validate a massacre in the capital city.

[sennebec · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Want a truly dystopian world, then read this book. Sona barely survived the destruction of her village, losing her parents in the process. It was destroyed for a reason that made no sense and was beyond the control of any who lived there. It was also the beginning of a painful and hardscrabble existence, one that had her fighting for survival on the streets of the capitol. After being selected for training as a Windup Pilot, someone whose body is sliced and diced to make them an enhanced weapon of their own, she secretly vows revenge. When Eris, a Gearbreaker (a rebel dedicated to destroying as many of the Windups as possible) is captured, Sona sees freeing her and escaping as her chance to act. Their escape is followed by distrust by some of the other Gearbreakers, an audacious plan to destroy as many Windups and pilots as possible, and a dandy, tension filled ending that screams for another book.

[montzaleew · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Gearbreakersby Zoe Hana MikutaMacmillan Children's Publishing GroupI want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this entertaining book!I really enjoyed the premise of the story! Giant machines with humans that are cyber-enhanced that plug into these great machines and become one. They then destroy any enemies, which is anyone that is against the very controlling government. To become one of these pilots is full of pain and possibly death. Very cruel training from an early age.The resistance fighters know a trick to bring down the giant machines and that is to jam up the gears in the middle of it. There is a couple of guards in the middle but no one expects them to get that far. That's why they're called Gearbeakers.One pilot went through all this training to turn against the government. She helps a gearbreaker escape. But can they trust each other? Love is in the air despite the distrust from others.This is where I found the book went downhill. It was then all about teenage love angst. The last half the book was more about romantic feelings than action, butt kicking, machine action! I know it's a teen book but there are giant machines! Lets get busy not kiss face!It's a LGBT book so if this offends you well don't pick it up!I found it entertaining and loved the action packed scenes. Teens will like both, action and romance, lol! I am just not into romance books. Definitely an author to watch!