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careinthelibrary's review against another edition
2.5
The worldbuilding just didn't click/didn't make sense? It hints at the past but doesn't explain it enough for it to stand on its own two feet. Some things just don't really make sense, at least not the way they're presented. The Godolia empire is killing its citizens because...evil? I wish there was more development for this world. Or maybe I missed something?
One thing I'm sure of is that I think there are too many characters. We didn't need this big of a "crew". It just meant that a few didn't get developed enough to matter. They are not memorable and it just led to confusion later on. I don't think I could even name them all, let alone what their specialty in gearbreaking is. It's not so much about the number of characters (there are books with more that are done well), but this was too many, too flat, too shallow, too similar.
Sona and Eris start out really different and interesting. I like the premise and think those first few chapters are really strong. The author has a great concept on their hands. As their experiences become more similar, their POVs became harder to distinguish (they are both concerned with Gearbreaking activities, hating Godolia, their plans for revenge etc).
The book is either too long or not enough happens in the middle. The middle third feels like the plot is just "rebel against the overlords" with no real strong plotline to follow. Just random skirmishes and the crew arguing with each other. I was rereading chapters to try and figure out what was important in there and eventually started skim reading. So in terms of my thoughts on worldbuilding above, I may have missed important stuff because of this dull chunk in the middle.
I like the concepts, the writing was good, liked the two povs (although the worldbuilding definitely makes each one's backstory suffer). The author is clearly a creative, imaginative, ambitious talent. I wouldn't swear off their work in their future based on this since it does have good moments. But something about <i>Gearbreakers</i> just never came together for me, I was left waiting for this book to take off and it left me waiting past the first page. But not in a way that makes me want to read the sequel. I had a stressful January so perhaps this has something to do with my lack of interest in this novel, but not entirely. There are some definite parts of this that would never have worked for me.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture
dododenise's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death of parent and War
pixelpigeon's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and War
puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol
zoebrook's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
eve_o's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
foreverinastory's review against another edition
- 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
Rep: Asian bisexual female MC, Asian lesbian female MC with an eye implant, Asian genius female side character, queer normative world.
CWs: Blood, body horror, child death, death, fire/fire injury, gore, grief, gun violence, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, medical content and unconsented medical experimentation, murder, torture, violence, war. Moderate: Car accident, colonisation, confinement, cursing, death of parent, emotional abuse, genocide, medical trauma, mental illness (anxiety and PTSD), police brutality, physical abuse, self-harm, toxic relationship, xenophobia. Minor: Panic attacks, vomit.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Vomit
alouette's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
big robots! amazing fight scenes! cool as heck concepts! maybe the background idea had some holes but the execution was so perfect that i didn't even care. every character was unique, the descriptions were so good, the dialogue so endearing and heart-wrenching, and the plot amazing. it's a lot of what i've wished i could write so i'm so happy the author made it :)
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Child death and Medical content
Minor: Alcohol
cottlestonpie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual content, Vomit, and Stalking
tigerproofrock's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Cursing and Torture
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail