Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

7 reviews

millydrisco's review

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challenging emotional funny sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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summerfalkenrath's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

3.5

I've been wanting to read this book for a while and it was pretty great! I liked the concept of what Gearbreakers do and how the resistance is working to take down the mechas. I was intrigued right away at the end of Sona's first chapter when you see her real intention of trying to dismantle and hurt the system from the inside. I listened to this via audiobook and I think that's what made me knock down a star. Both narrarators were great, but they were very similar in style and it took me a long time to differentiate between the two. I also had a really hard time understanding when listening the difference between present time and flashbacks during the first quarter of the book. I struggled a bit with the pacing, feeling like there was a lot of ""and suddenly!"" moments. I do understand that during apocalyptic war survival, there will be a lot of stuff like that happening, but I feel like sometimes it happened so quickly not only to the characters but to the reader as well and I felt confused and would have to rewind to make sure I didn't miss anything. the book ended with an intense cliff hanger that basically requires you to read the next book. I personally don't mind that about books, but I know it's a turn off to others. I hope to check out book 2 in the future!!
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nova_selachii's review

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adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

the back and forth perspectives by the two main characters is well-done and distinctive, portraying an enemies-to-friends(+) that is only half antagonistic to begin with. the random assortment of orphans led by Eris seems a bit overkill on the zany wunderkid trope but it's believable that a few come across as two-dimensional from her narration as a defense mechanism and from Sona's as a newcomer. thrilling heroics against terrible odds, gruff sweethearts, and complex villain/protagonist dynamics! sword fighting? emotional damage, and I'm not just talking about that cliffhanger ending. good thing the next book is already published
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oliverreeds's review

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adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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foreverinastory's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense 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

4.5

I really enjoyed this one!

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. 
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alouette's review

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adventurous challenging tense fast-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

5.0

*cries in the comfort that is the found family trope*
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 :)
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jhbandcats's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Great concept, great characters, but I think the author will get even better over time. (She was in college when this was written.) The book would be about a third shorter if the metaphors were removed. It all felt too earnest, where the author was trying too hard. Some subtlety would have been good.

As the promo says, if you like Pacific Rim (the movie) and the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown, then you'll like this. The problem is that this is too much like those, even going so far as having one of the protagonists be a miner, like in Red Rising. And, except for one semi-minor character, everyone is a teenager. I haven't seen Pacific Rim but the machines in the trailer look just the way the mechas are described.

What's best is the developing relationship between the two main characters, young women on opposite sides who fall for each other and begin working together. (Not a spoiler - this is in the book description.) It's inspiring and I imagine young queer people can benefit from as many young queer role models as creative society can give them.

A great start to a series; it just needs some polishing and a bit more maturity.
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