Bluemantle takes what should be a fascinating subject for a novel, and manages to present it in such a way that I found myself looking forward to finishing the story, rather than hoping it never ends. Maybe it just wasn't for me, but I was hoping for more action or intrigue blended with the worldbuilding; at times the story felt stuck until some exposition helped push it along.

I absolutely loved the premise of this book upon reading the summary. I really enjoyed reading this book until about 50% of the way through. There was so much that was drawn out for no apparent reason. I did not even feel the need to finish the book. I feel like this plot has a lot of potential, but could use some editing as far as unnecessary fluff. The book really does not need to be so long.

Bluemantle is set in a dystopian society where live music has been banned due to its narcotic effects and followers of the ‘Music Makers’ and the Scene have been labelled ‘users’.

It has been a while since I’ve read an adult dystopian fiction but Langston wrote a truly compelling book. Although written in a 3rd person narrative, we get the perspective from several different characters: Chase, Cole, Governor Blix, Commander Wulfwin, Dent Lore and the Music Makers.

I enjoyed the concept of the story a lot and thought it was executed pretty well. I thought the way Langston described the Music Makers and scenes of their performance was really well done as it made me think about live concerts and even pieces of music I’ve listened to that have had the same intoxicating effect that was described in Bluemantle.

A well paced and well rounded novel!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with this eARC!