At its core, this is a story about love. This book is set during the AIDS crisis in Australia during the 1970s/1980s and the general queer experience during that time. It follows two women as they navigate life, love, and struggles. As a bisexual woman, this book was a really inspiring and impactful read. I recommend mend it to anyone who is interested to learn about and just appreciate the pain queer people have gone though in the past few decades. I finished this book with pride and can't wait to read more from this author.

This book was ASTOUNDING. When I say that I sobbed while reading... my god. The writing is so poetic. The story is heartbreaking. And beautiful. This story broke me down and then built me back up. Dylin Hardcastle is an auto-read author for me now.

Thank you Netgalley for the early copy. This was an absolutely gorgeous book. I adored the way it was written and the ability to tell such a great story in not too many words. I took my time with this one and its going to stick with me for a while.

Once I got past the writing style, I realized enjoyed this book. The lack of quotation marks just took a little bit to get used to. That’s a me problem though.

".. 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴, 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘩, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸.."

You can’t blame a young thing for how moves, let alone how it feels.
To be at the mouth of adulthood is to feel everything before feelings become a reserve for how we stay in the world.
It suffers from not being able to kill all your darlings. Everything is here. The run on sentences. Details that would work better on the surface but tell too much. It’s all too much. The love. The bedroom poetry. The lust. The longing.

But it’s grief as maturity that allows our narrator to become something more for themselves. The bad poetry remains, but when we know love dies in parts, do we learn to grow out of the things that keep us young.

This is writing from direct pain. This is writing straight from the heart. This is writing that could use an editor. But in its unfiltered existence, it reminds me too much of being young and dumb with all my feelings, and whenever I’m in harmony with these old feelings, I can’t help but be back, think back, to heartaches and pains and even all the great glories that made me who I am today.

As a teen who read Genet and Palahniuk, it’s a fine young adult novel that reinforces and validates all those big feelings. All with heart and truth.

"..𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘴𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘬𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭. 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘷𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰. 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦."

this was such a gorgeously written book! from the beginning to the end, i was so invested in these two stories and how different but alike they were. i unfortunately kept getting a bit mixed up on who's POV we were reading at times but overall i couldn't recommend this one enough!

A historical LBGTQIA novel that tells the alternating stories of two queer protagonists. They are referred to (a bit on the nose) as Limb One and Limb Two. Giving two perspectives allows the acceptance of more than one "right" way to be queer through their story.

This is a beautifully written, poetic story about teenagers in Australia and how their lives intersect. I felt the story was moving, but the writing was a bit overdone at certain times. Overall I enjoyed it.

A poetic look at the lives of two women who take two different paths in life, but are forever linked by their first brush with love. This is a queer coming of age story set against the backdrop of the burgeoning gay rights movement in Australia and the start of the AIDS crisis.

This is a very well written book with a great story to tell. The main characters are both equally fleshed out and whose stories are given equal attention. The historical backdrop of the story was intriguing and informative. I know very little of the gay rights movement, so it was interesting learning about the movement in other parts of the world.

This is a compelling queer read that reflects the ties that bind us all.

There was a point while reading this novel where I almost gave up on it because I felt I was not getting it. But, I kept reading and it turned into one of the most beautiful examples of how the use of language can just turn your emotions into a rollercoaster.

Read this!

An absolutely gorgeous book following two different representations of queer life in Australia starting in the early 1970s. In one limb of the story a teenage girl is caught by her parents while she’s hooking up with her best friend. After being cast out of her home she makes her way to Sydney where she meets a community of other queer people. In the other limb of the story a teen girl squashes down her feelings for her best friend and never acts on them. She ends up in Sydney to attend university, but always stays on the outside protests and progress that’s going on.

This book is full of so much queer joy as well as pain. It’s so great getting to see the vibrant community and how they work to protect one another and fight for change. But then it’s also devastating to read as the book goes through the 80s and AIDS starts wiping out the community. I loved hearing about the art that the different characters were making and how they were translating their experiences into paintings, poetry, and more.

Dylin Hardcastle’s writing really brought this story to life. I felt like it was rich and descriptive without ever feeling overwritten. The symmetry that was used between the two limbs of the story added a lot to the reading experience.

I definitely recommend checking this book out if you enjoy stories about queer history, coming of age, and beautiful writing.

Set in 1970s Australia, the book follows August through two diverging lives: one where she embraces her queerness and finds solace in a queer commune in Sydney, and another where she pushes her desires aside and heads to university, pretending everything's fine. It's like watching two versions of yourself play out in parallel, and the pain comes from knowing that each choice means leaving something behind.

Hardcastle's prose is hauntingly beautiful, a thick, golden web that draws you in and leaves you tangled in the spaces between the lines. The characters are so vivid, their love so tender, their regrets so palpable - it's like reading the softest, most heartbreaking love letter, except it's written not with ink, but with memories and the raw vulnerability of a body that cannot lie.

This novel moves through pivotal moments - protests, hospital rooms, and the crushing weight of the AIDS crisis - where the physical and emotional distance between the two Augusts grows and shrinks in heartbreaking synchrony. By the end, you're left not just with a love story, but with a stark reminder: how often do we miss the people, the choices, the love we were meant to have because we didn't have the courage to make a different choice?

Again, a huge thank you to Dutton for the advanced digital copy - this novel is an elegy, a reminder of the joy and the grief that can coexist in every decision we make. It's tender, visceral, and quietly devastating.

Definitely 5/5 limbs...errr...stars (and a lot of tears, and I mean a lot)

Thank you so much for giving the opportunity to read this special and incredible story early.

Enchanting, engrossing, and deeply moving, this is a love story for the ages and I’m so grateful to have been able to experience it. I will be pushing this incredible story on everyone I know, because I know I wish I could read it again for the first time.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book early! This was a very moving and tender read that I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to friends!

Thank you to Dutton and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy of this book!

4.5 stars rounded down

After finishing, I have SO many conflicted feelings! First of all, this is an excellent queer love story and coming of age novel that is both heartbreaking and beautiful. The book has a unique structure, with two parallel storylines running alongside each other in alternating chapters. The “limb one” story starts after a young girl is discovered kissing her best friend by her parents and an act of violence forces her out of her home. This storyline focuses on queer joy, pain, and resistance, as she builds a new found family within the LGBTQ+ community and enters a passionate relationship with a woman, set amidst the HIV/AIDS epidemic in 70s/80s Australia.

The “limb two” storyline follows a much more “traditional” path, as the main character pushes down her early desire for her best friend, goes to university, and enters a long-term relationship with a man. While this storyline follows a quieter path, it’s still infused with grief and pain, but in a different way.

The prose of this book is beautiful, raw, and visceral (if a bit heavy-handed at times), and these two storylines are effortlessly woven together to build tension.

What I’m struggling with, though, is the fact that I only realized these storylines were about different people at the very end of the book. The whole time, I was envisioning a sliding doors situation, where the impact of one decision sent one girl’s life in two different directions. I imagined these two storylines as the same character, but if she had made different decisions. After reading some reviews, I’m not the only reader who thought that, but I still ended up feeling like I read the book wrong by the end of it.

Newcastle, Australia, 1972. On a sticky summer night, a choice must be made: To give in to queer desire or suppress it? To venture into the unknown or stay the course? In alternating chapters, we follow Limb One and Limb Two, as one person’s life branches off in surprising and unavoidable ways.
Parts of this were very effecting, particularly when dealing with grief and loss. The parallel timelines echoed both This is How You Lose the Time War and lighter rom-com fare, but succumbs to the risk that all “multi-verse” stories do, which is that one story grabs you by the throat while the other one just exists.
I think I’ll be in the minority here, in that “Limb Two” was the storyline I couldn’t shake off, whereas “Limb One,” tries to tackle SO much with the AIDS crises, art exhibitions, and near-constant poetry, that it became more of writing showcase than something that connected with me. But, “Limb Two’s” quiet family life and the devastation found in unlikely places was well-worth reading this for.

Yet another book that I would not have picked up on my own and not because it’s LGBTQ+ as that’s not a drawback for me. No, it’s just that I don’t usually read books that are so lyrical and poetic. But the prose is like a song, a poem (and there is plenty of poetry within the text, as well).

But the main thing in the novel’s favor, to me, were the characters—all so very real. And the two main characters, who are never named, are especially compelling and their stories are very real as well. The heartbreak, love, joy—all the emotions—are all very visceral.

I highly recommend A Language of Limbs.

The hard part about writing a succinct review on this book is deciphering what NOT to say about it. This book was everything and more. It is a beautiful portrait of queerness and the different shapes it can take, the different paths queer people take, how being queer is not a singular identity but rather an intersectional one that seeps through every aspect of your being. I loved the dual narrative, I loved the descriptions of love and community, I loved the emphasis on the importance of art and creativity in queer spaces, I loved how queerness was shown as resistance, I loved how queerness was so intimately tied to the body. I loved how each narrator's first love set the stage for how they experienced their queerness throughout the novel. Not to mention, this was one of the most beautifully written novels I have ever read, if not the most. I could go on and on. I am going to buy a hard copy as soon as this comes out, and friends and family of mine can already easily see that I will never shut up about this book.

Books like A Language of Limbs are the reason I read in the first place. I feel stunned by the beauty within these pages and completely altered after finishing the very last one.

We are presented with two limbs of life; limb one, limb two. In each limb, a young woman must decide whether to act on her feelings for her best friend. From there, an entire life is built, and nothing will ever be the same.

I've never read anything like this. The way the author wove small moments from both lives into one another was breathtaking and heartbreaking in equal measure. It really shows how close we always are to a life full of different choices. How a life could have been something else, entirely, if we only made one decision differently.

This will be a queer classic, mark my words.

really beautiful read. feel like it will be so relatable to so many people. I struggled a bit with the writing style, but the overall premise is so fascinating and catching. Raw, honest, and feel like you really get to know the MC.