This was the first of Hardcastle's books I've read, and it was certainly very enjoyable literary fiction. This is a twinned story, with both limb 1 and limb 2 starting at a pivotal point - a night in Newcastle, a crush on a best friend. One limb acts on this with dramatic consequences, the other doesn't, which also has consequences, even as these take longer to play out. The marketing of the book seems detirmined to position this as a book about two different people, but there is a distinct "sliding doors" feel to it - limb 1 and limb 2 feel like different versions of the same person, with pattern of thought and interior monologue of self doubt. I thought this ambiguity was a strength, and a form of interesting approach to the times, as well as  making the two limbs feel deeply connected. Hardcastle is exploring the various ways of being queer in a specific time and place, and the structure subtly emphasises the ways our environment alter us, and how each choice we make is shaped by previous choices. But it is ambiguous - limb 1 and limb 2 experience their sexuality quite differently, see their artistic selves differently, implying that these are different ways of being, not just different paths.

It is an accessible and easy book to read, while still featuring some breathtaking prose, and Hardcastle has chosen deliberately to emphasise joy, community and connection, across storylines. This makes it that increasingly rare beast of a literary book which could be picked up for the first time even with a frayed mind. It is also predictable at times, and the outline of what the author wants the story to do is often visible, which does interrupt the immersion a tad. There is the occasional clumsy phrase and, since I am old and lived through some of this time, some minor anachronisms I wish had been picked up - which in many ways only stood out because of the vividness of Hardcastle's descriptions of everyday life. I'll be interested in the adaption, and will keep an eye out for more of their work.