Limbs

by Tim Meyer

I am not a monster. Ray Bridges, a professional electronics salesman, is looking for love in all the strange places. He spends most nights sneaking into support group meetings for the disabled in order to satisfy his deepest, darkest desires—to hook up with unfortunate, down-on-their-luck women who’ve recently lost a limb. There's a name for Ray’s preference; it’s called acrotomophilia, a paraphilia involving amputees. Conflicted, Ray wishes he could change. But he can’t. His body won’t let him. Nor will his mind. He’s destined to live this life, forever. That is . . . until he meets the perfect girl. Falls in love with her. Only her arms and legs are attached. Unable to find her attractive, Ray embarks on a dark, twisted journey of self-discovery, one that will force him to make an impossible abandon his pursuit of true love or find a way to make it work, even if that means getting the girl of his dreams to shed an appendage. Weird, comedic, and often raunchy, Limbs is the craziest love story ever told.

Genres: Horror, Audiobook, Dark, Adult, Fiction

180 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 9, 2019

About the author

Tim Meyer dwells in a dark cave near the Jersey Shore. He's an author, husband, father, podcast host, blogger, coffee connoisseur, beer enthusiast, and explorer of worlds. He writes horror, mysteries, science fiction, and thrillers, although he prefers to blur genres and let the story fall where it may.

You can follow Tim at https://timmeyerwrites.com

OR like his Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/authortimmeyer

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I know that in all my recent podcasts, interviews, Q&As, etc that I’ve been tepid and unsure about my future as an author. Most of that has to do with production costs and such, which is always a bummer to think about. That being said, I have several ideas that I’ve been developing. And this book has a comparable premise to the one I have worked the most on and do truly hope to write some point soon. And since it’s much different than my Preternatural trilogy, it has me filled with a good deal of trepidation, as it’s outside of my norm. However, seeing how well Tim Meyer wrote this book really did inspire me. And for that, I thank him! So this book ‘had legs’…and in some cases, only one (Terrible joke!). I feel like the author nailed this character, Ray, and did everything by him perfectly. I was sucked into the story from the first page and couldn’t stop myself from binging the entire thing in one sitting. Ray just has so many flaws, none of which he can control, and has no one he can be honest with, for fear of being abandoned and chastised. So he struggles and doubts everything he says and does, and just lives a very tough existence. With mental health, which I am always a big advocate of, this is the case a good deal of the time, and, even though some liberties were taken here for an entertainment value, its very relatable and appreciated. So well done there. I did want a little more on Kayla’s character, as she had a ton of unique features and reactions, but most were not explored fully. If she had some more depth to her, I feel like it would have made her compatibility and eventual conclusion with Ray seem much more logical, meaningful, and sound. But I honestly loved this story and everything about it. I am now a fan of Tim Meyer, who I have not read prior. Also, as a lifelong NJ native, with this all taking place in Jersey, that also won Meyer some extra brownie points, too.

[Vicki Herbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Am Not a Monster...

LIMBS: A Love Story
by Tim Meyer

4 stars. Ray Bridges stood before a support group meeting and said: Hi, my name is Ray, and I'm an amputee...

But he wasn't...

Ray told this lie to be able to sit next to a real amputee. To get closer to them, eventually leading to sex with them...

He was aroused by new amputees who hadn't yet realized that they were handicapped...

Some people would call him a monster...

Ray sees himself as a predator who preys on the weak for personal gain. But it wasn't just about sex...

He found them beautiful. It's called acrotomphilia. One who's sexually attracted to amputees...

But he's not a monster...

It was during the year of the Hackerstown Hacker, a felon at large who was hacking off limbs from women...

... that Ray fell for a new employee at work, Kayla. Trouble was she was whole and had all her limbs...

A big turn-off for Ray...

Ray imagined that his sexual problem with Kayla would disappear if only the Hackerstown Hacker would hack off one of her limbs...

But people, he is not a monster...

This was a different kind of love story, and I was glued to the pages. This story was good to the very end. It was also a whodunit as the reader had to figure out who the Hackerstown Hacker was.

THE SEA, THE STARS by this author, is also a very good story.

Warning to some readers: The story is about a man attracted to limbless women, for those offended by such a storyline, but it is tastefully presented.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an unusual horror tale. Ray, the main character, has a very special sexual preference: amputees. Therefore he meets women missing limbs in meeting groups of those concerned. He sometimes even pretends being an amputee himself to get women into bed. Ray has serious doubts about his sanity. Things get complicated when the Hacketstown Hacker is setting the little town in turmoil. Who is he? Is there a connection to Ray? What about Rays new relationship to Kayla, a new member of the staff? Can they have a fulfilling relationship? Page turning story with many surprising twists and an ending I hadn't expected that way. Top horror tale told by a true master storyteller. Highly recommended!

[Lyn❤Loves❤Listening to Real Voices Only!!!!❤️🎧📚 Addict ON HIATUS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio - 5 stars
Story - 3 stars

It could be that I'm the twisted one because the story was too tame for me. Given the blurb and cover, I was expecting more of a campy read.

[Hunter Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a love story like no other. I'm glad I read it during Valentine's week. Love...and lust...comes in all shapes and sizes, wants and desires. Limbs explores a very particular and peculiar fetish and the impact it has on all of the lives around it. At times humorous, squeamish, cringe worthy and terrifying, Limbs shows once again that Tim Meyer is a force to be reckoned with.

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some people are attracted to tall people, or blonde people, or people with deep voices... but not Ray. No, Ray's preference is a little more unique than that: he's attracted to amputees — and ONLY amputees. It hasn't been much of a problem, but when he falls in love with an able-bodied new coworker, he has to find a way around his little "preference" if he doesn't want to lose the best relationship he's ever had.

Holy hell, that was a ride. The synopsis for this book is wild enough on its own, but then the execution? I was so nervous going into this, worrying that it would end up ableist and offensive as hell, but somehow, Tim managed to take this immensely polarizing, twisted plot and find a way to present it in the most tactful, respectful way possible.

While Limbs advertises itself as a love story, it's definitely also solidly horror, as there's also the terror of the fact that there is a slasher on the loose, and there's a lot of gore in some of Ray's internal monologues, especially during his most conflicted thoughts about his girlfriend. I'd most strongly recommend this for horror fans who don't mind a bit of sappy romance and have a sense of humor: if that sounds like you, please take the chance to read this bizarre, hilarious, creepy little novella because Tim's writing is just so much fun.

[Uptown Horror Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay here's my elevator pitch for you to read this book:

"Limbs" feels like "Dead Inside" by Chandler Morrison had a baby with "My Pretties" by Jeff Strand and was directed by Judd Apatow.

I wasnt expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did and I look forward to reading more from Tim Meyer in the future.

Im giving this book 4 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

For in-depth video reviews, please subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/UptownHorrorRev...

[MadameD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story 5/5
Narration 5/5
Limbs by Tim Meyer is a great story, about Ray's unusual fetishism and how he found love.
This book is captivating and very well written.
But I would have preferred a darker ending.
I highly recommend it!
🦾🦿🦾🦿🦾

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fetish fiction at its best! Incredibly readable and entertaining, its a dark and twisted love story featuring Ray, a thirty-something, able-bodied, clock-puncher at a local electronics store with an embarassing secret to hide - he digs amputee chicks. Like, ONLY digs amputee chicks. So much so that he attends a variety of support groups for people who have recently lost a limb on the regular, the way a normal dude might hit up the local bar scene. But the moment he lays eyes on Kayla, one of the new hires at work, he begins to question everything he thought he knew about himself. He's falling for her fast and hard. Well, maybe not hard. See, she's his almost-dream girl. The only thing that would make her perfect in his eyes? Yup, you guessed it. A few missing fingers, a missing arm or leg... but, as Ray is quick to point out, he's no monster. Yet, love does make you do some crazy things....

Quirky, corny, and enjoyably unsettling, I chewed through Limbs in a matter of hours. In Ray, Tim has created a character that is strangely conflicted and extremely likable. Grindhouse Press has a winner on thieir hands!

[Jason Parent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Limbs is a tale featuring an unconventional and initially unlikable hero. The strengths of the novel are in the author’s ability to make the protagonist… somewhat likable and someone the reader can cheer on. He has a fetish for amputees and isn’t above some dirty tricks to appease his desires. But the character arc is there and with it a story that kept me guessing. And so a unique and worthwhile read.

[exorcismemily · Rating 4 out of 5]

"They're not monsters... They're beautiful."

Limbs is my fourth Tim Meyer book, and I always have such a good time reading his work. His books are creative, amusing, and entertaining; I'm always on board for his horror stories.

When I first heard the synopsis of Limbs, honestly, I was a little wary of it. I wasn't entirely sure how this was going to play out (and if it was going to be ableist), but it worked really well. Limbs is smart, weird, and sweet. I enjoyed this story very much. I buddy read it with my friend Tracy, and she had fun with it, too.

If you haven't read Tim Meyer books yet, all of them are fun, and I recommend grabbing one ASAP! I can't wait to see what he does next.

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tim Meyer is always flexin' on the horror industry. He just casually drops a title with Grindhouse and proves, once again, he can write it all--creature features, serial killers, paranormal, experimental, romance, novels, novellas and short stories. Whatever Meyer wants to write, he does and he does it well.
LIMBS: A Love Story is exactly what it promises. A love story
about limbs (or the lack there of)
When I first read the synopsis, I wasn't sure what to expect and to be honest, I was a little hesitant to get excited because the premise sounded a little hinky. (kinky? Well, yes. Kinky too. But I mean "hinky" like 'weird in a wrong way') Especially since this book was published by Grindhouse Press, a publisher notorious for peddling some extreme horror.
To be fair, the first several chapters are actually pretty cringy. The protagonist, Ray Bridges, is a young man with a pretty serious sexual preference for women with missing limbs.
It's so intense, he has trouble even getting aroused in the presence of beautiful women with all their limbs--even beautiful women he could see himself being in a relationship with or falling for-if they have all their fingers & toes, he's just not attracted to them.
This makes life pretty complicated and for the most part, Ray feels like a monster. His issues are not something he can just explain to people to garner acceptance or understanding.
His secret fetish is ruining his life.

Meyer clearly took a lot of time pouring into his character, Raymond Bridges. The result is a relatable, sincere man who struggles in life and relationships just like we all do but also must deal with some awkward sexual fetishes that are out of control. The bizarre nature of Raymond's issues slowly begin to drop off into the background as we get to see all the *other* characteristics that make Raymond who he is as a person. I became less focused on the kinky weirdness that plagued Raymond and began to feel this strange pull for him to be successful in life and get the girl of his dreams--no matter what.

Of course, being that Meyer writes in his wheelhouse, which is horror, this book takes a pretty dark turn and soon, all the lives in this story go careening down the track at breakneck speeds. I literally burned through this book--the ending was a blur as I gobbled up all the exciting parts of the conclusion.
My only complaint and the reason I didn't give this full stars was because sometimes I felt like the sexual hangup was more powerful than any other aspect of Raymond's life. It seemed like it dominated his thought life and his ability to be a functional/whole person apart from his sexual preferences. Which really didn't feel authentic to the story. I mean, maybe if he was also a sex addict--but I didn't see sex being the driving factor in Ramond's life so that felt a little inconsistent and it bothered me that it was such a driving force in his life.
But other than that, I enjoyed this story very much. Highly recommend.

[Renée · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 fingers

This wasn’t quite what I was expecting but I absolutely adored this odd little love story. It was well written, super fun and quirky and reminded me of Dead Inside by Chandler Morrison.
I’m going to check out Tim Meyer’s other work for sure.

[Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. It featured an original concept, a concept that could have been treated very well or very poorly. With a concept like that, you have to admire an author first for their bravery. Then you read the book and determine whether the follow through lives up to the concept.

In this case it does. The first 3/4 of the book keeps you guessing as to how the protagonist’s fetish is going to play out. In the end, a few of the more interesting possible trajectories are explored.

Man, I really wanted them to be explored MORE.

Sometimes a book ends a bit quickly, and you’re saddened because you’re left wanting more. Sometimes a book ends quickly, and that’s because it is genuinely rushed. In this case, I just wanted more. I wanted a psychodrama and for the main character to lose it just a bit more as a result of his inner conflicts. I wanted to ride that sweet spot between humor and discomfort a little longer.

But the ride you get here is awesome enough as is. It was fun, thought-provoking, and I never lost interest for a second.

[Alex | | findingmontauk1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not even know where to begin with Limbs other then that I absolutely loved it. It had heart and action and terror and good ole-fashioned sex fetishes. It is such a unique story that I knew I had to read it the instant I read about it the first time. It also showed me that Meyer has such a wide-range of writing because this story is unlike anything else of his I have ever read.

This story is dark and twisted and I couldn't stop myself from reading it in one sitting. It's a love story with a dark soul. And Limbs reminds us of some of the insane things we think of or might do in the name of love.

Meyer continues to knock it out of the park and I highly recommend Limbs! 5 stars!

[Robbie Myles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Limbs was such a damn good time!

The main character of Meyers' Limbs, Ray is mostly deplorable, conniving, and disgusting. But most of all, he is relatable. As sinister as the protagonist's thoughts and motivations are in Limbs, Meyer manages to make him like you or I, with real thoughts, emotions and feelings. Although he was mostly down right sadistic, Meyer kept the most important part of Ray as compassionate as possible, his heart. Without spoiling too much, I urge you to go read Limbs because of the super fun, bloody plot and the downright excellently relatable characters, as only Timmy can do.

Five stars from me, and reading it won't cost you an arm or leg. Or will it.....

Go read it now!

[Kevin Berg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever twist on the love story, the dark stuff mixed right in with the sappy, but neither was too much in this one. Nice balance between the elements of romance and horror, some gore to go along with a certain kink, and some laughs to lighten it all up. Good thing Valentine’s Day is over, now you can stuff your face with discounted chocolates while you read this one. Very enjoyable and well worth your time.

[Glenn Rolfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky but interesting. A good read, for sure.
Meyer goes where few have gone before and delivers a fun little novella about a very strange fetish.

Check it out!

I give LIMBS 4 stars!

[La Coccinelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 2019, I read over 1100 separate works. The vast majority of those were picture books. For 2020, I wanted to diversify a little. Read some things that are completely different. I have to say that Limbs falls perfectly into that category. It's a little comedic and a lot disturbing.

I think I understand why the author chose to aim this at adults (after all, a character with acrotomophilia isn't something you're going to find in a middle-grade contemporary) but I question his choice to make his main character thirty-two. This could've easily been a "new adult" title featuring younger adults, since Ray was really only a mature adult in a technical sense. He works as a sales associate in an electronics store, his friends and co-workers all seem to either be students or still live with their parents (or both), and his exchanges with his best friend, Percy, sound like a couple of stoned eighteen-year-olds trying to sound cool. Dude!

All that aside, however, I kind of like Ray as a character. He's complex and terribly flawed, and the first-person point of view lets us witness all the churning chaos of his mind. Is he a monster? At times, it sure seemed like he might be. And yet, I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen next.

The rest of the characters are a mixed bag, though. Kayla, the love interest, has emotional reactions that seem a bit unrealistic (to the point that I wonder if they're just there to provide complications for the plot). Many of the secondary characters seem a little like caricatures; they're types more than fleshed-out people. I think my favourites were probably the little hellions at the laser tag place; they weren't exactly realistic (oh, god, I hope they weren't based on real kids), but they were so awful as to be hilarious.

The story grabbed me and kept me hooked up until the end, where it sort of devolved into a cheesy supervillain story. At that point, especially, it read "young", and had the subject matter not been so utterly graphic, a reader might be tempted to think they were reading some dark YA. The villain turned out to be so over-the-top that, in spite of how awful he was, I kind of wanted to laugh and roll my eyes at the same time. (I'm not sure if that's what the author was going for or not.)

The fact that this is a short book (under 200 pages) and the tight plotting mean that it's a quick read. It also means that it was a short manuscript, so there's really no excuse for the shoddy editing. The writing's not terrible, but it's not great, either. The typos don't help. The continuity problems really don't help. It's a shame when these little errors (and there were so many of them!) prevent a decent book from becoming a really good one.

I'm not sure who I'd recommend this one to. It's full of sex, violence, gore, and features a strange sexual desire. It's not as funny as I was expecting (unless you count the unintentionally funny parts), so it's kind of dark overall. If you like that sort of gory horror/romance story, complete with graphic sex scenes, you might get a little more out of this one than I did. It wasn't bad, but I can't say that I really loved it.

[Mindi · Rating 4 out of 5]

LIMBS is a unique love story. By day Ray works at a dead end job at Best Tronics. At night he prowls support groups for amputees because the only way he can find a woman sexually attractive is if she is missing a limb. Ray has all his limbs, but he tricks the woman at these groups into thinking he is also an amputee. This tactic has worked for him for a number of years, but all of his interactions with the opposite sex are one night stands. He's never been in a real, committed, and lasting relationship. Then he meets Kayla, one of the new hires at Best Tronics, and he quickly begins to realize after spending time with her that he has real feelings for her. He may even be falling in love with her. He just doesn't find her sexually attractive. And that's a serious conundrum for Ray.

One night Ray's best friend and horror freak Percy mentions the Hacketstown Hacker, a man who stalks the streets looking for victims. Except the hacker doesn't kill women. He just takes one of their limbs, stitches them up, and leaves them alive and forever scarred. Ray is simultaneously intrigued and appalled. Could the Hacketstown Hacker be the answer to his problems with Kayla? Could he allow Kayla to loose a limb and ever forgive himself? How could he seriously even consider doing putting the woman he loves through something like that?

I really enjoyed this one. Ray in a sincerely likable character, even though he has some serious dark thoughts. I was really rooting for Ray to find a non-violent way to have a lasting relationship with Kayla. And the secondary characters are all really well written too. Percy is a gorehound with a conscious. And the Best Tronics manager Glen is typically annoying and completely unaware of how much his employee's hate him. This is not your typical love story, or even your typical horror story, but combined they make a really interesting read. And considering the subject matter, it's actually really funny too. This book is completely different from the other two books I've read by Meyer, and that shows that he has considerable range. LIMBS is a unique story with a nail-biter of an ending. I highly recommend reading this one and checking out Meyer's other works as well.

[Matt (TeamRedmon) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a damn good book. It reminded me of early Chuck Palahniuk. I'm going to recommend this one to several people.

[Frank Errington · Rating 5 out of 5]

From Wikipedia...

Acrotomophilia...in which an individual expresses strong sexual interest in amputees. It is a counterpart to apotemnophilia, the sexual interest in being an amputee.

And there you have it, the underlying premise of Limbs: A Love Story. As strange as the premise is, and believe me, it's pretty damn strange. At its heart, this truly is a love story.

Ray Bridges, for the most part, a rather ordinary guy. He has a job he doesn't exactly love working the sales floor at a Best Tronics store. He has a best friend, Percy Jones, and a boss he despises. But, here's the twist, not only is Ray attracted to women who are amputees, he can't "perform" unless his partner is missing something. Ray manages to live with his fixation until Kayla starts working at the store with him. They hit it off in a big way and after few dates wind up in bed and, well, things do not go well. What's an acrotomophiliac to do?

All this, plus a series of crimes where someone is abducting women and chopping off body parts. The press is calling him the Hacketstown Hacker.

Tim's down-to-Earth writing style is perfect for a work like this. Take this scene where Ray is getting his annual performance review...

"Getting your review at work is one of the worst experiences of the year. You’ve been there, we all have. No one would argue having your weaknesses pointed out and shoved in your face is about as much fun as having your nipples hooked up to a car battery, unless you’re into nipple stuff, in which case you might like it. (I think that makes sense.) But I’m getting off track and talking about nipples, so let me stop myself and get back to the story at hand."

At times repulsive, yet funny and charming. Wickedly original and in my modest opinion, Tim's finest work to date.

Published by Grindhouse Press, Limbs: A Love Story is available in both paperback and for the Kindle. If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited you can read it at no additional charge. Also, if you are an Amazon Prime member you can read it for FREE using the Kindle Owners Lending Library.

From the author's bio - Tim Meyer dwells in a dark cave near the Jersey Shore. He’s an author, husband, father, podcast host, blogger, coffee connoisseur, beer enthusiast, and explorer of worlds. He writes horror, mysteries, science fiction, and thrillers, although he prefers to blur genres and let the stories fall where they may.

[Jess Hagemann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this book because I also published a novel about amputation fetishes. Read Tim’s. It’s a lot more fun.

[LordTBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis

Ray Bridges, a professional electronics salesman, is looking for love in all the strange places. He spends most nights sneaking into support group meetings for the disabled in order to satisfy his deepest, darkest desires—to hook up with unfortunate, down-on-their-luck women who’ve recently lost a limb. There’s a name for Ray’s preference; it’s called acrotomophilia, a paraphilia involving amputees.

Conflicted, Ray wishes he could change. But he can’t. His body won’t let him. Nor will his mind. He’s destined to live this life, forever. That is . . . until he meets the perfect girl. Falls in love with her. Only problem: her arms and legs are attached.

Unable to find her attractive, Ray embarks on a dark, twisted journey of self-discovery, one that will force him to make an impossible choice: abandon his pursuit of true love or find a way to make it work, even if that means getting the girl of his dreams to shed an appendage.

Weird, comedic, and often raunchy, Limbs is the craziest love story ever told.

Review

I am not a monster

That is what Ray continues to tell himself throughout the story; and to be honest, he really isn’t. He is just a man with a rare “affliction” where the only medication is more amputees.

Unfortunately, this “affliction” makes him more of a deviant than he believes himself to be. He shows up at support group meetings, hoping to seduce the menu and get his rocks off while, at the same time, potentially lifting up the spirits of these women. At least, that is until a new female employee, Kayla, starts working alongside him at Best Tronics and he falls for her HARD. Like, blue pill hard. From that point on, sh!t just gets weird.

This was my first experience with Meyer’s writing and definitely won’t be my last. While Limbs falls in the horror genre, this is, simply put, a love story (like the title indicates). It is bawdy, bloody, and downright insane, but is told with a lot of hear and very few appendages. It is a very easy story to pick up and, while short, doesn’t leave you disappointed. Ladies?!?!?

Meyer has a knack for creating characters, especially one with flaws (looking at you, Ray), but also characters that keep you guessing throughout the entire read. I literally (Chris Traeger voice) couldn’t tell whether or not our main character was going to continue living on the edge or dive deeper into his dark passenger. Gave me a Darkly Dreaming Dexter/Brady Hartsfield vibe the entire way through, which if I am being honest, was exactly the reason I enjoyed myself so much.

Limbs, in the same vein as Blister by Jeff Strand, ended up surprising me as I went into it expecting more blood and guts than could fill a bathtub. But don’t get me wrong, it isn’t for the weak of stomach or those without a leg to stand on. In all honesty, I couldn’t get enough.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Without a doubt, LIMBS stands as my current favorite Tim Meyer book. Such a great concept! And executed with precision. LIMBS, for me stands as the gold standard for all Tim Meyer books past, present and future.

The concept is killer. Meyer follows through with laser focus on the concept and explores the premise to its bitter end. The concept, a protagonist with a sexual (and romantic?) penchant for females with missing limbs is original and provocative. You will need to dig deep and far to find a concept remotely similar.

And despite the protagonist's major, inexcusable flaw, you still find a need to route for him. Because, as the subtitle of this offering suggests, this is a love story. Don't be swayed otherwise. This is, at its core, a sick romance novel.

The only flaw I could come up with was the ending. While satisfying and concise, I would have presented a final conundrum a bitter deeper than the author found resolution in. Still, LIMBS carries its promise the whole way through. It's satisfying and leaving worried about the author's own significant other.

I, myself, will most likely check in with Mrs. Meyer once a month, for my own piece of mind, to be assured that she is okay.... and intact.

[Michael Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review of Limbs: A Love Story can be found at High Fever Books.

Ray Bridges has a very particular predilection when it comes to dating. He’s an acrotomophiliac, someone who can only derive sexual gratification from amputees or from fantasies involving amputees. Whole and able-bodied, Ray prowls amputee support groups with one arm hidden beneath his clothes, hoping to pick up disfigured women for one-night stands.

Throughout the course of Limbs: A Love Story, the latest from Grindhouse Press and author Tim Meyer, Ray frequently assures us — and himself, certainly — that he is not a monster. Although he earnestly believe this, Ray does enough questionable things and has enough questionable fantasies that make this an oftentimes dubious claim, especially as he becomes more and more blinded by love.

Love makes you do all kinds of crazy things, makes you have all kinds of insane thoughts and odd worries. It’s a highly potent chemical reaction that can mess with your brain in the best and worst of ways.

When Ray meets Kayla, he falls hard for her, their spontaneous romance a whirlwind of heady emotions and the really good kind of frayed nerves. There’s just one problem… Kayla is not an amputee, and no matter how much Ray loves her, he just can’t get over that particular detail. No matter what his heart says, his brain, and one other highly particular organ, just will not follow. He needs to find a way to keep her forever, though.

But Ray is not a monster. Or so he says.

Limbs is billed as a love story, and it certainly is that. While it has flashes of horror and plenty of dark fiction blood running through it, it is an honest to goodness exploration of romantic love. It is, at its core, a love story, and Limbs follows the usual tropes of a love story, even if its approach is welcomingly unusual and strange.

Limbs is also a neat exploration into Meyer’s elasticity as an author. While I’ve only read one other title from him, the excellent The Switch House, these two books couldn’t be more different from one another. Meyer exhibits both breadth and depth as a creative, and he’s far from a one-trick pony. He’s great at building characters and dynamic situations to place them in, and I found myself rooting for Ray and Kayla to succeed, even as I was never quite sure what such a success would entail. I wanted them to work out their differences and find happiness, but I also found myself horrified at what that might mean for them and the lengths Ray may go in order to cement their relationship.

Meyer walks a tightrope here, creating a character in Ray who is both sympathetic but also highly, highly questionable and damaged. You’re never quite sure if Ray is going to become the monster he so frequently rails against or not. You want to like Ray for all his human flaws, but you’re also ready to turn against him at the drop of a hat if he, and Meyer, isn’t careful. And if, knowing what we do about Ray’s history and his deepest inner thoughts, wanting him to win over and keep Kayla in his life, we have to wonder who exactly is the monster — him or us?

Meyer gives us a fun and quirky cast, people we can cheer for and relate to despite their flaws and proclivities, but he also gives a very human monster, even if we’re never quite sure who that monster is. Regardless of how demented it is at times, Limbs is most certainly a love story, and an earnest one at that. It’s also unlike any other love story you’ve read before.

[Note: I received an advance copy of this title from the author/publisher.]

[Daniel Lorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Limbs was an exceedingly unique (and heartfelt) love/horror story.

Dark, satisfying, and recommended to readers looking for an unusual horror tale.

Brilliantly done!

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Limbs by Tim Meyer is a very enjoyable story which I read very quickly. This is the author’s first book with Grindhouse and I feel it fits their quirky aesthetic quite well. At heart this is a love story with some entertaining moments of horror and tension. This story also made me think about the judgements that we can make about people who have certain fetishes instead of looking at them for the people they are. The main characters were well developed and I felt invested in their stories. The pace was quick and kept me hooked throughout. The ending was well done and was filled with the perfect amount of action and gore. Overall this was a great story which I greatly enjoyed. Grindhouse has become one of my favorite presses and this book is one of their best.

[Brittany (hauntedbycandlelight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wildly disturbing and naive love story 😂

There were a few moments in this book where I laughed to myself, example: the woman in the grocery store with a tape measure, measuring the size of cucumbers lol

But basically this is a story about Ray. He works at an electronic store and is in his 30s. Ray has a very peculiar fetish for amputees. There’s also a serial killer running around hacking off limbs. And we’re off….

Enter Kayla. A full able bodied human that Ray falls in love with. Except there’s one little problem, her limbs. He begins to contemplate how he could love Kayla. Should he remove a limb? Should he find the Hacketstown Hacker?

You’ll just have to read more to find out. I am never disappointed with the books that Grindhouse puts out. They are brutal, gruesome and equal parts fun.

[Irene Well Worth A Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ray has never told anyone about his weird kink (or is it a fetish?) of only being attracted to amputees, or the sleazy way he goes about finding women to satisfy his odd desires. After his best friend and co worker tells him about the Hacketstown Hacker, the name given to an unknown perpetrator of brutal assaults on women, he discovers his latest conquest was a victim, and he considers finding the hacker, not to bring him to justice but to have him hack a limb off the new girl at work who he has fallen for. Kayla feels the same way about Ray, but would she accept the truth about him? Can Ray find a way to overlook that she's not missing any body parts or will it take the Hacker to help them live happily ever after?

The cover describes this novella as weird, comedic, and raunchy. I would tend to agree. I'd also like to add suspenseful, entertaining, well written, and downright crazy. If you normally stay away from conventional romance you may delight in this kooky love story.