You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty
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- Create Date：2022-05-27 11:21:36
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Akwaeke Emezi
- ISBN：1797142585
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Summary
A New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist reimagines the love story in this fresh and seductive novel about a young woman seeking joy while healing from loss。
Feyi Adekola wants to learn how to be alive again。
It’s been five years since the accident that killed the love of her life and she’s almost a new person now—an artist with her own studio， and sharing a brownstone apartment with her ride-or-die best friend， Joy， who insists it’s time for Feyi to ease back into the dating scene。 Feyi isn’t ready for anything serious， but a steamy encounter at a rooftop party cascades into a whirlwind summer she could have never imagined: a luxury trip to a tropical island， decadent meals in the glamorous home of a celebrity chef， and a major curator who wants to launch her art career。
She’s even started dating the perfect guy， but their new relationship might be sabotaged before it has a chance by the dangerous thrill Feyi feels every time she locks eyes with the one person in the house who is most definitely off-limits。 This new life she asked for just got a lot more complicated， and Feyi must begin her search for real answers。 Who is she ready to become？ Can she release her past and honor her grief while still embracing her future？ And， of course， there’s the biggest question of all—how far is she willing to go for a second chance at love？
Akwaeke Emezi’s vivid and passionate writing takes us deep into a world of possibility and healing， and the constant bravery of choosing love against all odds。
Feyi Adekola wants to learn how to be alive again。
It’s been five years since the accident that killed the love of her life and she’s almost a new person now—an artist with her own studio， and sharing a brownstone apartment with her ride-or-die best friend， Joy， who insists it’s time for Feyi to ease back into the dating scene。 Feyi isn’t ready for anything serious， but a steamy encounter at a rooftop party cascades into a whirlwind summer she could have never imagined: a luxury trip to a tropical island， decadent meals in the glamorous home of a celebrity chef， and a major curator who wants to launch her art career。
She’s even started dating the perfect guy， but their new relationship might be sabotaged before it has a chance by the dangerous thrill Feyi feels every time she locks eyes with the one person in the house who is most definitely off-limits。 This new life she asked for just got a lot more complicated， and Feyi must begin her search for real answers。 Who is she ready to become？ Can she release her past and honor her grief while still embracing her future？ And， of course， there’s the biggest question of all—how far is she willing to go for a second chance at love？
Akwaeke Emezi’s vivid and passionate writing takes us deep into a world of possibility and healing， and the constant bravery of choosing love against all odds。
Reviews
Pax
，
I sat down to "read the first chapter" and two and a half hours later I had finished this hot， messy， sensual， delightful book， which there was no way in hell I was going to put down。 Hot tip for readers: have delectable， pleasurable treats on hand when you pick this one up， because there are so many descriptions of good food in here I had to make a tray of gooey brownies to eat while I read hehehe I sat down to "read the first chapter" and two and a half hours later I had finished this hot， messy， sensual， delightful book， which there was no way in hell I was going to put down。 Hot tip for readers: have delectable， pleasurable treats on hand when you pick this one up， because there are so many descriptions of good food in here I had to make a tray of gooey brownies to eat while I read hehehe 。。。more
Shay
，
As a romance novel， very much not my usual genre， but as it was the latest novel by Akwaeke Emezi， I definitely wanted to give it a try without knowing anything about it。 Covered a range of topics in an interesting way， from tragedy to love to Blackness to food to bisexuality。 But fundamentally I think I must just find romance novels challenging to really enjoy and find it difficult to tell the difference between a deep one and a trashy one。 Still， the book shows Emezi’s incredible versatility a As a romance novel， very much not my usual genre， but as it was the latest novel by Akwaeke Emezi， I definitely wanted to give it a try without knowing anything about it。 Covered a range of topics in an interesting way， from tragedy to love to Blackness to food to bisexuality。 But fundamentally I think I must just find romance novels challenging to really enjoy and find it difficult to tell the difference between a deep one and a trashy one。 Still， the book shows Emezi’s incredible versatility as a writer - it’s difficult to believe it’s the same writer that wrote Freshwater， and given it is apparently the author’s ‘seventh book in a fifth genre’， I’ll definitely be exploring some of the others。 。。。more
Jeida K。 Storey
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Akwaeke’s stories usually devastate me in the best ways， but this was a lighter read that made me laugh， blow up my group text， and sigh deeply with much gratitude for second chances at love。 Love ain’t always simple but what about life is？ Feyi’s journey through grief moves her to an unexpected love affair that will keep you flipping the pages。 A lovely read I can’t wait to gab about with my girls！
Dawn Stahl
，
Whew。 Complicated， raw， sensual， powerful， romantic， redemptive， messy as hell 。。。 kind of amazing？ 。。。 I'm going to have to sit with this a bit before I review or rate it。 Content Notes: blood （in the context of injury and art）， car accident （flashbacks）， partner death and grief， frank and explicit sexual content and strong language; also includes alcohol， biphobia/homophobia （briefly as part of culture， and as struggle to understand/accept within family）， death of parent and death of child （ba Whew。 Complicated， raw， sensual， powerful， romantic， redemptive， messy as hell 。。。 kind of amazing？ 。。。 I'm going to have to sit with this a bit before I review or rate it。 Content Notes: blood （in the context of injury and art）， car accident （flashbacks）， partner death and grief， frank and explicit sexual content and strong language; also includes alcohol， biphobia/homophobia （briefly as part of culture， and as struggle to understand/accept within family）， death of parent and death of child （background）， injury/injury detail， panic attacks/disorders 。。。more
Sophia
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I just got my copy， and oh my god， that cover。
Shannon
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3。5 rounded up。A steamy age gap romance with a ton of heart！This new novel by the author of The death of Vivek Oji is a beautiful story of one young bisexual， Nigerian American widow's journey healing from the grief over her dead husband and the hot summer adventure she has on a tropical island falling for the much older celebrity father of the man she's currently dating。Feyi is an easy character to root for。 Crippled with her grief she hasn't been able to move on since the tragic death of her h 3。5 rounded up。A steamy age gap romance with a ton of heart！This new novel by the author of The death of Vivek Oji is a beautiful story of one young bisexual， Nigerian American widow's journey healing from the grief over her dead husband and the hot summer adventure she has on a tropical island falling for the much older celebrity father of the man she's currently dating。Feyi is an easy character to root for。 Crippled with her grief she hasn't been able to move on since the tragic death of her husband。 A random meeting at a rooftop party helps to wake her up and she follows new boyfriend Nasir to his home。 Once there she can't help falling for his father and also gets commissioned to do a new art piece， which helps relaunch her career as an artist。Great on audio narrated by the supremely talented Bahni Turpin and perfect for fans of Jane Igharo or Tia Williams。 Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy！ 。。。more
nas
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4 ☆This was fun！ And sorry but this was just way too messy for it not to read like pure comedy to me。
Tammi Clarke
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I really enjoyed this book， I loved the tropical setting， the descriptions of the food， the love story unfolding between the 2 main characters and by the end of the book I definitely was shipping it… I do wish we got to know Nasir & Alim on a deeper level， all we really found out about them was they suffered a loss and Alim is a chef but when Nasir said he was going away for work I found myself wondering what does he even do again？Joy was the MC in this book for me， I found myself laughing out l I really enjoyed this book， I loved the tropical setting， the descriptions of the food， the love story unfolding between the 2 main characters and by the end of the book I definitely was shipping it… I do wish we got to know Nasir & Alim on a deeper level， all we really found out about them was they suffered a loss and Alim is a chef but when Nasir said he was going away for work I found myself wondering what does he even do again？Joy was the MC in this book for me， I found myself laughing out loud whenever she was on the page， I could read a whole book about her and her love life too！However I do think Milan wasn’t needed in the book， it didn’t make Feyi look good jumping from one love interest to the next and they all know each other。 。。。more
Theresa
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not for me
Annaelle Clara
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Akwaeke Emezi never disappoints！！！ This book was fantastic！ I didn’t read the summary before reading it and I truly think that was for the better。 The twist！ The suspense！ wowwwwI loved this book。pls read！
Angelia Menchan
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I loved this story。 It was a story of romance…ultimately but it was also about loss， grief and sacrifice。 More importantly it covered that place where one says I want this for me—and I will have it in spite of the fallout。 I loved it。
Britney Price-Kucher
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This book was amazing to say the least， I loved following along on Feyi's journey back to love and how she pulled herself and rebuilt herself from a tragedy that no one should endure。 This was my first Akwaeke Emezi but I cannot wait to read more of their novels :D This book was amazing to say the least， I loved following along on Feyi's journey back to love and how she pulled herself and rebuilt herself from a tragedy that no one should endure。 This was my first Akwaeke Emezi but I cannot wait to read more of their novels :D 。。。more
Danielle
，
This was messy and delightful， with all the story threads executed in a satisfying manner。 Feyi is a complex， vibrant character that I wish existed in real life。 Her journey moving through grief and taking ownership of life again--whether with work， friendship， or dating--filled me with deep pleasure。 The cast of supporting characters， Joy and Pooja especially， balance the messy romantic plot。 Emezi delivers on my favorite type of ambitious fiction: honest and hard， unflinching and sweet， precar This was messy and delightful， with all the story threads executed in a satisfying manner。 Feyi is a complex， vibrant character that I wish existed in real life。 Her journey moving through grief and taking ownership of life again--whether with work， friendship， or dating--filled me with deep pleasure。 The cast of supporting characters， Joy and Pooja especially， balance the messy romantic plot。 Emezi delivers on my favorite type of ambitious fiction: honest and hard， unflinching and sweet， precarious and hopeful。 。。。more
Jenica
，
I was so intimidated by this book because for some reason I had this idea in my head that Emezi's writing would be too smart or too lyrical or too literary for me。 So I waited until the audiobook released and on the one hand， a brilliant choice because Bahni Turpin is fantastic。 And on the other hand， I loved the writing in this book so much， I'm mad I didn't take the opportunity to read it with my eyeballs so I could highlight the many lines that hit me right in the feels。 This feeling is actua I was so intimidated by this book because for some reason I had this idea in my head that Emezi's writing would be too smart or too lyrical or too literary for me。 So I waited until the audiobook released and on the one hand， a brilliant choice because Bahni Turpin is fantastic。 And on the other hand， I loved the writing in this book so much， I'm mad I didn't take the opportunity to read it with my eyeballs so I could highlight the many lines that hit me right in the feels。 This feeling is actually quite rare， but I just have a feeling I'll be acquiring a physical copy of You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty sooner than later so that I can annotate it to my heart's content。 But let me try and actually articulate why I really loved this book。 You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty took the real messy parts of life and just。。。 laid it all out there。 Feyi is a widow （car accident） and she's sort of， finally， taking steps to return to the land of living， and part of that means dating。 So this book opens with her having an Encounter with a man that is quite steamy。 （view spoiler）[This man is not the one she winds up with in the end。 （hide spoiler）] But Feyi， while proud of herself for taking this step， is not anywhere close to ready to actually let someone in all the way。 The only person Feyi is really comfortable being utterly vulnerable with is her best friend， Joy。 （I love Joy。 Please tell me she's going to have her own book。 I am BEGGING。） Feyi is an artist， also， and she gets the opportunity to do something very cool on an unspecified island （Trinidad & Tobago are referenced a lot， so I think this island is definitely in the Caribbean， but I am pretty sure it's unnamed）。 Everything about her art and the way that it is described， and especially the parts later in the book that I obviously don't want to spoil tackles grief in such a fascinating and really compelling way。 I think we see those stages of grief so often and while we may know that grief is a cycle and all that， there was just something refreshing about the way Emezi just embraces the part of grief that is sheer fury。 This book does end with a happy for now and I know Emezi has made it clear in their press that they intended this book to be a romance， and while I respect that， I also know I benefited so much from Leigh's review， which emphasized that this book doesn't really have a central love story。 But if you love messy characters and also characters that feel like real people and you also need the assurance of mess with an HEA guarantee， this book is a good choice。 Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC。 。。。more
Paige
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I’ve been reading a lot lately， partially because reading is one of the ways I come home to myself。 This book made me feel alive and full。 I had to stop reading sometimes just to sit with the words so beautifully arranged on these pages。 It gave me so many things to meditate about namely， grief and love and living。 While this book is described as a romance， I also think it’s a roadmap showing some of the many ways we are human and messy and how lovely and divine it is to be alive to make a mess。 I’ve been reading a lot lately， partially because reading is one of the ways I come home to myself。 This book made me feel alive and full。 I had to stop reading sometimes just to sit with the words so beautifully arranged on these pages。 It gave me so many things to meditate about namely， grief and love and living。 While this book is described as a romance， I also think it’s a roadmap showing some of the many ways we are human and messy and how lovely and divine it is to be alive to make a mess。 And possibly have someone or some people love us deeply within the mess。 This book makes me want to weep and also rejoice。 It is sadness and joy。 I think this may be one of the best books I’ve ever read。 The writing is absolutely phenomenal。 And Feyi and Alim。 FALIM IF YOU WILL。 They are masterpieces。 I want to write ODES about this book。 This is how much it utterly wrecked and moved me。 I’m going to stop rambling now only to say， I loved this。 。。。more
Claudia
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DNF 40% – al ”cuscino morbido come una nuvola” m’è caduta la faccia。 Ma devo dire che le personagge e i personaggi non mi sono sembrati ben caratterizzati， abbastanza bidimensionali。 Parlando con una persona che l’ha letto， forse lo avrei apprezzato di più avendo la copia cartacea o l’ebook sotto， ma in audiolibro è praticamente impossibile capire come si scrivono i nomi dellə artistə appartenenti alla black diaspora。
Erin
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Thank you to Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites program for the early copy of this title。 It was my first Emezi book， and now I’m looking forward to others。 I appreciated the author’s representation of the characters’ wit and intelligence。 Main character Feyi’s processing and moving beyond the loss of her husband was believable in that it was unevenly paced and unpredictable。 In her grieving state， it is not surprising that some of her actions hurt those around her。 It’s commendable though， Thank you to Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites program for the early copy of this title。 It was my first Emezi book， and now I’m looking forward to others。 I appreciated the author’s representation of the characters’ wit and intelligence。 Main character Feyi’s processing and moving beyond the loss of her husband was believable in that it was unevenly paced and unpredictable。 In her grieving state， it is not surprising that some of her actions hurt those around her。 It’s commendable though， that through questioning， talking things through， and sometimes just going for it， she discovers and defines herself and her love on her terms。 The story was engaging， and I appreciated the author’s writing style。 It seemed however that the author was trying to address many things， maybe too many —issues， ideas， feelings — within a book。 This isn’t to say that all of those feelings may not realistically have been present， it just seemed at times that Feyi was the author’s avenue for providing commentary on offensive/inoffensive art， bisexuality， dating someone much older， whether it’s justified or not to potentially hurt a son by having feelings for his father… it was just a lot packed into one character in a relatively short amount of pages！ 。。。more
DeannaReadsandSleeps
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What does it mean when losing the love of your life broke you， but the process of healing and embracing new love means breaking something else？Whew！！~Happy Book Birthday to You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty！！ Many things drew me in immediately from the start: the marvelous title， the stunning cover， the intriguing premise， and the opportunity to delve into a world of Akwaeke Emezi once more， and something different from their norm。In a Twitter thread of theirs a while back， they talk abo What does it mean when losing the love of your life broke you， but the process of healing and embracing new love means breaking something else？Whew！！~Happy Book Birthday to You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty！！ Many things drew me in immediately from the start: the marvelous title， the stunning cover， the intriguing premise， and the opportunity to delve into a world of Akwaeke Emezi once more， and something different from their norm。In a Twitter thread of theirs a while back， they talk about this book and it’s look at beautiful queer Black girls getting what they want and expressing themselves how they wish， and that if it’s a problem for some people， then so be it。 “I love and cherish vulgar Black girls。”And like…yeah。 Hard same。 And well， let me be honest。 Emezi can write about paint drying and I’d buy the deluxe special edition。There’s just something about their writing that takes hold。 No book of theirs explores the premise in ways you expect， because they always go deeper， deeper， deeper。 I love when a writer can truly humanize their characters and settings。 Especially the messy ones。 Where they come off as so much more than words on a page， and even when you’re shook by certain decisions a character makes， and are floored by the complexities of emotion， need， and love， you still go on to say， “Wow。 That’s real。” Because wow。 That’s Emezi。 And wow。 What an experience this book was。 Marie Kondo said it best: I love mess。Anyway， enough of me rambling， so let me end this by wishing Akwaeke Emezi a sincere congratulations on another amazing release， and a special thanks to Atria Books for my copy。Love to see it。 ♥️🌿CW: loss， grief， flashbacks， descriptions of blood， illness， child loss 。。。more
Cheryne
，
This is definitely the kind of summer read I’d want to have in my bag！！ Food？ DeliciousVibes？ ImmaculateThis has love， loss， and the messiness of it all！Feyi has been healing from losing the love of her life from a tragic accident。 With time， she finally feels （maaaybe） ready to try dating again， hopefully something less complicated。 But when are matters of the heart ever NOT complicated？？- Tropical island setting- Contemporary romance with emotional depth， some spice， hilarious + sobering mome This is definitely the kind of summer read I’d want to have in my bag！！ Food？ DeliciousVibes？ ImmaculateThis has love， loss， and the messiness of it all！Feyi has been healing from losing the love of her life from a tragic accident。 With time， she finally feels （maaaybe） ready to try dating again， hopefully something less complicated。 But when are matters of the heart ever NOT complicated？？- Tropical island setting- Contemporary romance with emotional depth， some spice， hilarious + sobering moments - Feyi + Joy’s bestfriendship！！！Emezi’s immersive writing is so easy to fall into， this is the kind of storytelling I want to be wrapped up in！Thank you to GoodReads and Atria Books for this giveaway ARC！ 。。。more
Doreen
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2。5 StarsI should have hesitated requesting an ARC of a romance， but I didn’t because of the author whose name often appears on awards lists。 I wish I had hesitated because this book didn’t change my opinion of the genre。Feyi Adekola is a young widow; her husband Jonah was killed in an accident five years earlier。 She lives with her best friend Joy who convinces Feyi to begin dating again。 An encounter with one man leads to another with Nasir who takes her on a luxury trip to a tropical island w 2。5 StarsI should have hesitated requesting an ARC of a romance， but I didn’t because of the author whose name often appears on awards lists。 I wish I had hesitated because this book didn’t change my opinion of the genre。Feyi Adekola is a young widow; her husband Jonah was killed in an accident five years earlier。 She lives with her best friend Joy who convinces Feyi to begin dating again。 An encounter with one man leads to another with Nasir who takes her on a luxury trip to a tropical island where his father Alim， a celebrity chef， has arranged for Feyi to be one of the artists in an exhibit。 As soon as Feyi meets Alim， she is attracted to him and quickly becomes obsessed with him。 Feyi is not a likeable character。 Having grieved for five years， she wants to be alive again。 （It’s impossible to not know this desire because the word alive appears 35 times in the text！） But she makes such stupid and dangerous choices。 Who has sex with a stranger in a bathroom and insists he not wear a condom？ She comes across as so selfish: she transforms from a grieving widow to choosing to do whatever makes her feel alive。 Her attitude seems to be to do what makes her happy and the heck with everything else？！ After an argument， she is focused on her material possessions: “’He threw out all my stuff。” The relationship between Feyi and Alim has so many issues。 First of all， there’s the love at first sight trope。 As soon as she sees Alim， Feyi is dazzled by his handsomeness。 This is supposed to be the foundation of a relationship that is “deep enough to uproot lives”？ Feyi worries about how Jonah would react to her having a meaningful relationship with someone， but she doesn’t worry about what he would think of her having casual， unprotected sex with a stranger？ Finally， connecting with someone who has experienced a loss/trauma similar to yours is known as trauma bonding; however， confusing shared trauma for compatibility is one of the most toxic relationship patterns you can follow。 Repetition is a major problem。 Conversations between Feyi and Alim are long-winded and repetitive。 They keep having a “should we/shouldn’t we” discussion。 The same problem occurs in conversations between Feyi and Joy。 They are supposed to be best friends， but they never talk about anything other than sex and their sexual partners。 Amidst those conversations， don’t look for plot: the summary at the beginning is the entire plot。 And on the topic of needless repetition 。 。 。 how often does the reader need to be told how beautiful Feyi is and how handsome Alim is？！ Even the writing style is repetitive: “Feyi cut her a look” and “Joy cut her a look” and “Feyi cut her eyes at him” and “She cut her eyes at him” and “Nasir cut his eyes at her” and “Feyi cut her eyes at her best friend” and “Alim cut his eyes at his son” and “Lorraine cut her eyes at him” and “Alim cut his eyes at her” and “Feyi cut her eyes at her best friend” and “He cut his eyes at her” and “Joy cut her eyes at Feyi” and “Feyi cut her eyes at him” and “Alim cut his eyes at her” and “Feyi cut her eyes at him”？！！There are other cringe-worthy expressions: “There were so many lessons she’d love to learn from his hands” and “there was no way she could say no” and “’Why did you have to kiss me？’” Some scenes are cringe-worthy: for instance， the two kitchen scenes （when Feyi licks mango foam off Alim’s finger and when Alim “stepped behind her and brought his arms around， lightly placing his hands over hers”） are so overdone！Fey is supposedly an artist， one good enough to have been in exhibits。 Why， then， does she devote almost no time to her art？ Getting ready for her trip to the tropical island where she will have a piece of art in an exhibit， not once does she worry about her art; instead， “She’d spent four days packing， trying on every single outfit under Joy’s critical eye， picking out jewelry and sandals and sundresses， makeup and a bottled array of oils， from coconut to coffee to jojoba laced with tea tree for her scalp。” Art is not central to her life because she “stepped into her artist persona” only when necessary and worries more that her braids in an updo “was totally the wrong look for this outfit”？！ Art certainly doesn’t seem to be a passion。 I could applaud the inclusion of bisexual characters who are not often included in mainstream fiction， but merely mentioning that Feyi and Alim have had same-sex relationships in the past hardly qualifies as an exploration of bisexuality。 The book is about taking a second chance at love， but I wish I hadn’t taken a chance on this romance。 Note: I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley。Please check out my reader's blog （https://schatjesshelves。blogspot。com/） and follow me on Twitter （https://twitter。com/DCYakabuski）。 。。。more
Maren’s Reads
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Summary: After suffering a great loss five years ago， Feyi is trying to come to terms with the new life she has created in Brooklyn， NY。 An emerging young artist， she is determined to focus on her career， while also struggling to gain some semblance of a personal life。 After a series of emotionally shallow hookups， Feyi meets Nasir who is willing to take things slow， starting with friendship， while also offering her an opportunity of a lifetime - inclusion in an art exhibit on the tropical islan Summary: After suffering a great loss five years ago， Feyi is trying to come to terms with the new life she has created in Brooklyn， NY。 An emerging young artist， she is determined to focus on her career， while also struggling to gain some semblance of a personal life。 After a series of emotionally shallow hookups， Feyi meets Nasir who is willing to take things slow， starting with friendship， while also offering her an opportunity of a lifetime - inclusion in an art exhibit on the tropical island he once called home。 Shortly after arriving on the island， Feyi develops a deep connection with the last person she should， complicating all aspects of her life。 Thoughts: This book was intense from start to finish。 Although it is labeled as a Romance， it strikes me as a book as much about finding oneself as it is about finding love。 Right from the start， I felt for Feyi and the grief she was so clearly still in the midst of dealing with。 And as a fan of both the age gap and forbidden love tropes， this book was right up my alley。 From start to finish， I loved seeing Feyi find her true self again， her strength and determination， and also that second chance to love again。 I am not sure which of the islands this book takes place on， though we know it isn’t Tobago or Antigua。 Since my husband is Jamaican， in my mind I just imagined it was somewhere in Montego Bay。 I loved the way the island setting became a character itself and the ways in which the island culture/food/scenery was woven throughout most of the book。 My only criticism is that I feel like I don’t know the characters as well as I would have liked。 For the second half of the book， the character development took second stage to the plot line。 While I really enjoyed seeing where Emezi was going with the storyline， I never fully connected with any of the characters besides Feyi， and found myself wishing I knew more about Alim and even Nasir。 And Joy， well let’s just say I hope she gets her own book next。 I look forward to reading more by Akwaeke Emezi and definitely recommend You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty if you are looking for romance beyond the formulaic rom-com。 。。。more
Jonathan David Pope
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“He loved people being messy as fuck， he said it was one of the best things about being human， how we could make such disasters and recover from them enough to make them into stories later” （185）。" Amezi has crafted the most exquisite slow burning "romance" to ever hit the page。 I felt every inch of these character， every emotion， every conflicting thought， and every drop of grief turned into passion。 You will be left completely unfuddles yet satisfied。 Akwaeke Emezi has done it again。 “He loved people being messy as fuck， he said it was one of the best things about being human， how we could make such disasters and recover from them enough to make them into stories later” （185）。" Amezi has crafted the most exquisite slow burning "romance" to ever hit the page。 I felt every inch of these character， every emotion， every conflicting thought， and every drop of grief turned into passion。 You will be left completely unfuddles yet satisfied。 Akwaeke Emezi has done it again。 。。。more
lou
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I absolutely hate how i can't really explain my feelings about this book， but here's an attempt。I love everything i've read about Akwaeke Emezi so far and i know one of their biggest atribute is their imagination and flexibility to write about anything but always having like a mark that makes u know Emezi wrote it， unfortunately， i didn't see that here。 I couldn't believe that what i was reading was made by the same author that wrote Freshwater。 The writing was offputting？ And i think it's becau I absolutely hate how i can't really explain my feelings about this book， but here's an attempt。I love everything i've read about Akwaeke Emezi so far and i know one of their biggest atribute is their imagination and flexibility to write about anything but always having like a mark that makes u know Emezi wrote it， unfortunately， i didn't see that here。 I couldn't believe that what i was reading was made by the same author that wrote Freshwater。 The writing was offputting？ And i think it's because they were cattering for the straight romance readers？ I liked Feyi and Joy and i wished we could see more about them （i'm a lesbian so of course i wanted that） and i couldn't see her and Alim the way they wanted me to see them。 Overall， i just didn't connect with it， mainly because my expectations were really high and this didn't hold up。 Akwaeke Emezi will still be my fav author forever but this wasn't for me。 。。。more
Beth SHULAM
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Thank you to Atria for the ARC。 Way too raw of a beginning for me to continue reading。
Natalie
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I usually love Emezi's writing， so I was excited to get their newest book。 I am not a big romance fan， but this book was written in a not-cheesy way like some romance can be。 I appreciated the evolution of Feyi， the main character， from someone who has experienced great loss， to someone who finds herself again。 I will not spoil the "twist，" but it made me somewhat upset。 I did not agree with the decision。 However， I kept going because Emezi's writing is so easy to read but also is like poetry at I usually love Emezi's writing， so I was excited to get their newest book。 I am not a big romance fan， but this book was written in a not-cheesy way like some romance can be。 I appreciated the evolution of Feyi， the main character， from someone who has experienced great loss， to someone who finds herself again。 I will not spoil the "twist，" but it made me somewhat upset。 I did not agree with the decision。 However， I kept going because Emezi's writing is so easy to read but also is like poetry at times。 I really loved the atmospheric descriptions， where I felt I too was on a Caribbean island。 I will post reviews on pub day on my instagram， Barnes and Noble， Amazon， Goodreads， and Storygraph！ 。。。more
TheEuphoricZat
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There are bite marks on my cover of this book and it is because I constantly need to remind myself that Alim was not real！ The pool scene was just crazy， it got me too thirsty。We follow Feyi who seems to think she is ready to get back into the dating world after the death of her husband。 She meets a guy at a party， has great sex with him but they both know that they are not into the relationship for more than sex。 She is not ready to commit and open up about her grief， he also longs for his ex。 There are bite marks on my cover of this book and it is because I constantly need to remind myself that Alim was not real！ The pool scene was just crazy， it got me too thirsty。We follow Feyi who seems to think she is ready to get back into the dating world after the death of her husband。 She meets a guy at a party， has great sex with him but they both know that they are not into the relationship for more than sex。 She is not ready to commit and open up about her grief， he also longs for his ex。 Then she meets his friend and starts to 'date' him （no she does not sleep with him）， that is until she goes on holiday with him and meets his hot father。This book centres grief， self-discover， art and love。 At first it seemed like Feyi was constantly self sabotaging but the more you know her and her past， you realise that she is just making choices that are best for her regardless of how it looks to others。 I really loved that。 I think we hold ourselves back from happiness a lot of the times because of how we think it might look to others。 Sure， the whole book and characters were messy （Joy sleeping with only married women - really wish Akwaeke explored this character a bit more）， but I loved it。。Finally， i loved the part where Feyi confronts Nasir and she says "you're not entitled to fuck me just because you were a decent human being" - I keep seeing men wanting to be praised or hailed as feminists when they do the most basic human decency。 They were not dating， he agreed they be friends and take it slow， why did he then lose his shit when she hooked up with his dad？ It was because he wanted her to be more than friends and was low key gaslighting her。I really enjoyed this bookThanks to the publisher for making an arc of this book available to me！ 。。。more
rina
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This is my first book by Akwaeke Emezi and the writing was great， it flowed well which made a very easy read。 Although by the last few chapters I found myself skimming; I thought it became a bit repetitive。 Other than that， I don’t think this is for me。 I don’t want to say more。Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc！
Gemma
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You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty follows Feyi Adekola as she learns to love again。 This book looks at love and grief。 This type of romance would not be for me normally but I found Akwaeke Emezi really got me on board with it。 I will not give any spoilers here as this book really did not go where I thought it would。 I found the exploration of grief and learning to love again very interesting。 The characters in this book are messy。 I really enjoyed Feyi's relationship with her best friend You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty follows Feyi Adekola as she learns to love again。 This book looks at love and grief。 This type of romance would not be for me normally but I found Akwaeke Emezi really got me on board with it。 I will not give any spoilers here as this book really did not go where I thought it would。 I found the exploration of grief and learning to love again very interesting。 The characters in this book are messy。 I really enjoyed Feyi's relationship with her best friend。 I really appreciate seeing supportive female friendships in fiction。（ARC provided by publishers through Netgalley） 。。。more
Sophie - biblisophagist
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I love Emezi's work。 I read Freshwater at a time where I felt like I needed it。 I adored Pet and Bitter。 I can't wait to read The Death of Vivek Oji and Dear Senthuran。 All of this to say， I was picking up this book no matter how I felt about the "taboo" nature of the romance。 One of my favorite authors ever wrote a romance！！！ I was reading it lol。 This book is about a woman trying to find life again after the death of her husband。 Feyi， an artist， and her best friend Joy， live in Brooklyn。 Joy I love Emezi's work。 I read Freshwater at a time where I felt like I needed it。 I adored Pet and Bitter。 I can't wait to read The Death of Vivek Oji and Dear Senthuran。 All of this to say， I was picking up this book no matter how I felt about the "taboo" nature of the romance。 One of my favorite authors ever wrote a romance！！！ I was reading it lol。 This book is about a woman trying to find life again after the death of her husband。 Feyi， an artist， and her best friend Joy， live in Brooklyn。 Joy is pushing Feyi to start dating again， five years after her husband's death。 Which is when she meets the seemingly perfect man and gets taken on the trip of a lifetime。 Fool of Death is incandescent。 It's decadent in its joy and grief。 It's about being in love but also just about allowing yourself to live and be fully alive。 Allowing for grief and rage， happiness， fear， uncertainty。 I also think the characters in this book are really easy to love。 I saw reviewers give this book lower rating because of the romance or how "messy" the characters are。。。 but like？ Humans are messy。 I don't know a single person I love who isn't messy。 I found myself getting close to the end of this book and wanting a little more time with Feyi and Nasir and Joy and Alim。 （Emezi， please write Joy a book， I beg of you）。 As always， Emezi writes with a a lyricism that made reading feel like living in this book。 Everything was so lush and vibrant， the places but also the people。 Emezi gives their characters so much room for emotion that even I felt better after some of their conversations。 I would recommend this to those who enjoy romances （especially something like Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers）。 Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC！ 。。。more
kathryn （le livre en rose）
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