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!

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is a contemporary romance with characters trying to process their trauma.

Five years after the death of her husband, Feyi Adekola wants to try dating again. Her roommate and best friend Joy is equally excited for Feyi to get back out there.

One day at a rooftop party, Feyi skips the dating part and leaps right into a steamy encounter with a handsome stranger. Over the summer, Feyi’s decision to start living again will shape her life in ways she never dreamed was possible for her again. From spicy sessions to finding new love. From her brownstone apartment and work as an artist to a tropical island with huge career opportunities. Although it’s not an easy switch for Feyi, she’ll have to work through her emotions, trauma, and grief.

This romance novel solely focuses on Feyi’s POV. The writing style flows smoothly, making this a fairly quick read. However, it does delve into some heavy topics.

It has themes of life, death, sexuality, art, pleasure, grief, and joy.

This is the kind of romance that I generally prefer: contemporary and character-driven. It’s very spicy, but there’s more to the story than just that.

The plot took an unexpected and immediate turn, romance-wise. I don’t have an opinion on the nature of the relationship, except that it happened fast, incredibly so.

This novel is the third that I’ve read by Akwaeke Emezi, and though they have all been in different genres (literary fiction, memoir, romance), I have enjoyed them all. At this point, Emezi is an auto-read author for me. They can write anything, and I will gobble it up.

I recommend this if you want a spicy beach read with emotional depth.

Thank you to Atria Books for providing me with an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

Review of You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty:

Wow. This book has great impact.
Much like their previous work, The Death of Vivek Oji, this author doesn’t shy away from the mess of the human heart.
From the impact we can all have when we crash against one another with our broken hearts, our yearnings, and our unresolved hurts.
Every chapter the female protagonist, suffering from the loss of her husband, had me holding my breath.
Her choices that I didn’t always agree with, certainly turned a page.
I love how this author captures mess, like a cupped hand, knowing that some of it will always leak out.
Atmospheric and very sexy in moments, I really enjoyed the unfolding of this book.
I was scandalized here and there in the best way possible.
This book is one of those things where you may not like the characters all the way, but their situation creates enough tension to carry the whole story through.
I super recommend this book and author. They have a clear voice and capture the complication of the human condition in an imperfectly perfect way.
🌟🌟🌟🌟

I'm so sad because I loved The Death of Vivek Oji but this one just wasn't my jam. I liked the first quarter a lot and I especially loved all the descriptions of Feyi's art - they were so visceral I felt like I could not only see the art but I could see and understand Feyi's grief as well. Unfortunately, even with that I just never connected to this book the way I did with Vivek Oji. I'm definitely going to keep checking out Emezi's other works but I'm sad this one didn't work for me :(

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
I am a huge fan of reading books for free - whether through the public library, my school library, a little free library, or NetGalley, I love not spending money on books because, let’s face it, I wouldn’t be able to afford to read as much as I do on a teacher salary without these freebies!
When publishers send me free books and widgets it’s even better! And sometimes I debate whether or not I really want to read the books they’re offering. And sometimes I put off starting a book I’ve been offered because I’m an idiot. I can’t think of another reason why I didn’t immediately download You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty when Atria offered it to me months ago! I devoured the first half this morning at the airport and on the plane to my parents, and I spent the afternoon sneaking a few pages at a time whenever I could, including by one of the pools in their complex, which helps make any visit feel like a vacation -- but the infinity pool and island mountain home that Feyi visits in the book sounds much more luxurious. The food descriptions had me salivating. I really enjoyed this romance (a departure from the author’s previous styles!), and it read more like literary fiction. The author’s usage both of grief as a bonding experience for new lovers and of forbidden love seem original (I'm aware they are not!). I loved the bisexual representation, as well as the honest and clear discussion of sexuality. Included with the explicit talk of sex, it all felt like it belonged. I am so excited for this book to publish on Tuesday, 5/24 - don't sleep on it like I did!
I'm reminding myself to read Freshwater, their debut, and suggesting anyone who hasn’t read The Death of Vivek Oji do so ASAP - Emezi is an extremely talented writer!

I'm a huge fan of Emezi's work, and I was really excited to read this book, partially because it's a genre I wouldn't be very likely to pick up on my own. I've seen some reviews of people reading this book and being disappointed that it isn't more like Vivek Oji and honestly? It isn't! This book is its own thing, and you gotta take it as it is.

I think I've seen Emezi describe this as a queer Black girl having a hot girl summer, which is a pretty good summary! Feyi was widowed five years previously, and the book opens on her decision to try and get back into the dating scene again. The story reflects on grief, relationships, and art, and was also really messy in a really human way.

As always, I adore Emezi's writing, and I felt it was really successful in this book: sensual, lush, hedonistic. This book is coming out at the perfect time of the year, and I think its a great summer read.

Out May 24, 2022 [Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!]

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Feyi is a young woman still grieving the death of her husband several years before when she meets Nasir, a charismatic young man who is not shy about professing his attraction. She agrees to travel to his island home with him to participate in an art installation that will advance her career, but quickly becomes pulled into an unexpected and complicated attraction that threatens to derail her fragile new happiness.

I’ve seen a ton of amazing reviews of this one, and I completely understand why—Emezi is an outstanding writer, and they crafted a story that is beautiful, poignant, and, yes, romantic. I also think it is a story that many people may connect with deeply, and Emezi beautifully renders discussions and depictions of grief, healing, and self-understanding. The book also showcases and celebrates Blackness and queerness, and I adored seeing that kind of representation.

If I’m being honest, there were parts of this one that didn’t completely “click” for me, probably because I’m not a huge fan of the primary tropes involved. But, while I found the beginning to be a bit of a slow burn, the final third of the book moved fast and was deeply engaging. In the end, it was a unique literary romance with great representation and stunning writing, and I’m glad that I read it—and certainly understand why this one may land on a lot of favorites lists.

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: forbidden love/age-gap tropes; literary writing; diverse representation in romance.

CW: Grief; death of a loved one/spouse; some homophobia/biphobia.

When I first started You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty, I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy it. The premise sounded incredible, but it didn't draw me right in. I'm glad I stuck with it though. It's a beautiful story of loss, overcoming grief, and finding love again. I found the writing to be truly mesmerizing and at times lyrical. The descriptions of the main character Feyi are incredible and I imagined her to look just as the image on the cover of the book does.

Truly a beautiful story and I'm happy to have read it.
4/5 stars

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was warned...The author says it's a romance...and yet I kept expecting something else...here we are.

The question of whether it's a good romance though? I don't know. The first third feels like the set-up for an entirely different book, and THEN the romance tropes kick in. It's not a traditional romance, but I don't know that it has to be. I enjoyed reading the book, but I felt like emotionally I didn't take as much of the ride as I was expecting, mostly because of the set-up.

I really want to sit with this book more, but unfortunately that's not how feedback and ratings work. I'm more looking forward to other people reading and reviewing this book than discussing it myself.

Wow! I wish I could read this again for the first time. Feyi is still dealing with the loss of her husband 5 years later, but knows she has to move on with her life. The story weaves together love interests and overcoming loss and discovering artistic passions again. The writing style sinks you into the friendships and relationships Feyi experiences as if you were right there too. I highly recommend this read.

This plot is hard to describe without giving too much away. Feyi is an artist in her 20s, who is widowed after losing her childhood sweetheart in a car accident a year after their marriage. That was five years ago; she now wants to get back out into the world and date, though she doesn't want anything serious. The book opens with Feyi and her best friend at a party, where Feyi immediately seduces a guy to sleep with. The book eventually takes a more romantic turn, as Feyi falls in love with someone she shouldn't, but the way she gets there is so wrong that I had a hard time supporting it. (And, the insta-love seems fake and not worth the wrongdoing.) Meanwhile, the characters all speak in such extreme Gen Z slang that I found it hard to take seriously; I can't believe anyone actually talks like this, and it just made me feel like all the characters were extremely stupid, insecure / trying to fit in, or both. It was an interesting read, but not one I can really recommend.

Read this book if you like: Stories of grief, LGBTQ representation, forbidden romance,

Feyi is a twenty something year old artist. She has her own studio and lives with her best friend. I love the relationship between her and her best friend. It’s been five years since the accident that killed the love of Feyi's life. Her friends insist she starts dating again. 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. She ends up on 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.

So now she is with the perfect guy, but their new relationship might be sabotaged before it has a chance. Feyi becomes infatuated with the one person in the house who is most definitely off-limits.

Akwaeke Emezi’s writing is good. It's very descriptive. I like how this book depicts grief, dating, friendships, and more. This is one of the most beautiful covers I have ever seen. The book is good too. It's very different. I will warn you that if you hate cuss words then this is not for you. I cuss all the time and even I was jarred a bit by the amount. I really liked it though. I will be reading more of their books. I recommend this book!

Thank you to Akwaeke Emezi and Atria Books for the gifted copy! ❤️

- OMG, this book! I think YOU MADE A FOOL OF DEATH WITH YOUR BEAUTY is going to be divisive, but count me firmly in the "loved in" camp.
- Trust in Emezi to write a painful, messy, literary romance novel, full of intense feelings and complicated relationship dynamics, all draped in decadence.
- My one quibble is that it veers real close to insta-love, but everything else about the book is spectacular: the setting, Feyi and Joy's friendship, the queerness, the connections sparking off the page.

I was huge fan of The Death of Vivek Oji; that book has really stuck to me and I think about that book a lot. Thanks to NetGalley, I was provided a copy of Akwaeke Emezi's new book. I'm usually not a fan of romance books, but I must admit this was hot, hot, hot from beginning to end. Though it's different in terms of genre, Akwaeke Emezi's storytelling and writing is strong as ever in this latest book. I enjoyed reading about how one deals with the aftermath of losing your partner or loved on and trying to navigate life as it happens. The romantic and sexual relationships in this book, like I said, were spicy, and that is definitely no complaint on my part. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and was always on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next.

I can't wait to read more romance type stories from Akwaeke Emezi.

Feyi is a young widow crippled by grief after tragically losing her new husband and high school sweetheart in a car accident. Five years later she's channeling her pain into art and, with the help of her best friend and roommate, Joy, ready to explore dating again. Feyi gets involved with Nasir, and though they intend to take things very slow, he soon whisks her away to the tropical island where he was born to work on an art installation while staying at his celebrity chef father's luxurious home. When Feyi meets Nasir's widowed father, Alim, sparks fly in unexpected ways and Feyi is left to navigate complicated feelings and relationships and perhaps a second chance at love.

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is a lush and engaging romance. And while it is very much a romance, grief is central to the story adding a layer of complexity and, not unwelcome but perhaps somewhat unexpected, darkness. Love in many forms as well as a range of sexual orientations are depicted as well as so many amazing descriptions of food, I always appreciate that. Some readers will likely find Feyi unlikeable, but I was rooting for her, I love that Emezi has crafted a complex heroine.

This book is poised to be a hit of the summer and film rights have already been sold! Highly recommend picking this up if you like a romance with heft.

Wow! What a book. I wasn’t sure where the story was headed in the first half, but the second half took off in such a spellbinding, beautiful direction. I was surprised to relate to the main character, Feyi, as much as I did. She is given a second chance to find love after heartbreak, and her fear, grief, and confusion in this situation is so relatable. This is not your typical lighthearted romance novel; I’d encourage anyone to give it a try, especially if you’ve lost hope in finding true love.

A great take on grief and love and how deeply they can be intertwined. It was a beautiful and fast romance between Alim and Feyi but it’s wholesome and lovely.

This is a great read for readers that enjoy:

Instalove and Age Gaps

I personally don’t love instalove but I liked how it played out in this book.

Emezi was born and raised in Nigeria and identifies as non-binary transgender and uses the pronouns they/them. Their previous novels are "The Death of Vivek Oji" and "freshwater". This new book features the character of Feyi, an artist, who was widowed five years ago and has finally felt ready to enter the dating world again. The story includes a trip to a tropical island to stay at the home of a wealthy and famous man and a 'forbidden' love. It is about romance, grief, family, friendship and art and is a good recommendation for readers interested in reading from a more diverse author pool.

You Made a Fool of Death with your Beauty is unique, emotional, beautiful, and infuriating. I actually finished this a while ago but honestly didn't know where to start with my review. I do not want to discuss too much of the plot in my review because I think readers will enjoy this one the most if they go in with no idea of what to expect! I do want to add that this isn't a "traditional" romance and there is A LOT to unpack within this novel. I think if you go into this with the understanding that while this is a romance, it is primarily a story of a widow's reawakening, it will help you be slightly less infuriated at Feyi's self-destructive behavior. I have said this a million times but I really do LOVE a fucked up protagonist so I loved this so much. Emezi has a unique talent and I am honored to have been given the opportunity to read their work early.

Thank you SO much to Atria Books and NetGalley for this advanced copy. Save this book for when you need something to make you FEEL. You don't be disappointed!

The only context I had coming into this book was thanks to a TikTok video referencing "big DILF energy," which ended up being somewhat misleading. Sure, there's a May-December romance, but this book is so much richer than just the spice on the page.

Feyi is slowly venturing back into the dating scene five years after her husband's death. He was her high school sweetheart and died in a car crash which Feyi survived, so she's grappling with the trauma and survivor's guilt. She's a visual artist who uses her creations to work through her emotions, and thanks to influence from a man she's casually seeing, is invited to participate in a gallery show that brings her to his family's Caribbean home. Once there, she meets her partner's father, Alim - a famous celebrity chef - and sparks fly immediately.

The sexual tension that builds as Feyi tries to resist her attraction to Alim, but again, it's so much more than just a spicy romance. Alim is a widow who also grapples with trauma and grief due to his wife's traumatic death, and additionally struggles with the guilt of wanting to be a good father to his adult children, who have not accepted his new partners in the past.

Feyi and Alim find common ground in their grief - they are able to communicate with each other and find support and understanding that they haven't found from their friends or family, because only someone who has experienced a loss of that magnitude could understand where they're coming from. I found myself weeping while reading these scenes of sharing their vulnerability - they're so well-written. If you're coming into this book expecting a spicy romance, you won't be disappointed, but prepare yourself to be deeply affected by these characters and their emotional growth.