This was wild. Feyi was being crazy and frustrating me a lot but she ended up being my fav. The twists and turns were crazy.

I don't have the proper words for this besides wow. I can't say much without giving it all away but Feyi was on my nerves but I ended up loving her.

The Death of Vivek Oji was one of my favourite books of years past, and I was incredibly excited to receive this, Let me start by saying - this book pulled me out of the reading lull I seem to be stuck in. Emezi described it as "a metric f*%kton of profanity, and queer Black girls f#$king their way through Brooklyn" - YES, INDEED. I don't know what I expected going into this but ultimately, it was a love story, about pulling yourself out of grief, and leaning into your intuition, with art, food, beauty and island life at the heart of it! If you're looking for a great romance this summer, check this one out

To get into more detail, Feyi is struggling to find herself after the loss of her husband, Jonah. In an effort to "get back out there", she starts ahem, seeing, different people around Brooklyn. She befriends Nasir, who whisks her away to his familial home in the islands, where she's able to explore nature, her art, her sense of identity, what she truly wants and needs, and ultimately, true happiness.

There are TWISTS, there are TURNS, there are DILFs, there are laughs. This was soo unlike Emezi's other books, but I found that refreshing and truly, wonderful. Everytime I read their work, I am inspired to read more - which is exactly what I will do!

Five years ago, Feyi Adekola lost the love of her life in an accident. Now, she’s finally ready to start living again, although she’s not sure if her roommate’s push to start dating is the right move. When Feyi attends a swanky rooftop party, it kicks off a glamorous and romantic summer of unexpected connections that may be just what she needs to get her artwork noticed. But despite the excitement, she can’t seem to keep her eyes off the one person she shouldn’t want.

I'm not really sure how to rate this book. I completely adore Emezi's writing, and this book has the same magical turns of phrase that make you stop and look at the world differently as their other work. But I struggled with the actual relationship in the book and the way it was portrayed. It's definitely a unique and interesting story that will make you think!

Loved this book. This was my first time reading Akwaeke Emezi and they did not disappoint! This book follows Feyi as she makes a move towards dating after experiencing a loss 5 years earlier. Feyi goes from Brooklyn to an island as part of this journey and for a professional opportunity. From there things get messy as Feyi unexpectedly falls for someone she should not. All in all this book is a romance, but it doesn't shy away from messiness in away that felt more real than other romances/romcoms I have read. Also everything about this book is beautiful from the descriptions of the characters, the island, the house on the island to the cover and title. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for access to this ARC!

Akwaeke Emezi can write anything! This certainly isn't a typical romance novel, because it takes time to develop the protagonist's story before we meet her match. But it really takes off when it gets there. Wonderfully written dialogue, evocative prose, and a really great exploration of a relationship where the tensions come from outside forces. I hope to see more romances from this author!

Have you ever read a book and felt like there was a disaster waiting on every page and you weren't even really rooting for the relationship but when you finished you still felt like the book was 5 stars?

Enter You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty,

When I first started this book, I struggled through the first few chapters. Between the seemingly random sex ( although as you get to know our main character you understand why) and the N-word that seemed to be thrown around in every other sentence between the characters...I was not feeling it.

But I soldiered on, and I'm so glad I did.

The writing is beautiful, the themes of grief and sexuality and love and friendship and art all overlap and give this story so much depth even though it is MESSY.

MY GOD IT"S MESSY!

And I was drawn into the drama, the tension, the stress, and the messiness of the story and I couldn't put it down until the bitter ( really sweet actually) end.

This book got 5 stars from me because, despite the fact that the story was convoluted and crazy and OMG SO MESSY, it was also really good. LOL. Because it's that life sometimes? Good with a side of messy?

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My favorite books are always literary fiction, but I read the occasional romance as well. When I do, I prefer a romance with some serious underlying themes, some humor, or a combination of those two factors. Because I loved The Death of Vivek Oji, a beautiful work of literary fiction, I was excited to read a romance by its talented author. I was not disappointed. Emezi certainly had the heavier themes going, with an exploration of grief through art, of finding love again after loss, and with complicated characters navigating family and friendship connections. I didn't love everything about the book, and I think it dragged a bit in the latter half, but I would recommend it to romance readers who care about the quality of the writing and who are ok with open door scenes. I would not recommend it to literary fiction readers who don't already also read romance, even if you've enjoyed other works by Emezi.

“You always fall for the impossible.”

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is a poignant study of grief and life after unthinkable loss. Feyi is a budding artist, whose works explore the crushing death of her young husband five years before. She’s slowly realized that to truly live, she has to move on with her life, and that includes venturing back out into the dating scene.

Her best friend Joy is an utter delight - brutally honest, an unrelenting cheerleader, and always the voice of reason. Even if she doesn’t have her own shit together, she’ll be damned if she doesn’t pass on her two cents to Feyi (always from a place of love 😂)

Life takes Feyi on unexpected paths, and ultimately the person who most resonates with her is also the most difficult and controversial choice. But I mean - an emotionally intuitive, bisexual silver fox? Who understands how to communicate?? Yeah. I totally get the appeal. And their shared experience with grief allows them to connect on a deeper level.

There’s a subtle feeling of impending catastrophe threaded through the entire book, but also a fragile, tentative beauty…much like Feyi’s healing heart. Was her choice and Alim’s, in ways, fucked up? Yes - but I also get why they made it.

I especially love it when fiction stretches the boundaries of my world. Reading this novel felt like stepping into a sphere I’ve only gotten glimpses of - the international Black art and intellectual scene. It’s full of allusions to real-life art/music/literary talents just outside mainstream awareness. I googled a ton of names mentioned and they’re (almost) all real and very compelling people.

This was my very first ARC reviewed via NetGalley, and I was utterly delighted to receive this book! Thanks again to Atria and the marvelously talented Akwaeke Emezi for providing me with a copy, in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Feyi is recovering from the tragic loss of her husband and is ready to get back into the dating world, but she wants easy and no strings attached. She makes a friend, Nasir, who agrees to take things slow. Everything is going great until she goes to visit Nasir’s home with him and finds herself crushing on his DAD.

This was such a unique romance to read. Emezi did a wonderful job of covering a wide range of topics - love and loss, guilt and grief, the importance of best friends, and taking time to put yourself first. The descriptions of the settings will transport you and you can get lost in the writing.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange of an honest review.

This is my first book by this author and based on this one sample, this author is not for me. Maybe I’m not the target audience, although I do read and enjoy a wide range of books and genres, including romance and LGBTQ themes.

The main character, Feyi, has been grieving her husband’s death for 5 years and is trying to move on. She has relocated to NYC (Brooklyn) to live with her best friend Joy. Right off the bat, we witness Feyi have casual unprotected sex in a bathroom with someone she meets (more like made eye contact with!) at a party. For shock value? My sympathy for her kind of went downhill from there. Feyi then is attracted to this guy’s friend, Nasir, who seems like a really nice guy and is willing to take things slow. And then, boom, she’s attracted to Nasir’s FATHER. At this point I struggled with any incentive to finish the book. I’m glad I did finish it, though, because the last several chapters were better than most of the rest of the book.

It makes me sad that the author has targeted people who leave less than stellar reviews. Everyone is entitled to enjoy the books they enjoy and not enjoy the ones they do not enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

CW: death by car accident, explicit casual sex, lots of profanity

You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Awaeke Emezi

This is the story of Feyi, who, married in her twenties, loses the love of her life to an accident. Five years later, she’s ready for a physical relationship again, and we are in for a wild ride.

I should have expected that this book would be a bit much for me with the sex and bad foul language from the first sentence. I kept hoping we would get into more substance than Feyi, the main character’s, seeming promiscuity. So much sex, so many partners, and while it was always “great,” I, as a reader, never found it special. By the time we get to the end, we doubt our protagonist’s ability to be sincere, authentic, or faithful.

Emezi’s writing is lovely, or I’d have probably quit on this book. I think if I were in my twenties, as most of the characters are, and been raised in this millennium, I might be able to relate more, but I’m a midwestern mom, and I kept thinking how dangerous Feyi’s actions were. I loved the storytelling and the descriptions, but I wouldn’t recommend the book to my book club.

I didn't get caught up in the romance itself—in fact, I don't know if I was even rooting for it to succeed. But I felt that it was okay because I was hooked anyways. I was along or the wild ride that was this book.

Emezi's writing about being alive and feeling is just superb. Grief, love, and friendship are explored in the greatest depth and with such care. This is a tough story at times, yet it is always filled with energy and intensity. I just absolutely love how Emezi writes about the human experience, and this makes me even more excited to read their other books. I could feel the words as they landed and it is magical.

The drama. Unparalleled!! Impeccable!! The tension is here and it is making me STRESSED. I never knew what Feyi would choose to do next, but I knew it would be messy as fuck, and I am here for it. But, whew, I'm glad this had a happy ending (of course!) because I'm not sure my heart could take any more. And Feyi deserves all the happiness in the world!

We follow Feyi Adekola, a Nigerian artist, who is learning how to rebuild her life after experiencing a traumatic and devastating loss.

This is not your typical romance novel, so you can leave any typical expectations aside before you begin reading. This story could very easily have been about being messy in dating and retelling another story about a young woman living in the moment and being reckless about other people’s feelings. But it is not. And how Akwaeke crafted the story with her writing and character development will take you on a journey to a more nuanced exploration of love and self-scrutiny after a devastating heartbreak.

Akwaeke continues to show us complex imperfect characters who experience questions surrounding identity, guilt, accountability, sexuality, self-acceptance, self-worth, and navigating relationships.

I think how much you will enjoy the story will depend on how you choose to analyze situations. If you take a black-and-white approach, or if you take an emotional, grey-area, boundary-pushing look on life.

The story is about resilience, human connection, grief, desire, and the healing power of art in a tropical setting with opulent food descriptions.

Even though I personally may not have agreed with Feyi’s decision, I don’t let that affect my view of the story. I was taken on a rollercoaster journey of every emotion and that does not come often.

Life is short, but we also have time.

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty
by Akwaeke Emezi
Pub Date: May 24, 2022
Atria
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
* Romance *Contemporary * Fiction * LGBT
Love the cover! One thing I like about Emezi’s books is that they’re not overly long. This one clocks in at 288 pages and it’s just right. This was not a hit for me. The profanity and vulgar behavior turned me off. The direction the story took also left me with mixed feelings.
3 stars

Wow, was this a wild ride from start to finish. One thing I like about Emezi’s books is that they’re not overly long. This one clocks in at 288 pages and it’s just right.

The blurb only hints at the forbidden-love aspect of the book, but oh boy is it scandalous. <spoiler> Feyi goes after her sort-of-boyfriend’s FATHER. No, they are not technically dating, but they make out a lot and she’s pretty much just leading him on, even if she doesn’t mean to be cruel.

The thing is, Feyi and Alim are a great couple. They understand each other on a deep level. And it’s very spicy when they get together. I dig it! I’m also a sucker for forbidden romance, and you can’t get MUCH more forbidden than your love interest’s father. It’s like you kind of want to look away, but you can’t, and it made me tear through this book in about 24 hours. </spoiler>

What I don’t like is that Feyi is not a very nice person at times. Undergoing trauma doesn’t give you an excuse to walk all over people. Yet I see some reviews slut-shaming her and I don’t think that’s fair, because she’s clear from the start that all she wants is sex and not a committed relationship, and that’s fine! Still, she is not always a super likable character and that’s one of the things that makes her interesting to read about. Her friend Joy, while super entertaining, also regularly has affairs with married women and it’s just…not questioned?…which makes me feel icky. Cheating isn’t cute, guys.

The art scene is cool, but Feyi is portrayed as so ~edgy~ because she paints with blood when it’s not even her blood. It’s pig blood. If you’re going to make a Statement about death, don’t kill an animal to illustrate that. Seriously. It’s not okay to take an animal’s life to talk about your own struggle with grief. How does that make sense?

A steamy, scandalous, infuriating at times yet gripping romance that tackles some tough emotional topics.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As others have stated this is a romance book and i honestly loved every bit while reading it. It's a fantastically written book and something that I will be thinking about for a lot of time to come. I had not previously read the author's last book but I am definitely going to go back and read it now. This will definitely be an author that I will read in the future and I cannot wait to see what they write next. Thank you so much for the chance to read and review this one early!

this is a romance novel. and i do not like romance novels.

however, emezi's writing is always fire, so even though the skeleton of this is a pretty formulaic "widow gets second chance at true love" romance plot, it's a great <i>version</i> of this kind of story, so despite the many times i cringed whenever romance-writing crept into it, bringing its overblown cliches:

<i>"When I think about the ways I want to touch you, there's no space for anything else. I am consumed, utterly."</i>

or when it leaned hard into one of my biggest pet peeves; unrealistic micro-evaluations of a character's fleeting facial expressions/vocal intonations (this example has BOTH!):

<i>A thread of sadness snagged on his last few words, and Feyi watched the grief move in a slow wave through his eyes.</i>

even with those things cluttering my path, there was more <i>to</i> it than those annoying bits and it is, at least, a very *complicated* love story.

feyi is a young widow whose high school sweetheart jonah, whom she married right after college, died in a car wreck five years before the novel begins. since then, she's been defined by her grief, consumed with survivor's guilt, living with her best friend joy and keeping busy making her art, with no interest in romance, sex, or relationships.

<blockquote>...Feyi had moved down to New York, because if she was a monster, then so was the city, glorious and bright and everlasting, eating up time and hearts and lives as if they were nothing. She wanted to be consumed by the relentless volume of a place so much louder than she was, a place where her past and her pain could drown in the noise. Here, Feyi could keep her name and her unruined face, yet become someone else, someone starting over, someone who wasn't haunted. No one in New York cared about the vintage of sadness tucked behind her eyes and in the small corners of her smiles. She didn't have to drive, and she could cry on the train and no one would look, no one would care, because she didn't matter, and it was, honestly, such a relief to stop mattering.</blockquote>

but after "years of numbness," her sexual desires begin stirring again, and she's ready to start easing back into life and its pleasures. "easing" may not be <i>le mot juste</i>, as the first chapter finds her barebacking a stranger in a bathroom during a party, which is the kind of reckless behavior we're not supposed to applaud (and joy certainly gives her some grief over it), but it was just what feyi needed to kickstart her back into the deep end of the dating pool.

feyi's hot girl summer/sexual reawakening involves three men whom she uses like stepping stones to return to life, beginning with milan, he of rawdog bathroom fame. she's gone through her five stages of grief, and now she's exploring the stages of love in all of its permutations:

<blockquote>"......there are so many different types of love, so many ways someone can stay committed to you, stay in your life even if y'all aren't together, you know? And none of these ways are more important than the other."</blockquote>

what follows is a goldilocks romance plot where she test-drives a few different relationship models—with milan: great sex with no emotional intimacy, nasir: emotional connection with no passion, and alim: an older man who has also lost a partner and understands the core of her deepest pain.

but, of course, there are some obstacles and turbulence best left unsaid for now.

like most romance novels, it's more complex with emotions than with plot—everything moves very quickly except for the introspection, which is slow and sticky—and it embraces all the romance novel tropes: a beautiful protagonist, multiple attractive and appealing suitors who love talking about their feelings and their expectations and say shit like <i>"I very much want to respect your heart in this, too, which is why I'm asking about which boundaries feel comfortable for you,"</i> and, through them, she is catapulted into a fairytale dreamworld—getting her work into a prestigious art show alongside all of her favorite artists, introducing her to the artworld elite, staying in a celebrity chef's mansion in a tropical island paradise with frolicking monkeys and oh my god the food.

it's a very sensual book—not just the sex, because reading about other people boning is whatever, but the food, the music, the vibrant foliage—feyi's is a full-scale multisensory reawakening, and <i>that</i> is the beauty of this book. not the jane austen parade of suitors or the "hard and velvet and dew-tipped" peens, but feyi's growing confidence as she emerges out of her trauma-coma and her willingness to engage with...everything again.

if you want a fun drinking game, take a shot every time the word "alive" is used. here's a sampling:

—It was the start of summer, she was alive and she was so fucking close to becoming what she wanted...

—a roiling sweaty mess of alive

—She was alive, like her therapist had taught her, and it was okay to live.

—She was hers; she was alive; there was so much to do.

—And, because Feyi was Feyi and she was alive, there was no way she could say no.

—...because Feyi was herself, and alive, she kept going

—It was a party, and she was drunk and alive.

—To hell with the trouble this would bring, she was alive.

—"...I think we're just figuring out how to survive a world on fire...that it's okay to be alive."

u drunk yet?

so, i still don't like romance novels, but i'm rounding this one up to a four because honestly—i'm just impressed with emezi's raw talent. this is my fourth of their books, and each one has been so markedly different—[book:Freshwater|35412372] was challenging and structurally wild, [book:The Death of Vivek Oji|48595550] was a masterpiece but also straightforward enough for wine-soaked book clubs to appreciate, and [book:Pet|43568395]—well, i didn't really like [book:Pet|43568395], but i was still impressed with what they produced for younger readers, even if i wasn't a fan.

and even though i had to wade through a lot of blucky romance prose (every time alim called her "sweetness" (which is, for the record, TWENTY-TWO times), eyerolls ensued), when it's not being all romance-wincy, the dialogue is great, especially between feyi and joy, whose friendship is everything everything. i also appreciate that joy's character is a winky spin on the rom-com "gay best friend" trope, where the twist is that—unlike most rom coms, where the gbf is a boy—here the bisexual feyi has slept with her lesbian bestie. they hooked up for a while in the empty space before this book begins, but it never became a relationship, which is a shame because they complement each other so well and i'd rather see them together than feyi tits-deep in her messy-messy (but "messy and <i>alive</i>") situation.

feyi is a compelling and flawed character and i get that we're meant to root for her because of what she's been through (and the fact that she makes a "that's what she said" joke automatically endears her to me), but the whole "the heart wants what the heart wants" shrug doesn't really mitigate every selfish decision, and she leaves some pretty significant destruction in her wake. love is often messy, but this one—yeesh. i do not envy what comes next for her.

I loved Emezi's previous novel, The Death of Vivek Oji, and their most recent work definitely did not disappoint. The writing, the romance, the exploration of grief - it was all lovely.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-copy.

There are romances that are easy and swoony and tie up everything in a nice little neat package, and then there are nail-biting, what’s-going-to-happen, the anxiety-is-killing-me romances. Akwaeke Emezi’s You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is the latter. This book is so good that I seriously contemplated how to write this review for a solid 2 months (spoiler: I still can’t do it justice). Emezi is onto something here with the re-writing of what a romance and a love story can be.

The first thing that is obvious in this book is that love is messy. Feyi is a young widow still suffering in her grief that for one night attempts to table that grief and open herself up to the possibility of “something more”. Through a series of events and encounters with friends Milan and Nasir, she finds herself being invited to a tropical island where Feyi can create her art and possibly showcase with other up and coming artists. On this island, Feyi lives with Nasir and his father Alim, a celebrity chef that is as mysterious and compelling as the island itself.

To tell more of the storyline would be to give away too much, but the romantic arc takes a big turn on the island. There are so many thoughtful and beautiful moments in this book, one being Feyi’s art installation. I actually gasped when I read the description because it so strikingly captures love and grief and loss—I would not be surprised to find that Emezi dabbles in the visual arts as well as literary arts themselves. I also loved every single character. Joy, with her big personality who has a problem of falling for unavailable women, Nasir with his open heart, Alim with his wisened soul and observant eyes. And Feyi. I adored golden braided Feyi and her complexity. She is beautifully black, and unapologetically true to herself. Also, did I mention this book is filled with queerness and black love? Full stop.

But back to the nail-biting aspect of the book, Emezi tackles the idea of forbidden or taboo love. And it’s good. So good that even as I was reading I still didn’t know what the choices or outcomes would be. And better yet, Emezi has you in the palm of their hand making you believe that what the characters want, you want too even if it can only end in destruction and broken hearts. I cannot say enough wonderful things about the storytelling and genre-bending journey of this book. I hope readers will step outside of their comfort zone and take a chance on it because You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is a gorgeous bit of prose. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for my ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.