I'd fallen in love with Akwaeke's Emezi's prose in "The Death of Vivek Oji", so immediately jumped at a chance to read her latest novel "You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty". The novels are very different, but there are a number of similar themes between them.

In her latest book, Emezi tackles the story of Feyi Adekola, a 30 year-old black artist residing in Brooklyn, who is dealing with the loss of her husband Jonah, who passed away five years prior. Feyi attempts to bring herself back to the dating scene, with the help of her gay best friend Joy, and does end up encountering a number of love interests. She thinks everything will go well with Nasir, an attractive bachelor, who invites her to his home in the Islands with an opportunity to work on her art, but Feyi's life ends up taking a sharp turn - and her choices will impact more than just her own life.

I appreciated that Emezi tackled some weighty issues here on grief, race, sexuality, and societal expectations. For the most part, Feyi was a character I connected with and could feel empathy towards; there are a number of passages and moments when her grief and loss is laid bare that were truly stunning. However, there are a number of other issues I have with this novel as well, including Feyi's ultimate decisions and actions hovering on the fine line of right and wrong, the some scenes that felt unnecessarily explicit.

While I don't regret reading "You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty" I don't think this will be a novel I would personally recommend to others.

I have been sitting with this book since finishing it a week ago, thinking about how to review it. I think this book will be one that people either love or hate, but I feel very conflicted about this book. I could not put it down, but at the same time, I was very frustrated with all of the main characters, was not rooting for the romance to work out, and was annoyed by a lot of the repetition and romanticizing of trauma. I loved the style of writing, the descriptive settings, and a lot of the dialogue, but then the characters would speak in a way that felt so awkward and out of character, that it would take me out of the story completely.

I think the romance in this story is complicated in a way I’ve never read before, making it intriguing but also uncomfortable. It almost felt voyeuristic to be so immersed in the romance and the consequences of it.

I really need more people to read this so I can discuss, because I think it is a book that is going to create a lot of interesting dialogue. Even though I’m conflicted on my thoughts on this book, I’m thinking maybe that’s the author’s intention, it’s beautiful, messy, tragic, romantic and ugly. Like the art and food so thoroughly described in the book, the story is complex, challenging and confusing.

YOU MADE A FOOL OF DEATH WITH YOUR BEAUTY is a beautiful exploration of grief, desire, art, human connection, and celebrates the resilience of someone who has lived through a great loss. Emezi has RANGE and I was so curious to read their debut romance novel. Let me tell you, this beauty does not disappoint. It is dripping with their signature dream-like, poetic prose. I was whisked away to a tropical island and drooling from the delicious food descriptions. It’s sexy, bold, and I couldn’t put it down. It would be the quintessential beach read. If you loved The Idea of You by Robinne Lee or Seven Days in June by Tia Williams, add this one to your list. It comes out 5/24.

If I had to sum this book up in one sentence: Do what makes you happy and fuck the rest.

4.75/5

I’m a fool for You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty. As with The Death of Vivek Oji, Emezi packed soooo much goodness into a short read. The characters—each navigating grief in their own way—are as vivid and captivating as the tropical setting and the seemingly unending feasts, for which Emezi went into painstaking detail (and I’m so grateful for it. Seriously, if I could eat my way through this whole novel, I would).

I’m not typically a romance reader, but I figured if anyone would sell me on the genre, it’d be Emezi, and consider me sold. This story is equal parts devastating and exquisite. There is plenty of tension and plenty of steam, but as with The Death of Vivek Oji, I feel like Emezi elevates the genre with their writing. Plus, so much of this book presents artistry as a way of coping with and expressing grief, and they explored that idea in the most gorgeous and compelling ways!

The only hiccup for me was that a central character, who is older than most of the others, sometimes spoke in a way that I found completely incongruous with his character. Like, I felt like sometimes he sounded more like someone in his 20s than the actual twenty-something characters. It distracted me and made it harder for me to truly buy into his storyline, which is pretty central to the plot. It didn’t take away much from my overall reading experience though. This is definitely a book to keep on your radar!

Thank you *so* much to @atriabooks and @netgalley for this #gifted copy!

This was my first book by Emezi and I was truly so impressed with their work. This novel grapples with incredibly challenging topics, including grief and death alongside understanding the consequences of love. op I gave this novel 4 stars only because I found the relationship between Feyi and Alim to feel a bit forced as we're only introduced to their relationship halfway through the story. While I did find Emezi's writing to be both beautiful and vulnerable, I did find that some of the dialogue was a bit redundant as well.

I am officially accepting the fact that I have no idea what I'm going to get when I read a book by this author. This is unlike her other books on some levels, but is totally on brand in other ways. The writing is lovely. The characters are totally complex (possibly less absurdly complex than previous books). But this is a love story. A romance. Except it has these characters that are very complicated and it may be a love story, but it also looks at loss and loneliness at the same time. I may have liked this more because it's not a traditional love story. It's almost a little icky and uncomfortable at times. I think people will either really love this or hate it (or give up before the good part). I almost want to start reading it again.

I'm a sucker for an unconventional love story and this is a beautiful one. It's also messy and uncomfortable, much like real life.

It's been five years since the death of Feyi's husband and she is starting two feel alive again. She's not looking for anything serious and casually dating a nice guy. When she goes on vacation with him, she meets someone else who makes her feel a way she never imagined feeling again. This puts her in an incredibly awkward position and she has serious choices to make.

This is a story about finding love again after loss, and also about finding oneself again after losing a spouse. The writing is strong and emotional. I felt so many things while reading! My only complaint is that the first half drags a bit.

Timing was a real pickle for me with You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty. I had *just* pre-purchased the audio book when my ARC request was approved, so I wanted to approach this a bit differently. I think (hope!) this will be a gorgeous audio book experience, and I wanted to preserve that for myself. So with the ARC, I did NOT read the complete book. Instead, I read large chunks throughout so that I could have an appreciation for Akwaeke Emezi's writing.

There is one word that keeps coming to me with Emezi's writing - fluency. They create their dialogue, inner monologue, and reactions to events and emotions with such an incredible fluency that it creates an authenticity. Yes, I realize the paradox of "created authenticity", but they write so convincingly, and with such a sure hand on cadence and interactions, that I am left feeling like I was a part of their world for having read their words. Character development stood out as one of Emezi's strengths, although their writing and storytelling were compelling as a whole. I am looking forward to experiencing the entirety of the world Emezi crafted with their words.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, which I received in exchange for my honest review.

First of all, let me say that I don't read a ton of romance. I probably would not have picked up this book if it wasn't written by Akwaeke Emezi. But I have faith that anything they write is going to blow my socks off and I wasn't wrong about this one! <i>You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty</i> is excellent, spicy and wholly original! I will absolutely be picking up my own physical copy of this book when it comes out later this year.

I would recommend this book to readers who like non-formulaic romance and to those looking for a diverse cast of characters. Readers should be prepared to encounter profanity, and some emotional messiness.

I look forward to whatever Emezi decides to publish next: Military history? Cookbook? Murder mystery? I AM HERE FOR IT!

I LOVED this book! I wasn’t expecting to be so taken with an age gap romance but Emezi did it again. I’ll be thinking of this for a long time.

If I had to describe You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty in one word, it would be indulgent. It’s a romance, but it’s also about grief. It’s about how life is short, and love is worth it. It’s about prioritizing your own desires over other peoples expectations. It’s about a black girl doing what feels good, and I was here for that!!!

I think it’s best to go into this book knowing little about it - and I’m so glad that’s what I did. However, it is important to know this is not a fluffy traditional romance. It’s hard to root for the main characters, and I can guarantee most people won’t agree with their actions. I kinda loved that about it though. This was fully Feyi’s story, and it was messy as hell. But it felt real. The relationship between Feyi and her love interest was all consuming, almost to the point of seeming unbelievable. I think that intense chemistry and connection is what so many people long for though, and I can see the appeal. From the outside looking in it seems ridiculous, but when you’re the one in it - I doubt most people would want to walk away from that passion.

I always adore Emezi’s prose, and this was no different. I highlighted so many beautiful phrases. I love that this was such a literary take on the romance genre, and I’d love to see more like it in the future!!

”Imagine that, Feyi. We’re alive, and I love you.”

Thank you to atria books and netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a book, a story, that grows on you. At first I wasn't completely sure what kind of story this was meant to be, though it was filled with beautiful imagery and ideas that are easy to lose oneself to. But in the very beginning I wasn't completely sure how seriously to take this book. Is it supposed to be lighthearted and jokey? And, to be fair, I think for the majority of the beginning, it IS supposed to be like that. But then it shifts and thats when this book truly shines.

I have never read anything by Emezi, and I'll admit that 2022 has been the year that I have really thrown open my horizons and incorporated more diverse authors and stories in what I read. And so the beginning of this book was a little jarring for me. Emezi writes true to her culture and the culture of the characters that she portrays. For someone who admittedly has not ready a lot of POC-centric works and is an SPF50-in-the-shade type of white, allowing the authentic ways that Emezi's characters talk to one another, talk about each other, talk about life in general, took a little getting used to. But that is not the heart of this book, and its a strength, to me, that the authentic characters stop feeling so different from ME and my life and what i'm <i>used to</i> and simply begin to exist.

Because the heart of this story, the strength of it and why, even after a bit of a bumpy start I give it 5 stars, is so incredibly human. Its about love and grief and starting over. Its about fear and uncertainty. Its about learning your limits and understanding that grief might be all consuming and it might never go away, but it doesn't have to be the only thing that the soul exists on.

This book, to me, is about the soul. Its about what the soul needs and how it finds that need for us, even if our minds are telling us that its not right or it can never be. The central relationship in this book is a complex and complicated one, but its one that rings so true that it never feels absurd or impossible. There are moments, before Emezi lifts the veil from our eyes, so to speak, that it seems like its a crush that is placed there by the author for maybe frivolous reasons, for some comic relief, and then BAM. She hits you with the truth. And its a beautiful truth.

Emezi lays it all on the table. Nothing is spared, not the grief that both Feyi and Alim feel for their respective losses, not the futileness that Feyi seems to feel as she dips her toes back into the dating scene after suffering such a terrible loss, not the earth shattering shockwaves that ripple through the lives of everyone central to this story when the ultimate revelations are made. And that's what makes this story so authentic and beautiful. There is true emotion on the page. Its real and its raw.

None of the characters sugarcoat their feelings, and Feyi is one of the most real portrayals of someone who wants something but is so afraid that its not real that she starts to sabotage it with her fears, with her anxieties, with the thoughts that this couldn't possibly be true, even if the person in front of her is telling her it is true. I felt so connected to Feyi through those emotions and I wanted to save her from herself, but I also wanted her to learn how to save herself, too.

And in the end, that is the greatest lesson Emezi leaves us with. That some things DO happen that are out of our control, but we have to be brave enough to face them, to learn from them, to grow. To TRUST and to BELIEVE.

This is going to be a divisive book, and I think that's what makes it brilliant. I had such conflicted feelings but it really made me feel something, so I think I loved it. Akwaeke Emezi knows what they are doing!

You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty is a hard book to talk about because it's messy, it's complicated, it's romantic, it's everything. I've never read a romance quite like this!

Also, the friendship between Feyi and Joy make this book worth reading. I also loved the food descriptions and reading about the power of Feyi's art.

There is a lot to unpack here and I am looking forward to reading what others have to say!

This book made huge, sweeping claims about the power of true love, but it never felt like "too much" because of how beautifully it was written. The characters were all believable and I enjoyed getting to know them all. It felt a little short, but it was just the right length for the story.

I absolutely love all of Emezi’s work and this was no different. There’s something very unique and sensual about how they approached the relationships in this book. This was deep and complex and emotional and maybe the best romance I’ve ever read? I never wanted it to end!

A complex, compassionate, and utterly gorgeous first foray into romance from the outstanding Akwaeke Emezi: I will be recommending this to literally anyone who will listen to me. It's a perfect summer read, and an excellent entrance into romance for anyone coming from "heavier" genres.

I'd like to start with a disclaimer that, while I've been delving into romance over this past year, I don't usually read M/F – but based on how much I've loved what I've read of Emezi's writing, I wanted to make an exception for this one. And oh my god, am I SO glad that I did.

You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty contains all the gorgeous writing and intense complexity that I've seen in Emezi's work before, and somehow, incredibly, effortlessly combines it with all the best parts of romance novels. I can't overstate how excellent this book was. Every single character was wonderfully developed; the plot was well-paced and interesting in its own right; every single relationship was given depth and handled beautifully. I loved the thru-lines of art and grief which tied the whole book together; I loved the lush, vibrant descriptions of absolutely everything; I loved how well the conflict was handled. (My usual gripe with romance books is that conflicts can feel forced or sudden – that was NOT the case here, and I loved it.) I loved that both romantic leads were queer, and a large number of the side characters. (I want a Joy spinoff romance novel SO BADLY. PLEASE.)

Utterly stunning. Truly I cannot recommend this highly enough. Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this title!

It is a no for me. I found the whole “hoe shit” to be a reach. A broken women looking to put the pieces of her life together after losing the love of her life. Granted, her selection of men were not that broad, but Feyi was still in her 20s finding out how to make decisions for herself. The best part of the story is her connection with her best friend Joy. Joy is everything. I did not enjoy much of the relationships but I did appreciate the process of grieving or trying to. There is no specifics to how one should grieve and I loved that.

(This review will be posted on my blog closer to the publication date)

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is a story about Feyi, a young artist living in Brooklyn with her best friend. Five years ago, Feyi’s husband died right in front of her eyes in a car crash, and Feyi has been unable to form any sincere connections ever since. She’s not ready for romance but romance comes knocking on her door anyway, and she soon finds herself whisked away to a beautiful mansion on a tropical island, with a handsome and caring man by her side. But there Feyi meets someone else - someone who could be a man she truly falls for, but who should be completely off limits. Can Feyi face societal expectations and her own grief and fear to finally heal and trust?

I absolutely loved Akwaeke Emezi’s The Death of Vivek Oji so when I saw that they had a new book coming, I was beyond excited to read it. Sadly, it didn’t exactly live up to my expectations. First, for the things that I loved about the book: Feyi is such an incredible character - she’s complex, interesting, and someone I would love to have in my corner in real life. Her bond with her best friend was so realistic and heartwarming, the love simply radiated off the paged. Emezi’s writing is beautiful and I loved the setting of the book; Brooklyn, the gorgeous island, the art world that Feyi surrounds herself with. Feyi’s backstory is tragic but I appreciated how it directed so many of her choices. So what didn’t work for me? Unfortunately, the most important element of the book - the romance.

Now, I’m all for difficult, sometimes even taboo relationships, but one thing I can’t stand is insta-love. Without spoiling too much, I can say that Feyi and her love interest spend maybe 24 hours one on one before they fall for each other, and less than a week before the love interest completely upends his life for her. Maybe at 30 I’m too old to let myself be swept off my feet by such whirlwind romance, but I couldn’t stop thinking that nothing about this was realistic and some of the choices the couple made simply left me uncomfortable. This book is quite short so I think I would be more on board with the relationship if it had more time to grow organically, but to me it felt rushed and childish.

Despite this, I can honestly say that Emezi is an incredible writer and a true master of their craft. I genuinely enjoyed a huge part of this book and the parts I didn’t didn’t turn me off their writing at all. Quite the contrary, I can’t wait to dive into Emezi’s other works.

TLDR: You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is a stunning book, perfect for anyone who loves forbidden romances and doesn’t mind the characters falling in love quickly.

This was a romantic, lush adult novel with seriously great writing. Emezi hooks you from the first line as you follow the main character, Feyi, through her seemingly rash decisions and slowly reveals her backstory and her heart. I could not put this one down.

i received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and i am very thankful to the publisher for letting me read this early.
i went into this knowing that this is not my type of book at all, but Akwaeke Emezi is so painfully talented and i will read anything they create, so of course i went for it. they managed to keep me on my toes, keep me interested, keep me surprised and shocked throughout this book. i was reading several other books at the same time that were more of my general interests and this book still gripped me so much that i needed to keep reading it and sneaking bits of it even when i didn't have the time. not only is the writing beautiful and sharp (as expected) but this book managed to take a genre i normally don't enjoy and make it so much more than just a romance novel. Akwaeke is such a gift to this world and i'm very thankful to be able to have a peek into their brain and be inspired by their genius.