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.

2 stars

Oh boy. Big outlier here. This book was simply not written for me. I did not care for the protagonist (virtually always a nonstarter for me), I didn’t learn anything (bummer), and I didn’t feel anything (except the desire to finish it up). Also too much navel-gazing romance for me and too much gratuitous profanity. Lots of good reviews are in so please take a look at those before following my lead. Two stars for the author’s excellent writing skills.

I would like to thank Net Galley, Atria Books, and Ms. Emezi for the ARC invitation. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

Feyi is struggling to come to terms with the death of her husband, which she witnessed. She meets someone who has suffered as she has and they form a connection. Feyi wants to love again but she needs to find out who she is.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi follows Feyi Adekola wants to learn how to be alive again after the death of the love of her life five years previously. 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.

I love all of Akwaeke Emezi books I've read so far and this is unfortunately my least favorite one. That being said it's still a very enjoyable book with a gorgeous setting and a very compelling main character. I loved the way this book deals with grief. However, the romance caused me a lot of anxiety throughout (while I know that's the point it still made it harder for me to enjoy fully.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don't read romance. Or I should say, I haven't read romance since I was a teenager and I binged all of my grandmother's Danielle Steele novels over the course of two weeks. (I'll let you guess how many decades ago... ) But if anyone could make me give the genre another chance, it'd have to be Akwaeke Emezi! They're gonna make me venture out of my typical reading box more than a few times this year!
As a person on the Ace spectrum, I might not be the best judge of the content of a romance novel. 🥴 Now quality, I think I can ascertain, and you know this book is written beautifully. I liked the depth of the characters, the pacing of the story, the seductiveness of the setting. Like, that's what I vibed with the most! This book is full of vivid descriptions of lush paradise surroundings, gorgeous interior design, the most incredible food porn descriptions... Definitely a lot of @shinythegodhouse vibes, and I was transported.
This was a great 'first' romance for me, and maybe I'll try reading more from the genre. Maybe... Thanks @netgalley for the digital ARC, it was lots of fun!

It’s been 5 years since Feyi lost her husband Josh in an accident. Her bff Joy is determined that she gets herself back out there. For Feyi that mean random sex with a stranger at a party. When that leads to a sweet man willing to take things slow, but when he invites her to the tropics where his father lives, everything changes.

Not me starting this book before bed and not falling asleep until 65%…ok yes, most definitely me. This book hooked me from page one and the only reason I stopped at 65% was that my eyes wouldn’t stay open any longer I was so tired. That said….I’m not sure how I feel about the father situation. It felt very icky and odd to me, but at the same time, the story was so well written that I also was kind of ok with it? This book was fantastic and so beautifully written, I highly recommend reading this one!

First off, many thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for my honest review. The last couple of books I have received from Atria Books have been great and they are quickly becoming one of my favorite go to publishers.

Now, my review of the ARC is complicated because of how complicated this story is. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this, but I can tell this will be one of those books that so many people are going to disagree on. Feyi makes some choices throughout this book that are hard to support and hard to get behind at times. Towards the end, I couldn’t decide even how I felt about everything that happens. However, I think that was part of why I found this so engaging.

Frying was completely and unapologetically herself and she prioritized her career and her feelings above what was expected of her in a way that I found admirable and not something you see on a lot of stories.

This story completely went against society’s view on gender and sexuality and I really enjoyed that. The bisexuality in the characters was great, as I feel that bisexuals tend to be unrepresented and it was nice to finally get that viewpoint. As someone who is bisexual, I often feel we can be somewhat erased once we are in a ”heteronormative” relationship, so I was definitely happy to finally see some representation. For me, this was a great read, but I am interested to see how others will receive it.

Akwaeke Emezi does not miss. I have loved absolutely everything they have ever written and will continue to read anything they write. This story is an incredibly unique romance and unlike anything I've ever read before. On top of that, every single character is intensely interesting and well developed. I felt like I knew Feyi right away and loved watching her follow her heart. Joy is an incredible best friend and amazing character that I would absolutely love to read more about in a sequel. Alim, Milan, Nasir, Lorraine, Rebecca, Pooja and even Jonah all felt so incredibly real and compelling that I would love it if several of them have their own books. Basically, I am desperately hoping this is book one of an incredible romance series. I will definitely be recommending this as much as I can!

I had such mixed feelings about You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi. I have/will read anything they write, because they are brilliant and I've loved everything I've read by them across genres. I was surprised to know this was going to be a romance and it was my most anticipated read for this year. I loved the characters and how real they felt in dialogue and candor. But the thing that feels less real is the love-at-first-sight trope that felt very a bit emotionally immature compared to the stellar writing. And yet, even with the unrealistic fairy tale-like setting (I am married to a chef who works in restaurants and on TV and we know many "celebrity" chefs with Michelin stars who have been judges and hosts of food shows...and they are not even a fraction of as rich as the celebrity chef in this book!) and kind of far-fetched plot, I still couldn't put it down and was invested in how things would turn out for everyone involved. And I was moved by some of the beautiful things surrounding art, living through/with grief, and what people give up for their families. I need to sit with this one more. Even though the unbelievable nature brought me out of it many times, I think these characters will stick with me and I want to know even more about where their stories go next.

I am astonished by how much I enjoyed this book. It is tender and raw and heartbreaking and stunning. It's not a traditional romance novel so it took me a minute to get onboard but I'm so glad I did. This book about two queer people in grief broke my heart and then put it back together again.

Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for the ARC.

CW: death of a spouse, car accident, violent men

This is such a beautifully constructed story. It begins with Feyi a very attractive young woman who went through a terrible tragedy when she lost her husband in her twenties. It is now 5 years later and she has decided to come back out of her shell and try dating again.

She dates a couple of men who both begin helping her rejoin the world. Neither man quite fills the gap left by her deceased husband but she decides to accept that and keep moving ahead. Then her beau asks her to come do an art show down in the Islands and her true adventure really begins.

This book had a really unique feel to the writing, the characters felt vivid and their conversations could make you laugh at loud at times. There is also queer exploration with the characters which gave this book unexpected depth. But be warned there is graphic language that might offend some readers.

This book is definitely an exciting and unique release for spring 2022. Highly recommend.
Thank you Netgalley and Atria books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fans of Emezi will be unsurprised to learn that they are capable of writing any genre they please and leave us with a gorgeously written novel! Feyi is a beautifully fleshed out protagonist navigating the trauma of her past. Feyi and Alim are painfully easy to root for in this vibrant romance novel. In Alim romance readers will get the benefit of seeing a gentle, bisexual male love interest who is powerfully charming. If you don’t fall in love with the romance it will only be because you’ve fallen in love with descriptions of the setting, the food, or the outfits first! Thanks NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A beautiful romance novel that subverts many of the conventions of the genre. This was full of juicy drama and heartfelt moments - the conversations on grief were so tender and endearing. It took me a little while to get into this one, but once I hit the midpoint I was hooked. The characters were lovable and the plot was engaging - I loved the island setting of most of the book as well.
This was a great entry in the romance canon and I love that Emezi is experimenting with so many different genres. A fantastic read.

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

I arrived at this book having been absolutely captivated and devastated by The Death of Vivek Oji, astounded by Akwaeke Emezi's ability to capture achingly human experience in gorgeous language that still felt accessible and went straight to the heart. In this way, You Make a Fool of Death With Your Beauty entirely fulfilled my expectations. This book is a romance centered on coming to love from a place of intense grief and pain. The messiness of it, but ultimately the decision to reclaim - reclaim life, survival, voice, sexuality, anger, and vulnerability. Feyi also reclaims her art as her career really begins to take off in this paradise, and I think that this is an incredibly powerful part of Feyi's self-expression of grief, and holding on while letting go. Feyi is an incredible protagonist as she navigates her grief while choosing to put herself out there because of the gifts she may find for herself. She finds what she didn't realize she was looking for in an unexpected, complicated place. We may not agree with where her heart takes her, but the point is that it doesn't matter. In this way, Emezi challenges us to consider our notions of romance itself.

Emezi's portrayal of grief and trauma through flashes of memory throughout the book are gorgeously written and very visceral. These moments are often quick, like flashbacks can be. Their imagery of paradise is simply stunning and immersive.

Emezi has built incredibly whole and grossly human characters. Feyi's best friend, Joy, has to be my personal favorite. The bisexual representation is brilliant and beautiful.

Akwaeke Emezi's writing is at once gorgeous, heart-wrenching, unapologetic, and ALIVE. They ask us to consider where we're coming from and where we're going as we immerse ourselves in Feyi's story, and I very much recommend reading this highly anticipated book when it is released on May 24th.

Thank you so much to Atria Books for the e-ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I will be posting this review on my Bookstagram, @sammies.shelf (www.instagram.com/sammies.shelf), a bit closer to pub date.

This book left me speechless in some instances. It was moving, real, and poignant. The writing was just beautiful and mesmerizing. I read that this was the author’s first romance novel and I’m blown away by that. They wrote such real and flawed characters that I couldn’t help but root for. I might not have agreed with all the choices the characters made but I understood why they made them. I cannot wait to read more books for this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

I absolutely loved and thoroughly enjoyed this book. This is a book that is more of an experience than anything else and I don't know if a review will do it justice. The writing is beautiful and the characters are all so multi-faceted. I hope this will not be Emezi's last romance novel because it was stellar.