Rich and beautifully written lustful story. I loved the love triangle, exotic descriptions and in depth character development. A favorite of 2022. Will read more by this author. 5/5 stars!

This is a difficult one to rate. Emezi is undoubtedly a talented wordsmith; her writing is deeply evocative and lush, and her dialogue is realistic almost to a fault. She, in a way, is trying to create her own spin on the romance novel and its tropes. This is basically the story of a woman who, following a tragedy, is convinced she is closed to love. She meets the right person at the wrong time and their complicated story ensues. It sounds pretty standard, but something in the details kept this story from falling together successfully.

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is emotional, messy and dramatic. An intense story about love and grief. Not your typical romance novel. The story is beautifully written, extremely heartfelt and vulnerable.

This isn’t the usual type of book by Akwaeke Emezi. They usually write more social commentary but this was a spicy messy romance. I didn’t love it but I enjoyed it enough that I finished the whole thing and didn’t leave it as did not finish so that says something. I liked the book. I LOVED the mess.

Yeyi lost the love of her life in a car accident five years ago. She attempts to get back into the world through a series of ill-fated connections. When she finds the love of her life in an unexpected place, it is set to blow up her life and his. Will they make it work in the messy world of love? Find out in Akwaeke Emezi's You Made a Fool of Death with your Beauty.

This story starts out with Yeyi having sex in a bathroom with a man she just met. Sparks don't exactly fly after that, so she moves on to his friend, but she tries to slow things down. When he flies her out to meet his father, she wasn't expecting to meet a world-famous chef or fall in love with him. It gets really messy, but passion and love are true. They are willing to risk it all which can be a very scary situation at times.

I loved the romance near the end of the book. The poetry in which they profess their love is stunning.

Favorite Passage:
I was here minding my business, you know, a successful recluse, and then this loud and beautiful woman comes into my home, into my garden, comes with me to the sunrise, and utterly blindsides me. You are so generous with your heart. You were like light. I couldn’t help but to turn my face to you if I wanted to keep living.”

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel. I was not able to finish so won't be leaving a full review at this time.

It's hard to believe that this is Akwaeke Emezi's first adult romance novel because it's just so good. Their prose is sublime and captivating, beautifully illustrating the complex emotions and dynamics between the main characters and keeping us on our toes the whole time. I really liked Feyi as a main character, she felt so impulsive and conflicted and very real. In fact, the flaws of all the main characters are part of what makes this book so compelling; they show us that people can be fundamentally good and still make poor decisions, and that sometimes lust and love overpower our moral compasses, despite our best intentions.

I'm just here to say you should 100% read this book! It was messy and hot and deliciously good and I just want to eat up all this sexiness and bask in it! THE FOOD IN THIS BOOK!!!!!!! Chef's kiss!!👌🏾

Its quite the unconventional romance that will give neck rolling and wtf moments but also some incredibly intimate, sexy & soulful connections that kept my heart racing.

Some of these twists were not surprising but what I loved was how the author got us there. Pause the judgments, grief is hard and not one size fits all. We even viciously grieve things and people we never had. Come with compassion, it will be needed. Stay for the drama, there's no shortage of it!

Oh!! Get you a friend like Joy! I was 100% here for Feyi and her journey but I 1000% stayed for Joy.

One more thought. On the way through your healing journey, people WILL get hurt. Not everyone is going to be in alignment with the choices and changes you make for yourself. Which begs to question; me? Or them? There is always a choice to determine who and what is worth that hurt and its aftermath. Feyi's choice here might have been messy as hell. But she chose herself, as she should.

This is easily one of the most unexpected books that I have read recently. Emezi masterfully created a world wherein her characters could explore their desires in a way that was authentic to them. I appreciated the character development, the plot twists, and even the descriptive anticipation and sex scenes. Yet, in many ways I wanted more from the book. As I finished, I yearned to know: in what world would a father just take his son’s love interest and that be okay?

While this is not a book I can recommend to my students (because of the adult content), I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a romance novel that deeply explores pleasure, grief, and leaning into your desires.

Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for letting me read and review this book. You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is a contemporary romance. I haven't read many romance novels, but I liked this one. It is a story about Feyi and wanting to learn how to be alive again. Five years ago the love of her life got killed in an accident, and her best friend Joy tells her it is time to get back into the dating scene. Feyi doesn't feel ready yet, but at a party she is taken off guard and has a steamy encounter. I liked the writing style overall, and enjoyed following Feyi's character.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Excellent! I highly recommend.)
••••••
When I saw the stunning cover for Akwaeke Emezi’s latest novel, I knew I had to read it. Especially since her 2020 novel, The Death of Vivek Oji, was a five-star read for me. Well, You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty (a title inspired by a Florence + The Machine song lyric) more than delivered. Read this when you’re in the mood for a literary romance with undercurrents of grief. It is an interpretation of the older-man / younger-woman trope that is sexy and messy but not at all creepy. There’s also witty banter, lots of cooking and a female friendship that steals the show. It is Whiskey & Ribbons by Leesa Cross-Smith meets Fifty Shades of Grey and Pretty Woman. Best paired with a croissant, a blob of roselle jam, and some fruit. XO, Tara

This romance is the best summer read! I really enjoyed that it featured someone who has experienced loss young, and explores a relationship with an age gap in a way that isn't creepy. I hope Emezi writes more romance because they knocked it out of the park!

I really wanted to like this book but I think I need to accept that romance is not for me. I didn't mind the plot so much but the pet names and sex scenes made me feel really embarrassed—I guess it just felt contrived? I wish the book had focused more on Feyi's art career and less on the love triangle between her, Alim, and Nasir. I felt like the resolution was weirdly rushed as well.

Thank you for this advance copy! I am trying to update my review blog so just mentioned this briefly. I did have my book club read this too - it was a great choice!

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty which was WOW. Just a bit more sexy than a hug while also so touching in talking about grief and loneliness and moving on.

This was a very interesting read!! I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect but had been told it was a great one so I dove in! I really loved Feyi and her story! She was such a strong woman even when she didn’t feel like it! I was surprised at her choices but enjoyed the story!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, but I also very much understand why a lot of people really do not like it. I really love Akwaeke's writing style, it's just so captivating, and it just draws me in each time.

I think this book was very real and very raw. The dialogue between these characters just felt so honest and genuine. I feel like sometimes characters in books have such awkward and jilted conversations, but this book felt especially real.

I can't wait to read more books by this author!

While I am not your typical romance reader by any stretch of the imagination, Emezi never misses and this is not *JUST* a romance novel-is anything ever "just" anything?
If you are coming to this expecting the same tone as their past work, please know that it is not Freshwater or Vivek Oji, nor was it intended to be. But if you've read enough Emezi, or simply have paid attention when they speak, you will see the very clear throughlines in their body of work and life and enjoy it that much more!

Best book of 2022. Akwaeki Emezi has once again, conquered a new genre with You Made a Fool... Every bit of beauty and messiness exemplifies the perfection of the romance genre. I never wanted this to end.

I was offered a widget for this book and I’ve put off reading it. Honestly, for me it was just OK. The romance felt forced and it just wasn’t for me.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

I really wanted to love this book as much as I loved The Death of Vivek Oji and I just didn't. That's OK- I think it just wasn't the book for me and I went into it with nooo idea what it was about or what to expect (I just knew it had a gorgeous cover and a very intriguing title).

I really enjoyed the beginning of the book and was excited to see where Feyi's life was going to lead. She's been mourning the sudden and tragic death of her husband for 5 years now, but she's still in quite young and still finding herself. She's finally starting to open up to the idea of dating again, but is understandably having a tough time with it.

I don't want to give anything away, but I'll just say that the main romance in the book just didn't feel super believable to me and this was the toughest issue I had with the book. A crazy fun infatuation, sure. But talking about love and marriage and blowing lives up within weeks? I just couldn't buy it. But that could also just be me not liking love at first sight "tropes" and not necessarily believing in them in real life. I also had a bit of trouble with some of the confrontations between characters. Violence is never OK, but I also think things were overall handled poorly and very unsympathetically. Love conquers all and I understand the idea of your own personal happiness being the priority in life, which I think is what the author wanted to portray, but at what cost to others? Again, probably my own personal issue!

I can certainly see how this would be a polarizing book. It's most definitely very beautifully written from the settings to the food to the emotions and I do think that's a good reason to read it even if you may not necessarily agree with the decisions of the characters.