Akwaeke Emezi managed to do the forbidden romance trope in a way that actually made me clutch my pearls!

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty allows you into the mind of Feyi as she opens herself to love after the death of her husband at a young age. We also get to explore her art and relationship with her best friend. And there's a lot of bougie fun stuff like Michelin star food and luxury homes.

Akwaeke flips the script on us a few times, what you think is going to be fast paced romance turns into slow burn, who you think is the romantic interest is swept away.

My favorite part of the book though is Feyi and her best friend joy. They made me laugh so much. And if I have a complaint it's that there was not more Joy in this book.

Side note is I'm really excited for the movie of this as well! I think it's going to look stunning on the screen.

Oh boy. I’m not exactly sure how to unpack all of this… I read The Death of Vivek Oji when it first came out and I LOVED IT! I know there were some parts of it that were not for everyone (cousin love) but I felt like there was so much depth and emotions it really meant something to me. I was so excited when I saw they were publishing multiple books this year. I started their memoir, but stopped when I got an ARC for their newest novel. I understood this was a different genre (romance vs contemporary fiction) and went in blind. The prose started so good. The characters, the layers of the story, the pain in the grief. Then things started to get a little weird when Feyi and Nasir went to the island. SPOILERS AHEAD. I thought it was odd that the second Feyi saw Alim, aka Nasir’s father, she was immediately obsessed with him. I guess we are supposed to believe that the two widow’s share a red string and right way they could feel it? I started to get annoyed with Nasir because I felt like he was always saying the right thing and was such a “good guy” but really never got to know her or tried to understand her boundaries. When things switch between Feyi and Alim, I felt like the writing got a little cheesy. It was just so over the top and hard for me to believe how they were acting and talking. I found Alim so annoying after a while..like he’s just sooo handsome and such a good cook and always says the most incredible thing, and those hands! Then Nasir coming in so angrily, but after a few days he’s like “awwh you’re in love!” The ending was way to over the top cheesy. The “I love yous” and “we should get married” was just a little too much for me…

This was just not for me. Not a huge fan of smut/romance and did not connect with or like the main character.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59232998

Amazing. I loved it. Let Black thems be problematic. What a romp. I want 100 more romance novels from Emezi. Devoted it in one night & don’t regret the sleep debt.

I have loved everything Akwaeke Emezi has ever written, and genuinely consider them to be one of my all-time favorite authors. I was incredibly excited for this book, so much so that I nearly fell out of my own bed when I saw that I was approved an E-Arc through NetGalley. This book, I'm so happy to say, did NOT disappoint. Like with all of Emezi's work, their writing is so precise and gorgeous, and I highlighted so so many lines in this book that I cannot wait to go back and reflect on them all. Even with the incredibly vivid writing and the settings that reflected right off of the page, the characters were (as usual) what made this story for me. JOY! I am obsessed with her, would have LOVED to see more of her in this, and would actually die if I got to read a story narrated from her perspective. She was so full of light and love and the banter she had with Feyi? I actually died laughing at most of her lines. And FEYI! Girl was messy as hell, but she knew her worth, and she knew herself and reading from her perspective was one of the most incredible gifts, I would absolutely want to be her friend in real life. And the love interests, they were so well rounded as well! Overall, I could not have asked for more with this book and am so happy it managed to deliver on literally every part of my expectations, plus more.

I wonder if Akwaeke Emezi has set themselves a mission to write a book in every genre possible. They've done a YA book and a middle grade one, I believe, a mystery, a memoir, a magical realism novel that we read in my science fiction book club. They are good at what they do in any genre so far IMO.

This is their romance novel. It opens with a hookup in a bathroom as Feyi, the main character, dares herself to get back into the action five years after the death of her husband.

It feels to me like this book is also a response to "How Stella Got her Groove Back", because Feyi is seeking basically the same thing. She's trying to emerge from her grief, elevate her work as an artist, and try out romantic relationships to see if she can do them yet. One thing I like about Feyi is that she listens to herself. If she decides that she needs to go slow, she'll do that. If she just wants a good lay, she'll see about that too. Feyi is almost too good to be true, but I guess a lot of romance heroines are.

This is a very sensual book. Colors almost explode off the page. Delectable food abounds. I'm a visual person and I enjoyed reading about how Feyi chose to color her braids, how amazing her clothes looked on her. Romance is a lot about living vicariously through your main character and the author clearly understands this and gives the reader a wonderful escape. Everyone is wealthy and/or talented. We visit the hip new restaurants of NYC and also escape to a dreamlike tropical island. Feyi herself notes how the island setting feels like a dream. There is lush greenery, butterflies and rainbows, an architecture porn masterpiece of a house in which she stays. This does Stella one better, because while Stella stayed at a resort with some of the class consciousness and conflict that comes with tourism, Feyi has an in with people who live on the island. This circumvents the awkward stuff about a wealthy American woman who is attracted to a lovely islander who works for her.

And of course there's a love triangle and misunderstandings. The author wisely does not let the suspense build for too horribly long. I think some people are going to have an issue with how the romance of this book works. For myself, I think that the author tried hard to show an irresistible attraction. The characters also discuss their choices and try to be responsible to others as much as they can while still following their hearts. For me, I was fine with escapism for this book and rolled with it.

So the author definitely understands the forms and how to use them. I wonder how they feel about the tropes that they are employing? When I think too hard about that, it feels almost manipulative. But maybe it's also that the author has been hitting a lot of heavy topics and wanted to write about joy for a change. I'm interested in whatever they decide to do next.

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

"𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒌𝒆. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒌𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒊𝒓."

I was excited to be invited to view this galley because I read Freshwater by this author and loved her unique writing style. Plus, can we admire the cover?? Beautiful!

This is Emezi's debut romance and I think it was well done. She has such a descriptive writing style so I don't think it will be for everyone, however, I enjoyed it.

Our MC, Feyi is severely broken. Five years ago she lost her husband in an accident that every so often haunts her in her dreams. She hasn't loved since then and soon finds she is tested in several different ways. This story is all about boundaries being stretched, shattered, and broken. Above all, she gets a second chance at rediscovery and healing.

The supporting characters had me laughing, the food described in this novel had me drooling! Sexuality is a huge part of this story. Again, keep in mind that this specific writing style makes the sexy scenes jump out from the pages. There are bisexual characters, there are straight characters, it's also an age-gap romance. It is messy, complicated, and unconventional. It was different, but I know that I will get different from this author.

Some of the negatives: I thought a small portion of the dialogue was repetitive in areas and there was a pet name that I could have done without (or less of) "sweetness" but I binged this novel and enjoyed it. If you're up for pushing your reading boundaries, consider this one! It's also under 300 pages.

Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for this eARC.

This novel is expected to publish on May 24, 2022.

Beautifully written aA heart wrenching book of loss the death of the one you love.Moving on trying to heal and love again.I read this in two sittings could not stop thinking about it a very talented author and emotional read.#netgalley #atria

This book had me hooked from the beginning, and I just couldn’t put it down. Not only it was brilliantly written but also the characters were so fun, entertaining and quite relatable.
A definite page-turner! You'll be left thinking about the story long after you put the book down.
First book to read by this author but definitely not my last!
Akwaeke Emezi, did a miraculous job with the storyline and writing.
YOU MADE A FOOL OF DEATH WITH YOUR BEAUTY will be one fiction novel that will have readers picking this book up and not wanting to put to down.

Atria,
Thank you for this eARC!

Rating: 2.5

I liked the main character's friend and Akwaeke Emezi's writing and I like the other books I've read by them, but this book just wasn't for me.

I have loved all the books I've read by Akwaeke Emezi and they have all been quite different from each other. When I saw that this was a romance, I was interested to see how that type of book would fit with the author's writing style.

As a short synopsis, this book is about Feyi, a young widow who is starting to date again five years after her husband's death. Feyi is bisexual; all of her main relationships in this story are with men. At the beginning of the book, she meets a guy and they have a connection, but she quickly realizes that she is more attracted to someone else and the story unfolds from there. It's important to note that grief and loss are themes present throughout the story.

As expected, I found the writing and pacing of this book really strong. I read this one quickly and it kept me interested throughout. However, this book was challenging for me because the relationship at the center of the story was hard to support and it was frustrating to watch the characters’ decisions. In my opinion, this is not necessarily a romance where you want the characters to get together, but I imagine people will disagree about that point, and in that way I think this is a really good book because it forces you to think critically about whether or not you agree with the characters.

This book evokes strong emotions and is definitely difficult to read at times, but I think that people who have an interest in romance books that discuss grief, books with main characters who make some bad decisions, or the author's other works will be fans of this one.

Thank you to Atria Books for this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm posting this review on Goodreads now and will update it on publication day along with an Instagram post dedicated to the book.

This one did not work for me. After one chapter I could not connect with the writing style at all. Might work for someone who is familiar with the author. It however was not for me.

It's not often that a book can make me internally scream through the entire thing in a GOOD way, but I was living for the drama. Like, I almost threw this book across the room several times because it made me MAD and then I had to keep on reading. Mostly, the prioirities of the characters are SO out of line, it was such a romp. I liked the unbelievability of the plot, which was balanced by the unlikeability of the characters (which is believable lol). The drama was soapy and there was minimal sex, which somehow HEIGHTENED the sexual tension. I was constantly surprised, GASPING, at the actions and choices of the characters, yet it all felt plausible. I was super entertained throughout. Feyi has some nerve to smash through relationships, leave a bunch of collateral, and never want to give the men what they want. I am on her team even if I would never be her friend IRL. I also thought the art piece concepts Emezi created for their character were brilliant, and I loved the small reference to their sister (who is a real life artist) in it!

This was such a beautiful, and occasionally heart-wrenching read about loss, and learning to live again. It went to so many different places that I wasn't expecting, and though not all of the characters were always likeable throughout, they always felt real, and I always felt for them. I especially loved the main character's friendships with Joy, and Milan.

Emezi’s debut Freshwater—the coming-of-age story of a child filled with evil spirits—racked up awards and honors left and right, including being longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. I was surprised that the author was trying their hand at romance in the forthcoming You Made A Fool of Death with Your Beauty and was, unsurprisingly, blown away by the results. I hate when a writer is described as “elevating” the genre, because that implies a deficiency in traditional romance novels. Instead, I’ll say that Emezi writes the heck out of protagonist Feyi’s journey through widowhood and back into love. The novel holds difficult emotions and descriptions of strangers having sex as equally important, and delivered one of the most memorable novels I’ve ever read.

I included this title in my round-up of winter and spring 2022 books for Book & Film Globe: https://bookandfilmglobe.com/fiction/seven-novels-to-read-in-2022/

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book is incredible. On one level, it's basic fiction, just a pretty straightforward narrative--which i love so much, so am not trying to be dismissive by saying that. But then added to that is Akwaeke Emezi's brilliance with dialogue and language, and a refusal to accept simplification and flattening of anything. I couldn't get into freshwater, and i liked the death of vivek oji but didn't love it, and i KNOW that both of those are probably because i like an easier, clearer storyline. This one was exactly what i dreamed of--but could never have dreamed of in such a perfect way. I really want to go back and listen to the audiobook of this once it's out.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

The first line in Akwaeke Emezi’s YOU MADE A FOOL OF DEATH WITH YOUR BEAUTY is attention grabbing and the feels you get from this book won’t let you go. Feyi Adekola is an artist who is experiencing grief stemming from a tragic car accident where her husband was fatally injured. She puts all her love and grief in the art she creates and after five years she is ready to live again. Encouraged by her best friend and roommate, Joy, Feyi starts to date again. Her first relationship starts with a sexual encounter at a party, but does not last because she couldn’t release the hold that grief and her committment to her deceased husband had on her.

She eventually meets Nasir Blake and their connection is stronger but Feyi want to take the relationship slow, starting as friends. As Nasir gets to know more about Feyi, he puts her in touch with individuals who are interested in her artwork, enough so that she is invited to show her work in an art show in a tropical paradise where Nasir was raised. Upon arrival, she is surprised to find that Nasir’s father is celebrity chef, Alim Blake. Also surprising is Feyi’s attraction and feelings for Alim, someone who should be off limits. It’s their shared grief and survivor’s remorse which draws them at first until they both contemplate if this can be their second chance at love.

This book is beautiful. The relationship between Feyi and Joy is reminiscent of Issa and Molly’s from Insecure. The chemistry between Feyi and Alim is infectious and although the circumstances are shady and somewhat taboo, I couldn’t help but root for them. This is my first book from Emezi but it will not be my last. Looking for others now.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.
I have to be honest, I didn't really know what to expect after reading the first chapter. I almost decided not to read because the language being used during conversations, were strong for me and not something I would say.
Once I got past that, I did enjoy the book. It was something different. Young man falls for beautiful woman., who is a widow, just getting back into the dating scene. The decide to take things slow, start off as friends. They go to meet his father, as friends, on a beautiful island. Something happens when they arrive, that wasn't expected.
This book is about loss, love, friendships and finding something where you least expect it. I give this book a 3.5 out of 5.

OOF! For a romance, this was super intense and stressful at times (warning: not much fluff to be found here) but also very good. I saw someone say only Emezi could have written this and I agree. Tough subject matter and a very messy and unconventional romance and masterful writing all around.