4.25 rounded down. I don't normally read romance, but I made an exception when I saw that Akwaeke Emezi was releasing a new book.

What I loved:
- The beginning scene! 🥵🌶 I started it on the train on my commute and ahem - I hope no one was reading over my shoulder!
- The writing style. I had already fallen in love with it when I read The Death of Vivek Oji and Emezi did not disappoint, even though it was a completely different genre to what I'm used to.
- The dialogues between Feyi (the MC) and Joy. It was fun and authentic and a beautiful friendship. Reminded me of the series Insecure.
- All the descriptions of food made me drool. Almost made me miss my non-vegan days!
- This was a "visually-rich" book: all the descriptions of nature, architecture, art, clothes, faces, hair (and bodies 🤩) were so vivid, I could close my eyes and picture it.
- The representation of skin colours (especially Black love 🤎🖤 but also a fab Asian female character) and sexualities. Not just straight and gay, but the spectrum 💖💜💙

What I found not as good:
- Some characters were not fully fleshed out. I wanted to find out more about Joy and her life. Same with Feyi's first love, whom we find out very little about.
- Some of the internal dialogue was a bit repetitive/cliché - the word "alive" may have been overused. That said, it was probably intentional, given the character's traumatic past...
- Overall the plot is simple and the second half of the book did not captivate me as much as the first - BUT it may be exactly what you want if you like romance 💗

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @faberbooks for providing me with an ARC.

Feyi is about to escape the life of grey misery she's been existing in for some time since the loss of her husband and is embarking on a dream holiday to bask in the sun ... and maybe, bask in the attention of someone she really shouldn't.

This fever dream of a novel was searing - it was seductive, steamy, sexy and so, so vivid. The entire novel felt vivid and full of life - jumping between the brightness and hope of new romance and new beginnings, and the dark void of grief and loss.

A steamy age gap romance with a ton of heart!

This new novel by the author of The death of Vivek Oji is a beautiful story of one young bisexual, Nigerian American widow's journey healing from the grief over her dead husband and the hot summer adventure she has on a tropical island falling for the much older celebrity father of the man she's currently dating.

Feyi is an easy character to root for. Crippled with her grief she hasn't been able to move on since the tragic death of her husband. A random meeting at a rooftop party helps to wake her up and she follows new boyfriend Nasir to his home. Once there she can't help falling for his father and also gets commissioned to do a new art piece, which helps relaunch her career as an artist. Perfect for fans of Jane Igharo or Tia Williams. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy!

A fresh and seductive romance about a young woman healing and falling in love. I highly recommend this if you want a spicy beach read.

A deft and emotionally deep take on mature romance, You Made a Fool is a novel that is at times, messy and angry and grieving and hopeful and sexual and full of life. Emezi's writing indicates the strong voice behind the story and seeing this exploration of healing after tremendous grief and loving after loss is a fresh and interesting take on traditional romantic literature, marking Emezi as one to watch.

This is the first book by Akwaeke Emezi that I have read and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t know much about the story before staring the book and was drawn in from the start.

This is a romance novel with grit focussing on grief, guilt, forbidden romance and second chances. I was hooked and frustrated at the same time and would recommend.

You Made a Fool Of Death With Your Beauty is Feyi's journey to loving again after losing her husband 5 years prior. I have mixed feelings about this romance story, and while I liked it I didn't love it, and in this instance I think its partly because I don't think I was really in the mood to read romance when I picked this up.

much of this book takes place on an island holiday, with plenty of descriptions of food and the setting which I didn't personally enjoy, but i can see others would. Grief and trauma are key themes of this book, so I felt a little disappointed that i didn't feel the emotional intensity that one might expect from a book like this. What I did really like was Feyi's character who felt very real and fleshed out. I also loved the friendship between Feyi and Joy, but I think I would've liked even more involvement from Joy in this story.

The romance initially felt a little insta-love which isn't my favourite, but Emezi really backed this up with a slow and effective build up of tension and intimacy between Feyi and the love interest that redeemed this aspect, and really convinced me to want the couple to overcome the challenges of being together. The conflict that develops towards the end played out with quite a bit of drama which I really liked. another thing I loved was the high emotional intelligence of the two love interests, who communicated openly and honestly. Any possible miscommunications were dealt with swiftly and maturely, befitting the ages and experiences of the love interests. The ending felt a bit abrupt, but i can also appreciate how it was left open.

I can say I enjoyed this, although at another time i could've enjoyed it more. I can definitely recommend this romance if you're looking for a slow burn romance with forbidden love elements and just a hint of spice.

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty follows Feyi Adekola as she learns to love again.

This book looks at love and grief. This type of romance would not be for me normally but I found Akwaeke Emezi really got me on board with it. I will not give any spoilers here as this book really did not go where I thought it would. I found the exploration of grief and learning to love again very interesting. The characters in this book are messy. I really enjoyed Feyi's relationship with her best friend. I really appreciate seeing supportive female friendships in fiction.

I loved the writing and the sense of place that it gives, a good summer read to get through in a few sittings with some serious emotional undercurrents that are somehow discussed in an almost uplifting way. However I couldn't relate to any of the characters and Alim made my skin crawl at times (the mango moment) but I would love a spin off from Joy. Also the cover is gorgeous. It's a fun sexy forbidden romance but just be prepared to be cringing occasionally!

A messy chaos filled romance that delves into the intricate and fragile emotions surrounding loss, and the vulnerabitlity that comes with opening yourself up to new people. This novel explores Feyi's journey through grief, pain, forbidden love and deep connection.

This book is beautifully written and the complexities of love and loss are nicely unwrapped by Emezi. I was captured more by the language than the character development however, and the romance was not one I could dive into. It felt clunky and somewhat forced, and the relationship itself was not one I felt particularly interested in.

Five years after losing her husband in a horrific accident, Feyi is ready to dip her toes into the world of dating again. An artist, a loving friend and a woman not yet in her thirties, Feyi has had a lot to contend with, and so this novel is a character study as well as a romance, and we get to know Feyi really well as the story unfolds, in all her complexity and messiness. She is fascinating, a chameleon woman with a different skin for every situation - over the course of the book, we learn more about her, and she is an absolute triumph.

What a joyfully messy book this is - something the author has specifically said she wanted to do, to portray to profound messiness of being alive. Emezi absolutely nails it - Fool of Death had me gasping with horror one moment, tearing up with joy the next. The central love story is a deeply emotional one, and feels whole and complex, centring Blackness, queerness, and again that joy of being alive and grabbing life with both hands.
Also - delightfully, for a romance, this one kept me in suspense! I hadn't read the blurb before reading - as I just heard "Akwaeke Emezi" and "rom-com" and knew I was in - but I had absolutely no clue about where t his was going and so was pleasantly hooked on the story. The plot is never overly knotty but it's dramatic - to say the least - and kept me on the edge of my seat. Trusting Emezi as an author is key here, but they will take you on a wondereful journey.

It's not just Feyi who comes alive in this story; the secondary characters are fantastically rendered too, especially Joy, Feyi's best friend and roommate. Joy is a lesbian and she is treated with tenderness and love by the author - I would absolutely read a Joy spin off! The men are treated with care and kindness too, and I fell for every man Feyi did - though I am not sure I would have taken the same roads as she.

A swoony love story tempered by the heartache of grief, one that shows the reader the ability of grief and joy to co-exist. I can't say enough good things about this one.

Really enjoyed this - the pure chaos and summer vibes mixed with Emezi’s dark and spiritual side worked so well.

A fun and sexy read, with more serious and well written themes as well. I enjoyed entering Feyi’s world as she navigates new relationships after past loss and learns to find love again - though not in the places she most expected it!

You Made Me a Fool of Death With Your Beauty is an amazingly written story that is beautiful, suspenseful, dripping with adoration and lust, sad and happy and thrilling all at the same time.

You Made a Fool of Death crafts the feelings of grief and finding yourself amidst that so incredibly well. The theme of loss is throughout in the most obvious ways and some other ways too. Emezi has this incredible way of writing about grief that hits you right between the eyes and drops down to your gut.

Despite being a book that is quite gut-wrenching in places, You Made a Fool of Death was SPICY 🌶️ The level of detail in the intimate scenes are not for the faint hearted, but worked so well with the vibe of the overall story. Speaking of detail, Emezi's descriptions of the food that Feyi experience whilst on her work trip/vacation was one of my favourite moments. Everything felt so decadent and true to the culture, I was so jealous. I've never read a book who's detail made me both hungry and thirsty if you catch my drift...

Aside from the Nando's-rated Extra Hot vibes, You Made Me a Fool of Death is also a story of bravery, facing your fears and not letting your grief and sadness take over every aspect of your life. I loved how empowered Feyi was, by her art, by her life in Brooklyn and by her friend, Joy. Their friendship was one of my favourites in any book I've read, and it's truly a wonderful thing to read.
I felt inspired by this book in a number of ways because of that idea of jumping into something that feels right even if it terrifies you. I think we could all learn from Feyi in this respect.

I've not read anything by Akwaeke Emezi before but I'm very much looking forward to discovering the rest of their work. A truly amazing book, and one of my favourites this year so far - and even better? It's being made into a film, developed by Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society 🤩

First of all, the cover for this is so gorgeous, which you unfortunately can’t see as this is an ebook arc from Netgalley 😔

Feyi hasn’t experienced happiness, or even a semblance of being human, since her husband and the love of her life died. The world felt possible when she was with him, and now in his absence, everything feels impossible. But one day, after her best friend Joy pushes her to at least try and experience happiness again, she sleeps with a man at a party, which sets off a (very chaotic) chain of events.

Okay so. SO. There is one big thing that I really disliked and to be quite honest with you, I don’t understand why Emezi has done this (both to me and the book). The language was super cringey at times. I mean, I don’t know if this is how Black Americans speak but it seems really outdated. Phrases such as “what’s good” and “word.” are words that I associate with the early 2000s. This element seemed very try hard and I don’t get why Emezi has tried to do this because it really doesn’t feel necessary? Why are they forcing this lingo? Anyway, that is just me and is the only thing I didn’t like about the book.

Everything else was 🤌🏽 so beautiful. In how Feyi’s grief is portrayed, her approach to life, her slow fall into the possibility of loving again, and the way that the love interest was so unconventional. Of course it shouldn’t be unconventional but to have a main character so blatantly desired in such a way was wonderful. He was Black. He presented in a more feminine manner. And he was hot as fuck. He can deffo be my daddy 😊

I really would strongly urge to preorder this book, and read it, and cry yourself to sleep because it is both so happy and so sad.

After loving the author's other work, I was interested so see how they write romance but unfortunately it hasn't swayed me to the genre.

Whilst the writing was beautiful at times, I found the characters very two dimensional and I didn't feel invested in the main character Feyi. I loved the cultural references and the best friend Joy but it wasn't the right fit for me as a story.

Talk about beauty. Emezi's writing is beautiful. The way they write the characters, the story, the way they allow you to visualise everything in your mind's eye; simply beautiful. Now I have to say, I'm not usually one for a forbidden love trope, but the way Emezi constructed this story and wrote it so exquisitely made me love it. Feyi is a wonderfully flawed woman and her exploration of three (/four if you count her best friend) different relationships takes her on a journey of learning, growing, grieving, understanding, hurting, loving. I love the representation in this book and the celebration of Blackness and queerness, and not in a performative way, but in a genuine way, as the author themselves is Black and queer. I also loved the strangeness but the depth of Feyi's art and what it portrayed and how it helped her to process things. I didn't always like all the characters, or all their actions, but if I had liked them all and agreed with all their actions, then how realistic a representation of life would it be? So that messiness and rawness made me love the book even more. Overall, this book is a great mixture of both plot and character development and for me a book that balances those both so delicately is *chef's kiss*.

Thank you to Faber and Faber for providing me an ARC
Let me start by noting that the cover of this book and the title being a reference to Florence & The Machine was a big reason as to why I wanted to read Emezi's work

Currently in my romance phase, this was the ideal time for me to read ‘You Made a Fool of Expecting Death with Your Beauty’. Whilst I do love a good book that makes me feel everything and ends with me being a complete wreck, I was expecting this to be a lighthearted romance. Feyi’s character comes across very messy and chaotic, she makes decisions that I find make it difficult for me to ‘root’ for her, but I like to think it’s all part of her healing process – atleast that’s the closure I give myself. The story explored issues of loss, love and friendship in its own beautiful manner, but it fell short for me. It was okay..it just was a little too slow burn for me and I found at times it was very repetitive and the ending was rushed leaving me feeling ???

I don’t know who designed the cover but it is stunning. I’d purchase a copy of this book for the cover alone, but luckily, the novel is just as impressive! Whilst I wouldn’t necessarily call this a romance as it seems to be labelled, it definitely did tackle relationships and love within a narrative filled with grief, loneliness, self-identity and acceptance. Feyi’s narrative is full of vulnerability and strength as she rediscovers herself, her passion and confidence, after the loss of her husband Jonah. Five years after Jonah’s accident, we’re introduced to Feyi who is rebuilding her life and is ready to start exploring sexual and emotional relationships beyond her best friend Joy. Don’t think I’m not still cursing the cliffhanger with Joy at the end!

It was really absorbing to watch Feyi’s journey through this book, her art and career, her independence and passion, and the different relationships she had - each providing Feyi with something different. It was complex and chaotic and Feyi’s own insecurities and anxiety were brought to the forefront and shown with such care by Emezi. Feyi was shown to question her negative thoughts to better understand herself and rewrite her instinctive thoughts, and she identified when therapy would be a benefit to her and to her relationship with Alim and this was such a valuable element of this book which isn’t an approach I see often to mental health and trauma in fiction. This was such a gorgeous book, inside and out!

We meet Feyi having an anonymous hook-up at a party in New York, and she does at one point think of the car crash that killed her husband five years ago, but it’s not some kind of “Crash” mash-up of sex and death or anything. It is fairly explicit but that works in the context of New York artists and party-goers. She soon moves away from the friends-with-benefits gig with this guy and on to another person from his friendship group. Then her life changes when she’s offered an opportunity to exhibit her art in a big show in the Caribbean, goes there with Second Guy, determined to be her friend and not rush her, and meets his dad. Oops.

So yes, Feyi does sort of hop from man to man but she’s given morals and decentness and panic about falling for someone’s dad when she’s already messed around. The book is full of this angst and it is a bit millennial in that respect, but there’s also a lot of aspirational architecture and food, which is completely fair enough; who doesn’t want to read occasionally about high-end interior decor and amazing birds? The landscape is described beautifully and the supporting cast of characters from the art world are nicely and richly done.

The book is also diverse both in terms of the orientations of the characters and in terms of the different kinds of love portrayed. Although Feyi has had a sexual encounter with best friend Joy at one point, they’re loving friends now, sharing an apartment and all the details of their lives; Joy is a great conscience and counterpoint to Feyi and their video chats are hilarious, but their friendship is highly important. It’s made very, very clear that Feyi doesn’t need a particular man (or by implication woman) in her life; she has, and is, enough.

Feyi is ambitious about her art, owns it and takes commissions on her own terms and the thing she really sticks up for when things get tough is her art, not her relationship; I loved this about the book. Her art is big and raw and about grief and hurt; it’s installation art rather than paintings and it uses unconventional media. It’s refreshing to have her discuss her art with a female curator and a female collector, both also with diverse Caribbean heritages, as well.

My full blog review: https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2022/05/18/book-review-akwaeke-emezi-you-made-a-fool-of-death-with-your-beauty/