You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty: A Novel
A Good Morning America Buzz Pick, a Best Romance of 2022 by The New York Times and The Washington Post, and a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by Oprah Daily, Vulture, Harper's Bazaar, Thrillist, Essence, Good Housekeeping, Glamour, Marie Claire, Parade, Bustle, BuzzFeed, Refinery29, Business Insider, The Guardian, Financial Times, PopSugar, Book Riot, LitHub, Bookish, LGBTQ Reads, and more! "A deeply heartfelt romance novel." --Marie Claire "An unabashed ode to living with, and despite, pain and mortality." --The New York Times Book Review A New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and "one of our greatest living writers" (Shondaland) reimagines the love story in this fresh and seductive novel about a young woman seeking joy while healing from loss. Feyi Adekola wants to learn how to be alive again. It's been five years since the accident that killed the love of her life and she's almost a new person now--an artist with her own studio and sharing a brownstone apartment with her ride-or-die best friend, Joy, who insists it's time for Feyi to ease back into the dating scene. 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 overwhelming desire Feyi feels every time she locks eyes with the one person in the house who is most definitely off-limits--his father. This new life she asked for just got a lot more complicated, and Feyi must begin her search for real answers. Who is she ready to become? Can she release her past and honor her grief while still embracing her future? And, of course, there's the biggest question of all--how far is she willing to go for a second chance at love? Akwaeke Emezi's vivid and passionate writing takes us deep into a world of possibility and healing, and the constant bravery of choosing love against all odds.
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Community Reviews
This was a beautiful book. The way the characters relationships with love was so intense made me not want to put the book down at times. The story development does fizzle out towards the end of the book. However I did enjoyed the ending and definitely wanted more from this book. Overall I enjoyed it.
Storyline is underwhelming. I expected a bit more reckless behavior from the main character. I did enjoy the authors writing style.
I crave stability and safety in my life, but when reading for pleasure, sometimes, like Marie Kondo, I love mess. If you enjoy it too, You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty might be a great read.
Akwaeke Emezi’s novel is thought-provoking and sensual. Their bisexual protagonist, Feyi Adekola, is an artist in her late twenties whose husband, Jonah, died in a car accident in which they were both involved. Feyi is struggling with survivor’s guilt and is trying to figure out how to truly live again alongside her best friend and roommate, Joy, in New York City. Joy is a lesbian who frequently is involved with women who are married to men.
Feyi decides it is time to have sex for the first time since Jonah’s death by having sex with Milan whom she meets at a house party. (I did mention mess, didn’t I?) Milan and Feyi stay in touch, and while their casual sexual relationship cools off, they remain friendly. Milan introduces her to his friend, Nasir, who is clearly smitten with Feyi. She enjoys his company, but she is not as romantically interested in him as he is with her. She does share her artwork, which is extremely personal and revolves around the grief and trauma that she has experienced. Nasir shares his grief stemming from the death of his mother.
After seeing some of Feyi’s work, Nasir tells Feyi that his father is a wealthy art collector and has connections with Rebecca Owo, the curator of the National Museum on his island home. (The specific country is not named.) One of the artists slated to participate in an exhibit has canceled, and there is an opening. Nasir’s father was able to obtain that slot for Feyi. Nasir plans to return to his home country anyway and invites Feyi to join him there.
Feyi has concerns about maintaining a “just friends” relationship with Nasir. They have known each other for only a few weeks, but Feyi accepts his generosity to go to the island for the exhibit while staying at Nasir’s father’s estate.
The messiness intensifies exponentially when Nasir and Feyi arrive in the Caribbean. Alim Blake, Nasir’s father, meets them at the airport. Feyi is immediately drawn to Alim, a renowned celebrity chef, and the two begin spending time together in the kitchen and around the grounds of Alim’s massive, peaceful island estate. They connect through their love of art and food and through the grief that they have each endured. This connection occurs in spite of the age difference, awkwardness, and questionable morality of a love triangle involving a father and son.
Romance novels are not my go-to genre and some people dispute that this is a romance. Akwaeke Emezi says that it is, so I will defer to them. In any event, a love story is central to the plot. However, there is a bit of a build to get to that point. We had to get through Feyi and Milan, then Feyi and Nasir, before getting to the love story with Alim.
Many characters are a part of the LGBTQIA community, including Alim, who had a same-sex lover in the past. Given the unusual circumstances of Alim and Feyi’s relationship, I am conflicted about the bisexual representation of Feyi and Alim. Do we need two quasi-problematic bisexuals in a relationship with each other? Ultimately, I found it refreshing to see Feyi who is learning to live her life again, choose to be happy and to put her happiness first. That to me is the more significant take away from You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty. The raw sex scenes in this book may be challenging for some people to read. Feyi is a complicated character, and I enjoyed seeing her find pleasure and love after dealing with the grief and despair that has enveloped her life. I liked the friendship that Feyi and Joy have and almost hope that there is a spin-off or sequel featuring Joy.
I strongly recommend You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty. This was my first Akwaeke Emezi novel, and I look forward to reading their other work. I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Akwaeke Emezi’s novel is thought-provoking and sensual. Their bisexual protagonist, Feyi Adekola, is an artist in her late twenties whose husband, Jonah, died in a car accident in which they were both involved. Feyi is struggling with survivor’s guilt and is trying to figure out how to truly live again alongside her best friend and roommate, Joy, in New York City. Joy is a lesbian who frequently is involved with women who are married to men.
Feyi decides it is time to have sex for the first time since Jonah’s death by having sex with Milan whom she meets at a house party. (I did mention mess, didn’t I?) Milan and Feyi stay in touch, and while their casual sexual relationship cools off, they remain friendly. Milan introduces her to his friend, Nasir, who is clearly smitten with Feyi. She enjoys his company, but she is not as romantically interested in him as he is with her. She does share her artwork, which is extremely personal and revolves around the grief and trauma that she has experienced. Nasir shares his grief stemming from the death of his mother.
After seeing some of Feyi’s work, Nasir tells Feyi that his father is a wealthy art collector and has connections with Rebecca Owo, the curator of the National Museum on his island home. (The specific country is not named.) One of the artists slated to participate in an exhibit has canceled, and there is an opening. Nasir’s father was able to obtain that slot for Feyi. Nasir plans to return to his home country anyway and invites Feyi to join him there.
Feyi has concerns about maintaining a “just friends” relationship with Nasir. They have known each other for only a few weeks, but Feyi accepts his generosity to go to the island for the exhibit while staying at Nasir’s father’s estate.
The messiness intensifies exponentially when Nasir and Feyi arrive in the Caribbean. Alim Blake, Nasir’s father, meets them at the airport. Feyi is immediately drawn to Alim, a renowned celebrity chef, and the two begin spending time together in the kitchen and around the grounds of Alim’s massive, peaceful island estate. They connect through their love of art and food and through the grief that they have each endured. This connection occurs in spite of the age difference, awkwardness, and questionable morality of a love triangle involving a father and son.
Romance novels are not my go-to genre and some people dispute that this is a romance. Akwaeke Emezi says that it is, so I will defer to them. In any event, a love story is central to the plot. However, there is a bit of a build to get to that point. We had to get through Feyi and Milan, then Feyi and Nasir, before getting to the love story with Alim.
Many characters are a part of the LGBTQIA community, including Alim, who had a same-sex lover in the past. Given the unusual circumstances of Alim and Feyi’s relationship, I am conflicted about the bisexual representation of Feyi and Alim. Do we need two quasi-problematic bisexuals in a relationship with each other? Ultimately, I found it refreshing to see Feyi who is learning to live her life again, choose to be happy and to put her happiness first. That to me is the more significant take away from You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty. The raw sex scenes in this book may be challenging for some people to read. Feyi is a complicated character, and I enjoyed seeing her find pleasure and love after dealing with the grief and despair that has enveloped her life. I liked the friendship that Feyi and Joy have and almost hope that there is a spin-off or sequel featuring Joy.
I strongly recommend You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty. This was my first Akwaeke Emezi novel, and I look forward to reading their other work. I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
I enjoyed how the book was written & the visuals it gave me. But I didn’t really like the story, and hated the ending.
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