Enjoyed this book and the writing was incredible but something about the romance didn’t work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and the author for a chance to read this in exchange for a honest review.

I absolutely loved this book, it was so well written. The insight to the characters' thoughts and emotions were beautiful and attention grabbing. You felt almost intimate with the way the writing made you so close to the characters. The storytelling was gorgeous. I also liked how Emezi handled loss and grief. She really spoke to the audience with a familiarity and relatability that everyone has experienced at some point. I would definitely read more of her work and will recommend this to everyone.

3.5 rounded up.

I’m not a big romance girlie and especially not spicy romances so this wasn’t just something I was set up to love but I wanted to give it a shot.

I did really enjoy the exploration of grief and the detailed food descriptions.

Thanks, NetGalley and Artia Books, for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of "You Made a Fool of Your Beauty" by Akwaeke Emezi. Unfortunately, this book was not for me as it was very challenging to get past the language and inappropriate sexual hookups/relationships.

I loved this book so much. It’s different and a bit unconventional, but such a beautiful story in a beautiful setting! I really enjoyed it and am so glad I went into it now knowing much about it. Thank you for the opportunity to read!

I don’t know that I have much more to say other than, this book is beautiful. It’s beautiful when it’s messy, it’s beautiful when it’s sweet, it’s beautiful when it hurts. I just absolutely adored every second of it.

torn on how I feel about this ((kind of(?) spoilers ahead))

I think the author's writing and sense of narrative voice was beautiful and I can tell why they are so recognized for their previous work because it's just stunning. however, I am at a crossroads. the English major/critical analysis part of me really respects what the story was trying to do here, to portray loss and grief alongside hope and personal change, and to create a sensual and romantic love story that is purely unconventional at its core. I really liked seeing how feyi grew emotionally throughout this and seeing how, although still bound to her sadness, there was that desire for life and passion that was found in alim. however, the emotional part of me, or at least my physical gut response is this sense of discomfort and 'ickiness' so to speak about their relationship. a part of me thinks that was the point because both of them found themselves drawn to one another based on their shared experiences with trauma and loss and their responses to it going forward, and feeling that they are the only ones who can understand one another in those ways. but in the same breath, I think the conventional part of me that has been taught that this type of relationship is odd or taboo is making a large impact on how I viewed the romance/relationship in this. i know this isn't necessarily a romance novel just because it has romance in it but being it is a large part of feyi's personal journey, I'm finding it hard to separate these elements in my mind to make me feel comfortable about the whole thing. but maybe that's the point?? I don't know. I definitely enjoyed this reading experience but i also don't know that i truly liked this book.

Feyi has dealt with the grief of losing her husband, at such a young age, for the past five years. The book opens with her meeting Milan, having a steamy, sexy time, and moving on to this friend, Nasir. As her "friendship" begins to bloom with Nasir, he makes connections for her work to be included in an exhibit on his home island (never formally named). Then, there's Joy, Feyi's friend, and confidante who helps her navigate how quickly her (Feyi's) love life becomes.

However, Feyi annoyed me. I recognize questioning her new, blooming relationship, but her behavior was irrational. (Maybe that's the point... grief can make you irrational.) She questioned everything and found strength in the moments that I expected her to cower. Joy, also, does not always serve as a voice of reason (even though she believes herself to be). Overall, I enjoyed the storylines. I cannot say that this story was predictable.

Let me start by saying this is not the typical romance novel. This book is about overcoming tragedy, dealing with grief, and reawakening to oneself.

If you go into this one thinking it is a romance, you’ll miss the Forrest for the trees.

This book is a journey about one woman overcoming tragedy in her life, and does she do it in a clean and tidy way? No, but it is a worthwhile read about overcoming and healing,

The plot was so fun and messy! I don't usually read books from the "romance" genre so, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I do recommend this one if you're looking for a quick read.

Feyi is learning how to live and love again. After the untimely death of her husband, she has spent 5 years avoiding life, but it is time for her to get back in the swing of things. When her roommate takes her to a rooftop party she lets herself live again and ends up back in the swing of dating. When she finds herself in what appears to be a dream scenario, flying off to a tropical island, having the dream chance to showcase her art, and a budding relationship, everything seems to be going well. Until she arrives on the island to meet the one person who is completely off-limits. This story has good intentions, but it just didn't fit well with me. I wasn't a fan of the overuse of explicit language and sex scenes. I understand that was part of the story, but it just wasn't my thing. 3 stars. Thank you , NetGalley for the eARC.

This book wasn’t for me. While I could empathize with Feyi being a widow and hesitant to jump back into dating, the constant reminder of her beauty and every guy she encountered was a bit over done. I couldn’t connect to the characters or their plight.

Really enjoyed this one -a story that'd be hard to forget. Different than your average romance - not predicable or cheesy, and heavy themes around grief/losing a partner. Not too steamy, but some!

I loved this book, and way the author took her time describing Feyi’s life experience, her loss, and growth, and ultimate willingness to let in the love of a wonderful man. This book was very different from her first book, The Death of Vivek Oji, and yet very similar, in the way Ms. Emezi writes, and takes her time to delve into her characters lives and feelings, and allows the readers to get to know them deeply. I wrote my r3view in Goodreads, and Instagram, and tried to put the review up on Facebook, which didn’t take. I am so glad for the opportunity to read this book, for my honest review.

5 stars! Thank you Netgalley for the arc. Akwaeke Emezi is an all time favorite author and this one did not disappoint. This was definitely hard hitting contemporary with a side of romance. I cried and laughed out loud. Excellent.

It’s very late, but I want to thank NetGalley and Atria Books for the early digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I think Akwaeke Emezi is becoming auto-read author for me. They really know how to write a binge-worthy, character-driven novel. I don’t find that often, and if you’re looking for an author like that, then look no further.

I read The Death of Vivek Oji last year and sobbed for ten minutes. Such a heartbreaking novel with an ending I’ll never forget. If you’re going into this book with the same expectations, STOP. It’s quite literally the opposite. This one is funny, steamy, and so easy to read. Emezi also comes through with the LGBTQIA+ representation, which i will always appreciate. I think if you read Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas, and enjoyed the taboo vibes, then you’ll probably get some enjoyment out of this one.

The only reason I dropped the rating down to four stars is because it didn’t quite hit me as hard as Vivek Oji, but I loved it nonetheless. If I gave half-star ratings, this would most definitely be a 4.5.

I chuckled so many times while reading this because the characters are hilarious. There’s so much personality that flies off the page. I don’t often laugh while reading a book. Humor isn’t often executed well in novels.

I loved Feyi from start to finish. Such a strong woman going through some hardships. She lost her true love in an accident, and she’s trying to begin her life again. Summer is the best time to do so, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy journey. She meets a father/son duo that take her to a tropical island where she is asked to finally get her art career off the ground.

There’s a lot that happens on this island, but it wouldn’t be as interesting if Joy, Feyi’s best friend, didn’t exist. Joy is probably the funniest character in the book. Joy is always giving Feyi advice, and always accepts her decisions even if she doesn’t agree with her. I just enjoyed the friendship they have because it’s so raw and real.

I think if you’re looking for an easy read that will make you laugh, this might be it. I highly recommend it if you can handle some steam. Can’t wait for Emezi’s next book!

You Made A Fool of Death with Your Beauty is not only an amazing Florence and the Machine quote. It is a fantastic new book from Akwaeke Emezi. Fans of The Vanishing Half, Seven Days in June, and Black Cake will love this story about grief and finding love in an unlikely place.

Feyi lost her husband five years before the book begins. We watch her get back in the dating game, but she is hesitant to get into something serious with a new man, Nasir. They pursue a friendship, and Nasir takes her home to his tropical island to meet his family. There, Feyi accidentally falls for the one person she shouldn’t.

This is a beautifully written book about art, grief, and what it means to be alive. There is also a great female friendship and bisexual representation. Highly recommend.

CW: grief, death of a spouse

This was a fast paced and thoughtful novel exploring grief, desire, friendship, and love. This book is different than typical romance books I've read. Wonderfully messy and chaotic, the reader follows Feyi navigating new and unconventional relationships for the first time since the devastating death of her husband in a car crash five years earlier. Feyi's actions stressed me out, and I would have liked to see a bit more development of the characters and their relationships to one another, but I was still eager to see how things would play out. The writing was beautiful.

Thank you to Atria Books and #NetGalley for a copy of the book.

It’s been two days since I finished You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty and I am still reeling. There is no universe where this book doesn’t get ALL THE STARS from me.

In a nutshell, this book is about a widow, Feyi, who is starting to consider putting herself back out there in the dating world 5 years after her husband passed. Feyi was navigating this all with her best friend, Joy by her side and every conversation with Joy had me cracking up. Of course, Joy has her own demons she’s battling too and I loved watching how intentionally Feyi reacted to that.

This book starts off in a sex scene and I was like “umm whoa what did I just pick up?” and I was a little worried the whole thing would be a steam fest. It definitely was not. It was absolutely a beautiful, raw exploration of grief and trauma and opening ourselves back up again…but it never felt heavy. It felt intense for sure.

The crazy part is I didn’t even love every part of this book. In fact, there were some part that I strongly disliked and were super weird and I disagreed with but I still couldn’t put it down, I still could understand, I still couldn’t stop highlighting, I still cried my eyes out. I think overall I loved it MORE because it was still able to pull me in despite parts of the plot making me want to pull away. It was probably some sort of literary sorcery.

I love this book so much. It’s so good. If it’s not on your radar, I hope it is now because it is well worth the read.

After loving The Death of Vivek Oji, this book was such a letdown. The first third was so boring that it could never fully recover once it started to pick up.