The romance of the year. Akwaeke Emezi is a breath of fresh air in this amazing and heartfelt romance.

When I say this was a romance book that ruined me!! Omg first of all Emezi knew what they were doing writing this book because one thing about me I love a messy Romance and especially getting to see a black woman being loved sent me over the edge. Me and Feyi are 4 lifers

This one is a hot pick and is topping the best seller lists - for good reason! Brilliant novel.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I love Love. I often forget because life and reality … but once in a while I read a book that captures the idea of love and the concept of falling in love and this does that for me.

This love is messy and scary and requires being vulnerable and open as fuck, which truly resonated with me. Taking that leap of faith and jumping in no matter the odds takes an act of courage that I can only dream about. I loved the way it was written. I love how the characters deal with their grief and the chaos resulting from their relationship. It all felt very real. I loved it. Not much else to say. 5 stars!

What a book!
One of the best books I've read this year. The character development, the spicy bits, the dialogue, all of it. Pure perfection.

I LOVED this electric book - from the punchy start through to the languid island vibes of the main section, the whole thing is raw, sexy, grown-up, contemporary. Brimming with vibrant energy, lush settings, an intelligent, authentic-feeling and never patronising or worthy take on several important topics - race, grief, sexuality. The humour and energy in the main character's internal dialogue and that with her best friend makes it feel like an easy romcom read but it's more than that - elevated by beauty and realness and unique, uncliched relationships.

I loved this book. The opening few chapters don't set you up for the type of book it's going to be - don't let the raunchy opening sex scene fool you into thinking it's going to be pure 50 shades style romance, this is so much more. It explores relationships in all their complexities - platonic and romantic - and what it's like to be young, free and trying to carve out your career whilst figuring out who you are and what you want. The added layer that explores grief in its various forms really adds to the plot and connects all of the characters in a clever way, without overpowering the story or feeling like it's a book about death. There's so much hope and beauty in this story - the writing is brilliant and kept me hooked all the way through. I'd love to see this as a movie!

Oh my days, this book was everything I thought it would be and then some! Anything romance related isn't usually a go to for me but this one caught my eye and it blew me away! The raw emotion. The descriptive language. The love. The spice! The hurt. The friendships. The romance. The setting. The humor. The sadness. The hope. I loved it all. I am in love with Emezi's writing. It was such an intense read at times but ultimately I found it to be a literary breath of fresh air.

I could go on and on gushing about this book. But I think I shall leave it at this. Go and read this book. Go now.

*Please look up any trigger warnings before reading*

This book is just *chefs kiss* literally ;)

Akwaeke Emezi has written a perfect romance book and you should all pick it up like yesterday.
So Feyi is trying to start dating again after she lost her husband in a car accident. and she ends up finding love in someone who has also lost their partner. I really thought finding love after grief was written well in this book. Another thing that was written well were the men! They knew how to communicate and I was frothing over it.
Would love to see a companion novel about Feyi's best friend, Joy.

Absolutely adored everything about this book and I can not wait to reread it!

Part hot summer romance, part exploration of love and loss, You Made A Fool of Death With Your Beauty is a stunning novel.

Feyi is only just about ready to consider physical intimacy, 5 years after losing her husband and childhood sweetheart Jonah in a car accident. After a few casual trysts, Feyi meets Nasir, someone she feels she could potentially feel emotionally intimate and close with.

Despite both agreeing to move at a glacially slow pace and remain just friends for now, Nasir invites her to his childhood home. There, she meets Nasir’s father Alim, and that is where things get complicated…

What begins as a sexy, scorching tale of an independent woman in a vibrant city like New York morphes into a story with substance and heart.

Desire and passion thrums through Feyi, both in her work and in her soul, but she has never allowed herself to feel close to anyone besides her best friend Joy since the loss of Jonah. Her artwork is both visceral and powerful, using blood as a medium to covey how the loss she experienced has shaped her.

The sparks fly when she meets Alim, and despite knowing that he is the father of someone she is ‘almost’ dating, it doesn’t prevent their chemistry almost jumping from the page.

The messiness of this relationship, with the potential fall-out affecting not just Feyi and Alim but Nasir and his whole family, might not exactly be something to aspire to, and yet it oozes life; life IS messy, and you can’t choose who to fall in love with. When you experience loss as Feyi and Alim have, can you really turn away from genuine connection when it presents itself?

This novel is exquisitely written, laced with humour but also full of beautiful prose. The island home of Alim is described beautifully, and in contrast to the gritty cityscape of New York. It is a joy to read; messy, moving and memorable, it is not to be missed.

What a stunning novel! I got into it without knowing much and got struck by the romance and the journey that the characters go through. My best 2022 read so far!

The book is messy, stunning, heartbreaking and relatable. Emezi's prose is propulsive, gorgeous, and urgent. I loved it!

Akwaeke Emezi is one of the most talented writes of this generation, I will absolutely continue to read every single masterpiece that they release and this is no exception to that.

This story is so incredibly intense and keeps the audience hooked on every moment, whilst tackling grief and sadness.

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 🤩

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*.

This book blew me away. I have been a fan of Emezi since reading their first release but this book's direction took me by surprise and I loved every minute of it.

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty follows Feyi as she is learning to live her life after the tragic death of her young husband. Feyi is offered the chance of a life time to visit a dreamy island and what happens when she gets there is not what she expected. Every moment of this book is so evocative and gorgeously sensual, I do not know how Emezi manages to capture everything so authentically but I tip my hat to them. I will be putting this in the hands of everyone I know, an absolute must read this year.

A gorgeous and sexy novel with astonishing writing. Really wonderful book, can't wait to read everything they've ever written

I didn’t know much going into this book, other than the fact it was written by Akwaeke Emezi, one of contemporary lit’s biggest young stars. In a way I’m kind of glad I went in blind because it was a lovely surprise when I was swept of my feet by this emotional romance.

The plot follows Feyi, a young artist who lost her husband in a car accident and is trying to piece her life back together. This involves a few messy relationships and a bit of family drama all set against a decadent backdrop of gorgeous landscapes, high art and jaw-dropping wealth.

Like all good romances, You Made a Fool is actually about trying to find emotional connection while dealing with your own lingering trauma. This book is definitely more literary than most romances (which is my preference), and Emezi delves deep into the grief Feyi carries and how it impacts her search for love.

Because it’s quite literary in nature the writing is just beautiful. The food descriptions in particular are so well done, with a kind of indulgence that is a delight to read.

Honestly this book should be the book of the summer, a perfect read for if you’re lying by the pool with a cocktail in the sun.

Somehow manages to be extremely real and completely romantic at the same time. The intimate details really made this book, from the nuanced, fleshed out characters to the sensual, loving description of the food, smells, locations and art.

This book made me laugh out loud in public like a mad person, it also reached right into my chest and squeezed the life out of my heart. At times I had to put it down and pick my jaw up off the floor. Joy was an absolute Joy and Feyi felt like a friend. It really is masterfully told and might be the best of Emezi's yet.

What a stunning book! I'm such a fan of Emezi's writing - everything they write blows my mind. Such a beautifully woven story.

This book was so good. It was well written with a great storyline and well dveeloped characters that actually made me fall in love. I loved the pacing and the romance literally made my heart want to cry and sing in equal measure. I loved it - and that cover 💕💕💕- its stunning.