May 15

May 15 You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty

Author: Akwaeke Emezi
Publisher: Atria
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist Akwaeke Emezi (they/them) 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 dangerous thrill Feyi feels every time she locks eyes with the one person in the house who is most definitely off-limits. 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.

TL;DR Review

You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty won’t be for everyone, but I very much respected the way it stands boldly, tells a deeply human story, and subverts romance novel tropes and expectations.

For you if: You like the challenge of morally grey characters and plots (and don’t mind profanity).

Full Review

Thank you, Atria, for the electronic advanced copy of this book! I, like the rest of the world, love Akwaeke Emezi’s work, and I was so excited and intrigued to see what they were able to do within the romance genre, even though it isn’t my usual scene.

You have likely heard by now that You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty is very different from Emezi’s other work, and that is true. You might call it more conventional (although I’d still argue that it’s actually not). It sort of feels that way, with its familiar romance-novel plot shape and pacing. But it also subtly subverts all our expectations about romance novels, with a messy protagonist, a morally gray plot arc, unabashed AAVE dialogue, and a bold premise. (If you don’t like profanity or characters making choices that you disagree with, this won’t be for you.)

In this novel, Emezi shows us that romance novels — and love stories themselves — can come in all shapes and flavors, and that a relationship doesn’t have to make sense to those outside it. This book is about grief, and living boldly, and seizing happiness, and dealing with the consequences because it’s worth it. It’s about these two characters and them alone, and you as the reader are invited to either witness — or mind your own business.

At the end of the day, it’s this last thing — that Emezi told the story they wanted, and that they could, quite frankly, give a sh*t about what you think of these characters’ choices — that makes this book stand out and adds another tally to their list of literary accomplishments.