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heddas_bookgems's review against another edition
5.0
“He loved people being messy as f*ck—he said it was one of the best things about being human, how we could make such disasters and recover from them enough to make them into stories later.”
Feyi is an artist and a widow. She’s messy, intoxicating but at the same time destructive and derailed. When she gets the opportunity of a life time, a holiday and a prestigious exposition of her work as an artist, she can’t say no.
You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty, lyrics from the wonderful song Hunger by Florence+ The Machine’s, is a one of a kind literary romance. It makes you feel messy, unethical, morally depraved and in between flirts with yearning, dedication and loyalty. As Emezi intended, confided to Teen Vogue, “it opens up a huge conversation about dating ethics, what things are acceptable or unacceptable”. In these prose filled pages we are taken on an ethical journey filled with grief. It’s because of these characters and explorations of ethics that I Ioved every bit of it. I loved Feyi as a complex character making unwise decisions and because of it being scolded by her amazing and hilarious friend Joy. I loved the romance and the search for oneself again after losing it. I loved the prose and the detailed mouthwatering descriptions of the food. It’s just everything. A book of the senses: I cried, laughed, ate, created and loved and it left me full.
Fun fact: the screen rights for a movie have already been auctioned to Amazon Studio’s.
Feyi is an artist and a widow. She’s messy, intoxicating but at the same time destructive and derailed. When she gets the opportunity of a life time, a holiday and a prestigious exposition of her work as an artist, she can’t say no.
You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty, lyrics from the wonderful song Hunger by Florence+ The Machine’s, is a one of a kind literary romance. It makes you feel messy, unethical, morally depraved and in between flirts with yearning, dedication and loyalty. As Emezi intended, confided to Teen Vogue, “it opens up a huge conversation about dating ethics, what things are acceptable or unacceptable”. In these prose filled pages we are taken on an ethical journey filled with grief. It’s because of these characters and explorations of ethics that I Ioved every bit of it. I loved Feyi as a complex character making unwise decisions and because of it being scolded by her amazing and hilarious friend Joy. I loved the romance and the search for oneself again after losing it. I loved the prose and the detailed mouthwatering descriptions of the food. It’s just everything. A book of the senses: I cried, laughed, ate, created and loved and it left me full.
Fun fact: the screen rights for a movie have already been auctioned to Amazon Studio’s.
scijessreads's review against another edition
4.0
Oh, this one was messier and more real than I expected going in, and I loved it. It felt raw and like it could be happening to any relationship at any moment. It also approached the idea of the age-gap relationship and "taboo" in a decidedly messy way that many books with the same tropes tend to gloss over in favor of letting our main characters glide through the repercussions without a lot of heartache. And Feyi, with her past heartbreak and slow movement toward even trying to form a relationship again... it was so damn good to read about her tentative steps, her struggles with self-worth in the "new" normal. The surrounding characters, both large and small, all played pivotal roles. And the ending... again it was real. There was hope, but also acceptance that things may not be smooth or easy for our final couple. But that's life, isn't it?
jackiebowles9's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
To this day, I still feel gaslight by the MC.
lyricallylittle's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jennireadsmaybe's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Akwaeke Emezi packs a heartbreaking punch with Feyi's tale of grief and its everlasting effect on our lives. You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is my favorite of the two Emezi works I've read. The forbidden romance plot mixed with Feyi's character really sucked me in. The writing is so easy to want to keep reading. It definitely had the typical messy charm I've come to associate with their storytelling as well as a lush setting description.
I think the best part of Feyi and Alim's romance is that they've both experience the unique grief of losing a partner that you'd thought you'd grow old with. It makes their romance that much more believable because they understand each other's loss. I generally didn't like the third act drama from Alim's grown-ass kids, but I understood why it happened. I would've liked to see just a little bit more at the end, but it was still very good.
Read this if you like forbidden/friends dad romance, being insanely attracted to someone you shouldn't, delicious and delectable foods, and art that packs a punch.
I think the best part of Feyi and Alim's romance is that they've both experience the unique grief of losing a partner that you'd thought you'd grow old with. It makes their romance that much more believable because they understand each other's loss. I generally didn't like the third act drama from Alim's grown-ass kids, but I understood why it happened. I would've liked to see just a little bit more at the end, but it was still very good.
Read this if you like forbidden/friends dad romance, being insanely attracted to someone you shouldn't, delicious and delectable foods, and art that packs a punch.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Biphobia and Homophobia
shelbyheartonmysleeve's review against another edition
5.0
Literally read this in one day. I had no idea what this was about and it took me by surprise about 10 times throughout but wow, what a beautiful beautiful story. Absolutely obsessed.
chazzychat's review against another edition
4.0
This is a book I loved to hate, and hated to love. Only so because it is such a mess! But honestly such a beautifully written and relatable mess. As much as I hate to admit it I can see it for what it is and appreciate that. The 4 stars are for the way the author brought the story to life. There were so many beautiful lines and moments. But there was also plenty of moments where I felt exasperated as a reader by the main characters incessant fixation on the past. But as others have pointed out —I can see how that relates to grief. Overall I’m glad I read this book and will check out more of the author’s books.
kirei_eyes's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Hmmm
lenaemaart's review against another edition
2.0
This book was wild and left me in shock on more than one occasion. I don’t think it’s something I’ll be coming back to.