lynxpardinus's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Blood, Car accident, Death, Grief, and Sexual content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Child death, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Violence, Death of parent, Gore, Homophobia, and Infidelity
Minor: Drug use, Self harm, Domestic abuse, and Cancer
venetiana's review against another edition
******
THE ORIGINAL BOOK IS BRILLIANT. ✨
This explanation is about the German audio book:
⬇️
******
The *German* version is badly translated. I cringed!
Admittedly, while the narrator has an amazing voice, the German audiobook was also not well read, and some things were just pronounced wrong, which kept pulling me out of the story.
THE ORIGINAL BOOK IS BRILLIANT. ✨
This explanation is about the German audio book:
⬇️
******
The *German* version is badly translated. I cringed!
Admittedly, while the narrator has an amazing voice, the German audiobook was also not well read, and some things were just pronounced wrong, which kept pulling me out of the story.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Grief, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Death, Violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Racism, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Classism, Gaslighting, Biphobia, Bullying, Infidelity, Medical content, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
venetiana's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
slow-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
5.0
Best book I've read in a long time. Sometimes I wanted to highlight All the Words, the writing is beautiful.
Very emotional (in a good way) and tender.
Very emotional (in a good way) and tender.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Grief, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Minor: Biphobia, Outing, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexism, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Homophobia, Alcohol, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, and Panic attacks/disorders
displacedcactus's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I don't normally go in for the dramatic, messy side of the contemporary romance genre. I'd passed over this book a few times because "MC falls for her current squeeze's dad" just isn't my kind of thing. But all of my library holds were taking *forever* to come in, and this was available, and I'd enjoyed Pet and Bitter earlier this year.
Just so we're clear: The only thing this book has in common with Pet and Bitter is that both involve talented Black artists. Do NOT hand this one to your YA-reading kids.
Emezi is a very talented author. The language in this book is simply lush and beautiful. The food and art descriptions are dazzling. So I went along for the messy ride, even if I disagreed with most of the choices that Feyi made. If you like a romance that has lots of big emotions and a hint of the forbidden, then you'll probably enjoy this. And if you have to read something messy and spicy for some sort of reading challenge, this would be a good way to dip your toe into a genre you normally avoid.
Just so we're clear: The only thing this book has in common with Pet and Bitter is that both involve talented Black artists. Do NOT hand this one to your YA-reading kids.
Emezi is a very talented author. The language in this book is simply lush and beautiful. The food and art descriptions are dazzling. So I went along for the messy ride, even if I disagreed with most of the choices that Feyi made. If you like a romance that has lots of big emotions and a hint of the forbidden, then you'll probably enjoy this. And if you have to read something messy and spicy for some sort of reading challenge, this would be a good way to dip your toe into a genre you normally avoid.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Car accident, Cursing, and Death
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Blood
Minor: Misogyny, Death of parent, and Child death
All of the major characters in this book are black and they use the slangy "a" ending version of the n word to refer to each other *a lot*.bestienicoley's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
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? No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Grief, Death, Mental illness, Classism, Violence, and Misogyny
savvylit's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-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
A literary romance with lots of heart, messy characters, and a slow build to spicy encounters? You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty is the best romance book I've ever read. This is my fourth Emezi book and clear proof that they can write in any genre and excel at it. Feyi, Joy, and Alim are all perfectly imperfect. Feyi and Joy's friendship in particular is one of the best parts of the novel. Though the story focuses on Feyi's romantic life, I couldn't help but stop and admire the deep love that she has for Joy and their friendship. Joy is her anchor, her biggest cheerleader, and the one most likely to roast her for her bad decisions. Their relationship feels incredibly true to life. Also true to life is the spectrum of male partners that Feyi encounters. From chill to deeply devoted to infuriating incel, this book perfectly captures the highs and lows of the straight dating scene.
Finally, it's difficult to talk about the love story in You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty while trying to stay spoiler-free. I will say, though, that the romance in this book is so well done. Emezi builds the central relationship in a way that feels genuine and self-aware on a character level. The two parties involved constantly consider and respect the emotional territory of dating while grappling grief. I loved how things unfolded at a pace that was simultaneously safe and sexy.
I'd recommend this book to folks who love Emezi's writing, who aren't usually big into romance novels, and who love messy characters of all ages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Grief, and Death
Minor: Homophobia
laurenleigh's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Though this wasn’t my favorite Emezi work (Freshwater!!), I appreciate when an author writes in multiple genres! A contemporary romance novel is so different, but it still has that edgy Emezi darkness. Regardless of genre, their work likes to push up against taboos. The characters in this story are VERY messy lol. I like the theme of how real life is necessarily messy, but as the characters moved through the mess, there was so much talking. It was a very dialogue-heavy text, which often ran around in circles. Again, it’s very real, but I felt like I wanted the plot to be moving forward more briskly. As usual, Bahni Turpin narration slays.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Misogyny and Blood
elliedesatge's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Cursing, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
foreverinastory's review against another edition
challenging
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
5.0
Damn this was amazing! I should've read it sooner. Also someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is mainly set in Trinidad & Tobago?
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is a romance novel that follows Feyi, a grieving widow. After 5 years, Feyi thinks she's ready to go back on the dating scene. Feyi first finds Milan, who is hot and makes her feel attraction for the first time in a long time. But neither is ready or willing to open up, so after a brief friends with benefits fling, they go their separate ways. What Feyi doesn't expect is Milan's friend, Nasir, to call her immediately after and attempt to woo her.
Feyi feels something for Nasir, but she's wary of romance and dating since the death of her spouse, Jonah. The two agree to be friends and take it slow. The synopsis says these two are dating, but I think that's a mislabel. They agree to be friends first and foremost. Now Feyi goes into this relationship to eventually pursue something romantic with Nasir, but she's not quite ready to jump into it.
The two head off on a trip to meet Nasir's family and have Feyi attend an art show on the island. When Feyi meets Nasir's dad, Alim Blake, there's something between them that she can't deny. As she gets to know Alim, she finds someone who understands her pain of losing her spouse too soon. Something Nasir could never understand. Feyi is unsure how to navigate this growing attraction with Alim and her possible relationship with Nasir. Especially since she's starting to think Alim returns her attraction.
Look this book won't be for everyone. But I think it is an amazing second chance romance between two people who have lost people before. Something that really bothered me about Nasir's reaction to finding out about Feyi and Alim (who had only kissed up to that point) was that he felt entitled to Feyi's body and I'm not here for that. Even if you are in a relationship with someone, you don't owe them your body. You don't owe a partner sex. Consent is needed every single time and it can be revoked at ANY point. Kissing someone doesn't automatically mean you are going to have sex with them.
This book is very messy and maybe even a little unhinged, but relationships and life are fucking messy. Attraction doesn't always follow logic and most people can't turn their attraction off like a tap. I found the relationship between Feyi and Alim much more intimate, romantic and trusting than I did between Feyi and Nasir.
Lastly, Joy is the best and I love her with all my heart. Please Akwaeke can we have a companion/sequel about Joy.
Rep: Nigerian-American bisexual cis female MC with PTSD and anxiety, Afro-Carribean bisexual cis male side character, Afro-Carribean hetersexual cis male side character, Ghanian-American lesbian cis female side character, various Black and Afro-Carribean side characters.
CWs: Grief, death, sexual content, blood, death of parent, cursing, mental illness (PTSD and anxiety), biphobia/bimisia, injury/injury detail, homophobia/homomisia. Moderate: Violence, past car accident, domestic abuse, alcohol consumption, child death, suicidal thoughts, toxic relationship, misogyny, sexism, cancer mention.
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is a romance novel that follows Feyi, a grieving widow. After 5 years, Feyi thinks she's ready to go back on the dating scene. Feyi first finds Milan, who is hot and makes her feel attraction for the first time in a long time. But neither is ready or willing to open up, so after a brief friends with benefits fling, they go their separate ways. What Feyi doesn't expect is Milan's friend, Nasir, to call her immediately after and attempt to woo her.
Feyi feels something for Nasir, but she's wary of romance and dating since the death of her spouse, Jonah. The two agree to be friends and take it slow. The synopsis says these two are dating, but I think that's a mislabel. They agree to be friends first and foremost. Now Feyi goes into this relationship to eventually pursue something romantic with Nasir, but she's not quite ready to jump into it.
The two head off on a trip to meet Nasir's family and have Feyi attend an art show on the island. When Feyi meets Nasir's dad, Alim Blake, there's something between them that she can't deny. As she gets to know Alim, she finds someone who understands her pain of losing her spouse too soon. Something Nasir could never understand. Feyi is unsure how to navigate this growing attraction with Alim and her possible relationship with Nasir. Especially since she's starting to think Alim returns her attraction.
Look this book won't be for everyone. But I think it is an amazing second chance romance between two people who have lost people before. Something that really bothered me about Nasir's reaction to finding out about Feyi and Alim (who had only kissed up to that point) was that he felt entitled to Feyi's body and I'm not here for that. Even if you are in a relationship with someone, you don't owe them your body. You don't owe a partner sex. Consent is needed every single time and it can be revoked at ANY point. Kissing someone doesn't automatically mean you are going to have sex with them.
This book is very messy and maybe even a little unhinged, but relationships and life are fucking messy. Attraction doesn't always follow logic and most people can't turn their attraction off like a tap. I found the relationship between Feyi and Alim much more intimate, romantic and trusting than I did between Feyi and Nasir.
Lastly, Joy is the best and I love her with all my heart. Please Akwaeke can we have a companion/sequel about Joy.
Rep: Nigerian-American bisexual cis female MC with PTSD and anxiety, Afro-Carribean bisexual cis male side character, Afro-Carribean hetersexual cis male side character, Ghanian-American lesbian cis female side character, various Black and Afro-Carribean side characters.
CWs: Grief, death, sexual content, blood, death of parent, cursing, mental illness (PTSD and anxiety), biphobia/bimisia, injury/injury detail, homophobia/homomisia. Moderate: Violence, past car accident, domestic abuse, alcohol consumption, child death, suicidal thoughts, toxic relationship, misogyny, sexism, cancer mention.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Death of parent, Blood, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Biphobia, Grief, and Homophobia
Moderate: Misogyny, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Violence, Child death, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Cancer, Alcohol, and Suicidal thoughts
peachani's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Car accident
Moderate: Death, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Cursing
Minor: Homophobia