You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by: Akwaeke Emezi

Genre: Romance, Contemporary 

Published: May 24, 2022 by: Atria Books 

Pages: 288 

Rating: 4/5 stars 

CW: death of a spouse, PTSD 

It's been five years since visual artist Feyi Adekola's spouse was killed in a car accident, and Feyi is coping as best as she can. She feels ready to try and see if she can get a second chance at love, and after she has a flirty encounter with a man named Nasir, she thinks that maybe loving again is possible. Nasir invites Feyi to a luxury island where is his father Alim works as a celebrity chef. While there, Feyi's art career flourishes with opportunity, and she is immediately charmed by Nasir's family. However, things get complicated when Feyi begins to grow closer to Alim as they bond over shared grief, and Feyi begins to question the relationship she has formed with Nasir. 

When I heard that Akwaeke Emezi was writing a romance, I was intrigued. Emezi is known for their powerful, soulful writing, though often these tales come with unimaginable sorrow and trauma. This book seemed a little bit lighter while still dealing with some tough themes, and I thought the island setting would make it perfect for summer. I was definitely not disappointed, as the book definitely has Emezi's distinctive, poetic prose. However, I think most people will find the romance in this book a bit dividing, as I certainly did. 

I think it was really unique of Emezi to have her main character be a widow. I don't read a ton of romance books where the main character is a widow trying to find love again, but I think this detail introduces a whole different layer to the character and makes the stakes surrounding the romance all the more complex. I appreciated seeing how Feyi grapples with wanting to learn to live again, while also not wanting to forget her past love behind. Her and Alim bond as they have both lost past loves, and I think seeing people share grief with one another can be an incredibly healing process. 

This book has a lot of wonderous food imagery, as well as takes place in a luxurious island setting. Emezi wastes no time in filling the page with delicious food and a glorious setting that really helped to make this book an easy to get through read. Since the island is in the Caribbean, I got introduced to a bunch of different foods and flavours that I was not familiar with, and I think setting this book on an island when the book was released right before summer was a smart move. This book definitely set the vibe of  a summer romance really well, and the food imagery was a nice added touch. 

The book begins by introducing Feyi as a woman whose soulmate is her best friend Joy. I definitely don't want to count out Joy, as she was a very welcome addition to the book. Joy has helped Feyi through thick and thin, and their friendship was so supportive and healthy. I think showing platonic soulmates within a romance book is such a unique but important feature, as oftentimes romances can kind of push the friend characters to the side. However, Joy is a ride or die friend to Feyi, and honestly they may have been the most important relationship to the book. 

This book functioning as a romance can be very polarizing to some people. I have seen folks criticize the romance as unhealthy, or people characterize Feyi as being a shitty person because of the feelings that she develops. I really don't want to give much away as I think this is a book that you just have to read and form your own opinions on, but by reading the synopsis and other reviews, it's no secret that the romance in this book is complicated. Thus, my opinions on the romance are complicated. Do I think the romance was unhealthy? No. Do I think Feyi is a bad person? No. Nobody is perfect, and Feyi is learning and growing as she continues to deal with her PTSD after her spouses' death. However, I don't know if I could completely root for the romance in this book. I think if I were involved in the situation myself I would have a really, really hard time rooting for the romance. Like I said, you just have to read it to know what I'm talking about, but at the end of the day, I couldn't give this book five stars because I just wasn't sure if I was wholly supportive of the romantic relationship. I'm gonna sound like a broken record, but it's...complicated. 

Overall, I would recommend this book because I need to know other people's opinions on it. I think it is definitely worth reading for its setting and food imagery, and I think even reading the romance side of it will leave people thinking, which is a good thing! 

Have you read You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty? What did you think? 

Emily @ Paperback Princess