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Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
1 review
starrysteph's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
The VERSATILITY. The PROSE. Is there anything Akwaeke Emezi can't do?
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is a romance book – but it's a bit darker and messier than what you'd expect from a typical contemporary romance. I think it leans more into literary fiction.
Romance books are usually "safe" in the sense that they tend to follow the same basic structure; you know that despite some misunderstanding or heated moment of drama ... there is one predestined couple and they end up happily together. There is none of that security here; it is real and raw and messy.
While there are some romance tropes and fluffy magic, there's darkness and discomfort, too. Both of our MCs have lost someone they love, so there's this shadow of grief and pain alongside a fear of their feelings betraying them ... letting down their walls and getting hurt once more.
You may dislike the characters and you probably will dislike at least some of their choices. I don't want to give away the plot (I think it's better to go in unaware), but there is some discomfort in the final romantic pairing. They make selfish choices, but I kind of loved the idealization of putting yourself and your own heart first, and leaning into that passion and connection and companionship.
The truth is, it's easy to judge them when you're looking at the overall facts from afar ... but I think most people wouldn't want to let something like that - such an earth-shattering connection - go despite the difficulties and the hurt it would cause others in their life.
I did find the "instalove" aspect a bit off-putting. They fall for each other without many words or scenes together. In a book that doesn't fake happiness, it was the one trope that felt like the stereotypical contemporary romances I tend to avoid as a reader. But it is playful, and Emezi leans into the cheesiness in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way.
I also wanted to know more about Jonah and his relationship with Feyi. Her trauma depictions are centered around the nature of his death more than the loss of the person and relationship. I didn't feel like I knew anything about him except for the fact that he was "good" and that it was a generally healthy + positive relationship. This was a pretty short book (under 300 pages), and I would have happily read another 50 or 75 pages in order to flesh it out more.
Some other aspects I loved:
• Bisexual rep - our main character openly identifies as bi, and many of the supporting characters are queer as well
• Depiction of art - I could picture each piece and Emezi's lyrical writing really captured the way Feyi felt about her art
• The magical space and transition - it felt Wizard-of-Oz-esque, like we were sent through a magical portal and things turned from black and white into technicolor. I loved the magic of the island and house and Feyi's outfits and appearance. So positive and charming and enchanting.
CW: death, grief, car accident, drowning, homophobia, blood, alcohol, death of a parent, biphobia, child death
(Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.)
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is a romance book – but it's a bit darker and messier than what you'd expect from a typical contemporary romance. I think it leans more into literary fiction.
Romance books are usually "safe" in the sense that they tend to follow the same basic structure; you know that despite some misunderstanding or heated moment of drama ... there is one predestined couple and they end up happily together. There is none of that security here; it is real and raw and messy.
While there are some romance tropes and fluffy magic, there's darkness and discomfort, too. Both of our MCs have lost someone they love, so there's this shadow of grief and pain alongside a fear of their feelings betraying them ... letting down their walls and getting hurt once more.
You may dislike the characters and you probably will dislike at least some of their choices. I don't want to give away the plot (I think it's better to go in unaware), but there is some discomfort in the final romantic pairing. They make selfish choices, but I kind of loved the idealization of putting yourself and your own heart first, and leaning into that passion and connection and companionship.
The truth is, it's easy to judge them when you're looking at the overall facts from afar ... but I think most people wouldn't want to let something like that - such an earth-shattering connection - go despite the difficulties and the hurt it would cause others in their life.
I did find the "instalove" aspect a bit off-putting. They fall for each other without many words or scenes together. In a book that doesn't fake happiness, it was the one trope that felt like the stereotypical contemporary romances I tend to avoid as a reader. But it is playful, and Emezi leans into the cheesiness in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way.
I also wanted to know more about Jonah and his relationship with Feyi. Her trauma depictions are centered around the nature of his death more than the loss of the person and relationship. I didn't feel like I knew anything about him except for the fact that he was "good" and that it was a generally healthy + positive relationship. This was a pretty short book (under 300 pages), and I would have happily read another 50 or 75 pages in order to flesh it out more.
Some other aspects I loved:
• Bisexual rep - our main character openly identifies as bi, and many of the supporting characters are queer as well
• Depiction of art - I could picture each piece and Emezi's lyrical writing really captured the way Feyi felt about her art
• The magical space and transition - it felt Wizard-of-Oz-esque, like we were sent through a magical portal and things turned from black and white into technicolor. I loved the magic of the island and house and Feyi's outfits and appearance. So positive and charming and enchanting.
CW: death, grief, car accident, drowning, homophobia, blood, alcohol, death of a parent, biphobia, child death
(Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Cursing, Death, Blood, Grief, and Car accident
Minor: Biphobia, Child death, Chronic illness, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol