Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty

Akwaeke Emezi writes so beautifully. I love how their work spans so many genres. I’m not normally a romance novel kind of person, but I really enjoyed this. It’s a book about grief and love, and there are important sub themes around how people approach friendships too.

I want to spend more time with Joy (spin off novel, please!)

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starsandscarsbookclub's review

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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riverrliam's review

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adventurous emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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alli_andrews's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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sakisreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was honestly so hard to work with, because there were so many peaks and troughs. During some readings I wouldn’t move, then during other readings I would put it down constantly 🥲

I’d heard Akwaeke Emezi’s writing was brilliant, and it definitely is, but I need to read more of their work to see if that helps me to gather my thoughts better. I just didn’t feel like I knew their work properly enough to make a true judgment 😫

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3 out of 5 stars for me. It’s hectic, it’s gritty, it’s uncomfortable. Thank you ✨

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jg34's review against another edition

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I don’t think I should rate this as I have conflicting feelings. I went in with totally wrong expectations. First I went in blind sort of expecting a literary fiction. THEN once I realized it is marketed as a romance novel, I was expecting the screaming and kicking your feet in the air kind of love story. It was not that.

The book is well written and explores grief in a beautiful way. I loved the way the characters spoke openly and were vulnerable right away. The romantic pairing felt a bit icky at first but I can appreciate that love is messy and unconventional at times. I didn’t mind the way it was handled either and I understood both theirs and the kids perspective (except when

Nasir went nuts and then later acted like he was entitled to sex bc he was nice and patient 🙄

)

However the romance was a bit of an instalove situation. It felt too dreamy and rushed and I didn’t get the attraction. IT was nice that they could bond over a shared experience and Feyi was with someone caring and emotionally equipped to help her through her grief… but what else was there that made this whole messy situation so worth it?? The love wasn’t very convincing to me.

This is unlike most romances out there so if you are looking for something new and fresh and messy this may be a good pick for you!

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sinoclock's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The way this book is written is beautiful. I read a sample on my library app and decided to borrow it. I think I finished it in about 2 hours. The way it tells the story and paints a picture of the FMC as an artist handling grief in her work is just beautiful. Unfortunately the premise of the main romance and how it plays out, along with the ending feeling very rushed and abrupt, left me confused and unsatisfied.

The characters personalities and their actions don't line up to me and I can't agree with the story that any of what happened was acceptable at all- the characters could acknowledge what a mess they were making but they still made it... Yikes. Lol

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