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Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

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

54 reviews

eabh's review

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book felt a bit like reading Seven Days in June again. There is such depth and intensity to this story and the characters. As someone who has walked with grief for a long time, I found myself these pages at times. And sometimes it was uncomfortable, and I think that’s part of the point of the story. It’s hard to look away from these chaotic characters and their choices. 

This literary fiction novel is messy and raw and explosive with new and forbidden love. Which made it beautiful and also at times rather un-relatable. You are both repelled and repulsed by some of the characters choices, both enamored and dismayed. 
You made a fool out of death with your beauty is an interesting exploration of ethics and how grief molds and changes each of us in vastly different ways. This novel is quite atmospheric, and you may find yourself with a new appreciation for the art of food and creation (I know I did). 
It is written incredibly well, and it very quite quotable. 

For a shorter book, I found it simultaneously lagging in some parts and feeling very rushed and others. However, it does seem intentional on the authors behalf. But it made it challenging for me to stay invested in the plot. Overall, I am grateful I read this book for its bravery in characterization and beautiful depiction of the environment, but felt pulled out of the world at times due to how the story was written. 
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peggy_racham's review against another edition

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5.0

Truely no words are there to describe this book. Hooked from first page to the end. 
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zefancifulreader's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book has a lot of mixed reviews which I suspect is because this story breaks a lot of Romance rules.
It is a story of grief, which isn’t very sexy but I think it does a disservice to our human-ness to ignore a very powerful emotion that is so closely linked with Love.
It’s also one of the horniest books I’ve read in a while. Feyi is so delightfully thirsty and it was so fun to watch her mess unfold.
The book also had some of my favourite obscure troupes such as: “NO 3rd Act Breakup” and “Main Character goes to Therapy”!
The real standout for me was the incredible maturity of Alim and Feyi. Ya, it’s a large age-gap but these two characters have a boat load of trauma and have done the WORK of piecing themselves together even before the book starts. These are two adults who know how to COMMUNICATE and it’s honestly the sexiest thing. 
Add the beautiful, lyrical writing style that Akwaeke Emezi is known for and you’ve got yourself a gorgeous, unapologetic, hot mess and I 100% recommend it. 
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sadhbhprice's review against another edition

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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

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pm_me_book_recs's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 Akwaeke Emezi is such a dynamic author- I'm all in.

Romance is def not my typical area of enjoyment, but this was so entertaining and the overall message was heartfelt. I really want to see this on screen! There also seems to be a pattern of me enjoying food focused romance??

The amount of growth and healing that happens across the board, even with periphery characters, is so good to see. With the numerous shenanigans and circumstances Feyi gets into, it does get comedic, but never degrading. I love the honest and upfront relationship Feyi and Joy have, we all need someone like Joy! The family drama is raw and painful, the matter of consent is constant and normalized, the writing and descriptions are gorgeous. I also loved that we get to see closure across the board and that Feyi is not the only focus!

The beginning is hot and heavy, but the rest of the story is mostly steam-free aside from imaginings and a few happenings later on. 
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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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lynxpardinus's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective

4.25

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queenkath32's review

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emotional
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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alexisgarcia's review

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emotional reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Emezi is one of the best writers I have read from. they write such full characters. the characters have flaws but can also be so loveable. while i could point out many “flaws” in this book, it doesn’t matter. i loved it
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thecriticalreader's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

4.5

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi is a romance novel, which is not something I knew when I started reading it. It follows the same beats as a romance novel, albeit with a somewhat outlandish premise. There were so many opportunities for this book not to work for me, which is why I was surprised when so much of it did. The characters are well-written, and the story lets the characters drive the romance rather than the other way around. I adored the indulgent, luscious descriptions of the landscapes, food (seriously mouth-watering), people, and art. I found the romantic relationship to be easy to root for, as the two central characters are flawed yet likable, mature, and interesting. 
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