You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty: A Novel

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars | 5,112 ratings

Price: 13.12

Last update: 03-02-2025


About this item

A Good Morning America Buzz Pick

“A love story like no other, and this one…will have you gripped from page one.” —Vogue

“An unabashed ode to living with, and despite, pain and mortality.” —The New York Times Book Review

A New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and “one of our greatest living writers” (Shondaland) reimagines the love story in this “riveting and emotional exploration of grief and taking a second chance on love” (PopSugar).

Feyi Adekola wants to learn how to be alive again.

It’s been five years since the accident that killed the love of her life and she’s almost a new person now—an artist with her own studio and sharing a brownstone apartment with her ride-or-die best friend, Joy, who insists it’s time for Feyi to ease back into the dating scene. Feyi isn’t ready for anything serious, but a steamy encounter at a rooftop party cascades into a whirlwind summer she could have never imagined: a luxury trip to a tropical island, decadent meals in the glamorous home of a celebrity chef, and a major curator who wants to launch her art career.

She’s even started dating the perfect guy, but their new relationship might be sabotaged before it has a chance by the overwhelming desire Feyi feels every time she locks eyes with the one person who is most definitely off-limits—his father. Can she release her past and honor her grief while still embracing her future? And, of course, there’s the biggest question of all—how far is she willing to go for a second chance at love?

“With tenderhearted characters and an immaculate balance of realistic dialogue and lyrical prose” (BuzzFeed), Akwake Emezi’s vivid and passionate writing takes us deep into a world of possibility and healing. You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is a “a love letter to the brave choices we make in the name of love, the costs we pay for it, and the glory of the reward at the end” (Marie Claire).


Top reviews from the United States

  • Brenda Smith
    5.0 out of 5 stars Poetic and raw
    Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2023
    Feyi, an artist, lost her husband in a terrible car accident five years ago. Still haunted by her grief, she escapes to New York with her best friend Joy to put the aftermath behind her. I immediately loved Joy; she has a fondness for unavailable (straight, married) women, is brutally honest and the perfect ride or die. I totally think we need a book about her, but I digress.

    Feyi is ready to put herself back out there in the dating scene and live life fully on her own terms; I applaud how she does it with both wreckless abandon and a guarded heart. She’s certainly not ready for romance, but it finds her just the same. When the opportunity comes to travel to an island paradise and show her work in a show, she goes for it. Her companion (who orchestrated this opportunity) is handsome and caring, and he’s giving her all the space she needs to be comfortable with their are-they-or-are-they-not relationship.

    What no one, especially Feyi, expects is that she will find something more on the island, something that should be off-limits. She’s very much aware of societal expectations, and while it’s insta-love (which I normally ???? over), it’s written so exquisitely I’m not mad about it. This is not your typical romance.

    It’s a steamy read with amazing queer and cultural representation. I completely melted into this world; the unapologetically real characters, the deeply relatable trauma and healing of moving forward, and the locales (both Brooklyn and the Caribbean) that transported me. Emezi is never afraid of embracing the messiness of life and love, and let’s face it- life and love are MESSY AF. Their writing is so poetic and raw and will stay with me.
    Customer image
    Brenda Smith
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    Poetic and raw

    Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2023
    Feyi, an artist, lost her husband in a terrible car accident five years ago. Still haunted by her grief, she escapes to New York with her best friend Joy to put the aftermath behind her. I immediately loved Joy; she has a fondness for unavailable (straight, married) women, is brutally honest and the perfect ride or die. I totally think we need a book about her, but I digress.

    Feyi is ready to put herself back out there in the dating scene and live life fully on her own terms; I applaud how she does it with both wreckless abandon and a guarded heart. She’s certainly not ready for romance, but it finds her just the same. When the opportunity comes to travel to an island paradise and show her work in a show, she goes for it. Her companion (who orchestrated this opportunity) is handsome and caring, and he’s giving her all the space she needs to be comfortable with their are-they-or-are-they-not relationship.

    What no one, especially Feyi, expects is that she will find something more on the island, something that should be off-limits. She’s very much aware of societal expectations, and while it’s insta-love (which I normally ???? over), it’s written so exquisitely I’m not mad about it. This is not your typical romance.

    It’s a steamy read with amazing queer and cultural representation. I completely melted into this world; the unapologetically real characters, the deeply relatable trauma and healing of moving forward, and the locales (both Brooklyn and the Caribbean) that transported me. Emezi is never afraid of embracing the messiness of life and love, and let’s face it- life and love are MESSY AF. Their writing is so poetic and raw and will stay with me.
    Images in this review
  • Felicia
    4.0 out of 5 stars Would definitely recommend
    Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2025
    This was a fabulous read! A delicious little cocktail of moral ambiguity, messy bisexuals, steamy sex scenes, and grief.

    Beautifully written, incredibly entertaining and completely unexpected! It’s chaotic opening scene perfectly establishes the novel’s ethos: life is messy and unpredictable, we are no better.

    The novel opens with Feyi diving head-first into the dating pool, five years after the death of her husband. We follow her as she processes the loss of her late husband through her art. While finding herself in a series of convoluted romantic entanglements.

    My dissatisfaction with the novel comes from the fact that it’s listed as a romance novel. The only thing thing this book has in common with a romance novel is how completely unrealistic the male characters are.

    By the end of the book I felt deeply annoyed with Feyi and something between pity and disgust for the love interest. Between the inappropriate age gap and drama their love causes, the relationship feels tentative at best. However, maybe that’s the point.
  • sunshineonly365
    5.0 out of 5 stars HILARIOUS & difficult to put down
    Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2023
    *deep inhale*

    OKAY. So this book is WILD. Emezi is hilarious. They are imaginative and so incredibly talented. The prose throughout this book is immersive and engaging. The storyline is at times, ridiculous, but I think that’s part of the fun. None of the characters are likable and I love that.

    I have gasped out loud, laughed out loud, been reading with my eyes as wide as saucers, had my heart racing and so much more. This book is an *experience* from beginning to end.

    I can’t remember the last time that I read a book where the humanity of Black people was so readily centered. This was a story about how messy life is, and how we could make the “right” decision but so often, we don’t. It’s about leaning into ourselves and all of our contradictions. Emezi is unflinching.

    I’m tasked to read everything else they’ve ever written.
  • Mrs. Noel
    3.0 out of 5 stars I’m torn…
    Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2023
    I'm at a loss for where to begin. This book left me torn because, while I was initially intrigued and enjoyed the story, the ending made me question everything. It was undeniably a chaotic mess of a read!

    Feyi, the MFC, teeters between being insufferable and redeemable based on her actions throughout the novel. Her grief stricken journey from being casual and carefree to engaging in risky encounters was salacious to say the least. Sis slept with a stranger 5 minutes after meeting him at the bar…. without protection, allowing him to finish inside of her – a recklessness that set the tone from the very first chapter. Yet, I was captivated enough to keep pressing on for another 250+ pages!

    Feyi’s story then takes an unexpected turn as she starts casually sleeping with the aforementioned stranger (Milan) but then develops a connection, both physically and emotionally, with Nasir, one of Milan’s best friends. To add to the complexity, by the book’s half way point, Feyi finds herself in a relationship with Nasir's father, further complicating the relationships and dynamics within the story. Sis literally went from homie hopping to Daddy humping!

    Speaking of Nasir’s father: despite my fondness for Alim, not only did his connection with Feyi feel superficial at times due to their limited interactions yet being willing to risk it all to be together, so did his queerness. I loved the bisexual representation in this novel, however, the book lacked a deep exploration of Amil’s character, which ultimately left me dissatisfied. TBH many character interactions felt surface level, with new characters introduced but failing to significantly contribute to the overall narrative. Character development was notably lacking throughout the novel.

    Also, I’m sorry but I don’t blame Nasir for how he reacted after finding out about his father's romance with Feyi. He and Feyi had a very intimate relationship, despite not being sexually involved, yet she pursued a romantic relationship with his father. It was understandable why both Nasir and his sister were upset… hell I would be too!

    I’d be remiss if I failed to mention Milan calling Feyi and giving her his blessing (insert huge eye roll) which felt so unnecessary and unbelievable; not at all like the full circle moment I feel the author was hoping to convey.

    Lastly, I found a significant portion of this book attempted to use grief as a means to excuse poor behavior, which was quite frustrating. While I could empathize with both main characters regarding their feelings of loneliness and grief, it seemed as though these emotions were being exploited as a justification, perhaps to manipulate those around them (and readers) to support their relationship.

    All and all, a messy story, that I’d recommended if you like drama as much as I do????! 3.5/5

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