Feyi Adekola has had a very turbulent five years since her husband died in the accident that she walked away from. She has shut herself off from everything she desires and has spent that time just existing. Until one night when her best friend gets her out to a bar where she meets a guy…and sparks fly. Then she meets his friend…and sparks fly again. Then he takes her to visit his famous chef dad in the Caribbean on the island where he grew up….and sparks fly one more time.

The magnificently titled YOU MADE A FOOL OF DEATH WITH YOUR BEAUTY is the summer’s spiciest book and a most winning diversity story all rolled into one.

"Emezi is a magician who doesn’t mince words. This is truly one of the most profane and simultaneously sacred books about love and grief I have ever read."

Akwaeke Emezi (who goes by they/them pronouns) is a marvel. They have published books with LGBTQ characters and storylines for readers at every level and every age. This story is for those who want a good beach read in the form of a naughty but genuinely moving romance and those for whom diverse representation is appreciated and desired. Their fans will be completely compelled and charmed by the fiery determination of all the characters and the refreshingly stark and straight-ahead depiction of sexuality in a variety of aspects. The language of love and the ferocity of sexual longing and performance create a foundation for what could have become a banal soap opera storyline. Instead, readers have a chance to experience a woman coming back to life in ways that are unexpected and deeply thrilling.

Feyi is a complex woman; she is neither sweet nor bitchy like so many romantic heroines these days. She is a smart, wounded artist who had her greatest joy ripped from her and has had to battle survivor’s guilt and grief privately, hiding away from the world at large. The mentions of her artwork in this book are so striking. They incorporate the most physical representations of the grief she struggles with and sound like they would take your breath away if you were to see them in real life. Feyi has let go of her fears enough to play some games in the social realm; there is no dipping her toe in once she decides to take a risk. From the very first sentence, the reader knows that this is going to be a sassy and racy free-for-all.

But then Feyi surprises us. A chance connection with a man she makes wait for a more intimate relationship turns into the gateway to something far more significant. When she finds someone who understands her suffering and offers her a love she only could have imagined, Feyi must make choices and explain feelings that are complex and so very real.

YOU MADE A FOOL OF DEATH WITH YOUR BEAUTY is not a genre book. Those expecting a Hallmark romance might want to go elsewhere. But if you’re looking for a down and dirty look at grief, lust, love and everything in between through the eyes of a protagonist just awakening after a long respite, this is the book for you. I have to admit that the frankness of the sexual material was sometimes quite shocking to me, but it is ultimately a provocative look at what one woman’s new world order can become.

Emezi is a magician who doesn’t mince words. This is truly one of the most profane and simultaneously sacred books about love and grief I have ever read. Put that copy in your beach bag right now and try not to gasp out loud at any of the stunning twists and turns this story takes.