Let’s talk about Feyi and this gorgeous, imperfect love story Akwaeke so graciously gave us.
‘You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty’ follows the story of Feyi, a 29 year old widow, who is still mourning the loss of her husband. Her best friend, Joy, encourages her to open up to love again and with this she meets Nasir, and later, Alim – her lover and Nasir’s father.
Feyi’s journey with love reminds me when you leave a long term relationship and you hit the streets, eager to try out everything. Suddenly the world tasters like possibilities, and you throw all caution to the wind, unrestrained and uninhibited.
‘This desire that pooled like traitorous flame, that wasn’t in response to someone else, that was coming from her and just her. She belonged to it, and it belonged to her, and that’s as far as it needed to go.’
Feyi from You made a fool of death with your beauty.
Feyi is my girl, and I would ride for her😂. I know she’s chaotic and makes unpredictable decisions but she’s true to herself as she navigates love after grief. A lot of readers found her moving from Nasir to Nasir’s father (Alim) distasteful but I find it consistent with the character Akwaeke crafted- after losing the love of her life, there’s truly no time to waste loving someone you’re unsure of (Nasir).
I also find that Alim was a much better fit for Feyi – he was mature and he had also suffered grief before. He knew the pain of loving and losing, and he had more tact in approaching his relationship with Feyi as a result. I love the passion and heat in this book and I especially love the fact that Alim can cook. The food descriptions were sublime and lovers of ‘Butter Honey Pig Bread’ can identify here.
‘I know the particular pain of losing the one you love before your very eyes. I am sorry for the hurt that lives in your heart.’
Alim from You made a fool of death with your beauty.
A lot of discourse has been going on whether ‘Fool of Death’ classifies as a romance story but I truly think it does. It has the two most important features of every romance novel: ✨it has characters that meet and fall in love ✨it has a happy ending.
It may be unconventional and different from most love stories but Akwaeke has never done ‘normal’ and I don’t think they’ll start now.
I really enjoyed this book- my favorite romance novel of the summer. I rated it 4.25⭐️ and I still stand by it!
PS. Joy was such a delight to read and I loved her character and the friendship between her and Feyi. However, tell me why the publishers refused a sequel focused on Joy. It is upsetting me and I hope we get Joy’s story someday.