Welcome to Litsy!

I wasn't sure I was ready for a more 'general fiction' work from Emezi but this was great. Not my usual reading but I loved it, and the themes and prose (as always) were strong.

This is a brilliant book. A beautiful, vivid portrait of the visceral pain of grief, and of the joy of learning to love life again.

New e-book from the library

Everyone in my book group adores this book. It was a great summer read, and a refreshing change in some ways from some romance novels - although confession time, I don‘t think I loved it *quite* as much as the others and I‘m still pondering over why; maybe because I didn‘t fully buy into the central love story? I keep trying romance novels and coming away with the same niggly annoyance that the story just doesn‘t entirely ring true for me 🤷‍♀️

Yeah, so I guess I am just not a straight up romance reader. I didn‘t think that‘s what this book was going to be and I had a hard time not rolling my eyes. Once a character releases a breath they didn‘t realize they were holding…well, I have a hard time taking anything else seriously. Beautiful people, in a beautiful setting but just not the book for me.

A different romance book, but a romance book nonetheless.

I didn‘t love this book. It was a romance centered on a woman who lost her husband. The story was surface level. 2/5

10 OUT OF 10. !!!!!!!!! Incredible. Beautiful writing. My review is weak--it's just I stayed up until 3 AM to finish it and then just had to tell somebody. Breaking the book buying ban because I've GOT to have my own copy. Mwuah chef's kiss.

An unconventional but enjoyable romance. Feyi, a young widow, agrees to spend some time in the Caribbean with a new man, one of the first she has dated since her husband passed, only to arrive on the island and fall for…his father, a celebrity chef. I liked the way Emezi writes about both love and grief.

#manicmonday #letterY @CBee @The_Penniless_Author

I was going to say The End of Mr Y for the book, but since Randy is being Captain Rulebook about it, I'll do it properly 😇😉

📖 You made a fool of death with your beauty (Emezi)
✒ Hanya Yanagihara
🎬 Y tú mama tambien
🎤 Years & years
🎶 Youngblood (5sos)

Bonus song: You (Matilda)

This was an engrossing, beautiful and emotionally charged read. Feyi felt like a friend who was navigating a new chapter of healing and growth and I was with her in all of the mess that comes with. The way that grief, love, loss, anger, lust and new beginnings are written is enough to take your breath away!

I am not a big romance reader. I understand that many readers find comfort in the predictability of the romance plot, but I just get restless. I decided to try this book because I loved the author‘s previous work, The Death of Vivek Oji. Reader, I loved it! The setting is beautiful, and the language is fabulous. The characters are well-drawn and interesting. The plot is somewhat predictable but the other elements made the whole story lovely.

Much different than their other novel. This one is about hope after death and love.

This lush, moving, queer, & deliciously dramatic romance follows Feyi, a widowed young artist, who finds herself falling for her new boyfriend‘s father, a celebrity chef and a widower himself, while staying in his home on a Caribbean island. I believed in Feyi and Alim‘s relationship but didn‘t find it hot, despite all the good spice! Mostly, I loved what this novel had to say about grief, recovering from trauma, & embracing love how you find it.

Wish the hot girl summer of the opening had lasted longer, Feyi & her bold self getting out & getting some. Examining grief in a romance is a tricky choice & switch back to more surface romance tropes & patterns a little forced. Not sure I believed the lovers belonged together, but then a major theme=how love surprises. Great settings & sex scenes. Resetting identity after loss. P2 “Feyi had already decided who she wanted to be that night” 2022

This book was so good! Listened to the audiobook. Loved it. 5🌟

I enjoyed this story too, with romance, some steam and funny dialogue. Feyi is an artist she makes friends with a guy who invites her to a Carribean island and she meets someone who she shouldn't fall in love with.

Maybe romance novels are not for me, but in spite of the grief the character's have experienced they were so narcissistic I had no empathy for them.

First 5 ⭐️ read of August!

Emezi is a talented writer, but this took me an age to read. It's a clichéd and sappy forbidden love story that at times had me rolling my eyes and saying "oh, brother..." out loud.

Expect yummy writing and fiery sex scenes, but also insta-love and 50-shades-of-grey-style-falling-for-a-millionaire-wish-fulfillment. It wasn't a bad romance, but it didn't push any boundaries either.

⭐⭐⭐ 3 stars

Way late for this #camplitsy selection (like most of them 😂). I almost DNF‘d 25 pages in, but I‘m glad I didn‘t, because I ended up really enjoying this story! Sultry, steamy, and filled with both vivid imagery and imperfect characters dealing with grief. Definitely recommended for fans of Queenie. Some cringe worthy moments, as these are not perfect characters. I look forward to reading Emezi‘s other books, they definitely caught my attention.

One of my favorite used bookstore cafes is right next to our oncology vet. #HelloKitty is there today for imaging and staging, and if that comes out clear, she‘ll get her 1st chemo treatment today. Waiting here is easier than there, but not by much.

Amputation is out, as it is too close to her vertebra. So anything we do is palliative, not a cure, but we can hope for 2+ yrs more with her if chemo works, if it hasn‘t spread yet.🤞#catsofinstagram

No plans this weekend other than sitting out by the pool, reading and relaxing! We have some tough medical appts coming up this week so I‘m giving myself the grace to take it easy and enjoy the sun and water.

"You don't think she loves you?"

"I know she does. And that's something I've learned in the years since, that there are so many different types of love, so many ways someone can stay committed to you, stay in your life even if y'all aren't together, you know? And none of these ways are more important than the other."

#currentlyreading📖

#camplitsy. Finally finished! 🤦‍♀️ I really enjoyed this. Not just because of the gorgeous cover and great title (which I adored), but I loved the vibrant writing and language. It‘s a sexy, sultry, messy love story, not for those who find insta-love annoying (I‘m not one of them!) The complicated, intense attraction and connection through personal loss and creativity made sense to me. (Continued in the comments)…

New gratitude journal and notebook from Papier 💕💕💕

Plus the books I'm failing to read today 📚

Wow this was so beautiful ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹 I really loved all the characters and how poetic the writing was, it's such a messy story about loss, healing, and pushing past our fears, of taking opportunities, of being selfish, and of love. Also, this was so unexpectedly #queer like yes I loved it!! I have so many more words but just *chef's kiss* ⚠️ For age gap, graphic sex, and mentions of dead loved ones

#jubilantjuly @Andrew65 #readathon

This was the first full-blown romance novel that I've read in years. I enjoyed it more than I expected and was very happy with the ending. Glad I could read it along with the other campers! #camplitsy

Next on the list for #jubilantjuly! The narrator sounds really familiar but can't remember what book off the top of my head, and aside from the unexpectedly graphic sex scene at the start (not that I mind lol), it sounds like it's an interesting read, maybe a heartbreak and healing type of story? 🤔

Welcome back to #CampLitsy! We‘re at the halfway point of the summer. 🏕 I know I‘ve been enjoying these discussions, and I hope you have, too!

Last week, we discussed Feyi‘s instant connections. Now that more has been revealed about Alim and the similarities between his and Feyi‘s relationship histories, do you think they can make it work?

Most of us were excited to learn more about Feyi‘s art in the second half. As we talked about last week, grief is a very personal and powerful experience. Now that she‘s had her show, what do you think of her work and what she conveys? Would you go to one of her shows?

Our final question for this book deals with your overall impression, so what did you think? Many of us have said we voted for this novel based on the author‘s other works, and since they have written in several genres, how does this one stack up? Are you more or less likely to read another of their books after finishing You Made a Fool…?

Thank you for joining us! I‘ll post the page break and a reminder about our next book tomorrow. 🏕

This book was a mixed bag for me. I‘m not a big romance reader, but found the premise intriguing. The second half of this book was much better than the first. I guess I‘m getting a bit old and didn‘t find the main character very relatable. I identified more (and am closer in age) with her older love interest. 😂Ultimately, I didn‘t find the romance to be very believable, so this was just ok for me. Extra points for the steamy scenes, though. 🥵3⭐️

Here's a bunny at the beach for you to look at while I report that I'm not sure I'm going to finish this one. I appreciate the discussions of grief, but the story just feels like any old romance to me. I just don't think it's realistic that EVERYONE is gorgeous. It's possible I'm too old and too married to relate to a 20-something's sexual exploits. I'll decide whether I want to finish it or not after I see this weekend's #camplitsy posts.

I personally felt this leaned a little more women's fiction, even though there is a satisfying romance. Amusingly in the author interview in back, Emezi said they liked the idea of you reading the blurb and being like no way, and then hopefully being convinced by the story. Well, lol, I didn't read the blurb, so it was all a surprise. For #RippedBodiceBingo can be used for fictional country and dance.

After the sublime heights of Freshwater, reading You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is to fall down to earth with an almighty thud. It feels harsh to pan this because I loved Freshwater, but here everything rubbed me the wrong way: the writing, the plot, the characters. I was waiting to finish & to be done with the inevitable ending. Sorry for being a grouch about this @Megabooks & fellow campers but I'm sure the discussion will be great!

I probably would have read this just because the cover is gorgeous.

In the first half I was feeling annoyed with Feyi, as she seemed unwilling to process any emotions. The second half I thought was much better. It‘s a romance but with messier relationships and more family drama than I think a lot of the genre has, so maybe it borders on Lit. Fic. Too?

I‘ve enjoyed other books by the author more.
Soft pick for me. ⬇️

Ah well, despite loving other books by this author, this novel didn‘t wow me. While I liked the second half more than the first, I think @jlhammar nailed it that there is a lack of self reflection by the characters that ultimately puts this firmly in so-so territory. However, I am looking forward to the discussion on Saturday! #CampLitsy @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain 🏕

Not my favorite #camplitsy read. While Emezi‘s writing is very good, I found the pacing to be off and couldn‘t buy in to the central romance. I think the point of the book is to be a challenging, uncomfortable concept though, which it definitely achieved. The audiobook narration was great.

Feyi‘s husband died in a car accident 5 yrs ago. For the past 5 yrs she has being grieving her husband and the life she thought they would have. Now she feels it time for her to start dating again.

A book about grief and taking a chance to start again.

Most of this story takes place at the island and I just loved the description of the island.

This book also had me crying more than once.

#CampLitsy

I fully expected to hate this and would not have read it if not for #CampLitsy, so take this with a grain of salt. I did a lot of eye rolling in the second half, but I found a lot to like in the first half. There‘s some good characters in here (especially Joy, who I loved) and some interesting explorations of grief. But, yeah, not a book for me.

So many conflicted feelings. I greatly admire authors who are able to write across multiple genres but ultimately, I don‘t know how successful they were with this one. Granted, romance is not a genre I read but it just didn‘t feel earned. I‘m looking forward to another campfire next weekend though! I‘ll bring weiners! 🌭😜

Welcome back campers! I hope you enjoyed the vacation last week. Today, we‘re discussing through chapter 11 (before Feyi‘s art show). No spoilers please!

For me, there‘s an element of fantasy to the first half of the book, and these quick connections are one reason why. After years of denying herself, Feyi finds three men who stir feelings in her right in a row. How do you feel about quick connections in both life and literature? #CampLitsy

Several campers and other readers have noted in posts and reviews that Emezi uses a lot of swearing to discuss sexuality in this book. I agree. I don‘t often read romance, but her characters do use more 4-letter words than most books I read. Do you have an opinion about it? Did this affect your feelings towards the book? #CampLitsy

And our last question before we open up the camp for later activities. 😉

Feyi tragically lost her husband. This has affected the art she makes and the relationships she has with other characters. How well do you think she‘s coping with his death?

Thanks for joining us! Be sure to meet back for campfire s‘mores tonight and return next Saturday to discuss the whole book! 🏕 #CampLitsy

Meh, not a massive fan of this. I liked the island setting, and the art world stuff (could have done with exploring that part more actually, that was interesting), but the love story line didn't do much for me. It stressed me out in fact! But I'm looking forward to discussing at #camplitsy

This cover! 😍
Surprised at how much I was invested in these characters, even if their decisions were so difficult for me to understand, personally. Loved the setting and felt for Feyi in her grief, though this was full of joy also. Excellent audiobook narration from Bahni Turpin, as always. Not a knock out of the park for me, but an entertaining read.
#camplitsy

Been a bit distracted by the news and living in hope for a bit!
Managed 20%, but struggling.