She’d never asked which, never said anything about it, really. Feyi knew what lay against his throat underneath, that silver ring. As Feyi stared at him, Alim’s hand drifted to his neck, his fingers coal dark against his white tunic. His face was raw among the gold, flayed open with feeling, and she knew he’d seen the blood-marked ring, that he knew what it meant that she’d kept it, that she was showing it like this, in a forest of forevers, the one that didn’t happen. He was standing on the other side of the mirrored room, his eyes lined with kohl, shocked and wet as rings floated around his head. I think it’s important to know here that both Feyi and Alim have lived through the traumatic death of a spouse, and a part of their instant connection comes from recognizing something about each other that most people don’t. In this scene, Alim shows up to see the installation for the first time. She has hung hundreds of wedding rings by wire from the ceiling of a gallery: hidden among them is her late husband’s actual wedding ring, stained with his blood from the accident. At this point in the novel, Feyi has been working on an art installation exploring her grief over losing her husband in a car accident (from which she escaped virtually uninjured). The passage I’ll be looking at jumped out at me immediately, practically demanding analysis. Sometimes when I read, I decide partway through the process that I want to do a blog post, but have a hard time picking a passage, for one reason or another. CWs can be found at Leigh’s always-excellent review here. Who is she ready to become? 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?Ĭover photo and blurb from the author’s website. This new life she asked for just got a lot more complicated, and Feyi must begin her search for real answers. She’s even started dating the perfect guy, but their new relationship might be sabotaged before it has a chance by the dangerous thrill Feyi feels every time she locks eyes with the one person in the house who is most definitely off-limits. 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. 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 Adekola wants to learn how to be alive again.

You make a fool of death