Centered around a new app that helps you achieve your most desired "cravings", Crave is an erotic graphic novel that definitely lives up to the Black Mirror vibes it was going for. Set on a college campus, a group of students are thrust into chaos after a new app wreaks havoc by helping people get what they want most. All at the expense of privacy, autonomy and even safety.

As our protagonists deal with not only their own cravings and desires but the mayhem than the app has caused, some of them are forced to reflect on how dangerous it can be if we all got what we wanted.

The art style is very "sketchbook"-esque and works well with this story. I really enjoyed this graphic novel and flew threw it in one sitting. While the plot and themes itself are nothing groundbreaking, the combination of the illustrations and all too real concept of technology going rogue, this is a story that will definitely resonate with a lot of readers.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

2.5 stars

I got this as an eARC from Netgalley and I tell you... It was not worth my time. It was so weird. And I felt uncomfortable seeing high schoolers have NSFW scenes.

I do not think there has been an Image Comic series that I did not like....
This was such a fun story (with lots of dark elements for sure) on the obsession of teenagers with lust and technology. The art was sharp and shocking. It dealt with graphic violence in a way that felt right...not too overdone but not completely overlooked.
I really hope this series continues because I will be looking for more.

Thank you NetGalley and Image Comics for the ARC.

It was an okay graphic novel. I read this very quickly and it had an intriguing plot and storyline. The art was beautiful also!

Interesting concept, but left me feeling unfulfilled. Would have liked more of an exploration/explanation for the app itself & maybe even the makers.

A 3-star read. I’m not a ravenous consumer of graphic novels but I found this to be a great premise which needed a little more oomph.

I found it hard to get too invested in the characters as it was a little confusing. But the side plots had some great potential if explored further.

The illustration was excellent although at times I imagine it would look better in print to pick out the details.

Overall one of those graphic novels that might need a fair few more episodes to find its groove.

While I think this story has potential, it didn’t really have much of a plot and there was really no character development—or even a foundation to build from. It seemed to be a story just for the shock value, for the sake of it, and nothing more.

Definitely a thought-provoking comic series about the impact of social media/AI on real lives. I think comics can sometimes represent real concerns in a way that makes it easier for us to keep them in the realm of "that couldn't really happen," which was the case for me here. That being said, I'm still thinking about what the implications could be if someone did create something like this. The art is great. Recommend.

Crave by Maria Llovet is an erotic thriller comic in which a mysterious app called CRAVE makes your desires come true. Unfortunately, this app ends up causing mayhem at a university. David and his friends have to figure out how to stop it and what or who is behind it. It was originally published in installments, but this is an omnibus of the series.

This was a very interesting read. It’s different from what I usually read and compelling. It’s also a quick read, so perfect if you need a palate cleanser. I thought the idea portrayed was a unique one that shows how getting what you want might not always be what’s best. I also enjoyed reading about the different characters. Considering how short Crave is, Llovet did a great job personifying the many characters that are featured. I’m not a huge fan of YA, but Llovet was able to make the characters realistic for their age.

I enjoyed the artwork as well. The illustrative style and the colors were appealing and beautifully done. I would definitely check out Llovet’s other graphic novels just for the illustration style.

Crave comes out on October 1, 2024. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this ARC for review.

DNF at 20%. While I was expecting a lot of sexual content, the overtones of non-consent from the Crave app in this graphic novel gave me serious ick. I won't be continuing due to this reason.

I really enjoyed the story. The artwork was amazing and hot at times but the story was the winner for me. I loved the characters and the concept.

3.5 stars
I really liked this book. I loved the premise and the plot, but for me it feels that the pace is too fast, preventing the development of the characters and their relationships from happening naturally and not seeming too forced. But overall I really liked the story and it premise, and would love to read more about it.

Thank you Netgalley and Image Comics for the free e-ARC to read in exchange of my honest opinion.

Big thanks to Netgalley and Maria Llovet for the eARC in exchange for a review.

I'm always hit or miss with comics.
The art was decent, occasionally some details that were kinda background details felt unfinished and made some of the artwork feel rushed.
The story line was interesting and very much a black mirror style story, but a little more far fetched than a story that falls into the "that could totally happen IRL"
Pretty spicy, with some scenes being fairly explicit but nothing hard core.

4 stars

I wasn't sure what to expect when I first opened this story. I was mostly going off what the cover gave, which was very sensual vibes. After reading the description I thought this would be similar to Nerve but sexy. Focusing on the cover though, when I first saw it I figured the story was either going to focus on polygamy or a love triangle. I had my fingers crossed from polygamy and with the sensual vibes had a little hope that was what I was going to get. Typically, it ended up being a love triangle. Upon opening the file, I found out that the e-copy at the very least is using a different cover from the one advertised. And I actually like this other cover better. It encapsulates the story better with actually showing that it will be a love triangle, focusing the dilemma with a cellphone and still keeps to the sensual vibe. I wish they would have used that cover more.

Moving on to the actual plot, it starts off strong by immediately telling me about the app and what it does as well as introducing me to all the characters and their motives for the story. I love the way that the motives are shown the most. The author doesn't choose to say what their motives are most of the time but rather uses the art to show where or who the characters gaze lands on. Who the characters focus their attention on. Again it really sticks to the sensual vibe.

As the story goes on, the sensual becomes more sexual with the chaos that comes from people desires. As it progresses, I can see more and more people in the background having random sex in the hallways of this school. Its very strange and chaotic but fits the vibe of things getting out of control. But it is weird at first to just see people giving into their desires that easily.

My one big problem with the plot was the way they set up the app at the beginning of the story made it sound so fleshed out, like the app as been a part of their campus for a while. At least a week. It wasn't until I got more clarification when Kei described what he knew that I found out the app was probably introduced to campus that morning, which makes the note at the beginning make more sense too.

That being said, Kei was my least favourite character. All the characters overall were very fleshed out, motives clear and they all stay in character throughout. But I will never get over Kei and his note. I get that he was in a rush and did leave a note, but typically when someone you are writing a note for appears before you leave, you tell them what the note says before you leave. So I don't blame the others for forgetting about the note. Kei should have told them what was on the note before leaving, especially after they did him a solid and lied so he could leave.

If I had to pick out anything else about the comic I didn't like, it would be how it was formatted. Because this started off as a issue release rather then a graphic novel first, this comic did keep in a lot of the issue details like the back pages with barcodes and prices for each issue. This just came off like they stuck the issues together and didn't take into consideration editing it down. Then they also kept the previews for the next issue. This was just unnecessary since I'm not waiting to read the next issue, I'm just going to read it. So the previews were just unnecessary to have in there.

I really did enjoy this graphic novel though. In fact, halfway through I tried looking up to see if I could expect a second volume. No news on it yet, but the ending did have a question mark on it, so hopefully the story will continue. Selfishly I wish they made the first volume longer or stretched the story out to multiple volumes, but I understand why they ended it there. It works really well the way it is. So for now I'm just going to sit and wait for any news on a volume 2.

This was just a sleazy feeling book. I'd be grasping at straws to find something I liked. Not good. No.

As others have mentioned, this is an engrossing read. It's very quick, I read it in under 40 minutes, and it wraps up nicely. Other reviewers mentioned the sexual content included, because of this I was prepared, but found it fairly mild, however, if you generally avoid reads of a sexual nature it may come as a shock without forewarning.

If I had any critique, it would be a request for more. I was left craving *wink wink* more of the story and its players – I loved the small side stories occurring outside the main characters. I would have liked to see more of those stories. I do think even as is we got a good feel for the type of people the main characters are, but I wanted more time to get to know them. They seemed lovely! I adore Llovet's art style and use of color. I'm very impressed and will be keeping an eye out for future works by Maria Llovet. Thanks so much to NetGalley for allowing me to read and share my thoughts ahead of this title's October release date.

I think if you enjoy Snotgirl, you'll enjoy this comic.

Maria Llovet doesn't have it in her to write a bad comic book / graphic novel. Per usual, I love everything about it. The story. The art. The coloring. Everything about it is perfect.

This book was an interesting look at how much control social media can have over our lives and how quickly things can go wrong. Though this showed the very extreme end of this it did feel like something that really could happen especially in an enclosed setting such as a college as in this book. I felt the art style matched well with the story though it wasn't necessarily to my personal taste. This book was very explicit which I didn’t expect though this can be attributed to not doing any personal research on this title, though I do feel that the cover art and blurb could have made this clearer as it was definitely a surprise. Overall I enjoyed this set of graphic novels and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for speculative fiction that really did feel close to current life events with some horror twists. Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC of this publication.

This series has such promise but something just fell short for me. It felt chaotic and all over the place, slightly rushed and incomplete.

I thought this would be a perfect read to unite my love for graphic novels & erotica…I was dreadfully wrong. Very cool concept, but overall it was a snooze fest. The art is alright. Storyline sticks out, but it didn’t work for me in this format.

Thank you for the advance copy!