The graphics are everything, but the plot doesn’t lag behind! Love the premise of it, the storylines, and the characters. Would def read more if it’s released!

I requested this without knowing it was a graphic novel. I have been more into them this year so I wasn’t upset about that! The premise of the story sounded good but sadly it was just too short for me. The characters had little depth for me to care about them because of the length of the story. It was more lust and less romance as well. Overall I probably wouldn’t read more of this. But if you are looking for a quick read I would check it out!

The premise of this manga was very intriguing, which is why I requested it on NetGalley although I am not usually a manga reader. The illustrations are very nice and I could easily follow the plot. It barely took any time to read the entire thing.

The story is due to its length ultimately shallow, we don’t get to know the characters, there is not much of an introduction or background to any of them and the plot is also very predictable and not complex at all. The premise of the story had so much potential that I thought it could be an entire series, but this first volume doesn’t seem to be sturdy enough to be a foundation for more follow-up volumes.

The Goodreads description also mentions that this is marketed as a mystery, while I can see the black mirror aspects, there was absolutely no mystery in this manga for me. The description also states that ‘David, a top student, engages in a game of seduction with the unattainable Alexandra.’, which does not accurately describe the plot of the story in my opinion.

The pornographic aspects did not captivate me. I think this is mostly because we don’t know the characters very well so the tension is missing for me there, the overall ‘lust fest’ in the hallways of the university also creeped me out more than anything. One of the characters models BDSM wear and this is heavily featured in the promotions, but there is nothing more to it than that or at least the reader never finds out anything about it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for gifting me this ARC to review.

I received an early e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this book on a whim. It's not my usual sort of book but the concept sounded really interesting. I actually really enjoyed it! I love the art style, the characters were great and the story was really fun. Would recommend :)

Summary:

What would you do if, one day, a mysterious app appeared on your phone, promising you the romance of your dreams? Most people would probably know to be cautious about such a promise. But what about a group of college students who have yet to experience the real world?

Well, they're about to learn the hard way as the app walks them through increasingly drastic steps to get what they want. But will what they want prove to be worth the cost? It's time to find out.

Review:

I'm not going to lie – I 100% picked up Crave to read because of that cover. It's stunning! I knew right away that I would love Maria Llovet's art style, and I was right. While I didn't end up loving the whole of the story, I did appreciate the art the whole way through.

Crave is a dark sci-fi with a tech twist. There's a life lesson woven into the tale, which I appreciated. That said, I feel like we needed more time to meet the characters before they were thrown into the app-deep end. We go from zero to sixty very quickly, and when these people we hardly know begin making extreme decisions, it's hard to know how to feel about it. It's even harder to support them (though maybe that was the point?).

The thing I love the most about Crave is how unique it is. Okay, I loved that second best – the art still comes in first. While the moral of the story may be similar, everything else about this book resonated with such personality, and I loved that.

Highlights:
Bright Art style
Romance/Erotica
Tension

Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

I requested this on a whim because I'm trying to read more graphic novels, comics, and manga this year. It was so fun! I read it in one sitting and found myself wishing for more. The "Black Mirror" esque plot of an app taking over a university with major consequences was easy to get into and kept me interested throughout. I enjoyed the art style and will definitely be picking up more from Maria Llovet in the future.

Thank you Net Galley for providing an E Arc of Crave by Maria Llovet.
If I can be completely honest this graphic novel feels lackluster and flat. The premise of the novel is about an app that allows people to gain access to things they most crave. Apparently in this novel the thing that most college kids crave is sex. Sex and sex only. The concept seems very interesting especially the idea of an app that would allow people to gain whatever they want almost but the author only focused on hook ups for some reason. I would not suggest this graphic novel to be honest.

One morning students at an elite university discover a new app on their phones named Crave. It offers to make their desires come true, and they gleefully use it as a hookup app. At first a wave of hedonistic not quite orgies sweep the school, but once this initial tide calms, students give vent to other emotions such as jealousy, self harm and getting even.

Crave is short in time span, capturing a few days of campus life, but big on emotions and actions. The narrative centers on David, one of the top students at the school. At the beginning of the miniseries he is unhappy, and breaks up with his girlfriend, Charlotte. After talking through class with a friend, he returns to his room to find his roommate in a rush to leave, having left a note that David should avoid the app that is unfortunately lost in the chaos of his exit, but David has already been receiving erotic photos from an unknown sender. David heads to the library for a mandatory study session, but arrives to find it ended early and only a past crush is there.

Crave is a somewhat small stakes erotic thriller, but with greater societal implications. What if Crave had a bigger launch? To seek their desires, one just has to use Crave. Crave then uses its database to either begin to meet your desire, or if it is not possible says there is a less than 10% chance of its success. Crave also seems to have control over the physical school environment, able to effect the functioning of elevators or have users complete small tasks that on their own seem slight but together can trigger catastrophe.

A sex fueled horror story of how social media can unleash our less restrained emotions especially when losing site of the community in favor of your own gratification. Recommended to those interested in graphic novels, miss-uses of technologies or want to feel justified for reading the user agreement.

Definitely not one to read on a plane (or anywhere public for that matter) which was my original plan

I loved the art style and the plot sounded interesting however wasn't as fleshed out as I hoped it would be.

If you love a raunchy story and graphic novels this is the one for you!

"Crave" is a visual feast that will leave you craving more. With stunning artwork and a captivating storyline, it's a thrilling journey into desire and darkness. Dive into this mesmerizing world and prepare to be spellbound from start to finish.

really addicting. great art and i was obsessed with the storyline. would definitely recommend to anyone who is into adult graphic novels.

If you’re looking for a fast spaced in one sitting type of read you’ve got it.

A mysterious app called Crave has appeared on a college campus. This app allows the user to ask for their deepest darkest desires no matter how lewd the request might be.

So what happens when the one persons request starts wreaking havok amongst the student population?

When it comes to comics I’m going to expect kind of a swift through and through read. This got straight to the point. It was quirky and fun. Don’t get me wrong a blush or two did spring up on these cheeks.

Don’t expect anymore than what you’re given. If you’re looking for an in depth story this is not it.

Wham Bam Thank You Ma’am.

This graphic novel series is set at a university where suddenly an app called “crave” appears on everyone’s cell phones. The app claims to be able to give instructions for each user to fulfill their fantasies. At first, mostly everyone is happy to be hooking up with their crushes. When sinister things begin unfolding, a small group of friends must band together to get to the bottom of this mysterious app and it’s dark motives. I thought the art was great and the story kept me reading. Would recommend those looking for a quick read with mature themes/visuals.

This was such an interesting graphic novel. I'm a big fan of Image Comics and this definitely didn't disappoint. This was such a unique story with basically a version of AI social media mixed with tinder. It definitely had more sexual content than I usually like, but the story was super interesting and I really liked the characters. I do hope there are more volumes (which the end of this volume seemed to hint at). I definitely think this could be expanded upon and this could have some really interesting later volumes in a possible series.

This had potential to be intriguing, but never dove in as deeply as I hoped it would. None of the relationships felt like they built up connections, I don't feel that we got to know the characters that well, and I would have liked to have seen more of the insidious aspects of the app. I also found it unrealistic/unbelievable how quickly the students were fine with engaging in sexual activities anywhere on the school property.

Book Rating: 5/5
Spice Rating: 3.5/5

I absolutely loved this! Based in a university setting, the characters find themselves consumed with the new app Crave that just appeared on everyone’s phone on campus. Crave allows you to tell the app what you are craving and they will give you the odds of satisfaction and if it’s high enough, it will give you steps to completing the goal.

There is mystery, drama, sex, and more! This graphic novel is not for the faint of heart I will say that! If you are interested in a fun story that can be continued, then try Crave!

I requested an ARC of Crave from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was initially a cover draw for me but when I read the blurb my interest peaked even more.

I loved the artwork in this comic first and foremost, each piece helped set the scene perfectly.

The actually storyline was quite good, and should serve as a reminder for folks to read what they’re agreeing to when it comes to their data on apps.

The app that was developed in this comic was wild, it completely wigged me out, especially as a person who is freaked out by advanced technology like artificial intelligence.

I really like the characters, and I hope there is more so we can see more of them.

Overall it was a quick read with captivating artwork, interesting characters, eerie vibes and some heavy topics such as self harm and bodily harm to others.

How did I miss the erotica in the description and cover? Beyond the sometimes shocking sex scenes the story is solid and intriguing. It's perfectly believable that people would use an app which guided them to satiate their cravings, no.matter the cost. Despite the genre being beyond my pallette it was a fun time.

I like Black Mirror stories and though I haven't seen Eyes Wide Shut at the moment of writing this review, I'm intrigued about it now because of how nicely the thriller elements were incorporated here. The reason I talked about those two is cos this comic is pitched as Black Mirror meets Eyes Wide Shut.

The things I like most that Black Mirror does: using technologyTM as the main antagonist and its themes as solid plot devices, is done well here.

Of course the art is gorgeous: the style is PERFECT not only for erotic scenes but also for the vivid descent into its darker themes.

I would admit I thought (hoped?) there would be more focus on the queer stories, and judging it based on cover alone i thought the main characters here would be this throuple in the cover hahah but it's ok, i tolerate hetero-angst for the sake of immersing myself in a good story once in a while. which again is perfect because thats exactly what i say of Black Mirror as well.

thank you Image comics and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

3.5 stars.

Crave is an erotic thriller graphic novel which follows a group of students as the app Crave takes over their school and it descends into chaos. The app promises users to fulfil whatever they crave, giving them a percentage of how likely it is and tells them how to go about it.

This concept isn't entirely new but I'm always intrigued as to how it's going to play out. This went down a more sexy route, focusing on the relationships and flings of this group. While the blurb described the setting as an elite university, I actually found the characters acted more like young teenagers which was a little frustrating. The pacing was fast which meant there wasn't space to become invested in any of the relationships really, while I understand that can come with the genre of graphic novels/comics, I have seen flashback scenes used in other face paced stories to give more depth and context to the characters and their relationships.

The artwork was incredibly bright, I liked how it wasn't always neat actually. Some of the chaotic colouring and line work worked really well with the storytelling too.

The story was fun, dark and intense. I think the concepts are very current and relevant, it's definitely a zeitgeisty book. If you enjoyed shows like Red Rose or Black Mirror, you'll love this!