It has been a while since I've gotten to read a mature graphic novel. Crave by Maria Llovet was such a fun read. I truly pulled me in from the start and reminded me a lot of Sex Criminals with a mix of Black Mirror. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read this series in a compendium form for issues 1-6 for Crave. Truly thankful for being able to read this in exchange for a review.

This was an entertaining and slightly eerie comic about the horrors of the human psyche and servalance. I enjoyed the plot and pacing, even if things sometimes felt slightly convenient. The character development wasn't its strong suit, but I'm not sure if that was its intention. I could really imagine this being a fun 90-minute teen movie. Interested to see what else Llovet creates.

I want to give a big thank you to Netgalley, Maria Llovet, and Image Comics for the ARC of the first 4 issues of Crave.

Crave didn't really meet my cravings. This is due to the pacing and partly artistic style choices.

Crave has a fascinating premise that you would definitely see on something like Black Mirror, but this is this story is not being told in an episode format. It is a comic whose story zooms but the reader in its four issues. I barely got to spend any time with the main cast characters so I was unaware of their backstories and what motivates them. Because of this, the reader is going to have a hard time getting into the character.

I really would have loved it if the story slowed down and let us into the world of the elite centuries-old university in which the comic takes place. I was hoping it to see an explanation as to why the students had lockers or where any of the faculty were while there were students doing the do-right in the middle of the hallways.

Finally, the artistic choice to use green for skin tones at points in the story was off. I get that the green was meant to reflect the technology and the Crave app, but it just didn't fit with the aseptic of the university and all ivy-covered walls, and because of the green skin connotation I just kept the thing 'alien'. but Mabey an argument could be made that this was the point, that the app craved coupled with the isolation of the university created a story that does feel like it is from another world. I just will never know due to how fast it goes by.

I never thought I’d find myself calling a post-apocalyptic technology hellscape sexy, but here we are. Waiting, wondering if Albert and Sofía would work burned. The heat between David and Alexandra seared. All of the technology stuff fell to the background for me, both because of the relationships and because it didn’t entirely make sense to me. It was a creepy situation, but I also didn’t fully understand the stakes and how high or low they were. Either way, I’m keeping an eye open in case we get more.

4.✨
Art work is crazy good, I read graphic novels before but never anything in this genre.
Definitely recommend anyone to try it.
The plot revolves around an app that promises to satisfy the University students desires/cravings.
It's fast paced and quick to read with some spicy surprises.

I want more 👀

4.5 rounded up.

While it's not something I would normally pick up it's a sexy little read.

A new app has been downloaded to everyone's phone. "Tell us what you crave." I blazed through this set. The characters were super cute, I loved the art work.

A new app promising to help fulfill your cravings comes to a university campus, but it soon becomes clear that something more sinister lies underneath. This was a really interesting premise, and I enjoyed the story. Aspects of it felt a bit forced or unrealistic (like the fact that the students who helped code the app would just leave the other students to deal with it alone until they were contacted for help). Still, an enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel, it was my first time really a graphic novel and my first from this author. That being said I really enjoyed it. I felt like it was fast paced and I was hooked from the very beginning.

Crave by Maria Llovet was a quirky graphic novel that was much more explicit than I expected. I still enjoyed it, but I somehow missed the erotic description. It is something to look out for! The whole premise is around an app that helps people's desires come true, which is a fascinating concept. If it sounds like something you would enjoy, I say read it!

Crave by Maria Llovet was such a fun and quick read, and as my first comic-style book, it definitely left an impression. The story was captivating enough, drawing me in right from the start. The unique art style really complemented the dark, sensual tone of the plot, enhancing the overall experience. Pacing could have been a bit slower (I just love a good slow burn). I enjoyed this story and would recommend it to anyone looking for something bold and visually engaging! It was pretty spicy too, if that's your thing.

Thank you Image Comics for a copy of Crave!

"CRAVE, a mysterious app that promises to make your desires come true, spreads among the students of an elite university who use it as a hookup app. David, a top student, engages in a game of seduction with the unattainable Alexandra. But as requests to the app escalate and wreak havoc on campus, David and his friends' only chance to stop this spiral is to find out what really lies behind Crave."

Crave is for anyone looking for:
- a Black Mirror-like book
- dangers of social media, AI, technology
- retro-style comics

Crave was so good, it got me searching Maria Llovet for her other works! Great concept and even better art. Crave was like if Gossip Girl and Black Mirror had a baby lol. High stakes, fast paced, and perfect for readers who are trying to quit their doom scrolling a little bit.

Ps. this has pretty graphic, sexual content.

This was so good! I liked the idea of an app that can give you whatever you crave, but of course it might not have the outcome that you want. The characters were pretty good, I feel like they could have had more depth but it wasn't something that really detracted from the overall story. The plot moves fast but I liked that aspect of it. Overall, this was a really fun read and one I would recommend.

a mysterious app that promises to make your desires come true, spreads among the students of a college who use it as a hookup app.
David, a top student, engages in a game of seduction with the unattainable Alexandra. But as requests to the app escalate and wreak havoc on campus, David and his friends' only chance to stop this spiral is to find out what really lies behind Crave.
This was super quick read. I loved the graphics and the plot. It was super spicy 🌶️

I really enjoyed this graphic novel! I have never really been a graphic novel person, however, the premise hooked me from the beginning. It was so enthralling to read and kept me hooked the whole time. I loved the style of the artistry in the graphic novel.

If an app promised to make your cravings a reality, would you use it? When Crave first launched, people started using it to shoot their shots with someone they’d never approach in person, which lead to people hooking up everywhere causing all kinds of hurt feelings. It only worsens as the app introduces a collaboration option allowing others to help satisfy another person’s craving…even if they’ve decided to walk away.

The idea of the app terrifies me because humans suck 🤣 Ok, maybe not all humans but a lot of them if we’re being honest. I could see the chaos the app caused actually happening in real life.

In one scene, a professor has on the blackboard the following debate topic: “Social media isn’t designed with your long-term happiness in mind.” And that’s really the theme of the book, in my opinion. It also made me consider not only the statement but also my feelings toward social media lately. Every good has some bad, and it’s all about balance, right?

Anyway, I loved this artwork—absolutely STUNNING! It’s what originally drew me to request an ARC copy, and I’m glad the story was equally as intriguing. Content warnings: sexual content (probably obvious by the covers and my review), suicide/self-harm, and death. StoryGraph has a more in-depth list if needed!

3.5⭐ First of all, the art in this graphic novel is incredible. I really enjoyed Maria Llovet’s illustration style. I’ve tried to highlight some of the incredible images in the comic in this review. It’s beautifully drawn.
The story itself is described as “Black Mirror meets Eyes Wide Shut”. It is in the neighborhood of modern dark academia under the influence of something like social media AI run amok. It’s erotica, it’s dystopian, and it has elements of mystery and psychological thriller to it. This one is definitely not for kids. My biggest wish is for more in terms of plot development.
Thank you to Netgalley, Image Comics, and Maria Llovet for the ARC opportunity.

This was a beautiful graphic novel about characters who try to save their schoolmates from spiraling out of control. I enjoyed the plot of the narrative and grew to like the characters, but this was written as a very classic graphic novel with short bursts of excitement and not very much time to get to know the characters or world in between.
If you were to read the volumes one at a time, with a break between each, it would be a spicy comic with just enough plot that you want to know what comes next, but reading it all at once showed the strength of the actual plot and characters, and makes you want more of it. I want more time to fully fall in love with the characters. I want to understand the motives of Charlotte and why she's so convinced David is the one for her despite them having no chemistry.
The art in this novel is absolutely gorgeous! the art style is what drew me in and I definitely don't regret it. I highly recommend this book as a fun and short read. Do check the content warnings though!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an early arc for an honest review.

This was kind of meh for me.

I don't read many graphic novels but the premise to this sounded so interesting. I love black mirror adjacent themes so this seemed right up my alley.

This fell short for me. Was I supposed to root for David? His character development was nonexistent. I literally know nothing about him other than he has a crush on Alex, and that's it.

The premise was incredibly interesting. An app that causes chaos as it tries to dive into the human need to be validated by a phone app. I understand the conversation it was trying to spark, but that was it. I guess I wanted more dialogue and more development between the characters, but maybe that's hard to accomplish in a graphic novel? It just seemed like a horned up graphic novel that tried to have a deep conversation about the dangers of social media, but instead fell flat.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this comic early!

Overall, I did find this story fun and quick to read, however… I did think the story was a bit too dull at times. It read very simple despite the obvious dark undertones that it presented in the story.

I do think it’s worth a read if you enjoy erotic art, but otherwise, you would likely not enjoy it for the story alone. The art is beautiful, but I think the narrative itself could use a little bit more fleshing out.

2 stars.

This was unlike anything I've read. The format is written as a comic book, which I thought would be challenging at first but it was written so well that I really enjoyed it!