I am a Maria Llovet fan but this one was a bit of a miss for me. The premise was interesting but ended up being very typical , "the app takes over, people go crazy, the app is destroyed (or is it?)', with some added sexiness. It is a fast read and I think would have benefitted from being a couple of arcs and not just a quick 6 issues. Everything you need is within but it was too big a cast to get to know any of the characters on more than a surface level. Overall, if it was someone's first journey into an erotic thriller comic or tech takes over type story I would still recommend. There seems to be a possibility of more and if there is I hope it is the same cast and we get more on who they are instead of a new setting and cast. Thanks to Image and Maria Llovet for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When a new app mysteriously appears on the phones of an entire college campus, everyone takes advantage of its strange power to satisfy any craving. Enticed by the seemingly harmless prompts from the app, David and Mars give in to their cravings. But when the creators of the app urgently contact them, and the campus itself starts to do whatever it takes to grant users’ cravings, David must race against time to save everyone from their own desires.

Binged this in one sitting! I’m not usually a graphic novel reader, but I really enjoyed this. The sketchy, almost classic comic book style illustrations felt fresh and modernized in the context of the story. The characters, even the “villains,” were so fun to read. Alexandra and Sophia were easily my favorites in the story, both in art design and character.

Would absolutely recommend this for readers looking for a soft sci-fi, Black Mirror-esque erotic thriller, especially for those looking to test the waters of graphic novels like me.

Spooky sexy short series about an elite private school. a weird app that promises to grant its users what it wants, and a metaphorical genie that gets let out the bottle.

I enjoyed this a lot. First of all, the art is lovely, I especially like the colour palette used. I think the characters where likeable, but some people, like Charlotte, seemed a little shallow. I think this is a pacing thing, and if the story was longer we could have got more of her motivation for past behaviours (did she like David first or did she not like Alex and wanted to get back at her etc.). I liked not finding out everything about Crave and who's behind it, it made this different from lots of stories out there to have only the view and knowledge of the characters at the campus.
I thought the story was intriguing and well planned and I read the whole thing in one go because I wanted to know what happened. I'd definitely recommend and continue the series for myself!

I’d never read anything of Llovet’s before but Alexandra and her amazing blonde bob on the cover roped me in from the start (um, pun unintended). She’s gorgeous and I was instantly obsessed.

Equally in turns scary and sexy, Crave is a commentary on social media, AI, and the darker elements of humanity. The artwork was full of detail, so many things happening in some panels without being too cluttered. The characters were all distinct with quickly fleshed out personalities, backstories, and romances. Really a fantastic mini-series. I’d be interested to see if Llovet revisits this world, but it felt wonderfully complete.

Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for the ARC of this book to review!

As someone without much experience reading graphic novels, I was excited to give “Crave” by Maria Llovet a shot after seeing it available on NetGalley. The stunning cover immediately drew me in, and the premise—described as "Black Mirror meets Eyes Wide Shut in this dark and sexy erotic thriller"—had me intrigued.

“Crave” follows the sudden and mysterious appearance of an app on everyone’s phone on a college campus that promises to fulfill users' desires. Naturally, the students use it as a hookup app, chaos quickly ensues, and the main characters attempt to destroy it. The story, inspired by the connections between people and the rise of AI, offers an interesting take on how technology might shape our relationships and desires.

While I really enjoyed the artistic element of the graphic novel, I found myself wanting more from the story itself. This collection of volumes 1-6 presents an intriguing concept, but I struggled with some confusion over the plot at times, and I had to go back to piece things together. Perhaps this stems from my preference for longer novels, where there's more time to develop the plot and characters.

There’s great potential in the storyline, but I found the plot a bit too fragmented for my taste, leaving me wanting more depth and explanation. I’d love to see this concept expanded into a series of longer novels where the complex themes could be more fully explored.

This is the first time I've ever read a comic. I thought it was going to be weird, but I absolutely found myself reading through to see what was going to happen. I didn't realize it was a graphic when I requested it and I'm really sorry I don't have additional feedback to provide. As someone that has never read a comic - I thought the artwork was fantastic, I think I was a bit confused on sequencing at first but that all came together later and made sense. Also, coming from books - I kind of feel like some of the story was rushed. I'm assuming that's the way things work with comics though. All in all it was a fascinating first experience for a comic! Thank you for the opportunity!

ARC Review

I don’t normally read graphic novels (in fact I don’t think I’ve so much as looked at anything like this since Tin Tin in my childhood), but I really enjoyed the break from typical reading and the story told across this mini series.

The artwork is beautiful and I enjoyed the depth of the underlying message.

The story itself was very fast paced and interesting, touching on some dark and much deeper meanings, but also lightened by the smut and dirty pictures.

Themes/Tropes: Academia, dystopian?, second chance romance, instalove, lgbtqia+ rep & kink

5/5 🌶 ratings

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you NetGalley and Image Comics for a digital ARC!

Imagine finding a mysterious new app on your phone one day. You open the app, Crave, to find that this app was designed to helping you get everything you want, or satisfy every craving, as it were.

At first, students at our fictional university are enthralled with this app and use it obsessively. The obsession quickly turns dark, however, when students realize the AI has no moral limit- and will help them satisfy their craving at any cost. A group of friends band together to take the app down and restore peace to their campus.

I loved the concept of this graphic novel, as AI is such a hot topic at the moment. Lines are still being drawn about how and when to use AI, so I think art like this- exploring the topic are so important in this moment!

5/5 ⭐️s
🌶️🌶️🌶️ - very explicit images

LOVES:
- I was living for the Black Mirror vibes
- I liked how there were philosophical discussions happening amidst the relationship drama
- The cyber bullying realness ❤️‍🩹
- These characters learned a big lesson 😳
- The ending is super fun. I like how everything was wrapped up and there was still something to leave you wanting more

Crave and the ads for other comic series made me feel like I need to be more involved in this graphic novel world. It’s so weird and cool. This was super short and easy to read, I had a lot of fun!

Thanks to @netgalley and @imagecomics for the advanced copy 💝

The narrative could have really explored the concept of reliance on AI/social media, but it was all super heavy handed and too quick a read to really get into it. Appreciate the willingness to be explicit and tackle difficult themes, but it felt underdeveloped.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was kind of like an episode of black mirror and it could’ve been really cool if it wasn’t just straight up porn.

This so so interesting. I really enjoyed the concept and the artwork. It was such a fast read once I picked it up and I loved the depth of the story about this crazy app!

Crave is an app that can help you satisfy any craving you desire... anything. I really enjoyed this graphic novel and its art style. The premise is so interesting and I love the idea that an app can help satisfy your desires. People use it to hook up, fall in love, and even hurt others. This is an erotic graphic novel that shows just how far people will go and how out of control something like this can get. It was a super fun, sexy, and jarring. Highly recommend!!

#1 I love webtoons/graphic novels because they are so quick and easy to read.
#2 This is a very "Black Mirror" or "The Circle" by Dave Eggers vibe books that a little dystopian and a little sexy so it hit all the right spots for me.
#2 the art is beautiful (and a lil NSFW)

Crave is a new app at an elite university that promises to make all your wildest cravings come true. What ensues is a lot of drama, messy hookups and jealousy. 5 stars for this is different than 5 stars for a full book but it still was a 5/5 experience for me.

Crave by Maria LLovet is really great! I always love whatever Maria Llovet works on and her story of a evil AI taking over a college was super interesting. Hopefully there will be more volumes in the future.

Thanks to Image Comics and NetGalley for the ARC.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting, quick read. Maybe too quick, honestly. I would've liked to spend more time with the characters and the plot - it felt like everything sped right on by and I didn't get to know anyone.

Still, the premise is cool!

It was okay, not my favorite. But it is also my fault, because I do not usually read this kind of books, but I thought the art was beautiful.

2.75/5 rounded up. Thank you to Netgalley and Image Comics for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great concept! Cool, retro art that reminded me of Archie comics. This plot could've gone a number of waves:
1) either down the horror route with the malfunctioning technology;
2) or maybe a more literary route with conversation surrounding free will, pleasure over responsibility, accountability, and taking control of your own life;
3) even sci-fi with futuristic advances in technology and AI
4) or even continuing down the romance lane with the main couples that pair up and really focus on how they wouldn't have had the courage to approach them without the app and how taking a chance can be worth it to find love.

What we get is none of those, or maybe just a tiny bit of each genre and instead of doing one thing really well, it tries to cover a lot of ground and it doesn't work as much. It's just not impactful. Overall I had a fun time, but in the end I was asking myself "that's it?"

It was fast paced & the premise of the story was really good. I can’t believe an app made those students lose control like that. That being said, there were times where I did not feel connected to the characters as much as I wanted to be. I enjoyed meeting the characters and I’m excited for what is in store in the next one.