Maria Llovet’s Crave is an erotic graphic novel that caught me off guard—a testament not to the work’s lack of clarity, but to my own assumptions about its boundaries. Llovet weaves a fun tale that doubles as a critique of society’s uneasy dance with technology and AI. Her commentary on our digital age isn’t subtle, nor does it aim to be.


That said, Crave left me craving more. The story builds momentum with a magnetic pull, only to conclude frustratingly early — a familiar feeling for graphic novels in my experience. This isn’t a flaw in Llovet’s execution so much as a byproduct of the medium’s constraints. The world she sketches feels rich enough to sustain a novel or a netflix special with characters whose complexities beg further unraveling.

What’s here is undeniably compelling. Crave balances its erotic charge with hints of intellectual heft, delivering a narrative that teases thought-provoking and titillates the senses. There’s a generous dash of spice, and BDSM that did not feel out of place.


Ultimately, Llovet’s work lingers. I’d eagerly pick up future projects from her, both for the storytelling and the art itself (prints of her illustrations, please!). If a graphic novel’s success is measured by its ability to leave readers hungry, Crave is a triumph.

Thank you to Image Comics for providing this book for review through NetGalley all of the opinions are my own.#Crave #NetGalley.

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc of this!!

This was pretty out of my comfort zone genre-wise and media-wise, but the plot was really interesting! I think I would have enjoyed it more as an actual book, but that's a personal preference, and I did not deduct points from my rating for that. It definitely brought me back to when I used to read comic books all the time. I don't know that I will request more from this author in the future, but it was an entertaining and quick read.

This is my first time reading a graphic novel and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience!

It follows a group of students trying to prevent a dangerous and chaotic AI system from wreaking havoc on their campus. The students become absolutely ravenous following the orders of the app 'Crave'. This novel was very unhinged, and things got crazy fast, but it was super fun, and definitely lived up to its erotic label!

The artwork was brilliant; it was the cover that drew me in initially - and the enticing plot of course - but the illustrations inside were fantastic too! I loved the art style. It was really emotive, colourful and packed with detail, and reminded me of old comic books.

This graphic novel was dark and mysterious, and spicy as hell! This was a really fun read, and it definitely had the unsettling Black Mirror vibe it advertised in the description!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this!

*I received this book as an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) for free in exchange for an honest review*

Crave reminded me of an old Archie comic that had been turned into an erotica. I liked the spin it had on AI and nerve/dare apps. It was interesting, but I 'd pass on a second book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!

Maria Llovet’s Crave follows the sudden appearance of a mysterious app on everyone’s phone at a university campus. The app promises to give you what you "crave", though no one knows where it came from or how it works. Within a few hours, chaos erupts—violence, sex, and everything in between take over as people seemingly submit to their deepest desires without hesitation.

I liked the illustrations - Llovet has a very specific and identifiable style - and the way the minimal dialogue let the art speak for itself. The story is incredibly fast-paced, making it a gripping read but it's also over before you know it. While some aspects may seem far-fetched, the way AI is taking over our society at the moment, maybe it's not that far. However, I found it unrealistic how quickly everyone succumbed to public displays of sex and chaos. People don’t work like that—shame and social stigma would stop them. Still, I was able to suspend my disbelief for the sake of the story’s chaotic momentum.

Overall, it's a fun read, if a bit rushed

A spicy Black Mirror episode indeed!
Pros: Fast paced plot, writing was good for the most part, and the art style worked for this type of story (particularly the choice to only have facial features on main characters)
Cons: Plot wasn't overly new or exciting, not a very satisfying ending, and art was a bit bland at times.
Definitely 18+ based on the amount of X rated scenes.
Very graphic graphic novel.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for the review copy.

Showing up on your phone (not dissimilar to an unwanted U2 album in your iTunes Library), the app known as Crave takes a campus by storm. When the app appears to offer students their hearts' desires, with what at first seems like no strings attached, users find themselves giving away maybe a bit too much of themselves and their info, letting their id do all of the talking.

<i>Crave</i> is a gorgeously rendered book from Maria Llovet. The story is built upon a creative and satirical concept of love, lust, data privacy, and reliance on social media, but is truly the vessel allowing the art to shine bright.

<i>Crave</i> examines just how much we as a society want from social media and the connections we make while focusing on just how far we are willing to go to get it or what we are in some cases willing to give up. Equal parts terrifying, erotic, heart-warming, and suspenseful, this book is well-worth your time.

This book was disgustingly weird, yet I enjoyed myself. And this was definitely an original thought and story!!

I genuinely don't really care for graphics but I figured this would be a good start. It did not disappoint, I was thoroughly invested as in I read it in one sitting. It was definitely a quick read and I would recommend it but I felt like it was somewhat rushed, I felt like alot of things were happening and I was hoping it would slow down so I could have enjoyed it a bit more but it was a good read. I would definitely recommend.

“Tell us what you crave – we’ll make it happen”
Everyone on campus wakes up to have a new app on their phone called Crave. If you tell the app what you lust for, then it will fulfill your desires.
This graphic novel touched on certain issues that have arisen in our current culture. Social media creates an arena that indoctrinates people to become obsessed with likes and numbers. People feel like they need that external validation, that next dopamine hit. Crave also touches on the issues of what happens when you let your desires run your life. I think in its entirety, it discussed a lot of important issues that our society is dealing with today.
It is worth the read.

#ThxNetGalley

I was excited to see my request for this book was approved, but I was unable to read it in the format provided by NetGalley, making it an impossible quest to complete. I wish to read this book in the future as the premise is intriguing and the cover is fun. Thank you to NetGalley for approving my request, and I apologize for my inefficacy as it stands.

3.5 stars—An entertaining, fast-paced story with wonderful artwork and an interesting premise. We follow a group of college students as they face off against Crave, an app which promises to give you exactly what you want, but there is always a catch. Lust and jealousy give way to violence as David, Alexandra, Sofia, and Albert race to stop Crave before it causes irrevocable damage. Timely if not a bit dystopian, Crave promises an erotic, fun read. Yet there are a couple things which keep me from bumping it up to four or five stars.

First, as a warning, though the content in no way bothered me, there are scenes which other readers might find to be too sexual. And, indeed, there is quite a bit of that throughout though it is central to the plot and adds interest to the comic overall. My hang-up when it comes to the nudity is the reason given for Alexandra’s boudoir photos (which are some of my favorite images within the comic, mind you). Their existence when explained is a bit lackluster for me, sort of non-committal—like the author wanted to include this style of nudity within their story but didn’t want to align Alexandra too much with the scene? <spoiler> She just does it as a favor to the photographer but isn’t into it all that much herself? I think it would have added to her character for it to be something she genuinely enjoys/desires. </spoiler> Perhaps that is a small knit pick, but these are some of, if not THE, most intriguing images within the book so I felt they deserved a better rational?

In some ways I thought the pacing made sense for the story and how out of control Crave made everything but there were also moments I wished we would slow down a bit if only to feel more realistic. I will admit though that this might be an issue of form rather than plot as, when this was being released as single issued comics, the progression would be tempered simply by virtue of the time between releases. Yet, in this format, the story moved at an incredible fast pace. It was fun and exciting either way, but this is something to keep in mind.

Though my rating is a 3.5, I still found Crave to be a good time and I know there is an audience who would eat this up.

Thank you Netgalley and Image Comics who the advance copy to read and review!

Crave is a graphic novel/comic collection about a phone app appearing on college students phones and helps them get what they want. Whether it be hook up with someone they have a crush on or break up two people, this app makes the seemingly impossible possible.

The plot is interesting, the graphics are good but if this collection were doubled in size the character development could have been stronger. Overall, it is solid work.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This graphic novel was engaging, ravenous, and intriguing! The concept is very cool, and it could be such a wild and cool show which would be binge-able like the book itself.

Wow! Crave is a beautifully illustrated, spicy (🌶️🌶️🌶️), graphic thriller series! It kind of sheds light on the reliance of social media apps that are unnecessary and the Crave app is completely out of control. Taking over people’s lives, enticing and instructing them to do evil or impulsive things. Crave just wants to help you obtain what you desire. The president of the college is definitely up to no good and likely the mastermind behind the launching of the Crave app on campus! This series was a very quick read and it was nice and spicy with an interesting plot! I’d recommend it for sure.

I did not realize this was a comic but ok, I’ll go for it.
The story was disjointed, barely made sense and I can’t even figure out if it was the format or just the story.
But it was also just mostly pornographic drawings and not much else as far as story…
Soooo… yeah… really not my bag at all

I finished this yesterday, just getting some of my netgalley
backlist done. This was alittle less interesting than Faithless.
But you can never trust technology is what you learn in this
one!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6941524376

Very unique idea! Loved how this story shows how technology can be a detriment to society. There were many moving pieces to this story that all came together and kept me entertained.

Unhinged and chaotic.
This was definitely a 5/5⭐ for me. This graphic novel delivered on everything it promised.
Actually scary because it's very similar to the reality we live in right now.

plot about an app that can allegedly satisfy your "crave" though actually the app can create more chaos in good. The main character, David, didn't care for the app until it enticed him with his longtime crush resulting in him finally breaking things off with his girlfriend after months of being miserable. He and his best friend, Albert, alongside others, realize though the app gave them what they wanted it at times was dangerous and needed to be stopped & so that's just what they did. Through this, they found out their school was just an experiment for the app and even the director was in on it. This results in fights & the school nearly burning down but at the end David & his crush, Alexander are able to stop it and are happily together and so are his friends but are they?? The gives us a happy ending with a cliffhanger, of a possibility of there being a possibly being a second experiment! I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book at all but it proved to be good though the plot was a bit fast-paced. Hopefully there will be another book!!