something about the file type made it impossible for me to open this on my computer. its top bad cuz it looks really interesting but i had no way to open the file.

Maria Llovet's Eros/Psyche
by Maria Llovet
Review

(3.5 stars)

Now I have to admit that is was the cover that drew me in, it’s composition, the colour palette used and the expression on Sara and Silje’s faces. For a couple locked in what at first looks like a passionate embrace, there lies a cast of sadness. Like it’s the last time.

“My heart remained there, as if time stood still.
For me … The Rose was only you.’’

Maria Llovet’s Eros/Psyche is a (truly) dark academia, sapphic tale with some elements of romance, a slight tinge of horror and a bit of a twist!

On my first read through, I wasn’t even sure if i liked this story! But when I began to reflect on it, I realized that I did actually very much enjoy how it unfolded, even if for most of the story (by design, I think) I was a bit lost, much like how Sara might have been feeling at the beginning.

There’s a lot of subtext in this story, so many things are not explicitly said in words, but can be inferred from the art of by context. It was a truly interesting experience.

I loved the setting, so gothic romance, with the sculptures and the roses in the stained glass windows, embossed sealed letters, and pill holders.

The art was beautiful, moody and unique, which worked will with the mystery of it all.

Would I read this again?
I’m not sure if I would read it for a third time digitally. I’d love to read it in hardcover!

Would I recommend this?
I would, but it’s not for everyone.
If you go into it, for the dark academic, sapphic vibes, or if you’re someone that likes a bit of a mystery and twists, I think that you’ll enjoy this one.

Thank you Netgalley and Ablaze for the ARC.

CW: suicide, witchcraft, blood

This was my first ever graphic novel request, and I’ve only ever read a handful of graphic novels. I was immediately interested in the story because of the title (and the myth), the gorgeous art, and the description. However, Llovet’s work was nothing like it was marketed to be and honestly, it left me exceptionally disappointed.

The art was gorgeous and interesting, but exceptionally similar throughout. I was confused a few times because I couldn’t tell characters apart by looking at them. There was a strong witchy and then sci-fi vibe, but none of it was ever extrapolated on so you are left completely dumbfounded at the end. The author attempted to be mysterious, but in that attempt, she just left it as a complete mystery with no answers and too many questions.

I ended up not understanding what was happening or why it was happening, and couldn’t believe it was over as quickly as it was. There’s so much potential to this story and not much was delivered on. Also, if you’re picking this up because of the title, you may want to put it down. The myth of Eros and Psyche is only briefly mentioned in the story and at no point does the story of Sara and Silje mirror that of Eros and Psyche.

I gave this graphic novel a 2-star rating because it was pretty, and I was genuinely interested all the way until the end. It just didn’t deliver on the plot, the worldbuilding, or character development, and I walked away knowing I’d never pick up Llovet’s work again.

The colour story of this book was,,,, marvellous. I am in love with the way colour was used to highlight the emotions of certain scenes.
The artwork was incredible and i sm in awe of the work.

I am truly in love with the story and how it felt.

TW: suicide
The artwork in this was beautiful. I enjoyed the color scheme and the eerie vibes. However, it left me feeling confused. I would have enjoyed more context and world building. Maybe issue 2 would help resolve some of my confusion. I like the premise. I just would have enjoyed MORE story.

This looks like it might be really good. Unfirtunately the file format means I cannot open it in any app on my admittedly older devices. I don't want to affect the rating overall since I haven't been able to read it so a middling 3 stars.

I was pretty excited to read this book after reading the synopsis and seeing the title as I love the myth of Eros and Psyche, but I ended up being disapointed.
First of all for the positive points; the drawings were beautiful and I loved the color palette chosen for this book, it made everything mysterious and charming. The relationship between Sara and Silje was cute though the end made me reconsider my stance on it. I also liked the sisterhood between the girls of the Rose.
Now for the negative points; I felt this book was very hard to understand unfortunately. There was a lack of information and a lot of things happened without any explanation. This made my experience of the book not that great and I would've loved more details to understand the book better because there was so much potential!

This is one of those lovely books that makes me sit back and consider, how do I actually rate books? Based on pure vibes alone, this might even be 4.5 or 5 stars for me, but compared to what I was expecting, this fell short. Maria Llovet's Eros/Psyche tries really hard to act like it has a strong plot when you read the back cover, but don't expect any strong worldbuilding or storyline. This felt more like a dream, like listening to your grandmother on her rocking chair as she tells an old story.

The Rose is the center of this story, a mysterious female boarding school with strict rules. While the back cover says the curses and spells happen at night, they are definitely happening in broad daylight. The story moves through Sara's first year at the academy and as the secrets build, tragedies strike, and student numbers dwindle, she and the key student, Silje, slowly fall in love. This book gets a 10/10 for sapphic witchy dark academia vibes, but this isn't a book you should go into expecting it to be what it says it is. Instead, you follow Sara from one hazy season to the next, as the secrets and rules and mysterium build, and you might walk away understanding nothing but the ending— but for me, I was alright with that.

❧ 3 ★

Very similar territory to the other Llovet solo comic I've read, Heartbeat; an uncanny boarding school; a breathless, heady, tense mood, as before a storm; blood and flowers; sapphic tensions. But so long as she keeps making it look this Eurocomics via art nouveau gorgeous, I'm not complaining.

(Netgalley ARC)

The story is completely unfulfilled potential. Llovet's art is the same as it is in all her other works--even the characters look like they are the same person with different coloring.

Received via NetGalley.

Based on the description I was very excited to read this and the book did not let me down. This book took on a rollercoaster with the beautiful art and the writing. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

Eros/Psyche is a sapphic young adult romance graphic novel omnibus that collects four individual issues and extra art into one section. It comes from Maria LLovet from Barcelona.

It follows two young women/teen girls, Silje and Sara who attend La Rosa (the Rose) boarding school. it features young witches learning magic in a school that has rigorous rules and consequences for breaking them can lead up to death.It does however have intricate, entrancing art and covers the themes of love, devotion, tragedy and young women coming into themselves.

The plot followed a good narrative and the gorgeous artwork that features many elements of flowers, minimalism, shadow and light really drives the story home. I did feel choked up at parts. Though it is a young adult novel about love, any of the physical parts are handled tastefully and though the relationship progressed quickly, I did not feel as if it was done so uselessly. The characters fit well together.

The art mixed many elements of 'traditional' hearth witch magic, involving flowers, tinctures, and and mystical elements as well. I want to buy this with my own money just to display, it was enchanting. If I may make one criticism, the ending felt a little rushed for me, personally, and I was a little disappointed with how it was left off. That may have been a personal choice by the author, though. Some of the images may be triggering for younger viewers, though it is age appropriate as described. I would give this a solid four out of five.

I would recommend this strongly to any fans of sapphic romance, witchy vibes, cottage core hearth witch bloody delight. I wish I had more words to encapsulate the entire atmosphere of this book.

This was a fascinating and mysterious story. I really enjoyed the atmosphere in this comic. It fit in perfectly with the plot. I do believe that some of the main parts of the story were underdeveloped because we don't get much of a plot until we get to the middle. I wasn't sure if this was supposed to be an eros/psyche retelling, but it appeared to be. The romance in this book was both enjoyable and heartbreaking. It was interesting to see them end with them apart rather than together.

Thank you Netgally for letting me review this book.

2 ⭐

Honestly, I don't know what exactly is going.

The art is great, it really did give the dark academia vibes and it was really intriguing and STILL I don't have any idea of what's happening.

There's honestly no plot, no character development, little to no conflict and resolution.

Hopefully the 2nd issue will answer all of the things. And yes, I probably will read the 2nd one due to my curiousity.

The artwork was stunning and the style was something else ( In a good way). I felt the story had purpose but I just couldn't connect. I ended up dnf at 50%. It just seemed like I started in the middle of a story. Which could very well be the case but I haven't seen anything yet.

If you like dark and mysterious comics this is for you. It has a very Sabrina the Teenage Witch feel ( original comic).

I just couldn't connect and get into it.

I'm mostly just left feeling confused by this. The art was lovely. Maria Llovet did a beautiful job. But my issue is with the story as a whole. I feel that nothing was explained enough. I'm fine with their being some necessary inference in a story, but there has to be enough plot for me to follow. That wasn't the case with this. I feel like I was bumbling along following the story mostly through the illustration and occasionally getting a little clarity from the text. I enjoyed what I understood, I just feel like there was more story to be told.

**I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

A gothic tale with a boarding school, witchcraft, love and the rules that bind.
I will be real, I have no real clue what that plot was nor what the main point of the school or rose was, but this story really intrigued me, and I enjoyed it still.

I would love more explanation to the magic, rules and the school.

This is the first sapphic graphic novel that I've read and I kinda have mixed emotions about it. First of all, let me just say that I really liked the illustrations. I think it's pretty especially since it has a gothic element in it. I think that's one of the reasons why I'm interested to read this book in the first place. Moreover, I have always been a fan of Eros & Psyche, so knowing that there is a retelling of them made me pretty hype in reading this graphic novel. Unfortunately, it wasn't a retelling of them. Also, I got to say that this story didn't entirely grab my fullest attention until the very end. At some point, I got bored but I read it just for the sake of reading. Overall, it was an okayish read for me. It's not entirely bad but it's not good either.

Less and More

You don't "follow" this story, you feel it. The blurb tries its darnedest to make it sound like there's a tale with a plot here- mysterious school, hints of magic and witchcraft, a secret society, curses, peril, threats to the young lady students. It seems likely to develop into a Gothic or supernatural creepy school sort of thriller, with a Sapphic overlay. Well, yes and no. That would be way too easy and predictable. This book is much less and much much more than that.

Our author has a background in, and a professed "passion for" the fashion industry, and that makes sense here. If your run of the mill Gothic thriller is a practical pantsuit, this book is a gorgeous, impractical piece of couture. It's flashy and colorful and makes an impression, even if it's loosely stitched together and wouldn't hold up to actual wear.

So, as the story struts down the runway we admire how it's put together, we appreciate how it breaks some norms and reaffirms others, and we reflect on the little touches and the bits of detail that come together to create an overall lasting impression. Somehow the book touches on friendship, infatuation, young love, loyalty, coming of age, the disappointment that may come with maturity, and the odd mix of tenderness and cold-heartedness that can co-exist during one's teenage years. That's quite an accomplishment, and way more exciting than some school witch craft potboiler.

So, it's eerie, surreal, and gorgeous to look at. It is both distant and cool on one hand, and hot blooded and intimate on the other. In its nod to Eros and Psyche the book reminds us that great myths have power because of what they signify and what they implicate, and that a completely logical, linear plot is of minimal concern.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this e-ARC for an honest review.

The art in this graphic novel is absolutely gorgeous and I like the gothic/horror feel for a sapphic story, but that's where my interest ended. I love graphic novels that use art to enhance and tell a story, but I was so lost in the first 100 pages that the art lost its luster and I was just a ball of frustration. I didn't really have a reason to care about anyone. It's successful as an illustrated penny dreadful, but it's a little too long for that kind of story.

Overall 2/5 stars.