Love Me: A Romance Story

by Francesca Perillo, Stefano Cardoselli (Artist)

Can a robot fall in love? In the bustling streets of New York City, sometime in the far future, robots like JoJo have taken on everyday jobs. Driving a taxi around NYC is all in a day’s work for JoJo, but when he meets the mysterious Gilda, it’s love at first sight!

New York City, sometime in the far future, where robots like JoJo have taken over the tasks humans no longer want to perform…like driving a taxi. JoJo is pretty happy with his lot in life but feels as though something is missing…then he meets Gilda and it’s love at first sight. But the course of true love is a bumpy one and JoJo is going to find that out firsthand when he discovers that Gilda is entangled with the mafia that runs his beloved city, and they're very much against this potential union for their own reasons. Watch out, JoJo!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

112 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2024

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

A robot driving a taxi falls in love with a woman...she is kidnapped by the mob...he goes after her...this book really reminded me of the movie Taxi Driver! A very striking visual stile that is very unique; this is just the right book if you are looking for a quick read! Will look out for more books by Francesca Perillo!

[Esme · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a cute little graphic novel. It's fairly short. We follow a robot named JoJo trying to help rescue the woman of his dreams, even if it means taking on the mafia. I loved the cat so much in this. I will say the art is busy, there a lot of colour and a lot happening in one small panel which did make it a little hard to make out certain things, but I did get used to it in the end.

overall its quick and cute!

thank you Netgalley and the publishers for an e-copy in exchange for an honest review!

[Adam Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was wonderful and brightened my day!
Review submitted soon on X for MadCave Studios. Check me out there @AdamReadsComics

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book off NetGalley, I think the art is a little much sometimes? Not bad but all the stuff going on in the background is a little distracting and the fact that Gilda the human was in love with him after learning like three things about him was a little goofy and the case was close so fast.

[Sunil Rajasekar · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first time reading an an adult graphic novel like this. The artwork was fascinating and the story was engaging and I could see it being made into a stylish movie.

[Nicole Chipp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Mad Cave Studios for this ARC via Netgalley in exchance for my honest review.
The best part of this graphic novel is the art, which is extremely interesting and fun. I wanted to read this graphic novel because the idea of a human-robot love story sounded intriguing, especially since the robot is barely humanoid. I was hoping to get a cute romance with some conflict. Unfortunately, there was absolutely no relationship development in any way between the robot and the love interest. Not only that, the love interest was barely a character. At the end I had no idea why the robot should be in love with her or what made her interesting at all.
I would love to read more graphic novels from this illustrator, and I feel like this graphic novel could have easily been a hit if it was longer and gave more space for the love story to blossom.

[CR · Rating 2 out of 5]

A robot drives a cab in a city that hates robots. He has a job that he likes, a place to live and even a cat named Frida. He has everything he could want except for love. He meets an alluring woman in his cab and falls head over heels for her. When she doesn’t show up for their date, he scours the city looking for her, taking down unsavory types that get in his way.

I hate to say it, but I honestly didn’t care for this book. I am glad for the opportunity to have read it, but it was just not for me. Maybe it was the art? The style of the artwork was what I would describe as akin to a gritty Rocko’s Modern Life. It was that grimy, street art look that screams dingey and only seems to focus on dirt and trash. It’s just not a style that appeals to me personally, but I know that it can to others. I also wasn’t into the story itself. I found it unlikely that the robot and the love interest would fall for each other so hard after one cab ride. I also didn’t like how the robot kept killing people for a woman that he barely knows and went on zero dates with. The pacing was too quick to really get into the actual story. I did like the backstory about how the city had some sort of uprising against the robots, but I felt that even this was introduced in a weird way that didn’t quite add to the story smoothly. Moreover, it just failed to grab my interest in a meaningful way.
Not for me and I can’t think of anyone that I would recommend it to.

[Kristen Schmorleitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book because it looked cute/apocalyptic/futuristic (reminded me of the game Stray). The artwork is decent although could be elaborated on a bit more I think. It’s such a short story that I wish were longer. I’m not yet sure whether I’ll be purchasing additional comics in this storyline.

The story is about a robot taxi driver who swaps numbers with a friendly passenger. They plan a date, and at the end of the story we see the robot getting ready for the date then heading to the cinema. He ends up waiting for hours for his date to show. It appears he’s been stood up, although we won’t know until the next publishing whether this is the case.

I hope the story unfolds in a surprising way — perhaps he meets someone else at the cinema who also got stood up, or maybe he must save his date from some trouble, bringing their desire for one another closer and bond stronger. Or, maybe his date went into the theater with someone else, and the robot must chivalrously fight for his honor and her hand. Lots of options for where this story could head!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this collected volume, JoJo, a robot taxi driver, embarks on a dangerous quest to find the love of his life when she goes missing. Can JoJo beat the mob and rescue Gilda?

My favourite part about this was the visual art style: it’s chaotically colourful and there was always something interesting to catch my eye. The writing is very simplistic, and while it is easy to differentiate between speakers, I thought Frida was too mean spirited compared to kind hearted JoJo (the cat does grow on you though). It’s a short graphic novel so I wasn’t expecting much detail, but the insta-love element wasn’t quite to my taste, and most characters were a bit two dimensional. However, the fast paced action sequences and the overall striking visual appeal made this a fun, quick read with a satisfying ending.

Pick this up for the art style alone because each page is very vivid.

Thank you to Netgalley and Mad Cave Studios for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this. I liked the idea, certainly, of a sentient, kind robot taxi driver living in New York, keeping to himself, living with a sarcastic little cat who is also the narrator. I liked the grittiness of the art, though at times it was a little distracting from the text. Where I really felt the lack was in the story. I just felt like it had a very disappointing and flat ending. Like okily dokily, Gilda, we good, let's go babe? I don't know, man. It also was pretty short and yet had a hard time holding my attention, and I'm not sure if that was due to the characters not being very deep or the art being a lot or what, but while the overall concept was wonderful, in execution it just wasn't for me.

[Ije the Devourer of Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does the robot get his girl?

I really enjoyed this. The story is full of humour and irony and the world building is creative and engaging. In just a few pages the reader can understand this robot intolerant world and how our hero lives a simple but whimsical life in the midst of all the hatred, and gangsterism in a city that belongs to dangerous people. But then there is love and the possibility of future happiness and our whimsical hero dashes to the rescue of his heroine. His path is straight ahead and he doesn’t see danger and he just knocks out the bad guys, not because he is fighting them, but because he is pursuing the possibility of love.

Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thoroughly enjoyable!

[Vincent · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
🌕🌕🌕🌗

🧠 My thoughts
It was a sweet story, felt like a movie to me. The artwork was very nice, I really liked the color palette and how the authors weaved many colors together.

However, sometimes, the artwork was a bit overwhelming. The storyline felt too fictional and illogical, maybe the pace was too fast.

👍 What I like
- Cool artwork
- Sweet story

👎 What I don't like
- Illogical story
- Artwork sometimes can be confusing

Thanks NetGalley, Mad Cave Studios publisher, and the authors for a great advance copy of the book in exchange for my honest review!

[Hugo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the art, despite it being loose and sloppy (deliberately, not a criticism), but there are too many irrelevant bridging panels and cityscape shots, some of them full pages, and I'm putting this down to the script, which is trite and abominable and barely merits one issue of story, much less four.

The only Love Me Romance in this is a robot and a girl meeting literally once and falling instantly in love; the rest of it's just mindless action.

[Lorena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Mad Cave Studios for a copy of Love Me: A Romance Story!

"Can a robot fall in love? In the bustling streets of New York City, sometime in the far future, robots like JoJo have taken on everyday jobs. Driving a taxi around NYC is all in a day’s work for JoJo, but when he meets the mysterious Gilda, it’s love at first sight!"

Such a cute story and I adored the art style! I'm hoping for another volume to explore Jojo's backstory!

[Willow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story had a cute romance arc, and a cute cat, but I found it hard to enjoy overall. Some parts felt very slow and others felt very fast. Aside from pacing, the main storyline was quite predictable and gave very little to hold interest. While I’m glad I got a chance to enjoy this story, I don’t think it’s one I’d pick up again. Worth checking out once if you like romance and robots!

[frannie.qb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mafia and "I'll get rid of everything and everyone who's in my way" vibes were not what I was expecting but it's indeed what I got loll

[Stella Marchione · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a cute comic story. It even had a little bit of love. Very entertaining for the young crowd.

[Sarah AK · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very fun art, very mediocre story.

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Love Me: A Romance Story" is compact and engaging tale about finding love in the strangest of places with the most unlikely of partners. There is not much to this story, but it is fun and life affirming. The characters, although only lightly developed, are charming and the love story, although barely explained or developed either, is believable since the characters seem to exist only for each other. Expect, frenetic and near psychedelic art, a simple yet charming rescue tale, multiple tributes to Nina Simone and a feline narrator who breaks the fourth wall.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Mad Cave Studios, for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.