Thank you Netgalley for tis ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

A fun book to read. Very enjoyable.

This book is definitely for the cat lovers out there. It was a very cute story but there was some issues for me. The 2 love interest only interacted with each other a few times and the relationship progress was very awkward. The 3rd love interest from her past had a more interesting story. If there was more to the progress of the relationship with the 2 love interests this would have been a fantastic romance.

If you into a book for the love scenes this book is fade to black.

There are some trigger warnings in this book to keep in mind.
Death of animal, death of a parent, financial issues, possible homelessness, mental illness, sexism, mention of sex work, death of parent.

Cute title about a “cat influencer of the Insta-verse,” which might be the Gen Z precursor to becoming a weird old cat lady fifty years from now. I’m not a cat person, but I have friends who are and I don’t worry about them becoming weird (yet). So, I was more than ready to give Kirstie Pelling, a UK travel writer and debut author with EmblaBooks (who has two book fiction deal) a go with her cat heavy story. Strangely, I looked immediately at the acknowledgements and “about the author” and Ms. Pelling does not claim to be a cat owner…

Anyway, our main character is Aly/Alyssa, owner of virtual AlyCat (really two hairless cats willing to be posed and dressed up for wry commentary, Milly and Molly) who could become the next Grumpy Cat sensation if she allows a digital marketer, Glimmer, to promote and sponsor her Instagram creation. Aly has her standards and doesn’t want to sell out, never mind that Glimmer’s CEO, Rick, could be the man of her dreams, and she really could use a career boost.

The book was very heavily trendy, which I guess I should expect from a story about an Instagram influencer, somewhat unexpectedly futuristic (DNA hug coffee, hot-desking?) and laden with a lot of family subplots getting in the way of Aly and Rick’s personal story progressing. It did sometimes move into sad serious moments that almost made me stop reading (I am the owner of a shirt that says “I don’t care who dies in the movie, as long as the dog lives”).

Good effort for a debut novel — I think it’ll be a hit with lovers of cats and Instagram backstories, but it was so-so as the rom-com I thought the cover conveyed (my bad). 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thanks to NetGalley and Embla Books for the opportunity to review an advance copy and good wishes to Ms. Pelling’s career as a fiction author.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES I was really expecting a dozen cats described as with green eyes (a usual default), but only the main character has them and they are “muddy”, not cat-like.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Not beyond a comparison of equating talking to houseplants being like talking to cats.

I blitzed through this book over the weekend as I just could not get enough. Light and witty I enjoyed every second. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book was good & I will be recommending it to other. Thanks for the opportunity to read & review this book.

I wanted to like this more than I did. The synopsis leads you to think rom-com with quirky and cute characters with an interesting plot. This was so scattered and very chaotic but slow moving. I wasn’t expecting such off the wall and bizarre characters and if you want really quirky- this is it for you. I felt that there was no clear timeline or plot. There’s drama and heartbreak but I didn’t connect with the characters like I wanted to. Enjoyable enough to read but it’s not particularly something I’d pick up again.

It was fast paced cute romcom and an absolute easy read, that I really liked. The characters were fun and loving, making it an absolute 4 stars read for me

This story of a social media influencer whose life behind the camera is far from glamorous completely pulled me in.. The main character, Aly, is relatable, quirky and at times very funny with her quick wit and astute observations on life. I felt myself rooting for Aly throughout. I also loved that all of the characters had such depth and deeply individual personalities. A very impressive debut novel and I look forward to seeing more from Kirstie Pelling.

This was a complete mess. I was not able to make sense of anything in this book. This is marketed as a romance but Aly only interacts with Rick like five times. There’s no opportunity for emotional build. There were so many subplots that everything got lost within the other as they overlapped without rhyme or reason. This book requires a lot of work for it to be a decent and worthwhile read.

Aly Meadows is struggling... she works as a carer rushing around London to help her clients in a rundown and completely unreliable car. She's about to be convicted from her tiny apartment that she shares with her two prized pets and companions Milly and Molly, her Sphinx cats. Aly is a self-proclaimed 'catfluencer' on Instagram with her cats earning thousands of likes on their page. When Aly is approached by Glimmer talent agency to see if they can help to promote her Instagram account, Aly has to decide if she can channel the confidence of her insta-famous cats and come out of her shell and be brave enough to jump off the deep end.

Life is a Catastrophe is a super-smart, funny and heart-warming story. Pelling's debut novel is full of wonderfully written characters who are so quirky and hilarious that there are many laugh out loud moments when reading about their escapades! Aly is a really relatable character- a young woman struggling to make ends meet, trying to figure out who she is and where her life is going, trying to decide whether to go back to her ex Greg who is a stable and safe choice or to pursue Rick, the CEO of Glimmer. I love the relationships between Aly and the other characters in the book and her love and devotion to her two cats is so heartwarming. I'm more of a dog person but I like how Pelling brings the cats' personalities to life on the page.

In a world dominated by social media, Pelling looks at how difficult it is for a person to 'break through' and become a viral hit. It was interesting to see a character dealing with trolls and cancel culture amongst other things. Pelling shows that the perfect pictures presented on Instagram and other social media networks doesn't always match reality and it's something that we are all aware of but still has a huge impact on us mentally. I love how Aly grows as a person throughout this book and she is quietly feisty which I adored.

Life is a Catastrophe is a fun, enjoyable and entertaining read. Plenty of laughs and some deep emotional moments too. This will definitely pull at the heart strings of any pet lover out there!

Thank you to NetGalley and to Embla Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. Life is a Catastrophe is out on the 1st of March.

If you want a quick, fun, easy and humourous read then this book is for you. I read it super quickly and it delivered on every level from story to characters to writing style. I really enjoyed it.

Whip-smart and just so funny, this story hooked me from the get go. I raced through it but found myself slowing down in the final chapters because I didn’t want it to end.

Don’t be fooled though, Ms Pelling pulls no punches in this cracking debut and she has created characters and relationships with depth. The work place environments and office culture really resonates too.

#NoSpoilers but this is cracking book and I can’t wait to read more from the author.

Highly recommend.

Life's a Catastrophe
By Kirstie Pelling
Delightfully entertaining and thoroughly wonderful.
A lovely realistic character driven with likebake characters.
It's heartwarming and sweet, full of emotions and great characters.
The characters are wonderfully relatable, likeable, with their own special quirks that made me fall in love with them instantly.
I found myself reading it in one sitting because I was enjoying it so much.
This was a fun read I couldn't get enough of.

Embla Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review closer to pub date.

I really liked this book. It was one fun and an easy read for me. Also, I really liked the MCs, they were quite interesting and entertaining. The word building and pacing was top notch too. So, in a nutshell, it’s a 4 star read for me.

I’m feline like I enjoyed this quirky contemporary read!!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

Aly is an instagrammer, but hides behind the camera, while her cat, AlyCat, gets all the attention. When agency Glimmer, want to help her monetize the account, all she can see is problems. will CEO Rick be able to change her mind and get her to give him and the agency a chance?

A fun read