This book was a cute rom-com and a quick read. For me it was maybe a little over the top and wrapped up too neatly, but entertaining.

A grumpy/sunshine trope that has cats as characters as well... yes, please. I loved this one. Kitty and Miles were great together. I enjoyed their budding relationship that came with some heavy life stuff, i.e. dementia sprinkled in. Prince Francis as a character was exceptional and important to the story. I think this was my first Helena Hunting book and I plan to seek out others!

Title: A Love Catastrophe
Author: Helena Hunting
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: June 13, 2023

I received complimentary eARC from Forever, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad

T H R E E • W O R D S

Breezy• Hilarious • Fun

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Kitty Hart has become internet famous as the Kitty Whisperer for her expertise on all things feline, and as a result, her cat-sitting business is booming. But lately, she has a terrible feeling that maybe her life isn’t quite going where it’s supposed to—especially after falling face-first into her newest client. Not exactly the best first impression.

Fortunately, Miles Thorn is just as bad at first impressions. Strike one: he doesn’t like cats, especially Prince Francis, the haughty and mischievous Sphynx his mom left in his care. Strike two: tackling Kitty to the floor in a misguided attempt to save the pet he continually calls “the gremlin.”

As awkwardness slides into attraction and things start to turn purr-sonal, will these two complete opposites ever be able to find their furry-tail ending?

💭 T H O U G H T S

I requested this title on NetGalley on a whim knowing only there was some kind of hockey connection to the plot. I'd never read Helena Hunting before so I didn't really know what to expect, but I was definitely pleasantly surprised with this cute little rom-com.

Told in dual POVs, both Kitty and Miles are thoughtful, independent, and emotionally mature protagonists, not without their own insecurities. I loved Kitty's playful energy, her awkwardness and her passion for her job. I also enjoyed getting an inside look into Miles job as a data analyst for an NHL team. The cat lover versus dog lover (opposites attract) trope was well utilized. Yes, there are a lot of cat puns, yet I really didn't mind. The author had me laughing out loud at times with some of the situations the characters got themselves into. It showed neither of them is perfect, which just felt s0 relatable.

Beyond the budding romance, there is depth to the plot as it explores childhood trauma and grief, dementia, and cyberbullying. With this added depth, their relationship development felt authentic and refreshing. I was emotionally invested and interested in their story from the very start.

A Love Catastrophe just had an overall feel-good vibe, while combining so many elements I love. It was exactly the type of lighthearted and fun read I was looking for when I picked it up. I will definitely be checking out more of Helena Hunting's backlist, while also keeping an eye out for anything new.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fan of the opposites attract trope
• sports romance enthusiasts
• readers who like pet-centric stories

⚠️ CW: death, death of parent, child death, grief, car accident, mental illness, hoarding, dementia, PTSD, cursing, sexual content, alcohol, medical content, bullying

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Sometimes we keep our pain to ourselves because it’s too hard to share."

This was a sweet, feel good romance. I would say it was more of a 3.5 star read for me. I mostly enjoyed reading about Kitty and Miles relationship. There were some laugh out loud parts and some serious moments throughout. I love Helena Hunting’s books and found that this one was not one of her stronger books. The cat theme throughout this one got to be a bit much for me and I felt like I was being bombarded with cat jokes and puns constantly.

It was not my favourite by Helena Hunting.

I think it was too centred on cats and that bothered me. I’m not a cat person and some of the scenes annoyed me because of them.

Sorry it was just not for me.

A Love Catastrophe is not for me. It's an easy read, the characters are everyday people just trying to live their lives but I wanted more tension and less cat puns. I am interested in trying Hunting’s sports romances instead.

Kitty is absolutely adorable! I love her energy and the ability to keep everyone on their toes. Such an amazing live story you’ll think is the cat’s meow. Helena made me laugh all the way through the book with Kitty’s infectious energy.

I love a good rom-com and Helena Hunting is one of the best go-to authors in the genre! A Love Catastrophe is a delightful friend to lovers, opposites attract, sunny vs. grumpy romance with unique, fun characters. Kitty Hart is a quirky web phenomenon with a cat-sitting business. Her path crosses with the grumpy, brooding hero, Miles Thorn, looking for a cat sitter to take care of his mother's evil cat while she is in the hospital when he finds and hires Kitty. Amidst an awkward meeting, an unexpected attraction blossom. Can polar opposites overcome their differences and find a happily-ever-after together?

The story isn’t all lighthearted romance as both Miles and Kitty’s deal with grief and pain from damaged pasts that affects their present. Hunting does a great job of balancing heavier themes with lighter, comical and even sexy scenes. Be prepared to laugh, cry and swoon in this one! Highly recommended to fans of romance and rom-coms.

Synopsis:

Kitty Hart is known as the Kitty Whisperer and her cat-sitting business is booming. But lately, she has a terrible feeling that maybe her life isn’t quite going where it’s supposed to—especially after falling face-first into her newest client. Fortunately, Miles Thorn is just as bad at first impressions. He doesn’t like cats, especially Prince Francis, the haughty and mischievous Sphynx his mom left in his care. As awkwardness slides into attraction and things start to turn purr-sonal, will these two complete opposites ever be able to find their furry-tail ending?

Review:

If you are a cat person - which I know there are a tonne of you on bookstagram - this is the book for you!! It's a cute rom com with some sweet cats as a big focus as a kitty loving FMC wins over a grumpy sunshine MMC. Their romance was so genuine and sincere with palpable chemistry. I also liked that Miles has an aging mom who has some health issues which is such a big reality for a lot of people and not often addressed in books. I can always count on Helena Hunting for a feel-good read!

Thank you so much to Forever for my eGalley!

A funny story about a cat sitter, who has her web page, a site on how to train cats, and has a huge following. She is asked to cat sit for a grumpy hockey player and at first, they don’t get along but as the story goes along they work into a relationship. This is a funny story at times and much better than I was expecting. A good book with good characters.

I couldn’t finish this one. It was almost over the top ridiculous and the female main character was too unbelievable, unrealistic, and unrelatable. I have previously loved Hunting’s books so this was sad. I hope to read more from her in the future.

Calling all cat lovers, this one is for you! A cute and charming read, I had a smile on my face while reading it. Forced proximity and dual POV with depth.

This book was the epitome of everything Helena Hunting does best - a low stakes, silly, steamy romcom.

Like most of Helena Hunting’s other books, I found this romcom to be a breezy and fun read! There wasn’t anything super profound about the story, but I’m also a sucker for a grump x sunshine romance that has a bit of spice, so I thought it was a quick and easy read and overall an enjoyable book.

This book will probably be even more of a fun read for you if you like cats, because the cat puns (see above book title lol) and cats-are-better-than-dogs mentality never stop in this book!

If you’re looking for a quick romcom to read this summer (and bonus points if you like cats), then check this book out!

*I received an ARC from Read Forever in exchange for my honest opinion.

A Love Catastrophe is a sweet a swooning romance novel. Helena Hunting writes the greatest tropes. It is genuine and heartfelt.

Great romance! Dual POVs, two lovable leads, and cats! Loved the family storylines. I thought the book was well written and easy to read.

I'm all for a cute rom-com with a love for cats and that's just what this is. It's cute, it's quirky, there is a lot of cat talk. Not a whole lot happens, but it kept me entertained.

I actually enjoyed this book, but i admit i did not love it like i hoped i would. A Love Catastrophe was funny and charming, while also having some heavy topics included.

If you are a cat person, you will enjoy the book's portrayal of Prince Francis, which is the sphinx cat that Miles enlists Kitty's help to care for a his mother's dementia progresses. There are a lot of cat puns, which were simultaneously hilarious and cringey.

Miles and Kitty's relationship progression is not bad, but I did feel like it lacked romance. It wasn't quite instalove, but the dislike to infatuation to love was pretty quick. I feel like it could have developed better, instead of developing due to essentially a trauma bond.

What I really loved about the book though was the humor was offset by real world events that added depth to Miles and Kitty. Miles is dealing with his mother, who has a pretty advanced stage of dementia, as well as the lingering guilt he feels about his brother's death when they were kids. Kitty is dealing with feelings of guilt over her father's passing. It was nice that the characters were able to display empathy towards each other, even if it did toe the line of trauma bonding. It was clear both characters needed therapy to deal with their family issues.

Yikes. I love cats as much as the next person, but this was a very unhealthy obsession of cats. The sheer mentioning of cats on almost every page made me think our FMC, Kitty, might have something mentally off about her, but she didn’t. Just loved cats. But enter Miles, who is seeking someone to help his mama. I love families that are close in stories and there were many moments of family in this story, but some sad and heavy. Dementia is spoken about a lot, which is a difficult topic for many, but it lends a hand to the storyline overall. In the end, definitely not my favorite Helena Hunting book, but still a decent read overall.

DNF’ing. An adult woman who loves cats is supposedly saying to other adults things like “bless mew” and “right meow.”

No.

(I didn't include a star rating on goodreads)