Cute book and a great cover! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I'm giving this story four stars. It was almost five but I needed a bit more from the writing of the characters to get to that. It's a fun book and I think it will do well with many readers.

Helena did amazing with this book. The characters and the dynamics of their families are real events that happen and are relatable. This book hit home with me. You will not be disappointed with this read!

Every time I pick up a Hunting novel, I wonder if I'm going to enjoy it, because I wasn't such a big fan of her Pucked series. To the point where I told myself I wouldn't read any more of her books. But then I read one of the Spark House books and decided to give her another chance - also she's Canadian so .... I'm so very glad I did. I find that I enjoy her quirky romances over her more matura adult and traditional romances, so I definitely have a preference within her books.

And this book is full of the quirky that I like. Two main characters who feel very real, despite having a bit of fame in their laps. Kitty and Miles won me over from the first page. Sure, some of the situations are a little far fetched, but at the same time, I could see something like that happening. Their conversations are so open and fun, and they both seem to be pretty well adjusted despite the tragedies in their past and the struggles they are dealing with in their present. Hunting treats the loss of loved ones as well as dementia and aging parents with sensitivity and honesty. And I really have nothing that I can say but good things about Prince Francis and his toe beans. I have had the pleasure of meeting a few hairless cats in my time as a vet assistant, and they are always so nifty and truly do look a little like goblins.

What I find particularly good about this book is how there isn't some orchestrated conflict towards the end that results in a breakup makeup. (Sorry if that's considered a spoiler.) But too many romances have that pivotal moment where the characters face something that tears them apart. Usually a misunderstanding like the jealous ex sneaking into the hotel room, getting naked and pretending they spent the night king of thing. Or the main character decides they don't deserve love or don't want to love because of something in their past. None of that here. Just two people who fall for each other and figure out their lives moving forward. Sure, there is drama and complication but it's not something that tears them apart. I've always wondered how strong a relationship can be if you let something tear you apart at the start like that.

The story is well written. The characters are enjoyable. There is a lot of great dialogue and some pretty funny situations in the book. And how can a book be bad when you talk about toe beans?! Probably my favourite Hunting to date.

2.5, rounded up.
The premise was cute - an NHL statistician falls for a cat sitter / influencer. The emotional connection felt there too, with similar family traumas.

But they lost me with the actual romance - between some of the awkward encounters, the “bingo button” reference, among other things, this was unfortunately not successful as a true romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

A Love Catastrophe was very entertaining and fun story. I really loved Kitty and the business she built from her love of cats. She is quirky, socially awkward and has no verbal filter. I love characters like her. Miles is a bit nerdy with his statistical analysis job, but it is really cool how he uses it to help hockey players perform better. These two are a match made in heaven. They have a lot in common with their family tragedies in childhood. It shaped their lives and continues to into their adulthood. I thought it was really sweet how they helped each other move on from the past. Miles and Kitty have amazing chemistry, and they have a lot of fun together. I laughed out loud many times during this read. I really enjoyed this book.

Miles is one special man. He will do whatever is needed for the ones he loves.
Kitty is one smart woman. She is following her heart. She loves with her whole heart. They have an amazing connection. Loved the way they were there for everyone. Couldn’t wait to see where everything was going. Must read.

I am used to reading Helena’s hockey romance books, so this one fell into a different category than I was expecting. The main characters are so charming, and they both have similar past trauma from family tragedy. I appreciated the potential depth that the story could take on, but I feel like it fell flat in the end. There was a lot of context about animal activities and clumsy moments, but I wish we had more depth in their family histories from their perspectives (we got a lot of their mothers’ trauma responses in the story) than a couple conversations about their past. I enjoyed 70% of the book, but I probably won’t pick this one back up.

At the start of the story, we meet Kitty Hart, also known as The Cat Whisperer. She is in the business of cat sitting, and a social media celebrity and go-to for all things feline. Miles is a dog lover and newly hired sports statistician for the Toronto NHL hockey team. He suddenly finds he needs Kitty’s services to tend to Prince Francis, his mother’s cat, while she stays in the hospital. Everything is awkward between them from the moment they first meet. However, between allergic reactions and an ill-behaved cat, they start to feel attracted to each other. All their life, and in their own way, they have managed to get through while bearing the burden of loss and guilt. As Kitty realizes that she may be stuck in her past, will she be able to move on and live her best life with Miles? Will Miles become at peace with the events of the past and move on as well?

Thoughts:
I was optimistic about this book, but it did not work for me. Our main characters survive the initial awkwardness of their encounters to end up opening about deeper issues of a degenerating condition of a parent, the loss of a close relative, social media bullying, and guilt. But while I enjoy the discussion of deeper themes, the story lacks the feelings of excitement and anticipation of new love. Everything about their relationship feels flat and ordinary. Furthermore, a series of cringeworthy moments (mostly dealing with their intimate encounters), and the constant word modifications with the “cat” prefix became a deal breaker for me. However, I do appreciate the cat behavior bits, and Kitty’s relationship with her family, which felt genuine, as well as Miles’ gradual understanding of his mother’s behavior and the support he provides Kitty with.

Overall, I struggled to engage with this book, but I have no doubt other readers will enjoy the themes discussed in the story, as well as the pace, and the end, which was satisfying.

A three-star read for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me with a free digital copy to review this book.

Ok so full disclosure I'm not a huge cat person but thought this book sounded interesting. After reading the beginning of the book I was a little bit worried by the amount of cat puns. Luckily they died down. The story was cute but I couldn't connect with either of the main characters. Overall, I thought the books was ok.

Kitty is a slightly introverted cat lover who runs a cat sitting business named Kitty Whisperer. When she encounters Miles Thorn, an NHL analyst and notorious dog-loving cat-hater to help take care of his mothers cat, who knew an attraction would build? Through learning about their pasts and how each have dealt with grief in their lives, it seems like they might be a purrrfect match.

This was a fun and quick read. I felt like the characters were developed quite well, and I enjoyed the first half of the book. I do feel like the end of the book kind of just dwindled. It felt like there wasn't much plot to the book once Miles and Kitty realized their feelings for each other, and I felt like the whole "social media scandal" on the viral video was almost like an afterthought. It was enjoyable for the most part, but it just lacked a lot of substance for me. There are also a lot of extremely cringey moments, like bad Hallmark cringe levels. I left wanting more for this book. I would give this a 2.5/5, and because it's about cats and I'm feeling generous I'll round up to a 3/5.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced reader copy of this book. This review contains my own opinions.

Mein Leseerlebnis

Den Start ins Buch fand ich sehr unterhaltsam und einnehmend. Gerade Kitty fand ich als Charakter zunächst faszinierend und ich wollte mehr über sie erfahren.

Doch je länger das Buch andauerte umso mehr nahm meine Faszination ab. Und da ich Miles von Anfang an nicht besonders interessant fand, war das natürlich nicht ideal.

Darauf aufbauend konnte mich die Liebesgeschichte so gut wie nicht berühren, sie lief wirklich komplett an mit vorbei.

In Bezug auf die Berufe der beiden Hauptcharaktere machte nicht alles Sinn.

Kitty sollte die große Katzenflüsterin sein, kam mir im Kontakt mit den Katzen aber ganz normal vor. Und sie hatte überraschenderweise nichts dagegen, Katzen teils mit Menschenessen zu füttern und dass eine Katze, die sie betreut hat, stark übergewichtig war.

Miles Job wurde als eine Besonderheit in der NHL dargestellt, dabei ist seine Position seit Jahren etabliert (lustigerweise auch in dem Team, bei dem er im Buch angestellt ist).

Eine Entwicklung gegen Ende der Geschichte wirkte auf mich zusätzlich sehr konstruiert und insgesamt erschien mir das letzte Viertel unnötig in die Länge gezogen. Immerhin ließ sich das Buch vom Schreibstil her gut lesen.

Da es mir mit den letzten Büchern der Autorin ähnlich erging, ist es an der Zeit eine Pause von ihren Liebesgeschichten einzulegen.

Für wen?

Wer die Liebesromane der letzten Jahre von Helena Hunting mag, wird mit dem Buch wahrscheinlich mehr Glück haben als ich. Generell kann ich mir gut vorstellen, dass andere Leser:innen mit den Charakteren mehr anfangen werden können als ich.

Schaut in eine Leseprobe rein, gefällt euch diese, würde ich einen Versuch wagen.

3.5 STARS

Kitty Hart is a cat sitter extraordinaire who has named her business the somewhat unfortunate title The Kitty Whisperer. With lots of internet followers and a business that is taking off, Kitty is pleased; however, parts of her life are less than successful including still living with her widowed mother where they seem stuck in the past. Kitty agrees to take a new job when Miles Thorn whose own mother has significant problems, hires her to take care of Prince Francis, a very challenging Sphinx cat. Kitty and Miles initially get off on the wrong paw, but once they start working together things take a better turn.

Miles is a data analyst for a Canadian hockey team, more math nerd than athlete, who is not a fan of cats especially ones like the naked Prince Francis whom he calls a gremlin and a few other unattractive names. Miles is in the process of moving his mother to a memory care facility, trying to empty out her house while realizing Kitty is not just a cheerful cat sitter but someone his is attracted to beyond their cat association.

Kitty gives her all to the clients feeling that she is better suited to interactions with pets rather than people. As her business grows after being embraced by some of the hockey players, the vagaries of the internet show that it can be very unfriendly. Kitty and Miles work through having a relationship while dealing with each of their family’s issues and her burgeoning fame.

Fans of cats and dogs as well as romance will enjoy this mostly lighthearted story that Ms. Hunting is known for. The families’ issues are certainly not laughable but are relatable. Some of the rom-com scenarios are a bit slapstick and a little silly but that suites the tone of the story.

Too darn cute!!!!!

The bit of enemies to lovers that we get in the beginning blossoms into such a cute couple, you’ll wan to protect them in this little bubble.

This book tackles some real life problems and real life issues. It is presented so well.
I loved the dynamics of this couple and their journey. Kitty and Miles are just the absolute cutest.
Prince Francis provides some comedic relief and hold such a pivotal point throughout.
Loved!

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book. This wasn’t my cup of tea. While I thought this would be a cute book based on the synopsis, I soon learned that I am not a cat lover enough for this one. It is too cheesy for me, and part of the storyline was just meh.

I found myself not really getting excited to read this one at all. This is a first by this author, so I don’t know if I should have known better, but this was a miss for me.

Miles is in a land of uncertainty. His mom is in the hospital and in need of care he didn't realize, his dream job is under contract and speculation, and his mom's cat hates him.
Kitty Hart is exactly her name- she's known as the Kitty Whisperer and her love of cats is evident in everything she does and she's made a career of loving cats.

When Kitty is recommended to Miles to help with his mom's cat, they come into the perfect storm of hilarious and not hilarious accidents happen to pull them together and form an unlikely friendship. Through more ups and downs, four legged friends of every kind and enough family history and baggage to fill a steamer and Miles and Kitty's story is one you don't want to leave. Helena Hunting is brilliant at creating characters that are sincere and lovably quirky. I love their story, I feel the story's complete, and still I'm sad to leave them. Its the best kind of book.

#arc
#netgalley
#alovecatastrophe

⭐️⭐️ A cute book - just not my style. Too much repetitive dialogue & juvenile scenarios. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Helena Hunting is an expert at an adorable romcom. A Love Catastrophe was heavy on the quirkiness and the cats! But at airs core it was semi-realistic love story about two people meeting in difficult times in their lives and finding love with each other. I think this was a really sweet book with a very easy love story and I would recommend it to anybody it was looking for that.

Than you to #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Quirky cat lady falls for dog loving sports analyst was the story I was expecting and not the story I got. A lot of the book detailed their jobs and not so much them falling in love. Aside from shared grief, the romance felt borderline instalove and for no good reason. Miles came off as a flat male lead largely characterized by his relationships to his mom and Kitty. Aside from his physique, not a whole lot to like. I did enjoy the little banter we saw but would’ve preferred more to a slow burn romance and less focus on Kitty’s cat business and all the grief. The other thing that bothered me as a cat person is the generally bad cat advice in the book from someone who is called the Kitty Whisperer. Spraying cats with water isn’t effective and letting them outside is also dangerous. The scene early on of Kitty spraying the cat with water really had me in disbelief and the rest of the book was a slog to get through.

Miles, a workaholic data collector for a NHL hockey team, looks to hire a cat sitting service when his mother falls ill and she needs a prolonged stay in the hospital. Kitty runs a successful cat sitting service and a very successful online social media account documenting her cat training successes. Despite both being physically attracted to each other when they first meet the two clash and Kitty finds herself disliking Miles. As she works with the cat, Prince Francis, Kitty discover that she has chemistry with Miles and that she misjudged him. The romance builds from there.

Overall, this was a very cute romance book and I highly recommend it!

When you overdo it with back to back wild thrillers you need to detox and nurture your book hangover with a RomCom.

I love RomComs . Clearly humor is what drives me. I’m also very new to RomComs so I look for suggestions from others to influence my decision.

Leave it to bookstagram!

Bookstagram LOVES Helena Hunting and rightfully so!! This woman is a literary genius!

I fell in love with Kitty Hart and all her quirks! I also loved the incorporation of animals (huge fur ball lover here 😉)

This book was everything I never knew I needed and all I could ever want within a book . I laughed so hard but also had a few other emotions triggered at times .

Reading The Love Catastrophe had me questioning myself as to why I don’t read more of this genre ?

Five Stars!

I have now also joined the Helena Hunting fan club ♥️

Teaser:

The fur is about to fly between a cheerful cat sitter and a grumpy hockey nerd in this hilarious and charming rom-com by the New York Times bestselling author of Meet Cute.

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?

Content guidance: Dementia (side character), grief (character's parent and character's young sibling in flashbacks), hoarding from side character