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

I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would. There is a lot of cat puns.. cat references.. uh and I totally lost interest when I seen "bingo button" - unfortunately had to DNF. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

This took me a little bit to get into. There were A LOT of cat puns, which were mostly funny but a bit much. Kitty and Miles were so awkward together in the beginning. But I did end up rooting for them and am glad they could work through their own grief together. Overall I liked the book.

Are you involved in any animal support groups?

For use we volunteered as a foster family for a rescue dogs. We fostered a few dogs before finding our forever puppy, Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown is currently 5 months old and he’s an Old English Sheepdog mix and we love him to pieces.

Kitty Hart is internet famous for her Kitty Whisperer social handles. She’s an expert in all things feline, and as a result her cat-sitting business is booming. When she meets her newest client Miles by literally falling face first into him, shes determined to get past their unfortunate first meeting. Their awkwardness is very apparently and shown again when Miles tackles Kitty for attempting to use a squirt gun on his mom’s cat he calls “gremlin”. As their awkwardness becomes attraction things start to become personal. Will these opposites attract?

This book was so cute! I loved both Kitty and Miles characters and everything about them! Kitty was so relatable, getting her business going, then what happens when you are making it but something gets taken out of context and then how we can come back from that. Miles grew so much as a person over the course of the book as well. I also loved all the cats in the book as I’m a huge cat lover.

This book had everything I love in a romcom. Loveable characters, and sizzling attraction, all while being lightheaded and fun. This was my first Helena Hunting book but if they’re all this amazing then I need to check out more!

Check triggers on this one as even though it is a lighthearted book, some very heavy topics are discussed.

If you’d like a wonderful romcom then check this one out June 13th.

Thank you to the publisher Forever @readforeverpub, and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another stellar ROM com from Helena hunting. I don't know how the author manages to include the perfect amount of laugh out loud moments mixed with some real tugging on the heart strings, but she does. I am very hopeful this will become a new series!

Up until 80%, this book was a shining example of what I wish every romance was: witty banter, genuine realness even when it’s awkward, showing us the world and the situation, and crafting a world with characters meant for us to love. I don’t even like cats, and here I am feeling affection for the main kitty lead.

At 80% through the end, it’s like someone flipped a switch. All information dumps and telling instead of showing, moving forward rapid-pace by saying “this happens, now we are here.” Either the last 20% needed to go, or the last 20% needed a complete rewrite. I felt like it was written just to meet word count. Incredibly disappointing.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC.

Just like in my professional life I’m a chef who love to cook & bake; I’m Cat & Dog person. Your asking why this matters? I’m pulling for both the main characters.
You are going to fall in love with Kitty & Miles. They slowly realize you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover; and they have more in common then they thought possible. A Love Catastrophe will make you laugh till you cry & heart wrenching cry’s. Helena Hunting is a master at pulling at your heart and make you laugh at life’s awkward moments, giving the reader relief in the heavy heart wrenching moments. “So many OMG I said that out loud moments” lol Even if you’re not a cat lover you need to put A Love CATASTROPHE on your TBR list!

Okay first I need to mention I took off 1 whole star just for the scene when her cl*t was referred to as “bingo button.” I almost threw up. I love smut as much as the next girl but i draw the line at naming your body parts.
Maybe I was not the target audience for this book, it left very cringey and awkward during the smut parts and even the romance and their love felt forced to the point where i was uncomfortable.

The plot was not bad and it was even emotional but I just did not connect to it at all I felt at times there was too much happening while also forcing a romance.

I might be my own fault for not liking this because I am honestly kind of bored with romances that have a lot of smut scenes.