As a huge animal lover, I fell in love with this story. It follows Kitty, the cat whisperer, and Miles, the NHL data analyst. Kitty has a cat watching and training business where she stays busy. Miles is new to his position but loves everything hockey. He needs some cat watching service when his mom goes into the hospital and he is unable to care for her cat. From there, there are lots of awkward and embarrass moments as these two are clearly attracted to each other but definitely suffer from goat in mouth syndrome. They finally figure things out and it’s a happily ever after.

What a cute story that fully involves some furry four legged friends. I love a good romance story that involves animals and this one if packed full of that. I enjoyed the steamy details as well as the happy times celebrated between the two. I also enjoyed how there was a very real element of grief and that it showcased how people grieve in different but similar ways and that no matter how long it’s been, people can move on. It’s definitely not a super sad book by any means, but dealing with past loved ones is a part so trigger warning there if needed.

3 stars

I've read almost everything Helena Hunting has written, so I was excited to read this one too, and I jumped in blind!

This book started off sort of strong... for the first 7 pages. And then the kitty/cat/catastrophe jokes just kept rolling in, and it got old very quickly. The number of times that we talked about cats licking themselves and then their owner's faces... was too many times. I'm a dog person. I love my dog. I let my dog give me kisses. But something about it being described over and over again in a story just wasn't doing it for me (once is funny, twice or more is immature in my opinion).

I enjoyed parts of this story a whole lot, and there were other parts that just made me cringe. They didn't REALLY balance out, but the overall themes of the story were great. This story is about two very quirky people who have both "lost" a parent and are going through different parts of the grieving process. Throw in some social media influencing, some quirky friends, a little hockey tie in (from Hunting I shouldn't have expected anything else), and lots of cats.

This is a strangers-to-friends-to-lovers story perfect for a beach read - it only took me about 2.5 hours to read - with some heavier themes but LOTS of light moments in the mix. I expect to see a sequel about Hattie and Josh, and potentially this is a starting point for another hockey series, as the younger guys on the hockey team that Miles works for are pretty key characters outside of the main two characters.

Overall, I enjoyed it. I liked it. It wasn't love, and I won't be needing to re-read it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. These are my honest thoughts.

A Love Catastrophe by Helena Hunting is a contemporary romcom featuring cats and hockey. We alternate between the perspectives of our two main characters.

Kitty Hart is social-media-famous thanks to her cat-sitting business, Kitty Whisperer. When Miles Thorn needs someone to look after his ailing mother's cat for the near future, he becomes her newest client. But he doesn't like cats--even his mother's mischievous Sphynx cat, Prince Francis--whom he considers a "gremlin." Their first face-to-face meeting does not go as planned.

This was a pretty pleasant and quick read. If you like your heroines quick-witted and funny, you'll like Kitty. She's prone to logorrhea (word vomit, nervous talkativeness) and I felt fairly seen here as I am an awkward turtle who is often introverted. However, she feels like she's written a little too young for her age.

This was my first book by the author, but she also write hockey romances. I'm guessing those feature hockey players; this one features a data analyst/strategist for a NHL team.

The main couple get together a little too quickly here. They have a meet-disaster initially, and then must work together to take care of Prince Francis the Sphynx. They have some trauma-bonding as they discuss various deaths in their families in the preceding years that they still haven't moved on from. There's a dash of fake dating for a hot minute before they're actively intertwined.

I was glad to see there was no third-act breakup in this book, as that's one of my least favorite tropes. There's a different misunderstanding, outside of their relationship, that I feel was wrapped up a bit too quickly with a bow.

All-in-all, if you are a fan of cats and kitschy stuff, you'll probably enjoy this book!

Tropes in this book include: grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, forced proximity, friends to lovers, sports (hockey), open door romance

CW: grief, parent death (prior to book, mentioned), dementia, death of child (prior to book, mentioned), cyber bullying

If you enjoy a good double entendre then A Love Catastrophe is for you. Kitty Hart is known as the Kitty Whisper and is internet famous for showcasing herself and the cats she takes care of. I really liked Kitty, she was funny and easy going (though she does have some baggage) and generally wants the best for people.

She meets Miles when he calls her up to take care of his mothers cat as she is needing external care for alzheimers/dementia. Miles and the cat don't get along so the first meeting is quite eventful. There is a good spark between Miles and Kitty, but what I loved best about A Love Catastrophe was that it was just plain fun. There were several times I laughed out loud.

Cute, charming, and comical!

A Love Catastrophe is a spirited, heartwarming, opposites-attract romance that mixes the awkward, dependent Kitty, who lives and breathes cats and enjoys nothing more than running her cat-sitting business, and the intelligent, driven Miles, who feels a little overwhelmed juggling a new career with the NHL, navigating his mother’s declining mental health, keeping his mother’s hairless cat who he really doesn’t like alive, and making sure his own beloved Great Dane, Wilfred is happily entertained.

The prose is witty and light. The characters, including all the supporting characters, are quirky, supportive, and kind. And the plot is a fun-loving, flirty blend of tricky situations, tender moments, humorous mishaps, self-discovery, friendship, family, happiness, romance, and some adorable four-legged friends.

Overall, A Love Catastrophe is an amusing, entertaining, enjoyable treat by Hunting that I thoroughly enjoyed and is the perfect choice for anyone who loves their romcoms with a lot of hope, heart, humour and heat.

Thank you to NetGalley & Forever Pub for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I’ve been listening to Helena’s books for a bit now and this was the first time I got to physically one. Naturally, it didn’t disappoint. These characters jumped off the page and straight into my heart in this super sweet love story. Navigating grief is tough, something I’m currently doing myself, and I felt for both MCs and loved watching their journeys both separate and together. I also love the way Helena is able to balance the comedy parts with the heavier parts that come with writing contemporary romance.

The beginning was a little rough for me — I wasn’t sold on Kitty from the beginning. Thankfully, she mellowed out and became way more likeable. I’m a cat lover myself, but I don’t like when dog people harp on cat people — so it always irks me to see it done in reverse, too. At the end of the day, we’re all animal lovers, right?

Overall I really did enjoy this book and I look forward to reading more of Helena’s work in the future!

Helena Hunting writes in a vast range, from sexy and steamy erotic hockey romance to fun and swoony romantic comedies. From the title and the cover of this novel, I knew I was in for fun and swoony romance. The characters are quirky, and the interactions between them are very believably awkward and uncomfortable, which usually will lead to fantastic character development overall. Kitty doubles down on her love for cats by opening her own cat sitting business, dresses in cat themed clothing, and even drives a cat car. I would have expected her character to be more amped up, leaning into the cat lover personality even more. More descriptions of cat clothing, cat earrings, cat purse. Just more.

A Love Catastrophe had the potential to be a very unique rom com in a saturated market, but I felt like this kind of missed the mark. I would have liked to see more humor in the book to contrast with the really serious storylines of dementia, ailing parents, and child death. The serious subjects were handled very well, and I felt very comfortable reading about them, but readers could have used a little more levity to balance out the serious tones throughout. It also felt lacking in humor considering the title and the cover art showing what looks to be a comedic depiction of a cat-astrophe.

Have tissues handy and allow an entire, extremely long day for this adult contemporary hockey romance set near Toronto, Canada that deals with early-onset dementia and complicated grief but do not read in public as chortles will ensue. I had an ARC via NetGalley and this is my voluntary review.

This is a cute rom com but was a bit too twee/sweet for me. I didn’t enjoy the constant cat references/puns

I made it to 45% in this book and found myself unwilling to pick it back up. I've read excellent Helena Hunting books and this one wasn't, unfortunately.

Kitty felt chaotic and younger than she was in the book. She's a leopard wearing full on cat lady with a best friend named Kat who also owns a cat cafe. I felt like this was more cringey than cute. She and Miles had a disaster of a meet cute and I never really felt like they got back on even footing. Every interaction felt wildly awkward. I'm sorry this didn't work for me. I thought it was going to be kitchy and have cats as her wingmen but it felt like a cat themed fever dream.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

Warning: do not read while consuming food or drink as it could cause choking or a major mess from convulsing laughter.
Hunting wrote a book that has both sad and funny sections. Both Kitty and Miles are part of families that are stuck in time, for different reasons.
They have sadness in their pasts and have to move forward.
The real stars of the book or Prince Francis, the hairless winder cat. And the affable Wilfur who is adorable.
They push their way into every scene and my sides hurt from laughing at the steamy parts, with the animal side notes.
This book will appeal to both cat and dog lovers.
Part of the book also shows the destructive side of social media and how quickly things spiral out of control when priming and subjective editing is utilized.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC copy. This was another cute and steamy romance but nothing really special stuck out for me..

4/5 ⭐
2/5 🌶️

A Love Catastrophe was such a cute read and everything I've come to expect from Helena Hunting. It was adorable, corny (in the best way!) and spicy, with a dash of hockey and I enjoyed it to pieces.

Kitty was over the top quirky and cute, but I loved her so much. Her heart was so pure and at times she reminded me of myself with her ability to ramble when she's nervous and always find herself flat on her face in embarrassment. But she always found a way to pop back up, even if she needed a little help at times. Miles was so stinking sweet and while he started this story as a cat hating jerk, we soon find out that he's really just overwhelmed and his past grief still haunts him, something he and Kitty were able to relate on and ultimately lean on each other for as they found out how to move on and help their moms do the same.

This wasn't really billed as a hockey romance, but with Miles working for an NHL team as an analyst we got our Helena Hockey Fix in all the same. I loved the little dash we got and if this ends up being a series, I see us getting more with Josh and some of the players. I, for one, would be one clicking them in a heartbeat.

3.5⭐️ As a cat lover, I couldn’t wait to get into this story. This is also my first time reading Helena Hunting. This was a fun grumpy sunshine story about a dog lover vs. a cat lover. There was some cute banter, and adorable moments in this that I loved. Overall, though, I felt like this story fell slightly flat for me. It didn’t quite have enough grit for my taste. I think for a large group of readers it would be perfect, though!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I love this book. If you are a cat lover, you have to read this one. The main character name is Katty and her best friend name is Kay. How cute is that. Katty is a cat whisperer and Miles needs a cat sitting for his mother cat name Prince Francis. This story is so cute and wholesome.

I love their genuine, sincere, heartfelt love story. I'm so happy there's no third act break-up in this book. In other romances, it seemed like putting an unnecessary angsty argument between characters turned into a formula full of cliches.

What do you get when when Miles, a slightly socially awkward, cat hating, dog loving data analyst, meets Kitty, an also slightly socially awkward woman who calls herself the Kitty Whisperer and has a professional cat sitting business? Well, you get a whole lot of cat jokes along with a fun, endearing, quirky romance.

I think some readers will find this romance just a bit too quirky, but I loved it. It helps that I adore cats, and the cat at the heart of this one, Prince Francis, is a mischievous hairless Sphinx cat. Poor Prince Francis is desperately crying out for attention when his human, Miles' mom, is admitted to the hospital, and Miles a self-avowed dog-lover, who owns an adorable, goofy Great Dane, is stuck caring for him. In desperation, Miles hires Kitty who is not happy with his attitude and his inattention. It doesn't help that their first meeting is most definitely NOT cute and that Miles is allergic to cats. However, as they spend more time together, Miles and Kitty start to see each other more clearly and romance grows for them both.

There was also a more serious theme running through this romance, that of change. Both Miles and Kitty suffered losses in their immediate families that have deeply affected them and their remaining family and neither they nor their family members have effectively dealt with the grief and figured out how to move on. This theme of change runs throughout the book as they each are able to see the other's situation more clearly and are able to help each other finally get unstuck and moving forward. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Not for me couldn't get into at all and had to make it a DNF. I know people really like this author so would not discourage anyone for reading it just wasn't the right book for me. I want to thank NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Helena Hunting is an auto-buy author for me. I love her writing, her characters, and the love that she teases out from them. However, this book was a hard read for me. Perhaps it was because I skimmed some of the ratings before I started and got lost in all the cat love. I’m not a cat person, at all… so the die hard devotion to the feline friends was not super accessible to me.

Kitty Hart was a cute character — I had an over exaggerated house wife look in my mind for her. Honestly, she was a cute character, but it killed me that Kitty was obsessed with cats. It was just too much for me.

Miles was a sweet love interest who didn’t really have me swooning, but kept the story going.

I appreciated that the conflict was not overly dramatic, but at the same time, some times you want those heart strings to be pulled a little harder.

This book will hit well for a lot of people, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me.

I’m processing this review by disclosing I am not a cat person however, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Kitty has her own business as a “kitty whisper” a.k.a. a cat caretaker. Miles needs someone to care for his mom’s cat. The two of these people coming together was just perfect high found Miles to be hilarious and really enjoyed how he did statistical analysis for an NHL team. Can this be called a hockey adjacent romance? Kitty is cheesy at times, but she is so certain of herself. It’s interesting in the book when she starts to have some self-doubt, but the writing was so impeccable and relatable as she self-reflected. I really enjoyed how hers and Miles’ journeys reflected to each other, and they were able to grow as people throughout the book. Again, the writing was flawless; the plot line was also flawless. The chemistry and the banter between Kitty and Miles was top notch. The supporting cast added a really great depth to the story without being overwhelming. I loved the third act twist. It wasn’t miscommunication. It wasn’t a break up. It was such a good way to add excitement, but also show the final conclusion of the story. So well done!I just couldn’t put this book down. It was finished at 2 AM and I regret nothing. 4.75⭐️, 2🌶

I enjoyed this book but definitely not as much as I thought I would.

I think it’s because the MMC like flipped a 180 from the beginning of the book when we meet him to about 40-50% into it. Because of this we get no true enemies to lovers (a trope I absolutely love) and that disappointed me. If only he’d stayed true to himself. I had a hard time connecting with Kitty, our FMC as well. She’s apparently a social media influencer as well and yet we never see her post! Honestly I see nothing these two have in common beyond the fact that they each have a tragic history with a death in the family. I don’t even know why they like each other but they have sex real quick! We don’t even really get him interacting at work beyond a couple statements in a phone call. Taking care of his mother took everything and then left no room for anything else. I do however think she did a great job writing his current grief and issues with his mother and really did justice to that side character.

Honestly the furry and not furry animals stole the whole book and had more character than the humans.

I really love this author and will for sure read more of her but this was sadly not a book for me which is sad because I love cats (and dogs)!