About the Book:
Title: The Love Catastrophe
Author: Helena Hunting
Page Length: 384
Publication Date: June 13, 2023
Publisher: Forever
Synopsis: 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 he doesn’t like cats, especially Prince Francis, the haughty and mischievous Sphynx his mom left in his care. Strike 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?
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, including Amazon, and I may earn a small commission, at no cost to you, if you purchase through my links.
My Review:
The Love Catastrophe by Helena Hunting is a cute and quirky contemporary romance with fun puns and a unique cast of characters. Kitty Hart is a cat whisperer hired by Miles Thorn to care for his mother’s beloved cat as she faces long-term care at a facility. Kitty and Miles couldn’t be more different, and their meet-cute isn’t so cute. But once she sees Prince Francis, the troublesome feline, Kitty jumps at the chance to care for him even though she isn’t a fan of Miles. However, the more she gets to know Miles, the more Kitty realizes she might have prejudged him, and they slowly begin falling for each other.
There are a ton of cat puns at the start of the story since that is part of Kitty’s schtick, and they were purr-fect additions to the story. But once Miles gets to know her as more than a cat caretaker, Kitty’s cat persona drops, as do most of the puns. Kitty and Miles’s relationship progresses nicely from strangers to friends to more. Theirs isn’t a high-stakes, risky relationship filled with obstacles, but some of their obligations, insecurities, and emotional struggles, especially Miles’s stress at his new job and his mother’s health issues and Kitty’s stagnation and fear of change, stand in their way.
The story isn’t all lighthearted romance. It delves into grief in both Miles and Kitty’s pasts and details how that pain defines their present. Both lost loved ones when they were young, and those tragedies deeply affected them. These heavier themes contrast with the lighter, comical scenes. Miles and Kitty have a few laugh-out-loud scenes that totally made me chuckle. Kitty and Miles also have great friends, and I have a feeling many of them will have their own stories in the future. And a special shout out to Prince Francis for being my favorite character in the book! That cat is a rascal, and he stole the show in so many scenes. I’m not a big cat person, but I totally want a Prince Francis!
I do wish there were a bit more chemistry between the pair, though. Also, it took a while for me to warm up to Miles. He wasn’t the most likable character for me at first, and I didn’t love how he was with his mother for most of the book. That being said, he grew on me as the story developed and his character grew, and I think he and Kitty were good influences on each other. And the way he defended and supported Kitty when a social media situation threatens her livelihood was fantastic.
This is a purr-fect read if you like cat-tastic feline puns, awkward and funny friends-to-lovers romance, a great cast of secondary characters, and some deeper, more emotional themes. Thanks to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
Rating:
Favorite Parts:
- Prince Francis
- The cat puns.
- The character growth.
Favorite Lines:
The people who hold you up are the ones you need to hold on to the tightest.
Sometimes when we fall, we need to take the hand that’s been offered to us, get back on our feet, dust ourselves off, and keep going.
Tropes:
- opposites attract
- grumpy-sunshine
- forced proximity
awh, seems like a cute book! great review by the way!
Thanks! It definitely had some cute moments. 🙂
Super cute review. I love it!
Thank you! 🙂
You had me at cat puns lol.
Right! They were paw-sitively purr-tastic!