A Love Catastrophe by Helena Hunting is a contemporary romcom featuring cats and hockey (3/5 stars)

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

I received a copy of this book to review. All opinions contained herein are my own. A Love Catastrophe releases on Tuesday, June 13th, 2023.

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