A Love Catastrophe

Hunting (Make a Wish) tugs at the heartstrings with this thoroughly charming and unexpectedly deep contemporary romance. When the mother of NHL data analyst and dog person Miles Thorn is admitted to the hospital for an extended stay, Miles must take in her finicky feline, Prince Francis. The search for a cat sitter leads him to Kitty Heart, social media star and owner of the Kitty Whisperer. Animal lover Kitty feels lust at first sight with handsome Miles, and as their romance builds, she gets caught up in his world, including house parties at NHL players’ homes. But when Kitty trips and falls on Miles’s dog during a walk, an onlooker edits a film of the accident to make her fall appear deliberate and her followers turn on her, calling her an “animal abuser.” The subplot about Miles’s mother, who is diagnosed with early-onset dementia, adds some hefty emotional weight, but Hunting leavens the serious moments with a number of hilarious scenes, including one where Kitty must evict a wandering baby raccoon from a hockey player’s house. This fresh, fun, and at times heartbreaking tale will stay with readers long after the last page is turned. Agent: Kimberly Brower, Brower Literary. (June)