📝R E V I E W 📝
To Get To The Other Side by Kelly Ohlert
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Start date: November 8, 2022
Finish date: November 12, 2022
Pub date: December 6, 2022

▫️grumpy/sunshine ☀️
▫️forced proximity 🏠
▫️pet chicken 🐓

Thanks to Netgalley and Alcove Press for this digital ARC!

While this was fun in concept, Trixie made a series of questionable (and IMO, unrealistic) decisions to end up meeting Bear.

BUT aside from their unorthodox meeting, this was cute. Trixie and Bear are so cute together, I love Bear’s family and the role they play in this. I do enjoy a good forced proximity trope, and with the addition of grumpy/sunshine, this has a lot going for it. It had its funny moments too.

My 3 ⭐️ rating equates to “hey, this wasn’t bad”.

3 1/2 stars.
A fun, lighthearted read just right for spring.
Trixie was a quirky ray of sunshine on the outside but most of that was covering a lot of emotional trauma from childhood and Bear saw that in her. I loved him as a character. He had his own problems stemming from a emotionally abusive toxically masculine father, and together they were able to give each other the help they needed.

I thought I’d find the chicken part of this book charming, but it was a bit overkill. I found it hard to really get into the story, and didn’t find the characters to be all that interesting.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an earc of To Get to the Other Side by Kelly Ohlert.

There were some cute moments in this book and the writing was engaging but as the book went on I became less invested as the story line became more far fetched and a bit too quirky. It felt a bit scattered and I found myself skimming sections to see how everything would resolve.

This book had a fun concept. Trixie finds a chicken running around and saves it with the help of Bear, a handsome stranger. Bear’s family does some meddling and he ends up with Trixie and her chicken as his roommate. Unfortunately, this book had a lot of plots that didn’t really get fleshed out. I felt like we never really got to know the main characters and never really got to see them fall in love. They just randomly were.

4 stars for this light-hearted, laugh-out-loud rom-com. Recommend!
Thank you to Kelly Ohlert, Alcove Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cute, unique premise, and nice execution. The author writes family stories quite well, and that's what I was looking for her. Looking forward to more from Kelly Ohlert.

I didn’t get to finish because I procrastinated on reading and I so wish I hadn’t! I’m only on chapter 13 and it’s so cute so far. I most likely will purchase or check it out from the library in the future!

A really fun and easy read. I liked how Bear figured out were his life is going once Trixie started opening his eyes. The chicken was a good add to this story, something totally unexpected but which was a good add in. I loved how Bear's family was dominant in his life and really showed love and concern towards him. The ending was obviously predictable but still a delightful end.

Unfortunately, this book was not a good fit for me. The storylines were so choppy and the main characters were undeveloped because there was just so much going on. The chicken aspect was a bit much. There were some funny bits and it was a quick read, so hopefully other readers will connect with it! Thanks for the opportunity.

It all starts on a busy downtown Chicago street. Enter a chicken on the run and a handsome stranger. Sparks are bound to fly.! Cue the love at first sight. The sexual tension in this book could be cut with a knife.

Both Trixie and Bear have some trauma stemming from a shitty parent or two. I love that Bear wants to take over his mother’s shop, but hate that he lets bio dad hinder his life choices. Then we Trixie, who completely hides half of her personality and wants everyone to believe that all is rainbows and unicorns all the time. I did get annoyed with Trixie for various reasons, but overall this romance was equal parts funny and emotional.

Read if you enjoy:
❄️ Grumpy Sunshine Trope
❄️ Clean Romance (but with some saucy innuendos thrown in)
❄️ He falls first
❄️ Unexpectedly funny animal companion

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for gifting me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Trixie has a momentary lapse in judgement when an injured chicken crosses in front of hr car. Instead of continuing on, she jumps out and tries to catch it. Luckily Bear is there to help her. when her landlord catches her sneaking in yet another animal however, she gets the boot. Meanwhile Bear is kicking himself for not asking for the cute girl with the chickens number. His sisters have their own plans though and they put an ad in the paper for his extra room. Lucky for Bear, Trixie needs a new place to stay. now not only does he have a new roommate, but an ill chicken as well…

This book was just an absolute delight. Trixie was just the best character, and my heart hurt so badly for her as she dealt with the crappy way her parents treated her as a child. I so badly just wanted to shake her and tell her people will still love you even if you aren’t always perfect or happy. Meanwhile, Bear was just a huge teddy bear inside and I wish he could have seen past the bullying of his childhood. Both Trixie and Bear had their own shit, but I loved how they slowly but surely worked toward letting each other in. Oh and how dare I not mention Chick Chick. Such a funny and random animal to bring the two together, but I just adored how much Trixie loved and cared for Chick Chick, and how Bear ended up falling for the sweet little chicken as well!

Thanks to Alcove Press for the copy of this ARC.

While this book started out pretty well and was shaping up to be a quick and cute rom com, I didn’t expect this chicken storyline to take over so heavily. Like honestly this could’ve been an okay story and had enough going on without the chicken? There were tons of sidebars to siblings / jobs / neighbors / trauma / parents / pets / etc.
Trixie was also written as a “super quirky” character, which doesn’t always work for me - especially with her “non-swearing” and punny jokes. This drove me bonkers and made the romance side of things cringey for me. The characters themselves were cute, but there was a focus on soooo many side characters (definitely gearing up for another book in this series), and the main characters remained underdeveloped. Their trauma storylines were really choppy and plugged into the story when the timing needed it, but it wasn’t super coherent. That being said, while this wasn’t for me, it was definitely an easy and quick read and if you’re into chickens and puns, this will be your jam.

It was an okay read but unfortunately not really my cup of tea. I liked the writing style but I wasn't really invested in the story. Sorry :-(

Animals and a grumpy Bear as a hero rom-com, I clucked and went in with my tongue lolling.... Came out with mixed feelings..
While it was a fun and enjoyable read, there was a slight disconnect between me and the characters (not the usual go inside the book world feel).

Overall - I liked it.

3.5 stars out of 5 for a quick fun read

First l, I loved the chicken aspect of this story. I think I love chick-chick as much as the characters did. On the other side though this book while good fell a little flat for me. It was so close to being really good it just felt like it was missing some more resolution to the backstory. I did love Bears family, his sisters were fun to read. I wish there were was just a little more to it, otherwise it was a cute and pretty quick read.

I enjoyed this book as a quick, lightweight entertaining read. As the blurb suggests, it starts with chicken rescue. Trixie gets very invested in the chicken, Chick Chick, and all her future actions are due to Chick Chick. I loved the alternating viewpoints of Trixie and Bear. They both had struggles and secrets from the world but slowly let each other in. Of course a romance would be a little boring if it was straight-forward, so a little drama thrown in adds to the anticipation. I enjoyed the side characters, in particular Bear's 'meddling' sisters, Bear's next door neighbour Ryan and Trixie's colleague and friend Lindsay. Overall a great, enjoyable read.

‘To Get to the Other Side’ by Kelly Ohlert was an absolute treat! Sweet, funny, heartwarming, a cast of truly great characters, and utterly entertaining. I highly recommend this one!

A delightful story about a chicken and a funny and relatable pet named Trixie was brought to life in this book. I had so much fun reading this book and I loved every page. Trixie was so sweet and relatable and had such a lot of flaws and mishaps but was still sincere and charming.

The emotions between Bear and Trixie kept me in a state of trance throughout the whole time I was reading this book. It was full of funny and relatable characters and I can't remember the last time I had such a good laugh.
Trixie is an absolute ray of sunshine for all stray animals she can find. She has a pet chicken named Chick-Chick who didn't make it across the road, but she soon finds herself in a bind because her landlord has a strict no-pets policy, and she also has to move into a new apartment because Chick-Chicks is taking up too much medication. Fortunately, a new roommate can be found for Bear.

Bear is a bit of a grump, and he doesn't like being the center of attention. His whole life has been turned upside down when he meets Trixie, who is a beautiful and vibrant polka-dot-wearing ball of pure enthusiasm. He is thrilled to be living with her, but he is also nervous about their new living arrangement. He realizes that they will have to co-parent her sick pet chicken.

The two of them started falling in love after they met, and they soon started spending their time together watching Grey's anatomy, making pancakes, going on picnics with their chicken, and stealing each other's secret glares. This is a delightful book full of funny and relatable characters, and if you like any of the following tropes, this is the book for you.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Trixie is a hot mess. She stops her car in the middle of traffic in downtown Chicago to catch a chicken. Yes, a chicken. She finally gets it into her car and goes to a local vet that will look her over - she needs a lot of care, medicine, and money. Trixie is known for her love of animals, this is why she works at a local shelter.

Bear is a man who enjoys a simple, quiet life and offsets his large, loud family. His sisters are consistently trying to get him out of the house and find him a woman. When they take things into their own hands and place a "room-for-rent" ad on Bear's behalf, hilarity ensues. Trixie is one of the applicants and he agrees to let her move in, while harboring worries about keeping this relationship completely romance free.

Both Trixie and Bear have reasons why they are single, and as they spend more time together, will they let the walls down and be honest with each other, or will they end a good thing?