So I’m really struggling to knke how to rate this.

Did I read it in a day? Yes… did I love it? No… did I hate it, definitely not.

I loved the beginning, I was trying not to laugh (I was at work) and I highlighted A LOT. I loved the characters, the connection, the tropes, chick chick has a special place in my heart.

But the more I read… the more I was finding it more cringy and repetitive. I really sympathised with the characters and their traumas bit it was just “they had a close encounter, they thought against it, she got emotional but had to hide it and he didn’t understand why, but didn’t push” like the first two times yeah I get it… but after 3/4 times it was just repetitive.. along with her little sayings, instead of cursing. It was cute the first few times but it just got annoying and the characters were just described very basically (she was quirky with minuscule clothes. He was grumpy who just stared) I don’t know it jusy out it off. There also just seemed to be small plot holes that could have been filled in. Did they ever watch lord of the rings? Who knows?.

I loved the ending though, I really felt for the characters, especially the fmc and struggling to get past her trauma. And I’m so glad chick chick was a okay.

Overall o think this was a 3.5. It had a lot of potential but just needed a little more.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this in exchange of my honest review

⭐⭐⭐
To Get to the Other Side, Kelly Ohlert
December 6, 2022, Alcove Press

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This isn't your typical romance, because, as you may be able to tell from the title, a chicken plays a pivotal role in the story -- yes really.

After Trixie recuses a chicken in downtown Chicago traffic, she has to find a new home for herself in order to keep the chicken. Trixie rents a room from Bear - after his meddling sister post an ad. Trixie and Bear promise to keep things platonic, but the chicken just keeps drawing them back together again and again...

A fun and adorable romcom.

@kellyohlert #ToGettotheOtherSide #NetGalley @netgalley @alcovepress #romcombooks #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #romancebooks #booksaboutchickens

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.


I thought TGTTOS was a fun, enjoyable read. The chicken was such an equally unexpected and unique plot device! I loved the theme of family throughout the story, and the fact that we got a double POV is always a win in my book. I do have to say the main characters didn't particularly shine for me; they reminded me a lot of characters that are already out there, and I overall wish there'd been more depth to them.
I would recommend this story if you're looking for a quirky, laugh-out-loud, fast-paced romantic comedy.

Read if you like:
🐓 Chicken Crossing the Road Jokes
🏠 Roommates to Lovers
❤️ Meddling Siblings
👫🏼 Dual POV

This was cute, sassy, sarcastic, and heartfelt! If you are looking for a cute romance that starts out with a chicken crossing the road, this one is definitely for you!

These characters had great chemistry and I really enjoyed how their story came together! This one also had a really well done slow burn plot and I’m so thankful I got to read it in advance of its release in exchange for my feedback!

2.5. Trixie and Bear's relationship is sweet even if it is based on insta-love and relies pretty heavily on anxious attachment styles and neediness. I also enjoyed the animals; Chick-Chick's presence is refreshing here. That's about where the pros end for me, though.

I appreciate a romance that address childhood trauma and toxic masculinity, like this one does, but to be effective it has to adequately explore these issues and apply them to its characters. For instance, Trixie's arc with her family sort of explains her problematic behavior and manic pixie dream girl tendencies, but it was hard to feel sympathy for her when there's a lack of depth. Bear's subplot also feels slapdash and a little stereotypical--big burly guy wants to run a flower shop and drink wine and watch Grey's Anatomy? Great; good for him.

Parts of this are cute and totally fine. If you don't mind the "quirky" girl stereotype (she says food words when she wants to swear), pick this up.

To start out I want to thank NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I initially requested this book because of the adorable cover. I mean come on a chicken crossing the road in a city I can't even I just had to know what happened to her.

This is the story of Trixie, Bear, and Chick Chick and their journey into friendship, family, and love. Each one of these characters (is it ok to call a chicken a character?) has a struggle they must overcome. For poor Chick Chick, it is her health but for Trixie and Bear, it is their mental health. I loved getting to know each of these characters along with Bear's family and how they all supported one another. Sometimes the support Bear received from his sisters was not always appreciated but seemed to work out as the story progressed.

I found the story to be layered and immersive. I found it hard to put down the book once I started it because dang that chicken had me from the start. I just could not help myself I needed to know how she made out maybe it is because I am such an animal person. If you are looking for a quick comforting rom-com kind of read then I would say that this book is for you. Besides the chicken, I very much enjoyed the family aspect of the story along with discovering why the main characters behaved in the ways that they did.

Again I just want to thank NetGalley for this ARC all of the opinions in this review are my own.

To Get To The Other Side by Kelly Ohlert
My rating:
3/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️

You’re driving along a busy highway and a chicken is crossing the road. What do you do? Trixie, an animal enthusiast saves the chicken and brings it home to take care of it because it was badly injured. A man named Bear, helped Trixie catch the chicken.
Bear has 5 sisters all who are invested in getting him a girlfriend and to help him with his money troubles, so they put out an ad for his spare bedroom.

Since Trixie was in a lease with no pets allowed and her landlord found out, she needed a place to stay…. I think you can tell what happens next!

I really enjoyed this story in the beginning I was very hooked. I really liked the dual narrators and points of views of Trixie and Bear. I did enjoy their chemistry and the overall story that sounds ridiculous but was quite entertaining.

However, about halfway through the book I wanted more interaction between the main characters and wanted less unnecessary conflict. I truly get so frustrated when lack of communication creates unnecessary problems in books. I liked this story overall and it was a fun read, but I was ready for it to be over by the end. I still would recommend if you liked a fun little rom com with minimal spice levels 😅!

Thank you @netgalley and Alcove Press for the ARC! You can read this when it’s published on December 6th 2022!

“Leave it to a chicken to throw my life into a tailspin.”

Trixie Ward loves animals, hence why she works at an animal shelter. So when she sees a chicken struggling to cross the road—yes, to get to the other side—she has to stop and rescue it. Now with a chicken suddenly under her wing, breaking the no-pets-allowed rule of her apartment, Trixie has to find a new place to live…and fast. When she sees a spare, pet-friendly room up for rent in a pancake-loving man’s house, she jumps at the chance. Turns out that Bear Ross (the pancake-loving man) just so happened to help Trixie rescue the chicken and also didn’t know that his meddlesome sisters put his spare room up for rent. Still, he decides to let Trixie rent the room, but the two might be in for more than they bargained for when immediate attraction and feelings also move in. Can they make this arrangement work while keeping things platonic? Or will their hearts fly away with them before they can?

I enjoyed TO GET TO THE OTHER SIDE so much that I read it all in one day and quite literally could not put it down. Trixie and Bear are so emotionally relatable that reading this book is almost like going to therapy. I also developed strong feelings for Chick-Chick the chicken and really loved getting to see how she wormed her way into everyone’s hearts. Speaking of characters, Bear’s family was so fun to read about, and I loved their family meetings and wanted to join in! Author Kelly Ohlert does a fabulous job tackling some tough topics while also including lots of laugh-out-loud scenes. With heart, hope, and lots of chicken feathers, TO GET TO THE OTHER SIDE is the perfect pick-me-up for the animal-lover in all of us.

Content Warnings: Strong language, blood, animal injuries, mentioned bullying, emotional abuse, anxiety, depression, referenced intimate scenes, absentee parents

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

The following review will be posted on my blog on Sunday, November 6th, a month before publication. It will be shared on Twitter and Instagram closer to the day of publication, as well, but it has already been posted on Goodreads. The blog post includes links to order the books and to its Goodreads page, so readers can add it to their to-be-read books.






“Chickira? Henrietta? Princess Lay-A. Hennifer Lopez! Clucky Charm? I’m going to call you Chick-Chick.”

Genre: Romance, Comedy
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Discusses sick animals, bullying, child abuse, and frustration and unhealthy parental relationships after practicing a professional sport. Has some sexual innuendos.

“To Get To The Other Side” follows Trixie, Bear, and Chick-Chick—two roommates and a chicken found abandoned in the streets of Chicago. Trixie found Chick-Chick in the middle of the street and, by trying to sneak her into her not-pet-friendly apartment, is kicked out by her landlord. That’s when she finds an ad about a so-called Bear, who’s looking for a roommate and doesn’t mind pets…ish. Obviously a chicken was a bit unexpected, but Trixie and Chick-Chick end up falling right into his routine… perhaps falling in too well. To the point he’s thinking she could be more than just a roommate.

I think the best way to describe this book is as weird? The writing isn’t horrible but the story is just odd. Love at first sight and then close proximity and kind of enemies to lovers for a hot second… and a chicken? Found in the middle of the street? I don’t know. I love fiction just as much as the next chick (no pun intended), but this really wasn’t it for me.

This is a sort of closed-doors-romance, where we know they bang but we don’t know anything about it, if that makes sense. So I wouldn’t call it a clean romance per se, but I also can’t give it much of a spicy rating as is.

I think I didn’t enjoy this book quite as much as I expected. (I’ll blame it on judging a book by its cover). It’s supposed to be a romantic comedy, but I didn’t find any of it funny—more like I found it all very unrealistic. I read to escape my reality, but not in this whimsical, idealistic way. Life isn’t like this. People don’t talk like that.

Trixie is annoying, Bear (who the hell is called Bear?) is fictional at worse, and the name of the chicken is Chick Chick. Need I say more?

I would recommend this book if you’re looking for a short, silly read. No substance, all fluff—and clean fluff at that.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Alcove Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: December 6, 2022

I got this book from NetGalley as an ACR and these are my honest thoughts and opinions. I DNF this book at around 10% because of some of the tropes that this book has. It has small women and large man and they point it out all the time. The guys name is also Bear… which just beat that dead horse more about the size difference. He also can’t talk around her because he thinks she’s so beautiful which at first I was ok with but it continued on to the second time they met and after they had been talking for 15 minutes. They is also a chicken in this book and I’m a poultry science major and so of the things that happen with the chicken… I just couldn’t comprehend why it was happening and the behavior of the bird seemed odd. Also the chickens name is was Chick-Chick. The main female character was the “not like other girls” and keeps this chicken even though it goes against her lease. I think this was simply not a book for me and I think it’s unfair for me to rate it when it was mainly just tropes that I didn’t like. The writing style was fine for me but I did think the pacing was weird.

To Get to the Other Side was a fun, quick book to read. It was a close love at first sight, HEA style. Trixie and Bear meet for a brief moment when Trixie finds a wounded chicken in the middle of the road in Chicago. I enjoyed that I could read this book in a few short settings, I was invested in the health of not only the chicken, but also the relationship of Trixie and Bear. I enjoyed that the chapters were relayed in the different POVs of the main characters.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kelly Ohlert and Alcove Press for allowing me to read this eBook in advance.

Apologising for the mess of this review - I think it’s me mostly trying to convert noises to text x

An easy enjoyable read if you’re feeling a cutesy romance. This isn’t gonna change the face of romance literature but it was fun. But cringe at many points

First of all the characters names are Trixie and Bear?! I don’t know why I’m taking such offence to these names but I am, ok?! And for the chicken! Chick-Chick?? Trixie gives us a wee list of potential names and there’s honestly a few absolute crackers - Hennifer Lopez being the obvious choice duh

There was, shockingly, however, a general storyline! I was invested in Chick-Chick’s health and the lil tension between Trixie and Bear was so good until it actually happened (excuse me closed door romance uh). I didn’t know going in but like the way each of them were describing each other (multiple povs hello!!!) I was convinced I was set for a full on steamy scene. The chapter ended and we’d just moved right on?!???? Like fine okay. Then Trixie makes a million bad decisions but also Bear seems kind of needy and a bit possessive so I think I’m okay.

There’s a lot of other stuff that’s kind of mentioned and not really fleshed out very well - mostly to do with Trixie’s traumatic childhood which could’ve been really well developed and led to a much better character arc for her but there were quite a few other minor plotlines as well, that went nowhere!

I did enjoy it but think it was more through laughing at some of the more ridiculous bits!!

Overall, this book just wasn't for me. The love story is almost love at first sight which is a trope I dislike. Trixie is written to be too much like the "I'm not like other girls" kind of person. And, I didn't find these people's love for a chicken cute or charming.

After Trixie saves a stray chicken from traffic with the help of a mysterious but hot stranger and fails to smuggle her new pet past her landlord, she finds herself in the need to move out within a week. How fortunate then that the saviour stranger’s sisters put out an ad in search for a roommate for his - pet friendly - spare bedroom.

The story is told from both Trixie’s and Bear’s perspectives, which is something that I quite like in romance books. It usually provides insights into both main characters’ thoughts and feelings, but sadly in this case it didn’t help me with forming a deeper connection with the characters as there was a lot of telling and little showing.

It was fortunate to have both perspectives rather than just Trixie’s, though, because she really annoyed me and I would have dnf’ed this book if it weren’t for the breaks I got from her childish whining. She had the most dramatic, traumatic back story that never really was elaborated on (controlling, abusive parents who forced her to become a fake-happy, perfectionist dancer; a college best friend who filmed her having a breakdown from a conversation with her parents and showed it around; an ex-boyfriend who in response to said video broke up with her and got with the best friend) and although she does realise that none of that was her fault, she never went to therapy and it really shows. And obviously there’s a lot of drama heading our way when Trixie doesn’t let Bear help her in a vulnerable situation, screams at him to leave, even throws something at him, and then has the nerve to say “he walked in on me crying and he left. he’s just like everyone else.” I was obviously done with her behaviour before that scene, but that was downright horrible.

Bear, in contrast, is kind and loving and supportive and a real cinnamon roll of a person despite having gone through his own abusive childhood with a father who constantly put him down for not being enough of a man. I was so happy for him to grow throughout the story and take his happiness into his own hands.

In contrast, the conclusion we got for Trixie’s story is that the way out of a mental health problem is to find a person to “save” you by loving you for who you are and I absolutely hate the message that sends.

As for the insta-lust turned pining-roommates romance, I didn’t feel much of a spark between Trixie and Bear, but maybe that’s because of my dislike for Trixie? (Who, by the way, was the typical curvy, quirky not-like-the-other-girls girl with tons of friends and a job at that animal shelter.) The more physical scenes between them felt insanely unnatural and forced to the point where whenever they got close, I turned some pages back because I thought I had missed the build-up. It didn’t help that I was bored by only seeing their interactions with each other and nothing about their own personal lives.

Except for Bear’s cringeworthy best friend Ryan who literally told him to make a move on Trixie and just kick her out again if things didn’t work out. Wtf?

Oh and don’t get me started on the whole Chick-Chick the chicken business. I refuse to comment on how ridiculous that was, except for saying that I feel sorry for the poor (fictional!) animal for the pain it was put through.

To sum it up, this one really wasn’t for me due to multiple reasons, the main one being the female lead.

2/5 stars.

Such a fun read. I loved Trixie and Bear and how they were thrown into each others lives was definitely unique. I love that Ohlert told the story from both their POV's. It really helps to have the whole story when we can know the thoughts of the main characters. Because of Trixie's animal love, her landlord is done with her. She has to find a new place and she answers an ad for a room that was placed by Bear's sisters that he knew nothing about. They try so hard to not like each other but its just mean to be. This story was heart-warming and fun!

A chicken rescue mission🐔 in the middle of the crosswalk in Chicago city brings Trixie and Bear together and changes their whole worlds. 🌍

Trixie works at an animal shelter and she is very fond of them💗 although she lives in an apartment where her landlord doesn't allow pets she has always wanted to have one so when she manages to rescue the chicken she is left with no choice but to have her and that's leading her to look for a new house.
Here comes Bear🤗, he helped her save the chicken, and from the moment he laid eyes on her an immediate spark💥 has been ignited within him but unfortunately, he didn't get to know her name or her number. However, his meddling sisters put an ad in his name saying he is looking for a roommate and so fate brings them back together, what starts as a friendship/roommate situation turns into an undeniable attraction and they are left with no choice but to confront their feelings and deal with their insecurities and past to build a future and a healthy relationship.

I loved the novel so much❤️. The characters were amazing, especially Bear he is a like a dream comes true.😍🙈
Their chemistry was captivating💫
How the author dealt with their problems regarding their parents and the toxic relationship they used to have and how it affected them and we saw how she tackled this and showed us how they improved themselves.
Everything was perfect from A to Z and I really loved and recommended it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange of my honest opinion.

Prepare yourself for laughter! To Get to the Other Side is a cute story about two unlikely roommates who get closer.

The family members are outright hilarious and the chicken adds to the comedy.

This is definitely a fun and easy read. I liked how Bear figured out were his life is going once Trixie started opening his eyes. The ending was obviously predictable, which is something a lot of contemporary romances suffer from, but still a good end

Something I did feel like the story was missing was something ‘big’, more drama I guess? But the chicken made everything better 😂

This was SO cute. Loved the chicken angle. Loved Bear but more importantly Bear's family.
And then Trixie. She was cute but maybe a little too cutesy? However that plays into her trauma so it works for her. However, I do wish we had gotten more about Trixie's trauma-causers. The friend one was mentioned multiple times but never really elaborated so it just seem repetitive BUT again that worked for her growing in her relationships.
Not a huge fan of the daily items as swear words ("Oh, almond butter!") but overall the dialogue and atmosphere was really fun and a perfect little RomCom. This also wasn't a deal breaker because Trixie is an anomaly and an enigma so it built her into the weird but cute and always slightly on edge character she was.
Overall I recommend to all you humor and RomCom lovers. Fans of Abby Jimenez, Farrah Rochon, TJ Alexander will love this.

This book was a sweet romance with such a unique twist. The little jokes and the the scenes with the chicken were hilarious. Both characters had realistic and intriguing internal conflicts and the side characters were flawless. I would have loved a little more connection between the love interests but other than that, this book was really cute.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.