This just was not for me. I can appreciate that it’s well written but the story itself just did not compel me like I anticipated it would.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for letting me have an e-ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

“To get to the other side” by Kelly Ohlert is an interest-at-first-sight, funny romance.
I call it “romance” and not “rom-com” because even though it was funny, as I said, it had hints from the start that it dealt with insecurity connected to parents, which is a theme that could be relatable for most people.
It was well written but I didn’t bound with the characters.
The story itself was original but I didn’t find sparks in it.
I liked it and would recommend it to someone who can maybe relate better with characters.

I DNFed this one at 33%. I expected a cute, quirky story but was disappointed as this wasn’t the one for me.

Unfortunately, I DNF"d this one at 28%.

While the concept seemed cute and funny, the execution resulted in a drawn out beginning, characters with little chemistry, and a saccharine sweet MC. I typically am a fan of the sunshine and grump trope, but Trixie was just a little *too* sunny for my tastes (of all the options to name a chicken, including Princess Lay-a, she goes with Chick-Chick?).

I'm sure that this is the perfect book for someone, but sadly it wasn't for me. (I did appreciate the numerous animal puns: naming characters Bear and Fawn, "hiccuping hippos" on page one.)

Thanks to Netgalley and Alcove Press for providing me with an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review!

I badly wanted to finish this book because the premise was interesting, but I could not get myself to read more than I already have.

To Get to the Other Side is about Trixie and Bear. Trixie stops in the middle of traffic to basically save a chicken who was hurt on the road. This is also where she meets Bear who helps her with this little escapade. Trixie decides to keep the hurt chicken because why not, I guess.

This was a very sweet read with a lot of heart. Bear and Trixie are fantastic characters and the romance plot is adorable. Chick Chick was a great addition and added a lot of joy and emotion to the story. This is a quick, easy read that I really enjoyed.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

Oh my word! This is ADORABLE! This was funny, this was fun, flirty, romantic. I could go on and on, but i loved every second of this! I couldn’t put it down!

I was pulled in by it's comparison to Abby Jimenez, who is one of my favorite authors. This book is really cute and a quick read with quirky characters and a very loveable family. The only reason I'm not giving this a higher rating is because I felt like the characters never fully developed. Trixie, the main female, struggles with letting anyone get close to her and to know the real her since getting hurt in college, and I felt like the readers also don't fully get to know her. Bear and Trixie don't ever really have a real and serious conversation about her and her life, so the relationship just felt fake. But, I loved the chicken!!

Hi! To Get to the Other Side by Kelly Ohlert is a read I don’t know how to feel about. It was a really great read after the first 20% and I felt so happy for the characters at the end!! But I also had quite a few criticisms with it. So here’s my messy review, I personally give this book 3.5 stars!

The Plot

Trixie isn’t sure what she was thinking when she stopped her car in the middle of downtown Chicago, scooped up a chicken, and drove off… but she does know that she has to find a new home for herself and her new feathered friend, considering her current apartment doesn’t allow pets.

Bear likes his quiet life with his close-knit family, but he’s in for a rude awakening when his meddlesome sisters post an ad to rent the spare room in his home, without asking him. Still, when Trixie responds to the ad, he agrees to let her move in, despite immediate worries.

Determined to befriend Bear, and give her rescue chicken the care she deserves, Trixie fights to keep her walls up and resist her feelings for Bear. But it’s not long before the pair’s proximity and chicken parenting ignite flames that have them testing the boundaries of their platonic ground rules.

Book Review-

Things I loved about the story-

The easy writing style. I flew through the story in one sitting!

I loved that Bree and Bear were well-fleshed out characters and I especially loved Bear’s family as characters.
It was definitely refreshing to see Bear as an understanding and compassionate human in general and I loved the lack of misunderstandings and miscommunication. Angst is great but drawn-out miscommunication just isn’t it.

The niece and the chicken!! They made the story for me. This is a very character-driven story so it makes sense that I would love a lot of the characters.

Now a few things that didn’t sit very well with me. 1) The insta-attraction. The trope works great when done well but- I mean Bree is showering (a normal human thing to do) and you’re sitting out fantasizing about her and saying it’s pure torture??

2) That neither of them went to therapy or worked out their trauma properly. I loved that they both had issues since it made them more tangible as characters but.. there was absolutely no importance given to it after they worked out their relationship.

3) The starting was a bit slow. The concept of the story, while great, could have been executed better.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my free e-ARC of this read in exchange for my honest review.

Trixie incidentally meets Bear because of a chicken crossing the road. And because of said chicken, she needs a new place to live. It turns out Bear has a room.

What comes next is the frustration of adults with the inability to communicate or regulate their emotions. This leads to messy, immature responses and irritating points of the story.

This book has a few cute moments, don’t get me wrong. But there are so many cliches and stupid societal rules that these two can’t seem to shake.

I also was frustrated that there were so many opportunities to really get deep with Trixie and Bear and their traumas, but they were only slightly more than a skim over.

That’s the moral of the story for this one for me - so much opportunity, but the author just kept it light and didn’t go there.

It wasn’t for me, but I appreciate the opportunity from @netgalley . The review expresses my own personal opinions.

Reading this book was really exciting. I enjoyed the plot and the characters. Although, I do feel like it could have been executed differently. Some of the writing was very childish to me. On page one a sentence was “what in the hiccuping hippos” and I immediately knew this writing style wasn’t going to be for me. I definitely think others could enjoy this book a lot though.

The idea of the story was great, but it wasn't executed well. The plot was just bland, and I couldn't feel the chemistry between the characters.

This is a sweet romantic story that includes a chicken and a couple who don't know how to talk to each other because of past bullying and trauma.
Because of Bears sisters and their meddling Trixie and Bear are able to see how good they are for each other and learn to overcome their past hurts to be the people they are truly meant to be.
Especially for each other!
A beautiful romantic story that will make you smile and enjoy the antics of the fun people in it.

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for the advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Trixie and Bear wind up being roommates after a chicken retrieval in downtown chicago and a coincidental classified ad. There love for Chick-Chick and each other grows.

This book had me laughing, reminiscing, angry and tearing up. I appreciated the mentions of scenes from the Office, Super Mario Bros, Buddy the elf and Jurassic world. I was laughing out loud to so many of Trixies mannerisms and thoughts. And phew, Bear was portrayed like a very sexy Luke from Gilmore Girls with a beard.

I really liked that the backgrounds of each character and how the past trauma shaped their lives. (Although I think Both should see a therapist still). I hate how books make family’s out to be picturesque but both Bear and Trixie’s family’s have issues.

The only reason it’s not a 5 is because I wish there was more detail in the romance scenes. Haha

A hilarious read. The story of how Chicken caused love! This was a super summer read, an enjoyable easy read which dealt with the insecurities many women feel when entering relationships. Thoroughly enjoyed.

The novel literally starts out with a girl crossing the road to save a chicken so the cover is spot on. That's how our love interests first meet, and then they will happen upon each other once more and become roommates. The story itself was entertaining and the quirkiness of the female lead is fun. However, I did feel that the on again off again feelings of this lead character became a bit of a stretch if not completely unbelievable. This is definitely a read for pure enjoyment, so if that's what you're craving then you'll enjoy it. Thank you NetGalley and Alcive Press for the opportunity to review this ARC.

I ADORE THIS BOOK.
Trixie and Bear are wonderful, and I was cheering for them the whole way through. Chick-Chick made my heart happy and I cannot recommend this book more for a rainy day read when you just want something to warm your heart.

dear publisher,
I apologise for the delay in giving feedback, however, I just couldn't get into the book.

Thank you NetGalley, Alcove Press, and Kelly Ohlert for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF (did not finish) at 38%.

I badly wanted to finish this book because the premise was interesting, but I could not get myself to read more than I already have.

To Get to the Other Side is about Trixie and Bear. Trixie stops in the middle of traffic to basically save a chicken who was hurt on the road. This is also where she meets Bear who helps her with this little escapade. Trixie decides to keep the hurt chicken because why not, I guess. But, oh yes, there's a but, her landlord doesn't allow animals and she's no exception to that rule. So, she has to find for another place to stay that also allows pets. In comes, Bear's sisters who meddle in his life and posted an ad for someone to rent the spare room. So, yeah, Bear agrees to let her stay and all that, yada yada.

That (the part where she saves the chicken) was interesting because who in the world would do that, especially considering this was in the middle of traffic with lots of angry people beeping at you. But it got boring so quickly.

This was a fun and easy read. I loved how Bear's family was dominant in his life and really showed the love towards him and concern.

The ending I did predict, but it was still an enjoyable read.