This story was so captivating while building up to the moment that they get together. The fact how they met and ended up living together made it seem unlikely for anything to happen, but yet you get surprised and the story just keeps pulling you in further.

I gave this book two stars because it was just nice, nothing more..
It had a sort of instalove trope, which i don't particularly like and then it was the same thing over and over, with progress in their relationship followed by miscommunication.
And then the chicken! It was funny at first but i think the author could have given more space to other characters instead of focusing so much on the chicken.
I just wasn't convinced enough by this story.

This book was very interesting I really enjoyed it. The romance was cute, and the name being a pun was beautiful. Me and my friends have a thing where we text eachother dad jokes to bug eachother and telling my one friend who really dislikes the dad jokes about this book just made his brain explode it was positively hilarious. I really did like this book.

I absolutely adored the concept of this book! The chicken absolutely stole the show. Without a doubt I will be purchasing a finished copy once it is published

This started out quite strong but ended up fizzling out when we got to the last 25-30% of the book. We're constantly told about Trixies childhood trauma of being unable to show people emotions other than what's on the 'happy scale', and yet we see no development to get over this. She also got very whiny in this last bit which I didn't enjoy. This is probably more of a 3.5 star as that's my only disappointment with this book. I did enjoy the plotline- the random meeting to roommates to lovers was a lovely pipeline to read and I rather enjoyed the characters. The insight to Bear's family dynamic was quite nice to read as well. I would recommend this actually, it was fun and easy. Nothing new but still sweet.

Loved this book. When I first started reading it, I thought it would be a typical, cringy, romance story, but this book exceeded my expectations. I loved loved loved Trixie, she had so much depth to her character. All in all greatly enjoyed this book. I got an Arc from netgalley for my honest review.

To Get to the Other Side
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— — — — — — — — — —
Why did the chicken cross the street?
— — — — — — — — — —

When Trixie stopped her car in the middle of a busy road to save a chicken, she wasn’t aware how this chicken would change her life.
Because of her landlord’s no pets policy she is forced to look for a new apartment with her feathered friend.

Bear lives a quiet life alone in his flat until his sisters post an ad to rent out his spare room. But once Trixie appears on his doorstep the two decide to become roommates and despite their plans to keep things platonic things start to heat up between the two.

— — — — — — — — — —

This book was all that I could ask for: A fun and weightless romance novel with a loving main character.
It made me laugh and cry and I just could not put it down.

Trixie was a character that was relatable. Her fear of disappointing people and loosing them felt so realistic. I love that she isn’t the perfect girl next door but somebody suffering from panic attacks. This just makes her character so much more realistic.

Bear was just a super cuddly person. He seems like the type of person who you would just see and immediately start loving. The way he acts around his family and friends just seems so natural.

The whole relationship and friendship between the two was just so well thought out and seemed so realistic that I found myself feeling along with them.

Just a few side notes: The book is written from both Trixie’s and Bear’s point of view. There is no smut in any of the scenes but some talk about it.

I would like to thank Netgally for providing me with a digital advanced readers copy in exchange for my review.

— — — — — — — — — —
Ratings:
Smut: 🌶 /5
Story: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Writing style: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I was instantly drawn in by the cover, and the premise of two strangers meeting due to a chicken incident. It is a cute book, however it does have a few flaws for me that caused a three-star rating.

The chicken was excessive, I was a bit sick of the chicken by the end of the book. That being said, when the chicken was unwell, I was very invested in its wellbeing...!

There was a weird slow burn / insta-love thing going on in this book, it was almost like the author wasn't too sure which trope she wanted the book follow.

Overall, it was a sweet rom-com, and I didn't mind reading it! :)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me to read an eARC of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This was a cute book! 2 strangers brought together by a chicken? Never thought I would hear that! I found Trixie relatable in some ways. I feel like I would do anything as well to save an animal! I want a chick chick! I will definitely be recommending.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this awesome ARC in exchange for an honest review of the book.

Kelly Ohlert does an extraordinary job with a hilarious and ridiculous premise. When I first read what this book would be about, I giggled and requested it because the title, cover, and premise are just so silly. And this chicken book is an adorable and whole-hearted YES for me. Bear is an ideal book boyfriend for his pancake flipping skills, willingness to binge watch terrible hospital dramas, and chicken wheelchair building skills. I'm obsessed with Trixie, who is the cutest, most manic-ly adorable heroine, and I want to be best friend. It's just so sweet. Also when I requested this book, I totally did not think I would actually tear up at some parts, but I actually did.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book! As soon as I saw the cover of To Get to the Other Side, I was so intrigued and excited to read it. Sadly, it wasn't what I was expecting, but I think this book was just not for me. If you're looking for a cute, silly romcom, then this book might just be exactly what you're looking for. I wish we had gotten a bit more chemistry between Trixie and Bear right away. This would have helped with the slow burn factor and would have made me want to keep reading instead of feeling like the first several chapters were a slog to get through, since we didn't see the two main characters together until several chapters in.
Additionally, the book was just a bit more on the silly side than I typically prefer. I found it highly unbelievable that Trixie (who is broke) would pay $900 to save a mangled chicken she found on the side of the road, then attempt to keep it as a pet in her apartment. It also seemed sort of alarming that she was willing to go into a strange man's apartment and move in with him out of desperation. If she had gotten to know him a bit more at first it would seem more likely, but I ultimately found it sort of risky since she didn't know Bear at all aside from the time she saw him on the side of the road while saving the chicken. It would have seemed much more believable if they had had more of a connection the first time they met, so she knew she could trust him before moving in with him.
All in all, it's probably a very cute book for people looking for a silly romcom, but it was just not for me, unfortunately.

The cover of this book is what drew me in originally but unfortunately the story fell flat. I felt like the characters were lack luster, the relationships were lacking depth and I had a hard time connecting to them. The overall story had me losing interest. The story idea had my interest so I’m disappointed that I couldn’t get into it. Maybe I am just not in the mood for it at the moment.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Firstly, I had not read a book which a chicken (yes, you read it true) is an important detail 😊 I really in love with this cute little one.
Trixie and Bear were completely strangers but they fell in love with each other at first sight. After some amazing details they became roommates and story begins.
It was fun to read their story and see their progress in their lives. I think To Get to the Other Side will a great beach book. We all need a amazing book and sunshine 😊

Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:
Trixie isn’t exactly sure what she was thinking when she stopped her car in the middle of downtown Chicago, scooped up a chicken struggling to cross the road, and drove off… but she does know that she has to find a new home for herself and her new feathered friend. The landlord at her apartment doesn’t allow pets and has caught Trixie in one too many pet-smuggling attempts in the past.

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

Determined to keep her new room, befriend Bear, and give her rescue chicken the care she deserves, Trixie fights to keep her walls up and resist her romantic feelings for Bear. However, it’s not long before the pair’s proximity and chicken parenting ignite flames that have Trixie and Bear testing the boundaries of their platonic ground rules. They have to figure out how to save a family business, pay for mounting vet bills, and navigate their own emotional baggage if they want to find the love that they all deserve.

My Thoughts:
As a veterinary technician, the premise of this story of a girl who works at an animal shelter who rescues and keeps a chicken was too cute to pass up. And that’s exactly what this story was, a fun, cute, romantic read. Trixie was quirky, and fun, the kind of girl I could be friends with, but with real problems and emotional baggage buried deep that added just another layer to the story.

Bear is everything any girl could want, gruff and broody on the outside but a marshmallow for the girl who gives him all the feels. I loved that he’s a family man and unapologetic about that. Coming from a large family myself I completely related to that aspect of his life and it made him endearing.

3.5-4 stars

I was drawn to this book based on the cover. I'm a sucker for a cartoon cover. However, the book was hard to get into and I struggled through it. The characters were hard to connect to and often came off as annoying. The plot was difficult to follow and I heard about the chicken way too much. Unfortunately, this wouldn't be a book that I would want to reread or recommend.

I was drawn by this cover and excited to dive in. However, I struggled to get into the story and I did not finish the book. Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for this earc.

From the beginning, I was not a huge fan of this book.

1) The characters fell flat and Trixies "quirky" personality was almost too much for me to handle. She was annoying.

2) There was no plot, the entire book kept tying back to this chicken and it was so tiring to hear about the chicken every other page.

3) The romance was insta-love which is not interesting to me.

I found it to be boring and the characters to be very unlikeable. I gave it two stars because I did like that the story was based around the main character who loves animals- since animal care is also my job.

2/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley for this Arc ! I loved this book. I thought it was funny and cute, lighthearted. I’m really confused if this book is YA or adult romance but besides that it was good

To Get to the Other Side by Kelly Ohlert ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a really amazing RomCom novel. And I love a book which has a male point of view along with the female, so I totally enjoyed it. The characters were all so lively and heartfelt.

Trixie is a very compassionate and animal-loving woman who stops her car in the middle of traffic to save an injured hen limping on the road. Her heart bleeds every time she sees a helpless animal and tries to sneak it into her "No Pets" apartment- a rule enforced because of her trying to sneak five wildly different animals. She works at a dog and cat rescue and adoption centre. Thanks to her childhood trauma by her parents and her ex-best friends, she is unable to open up to people and always keeps the pretence of a very cheerful person. She keeps smiling whenever she has an audience and has a whole lot of friends.
Bear is an introverted guy who has four sisters. Being with a house full of girls and an absent and asshole father, he started to cave into himself for liking things which are stereotyped to be 'girly' like liking wine, loving to work in his mother's flower boutique, cooking, etc. His sisters meddle in his life whenever they feel he needs their help. They gang up on him and annoy the hell out of him. Bear loves his sisters to the moon but they sometimes- most of the time, get under his skin. They put an ad in the newspaper that he's looking for a roommate- without his permission. He gets really frustrated at this but is surprised when he sees Trixie- the woman whom he saw saving a chicken, come to him asking about the room. He is more surprised when he lets her see the room and considers letting her stay.
Bear's family is heartwarming. His step-father is a perfect replacement for his biological father. His mom reads her children extremely well and has done a very good job raising them. His sisters, Zoey, Fawn, Lexie and Rosie are amazing too! I loved Bella, Owen and Chick-Chick! Gosh, awesome work with the characters.

The plot was pretty good and engaging. The emotions were nicely presented and developed among the characters. I felt both elated and sad reading the details about the animals and how they are treated.
I hope the ARC I got wasn't the final copy cause I found a few grammatical mistakes here and there. However, I'd love it if this story is continued with one of Bear's sisters. I'd like to read more about them!

Have you ever heard of an idiot plot, where the plot would be completely unnecessary if the characters weren't idiots? Well, I'm proposing a new category: The Therapy Plot, where the whole conflict wouldn't have happened if the characters had just gone to therapy, like, at least once.

But let's start at the beginning. Our two characters are Trixie, which rhymes with pixie, as in Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and Bear, which thankfully is a nickname and not something that his parents actually chose for him. Trixie and Bear meet when Trixie rescues a chicken off the street.

The chicken is the best part of the book.

The first-person POV switches between Trixie and Bear every chapter. The writing is charming, leaning towards humorful, and easy to read. The entire book (writing-wise) goes down smooth without any hiccups.
Other reviewers seem to have said that the characters are one-dimensional. I don't necessarily agree, however, they do fall into some tropes that are just overused and tired. Trixie, as said above, is a manic pixie dream girl like John Green could only dream of, and Bear is the grumpy one who is secretly a marshmallow inside. If you do read this book, prepare for descriptions of just how tiny Trixie is and how skinny and how graceful, but how she still has curves in all the right places, and how big and strong and tall and beardy Bear is in comparison to her.

Right. Forward with the plot: Trixie rescues Chick-Chick, her darling new animal companion, and that means she has to move out, because her apartment doesn't allow pets, and apparently there is no animal shelter or farm or household or anything in the greater Chicago area that will take one singular half-dead chicken. How lucky that Bear is (more or less) looking for a roommate.
That's about the extend of the plot, and it is done with in the first couple of chapters. Immediately when they see each other, they want to have sex. They are so obsessed with each other from the very first time they meet - it's a bit exhausting. Bear constantly looks at her ass. Trixie constantly imagines Bear's strong, manly, muscular arms around her. It's a little bit tiring, and a little bit too much insta-love for my tastes. It would have been so sweet to see them grow to love each other as they adjust to their new roommate situation, but no. They pretty much want to tear each others' clothes off from the very first night.

However, there's still 36 chapters left in this book after they realize how much they wanna do it. And that's where the therapy plot comes in - Trixie doesn't let anyone see her real emotions because one time her ex-roommate posted a video of her breaking down on the internet and it went viral. Bear wants to take over his mom's flower shop but - gasp! - he can't because that is unmanly and he has daddy issues.
Just - Therapy Plot. Ya know? It could've been so easy.

Let's consider target audience for this book. It's probably not me. I'm a mid-twenties gal who grew up with chickens, next to a goddamn chicken meat-plant. My aunts used to work there, cleaning out chicken carcasses on what was essentially a chicken disassembly line. However, if you are a mid-forties woman who picked up this book because of it's adorable cover, you would love it. Honestly, I can see my mom reading this and finding it incredibly charming. I feel like this book would appeal very much to casual readers, to moms and other women who just want to read a charming romance on a chair at the beach or something. Someone who can suspend disbelief about chicken care and who doesn't mind trope-y characters. I think this could be the perfect book for someone like that.

Alas, I am not that someone, but I still give this book 2.5 stars. It was a nice time, but it wasn't more than that.