A clean romcom with super likable characters! Love the setting in that wasn't NYC or London like so many others. A great slow burn.

3.5🌟.

This was such a sweet read. I loved the familial bond in this one. They were huge, meddling, hilarious and so supportive of each other.
Bear a grumpy, surly construction worker is at crossroads when he meets heroine Trixie who is exactly opposite of him. Bubbly, friendly and overall a sunshine girl. I liked that they became friends first then lovers. They both positively influenced each other’s lives.

I was entertained by Trixie’s pet hen Chick-Chick. she was the conduit between them.

It took me me a little while to immerse in to the story and did get fed up with Trixie’s actions in the last part. Mostly because Bear was such a sweetheart.
Overall a good and entertaining read with low angst and close door love scenes.

Recommended.

This story was extremely cute and enjoyable with a really fun main character and a supportive and fun site family. If you like grumpy x sunshine trope and the roommate/I’m gonna be your boyfriend kind of stories this is going to be perfect. We follow Trixie the main character as she navigates through life and does all the silly things and meets with Bear and then the rest is history. The chemistry has started off a bit slowly and I could not get into the story until the half of the book was red but by the end EyeKeem to like this really fun couple and how their relationship has developed.

Conclusion: always stop in the middle of the road to pick up a chicken, wink wink :)

🐚 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 🐚

4.5 ⭐

𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀: grumpy x sunshine, roommates, strangers to lovers, friends to lovers

This book was definitely interesting and unexpected.

The story begins with a chicken running on a very busy road. Trixie immediately stops noticing it and tries to catch it. Bear is the only one of the people who stops and bothers to see if everything is ok.

After a week they meet again, but now as roommates. With the arrival of Trixie in Bear's house, his life changes. He is much more talkative, he is no longer so grumpy in her person, and he finds a role in his life after Trixie opened his eyes. I liked how Bear's family was close to him and showed him their love and concern for him.

The chicken was an addition to the story, an unexpected addition!

Thank you Kelly Ohlert, Alcove Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This books was fine. It took me a while to get into it, it just started off so silly. The main characters were both likeable, although they both (especially Trixie) really needed therapy that wasn’t discussed at all. The shared trauma over difficult parent/parents was interesting an although it was a little extreme, it wasn’t unrealistic. I didn’t feel much chemistry between the main characters and even though it may technically slow-burn, it didn’t feel as anticipatory as a good romance should. The best thing about the story was the relationship between Bear’s mom and stepdad. Also, I hate the name Trixie! Considering how her parents are described, it doesn’t make sense that they’d name her that.
Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion!

To Get To The Other Side by @kellyohlert is the story of Trixie and Bear - two people who meet on the side of the road while Trixie is trying to rescue a loose chicken and then as a matter of pure randomness, end up as roommates. This was just such a fun, sweet romcom. I loved the dynamic between Trixie and Bear (and really, Bear was just the best roommate/boyfriend), I loved Bear’s sisters so much and I even loved Chick Chick, the chicken. This was definitely a story of getting a second chance at life to find yourself and do what makes you happy and in the process, find happiness and love.

What a unique plot: A girl chasing a chicken.

This novel focuses on Trixie who works at an animal shelter. Has several friends however keeps everyone at a distance and hires her feelings. I enjoyed how it was structured and what it was trying to convey however I felt it started off strong and then it got lazy. I couldn’t really connect with this story sadly.

It is an easy read however there wasn’t much communication between the main characters especially with confronting the past. There is an adorable family throughout though.

Thanks to the publishers for sending me this novel in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Title: To Get to the Other Side
Author: Kelly Ohlert
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3 out of 5

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.

The premise of this sounded really cute, I mean, a rescue chicken? Definitely some humor in there. But, these characters felt like caricatures: with some overexaggerated features (Trixie’s unexplained “quirkiness”, Bear’s fear of his bad-guy father) but only surface level personalities. They felt like paper cutouts that the author had thrown darts at a dart board to pick out their character traits, without bothering to do the work to make them real. This made the entire story fall flat, and made me almost stop reading.

Kelly Ohlert lives in Michigan. To Get to the Other Side is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of Alcove Press in exchange for an honest review.)

The cover of this book drew me in.

The story started OK, but to me there just wasn't enough substance to really keep that quality up.

I liked the chicken storyline at first, but seriously, Trixie going into that much debt for some chicken nuggets just felt OTT and (to me) just a little bit stupid (no offence to the chickens out there).

Bear's storyline held my attention more than Trixie and the chook, that he still had to deal with d@cks who think they way they do.

So, yeah, I liked it but didn't love it.

I thought the book was cute and quirky. Bear was such a teddy bear. He was so sweet and kind. Trixie had such a kind heart. I mean, she rescues a chicken from crossing the road! Bear's sisters are the typical interfering sisters that we all know and love. I wish there was just a little more to the story. Both Bear and Trixie have past traumas that complicate their relationship and I wish we had a little more background with those situations. I also felt that some of the instances where it is being discussed that Bear doesn't like the "typical" male things, like beer and baseball, were a little forced or off to me.

Overall, I liked the book and thought it was a cute romance.

I loved reading this!!! the chickennn is sooo cute and the DUAL POV is something i lovee in books. I also loved that it was exactly a love at first sight thing. the romance buildup was honestly done really well for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for this copy.

Loved it. This book is similar to cilantro in that you either enjoy it or hate it. It is for animal lovers, closed-door romance readers, and for those who appreciate family angst. We are all a product of our upbringing, good or bad, and mostly not all of one or the other. An interesting look at how that affects us in our adult lives. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

LOOOOOOVE IT! I got swept away in this book and I was a wee bit heartbroken when I finished it. Sometimes a book becomes a friend and I hated seeing this one end.

Who would have thought someone would write a rom-com surrounding a rescue chicken? Yes, I said chicken. Like a live one, and not the KFC variety which would be so much more realistic. Take a pretty common meet cute situation and throw in a chicken and you get "To Get to the Other Side". It's a little goofy and predictable, but somehow it works. If you love rescue animals and second chances or chickens, this is the perfect random book for you!

Thank you #NetGalley and Alcove Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

To Get to the Other Side is Trixie and Bear's romance. They meet in the middle of the city when Trixie slams on her brakes and jumps out to rescue an injured chicken that is trying to cross the busy city street. Bear helps her and she takes off with the chicken without him finding out who she is. Trixie takes the chicken home and gets the ultimatum that she has to move out of her apartment or get rid of the chicken. She answers an ad for a room for rent and meets Bear again. His sisters, trying to get him to step out of his comfort zone, had placed the ad in hopes of helping him out socially and financially. Needless to say, the chemistry between Trixie and Bear is there from the first moment but getting into a relationship is messy enough without it being with your roommate. Feelings get involved and that can never work out, right?

I knew this book would be unique, and I wasn't wrong about that. The whole chicken as a house pet gave this former farm girl the icks but, aside from that, I really liked this book. There were a lot of layers to both of the main characters that got peeled away as the book progressed. I loved that there were dual points of view because I wanted to know what was going on in both of those heads. The chicken wasn't the only one that had trouble getting to the other side. Both Bear and Trixie make it with the help of the other and it was pretty sweet.

My sincere thanks to Alcove Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my unbiased opinion of it. I look forward to recommending it.

This book is so cute, I really enjoy this story! Highly recommended!!!
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this book

I really wanted to love this one, but it just didn’t work for me. I actually tried really hard to get into this one, but just couldn’t.

3.5 ⭐️

A nice and fresh romcom with some unusual elements in it (yes, I’m referring to the chicken😂)
I also loved the presence of non toxic family members (finally), Bear’s family was the cutest and i loved how they helped him, alongside Trixie of course.

I wished for a bit more as it left me unsatisfied towards the ending but it’a definitely a light read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc, all opinions are my own.

This has been on my shelf for about a year and, while I was super excited to read it, other priorities kept getting in the way. Out of complete irony, I finished this book the day before publication day and I just want to say: IT'S SO GOOD!

I expected a completely light-hearted love story that 100% revolved around a chicken. BUT when I got was a fun rollercoaster of love, healing, family and trust that started and ended with a chicken.

Such a cute book with heavier topics that were addressed in a relatable yet respectable manner. There are some trigger warnings but nothing graphic or too traumatic that my snowflake heart couldn't get by without just a tear or two. We're all different though so please note that emotional/mental abuse by a parent is the biggest topic covered in this book.

Add it to your TBR list for the New Year. Heck - add it to your holiday list now!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy of this eARC for review. Thoughts and opinions are my own. <3

This book sounds like a fun read but it didn't take long for me to realize that it was a chore to read. The $900 vet bill for chicken was just too much and kinda set the tone for me.
Maybe if there is an audiobook I might give it another go but for now it's a miss.