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.

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.

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