I absolutely loved this book!! It was so funny from the very first chapter and had me laughing out loud while I was reading it. I loved the concept and how Bear and Trixie ended up as roommates. Chick Chick was an essential character of course! But most of all, I loved the journey of growth and self-discovery that Bear and Trixie went on together. They were able to work through some of their past baggage together, and I loved how vulnerable they eventually became with one another. A really enjoyable and fun read!!

To Get to the Other Side
Summary:
Trixie didn’t realize how much her life would change when she decided to save a chicken that was struggling to cross a bustling street in downtown Chicago. She just scooped the chicken up and drove off….Now she has a pile of vet bills and has to find a new place to live because her landlord doesn’t allow pets, and she’s caught Trixie trying to smuggle pets in way too many times.

Bear enjoys his quiet life with his close-knit family. However, his life is thrown for a loop when his sisters decide to post an ad to rent his spare room without his permission. When Trixie shows up at his door wanting to move in, he’s hesitant at first. Still, he finally agrees, ignoring his worries about keeping things platonic and hiding his immediate attraction. Trixie is determined to keep her room, befriend Bear, and take care of her chicken. It’s not long until Trixie and Bear start testing the boundaries of their platonic ground rules. They must now determine if this relationship is something they want while trying to save a family business, pay vet bills, and keep a chicken alive.

Review:

I can honestly say that this book’s premise is definitely the strangest one I’ve ever seen. Overall, it was a cute, light-hearted instalove rom-com that was funny and a quick read. If you are into cute and fluffy romance books, then I would definitely recommend this book. It has multiple good tropes such as grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, roommates, etc.

Unfortunately for me, it just wasn’t my type of book. I didn’t connect with the characters, and I felt it was too repetitive at times. Especially with Trixie and the chicken. There wasn’t really any character development, and Trixie was all over the place. I honestly just think my favorite part of the book was when she mentioned the potential names for the chicken. The name Henrietta literally killed me.

Just in case someone is looking for this, there was no spice. Just lust and pining.

Overall, I didn’t really like the book, but I would still recommend it to people who love a fluffy rom-com. It’s just not my preference :)

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

Am I tempted to google “pet chicken” after reading this, yes. Yes I am. I love a book that is set in my home, Chicago, though I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with this one, but I enjoyed it! The storyline felt sort of random but also unique. Our protagonist, Trixie, stops in the street after seeing a chicken literally crossing the road and she meets a handsome man. She then takes the chicken home to care for it, I mean how sweet! Handsome man, Bear, is not out of the picture though because they run into each other again and so much happens after that!

This is super cute rom-com with a strangers to lovers trope. A lot of mention of past hurt and trauma though, which I felt was essential to the characters personal development. Chapters were pretty short, which made the story flow smoothly and easy to want to keep reading for hours. I fell in love with the characters pretty fast, which made me get annoyed with them when they weren’t doing what I wanted them to do! This book has the romance, comedy, bit of heartache and a chicken, who you will fall in love with instantly!

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