What Trixie and Bear truly need a therapist, not each other.
Tropes: Meet Cute, Grumpy-Sunshine, Manic Pixie Dream Girl
Spice: 2/10
Rating: 2/5 sickly chick-chicks

Summary
Trixie is a sweet and upbeat girl working at an animal shelter in Chicago. On the way to work one day, a kind guy with a lumber-jack vibe helps her save a chicken that was crossing the road. They both part and think they'll never see each other again.

Trixie takes the chicken to the vet, and ends up spending like $10,ooo on the chicken's care - going into debt to save it. Which to me is crazy, because even though I'm a vegetarian I would not go into that much debt to save a chicken with a short life span who might not even make it. But Trixie does.

She then takes the chicken to her no pets allowed apartment, which she has been warned about several times before. For her landlady, this chicken is the last straw. Trixie must get rid of the chicken or leave.

Instead of finding a farm or something, Trixie leaves.

On top of the whole chicken situation Trixie is also dealing with a lot of issues from her childhood? When he parents were super encouraging of her dancing hobby. And because of that she is a ~super quirky~ girl who ~isn't like other girls~ because she wears mismatched socks, uses weird child-like phrases, smiles all the time and never shows emotion by pretending to be happy all the time. She also has weird trauma from her college roommate making fun of her crying? And then spreading the fact that Trixie sometimes crys all over the internet? Which was really weird and an unlikely situation to me but whatever.

Meanwhile, Bear (the lumberjack vibe guy) is an antisocial homebody with a nosy family. His sisters decide to put his extra bedroom up for rent. And who shows up but Trixie? The cute girl he helped out. They hit it off (obviously) and she takes his extra bedroom.

Bear has a lot of issues from his biological dad making fun of him for ... having sisters? And not being "man" enough. Even though his dad has been out of the picture for decades, Bear apparently has formed his entire life around what his dad thinks he should do. (Dude, just stand up to him!!!!!!)

AFTER moving in, Bear discovers the chicken will be living with him, too. Not ideal, but he's super into Trixie and her quirkiness.

Their friendship ends up showing Bear that it's okay to do fun stuff sometimes and shows Trixie that she doesn't have to be happy 24/7.

Review
The entire book is just these two not communicating with each other and making a whole lot of issues out of nothing.

I have issues with Trixie/Bear's relationship that I want to discuss here - but I don't want to spoil the book here on NetGalley.

The second half of the novel is just rehashing the characters problems over and over and over again with no communication.

What Trixie and Bear truly need a therapist, not each other.

Trixie's child like mannerisms also kind of creep me out a lot especially when she's trying to flirt with Bear. Even more so when it works. It's like watching a children's tv show character being sexualized.

This book seems confused over if it wants to be a children's novel, or an adult romance. It really doesn't work at trying to be both. It ends up just clashing vibes with itself and making me uncomfortable.

* Thank you NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book to review in exchange for my unfiltered opinion *

**Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for a copy of this ARC. This is my honest review.**

If you're looking for something light-hearted, quirky and easy to read, then this is the book for you. It's a typical rom-com, with the grumpy/sunshine trope and an adorable chicken too! I found the first half of this book cute and endearing. The characters are likable enough and work well together for the most part. Sure, some of the scenes were definitely quirky, but it was enjoyable to watch Bear and Trixie dance around their evident feelings. Their romance wasn't steamy, which suited the pacing and progression of the plot.

Both Bear and Trixie had past trauma that they do work through, but unfortunately, I felt like the angst and attempted resolutions were a little underdeveloped. There is room for fleshing this out more, but the author chose to focus more on the turmoil of how they felt, and it became a little repetitive and flat. The miscommunication trope is a player here, and I got frustrated with both characters for taking so long to resolve things clearly if they each felt as strongly as they did. I feel that Bear is better fleshed out than Trixie is as a character, but I'm glad to see she got there in the end.

For the most part, this book is very wholesome, and I loved that the author attempted to tackle the two themes of happiness and projected masculinity within To Get to the Other Side.

I loved every single part of this book!!! The dynamic between the main characters was hilarious to see

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Adorable. A sweet romance perfect to be curled up with on a cold night thank you netgalley!

A funny and sweet story . Everything starts while she is driving and see a chicken in the road . She stops and chase it so she can help it . While the other drivers are angry with her a man come to hepl her . After her landlord gives her a week to find a place for the chicken she decide to move to a pet friendly house . When she found the ad to the paper she discover her new roomate is the man who helped her . From the start there is chemistry that they can 't deny . She is having trouble to show her real feelings because of her parents and her college roomate which they were awful to her . I loved ChickChick because it was the reason our couple met . His family is amazing . I loved that he is a man who is not afaid to show that he has a soft side .
I received this book from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book may not answer the age old question of “Why did the chicken cross the road?”, but it sure did deliver on some good feels. Kelly Ohlert tells the story of Trixie and Bear, two people closed off from the world in very different ways, and ChickChick, the chicken that brings them together.

I enjoyed reading this book and getting to know these characters. It was a quick, fun read which didn’t require too much thought. As a busy working mom in school, that is exactly what I look for when choosing a book to read lately. For those of you that prefer more tame books, this is right up your alley because all spicy scenes are a fade-to-black. If you’re looking for a book full of plot and spice, this one probably isn’t for you.

I read half of this book and then decided not to finish. I picked it up because it looked like a cute, light love story... with a chicken! It sounded fun. The characters are cute, but they are quite flat and the writing became redundant rehashing their individual issues.

This was such a fun and light read and get me out of my reading slump. I am always a big time fantastic for grumpy-sunshine-trope and I’m so glad that it didn’t disappoint me. The FMC was fun, entertaining and loveable. Also, I really liked the pacing with which events unfolded.

I love books that revolve around a grumpy main character that is forced into positivity by another character. This book was a fun, light read and I enjoyed every second of it! Very cute and perfect for a quick read on vacation or a lazy weekend. I will definitely read more from this author.

This overall was such a fantastic book. I enjoyed it to an exponential extent. The writing was absolutely amazing, and the author never had a dull spot, which always left me wanting for more!

Overall, fantastic book, and I’m excited for the publishing!

(I wrote a full review on my goodreads profile linked below)

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for giving me an ARC in exchange of an honest review.
The story it’s a short read and has a beautiful cover, it took me a while to finish it since I read the first 3 chapters and couldn’t find any interest in reading the whole book, but, I did. The romance trope of “grumpy-lovely” is good but it’s the one that a lot of romance books have. I found this book a bit boring after all.

I never thought I'd be so emotionally invested in a fictional chicken! To Get to the Other Side is a heartwarming romantic comedy. If you're looking for a steamy romance, this may not be the novel for you, but it's an excellent read for anyone interested in wholesome love stories that leave the reader feeling good.

This was a short silly short read. Roommates to lovers trope with a chicken involved - which was very unique and hilarious to follow. There was no doubt that they would get together but it was still very enjoyable to read to watch it come through. Very sily rom-com that I def recommend!

A great light-hearted contemporary rom-com! You would definitely like this book if you enjoy the grumpy-sunshine and forced-proximity trope.

3.5 ⭐

To Get To The Other side is a roommates to lovers, grumpy/sunshine, romantic comedy that has elements of co-parenting an injured chicken aswell as dealing with a big meddlesome and chaotic family

i was so inlove with everything about this book when i saw it on Netgalley... the description had me hooked with this really interesting concept and it also has the cutest cover!

i would also classify this as a fate romance because of how our main characters met...and then eventually meet again. we have two mc's that both have childhood trauma that played a lot into the story.
Trixie being this stunning women whose smile never falters but is feeling so alone because of her trouble opening up to others, while Bear feels like he can't truly be himself without getting his masculinity questioned

it had it's silly moments but it was really adorable and sweet, and they really made quite the pair...Bear was definitely a favorite :)

a thing that just bothered me was that Trixie never told Bear about what happened in college, and i felt that would've made him understand her more and her reluctance to open up?

*𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯-𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸*

Meet cute involving none other than….the title’s namesake, a chicken.

It took me a bit to read this. Not sure why, just not a
plot I had to pile through. Cute, but midway through, I started to lose interest and skimmed the rest.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 feather-studded stars!

Why did the chicken cross the road? To help you meet the love of your life. This book is so feel-good and quirky! And if you love a good ol' grumpy/sunshine trope, you're in for a treat.

I did find a that Trixie's troubles of her past got a bit repetitive at times in the book, but overall I really enjoyed her and Bear's story. And the fact that it was all thanks to a chicken is the cherry on top.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!
The gorgeous cover. To Get to the other side has a very beautiful cover, I love it.
The story was nice. I enjoyed reading it.

This book was hard for me to get into. Maybe it’s just the timing of me reading it.

The writing style felt juvenile and immature. I never want to bad mouth a book because I know author’s have poured their hearts and soul into them, but this book just wasn’t for me.

Pure gold! It’s not often I give 5/5 but this book should be a 10/5 yes it’s a hea but that is why we read books sometimes for the feel good win with all the feels. What makes this book absolutely amazing is that the chicken is well not just a joke. The main characters are definitely more of a slow burn romance and the family is amazing. I’d want to have sisters that have my back. It’s so well written you can absolutely see the lives these characters live. I can’t wait to see what this author does next because I will be on the short list.

I was fortunate enough to get an arc of this book and all opinions are my own. But let’s be real I was a sucker from page three and I could definitely see all of these things happening in The Windy City!