Full review on my blog: https://maeflowerreads.wordpress.com/2022/02/28/to-get-to-the-other-side-review/

TLDR: I thought it was cute, but there was a lot of issues with character development, character personalities, and structure. It made for a quick and fun read, but it was lackluster.

3.5/5 stars

Love love love! To Get to the Other Side was such a lighthearted refreshing romantic comedy that is tenderly flawed with really good characters and lots of animals including a sweet chicken. Trixie is a big-hearted character with some flaws that are super relatable. Bear (adorable nickname for Barrett) is a great character with charming sisters that love to intervene in his life, causing him and Trixie to become roommates. It's a cute, heartwarming read that as a pleasure to read!

I really enjoyed this corny romance. I’m not really one for reading romance books but this one was really good. Bear and Trixie have similar sad situations when it comes to parent/parents and they handle their trauma in different ways. Bear finally learned how to accept who he is and what he likes and Trixie finally realized that she doesn’t have to me happy and perfect all the time. I will say I got worried about Chick Chick and was going to throw my book across the room if she had died lol. I definitely recommend this book!

By all accounts, I should've loved 'To Get to the Other Side' given that it has all my favorite tropes: the forced living arrangement, the grumpy x sunshine character, it even has a token cute animal character! Ultimately, I thought it was just okay. It's cute, but the characters didn't really do too much for me, and the book kind of drags its feet during the middle.

Still, I'd pick it up if you're in the mood for something sweet and insta-lovey!

A sweet, heartfelt romcom!

If you love:
- dual povs
- forced proximity/roommates
- grumpy/sunshine
- closed door romance
you'll love to meet Trixie, Bear, and Chick-Chick!

Set in Chicago, Bear and Trixie's meet cute happens when she sprints into traffic to save an injured chicken. Through his meddling sisters attempts to aid his love life, Bear and Trixie meet again and eventually become roommates. The attraction is instant, but the romance is more of a slow burn as they both try to dance around their feelings in lieu of ruining their living situation. Trixie struggles with letting anyone see the "real" her for fear of rejection, so she's surrounded by superficial friendships and others who are just trying to get in. Bear carries the burdens of bullying from classmates and his father as a boy, letting it affect how he presents himself to the outside world to avoid further ridicule. They both have a lot of growing up to do and it's sweet the way they learn to lean on one another. I enjoyed their flirtation and their banter immensely. The third act felt like a bit of a hot mess, with miscommunication (my least favorite trope), angst and pining galore. Trixie is like the manic pixie dream girls I read in books when I was younger and I wish less emphasis had been made on how "quirky" she is. Other than that, a very enjoyable romcom!

I'm a huge fan of sunshine x grumpy. This one inverts the tropes and it's like we don't know who exactly is the sunshine and who exactly is the grumpy. But it works wonderfully.

I loved the feel-good aspects of the book (I read it while recovering from a very horrible cold) and I thought the premise was hilarious and promising. I almost also felt for the little chicken who was just so cute?

The backstories of the characters were pretty robust; in the sense that it was kind of incorporated into the story pretty well and you could kind of fill in the blanks. However, I thought it could have been fleshed out a LOT better - I didn't want blanks. The resolution for their back stories were also similarly problematic. Fall in love and everything is okay? Nuh-uh! Don't give me that!

Another issue I had with the book, and this has disgustingly become a staple of the romance genre, is the aspect of a huge, animalistic, muscle-y manly man and the tiny dainty woman. Just stop. Just make both of them tiny or large or medium or something? Why must we do this to ourselves? It's gross and it was particularly highlighted in this book where the MMC was actually called Bear. I understand that it's the authors' preference, but it's actually gotten out of hand.

On the other hand, I'd recommend this book to those who want to chill and breathe and those who don't want/aren't in the mood for a lot of hot spicy stuff in their books!
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A cute story, but the characters both fell a little flat for me. Trixie has a backstory that is so half-assed/half-fleshed out that I felt like I missed a chapter. And her sayings were so random. Like just say fuck or shit but not horseradish. Also, it was a fade to black romance with barely any romance like I’m not saying it needs to be full-on spicy but give me a bit more than what I got 🥲

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

2.5/5

I don't like DNF'ing books but unfortunately I could not get through this one. I made it 55% of the way before DNF'ing

A rom-com that plays out like a bizarre movie in our heads. The premise of the book is that our main character, Trixie, saves a chicken trying to cross the road, and that just happens to be the meet cute where she meets Bear, the main male character. She can't stay at her apartment any longer and ends up moving in with Bear... and the chicken.

There was good character development and both Bear and Trixie had depth to them, Trixie and Bear both grew as people and dealt with their past traumas in a way that allowed both of them to recognize how they could move forward as people. I enjoyed that Trixie was able to connect with Bear's family so well and that their inner dialogue presented some of their past and why they acted certain ways. However, the romance felt like there was no chemistry. A lot of it felt like fluff and the story arc fell flat and kept returning to the chicken, which I was personally not a fan of. Trixie is described as a "manic pixie" and Bear is "shy" but the dynamic between the two was one with little communication, which dragged out the plot.

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this book, and the premise was so fun and different. I mean, the meet-cute is a chicken in the middle of Chicago! I was giggling at the idea and loved the start of the book, however, the story and character lacked depth. It was almost painful how CLOSE this was to being a great book. Something would be introduced that I thought would elevate it to that level I was craving, and then it just wouldn't quite get there. In a romance novel, I like to see the characters develop their own characters and also develop together in their relationship. I just didn't get enough of their relationship developing and couldn't quite believe that we got to their HEA. The book was still a fun read and the dialogue was great, it was just rushed. I needed more. I love the Ross family and wish we could have seen more Fawn and Zoey.

FYI, for those looking for a steamy book, this book is a total fade to black and a zero on the chili pepper spicy scale.

I could NOT finish this book. No sane adult man would let himself be treated, act like this. The manic pixie dream girl is so over. Trixie is annoying. "Bear's" sisters have no respect and are annoying. And by the way, every time I read Bear all I can think of is the slang meaning.... doesn't offend me, just, why did she have to name the hero "Bear" - I know it's short for Barrett, why not call him Barrett?! Who reads the classified ads these days?!!?? I won't be recommending this one. unless it gets some edits.

To Get to the Other Side by K. Ohlert, published by Alcove Press, tells Trixie and Bear's story.
Trixie is on her way somewhere when she stops to pick up a a chicken.
And Bear is one of five siblings, he's tired of living in the city, tired of working only to make ends meet.
Both are perfect for each other.
I learned a lesson reading this book, no, actually make that two. One I don't have to like every book I reda and two, chickenwheelchairs seems to exist.
This hilarious rom/com is a pet lover's paradise.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an arc of To Get to the Other Side! I really enjoyed this cute romance.

Trixie and Bear were so cute and I love the roommate aspect and how they met. I do think their personalities could have been a little deeper. They seemed slightly bland characters to me that growed a bit, but not a lot.

I loved how they learned to love each other and move past their pasts. They grew together and though I didn’t relive the miscommunication, that was more me getting frustrated, not on the author.

I thought the pacing was a little off in certain parts, but overall I really loved To Get to the Other Side. I recommend if you’re a fan of contemporary romance!

This was an unbelievably cute story! I loved the quirky, unique characters and the funny situations they found themselves in. A great story about the difficulties in being who you really are.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review. All thoughts are my own.

As much I loved the blurb and the cover, the plot didn't excite me as much. It was definitely an enjoyable read with lots of sweet and funny moments!!

“That blush did things to me. I liked knowing I had that kind of effect on her”
“Fantasy public make-out sessions were not a good way to start a platonic relationship”
“I’m in for more than I’d bargained for with that one Chick-Chick”
A sweet, fluffy a bit uncommon but still spicy romance between a woman who’s been taught all her life that if you don’t smile people won’t love you and a man who is the first to fall … and hard !!!!
I really liked it !!!
The added bonus of a pet was great and deciding for that to be a chicken … weird but sweet nonetheless.
This book had some really great tropes: friends to lovers (not my favourite but still good), roommates, forced proximity, increasing sexual tension and sometimes some innuendos in the mix.
Plus the male main character, Bear, was such a sweetheart. His physical approach the very opposite of his soul!!
Being raised in a house of women at least he knows how to treat women !!!
He is respectful !!!!!
He’s amazing. But he’ll have to face the trouble that Trixie is taking to him.
She is such a good, kind hearted woman. And past trauma has been eating her alive. Expectations and terrible trust issues led her to where she is now and Bear may be just the right solution !!!
The book itself was easy to get into and even more easy to read !!!
I absolutely loved each and every side characters (well with some reasonable exceptions) and I hope I’ll get the chance to read more about some of them who might be involved more than a little with each other!!!!
“I wanted to see the real her, the one behind all the smiles, real and fake”
“All I’ll say is what I saw in there was a man with a passion for what he was creating. It would be a shame to see that passion go to waste”
“Whatever you need, whenever you need it, I’m here. Love”

5⭐️

Would recommend if you like:
✅grumpy/sunshine
✅roommates/close proximity
✅a runaway chicken 🐓
✅dual POV

To Get to the Other Side is definitely one of my top reads for 2022! I loved that the book takes place in Chicago (being a fellow city girl myself) and imagining the chaos of running through the busy streets of downtown to catch a chicken. The story follows Trixie who runs into traffic to catch an injured chicken and runs into Bear who ends up helping her get her new pet back to safety. In a turn of events, Bear's sisters end up leasing out his spare bedroom (without his knowledge) and Trixie turns up to inquire about the room.

Bear can't say no to Trixie and she needs a space to accommodate her new chicken, Chick-Chick. The tension between the two is 🥵 They can't stop thinking about each other and you could feel the steam coming off the pages. The only thing I didn't love about this story was the spicy scene was a fade to black and I was needing to know what happened between Trixie and Bear. If you like It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey or Always Only You by Chloe Liese, you'll definitely like this. Overall a 5⭐️ read and I hope Bear's sisters get their own books!!

⭐️⭐️
I love receiving ARC’s to read and I genuinely look forward to most of the books. I work hard to provide a reliable and honest review. Had I thought about the cover some more, I probably could’ve figured out that this would not be a book for me. I do believe this may be one of the silliest rom-coms I have read in a long while. The lead character Trixie acts and talks like she’s 10 years old and I don’t get there is no chemistry. I couldn’t figure out how Trixie has so little control over this chicken and it took it everywhere including her apartment that doesn’t allow pets. None of it made sense to me. For the record, I own urban chickens in Orlando. I’m sorry.

This book was almost cute, but to be honest, it is not one of my favorites. I think the main problem that I had with it was the characters, and the way they were written. I just felt like there could have been more. The characters felt very two dimensional, and I had a hard time reading about the main character, Trixie. I think the author was trying to make her seem quirky, but it came off as childish. Also, the big muscled man is named Bear? The premise of the story has so much potential, but this one just didn't cut it for me.

Mein Leseerlebnis

Da sich die Geschichte frisch und unterhaltsam angehört hat, habe ich mit Begeisterung zugegriffen. Nach dem Lesen des Romans bin ich nicht begeistert, aber auch nicht enttäuscht. Mein Leseerlebnis würde ich als nett und kurzweilig beschreiben.

Den Anfang des Romans fand ich einnehmend und am stärksten. Im Mittelteil flaute die Geschichte etwas ab und auch das Ende konnte mich nicht voll überzeugen.

Der Roman hat zu sehr von seiner lustigen Ausgangssituation gelebt, um alle Seiten unterhaltsam füllen zu können. Eine längere Novella mit um die 150 Seiten wären als Format vielleicht besser gewesen. Denn dann hätte die Grundidee der Geschichte sich ohne Längen entfalten können und es wäre keine Langeweile aufgekommen.

Die Charaktere im Buch waren mir durchaus sympathisch und auch der Schreibstil der Autorin war angenehm. Alles war ganz nett, hat aber keinen bleibenden Eindruck auf mich hinterlassen können. 🖤🖤🖤

Für wen?

Wer den Klappentext ansprechend findet, für den ist der Liebesroman vielleicht etwas. Erwartet eine kurzweilige Geschichte, die euch nett unterhalten kann, ohne komplett zu überzeugen.

Thank you @NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC of To Get to the Other Side.

This was a feel-good read. Our two main characters, Trixie and Bear, have their own traumas but come to terms and find their HEA.

I rated this 3/5 because I would have liked to see a little more depth to their trauma. I felt the moments when the MCs addressed their traumas was a bit repetitive. We could have seen them work through it a bit more or had added insights. I loved the set up of their relationship and how they ended up under the same roof. I especially enjoyed the closure from the epilogue.

There were a few cliché moments that were kind of meh for me. For example, I feel like Grey's Anatomy is mentioned in so many rom-coms. My only other critique is that the MCs names made me cringe a bit.

Overall though, this was a fun read, and I would enjoy reading more from Kelly Ohlert!