I felt like this is was just the normal rom com nothing was super interesting about it the main characters, accept for the chicken. The chicken added another lay of laughter and heart to the story. The chicken made it from a 2 star to a 3 star for me.

One of my favorite authors recommended this book, so I immediately requested it. And I wasn’t disappointed! It’s perfect if you loved Lease on Love!

The story is a cute romance between Trixie, a slightly chaotic but heart-of-gold girl who finds space in her heart for every animal she meets, but has a difficult time opening up to people. Bear is a quiet, shy guy who loves his family, even when they’re meddling in his life, and harbors a secret love for his family’s flower shop and floral arrangements. Trixie and Bear meet when she stops in Downton Chicago traffic to save a chicken, and Bear is smitten at first sight. It’s pure coincidence that they meet again when Trixie, who needs a new chicken-friendly apartment, comes to see Bear’s spare room that his sisters advertised as available to rent. The pair start off as polar opposites but quickly turn into reluctant friends. And since we all know that opposites attract, it’s only a matter of time before Trixie and Bear given in to their intense chemistry. But with Trixie afraid to let anyone in, for fear that they will hurt her, and Bear afraid to admit to his feelings, both for Trixie as well as his passion for his family’s shop, they each have to be willing to take a risk in order to create a shared future.

I listened to the audiobook version, and initially found the narrators slightly off putting, particularly the male narrator, but as I got more and more absorbed into the story, it bothered me less and less until it grew on me. So if like me, you’re not immediately in love, stick with it and hopefully you’ll end up loving it like I did!

This was the most adorable roommates-to-lovers and grumpy/sunshine read! I loved Trixie immediately, but Bear, not so much; though I think it was more likely due to the fact that I just did not care for the male narrator. Normally I’m swooning for the MMC but this time I would periodically get annoyed with him. I did, however, enjoy how he started to come out of his shell after meeting Trixie and navigated his social anxiety. His sisters (and the chicken, of course) were also great supporting characters! Definitely pick this up if you swooned over Nick & Jess from New Girl or you enjoy heartfelt, hilarious romances. 4.5/5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC.

Absolutely adorable, quirky rom-com involving a girl, a guy, and a chicken. Trixie has a soft heart and feels the necessity in saving animals of all kinds. So when she saves a chicken running across traffic, you know chaos is bound to ensue. When her landlord kicks her out, she answers an ad for a place with “pets allowed,” but fails to mention the hot guy who saw her save the chicken from traffic. Anything can happen in this entertaining and endearing story! The narrators were fantastic and truly brought the story & characters to life. Totally recommend checking this one out! Thanks to the author, publisher, & NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook!

“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.”

I have two very good reasons why this book made me work for it. First off, I’m a farm girl. A broiler chicken costs about $1 to purchase and even without the usual Marie Antoinette ending, only live a couple of months. The thought of spending THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS for a single meal is nauseating.

I get it. I’m heartless. Don’t at me.

Second: I’m getting pretty tired of Miscommunication (or the refusal to communicate) as a Plot Device. Like, you’re self-aware enough to know all the reasons why you’re acting the way you’re acting, yet unable to open your word hole and talk about it?

Guys: Brene Brown. For the love.

If you get past all that, however, the story is fairly adorable. The family dynamics, the bonding over a shared love of a pet, and the Grumpy Sunshine trope were all satisfying.

6/10

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this finger-licking (too soon?) ARC.

I'm all for quirky and fun but I draw the line at ridiculous. Trixie is driving through downtown Chicago and finds a chicken. I haven't been to Chicago in a while but I'm pretty sure they don't just wander around in the wild so I would assume someone owns this chicken and perhaps is missing it. Does she try to find the owners? I guess so. I don't remember. I started to tune it out at this point and the book definitely lost me when she tried to hide it from the guy she moved in with. The chicken may be the only thing I liked in this book. This was a DNF for me. Woman can be quirky without being deceptive and stupid.

To Get to The Other Side was about as funny as I imagined. It all started with a chicken named Chick Chick. This is easily one of the funniest books I listened to this year. Trixie has a special place in my heart since she works at an animal shelter. Bear is a grumpy Nick from New Girl type of guy who ends up with Trixie as a roommate. The hysterical events in this book made me laugh out loud and excited to continue listening. I recommend this book to anyone who needs a good laugh.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Trixie stops her car in the middle of the road to save a chicken crossing the road. She ends up putting the chicken in her car with the help of a man who helps stop traffic. Her current housing situation does not allow for pets so she sets off looking for a new place to stay. Bear, the man who helped Trixie get the chicken out of the road, has three sisters who start scheming. He has a room open in his house and they list it in the newspaper for rent. Trixie is one of the many people who inquire about the room. They become friends and test the boundaries of that friendship.

Overall, really sweet and corny! I loved it. The audio book was great and I really like the grumpy-sunshine troupe between the two MC's.

When Trixie rescues a chicken trying to cross the road, it puts her in a bind. Her apartment building doesn't allow pets, and the animal shelter where she works only accepts cats and dogs. The logical choice (obviously) is for Trixie to find a new home. When she signs the lease, housemate and homeowner Bear doesn't realize she's got a chicken. After all, he never asked, and she wisely didn't volunteer the information. But Trixie is so adorable, he really can't resist. Will cohabiting and co-parenting an ailing chicken lead to love?

This is adorable. It's heartwarming and emotional and has more depth than you might expect. I enjoyed the audio narration. If you like whimsical, opposites attract rom coms with quirky characters and adorable pets, you won't want to miss this one.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I wanna say that I really don’t like chickens - but I would straight up fight anyone that tried to hurt Chick Chick. That dang chicken has my whole heart - darn this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audio version of this book. It’s absolutely adorable and the two narrators for the dual POV was absolute perfection.

I really enjoyed the real relationship issues that appeared in this book. And not just romantic relationships- but just the everyday relationships we all have -friends, family, roommates etc. These relationships all require a certain level of trust and this takes time to build. We get to watch the trust building unfold in this book and it’s really great. There’s so much sexual tension between these two that it’s hilarious to eavesdrop on.

As far as romcoms go, this one is solid. It’s funny, there’s romance - I honestly loved it. And I’ll seriously fight anyone trying to hurt that chicken.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio version of this book. Everything I write is of my own thoughts feelings and opinions. I am not compansated in any way for my review.
This was a super cute fun fast romance book! Starts out with a lady chasing a chicken down the street in rush hour. at some point she hears a deep strong voice. they pass a few words and they each move on with their day and life. She lives in a building that doesnt allow pets of any kind- he lives alone but has medling sisters. the sisters put a ad in the paper for a roommate. She responds not knowing it is the man with a deep voice. the rest is history a classic romance where they end up falling in love

For anyone who watched New Girl and rooted for Nick and Jess every step of the way, you will like this book.

A woman who loves animals, Trixie, finds herself looking for a new place to stay and sees an interesting ad in the local paper of someone looking for a roommate which is where we meet our male main character. Our male main character, Bear, is a homebody to the extreme. And he has begun to become pretty surly, so his sisters decide to intervene and put in an ad to help him financially and socially by stating he's looking for a roommate.

Before you know it they are living together despite being complete opposites and then Bear learns why she was looking for a roommate, her new pet duck! There are funny side jobs, family interventions, and overall crazy antics that keep brining these two opposites together and you find yourself rooting for them along the way. This story touches on mental health, gender stereotypes, and family dysfunction.

I would recommend this to anyone who wants a rom-com with some depth. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

I originally read the e-book & enjoyed it so much, I was so excited when the audiobook came out and it fully lived up to my expectations! This book is SO funny and sweet & addresses so many issues. The fmc is an animal lover & works at a shelter, that won my heart from the get go. Also, I throughly enjoyed the friendship both characters have with the chicken (I enjoy my own chickens so much)! I couldn't have asked for better narrators for this adorable romcom!

To Get to the Other Side by Kelly Ohlert was an adorable romcom. Once the book got going the plot was obvious (but I mean, what romcom isn't?) Two very lovable characters needing a lot of personal growth to work together as a couple - Bear and Trixie (and Chick Chick) are extremely easy to root for. I especially loved the epilogue! Great narration. This is such a charming book will bring a smile to your face!
Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this ALC!

Well wasn’t this charming? Who doesn’t love a good disaster meet cute involving a chicken? This has all the fun of a cute friends to lovers story with added pop culture references and lovable cast of characters. I was really drawn right in from the start and was honestly pleasantly surprised how incredibly delightful this book was, especially for a debut!

Quirky, complex Trixie was relatable, emotionally vulnerable and sincere and I really appreciate how the author allowed us to experience her feelings so deeply. Her relationship with Bear was just precious and I was just yearning for the two of them to admit their feelings. Although TBH, I’m pretty sure Trixie loves her chicken Chick-Chick the most (:P).

I swapped between the audio and ebook for this and the alternating POV is particularly effective in this novel and both narrators did an excellent job.

Soooooooo boring. I honestly don’t even remember what I read, just that I don’t ever want to read it again. Hard pass.

This had some cute moments, but aside from the chicken-crossing-the-road fiasco and the chicken side character, this was fairly standard.

It teetered a bit too much towards instalove / instalust for me to truly get invested in the main couple. Seriously, Bear is angry about a chicken moving into his home for all of about two seconds, but this is a totally reasonable thing to be angry about (or even evict someone over), and he's had about 3 conversations with Trixie before choosing to overlook Trixie's unconventional pet.

As someone who most definitely would not be okay with sharing a living space with a chicken or any other animal without a proper heads up, I found a lot of Trixie's actions inconsiderate and Bear's reactions unrealistic. I could see how a reader who's an animal lover as intense as Trixie could find the whole scenario charming or endearing, but for me, I just didn't enjoy the way it played out.

Other than that, I liked how Trixie and Bear opened up to each other about their toxic parents, and how they encouraged each other to be more true to themselves. This part of their relationship development was very sweet.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. "To Get to the Other Side" has a cute premise. A women stops traffic to save a chicken who is literally crossing the road. She meets a kind man who helps her. Later she needs to find a new place to live because she has become attached to little Chick Chick and she answers an ad for a roommate. Any romance fan will guess who she finds when she goes to the rental. Trixie and Bear both have a lot of issues from their past that comes into play in the way they connect with each other, even though both are attracted to the other right away. I thought the narrators did a good job in the audio format. However after a pretty strong beginning, the book just sagged for me. I think that it was because the rest of the plotline was very obvious. I knew what they would fight over at the near end and even where everything would be by the ending. There were no surprises and it was just kind of ok. There is nothing bad about the book but for me it was very middle of the 'chicken crossed' road.

This book was a cute read with a different storyline than I have previously read. My boys raise meat chickens to show for 4-H each year. I know exactly what it’s like to watch them get too heavy for their legs. We get attached to them and it warmed my heart for Chick Chick to be rescued and rehabbed.

3.5ish stars

The start of this book was funny, silly, and kind of ridiculous (in a good way). As it went on, it became clear that the female protagonist had some pretty serious trauma to start working through (so did the male protagonist, but it felt different), and the tone and style of writing got heavier as she got deeper into those issues. Eventually, we got to the HEA, and it was fine, but I actually liked the first half of the story a lot more. Also, ChickChick was definitely my favourite part of the whole book, so I’m glad to see things worked out nicely for her.