To Get to the Other Side

May 1, 2022

DEBUT Why does a scrawny, limping, bedraggled chicken cross the road? To find a softhearted savior. At least, that's what Chick-Chick found when Trixie rescued her from the busy traffic of downtown Chicago. Trixie is determined to keep Chick-Chick, but mounting vet bills and a no-pets landlord force her to find a new place to live. Meanwhile, Bear's meddling sisters have posted a "roommate wanted" notice on his behalf, and when Trixie shows up to see the space he just can't say no. Both Bear and Trixie avoid relationships due to past emotional abuse. Can a sick chicken bring the two together, despite their determination to stay on their own sides of the road? VERDICT This gentle contemporary romance has a unique close-proximity story line. Unfortunately, the writing style is primarily exposition and fails to draw in readers. Bear and Trixie are quirky and likable, but they remain flat characters and their interactions lack chemistry. Overall, the premise promises more than the novel is able to deliver.--Heather Miller Cover

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October 17, 2022
Two bleeding hearts work through doubts and trust issues in Ohlert’s adorable debut. After animal-loving Chicagoan Trixie Ward rescues a chicken from traffic, she and her new pet have one week to find an apartment with an animal-friendly landlord. An ad for a room in “urban lumberjack” Barret “Bear” Ross’s apartment seems promising. There’s just one problem: Bear’s meddling sisters placed the ad without his knowledge to help with his financial woes. A grump with a heart of gold, Bear can’t turn Trixie or her “feather baby” away, but he also struggles to ignore his intense attraction to the bubbly beauty whom he suspects uses her ever-present smiles to mask deep pain. From a young age, Trixie’s parents taught her to hide her emotions, a lesson reinforced when her college roommate betrayed her, and she’s been closed off ever since. Bear, who was bullied as a child for his love of plants, has just as many walls. They’re both reluctant to start anything and potentially implode their living situation—but as their walls crumble, love blooms. Breezy humor leavens the themes of self-acceptance and trust as the pair work through their issues. This good-natured love story is sure to please. Agent: Emmy Nordstrom Higdon, Westwood Creative Artists.

November 1, 2022
In a clever twist on the roommate-friends-to-lovers trope, debut romance writer Ohlert introduces Trixie, who has a rescue chicken, to Bear, whose sisters have decided that he needs a roommate. Bear likes his pretty roommate more than he cares to admit, even when the chicken causes him to fall and break an ankle. Trixie is short on money due to the chicken's needs, and takes every odd job she can handle. She enlists Bear to help her act as superheroes at a child's birthday party, and they realize that they want to be more than friends and roommates. Bear struggles with what he wants versus the expectations his father drilled into him as his mother's longtime flower shop is about to be sold to a developer. Due to her difficult childhood, Trixie never lets anyone see emotions other than happiness, but in spite of emotional and financial challenges, she and Bear move, however hesitantly, towards becoming a couple in this funny, slow-burn romance.

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