This was a cozy urban fantasy that focuses on Aila and her role as a zoo keeper to one of the world’s last Silimalo phoenixes. While there were elements that I really enjoyed, there were others that just didn’t work for me in the long run for this. 🙁

For the positives, I really loved the care and detail that went into each magical creature in this book. You can tell the author knows her stuff when it comes to animals (even magical ones), and I loved how this reignited a love of zoos for me. I also liked the attention to anxiety and how it can be all encompassing, but I did have some thoughts about it as well which I’ll get to later. 🔥

The things that didn’t particularly work for me was the main character herself at times. Aila suffers from social anxiety, and I feel like she could be considered autistic coded too, but I wasn’t a fan of her almost using her social anxiety as a crutch. Like she’s so afraid of things that it becomes her go to excuse. As someone who is dealing with their own anxiety journey and a late diagnosis, I know that anxiety is different for everyone, but the fact that Aila doesn’t really try to alleviate her symptoms other than isolating herself kind of baffles me. That and her stubbornness on what she believes to be right was to the point that I think it was just plain refusal to see different points of views. 😕

I thought I was getting a lesbian cozy fantasy where rivals become lovers, and while it was that towards the very end of the book, I didn’t expect Aila to literally demonize her love interest. I really didn’t like the shit talking and almost mocking like attitude she had with Luciana, and when she suddenly switched gears from calling Luciana a witch from hell to her beautiful crush. . . The whiplash was just too much for me. I also could’ve done without the whole male love interest side quest because it just felt kinda pushed. 😒

Other than that and a rather predictable plot, the love between animals and their zoo keepers kept me going and that ending did feel pretty satisfying. I just wish the plot was done differently. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Big thank you goes out to Orbit Books and NetGalley for accepting my request to read this in exchange for an honest review, and to the author for creating a cozy zoo fantasy.

Publication date: August 13!

Overall: 3.5/5 ⭐️

This is supposed to be a cozy fantasy, but it didn't feel very cozy to me. This talks a lot about the poaching of magical creatures. Nothing happens for most if it and I was bored. It was also obvious that one of the characters involved with the zoo was a poacher.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've enjoyed cozy fantasies before, like Legends and Lattes and Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, and was looking forward to this one about a magical zoo and the it's Phoenix keeper. Unlike the prior reads mentioned though, this one didn't quite hit the mark; I was struggling to push through and finish the book. Was it cozy? I guess, yes. But I was also bored. There just wasn't a whole lot going on to keep my attention and enjoyment, and the FMC was just too dense and dumb for my liking. It also felt like 1/3 of the book was spent just describing the plants, magical animals, and the regions they're from, which was borderline tedious to read after awhile.

Unfortunately this book was a five star premise, but not so much a five star read for me.

Alia has her dream job caring for phoenixes. She also has debilitating anxiety. Her struggles made her super relatable character. While the main focus is on the phoenixes, there is also a wonderful underlying story about finding your place.

I love birds, so I was incredibly excited to get chosen to read this ARC. While I was looking forward to this, it definitely surpassed my expectations. This is a very cute, cozy fantasy!

I'm gonna keep this short: I loved the world, the zookeeping aspect, the variety of fantastical animals, and the anxiety rep. I hated how YA this supposedly adult woman read (the audiobook narrator makes her sound even more immature than on the page) and I didn't like her as a person. If I can't connect to the main character or her struggles and the only thing I like about her is her job because of the fantastical animals and how cozy and well-done that aspect of the story is, this just isn't for me.

The Phoenix Keeper is a debut fantasy book that follows the daily life of mythological creature zookeeper, Aila. Aila is the keeper of a variety of wonderfully fantastical creatures, however, her pride and joy is the critically endangered Silimalo phoenix. The book follows Aila as she attempts to restart the Phoenix breeding program at the zoo, gains confidence in herself, learns to better understand her anxiety, and makes some friends along the way.

This has to be one of my favorite reads of the year so far! Although, I’ve noticed there are a few places where this is being marketed as romantasy, and I feel people who go into this with that expectation will be disappointed. The romance is slow and I wouldn’t consider there to be any spicy scenes.

However, I don’t think I can say enough good things about this book. I loved how cozy the zoo setting felt and that the story was so wholesome and relatable. I found myself falling in love with all the creatures and other keepers just as much as Aila does throughout the book. Aila's struggle with anxiety and the effects it had on her life felt very authentic and well represented. Her heartfelt chats with Tanya and moments of growth with Luciana were some of my favorite parts. Overall, I would happily read many more books about the San Tamulco Zoo, but the ending for this book felt very satisfying. I will be gladly rereading it when I get my physical copy and can enjoy the beautiful cover and interior illustrations!

The Phoenix Keeper is a fantastic debut! I couldn’t put this story of a cozy magical zookeeper down! Aila is a devoted and loving zookeeper to a menagerie of mythical creatures. Aila’s dream is to restart the phoenix breeding program. To do so, she must work on her public speaking skills and form connections outside her comfort zone. When phoenix thieves strike at a nearby zoo, will Aila be able to start the new program and help save the phoenixes?

Aila’s interactions with her animals and other zookeepers are charming. The animals were fascinating and I only wish I could visit the zoo! Aila struggles with social anxiety, but knows she must learn to advocate for her animals. I loved Aila’s enemies-to-friends-to-lovers storyline! There is excellent character growth and LGBTQ+ rep throughout. I enjoyed how MacLean emphasized the importance of conservation and protection for animals. Readers looking for cozy fantasy, magical creatures, and queer found-family will love this book! I can’t wait to see what S.A. MacLean writes next!

Thank you to S.A. MacLean, Orbit Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc.

Oh my gosh this story was so cute! I had a delightful time in Aila's head. The prose and dialogue were so funny and I found myself very invested in Aila's journey. The low stakes of the story kept the focus on her character development and it was a delight to watch an anxious, introverted zookeeper pursue her dreams and find people that appreciated her for her as well. I loved the anxiety and LGBT representation and I very much enjoyed how neurodivergent-coded our main character is. I found her very relatable and therefore her story was very heartwarming to me. In terms of world-building I could have done with either more distinction between our world and the fictional world or less. As it was we had therapy and online stock trading as well as unicorns and it didn't quite mesh for me. The romance plotline was very adorable and I had a good time with it. I'm always looking for more sapphic stories so I was delighted that the author decided to pursue that avenue. If you're a fan of character-driven cozy fantasy I 100% recommend this book. This felt very similar in tone to The Spellshop so if that brand of cozy fantasy is for you then this book is for you.

~~I received an early release copy of The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean in exchange for an honest opinion. ~~

What the Phoenix Keeper does well: as a fantasy book, the world building for The Phoenix Keeper is simple and effective. The world itself isn’t super convoluted and seems similar to our own with the addition of mystical creatures, a key feature of the plot. The characters interact well with each other and the relationships make sense. The story flows generally well and the ending wraps up without any loose ends.

What The Phoenix Keeper doesn’t do well: Our main character is described as an anxious but intelligent person, whose anxieties overwhelm and limit her. However, while I think the anxiety was well explained, the main character is insufferable for at least 2/3rds of the book. It’s difficult to empathize for this character, although the writer makes a lot of efforts to make Aila relatable. Her anxieties inform her actions but at the same time, she has an over-inflated ego and is incredibly short-sighted when it’s convenient.

I think I gravitated more towards the animals themselves than the main character and her perceived antagonist for more than half of the book. Once the character got her head out of her own ass and out of her own way, the story was easier to read and she was easier to root for.

A cozy fantasy with workplace rivals, poachers, awkward first dates, so much anxiety and a zoo of magical creatures. Aila is a zookeeper dedicated to protecting the endangered Silimalo phoenix. She also has incredible social anxiety and stage fright-which makes the public-facing side of her job a nightmare. But unlike a lot of characters like this-shy, introverted- Aila isn’t written like some poor little cinnamon roll. She can be judgey and closed-minded, flaws she needs to address so she can better tackle her role. Watching her grow throughout the book was really great.

But the stars of the show are the magical creatures- especially Archie. He’s a menace and I love him. The animals are written with such love, that it’s easy to understand why the zookeepers would be so committed to protecting them.

This book was so damn cute.

That is not to say that I didn't cry three times (sad tears, empathetic tears, and happy tears). I squealed, I cheered, and I worried with Aila. MacLean took me on an absolute rollercoaster of emotions in The Phoenix Keeper and I couldn't put it down. I was willing to go into work a half-zombie to finish The Phoenix Keeper.

Romantasy is a very poorly defined subgenre right now - The Phoenix Keeper is a fantasy with a romance subplot. The overall plot is Aila's need to resurrect from the ashes San Tamculo Zoo's phoenix breeding program. Aila has no social skills, severe anxiety, and isn't employee of the month. Circumstances arise such that Aila needs to assemble a team to perform the impossible. And this is where MacLean stole my heart - the impossible will let Aila achieve her childhood dream and all of her career ambitions.

My favourite part about The Phoenix Keeper is Aila's pure passion for animals. In the first few pages, I was a little worried about the info-dumping, but I got to love Aila when she is excited and talking about her passion. I absolutely love whomever put illustrations in the book - buying a physical copy is worth it just for the illustrations. I believe Maclean works at a zoo (or other similar facility) professionally and it shows in Aila's pure joy for animals. Getting to read about a woman who loves her job, gives it everything, and has an opportunity to achieve her career goals and beyond was just so heartwarming.

I also absolutely loved the cast of characters MacLean put together. Aila and Tanya's friendship shone throughout the whole book. Seeing two women who support each other professionally, support each other personally, have independent goals, and who mess up and take the time to fix it was beautiful. I feel blessed to have friendships like Aila and Tanya's and it makes me appreciate the women who have my back all the more. Some of the supporting cast fell a little flat and their arcs were a little obvious, but the deep friendship between Aila and Tanya outshone the rest of the characters.

The biggest love story I appreciated in The Phoenix Keeper was Aila's love story with herself by going after her childhood dreams.

A cozy fantasy at a zoo filled with magical animals. The world building in this book is my favorite part - it is so unique and there are so many magical animals to learn about. While there is a lot of information, it wasn't overwhelming and learning it via Alia's passionate obsession with animal care was delightful.

The full cast of characters are all well written and I love that they cover so many different people and backgrounds with their own strengths, flaws, and backgrounds. No character (main or side) felt like a cookie-cutter drop in. The inclusion of Alia's internal struggles with anxiety and social anxiety were realistic and showed the profound impact on her life and I felt were handled so well. I appreciated too that this doesn't make Alia excluded from making mistakes and we see her address and grow from them too. I at times found Alia to be frustrating and her tendency to be almost cruel to Luciana in the beginning (all because of one compounded incident in college), but I appreciated the growth and genuine apology we see over the course of the book. But I would say that the stars of this book by far are all the animals who are showcased and given such distinct personalities.

While I saw many of the twists coming, that didn't stop me from enjoying the book and excitedly seeing when or how the twist would happen. I hope that we see more magical zookeeper books in the future, and hopefully more in this series specifically.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was such a cute and absolutely cozy queer fantasy! I had a great time reading/listening to this book. The audiobook was fantastic and if you are in audiobook listener, I highly recommend.

The main character, Aila, was very relatable to me because she was a neurodivergent individual with a lot of anxiety. There were so many times when I was like, "oh, I've done that" or "oh, I definitely had have done the same thing in that situation."

Aila's relationships with her best friend Tanya and other zookeepers, like Luciana, were all fun to read and each one unique. I liked how Aila came to learn that there is always a possibility that there's more going on around her that she might have missed and that her friends would take the time to explain certain situations when they noticed her panicking.

The author did a fantastic job making this book queernormative. There was a lot of rep throughout the book from both the main and side characters which we love to see!

Overall, this was a great book that I'm so happy to have read. If you like cozy, slice of life, fantasy with low to middle stakes, very awkward FMCs, magical creatures like phoenixes, kelpies, and dragons, then check out The Phoenix Keeper when it comes out on Aug 13th!

THIS BOOK WAS SO UNIQUE! The actual world and story surrounding this book was like nothing that I have read before, and it was a pleasant and refreshing read that was both cozy and had heart.

4.5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for this advanced copy. You can pick up The Phoenix Keeper on August 13, 2024.

This was such a cute and cozy queer fantasy! I love how immersive S.A. MacLean made this world, and how all of the magical creatures leapt off the page. I felt so invested in the wellbeing of the phoenixes, griffins, dragons, and more, and of course, I loved the journey our main character went on.

Aila is so deeply relatable, not only to those with anxiety, but to those who have ever felt immense pressure while pursuing a dream. I wanted to laugh and cry and cringe with her throughout all her interactions, and it was so heartwarming to see her grow in confidence and friends by the end of the book. Her relationships with Tanya, Luciana, and the other zookeepers were absolutely delightful , and the ending had my heart racing with adrenaline and happiness.

Overall, if you like an immersive fantasy with low to middling stakes, awkward FMCs, and tons of beautiful magical creatures, this is the book for you!

I loved the experience of reading this story! It is a delightfully cozy, heartwarming story of a character opening up to the world around her. This is the story of a zookeeper, Aila, who is passionate about her animals but terrified by humans. The representation of social anxiety was so well done. The world is so well drawn and intricately thought out. I did get lost in some of the descriptions of the zoo and extensive world building, but overall I connected so deeply with Aila's story. The love story was very well done, as their relationship builds slowly throughout the book. I appreciated how Aila learned that love should build one up and support her own passions. Aila's character arc felt so real as she gradually became more comfortable in the larger world of the zoo.
I strongly recommend this book! Even after finishing it, the thought of this world with magical creatures and the zookeepers that care for them, makes me smile.

I don't even know how to completely put together my thoughts on this story. I loved this so much. Every part of my fantasy loving heart obsessed with the idea of a zoo full of magical creatures. Put together that with the message of animal conservation and the daunting possibility of extinction. I really liked Aila's character and loved the fact that she was so introverted. Her over thinking and anxiety ridden personality was so relatable. Her passion and dedication to her phoenix's was a huge catalyst to her growth as a character and it was great to see her slowly put herself out there for the sake of her birds and also her heart. I loved the friendship between her and Tanya. The kind of wholehearted love and total acceptance between friends that everyone should have in their life. Character wise it was fun to have a couple wild cards and I did find myself surprised more than once. Archie was definitely my favorite character, what a delightful little mischief maker. This is definitely hard on the cozy side for the majority of the book which I really enjoyed, but when it does take off oh my hold on! Although the romance is not the main focus in the story it does have an important roll in the drive of the plot and in Aila's character growth. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a cozy magical story with a flare of adventure and a lot of great animals.

This is a cozy fantasy taking place in a zoo that follows our extremely socially anxious and generally anxious MC, Aila. I loved her development so much, how she slowly grew more confident and willing to push her comfort zone while also being sure of herself the way she is. I also really enjoyed that Tanya and Luciana loved her as she is and didn’t want her to change to be less awkward and strange, while still encouraging her to try new things and push her comfort zone.

Wonderfully cozy and uplifting, there's a lot to love here, not the least is the sheer delight in having so many magical creatures populate this world. It's a world close to our own, with modern technology and setups, but where there have always been both magical and mundane creatures. There's no human magic, which makes all of the creatures and their variety shine all the brighter. There are some lovely illustrations at the start of each section that help bring MacLean's creations to life - some are familiar, of course, but what makes this so delightful and grounded in the setting is that of course there are variations. There's not just one type of phoenix, one type of griffin, dragon, etc., they're all shaped by their native environment and have different temperaments and magics. Joy and delight at just the sheer variety and existence of these creatures all but leaps off the page, especially with our cast all working at the zoo and caring so deeply for creatures as well.

Aila has an easier time interacting with her birds than any of her coworkers or the zoo's patrons, and her journey from focusing so intently on phoenix conservation that she's blind to any reason why people wouldn't automatically want to save them to embracing all the ways of conservation outreach and engaging patrons to truly care about phoenixes the same way she does and see their beauty (in a way that doesn't require years of zookeeper school). Along that journey, she learns a lot about herself and leaning on people - Aila's anxiety and introvertedness is a little too realistic at times - and it's just lovely and nice to see her circle of friends grow as she learns to let people in and care for them in return.

A lot of that has to do with Luciana, who, while Aila is our narrator, is probably my favorite of the book. She loves her animals just as fiercely, and watching her and Aila open up to each other, clear the misunderstandings of the past, and work together to save the breeding program and fall in love is so sweet and healing.

I definitely had a huge grin on my face as I finished this; it's a delight.

I absolutely love animals and this enchanting zoo filled with fantastic magical creatures is a dream come true! The imagination and vivid imagery that went into this story is incredible. I want to work there! I love everything about this book! Funny, hopeful, imaginative, inspiring, and heartbreaking at times. What a wonderful and uniquely magical story!

I identify with Aila so much! An introvert that wishes she could be an extrovert, awkward, anxiety filled, prefers books and animals to people, terrible at flirting. Me all day! I love the friendship with Tanya and her sweet parents!

Available August 13th! You will love this book if you love

✨️ Magical creatures
✨️ Environmental conservation
✨️ Strong LGBTQ+ rep
✨️ Rivals to lovers
✨️ Mental health rep
✨️ Cozy fantasy

Thank you so much, Sarah for writing this amazing story and allowing me to read it! Thank you NetGalley for distributing the ARC!