I went into this thinking it was an epic romantasy about a magical zoo keeper. And though the zookeeper part is correct, it is very much a cozy fantasy - which overall isn't my favorite. It's not a bad book. Just very much a character-driven story, and it felt repetitive and slow to me. But lovers of cozy fantasy (Legends and Latte and Megan Bannen) will adore this one.

I recently had the pleasure of reading an advanced reader copy of *The Phoenix Keeper* by S. A. Maclean, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The story centers around Alia, the head Phoenix keeper at a magical zoo, who is entrusted with the vital task of continuing the Phoenix breeding program.

The book delves deep into the challenges Alia faces, not only with the complex care and nurturing of these magnificent creatures but also with the ever-present threat of poachers and black-market dealers eager to get their hands on the valuable Phoenixes. The narrative is rich with magical elements, and Mclean does a fantastic job of creating a world where these mythical creatures feel real and their plight, urgent.

Alia is a well-developed protagonist, her passion for the Phoenixes and her dedication to her work shining through the pages. The plot is filled with unexpected twists and turns, keeping me on the edge of my seat as Alia navigates through the dangers and mysteries that surround her. The stakes are high, and the tension is palpable as she strives to protect the Phoenixes from those who seek to exploit them.

Maclean’s writing is engaging and descriptive, making it easy to visualize the enchanting setting of the magical zoo and the awe-inspiring beauty of the Phoenixes. The supporting characters add depth to the story, each bringing their own strengths and vulnerabilities to the table.

Overall, *The Phoenix Keeper* is a compelling read that combines elements of fantasy, adventure, and suspense. It’s a must-read for fans of magical creatures and thrilling storylines. I highly recommend picking up a copy when it's released.

The Phoenix Keeper is a cozy fantasy that centers around a zoo for magical creatures. the main character Aila is a zookeeper who is pressing for the preservation of the phoenix’s, as they’re one of the species that are most endangered. i loved seeing her take care of all these different creatures and i thought her social anxiety was portrayed well, in a way that can feel relatable to a lot of people. after a while though, i did start to get bored with how stagnant the story was and then when the ending came everything that happened felt so random and out of place. the sapphic romance was cute between Aila and Luciana, but i just wanted more from the actual story itself and i would’ve preferred everything to flow more smoothly than it did. this wasn’t a bad book by any means, it just wasn’t what i personally wanted from the premise.

There’s a lot that Aila knows - how to care for her magical birds in the zoo aviary, the proper procedure for emergency preparedness in the zoo, and even down to the right temperatures to keep her beloved Phoenix birds. But one thing that going to college for zoology didn’t prepare Aila for is how to deal with the people she comes into contact with during her workday. Every time she’s put on the spot, whether it be in conversations with a coworker or guest, or in the limelight on an exhibit, she immediately freezes up. A true introvert.

Despite this, she musters up the courage to reach out to a contact in a plea to reinstate their Phoenix breeding program after tragedy occurs in another zoo - but to do so she must wrangle their exhibit back to life. And sometimes that means we have to lean on others for help - including her best friend Tanya, her burgeoning crush Connor, and her archenemy from college Luciana - all coworkers with their own magical beasts.

This book was such a breath of fresh air. It was cute, and whimsical, and just left me feeling happy the whole way through. The characters are in depth and well-described, with many ranges of gender and sexual identity represented. The plot was super easy to follow, and somewhat predictable, but I still found myself reading avidly with my fuzzy feelings.

Final rating: 4 Stars

Recommended if you like: cozy fantasy, TJ Klune, lgbt+ representation, enemies to lovers romance trope

I was here for the magical creatures and this did not disappoint on that front. It’s clear that the author has a love for animals. MacLean’s depictions of the San Tamculo Zoo really came alive and I can’t even imagine all the work it took to dream up the place and its many inhabitants. I wish there had been more illustrations of the creatures as it was a bit hard to picture them. I did love Rubra, the vanishing ducks and Cumulus. Archie was such a pain!

This felt like getting a chance to visit a magical zoo and then getting a pass to the behind the scenes. There’s so much zoo-keeper slice of life content that I think would be perfect for cozy fantasy fans but it can feel bogged down and slow, especially in the middle, for non-cozy wanting fantasy readers. I think there were lots of interesting ideas and things mentioned that could have made the story more exciting but weren’t really explored cause of the focus on Aila’s mundane moments.

The depiction of anxiety was great, too real at times, it did take away from the story at times and in the beginning it was hard to get into as there’s very little dialogue because Aila isolates herself. A map would have been great too! There’s mentions of the different places in the world but I found it difficult to orient myself as the continents have different names but things felt very earthlike there’s slushies, bacon, tacos and people have magical pets.

Thank you so much to Orbit Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a cozy fantasy book! Admittedly, I need angst and gloominess in my books to truly delve into them, but this book is damn near perfect for fans of the cutesy stories that include fantasy. My only complaint about the book is that its marketed as a romantasy, when in actuality, it's more fantasy, plot, and ambience than romance. While this wasn't my typical go-to, I will DEFINITELY be suggesting this to any fans of books like "Legends & Lattes" and "Emily Wilde's Encylopaedia of Faeries".

A zoo for magical creatures? Say less!

I laughed , I teared up (actually countless times) and giggled at the diabolical CUTENESS!

A zookeeper, Aila, lives out her childhood dream of caring for an endangered species of phoenix in the coziest summer tale of friendship and enemies to lovers. If you loved Legends and Lattes, and The Very Irregular Society of Witches you will divulge this book in one sitting like I did.

I adored all the characters, for one Archie was such a rascal I love him with my whole heart. For two, our main character made my heart hurt with how relatable her struggle is with being neurodivergent. Struggling to feel normal, shameful for when she’s not, and the social anxieties that come along with it.

Not only were characters relatable and well developed, but the world and descriptions were seeping off the page.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Honestly I really loved this book overall. I do wish the end was less violent and scary with the cozy vibes the book is being promoted as.

I truly loved the main character. Her social awkwardness and anxious thoughts were really relatable. I loved watching her grow through the book. While I can’t relate to her nerves in front of others, I think others will relate to that. Her friend was also really great. I love how supportive they are of each other and their solid established friendship. Not sure I love the love interest; not sure why but I just don’t see them working out long term.

The animals 🥺 if you read this book for any reason it’s definitely for them. One hundred percent they MAKE this book.

As for the end… (skip this paragraph to avoid light spoilers) I didn’t love involving such a high level intense situation. I feel like saying this is cozy is inaccurate. The scenes were quite scary and life endangering. To me, that’s the opposite of cozy.

4.5 stars rounded up!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was an amazing cozy fantasy! I say "cozy" only in the sense that that's probably the only word for it. For the most part it's a low stakes plot of following day to day life as a phoenix zoo keeper and getting a program up and running again!
There is a a bit of a mystery/ conflict plot that I found a tad predictable but I was more interested in the magical creatures and romance anyway!
Wonderful world building and magic and a good look at balancing careers, friendships and life!

A charming cozy fantasy involving a sapphic romance and mythical creatures? Sign me up! This is a cute, heartwarming tale. I related to the main character Alia a lot; she's an anxious bookworm who is trying her best at something she is extremely passionate about. The creatures in this are fun, quirky, and interesting. I love an enemies-to-lovers story, especially when it's sapphic, and I loved it so much that my only critique is that I wish there was more romance in it! Highly recommend this beautiful cozy story.

The Phoenix Keeper is my newest favorite cozy fantasy! There is a magical zoo and a 28-year old woman living out her childhood dream of being the head phoenix-keeper and she gets to work alongside her bff and her (annoyingly hot) rival from college.

The magical zoo is so cool and Aila is such a great main character because we get to see her grow so much. I love the way her social anxiety collides with her passion for her birds and watching her work through that. I also loved that her friendship was a centered relationship.

This is incredibly heart-warming and I would say that this is a must-read for cozy fantasy lovers.

Thank you Orbit and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.

This book was just so much fun. It tells the story of Aila, an extremely socially anxious young phoenix keeper at the zoo, entrusted with caring for critically endangered animals. She has to confront both poachers and her own fears in order to successfully care for her animals.

This is very much cozy fantasy - you know everything is going to turn out okay for our hero. It was still fun to enjoy the story, even if it was fairly predictable.

Thanks to Netgalley and Orbit for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions within are my own.

RATING AND OVERALL THOUGHTS: 4 stars! I really enjoyed it despite some flaws. It was absolutely witty, low stakes, fun, and magical. Definitely slice of life novel that was cozy with some tension at the end that was well done. I loved the characters and absolutely loved the animals and the descriptions of the habitats. I could read the banter between the mischievous bird Archie and Aila forever.

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD

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“She’d always loved this zoo like a home. Now, it felt full like never before.” 🥹🥹🥹

WHAT I LOVED:

- The humor in this was strong. Had so many witty lines, especially with the animals or between Aila and Tanya. I laughed so much and kept highlighting page after page. The banter was immaculate.
- I loved all of the animals (especially Archie) and the descriptions of their habitats felt so real. I could feel the passion, love, and care the author and thus the characters had. Even Connor had passion for his dragons, he really lost sight of everything he loved and that took him down a dark path sadly.
- I loved the natural inclusion of trans, bi, lesbian rep. Also neurodivergent and anxiety rep.
- I loved Tanya, honestly the best BFF anyone could ask for. I need a book completely about her and Teddy.
- The stakes with the attempted poaching just felt so real! I love how Aila shined in the moment and how brave she became.

WHAT I DISLIKED:

- The romances were pretty unbelievable, actually the one with Connor didn’t feel that way at first but when it was obviously being to be telegraphed that he was going to be the villain it became just very shoehorned bland like “See, he isn’t so great!”
For Luc/Luciana (who I referred to Luciana-who for most of my notes as I read) I really didn’t like her for several reasons the main one boiling down to being a bully. Yes she had a legitimate reason to transfer groups and it is understandable that she didn’t telegraph something to Aila when they were in college together about it given the circumstances and yes the laughing during Aila’s speech had an very loose explanation, but it still doesn’t excuse the asshole behavior she gave Aila for *years* after that. It made me so angry when Luc kept telling Aila to suck up her pride. Its not pride that stops Aila from asking Luc for help, it was *self-preservation*. The last thing anyone (neurodivergent or not) wants to do is interact any more than necessary with their bully. Maybe this wasn’t what was meant to be portrayed but that is how it came across to me throughout the entire book. I did warm up to Luc a bit at the end but I still don’t feel like Luc is Aila’s missing puzzle piece romance wise. It would’ve been better if they were just academic rivals that wrote like competing papers on phoenixes or something and thats why they had light animosity towards each other. Then I could understand it being a pride thing but as written, it was Aila not wanting to be around someone that hurt her in the past.
- As much as I love having representations of a main neurodivergent/anxiety lead, the descriptions did eventually bog down the story with too much repetition especially towards the end. I am exhausted just being in my own mindset with my spicy brain that being Aila’s and it being dialed to like 1000% at all times was unbelievably tiring.
- The pacing waned a bit at times. I was expecting slow and for the most part it kept a pretty steady pace but then there were times where it draggged. There are things that could’ve gotten taken out with no impact to the story.
- Aila really wasn’t the best friend to Tanya. I do think this was meant to telegraph how Aila loses sight of the forest for the trees with her anxiety but it happened too many times and Aila didn’t really face her codependency with Tanya nor did she really grow from the experience in a meaningful way.

WHAT I AM NOT SURE ABOUT/WANTED MORE OF:

- I still don’t like the fact that Aila can’t just be herself. Yes everyone wants a pretty girl glow up but like it’s not *Aila*. I still felt like at the end she did step out of her comfort zone and thats really admirable about her but it also felt like she had to conform to XYZ because its “normal”. It would’ve been nice to see some processes change to be more inclusive to Aila’s needs in taking care of the animals there at the zoo.
- I do think it would’ve been better if the griffin show featured Rubra at the end, that was her original phoenix after all. Felt like it could’ve come across full circle in that moment.

3.5/5 stars

This had a slow start but I ended up enjoying it. I think this will resonate a lot more with people who can relate to the main character - I personally couldn't as much but I'm very glad this book exists for those who do.

I liked the romance and the side characters. The plot was a bit predictable, but it was still fun. Overall, this was a solid book.

3 stars
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I’m pretty neutral on this one. While I’m a big cozy fantasy/romantasy lover, this just missed the mark for me.

I enjoyed the backdrop of the novel, the fantastical beasts from dragons to the star of the book, the phoenix. I loved the concept of the zoo housing all these creatures. I loved all of the world building around the creatures and the zoo itself, presented in a way that didn’t info dump. This was 100% why I hung on reading the book instead of DNFing it. The plot of the book was interesting, but very much a tell and not show. There was such a span of time that this book covered and it was hard to enjoy when it kept highlighting how much time had passed. I wanted more action in that time. I could have done without some filler and with more action. While the romance of the book is heavily emphasized, it was basically none existent until nearly 75-80% of the book was over and had no build up. I called the plot twist early in the book and was incredibly disappointed to be right.

I had a hard time connecting with the characters. While I connected incredibly well with Aila’s anxiety struggles and loved her determination, I found her to be juvenile and selfish overall. Anxiety can’t excuse some of her actions and behaviors, especially in being a good friend. Luciana is portrayed as such a mean girl, but was such a redeeming grace for the book. The side characters were okay, but I could have used less of them and more romance.

I wanted more from this book and fell pretty let down. The execution of the idea just wasn’t for me.

First off, much as I like to say that I enjoy “cozy fantasies,” the term is going the way of romantasies for me, and I will probably have to start avoiding this genre for fear of being disappointed. I do not think it means what you think it means.

A cozy read should be low stakes: I do not want to read about anything more stressful than, like, the coffee maker breaking down temporarily. But THE PHOENIX KEEPER was high-stakes in two respects. First, Aila herself is an incredibly stressed out, and therefore stressful, protagonist. She has severe social anxiety that I found difficult to read about, when it was appearing in just about every other paragraph. I tried very hard to sympathize with her, but her anxiety was essentially debilitating and the author of most of her issues, and it wasn’t something I particularly enjoyed reading about in a book marketed as a cozy fantasy.

The second is that the main external conflict, the theft of rare zoo animals, read high-stakes as well. While I figured out the villain early on, the climax of the story ramped up to an almost comically dramatic level. I mean, the bad guys were brandishing GUNS. Again, not really what I wanted from a cozy fantasy.

So what did I enjoy, since I clearly finished the book? I enjoyed when the exotic animals were on the page. Aila’s interactions with her best friend, Tanya, and her nemesis, Luciana, were convincingly depicted. And I thought the romance was subtle, well-done, and believable. But here is also where I felt the book’s marketing did it a disservice. Those who go into the book expecting a romantasy based on the story’s tagline on the cover (“Falling in love never burned so bright”) are going to be disappointed by the slow-moving romance.

Overall, THE PHOENIX KEEPER had its ups and downs, and probably could have done with some more accurate marketing, but I would still recommend it to readers looking for a light-on-romance, light-on-worldbuilding fantasy standalone with a healthy dose of magical animals.

I adored this book. I loved the fantastically described animals, as well as the character development. Highly recommend. And thanks for the ARC access!

A cute and cozy read! It’s definitely a quick one, too, due to its cozy nature.

Aila is the perfect anxious and adorable main character. Living her lifelong dream as Phoenix keeper at a zoo for magical creatures, she has a dorky kind of charm I loved to read. Her friendship with Tanya and her complete awkwardness with all other human beings were so relatable.

Plot-wise, this is definitely a cozy fantasy style. The whole plot could be summarized in a few sentences, and within the first quarter of the book, the main plot point and the villain are easy to anticipate. For me, that didn’t take away from the charm of the story, but be aware of you know that’s a turn off for you.

I loved the representation of anxiety with Aila. I think her inner monologues and the ways the anxiety presented in her life, both positive and negative, were incredibly well done. It was real and not glamorized. A lot of anxiety rep does a good job of representing the feelings of the anxious character, but this book did one better. It showed how anxiety can be so loud it shuts down awareness of other people’s problems, which can lead to conflict. It was real and raw, and the forgiveness was also readily accessible. Well done overall.

As an avid bird nerd who struggles with anxiety, this book was a hit.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the advance read of this title. All opinions in this review are my own.

I liked this book, but I expected to absolutely love it, so I still ended up a little disappointed. The setting was incredibly charming and there are some great, well-written scenes, especially towards the end, when we finally reach the pay-off with the phoenix poachers. I wish it didn't take as long to get there - this book is pretty hefty, and for most of it, the pacing feels incredibly slow. Each chapter felt slightly longer than it really needed to be to keep the story moving.

My main problem with the book was my struggle to relate to the main character, Aila. Sometimes her social ineptitude verged on maliciousness, especially when it came to Luciana. Since the main conflict between these two characters happens off-page, Aila's ire started to feel misplaced pretty early on, only for this to remain unresolved for two-thirds of the book. Aila's gradual journey to come out of her shell and learn how to be a better friend felt like the focus rather than the phoenix breeding program, an element that could be appealing to some readers, but just wasn't for me.

I cannot get over how much I enjoyed this book. It's giving me cozy fantasy vibes, and it's exactly what the doctor ordered. Loved, LOVED this book.

The Phoenix Keeper is a story about the phoenix keeper, truly. It doesn't get more simple than that. The FMC is the phoenix keeper at a zoo, who is VERY passionate about her job and the animals she serves. She works tirelessly to get her phoenix to be a part of the breeding program, as phoenixes are very endangered species, and the last publicized breeding did not end well due to evil poachers. Throughout the story, you get to follow the FMC, Aila, and how she blossoms into herself with the help of a best friend and other fellow zoo keepers. Not to give away so much, there is a lovely budding romantic relationship that falls on Aila's lap in the midst of it all. And though the synopsis and this review may seem that this book is boring, it definitely has its own action packed climax.

This book will warm your heart. I most definitely fell in love with the main character, and wanted to support her and everything she wants to accomplish. 5 out of 5. Please go read (especially those who may have enjoyed Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries).

Thank you Orbit Books | Orbit, Netgalley, and SA MacLean for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

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