This book is so cozy and so relatable in a sense of being an introvert, and having such a hard time talking to large groups or talking to new people, I totally could relate to some instances❤️‍🔥

- great LGBT rep🌈
- zoo setting
- reaching goals
- so many adorable magical animals🐦‍🔥
- great friendships

We have Aila a beautiful but shy zookeeper who handles the Phoenix section she has one beautiful bird called rubra she loves so dearly and wishes that someday she’ll be able to breed rubra because this bird is going extinct unfortunately

Her dream comes true, but not in the best way possible another zoo has their Phoenix is stolen and their male Phoenix needs a new mate. She’s able to convince the zoo to let her become the new Phoenix breeder, but she has to renovate the whole office and their cages as well as the incubators , there’s a lot that needs to go into this project.

She also has a huge issue because her crush finally talks to her and takes her out on a date, but it doesn’t go well and then her arch nemesis from college is forced to help her fix the Phoenix keeps, which kind of leads to some revelations


Overall, I really love this book. It was really fun. It was so easy, lighthearted great meetings and morals behind. Every chapter just goes to show if you put in the work, you will see the reward that comes out of it as an introvert you will love this book. All the magical animals were fabulous and every single relationship. Ayla had was a teaching moment and a heartwarming moment I would totally recommend to a cozy fantasy lover.

Sometimes, all you need is a cute book about some magical animals and a girl who'll do anything to save them...even if it means accepting help from your biggest rival. This was the perfect pick me up after back to back heavy topic books. I enjoyed the palate cleanser and the last couple days I've been flipping through it and finding myself rereading some of my favorite sections. I don't have much to say about this book other than it being a book that I almost passed up, and am so thankful I gave it the chance it deserves to prove me wrong.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts in this review are purely my own and in no way influenced by the author or publisher.

This was a sweet novel with rivals to lovers and cute magical animals.

I enjoyed the descriptions of the different creatures and the relationship between the main character, her friend, and the rivals. The writer conveyed the love that Aila had for all her animals at the zoo and how much she wanted them to have the best life possible. The book did not shy away from giving her character flaws like being too judgmental and not listening to others. Aila went through some good character growth over the book and I am happy she did. Sometimes her anxiety on the page was a little too much to read, but it never truly crossed that line. I also enjoyed the rivals/romance that developed. It felt well-earned and full of chemistry. The villain on the other hand was extremely predictable and I knew what was going on at the beginning of the book. Overall enjoyable and cute but it is not my all-time favorite new book.

I expected better for this book! The premise was so exciting, but the book itself was not. I will probably read future books if there is a series because it is interesting, but I wish that this would have been a little less dense and more engaging.

This was a charming little novel that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

I think setting genre expectations for this one is a little tricky. The fantasy elements are light. Not much about the plot would change if this was a zoo of mundane creatures instead of magical ones (also quick tangent, something does not have to be plot-relevant to be a worthy inclusion - the magical creatures in this story absolutely added to the atmosphere and whimsy of the whole thing and I am glad they were there - but this is not a fantasy novel plot). It has the feel of a romance book in the voice and the tone, but the romance plot doesn't really kick off until the halfway point and even then is never the main thing going on. I do think this fits into cozy fantasy, but it is better than most of the cozy fantasy that I've read. The characters have real depth and real arcs, the plot makes sense, and there is real tension. It's cozy only in the sense that it's small stakes and the focus is a lot on character relationships and personal growth.

The main character Aila was probably my favorite part of the book. Her voice was an absolute delight and reminded me of the way a friend of mine speaks which was an added bonus. I thought the way her anxiety was written was very well-done. It felt honest and realistic, and it wasn't used for annoying plot contrivances. In fact, I thought it was going to lead to an annoying plot contrivance at one point, but the author instead used it as a moment of growth which I really enjoyed.

I have some quibbles with some of the character progression, and a pretty big quibble in the ending. I was initially happy that my least favorite romance plot construction was removed in favor of a more fantasy-esque plot twist, but the plot twist was so obvious and sort of cheapened one of the big character moments for me. So some good and bad there, but overall I thought the ending was sweet and a satisfying way to wrap up the book.

I definitely recommend this one as a light read for a slow day. If cozy fantasy goes in this direction, I'm happy to read more of it and I am definitely happy to read again from SA MacLean

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for an ARC in exchange for review

Review 8/10✨ I was VERY excited for this book and have so much to say!

Let’s get what I don’t like out of the way first:

🔥I hate to say it but the MC was too adorkable for me personally. I understand the social anxiety + quirkiness but it was giving disney princess vibes and it just wasn’t my favorite.

They also read extremely neurodivergent coded and I wish the book had named it rather than using every trait under the sun while ignoring addressing ableism the character faced. As a neurodivergent person myself I just felt weird about the character at times as they read a bit caricature like at points without the explicit neurodivergent explanation, like it didn’t want you to miss they were neurodivergent but also didn’t want to label it and have it in the story which why not?! Autistic people can exists in fantasy settings too! I don’t think representation has to be explicit 100% of the time but in this particular story not naming it left room for unchecked ableism both internalized and from other characters that I didn’t love.

🔥I wish there was either a world map or the story took place in our world just with magical creatures. There was a lot of mentioning where things were from and fake geography, but without a reference point those descriptions meant very little to me.

Okay now what I loved:

🔥The zoo and all its cozy vibes. I was in it for this alone. I love going to zoos so I loved that this book almost entirely took place at a zoo. I loved the magical creatures but I honestly would’ve loved it even if they were regular animals! Despite not loving the MC the setting more than made up for it with me.

🔥I thought the plot was really fun! I did guess the twist pretty early on but I don’t mind, I still enjoyed watching it play out. It is a cozy read though so the pace is slow as you vibe with the zoo and animals a lot.

🔥The romance was cute! I would say it’s definitely a secondary plot but it felt genuine and I liked it. The MC was bisexual and there was a w/w relationship by the end!

Continued: Overall I had a fun time and would recommend this book to fellow zoo lovers! Thanks to netgalley and Gollancz for a copy of this book. I’ll be getting my own copy as soon as it’s out this summer!

Aila Macbhairan is the head phoenix keeper at the San Tamculo Zoo, or at least she is in title. The pheonix keepers, just her and her best friend Tanya, oversee much of the aviary and only have two phoenixes, and not a breeding pair. Aila dreams of helping restore the Silimalo Phoenix species, but she despite many requests, she hasn’t been transferred a male to pair with Rubra, the zoo’s permanent phoenix.

But when opportunity comes out of tragedy, Aila has to confront her pride, anxieties, social ineptitude, and fear of public speaking in order to realize her dreams.

The Phoenix Keeper is a wonderful YA style romantasy, featuring an urban fantasy setting and a typical romance plot. The twist of the novel is easily predicted but the climax is still enjoyable. The mythic animals are well fleshed out as are the zoo setting.

I recommend this book for fans of urban fantasy, mythology, and awkward heroines whose special interests are a boon rather than a curse.

I adored this book! I wouldn’t categorize this book as romantasy. The romance was more of a subplot, and somewhat predictable. However, the coziness factor of this book warmed my heart. As a wildlife biologist, it was enjoyable to read about an FMC that could also nerd out about wild animals.

this book is really a delight. like yes, it's definitely toward the cozy side of fantasy, but it's very genuinely sweet and generally not cloying. (actually, the one offputting thing in that regard was a couple of really out of place sexual innuendos? not even explicit, just like, why are you talking about this now. it was like they were just thrown in there to be like "please remember this is adult fiction and not YA!") it was probably always going to be easy to win me over with a book about a bunch of cool magical animals and, well, this author definitely did, what can I say. the animals had a ton of personality too. I love Archie and Khonsu the HERO birds

I also really enjoyed what MacLean did with the characters - GENERALLY, if you read on to the spoiler bit I'll put below - and particularly the lead Aila. you could tell her passion was MacLean's passion because it shone through the pages. I think she'll be pretty relatable to people with anxiety. and I also think MacLean did a great job making anxiety not just like, cutesy or twee or whatever. not only does it seriously affect Aila's life, it leads to real problems. like as someone else who has anxiety, I totally get the whole thing where Aila was way too much in her own head and needed to focus on other people for a bit... it felt so real. good stuff.

the big issue with this book is a massive plot spoiler. this book is not out yet, so I will put it behind spoiler tags. read on with caution! (view spoiler)

also as a petty complaint Luciana got called a witch like 9000 times in this book. at first I was like "is this because the author thinks it'd be problematic to call her a bitch?" but she ALSO gets called a bitch so like. I dunno. but yes, these complaints aside I do really recommend this book!

I am not a fan of zoos but I am a fan of sanctuaries and this fantasy reminded me of the one I sponsor, the Sheldrick Trust and how they talk about the animals and the keepers diaries and conservation so it won my heart in that regard. It's a cozy story, leaning heavily on both the greed of ppl who are destroying what we should protect and the love of ppl who are saving what is sacred on the earth. The MC goes through some major growth, it's a diverse group of ppl and it just melds together. It couldve been tightened up a bit (parts do stutter) and I wanted to spend more time with the Phoenix's but if you're looking for a book where the good guys win, this is it.

i absolutely LOVE going to my local zoo and seeing the birds (along with other animals, of course) so i know i had to give the phoenix keeper a try. the imagery and environment is spot on and i loved escaping in my mind to the san tamculo zoo! i wish this book had a less obvious “twist” and better dialogue along with characterization. it's definitely a comfort cozy read which is its strength for those who want a more predictable and positive reading experience.

thank you s.a. maclean and netgalley for the ARC!

3.5

The Phoenix Keeper is a charming, cozy fantasy about a socially anxious but passionate zookeeper, Aila, and her fight to help save her beloved endangered phoenixes at the San Tamculo Zoo. I thoroughly enjoyed the inclusion of the various magical creatures, the discussions of zoos and conservation programs, as well as the slow-burn romance between Aila and Luciana which had me squealing with joy at how cute they were.

However I did feel that the pacing, and in ways the world-building, was bogged down a little by the vast amount of descriptions of each animal and their habitats in the first few chapters that made it quite hard for me to get into the actual story itself. The writing itself was perhaps a bit too flowery at times for me, but this was a very minor thing that ultimately didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the book, especially the latter half.

A very solid and delightful debut from S. A MacLean, I am definitely looking forward to reading more!

Aila is an introverted and anxious phoenix keeper. All she wants is to be able to get her zoo's phoenix a mate to help ensure that the Silimalo phoenix doesn't go extinct. If only someone else could handle all the other people so she can take care of the animals! This story is so cute and yet the parts about animal poaching hit you in the feels.

Aila's anxiety can be infectious, which occasionally made the book hard to pick up, but I enjoyed the book every time I did.

I found the relationships in this book to be very...relatable: The best friend that had to take on a huge emotional burden and is sometimes taken for granted, the bad dates where someone just thinks you're weird and the way they say things feels wrong, and the relationships that make you feel like you're fine the way you are and yet make you want to be better.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for providing the e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is an excellently cozy low fantasy romance story with a bi MC and a lesbian love interest. As a fan of character driven stories, I can say that I completely adored this book and everything about it. While a little slow at first, with the true romance not really beginning until halfway through the book, this book and its characters still hooked me from the very beginning.

The growing relationship from rivals to friends to lovers between phoenix keeper Aila and the star of the zoo's griffin show Luciana was absolutely amazingly cute and I loved every second of it. One of my favorite details is the parallel between their relationship and the phoenixes themselves, from fighting and bickering to becoming friends and falling in love.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a sapphic romance in a low fantasy setting or anyone who just loves animals.

4+ stars

This was such a cute and heartwarming book! Just cozy, and sweet, and happy.

This is a little slower-paced, character driven story. Aila is a highly anxious, socially awkward woman who loves her phoenixes more than people. Her journey through the book to accept help, come out of her shell, and find romance while also breeding endangered birds is heartwarming. She’s not always easy to love, but she has an amazing support system. Tanya is the actual best.

I loved all the animals at the zoo, with all their personalities. There was a certain character I didn’t trust from the start (and I was right!).

The action is super high stakes for the last 15%, but everything ends on a high note. Highly recommend for fans of TJ Klune and Megan Bannen.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the preview. All opinions are my own.

Love the premise of this book so much, but I think it fell flat for me because it reads a bit young to me. Our store is more geared towards New adult/adult so I don't think it's a title we'll bring in, but I will keep it in mind and give recs for it when applicable. Love how unique the plot is and the strong character development.

The Phoenix Keeper is the light cozy fantasy the world needs right now! It fits right in with the likes of Emily Wilde. Our main character Aila is an anxious mess who is terrible with people but great with animals. Her main goal in life is to bring back the phoenix breeding program at her zoo for magical creatures. Of course along the way we get a sweet romance with her “arch-rival” from college Luciana. Truly what more could you want? My favorite part of this book was obviously all the magical animals. All of them felt fleshed out and had their own personalities. I want a mouse griffin now. This book is a cozy fantasy focused on the day to day activities Aila goes through caring for the phoenixes and other creatures so the plot is on the slower side. Everything is pretty contained within this zoo setting and the world building is on the simpler side. I wish we could’ve gotten a little more info about the world as a whole (or a map I love a map) to help everything feel more established. I loved the character growth we see with Aila it felt right for her. Some of the final climax felt a smidge predictable but I didn’t find that to be a bad thing. It all played out in a very satisfying way in the end. This book is a solid standalone fantasy and anyone looking for a more lighthearted cozy read with a sweet FF romance should give it a try!

I love the cover art and the beautiful artwork inside. While I love the map of the San Tamculo Zoo at the beginning of the book, I wish there were a map of the world as well. There were a lot of descriptions of different places but I found it confusing when I couldn't look at a map to remind myself where in the world Renkaila, Pennja, Ziclexia, and Vjar were.

"Aila preferred a carnivorous horse over other people most days."

I love Aila's character and MacLean's funny-yet-true metaphors for Aila's social anxiety. Aila also read as a neurodivergent character to me even though it wasn't stated in the book: routines, her special interest in phoenixes, info dumping about phoenixes, hyperfocus, missing social cues, social anxiety, and being LGBTQIA.

Even though I was able to guess the culprit, I thoroughly enjoyed this cozy medium-paced fantasy with a heart-pounding ending. I've already pre-ordered a copy of the paperback edition because I love the contrast of the blue and orange on the cover more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me access to the eARC!

I loved the sapphic representation of the LGBTQIA+ (specifically the bi MC, lesbian LI, trans BFF). Imaginative and intriguing, it held my attention from the beginning. I loved the cozy aspect of the zoo, but the vivid imagery, blend of fantasy elements, and Alia's passion were what held me. Fast paced and easy to read, I personally loved the clinical aspect that MacLean adapted to Alia's story, however with some readers it might take them out of the story. This isn't a bad thing; it'll force readers to think about our endangered species in a different light. Alia's self-centered side was somewhat frustrating, along with her personal grudges that I think made her Anxiety representation take a backseat. All in all, I'm definitely grabbing a copy of Phoenix Keeper. 8/10 would recommend.

Oh my gosh, my new all time favourite cozy fantasy!!! If you love magical creatures and awkward MC's, this is for YOU. I immediately fell in love with the setting and the main character. There is just enough plot to keep it interesting (it is a bit more stressful than a lot of cozies) and all of the side characters are equally wonderful.

I cried at the end and I can't wait to reread this in years to come!