It's a book about a ginger zookeeper at a magic animal zoo, of course I'm going to devour it! I recently ended a stint as a zookeeper, been at several facilities, two degrees in animal sci, and my phone has innumerable animal pictures in it. That's my jam. So I went into S. A. MacLean's "The Phoenix Keeper" prepared for anything. And you know what I found? 111 instances of things that actually happened to me or direct reference to protocol at a facility I've been at. Which is nutty to me, no one normally thinks about the keepers, knows that they are mostly high educated (and highly underpaid), people who break themselves to get folks to care about animals and ensure their welfare. So I was blindsided by some emotions from this book. Wasn't expecting that, going back to some grimdark where I'm safe.

We follow Alia, she fell in love with the Phoenixes at her zoo at a young age and worked to become a keeper. After a disaster at a neighboring zoo she has a chance to revitalize the derelict breeding program at her facility. Unfortunately she is a ball of nerves and anxiety about people, the public, and sort of being perceived in general. Which is a shame because a LOT of animal work is interfacing with people. And her work nemesis is a co-department head has all the skills she needs to pull off making her dream come true.

Reasons to read:
-I took notes on this and it is crazy to me how accurate a lot of the procedures are and Alia's journey to her job (San Diego zoo also got me) parallel things for me
-Fight on sight when someone mess with the animals
-Just fascinating creatures, I will mark out if you give me facts and details on holdings and shift procedure
-Addresses the pros and cons of zoos and how keepers operate in them better than many work meetings
-Can't help but root for the characters in this one
-Animals just doing bs to stress keepers out and who I don't have to clean up after

Cons:
-Using rabbits as a treat for a 12 ton dragon seems impractical and lack of a diet sheet drove me up the wall. But that will impact a very small number of readers

cozy fantasy BUT you feel some high stakes at the end there! I loved this one even more than expected. I related to the main character Aila deeply(like too deeply, someone get this girl an autism assessment). There's a moment where she's on a date with this guy and she's talking about her work(read:hyperfixation) and he's obviously not into it and I was just like oH!! I might be projecting too much, but moral of the story if you're neurodivergent or struggle with social anxiety you are going to painfully relate to this one. Cute magical creatures and sapphic romance at the end!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of The Phoenix Keeper!

I liked this book. The premise of a zoo filled with magical animals and a zookeeper trying to save an endangered species of phoenix was creative and beautiful. I think it was just a little too silly and predictable for my taste but I could see people loving this book, especially if they are big fans of the cozy fantasy genre.

This book had really cool descriptions of the different animals that lived in the zoo. The author excelled at giving all the animals personalities so they stuck out to the reader. This unfortunately did not extend to some of the human characters, who felt pretty one dimensional. It was pretty obvious who the villain was from the beginning. I did love the surprise romance and I didn't see that one coming. It was a cute little enemies to lovers moment and a slow burn. I find that cozy fantasy typically implements the insta love trope (which I hate) so I appreciated that element of this.

Overall, I had fun with it. It's a quick read and I think it was a great palate cleanser between some denser fantasy books. While it had some things I think could have been improved on, I would recommend it! 3 stars.

The Phoenix Keeper is such a cute and cozy fantasy that had me enchanted the whole way through!
The world was interesting a fun, yet easy to understand. The majority of the story takes place in the zoo, and it was so incredibly fun. I loved all the animals and the funny interactions the main character, Aila had with them. The main character was fun, and I enjoyed seeing her grow throughout the story. It was inspiring to see her work towards her dream.

I would recommend The Phoenix Keeper to everyone!

I really enjoyed this but the beginning was so bogged down with exposition I almost DNF'd. The world building is fun and the cozy elements are there but MacLean does a lot of telling and not showing.

It's been a long time since I've read a book that had such beautiful descriptive imagery. I was transported to this magical zoo and couldn't get enough. While reading I was worried that the main character wasn't going to have any growth. For over the first half of the book she's her own worst enemy but eventually she stops getting in her own way. The mental health representation was done so well but keep in mind the main character's anxiety is palpable. That could be really validating for some or triggering for others. The ending is super satisfying as well and it's all wrapped up really nicely.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the eARC; this title releases <b>August 13th, 2024</b></i>

I absolutely love mythical creatures so I requested this on the title and cover art alone and I was not disappointed. The Phoenix Keeper is a hug of a book, a compelling cozy fantasy with a cute queer romance too! It was a delightful, compelling read with a world I'd love to visit!

This is NOT a spicy book, or a Romantasy, as I've seen it being described and I think any reader going in with that expectation is going to be seriously disappointed.

I actually think The Phoenix Keeper would be better marketed to a YA audience; with the possible exception of a few real f-bombs amongst made up curses (e.g. "seas and skies!) there is no revision needed. And I think this story has some very interesting things to say about the importance of zoos and animal conservation efforts that would be great for a younger audience, and may inspire future career choices as it did for the main character.

Aila fell in love with the rare Silimalo Phoenixes at the San Tamculo Zoo as a child and has worked her entire life to become a Phoenix keeper, despite serious social anxiety. But by the time she makes it there, the award-winning breeding program has been shuttered for years and there is only one female, Rubra, left to keep. Although Aila loves Rubra very much her passion is species conservation.

When another nearby zoo, Jewelport, is robbed of its new hatchlings and reborn female, Aila jumps to get the remaining male transferred to San Tamculo to mate with Rubra, inadvertently making her birds the target of a poaching ring.

The eARC includes an author Foreword for the Illumicrate edition where MacLean shares how she was inspired by the real-life efforts to conserve the California Condor as a species and her own zoo-keeping experience, sketches of some of the key mythical birds in the book and a map of the unusually laid out circular zoo. I really hope a version of these is included in the main edition as well, as all go toward setting the tone of the story and help envision the word.

Although I am all for the cozy fantasy as a concept, this is the first one I've read, and it met my expectations for the genre. Like a cozy mystery versus a regular mystery, the strength lies in the characters and "slice of life" everyday focus, rather than in overarching plot. I've heard cozy fantasies described as "side quest" stories, where a character wanders around exploring magical worlds and collecting treasure versus battling with Big Bads, and I think that is accurate.

It is obvious from the beginning who the Bad Guy is, and what will happen - the joy lies in the journey. I enjoyed the characters and the magical zoo so much that I didn't even mind. I loved MacLean's own twists on magical creatures: mirror flamingos, trinket-stealing Archibirds, Bix Phoenixes, Diamondback Dragons, Peacock Griffins, Disappearing Ducks (!) and more alongside mythological creatures such as the Kelpie.

I did find that most of the action occurred very late in the last quarter of the book (which may be in the spirit of of cozy but still felt a little abrupt) and although several details came together satisfactorily I did feel other characters were underused <spoiler>especially Archie, as I really thought the tower of shinies he was building would be involved in incapacitating the thieves somehow, and that his trick with the metal rods would be repeated to stop them</spoiler>.

The greatest strengths in the story are Aila coming to terms with her own anxiety, the friendship between Aila and fellow phoenix keeper Tanya (who is transgender, and who I would have liked to see have more page time), and the relationship between Aila and former classmate and griffin keeper Luciana. They start as rivals and then become unlikely friends who turn into lovers.

Such a fun, whimsical read - I'll definitely be looking forward to whatever S. A. MacLean writes next!

I wanted to like this book more and I love the idea of a zoo for magical creatures, but I found the main character, Aila, to be so annoying. She's in her late twenties but it reads like she's a teenager. Aila seemed to be very stubborn, self-centered, and not a good friend to her only friend in the book. And I didn't really even get why the two leads were enemies to begin with, when it really just Aila holding a grudge over something that happened in college. I did enjoy the phoenix storyline and it was nice to see bisexual and social anxiety representation in this book. But after reading 25% of the book, I was so fed up with the main character that I just wanted to quickly finish the book.

Thank you netgalley and @orbitbooks_us for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

Alia is a fantastic animal zoologist who works with mythical bird species, need I say more?!

This book was everything I wanted in a cosy fantasy. The stakes weren’t too high, but there were still stakes involved. There is animal trafficking so slight trigger warning if that really offends you but everything gets tied up nicely in the end, it’s a happy book about learning to love, being compassionate, and growing as a person.

this is a very high four star for me personally I love the characters. I love that the characters changed over the course of the story, especially our main character she, I believe, grew and changed for the better but still kept her core personality

This is a bird book for bird people. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I feel like it was pretty much coded for people like me!

I think the big bad was really easy to figure out which I think with the genre of Cosy fantasy, things are a little easier to put together. I wish there was a little bit more of mystery thought a bit more intrigue to add to the wonderful story.

Overall though I had a wonderful time, pub date is in August!

I had such a good time with this story. Cute, cozy, incredible 'working at the zoo' vibes, exactly what I was hoping for when I picked it up. Was it perfect? Maybe not, but I still loved it. Highly recommend!

Magical zoo full of wondrous creatures! What I would give to work there! I loved reading about the zoo and the creatures that are there, I kept imaging them all in my head and how badly I would have loved to work there. This was a great fantasy and damn I wished it was real so I could work there with these characters.

Magical zoo full of wondrous creatures and very pretty zookeepers sounds like the kind of place I’d like to visit.

I really enjoyed this cozy story. The friendship elements are great, the character growth in Aila was fun to read, and I loved the setting itself. By the end of it I was so invested I was narrating my emotions to space. I will say the twist is pretty predictable but the ending had more drama than I was anticipating which kept it interesting. I would love more magical creature stories set in this world!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book full of relatable, amicable characters and addictive plot! Such a cozy and magical read that will have you wanting to fill out your own application to be a zookeeper at a zoo for magical creatures. And you might just find yourself rooting for a kelpie or a griffin to help take out the bad guys!

2.5⭐️

I will start off saying that this was my first cozy fantasy book. I wanted to try something outside my typical book reads.

My first issue with this book is the marketing. It’s marketed as a sapphic fantasy romance, heavy on the romance. If you are hoping to get that, you will be highly disappointed. There happens to be a little bit of romance with a guy character (because the main character is bisexual). This last up until well after the 50% mark. The real romance doesn’t start until after the 73% mark. I’m sorry to say, but that is not a romance book, especially when it’s a standalone.

Also if you’re looking for a fantasy vibe, it’s very low. Besides the inclusion of Phoenixes, dragons, unicorns, and other magical creatures, there is really no fantasy. The author tries to build a world by listing off places but no real concrete world building. It just felt like our world with fantasy elements.

Another of my issues with this book is how juvenile the behavior is of the main characters. They are said to be 28 years old but act as if they are 19 years old. Yes the main character has anxiety but does not excuse her for not communicating with people. Or holding grudges over the littlest of things.

As for the main character, Aila, I liked her in the beginning but disliked her by the end. She seems very self involved & not a good friend. It was nice to get representation of a character who is bisexual & has anxiety, but it ended up falling flat.

Really this book is about mental health. Specifically dealing anxiety in work space, personal space, and relationships. The Phoenix storyline became bigger at later on. There was a lot of times that information was just dropped in massive amounts. The pacing felt off & that the book could have been 100 pages shorter. The plot twist I saw coming.

I would have loved to explore the character Luciana & Tanya more. They were highly interesting but we barely got anytime with them. I felt like they were under used.


Thank you NetGalley & Orbit for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

From the moment I saw that this book was coming months ago, I have stalked NetGalley. I yelped out loud when I got the email saying I had been approved, and for good reason. This book was everything I had hoped for and more. Being able to live at the zoo for magical creatures through the eyes of Aila was amazing. You’re rooting for her the whole time, through her social struggles and through her lifelong dream to breed phoenixes. This book made me laugh out loud several times, it made me cry, and it made me fall in love with the characters. We all deserve a Tanya in our lives, and I can absolutely empathize with Aila’s desire to hide with her animals. And we can’t forget Archie. One of my favorite characters. I am so grateful for the chance to read this absolutely adorable story and I can’t wait for it to come out so I can buy it for several of my friends.

The Phoenix Keeper is Aila, who has the job she’s been dreaming of since childhood. She’s the head phoenix keeper at the San Tamculo Zoo, . The fact that she’s better with animals than she is with people isn’t normally a big deal, but when there’s an opportunity after to revitalize the phoenix breeding program at Aila’s zoo, all eyes will be on her.

This is my perfect cozy fantasy. There are stakes here, huge stakes that Aila cares so much about, but they’re also very contained. She’s very passionate about the conservation work she does, but she’s also surrounded by other people, from her best friend Tanya to her college rival Luciana who are just as dedicated to their projects at the zoo. It’s a very personal story for these characters, made all the more enjoyable by the presence of territorial phoenixes and aging peacock griffins.

My one real gripe with this book is that I don’t really understand the macro level world-building. It’s an urban fantasy and I don’t see any good reason why it’s just not set in our world, but with magical creatures. I found the breaks with the illustrations of some of the featured creatures with quotes from fake articles to be very charming, but I don’t know whey we’re not just in California. My guess would be that it makes wildlife conservation an easier subject if we’re not grappling with anything too real, which is a shame to me. I found some of the most moving passages to be when MacLean was talking about how thankless of a job it can feel like, and the bittersweet fact that we have the chance to save threatened wildlife, but the only reason they need saving is because of human behavior.

It was beautiful to see how much Tanya and Teddy loved Aila and went out of their way to accommodate her so she felt happy and understood every moment she spent with them. Affectionately, I think the B-Plot of this story is Aila getting her head out of her ass and understanding that she’s not alone in the word. She’s able to flourish so well because of that soft place to land that she has with Tanya, and their friendship was my favorite part of the story.

I think this book’s release date is perfect. It’s my ideal summer read; low fantasy, high feelings and a romance subplot that had me making heart eyes. This book is also just so casually and delightfully queer I couldn’t stop smiling.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the eARC.

This book was unfortunately a really bad let down for me.

The story and premise and attempt was incredibly interesting, however the execution was so flawed.

Aila is , to be entirely frank, a teenager.. that’s how she read. That’s what this book should be, a YA story. Because her being an adult? Incomprehensible.

The romance was for all intents and purposes non-existent. The way this book is being marketed is a disservice to its contents and I think that’s potentially one of the reasons I’m let down. I went in expecting one thing and left having received not that.

The repeated “fake cussing” and internal monologue of Ailas was exhausting and the never ending weirdly timed references to have hot Luc was tore me out every single moment she was on page.

Mayhaps this just wasn’t the book for me, maybe it needs some heavy editing but either way this one’s not a fave and I’m quite sad about it.

The Phoenix Keeper is a captivating debut novel that seamlessly weaves magic, conservation, and queer romance into a heartwarming tale. Set in a modern world where magical creatures are endangered, the story follows Aila, an awkward yet determined zookeeper, as she navigates the challenges of protecting the critically endangered Silimalo Phoenix.

What sets this book apart is its rich cast of diverse characters and the slow-burn, queer romance that adds depth to the narrative. Aila's passion for the animals she cares for, especially the mischievous Archibird and Bix Phoenix, shines through, making her a relatable and endearing protagonist.

The author's attention to detail is commendable, with vivid descriptions bringing both the fantastical creatures and the everyday world to life. From enchanting details about magical feathers in paintings to the magnetic scales of caimans, the world-building is immersive and adds layers to the story.

Overall, The Phoenix Keeper is a delightful read that will appeal to fans of fantasy, conservation, and heartfelt storytelling. S.A. MacLean's debut promises a bright future for this emerging author, and I eagerly anticipate their future works. Highly recommended for lovers of magical realism and enchanting tales.

Thank you NetGalley for this free e-reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is the epitome of being curled up in a blanket with your favorite drink. Pure absolute fluff and happiness. I was so grumpy every time I had to put this book down and do adult things.
If I could I would live in a zoo but omg a MAGICAL ZOO full of magical creatures, sign me up. A cute and bumbling phoenix zookeeper, Aila, who needs to work with her nemesis, the griffin zookeeper, Luciana. The angst, the drama, the sappy-ass love story that I didn't realize I needed in my life until now. 10/10 would recommend

This is a cozy fantasy novel about Aila, a 28 year old zoologist, who works at the San Tamculo Zoo as a Silimalo Phoenix keeper. She fell in love with Silimalo Phoenix’s at the age of 8 and has wanted to be a zoo keeper ever since. Now, two decades later, she is trying to revive the Silimalo Phoenix breeding program at the zoo with her best friend Tanya. But she is distraught when she also needs help from her fellow zookeeper, and former college rival, Luciana.

I really love this book.I related to the main character, as we are both very anxious and can get so wrapped up in our own head that we forget about the world around us. The writing in this book was absolutely excellent as well. I loved how information that wasn’t needed for the plot was added into the story, providing the reader with more knowledge about the world and the other zoo animals throughout the book, it really made the world feel real. For example there was a detail about how there was a debate in the art world on whether painters should be allowed to have paint mixed with dragon feathers because the feathers would enchant the painting. Another time it was mentioned that caimans are common in jewelry stores and pawn shops because their scales are magnetic to gold but not other metals. Both of these details were not critical to the story at all, but by casually adding them in it really helped with the world building.I also was a fan of the detailed descriptions of the food throughout the book, I love food and there was a lot of unique food mentioned in this book.

This was an excellent story filled with brilliant characters and a very magical world. I cannot believe this is S.A. MacLean’s debut novel, as they will now be an auto-buy author going forward. I am very excited to see what other incredible stories they publish in the future.

That you to netgalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.