“The Phoenix Keeper,” by S. A. MacLean

This was a really good book. I loved the entire concept. It is a slice of life for MC who works at a zoo full of magical creatures and her trying to fulfill her dream of breeding Phoenix’s. She fights her internal thoughts and fears of failure and trusting other people. The entire book was very cozy and cute with great character development. 4 out of 5 stars.

-Magical Zoo
-Mythical Creatures
-Slice of Life

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

I went on a fantatstic journey while reading The Phoenix Keeper by S. A. MacLean. This author's beautiful writing reawoken my love for mythical and crytpozoological creatures. The enemies to lover romance was icing on the cake. Overwhelmingly enjoyed.

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Overall, I enjoyed many elements of this book. I especially enjoyed entering the universe that was similar enough to my own. that there weren’t paragraphs and paragraphs of world building, but it also had a fun, fantastical twist on adding fantasy creatures and a zoo. I do think the names of all of the locations were too complex and I often didn’t like reading them. I also didn’t enjoy how sporadic the descriptions were of each area. There were neither complex enough or simplified enough to give good, understandable context.

I did joy the main character, but she did lack depth to me. I felt there were a lot of surface level interactions between her and her social anxiety. A a lot of times descriptions to me almost felt defensively humorous? She would be walking and she would think something like “Oh here comes the knee wobble” but I think the perspective of the fear/anxiety on a very real and down to earth description would’ve made the issue (and one of her dominating personality traits) more lifelike and conveyed. A darker description, for lack of better words, to really make us feel what she was feeling.

I understand that her main, and perhaps only, interest in life is animals, and I strongly feel a similar passion, but having other areas in life that we could’ve learned about her, gives her a deeper and more real connection to the character. Seeing *more* of her is what I wish we would’ve had. Other angles of her.

This is definitely more of a cozy fantasy than a romance. There is so little romance until the end. I don’t have a problem with her being bisexual but it definitely threw me for a loop when I thought I knew the love interest from the first couple chapters. Typically romances are so predictable (not a bad thing) and so I was already forcing a connection to Connor. I also struggled to like Luc because I really hated her in the beginning - mostly because the two main characters (including Tanya here) hated her so passionately.

I loved the book on its own without any of the romance taking a highlighted role. I loved the mystery and passion for interesting animals and I loved a unique character with a huge ‘flaw’.

This review is part of a free Netgalley reading program.

Who doesn't love zoos? The ethical ones at least. The only thing better? Magical creatures. Hence, why I thought this book was just a delight. It was fun, engaging, and unique in a way that I loved.

Rating: 4.5/5 This was such a cute, cozy read. But don’t get me wrong, the excitement in the last third of the story was incredible, and had me up all night reading.

I immediately connected to Aila, because we have a lot in common when it comes to social anxiety. As time went on, I did find her a little unbearable—she was extra whiny at times and unable to see reason. However, she experienced some tough life lessons and good growth across the story as a whole, and I found her redeeming herself. The only part that might have been too predictable was the, for the sake of avoiding spoilers, “enemies to lovers” fulfillment. It almost rounded out the story too much for me, in a cheesy sort of way. But then again, I suppose love is like that sometimes!

While the climax was predictable, the way it was handled and the twists and turns along the way were great. I stayed up most of the night devouring page after page dying to see how it was resolved.

Overall, a very cute story with very “high” low stakes for a cozy fantasy/romantasy.

If you are looking for a wonderfully cozy romantic story set in a zoo filled to the brim with magical animals (and all the mishaps that such creatures can bring!), pick up The Phoenix Keeper!

Rating: 5/5 ⭐️
Release Date: August 13 2024
Vibes:
🪶 Cozy, comfy, feel good
🔥 Relatable anxiety
🪶 LGBTQIA rep!
🔥 Zookeeping of magical fauna
🪶 Enemies to lovers


I want to start this with a huge congratulations to our author, S. A. MacLean, for this debut novel! The Phoenix Keeper is a seriously delightful ride. We see our protagonist, Aila, grow from a frantic, anxiety-filled phoenix keeper who can't stand talking to zoo patrons all the way to a still anxiety-filled phoenix keeper with a life full of many multitudes of happiness.

The setting is the San Tamculo Zoo, were we neet our cast of zookeepers including Aila and Tanya, best friends and phoenix keepers. Sister to their exhibit is the griffin show, led my Luciana. Luc is everything opposite of Aila: the prize entertainer with seemingless endless social skills (and fantastic mango-scented hair). We are introduced to different sets of magical species (kelpies, dragons, unicorns, oh my!) and their keepers.

Everything is perfectly normal at the zoo, until Silimalo phoenix chicks are snatched from the Jewelport Zoo in a magical animal smuggling ring. Now without a female Silimalo phoenix to breed, there is a gap in this endangered species needs.

In comes Aila with her proposal for the transfer of Jewelport's male phoenix to San Tamculo, where Aila lovingly keeps Rubra.

Over the course of the story, we see Aila struggle with self doubt, endless "what-if's", and the worries that come with dating. Aila and Tanya have the kind of friendship that is genuine through and through. filled with a BFF-Boyfriend contract and plenty of silliness.

This truly is a gentle fantasy, easy enough for anyone to slip right into and fall in love not only with the characters (well, not ALL the characters...) but also the diverse animals we get to see in all their cunning glory!

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘹 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

The Phoenix Keeper has easily become one of my new favorite books and is one I absolutely could not get enough of. I may or may not still be harboring hopes to work at a zoo one day (and made me feel slightly jealous of Aila's job!), so this book pretty much felt like a love letter to zoos and my desire to be a part of taking care of so many different animals and making sure they are happy and healthy, and even helping those who are slowly inching towards extinction (something that seems to be happening more often these days).

The Phoenix Keeper follows Aila, a phoenix keeper at the San Tamulco Zoo, a zoo for magical creatures. The Silimalo phoenix population has been slowly dying out, and Aila wants nothing more than to be a part of the breeding programs to help recover their decreasing population. When a neighboring facility's newly hatched batch of phoenixes are stolen, Aila has to prove that her facility is prepared to take on the challenge and bring more phoenixes into the world.

Aila is incredibly passionate about phoenixes and probably knows more than almost anyone else about them. I found Aila's passion and love for her animals contagious, and it made me smile many times throughout this book. She also deals with some intense anxiety that impacts her daily life working at the zoo. Working with animals and making sure they have the best care ever and everything they could ever want? No sweat. Talking to visitors of the zoo, her rival, or her crush? Forget it. I really liked how MacLean portrayed Aila's anxiety in a way that felt realistic, didn't romanticize it, and showed the real life implications of how it can affect someone's life.

We also meet Tanya, Aila's best friend and coworker, as well as Aila's crush and one of her arch rivals (also both coworkers, though in different areas). I loved Tanya and thought she acted as a perfect foil to Aila as someone who is not afraid to speak her mind and is always there to assist Aila with whatever she needs. I think Tanya is far too supportive of Aila at times than Aila sometimes deserved, but that's very much a part of her loyalty and friendship with Aila, and there was resolution on this topic that I thought was handled really well. The romance has some interesting twists in this book and does take on a fairly large role in the story, but I would say it never really fully overtakes the larger overarching plot surrounding the phoenixes.

I would be remiss to not mention the magical creatures in this book, as they are the main event and truly the highlight of the whole book. MacLean did a truly incredibly job of bringing all of the magical creatures to life in such detail that I genuinely could've believed these were real animals–and there were so many creative magical creatures in this book that I couldn't help but feel captivated by this idea of being in a zoo so full of magic and wonder. I couldn't help but fall in love with all of them and feel a desperate wish that this were a real zoo. We are treated to so many descriptions of the different animals, their needs, how to care for them, the exhibits they inhabit, and so much more and I appreciated how much realism this brought to the story. Some may not appreciate so much detail, but it's something I personally was fascinated by. Archie in particular is a bird of chaos who will steal your heart, and of course the resident Silimalo phoenix Rubra is a delight to get to know through Aila.

I previously mentioned Aila's anxiety, and I just wanted to touch on that again because of how well I think MacLean handled it. She showcases it as something that really impacts the lives of those who struggle with anxiety and how those who struggle with it learn to manage with it. It showed the real impact intense anxiety can have on relationships, friendships, careers, and all aspects of life. There are also no quick fixes, which she exemplifies through Aila's slow but gradual growth over the course of the novel and her slow build up of confidence and skills to better manage her anxiety. This all resonated a lot with me as someone who also struggles with anxiety.

The Phoenix Keeper is not a fast-paced or action-packed book (mostly) and is told at a slower, steady pace. I can certainly see how some people could be a bit bored by some of this book if they are looking for something more fast-paced, but I love books like this that have a bit of a slice-of-life feel so had no issues at all and was in fact hooked on this and could barely put it down. It also has some 'cozy' vibes to it that I think will be really popular right now. MacLean's writing really lets you get into Aila's head and understand a variety of aspects to being a zookeeper. It's a lower stakes books overall, but I would also argue it as being a high stakes book for those of us who are also passionate about animals.

Overall, I've given The Phoenix Keeper five stars! MacLean captured an extreme love and passion for animals and animal care in this book and it showed on every page, and is also likely a huge part of what drew me to this book so much. She also mentioned in an author's note that she grew up visiting the San Diego Safari Park (or Wild Animal Park, as I recall it), and I loved connecting over this since that is also a place that holds a special place in my heart. I don't believe this has a sequel planned, but I would absolutely read a sequel of this book if offered.

Realistically a 3.5

Tik Tok link for my review: https://www.tiktok.com/@austinpowersb...

This was a pleasant surprise. I truly did not think I would enjoy this cozy/romance fantasy as much as I did.

Typically these types of books make me roll my eyes a lot and make me cringe, but this didn't have that effect on me much. I did have some issues but overall for a genre I don't typically enjoy, Im impressed.

S.A. MacLean really came out swinging in her debut novel The Phoenix Keeper. Aila has her childhood dream job as the head phoenix keeper at a world renowned zoo for magical creatures. Lets jump into what I didnt enjoy first.

Bad: Starting with some quotes. Maybe spoilers? I'm not sure.

"Who doesn't use auto payments this day and age?" Poor people? I am not sure I should take this cringey line so literal but for some reason this really bothered me.
"If this were a real army she would have been written up for insubordination...Aila let it slide." WHY.

My main issue with this novel was the fact the author felt she needed to hold my hand through it. I need an author to trust me more to be able to understand and connect the dots on tiny/mid grade events or happenings. We can also draw our own conclusions.

The ending was extremely predictable. I will say I was rooting for this to be gay and was so happy when it went that way.

I will say right now the FMC Aila is truly unbearable at times. She holds a grudge against the enemy in this story because she laughed at her one time in college and didn't show up to help her on a group project and requested to be put on another group....without finding out why. Just decided that was enough to make an enemy on someone. She is very self centered and so over the top when it comes to being social. She doesn't think anybody else could possibly be going through anything rough or bad because she has it worse or she is actually happy. It's very frustrating.

Finally this is a magical zoo. But i barely know the creatures there, the phoenix I of course know must about but i wanted more of the others areas and animals.

Good: That was a lot of bad but I think the good out weighs it.

I think the romance was handled properly in this story. I usually hate romance in my fantasy books but this was done right. Finding yourself and realizing what you want/need. I'll be honest, the other characters are done well and are really enjoyable. Even Connor who sometimes can be one dimensional but I still thinks is strong.

The creatures are so fascinating. I could picture every scene that included an animal because the details we did get were great.

Luciana stole the show. She is a badass awesome character. While she is quite stereotypical for these kinds of books I think she is just done really well that I can ignore it.

I absolutely flew through the audiobook cause the narration was done really well.

I would recommend.

I am absolutely excited about this book! I was given the advance copy and it is totally wonderful. The artwork is stunning. The storyline is unique. I will be getting my own copy I am just waiting for a special edition that I like.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing an ARC for review.

This book was so cute! There were parts that made me laugh out loud, and certain parts of the book were so heartwarming that they made my eyes well up. The story focuses on the importance of animal conservation and the joy of the natural world, while also discussing self-acceptance, personal growth, and love. It was so warm and sweet.

I will say the beginning 100 pages were more challenging to get through. This portion of the book spent an agonizing amount of time focusing on Aila’s social anxiety, and included many anecdotes that reflected the author’s own struggles. However, it felt like the book was more of a psychological profile than a fantasy story for a good chunk in the beginning which made the pacing tank. It was also hard watching Aila get in her own way over and over in the beginning. Combined with the slow initial pacing, I found her character grating and immature until the plot progressed enough to start to show her growth.

However the rest of the book makes up for this, and it ultimately was very sweet. Really enjoyed this!

I loved the concept of this book -- it's got lush worldbuilding and a unique premise. The writing is well-crafted and visual, and what a great cover!

THE PHOENIX KEEPER is about introvert Aila, head phoenix keeper at a world-renowned zoo for magical creatures. Since childhood, she's dreamt of conserving critically endangered firebirds. When a tragic phoenix heist brings the flagship breeding initiative to her own zoo, she must bring its derelict, non-functioning program back to life, with the help of fellow zookeepers (including overconfident, beautiful Luciana).

Set in this magical zoo teeming with mythical beasts, THE PHOENIX KEEPER is a cozy fantasy with a tender queer romance at its heart. Aila's journey is beautiful and touching, and it's easy to want to jump right into this magical world.

This book started off strong and I was drawn in by the rich wordbuilding and one-of-a-kind premise. But it quickly became hard for me to get through. It was nearly 500 pages and I think it could have been much tighter to make it more captivating and readable. Especially when we get to the twist (which you can see from a mile away), the story needed a more plot-focused structure to keep us engaged.

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

*Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to Hachette Audio for the gifted ALC*

What a cozy delight of a book! We've got magical animals, sapphic rivals-to-lovers, poachers, and more. I really enjoyed the discussion of conservation of magical animals, since clearly that's also the case in our world. As someone with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, it's so easy to get wrapped up in ones head and forget about everyone else's problems. Aila demonstrates all of this, but grows as a character and a friend as she gains confidence and goes after her dream of saving phoenixes from extinction, but her anxiety often hinders her. Luciana forces her out of her comfort zone, inspires her to challenge herself, and ultimately becomes a true partner.

We get to meet a number of creatures throughout, each with their own powers and quirky personalities. Archie was one of my favorites for sure! I'd recommend this to fans of Legends & Lattes or anyone who wants a sneak peek at what working at a zoo is like.

Absolute joy from start to finish. Phoenixes have always been one of my favorite magical animals and zoos are another of my favorite things. This was perfect combination of the two in a cozy fantasy, with a cute romance and appropriate level stakes.
Thank you so much to Orbit Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed this read. The MC could be a bit much even with her anxiety, as it could only be used to excuse certain things and not others. I loved her dedication to her animals and the conservation efforts of her workplace. Her friendship with Tanya was great to read, although at tines with how much Tanya did for Aila, it could feel a bit one-sided. The development of the romance between Aila and Luciana did not work for me.

My first gripe with this book is how predictable it was. Since the beginning and the introductions of certain characters I already knew excatly how the story would play out. That is to say how the book follows every cliche possible and it doesn't even do it in an interesting way.

My other problem is the main character. I understand she has social anxiety and she is an introvert. But that doesn't excuse how immature and petty she is; she keeps a grudge about someone else for years due to a missunderstanding in college? She was 28, acting as if she was a teenager. She is just so judgmental about everyone that doesn't ally with her exact thinking and doesn't act how she wants them to act. And the author wrote her sometimes as someone really self-centered; she thinks everything is about her (she even can't comprehend how someone she broke up with isn't chasing after the break-up; those scenes were bizarre). And why did I have to read about her iddy biddy arms every two sentences??? Every time she had to carry something - even paper - she had to mention how meek her arms were and how powerful and mighty other people's arms were.

Aside from that, the book was boring. I thought the animals were cute and I thought there was potential in the story with Luciana and Tanya. But unfortunately we got Aila.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

I've tried finishing this book 3 times now and just couldn't. I'm only about 20% in, and I've tried to push through, but can't anymore. I find the story fascinating and really, really wanted to love this book. It sounded right up my alley, a magical zoo, queer romance, enemies to lovers, like yes please. But I'm just...bored. I hate admitting that. I hope my inability to read this is that this is a pretty busy time in my life right now (changing jobs, moving to a new state that I've never lived in). Maybe if I put the book down now, I can come back to it later and truly enjoy and bask in this wonderful world and story that S.A. MacLean has created.

The Phoenix Keeper is by far one of the best fantasy novels of the year and is a top contender of all time for me. From Its diverse representation to its incredibly vivid imagery of mystical creatures that expand and engross the mind, this book keeps you wanting for more at every turn. My only problem with this book is that there is not more of it to binge. I wish this book was the beginning of a series as I'm left wanting more.

The unique menagerie of animals in this book will entrance you from start to finish. From the Kelpie of Scottish legend and unicorns to the star of the book the Silomalo phoenix there is no shortage of excitement to go around.

As someone with severe anxiety, I connected with Aila on a deeper level and felt seen and represented in literature in a way that I have not in a very long time. S. A. MacLean conveys the day to day struggles in the most genuine way possible. I can not thank her enough for writing this incredible book and sharing it with the world so that others like myself could benefit from it.

thanks to netgalley for providing me an e-copy of this book!

everyone has their thing, and aila's thing is her birds, phoenixes to be exact. this is such a unique setting for a book, in a world where zoos work to preserve endangered magical creatures. this is soooo cozy and one of the slowest burns i've read in a while. almost too slow burn if you ask me but the second half of the book was so good that i was able to get past it. luciana is my favorite character, would've loved to see more of her and her griffins.

4.5 stars This book was a wonderful change from epic fantasy and puts one in a world where the mythical are just another everyday occurrence. The story takes place in a zoo with mythical creatures and shows how a zookeeper should take care of these creatures if we had zoo’s such as these in real life. The struggles they face and how they have to go out of their way to start programs that have stopped. I loved this story and hope to find something like this again someday.

4 - very cute and actually enjoyable sapphic fantasy romance. low ish stakes

Overall, I feel positively about this. I think the central romance was compelling and I loved the zoo setting. I don’t think the romance needed to start as enemies because the miscommunication wasn’t very satisfying, but I do like how the relationship built after that was resolved.

I disliked how obvious the main conflict was (I don’t love seeing it coming when the MC is oblivious). It felt pretty obvious and a bit contrived because you’d think if there were poaching they would be monitoring the people with access a bit better? So the main plot I found a bit underwhelming

One moment I really liked was the situation with the MC being a bad friend that was acknowledged and remediated, whereas I feel like we often get MCs who just take their friends for granted the whole time. I also liked how our MC realized that one of her relationships was not fulfilling and ended it, rather than being in denial.