Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. This was a fun ride with a great, cozy atmosphere. Just a really fun and enjoyable read. I loved the queer aspect of it, although I wish we had gotten to see more of their relationship develop. It only started after the 50% point, which in my opinion was too long of a wait.
The worldbuilding was also lacking. There was an obvious background of a magical world with vibrant cultures, but I wish we had gotten more of that. As it was, this could have been set in the real-world with no changes (save for the addition of magical animals) and it would've made zero difference.
Other than that, I loved learning about all of the the magical animals. Aila's personal journey of learning to manage her anxiety while also becoming a less selfish person was very well-done, and I loved all of the characters. I really fun book!

i adored this cozy and whimsical fantasy! it was such a different type of read and made me excited to grab my book every day! i think the characters were lovable - and for someone who doesn't like birds, i couldn't help but adore how well they fit in the story. i am thrilled for SA Macleans debut and can't wait to see what comes next!

thank you netgalley for the arc!

The Phoenix Keeper has all the elements for a fantastic fantasy for me: fully developed characters with backstories, motivations, and complications; a gorgeous zoo filled with truly exotic and magical creatures; and a mystery that’s constantly scratching in the background, waiting to be solved while Aila works tirelessly to fulfill her dream of breeding phoenixes. There’s something magical about this story, and I didn’t even mind the romance so much, especially since it’s essentially crammed into the second half. But, telescoping out, this ended up having a lot of highs and lows for me, especially whenever Aila left the zoo for the day, because the magic didn’t seem like it was extended past the zoo gates.

Aila is the head phoenix keeper at the San Tamculo Zoo and has dreamed of breeding phoenixes since she was a young girl, but she only has a female phoenix because the zoo’s breeding program has been dead for a decade and her request for a male phoenix keeps getting denied. When the chicks and female phoenix at a neighboring zoo are stolen, Aila gets the opportunity to prove herself, but first she has to get the crumbling breeding facilities back into shape, and drudge up enough courage to ask the head of her sister exhibit to help because she and her friend Tanya can’t do everything themselves. Aila and Luciana have been rivals since their university days, and it doesn’t help that the head griffin keeper wants Aila’s phoenix for her griffin show, but they’ll have to work together to bring the phoenix breeding facilities back to life, and offer as much protection to any possible chicks to keep them from being stolen, too, which remains a danger as the thieves have yet to be caught.

I adore phoenixes, so I was excited to see a novel about them, as well as countless other magical creatures. I actually expected this to be more romance heavy and didn’t expect all the mystery, but I was delighted to see how well the two worked together, neither taking away from the other. Mostly, this was a story about introverted Aila coming into her own, finding her voice, and discovering there’s a whole world of people who won’t bite her. I really enjoyed watching her grow since she kept coming off as self-centered and naive, and it really started irritating me halfway through. Fortunately, she’s surrounded by some amazing people, and I adored her devotion to her animals.

The big thing, though, that kept me from really enjoying this was that this felt like an adult fantasy version of one of my favorite Nancy Drew books, The Wild Cat Crime. Granted, that one is about cougars being kidnapped and has Nancy interning with an investigative news team, but the mystery still tracks to an amazing degree. Once I figured out which book The Phoenix Keeper reminded me of, I found the rest of the novel predictable. I was hoping it wouldn’t turn out so, but, alas, if you’ve read The Wild Cat Crime, there’s a fair chance you can predict who the culprit is, which just made me want to knock even more sense into Aila.

From there, things kind of took a nosedive. I liked Aila, at first. But she was completely self-centered and flat out refused to think beyond what she thought was the right way to do things. Her world is extraordinarily narrow. I did like that she deals with anxiety, and that was a huge piece in her characterization, but I wish her therapist had played a bigger role in helping her think outside herself. It was almost excruciating watching her come to realizations and watching her hurt the people who cared about her. Tanya was absolutely a trooper, and I adored her and Teddy. Not only were Tanya and Teddy adorable together, but they really supported Aila in all the ways she needed to be while also maintaining themselves as individuals with needs, but it could not have been easy at all for Tanya. I liked that I could relate to Aila and her fear of public speaking, of her insistence on being able to do things on her own, and her overall introvertedness. I wasn’t as much a fan of how long it took her to figure out the world did not revolve around her. I don’t live with anxiety, so I can’t say if this happens to come with that, but it just struck me as self-absorbed behavior, which often made it difficult for me to feel sorry for Aila and her challenges.

Aila’s romances, too, didn’t quite hit right for me. Her crush on Connor always struck me as wrong. I didn’t like them together, and I grew frustrated with Aila’s inability to really reason through it, which would have made a lot of things in this novel a whole lot smoother, though it would have also taken away a huge chunk of the story, so I grudgingly dealt with it. Her romance with Luciana, though, was always going to be beautiful. I loved that Luciana was given so much depth and complexity. Their relationship, from beginning to end, was so lovely and flawed and perfect. I loved their thorns, and I loved their softness, and I especially loved how they never lost themselves in each other. They were perfect and I loved them. I loved just how human they and every other character were, with strengths and weaknesses and so many flaws.

I adored the zoo. I loved that it houses so many magical creatures, and I loved that there was a good reason why many of them were there. I loved that the keepers loved their creatures, and I loved that the zoo focused on preservation. I absolutely loved Aila’s archibird, who just had such an amazing and fun personality, which was really fun since the phoenix female Rubra didn’t actually seem to have much personality. I loved that all the creatures were given such fun personalities and often came across as just big pets with a magical streak. What didn’t work so well was stepping outside of the zoo. I understand the author comes from Southern California, and I happen to live in Southern California, and I could not shake the feeling that I was in Southern California whenever Aila stepped outside of the zoo. Once I started feeling that way, I couldn’t help but feel like the San Tamculo Zoo was just like the LA Zoo. Even the food felt very Southern Californian. I was sorely disappointed there wasn’t any magic woven into life outside of the zoo. I would have loved to see some glimmers, at the very least, perhaps even a street performer who presents not a monkey but a magical creature that isn’t endangered. Sadly, the magic felt confined to the zoo and it seemed absolutely no one is allowed to have access to any of it.

The Phoenix Keeper certainly presents a lovely romance and a fun mystery in a very magical and enchanting zoo. But it reminded me too much of both my favorite Nancy Drew book and my own backyard, and it made me feel like I was missing all the magic. That said, I did love the characters, even Aila. I loved all the depth and complexity given to them and that they were given so much room to grow and develop. They were absolute highlights, and the creatures were adorable and fun and I wish my local zoo would house some magical creatures.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Exuding charm, this fantasy tale captivated me—a reader typically drawn to darker narratives. What sets this book apart is its engaging storyline and, notably, its intricately crafted characters. Each character is flawed in relatable ways, exhibiting motivations and emotions that resonate deeply with me.

I highly recommend this book to those seeking a whimsical yet profound read, as it strikes a delightful balance between fantasy and depth.

I really wanted to like this book. I love a good cozy fantasy, especially those with queer main characters. However, this just wasn't for me. I decided to DNF at about 45%. The story was too slow moving for my tastes. It was overly descriptive with scientific names for plants and animals, while simultaneously, not being very pictorially descriptive of how things appear without knowing specific terminology. This would have been fine on it's own, but the plot itself seemed very slow and the character development was nearly non-existent. As someone with anxiety, I found myself at first excited and connecting with the main character, yet as the story progressed it seemed as though the main character was of a much younger age than described and with that disconnect it ended up being more frustrating at times than anything after little to no development as the story progressed. I wasn't super invested in any of the romantic relationships by this point in the story and interactions with love interests came off very surface level and juvenile to me unfortunately. Lastly, while I think cozy fantasy has the ability to confront a lot of topics and think it should, anxiety included, so much of the story I read so far was told from an overwhelmed anxious POV. This is fine but to me taking out some of that stability and mood in the story removes it a bit from the cozy vibe. I think maybe this story could have benefited from a third person narration style.

Overall I think the story basis was interesting and had potential but wasn't really fond of the execution.

Thank you Netgally and Orbit for access to this arc.

Originally I stopped reading this book fairly early and indicated that I would not be doing a review. But after reading all the glowing reviews I decided to give it another go. Skies and Seas that was a mistake. What should have been a lovely story about an introverted (and I'm an introvert so I usually like these characters) young woman working in a zook with magical creatures (!) turned out to be both overwritten and boring. Skies and Seas Aila is annoying and reads more as a whiny teenager than a twenty eight year old woman. She's also not a very good friend. I know this is probably my age showing but there are so many times I wanted to firmly tell her to do her job. I made it further this try but yes, DNF is the right choice for me.

a cute low fantasy romcom that could've had more of romance IMO

this book follows aila, a zookeeper who works with the phoenixes and is pushing for a breeding program at her zoo. aila is a very relatable main character; her struggles with social anxiety and her love for her work is felt through the pages and i admire her for her devotion to the phoenixes. however, sometimes i found her irritating like girl you're 28 c'mon now. like i think she definitely could have treated tanya better.

also this book is marketed as a romcom but i'm gonna be real here now there is barely any romance with the character (luciana) marketed in the blurb. i was waiting for the romance while reading and it just didn't come for like half of the book which is underwhelming. there was some romance with a male character, but i was waiting for my rivals-to-lovers romcom and it barely came.

at its core, this is a cozy romantasy story that i believe would have been better if it was more marketed on aila's personal growth and her workplace journey instead of a romance. if you like cozy stories or low-stakes fantasy, i would recommend this with you.

thank you to netgalley and orbit for this book.

plot-wise, this leans closer to contemporary fiction. an animal nerd with social anxiety having her dream job: working at a zoo. except the zoo is filled with mystical magical beasts like phoenixes, kelpies, griffin, dragons, etc. reminded me of The Natural History of Dragons because it's really nerdy. wasn't hooked until I reached 50% mark. the romance was verry slow burn, and the last 4 chapters (not including the epilogue) got my heart racing at the end of my seat because PHEW that was intense!

i just wish there's more illustrations of the beasts, each one of the species, because that would be extra wonderful.

WOW! I felt as though I was transported into my childhood zoo tycoon 2 game but with a fantasy twist. This was such a cozy read and I loved the endangered spices aspect to it. The writing was captivating and it was very focused on the characters. It did take awhile to get to the plot, but even so, it was a wonderful read!

4.25

What an unbelievably charming book this was, one which felt like it was written purely for my inner child who dreamed of becoming a zoologist and preferred to spend time reading about animals or taking care of animals rather than be forced to be in the presence of strangers who prized pleasantries for hours on end over anything that might have threatened to hold some substance of depth.

It wasn't until junior high that I started to even recognize what a social battery was and how to strengthen that battery so that I could count the number of friends I had with more fingers than I had on one hand for once. I feel that many of us kids who feel we have to learn to play by social rules all feel as though we are giving up a piece of who we are. This book was a ballad to this feeling, the constant struggle of suffering a string of over-anxious thoughts when you walk into a room and feel all eyes on you, and wishing that you could escape to a place where you are accepted. This book blends that very real essence of what it means to be a human in a world of urban fantasy that was just such a joy to read about. The nerdiness level was enough to light up all the dopamine centres in my brain in the way this author created such extensive backgrounds for all of the fantasy creatures that she wrote into her book. This was truly a work of passion and I was unbelievable happy to have received an ARC from Net Gallery and the author for an honest review.

I just suppose that my only deduction was for a plot twist being arguably a little too on-the-nose seeing as I saw it coming even as I was reading only chapter 3 and when I got to the end of the book... I was right. It did not take away however from the charm and loving thought that went into writing a story with strong female friendships and an incredible character arc of growth!

This book was cozy and also cute. I loved the LGBTQ+ rep and also the anxiety rep. I think my only criticism is it was hard for me to believe the fmc was in her late twenties, she seemed to me to have a lack of social maturity which had a feel of her being in her late teens/early twenties, besides that I thought it was a great cozy book with medium stakes. Definitely recommend!

Thank you Netgalley for the Arc!

S.A. MacLean is a new author, which is always scary for both the author and the reader. New authors usually need a few books to really get their feet under them and start producing good books. But MacLean has crafted a solid story for their first offering.

Aila is a great character. I really connected to her introverted personality. I totally understand her need to recharge and her preferring animals to people. But I also greatly admire her commitment to her dreams and her passion for those she loves. I think she’s the perfect heroine for now. This is a time when people are feeling increasingly overwhelmed by expectations but still want to make a difference in the world, just like Aila. I think that a lot of people out there will connect with her, let’s just not all try to tell her at once, it’ll be too much for her!

Full review here: https://thecosmiccircus.com/book-review-the-phoenix-keeper-by-s-a-maclean/

Yes!! Do you ever read slower just because you don't want a book to end? That was this book for me. It is a perfection of magical zoo creatures, accurate zookeeping descriptions, and sweet friendships and romance. Even the animals in this book have their own personalities that are just as amazing as the human characters. The mischievous Archie, a bird with a fondness for all things shiny and spit stronger than superglue, is one of my favorites!

Aila is a head phoenix zookeeper who has dreamed her entire life of working with this critically endangered species, and helping with their conservation. However, she only has a female firebird in her care and her requests for a male to further the breeding program keep getting denied. In a nearby zoo a clutch of newly hatched phoenixes are stolen. To revamp her facility and upgrade all their security to potentially secure a male phoenix she needs help from her coworkers, including her archnemesis and head of the griffin show, Luciana. Throw in some unicorns, dragons, and kelpies and it's hard to put this book down.

The passion that Aila has for her animals is so relatable as a former zookeeper. It's that passion that makes the long days and hard work worth it, knowing that you are helping others connect to these animals and contributing to the survival of species. There's also a lot of depth with her shyness and social anxiety about public speaking. Zookeeping is a field that tends to draw introverts and empaths, and yet you still have to interact with the public throughout the day. The growth Aila makes during the book is fun to be a part of, and I really enjoyed her starting to branch out more.

I cannot recommend this book more, especially if you are a fan of creatures with fun abilities or have an interest in seeing a fairly realistic behind-the-scenes zoo setting. If you enjoyed "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" definitely give this a read! This was an incredible novel by SA MacLean and I will be impatiently waiting for more (please continue this series!). Also, the cover artwork is gorgeous! I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley for my opinions.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5!

This is a difficult review to write, because I think the Aila is a deeply frustrating character to be in the head of, and I did not always love the writing (particularly the dialogue, but that’s honestly neither here nor there). But it absolutely delivers on its premise and I loved the description of animals and the world building in general, and it wrung so many emotions out of me I was genuinely so stressed at times.

I interned at a zoo when I was in college, and while I was not a keeper, I really resonated with the way the exhibits were described and Aila’s general passion for the animals and conservation. The prospect of hatchlings being stolen made me feel like I was going to get an ulcer. While I saw most of the plot points and plot twists coming, their delivery still got to me and while I think it could’ve been a little shorter, I still appreciated the level of detail that went into making the reader feel like they were at the San Tamculo Zoo. I thought the romance subplot (and I do mean subplot) was well done and I really liked it as a person who generally gravitates towards slow burn. It felt realistic, especially for the two characters involved. For what it’s worth, this is definitely a cozy fantasy, though I maybe did not personally feel it was cozy due to the aforementioned zoo internship. I was stressed!! I thought my heart was living in my stomach!!!! But like. Yes. It has the trappings of a cozy fantasy, and so I’m also surprised that I had such strong feelings on it, because usually I feel pretty whatever about cozies.

In any case, MacLean’s debut made me feel a lot of things, and while I don’t think I love it I am still, against many odds, very fond of it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the Audio ARC!

I can say with confidence that The Phoenix Keeper has become one of my favorite cozy fantasies. A female main character with anxiety, stage fright, intelligence, and is highly self-motivated?? Sign me up, I resemble this remark! And a magical zoo....I never knew I needed this book but boy howdy did I.

I laughed, I cried, I squealed, I sighed, I hated the poachers and loved the mischievous birds. I loved every second of this story and the characters and the setting and I left feeling like I had a warm hug and I really, really wish this zoo was real.

For a cozy fantasy, I loved the soft elements of course...how tender the relationship between Tanya and Aila is and how warm I felt thinking about Aila's pride in her phoenixes.....but I'd be lying if I said one of my favorite parts wasn't the bite of the romance. The banter (before and after getting together), the spicy thoughts of the meek and anxious FMC.....it was the perfect balance the rest of the cozy and it was SWOON worthy for sure.

Seriously I have no notes, this was exactly what I wanted and I sorta wanna start over and read it again right now....I can't recommend this highly enough!

What's there not to love about this cozy fantasy? It has a magical zoo of endangered mystical creatures. This book caught my attention the moment I read the summary. And bonus there's even a romantic element to the story. (Swoon!) The characters are well written and the story flows nicely. I believe this is a debute novel by this author. I look forward to future books. Thank you netgalley for sharing this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I read both the physical version and the audiobook version. I thought the audio was very well done. The narrator really brought the world to life. I loved the physical version as well (I got the Illumicrate editions with beautiful artwork). I think this story would have done well as an anime-- there are such good visual descriptions of the different magical animals. It was so colorful, I could imagine it would be so beautiful to see it in an animated version.

This is a cozy, fantasy story. The stakes are low (we are saving endangered species not the world). Though our main character would say the stakes are very high! It took me a bit to get into (maybe 20%) but once things started happening with the phoenixes I was hooked. It was such a cute, wholesome story. Hearing about the different magical creatures was a delight. And it was fun seeing Aila grow into her roll as phoenix keeper. I loved seeing her grow more attached to the humans at the zoo, not just the animals. I has to re-read the blurb. I feel that the marketing bills this as a romance and the romance is very much just in the background. So if you go in expecting a love story, don't.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing an eARC of this book.

A cozy sapphic fantasy romance about a phoenix keeper and her archnemesis, the griffin keeper who have to work together to save their zoo. Aila is the head phoenix keeper at a world-renowned zoo for magical creatures. She is determined to make the phoenix a success and to get her zoo's breeding program up and starting again. But when a phoenix heist sabotages the chance for a neighboring zoo to partake in the breeding program, Aila is determined to do whatever it takes to make it work.... but thatn means turning to hthe one person she doesn't want to for help, the hotshot griffin keeper and arch-rival from college, Luciana. Aila and Luciana have a history and just can't seem to cooperate with one another. Yet Luciana is the one person that would be able to help Aila. Aila has to overcome her anxieties and insecurities while dealing with her feelings for Luciana and the poachers who are coming after her phoenixes. This was a really cozy read and definitely felt a bit dragged on. I felt like the book could have been cut down a bit more and it would have been great. I liked the zoo atmosphere and the magical creatures were great. I just felt like the romance and plot were kind of buried underneath all the cozy vibes. It's not a bad book at all, but it's just a really okay book. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who wants a cozy queer slow romance.

Release Date: August 13,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Orbit Books | Orbit for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I loved the characters in this story. I also like that this book wasn't about heavy trauma and murder and heists. It was just a fantasy story about a woman and her birds. I wasn't expecting such cozy vibes, but I did enjoy them. I will say, and this is absolutely just a me thing, but god damn I really hate zoos in my books. I don't know what it is, lol. Add that to the list, I guess (no zoos, no pregnancy, no child/animal companions, etc. lmao). But yeah, I really liked this. It was fun, pretty light and well written!

Cute book. I liked the blend of realism with fantasy. What's not to love about mythical creatures in a zoo? Conservation of mythical beings? Fab.