I really enjoyed The Beast Keepers.
It was a fun and cosy magical read that I finished quick as I was struggling to put the book down.
It was well written and had some good characters, especially all the animals! I really loved them!

I definitely recommend this book!
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m sorry to say that I didn’t click with Beast Keepers the way I hoped to. It’s not that the book wasn’t written well - but it seems to be a case of incorrect labeling. What was billed as a whimsical cozy fantasy about a veterinarian learning about magical creatures turned into a depressing book about loss with a heavy handed Christianity subtext.

Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op & Boyle & Dalton for the gifted copy.

The Beast Keepers is a fantasy novel that follows the adventures of Jonathan F. St. Roche, a young veterinarian who moves to a small town in Ohio and discovers that it is home to a variety of mythical creatures. He becomes their trusted doctor and friend, and has to deal with the challenges and dangers of living in a secret world of magic and wonder.

The book has an interesting premise and a lot of potential, but it also has some flaws that prevent it from being a great read. The author does a good job of creating a diverse and colorful cast of characters, both human and non-human, and giving them distinct personalities and quirks. The descriptions of the creatures and their habitats are vivid and imaginative, and the book has some humorous and heartwarming moments.

However, the book also suffers from some problems with pacing, plot, and writing style. The story is slow to start and takes too long to introduce the main conflict and antagonist. The plot is predictable and lacks tension and suspense, especially in the climax and resolution. The writing style is simple and straightforward, but also bland and somehow difficult to follow when switching between POVs.

Thank you NetGalley for the eArc copy of this book.

This one was wild. Seriously wild. I love mythical creatures and this one was super cute read. I don't know what I was expecting, but this wasn't it. It was a surprise, but totally in a good way.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced copy of The Beast Keepers by Julie Fudge Smith. It was a good read with some memorable characters.

I made it about 80% through and had to stop because I was too bored to continue. I was so hopeful for The Beast Keepers when I saw it was described on a booktok as a "feel good J.K. Rowling alternative", but it did not feel like that at all. The time skips are difficult to follow as a lot happens and there were character names that kept being brought up in the background I felt I should know and realized they were introduced at the very very beginning. This just had a whole lot going on, but was dull. The only time I felt interest was when we got the talking dog, and even that became boring.

Jon was a creep.

Thank you Netgalley and Victory Publishing for the ARC. I'm sure there is an audience somewhere for this.

⭐ 4,25 out of 5 stars
Thank you to Victory Editing and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

✒️
Jonathan F. St. Roche is tired of his vet job in the equestrian world, so when a job offer pops up in rural Ohio, he takes the chance for a change of pace and life. It is, however, not an ordinary vet clinic Jonathan ends up at, but instead a safe haven for mythological creatures, whom end up as his clients. Being the medical aid for mythological creatures isn't always easy, and when a basilisk threatens their quiet existence it's hard to decide between the life of a creature and the safety of the community.

📖
I really enjoyed this story of found family and community. I loved the premise of magical creatures living as a guarded secret in the small town community, where they of course need the help of a vet, when they have different health problems. While this is the main premise of the story, it was also nice to have the larger picture of the small town community and what was happening outside the vet practice to help some of the story along and get some understanding for the general atmosphere. There will also always be bonus points for A TALKING DOG!!

While I enjoyed this book, it honestly also felt a little choppy at times with the time skips happening relatively often in the story. While I get some of the happenings weren't the main focus of the story told, it did feel like we were kept at an arms length for Jonathan's dating life for instance, which is briefly mentioned when it starts, and then we're never really seeing any relationship on page, but instead only welcome to mentions and thoughts in it, which felt a little weird. For space reasons I do get why it's not possible to get everything squeezed in to the story though.

If you enjoy small town stories with themes of found family and magical creatures, then this will be a delight to read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest opinion of this book.

I was immediately drawn to this book from both the cover art and the description. It sounded right up my alley with the mythical creatures and cozy fantasy aspects. And I did like this book. It was pretty different from my normal reads and I think it was what I needed at the time. It wasn't exactly a literary marvel but it fell squarely into the genre of cozy fantasy and I thought it was cute. The dialogue was a bit hard to follow at times and there were quite a few characters so it felt a little disjointed. Additionally, I did not like the romance at all. I would have much preferred more animals and magic to the weird romance where she already has a boyfriend and he gets another girlfriend story? But besides that, I thought it was a good mix of characters going through realistic life things and magical elements. Mr. Bingley was definitely my favorite character and I liked the banter between him and Jonathan. I liked learning about all the different creatures and the residents of the town trying to protect them. Overall, I gave it three stars because it was enjoyable but I think it could have used something more to be truly great.

A beautiful fantasy filled with mythical creatures. I was sold on the cover and title alone. The illustrations to the cover are beautiful and it looks gorgeous.

The writing in this book is phenomenal. Smith goes above and beyond with such utterly fantastic descriptions. Both people and creatures alike, they are all described so perfectly that there isn't even a bit of hesitation when picturing them. It's so thorough and detailed. That really made the book for me.

Although a slow paced book, it was definitely still fantastic. It was missing bits of excitement and suspense but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Some people can't cope with a slow burn but I refuse to DNF a book for that reason alone.

It was so wonderfully written, a great plot and wonderful characters and creatures. Smith has produced a brilliant fantasy story about mythical creatures.

This books had all the hallmarks of being a cozy read. Sadly it was a massive disappointment.

Not only does the main character instantly get an connection with someone, but upon discovering said person already is in an relationship. He goes and dates someone else. That's not such a big deal, other than he is a vet who loves animals and his new girlfriend wouldn't even allow dogs on furniture.

Like not only is this a terrible match, he also keeps giving the girl he has a connection with goo-goo eyes. If the attraction is that strong, why date someone else? It is such a scumbag move in my book. And we're not talking one or two dates, we're talking casual dating for over a year because the book does a timeskip.

AND THEN he considers quitting his new lovely job of taking care of magical beings to go back to being a normal vet.

I feel mislead, the cover, the blurb, everything screams cozy fantasy.

The straw that broke it was probably when Jonathan, the main character, gets scolded by the older vet who gave him his job. Why was he scolded? Because Jonathan was worried about a Basilisk and didn't want to kill said Basilisk. Nathan scolds him, saying he's messing with the natural order of things and Jonathan instantly folds and agrees with him.

4 out of 5 stars!
The Beast Keepers is a dream read for anyone who loved the idea of mystical and legendary animals in their backyard as a kid. Thank you to Netgalley and Victory Editing Netgalley Co-op for the digital ARC. I love the cover art!

I loved the premise, Jonathan St Roche, is a veterinarian looking to move back to the Midwest. He takes a job in a small town, where he ends up treating not just dogs, cats, horses, and farm animals, but the fantastic beasts of fairytale and legend. These creatures need care the same as our companion pets, and they have received it for generations, living in and around Carrollton, Ohio.
Of course, not all the creatures are friendly and nice, which is where the story takes a turn!

I enjoyed Julie’s interpretation of how the animals and creatures from story or fable would have evolved or adapted through generations. The positive training techniques the characters try with one of the creatures spoke to her extensive experience as a dog trainer.

I struggle to recommend an age range for this story. I enjoyed it as an adult, who enjoyed reading fairytales and legends as a child. The story itself is on the cusp of middle grade, but is too complex for me to recommend freely to younger than YA.

While I enjoyed The Beast Keepers, choosing one piece to follow would have cleaned it up and made it a five star book for me. Any of the “nosy reporter”, “evil creature”, or “oil fracking affects habitat” story lines would have been compelling by themselves, and would have been great arcs for further books in the Carrollton setting. Using all three in one book got muddy.

This book was so heartwarming and sweet. It reminded me a lot of TJ Klunes books with the found family and sense of belonging. I absolutely loved the approach to immersing himself into this new community. Jonathan has a lot to learn in a short period of time, and I really liked that we saw all of the options on the table. We got to really see the introspective side of his decisions, and ultimately saw everything tugging him in one direction over another. Bingley I think is my favorite character, and DeeDee is wonderful as well. Xavier is the classic father figure, taking care of everyone and everything he possibly can.

This was a magical and genuinely creative story about creatures both common and fantastic, while also imparting the importance of belonging and family.

When Dr. Jonathan LaRoche moves to Carroll County to become the new veterinarian he has no idea what he’s in for. He will meet a goose who can make colored eggs A fawn with eczema a special dog named Bengley A unicorn and many more and he can talk to them all. He also meet a woman named Anita she grew up in Carroll County but unlike most of the other residence doesn’t know the secrets the county keeps with its special animals and although he has a crush on DD she’s dating Mark and when Anita invites him to a baseball game he figured why not? The only problem is Anita wants to know what’s going on in her town she knows something strange is a foot but what it is she’s not sure? There’s also a reporter named Connelly Davis who Anita get interested in the story. When she first starts investigating she starts with the fracking that is going on on a local farm but that will not be the stories she eventually wants to write. There is so much to the spot there’s even a very sad part but for the most part it is a fun fabulous read about talking magical animals… Well they’re not magical but they do talk there’s unicorns and lots of crypto zoological animals and animals found only in myths and or fairytales but they’re in this book and it’s a book I found so good there’s a romance mystery and I can’t recommend this book enough I absolutely loved it! I want to thank the author and net galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I love animals so I really enjoyed this book. A young veterinarian relocates to the Appalachian mountains where by day he treats everyday pets. But he also tends to varied exotic creatures. A light hearted fantasy suited for those of us who have dreamed of having more than the ordinary fur babies in our lives. Thanks #Netgalley and #Boyle&Dalton for the eARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are mine.

So, I LOVED THIS BOOK!
Bit of back story I’m a small animal vet so I found myself enjoying the vetty aspects of the book but I don’t think you need any kind of vet background to enjoy this book.
A fantasy book also partially rooted in science is a rarity but honestly it really worked!
I can’t recommend this book enough- it’s fun, easygoing, but also interesting!
Bingley quickly became my favourite character!

The Beast Keepers is a cozy, low-stake fantasy story about veterinarian settling into an unusual practice in rural Ohio. I actually had a good time reading this book, but ultimately it’s not my cup of tea.

The premise is very interesting and brimming with potential. However, the story did not delve into said potentially interesting things, and instead went on info dumping with medical jargons multiple times. There were also plenty of jargons that were (I assume) American centric (this book did not even bother to mention that F250 means a car until the nth mention).

The animals were the highlight of this book. They were written with loving detail and felt alive. The human characters, although not flat, were almost all homogeneous: they are kind, they like animals, they have polite conversations with each other. They were too vanilla to be convincingly real or interesting for me.

eARC provided by NetGalley, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, and Boyle & Dalton.

My thanks to Boyle & Dalton and NetGalley for this eARC.

I expected more here, especially because of the trope. Still cute, and the romance is nice too. The pacing was a bit off, felt rushed in some places, and slow in others.

The wide variety of creatures is a wonderful touch. All in all, a good read. I'm giving it a 3.9 out of 5.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion of the book.

The first thing that came to mind instantly was the pacing, the beginning was rushed in an unattractive way that made me wish for more depth. It contrasts the in-depth descriptions of the setting.
Going from just meeting the character to the lengthy dialogue was disjointed and made it hard to read. I also found some of it cliché and cringe at points, almost feeding into weird veterinary stereotypes.

From the get-go, I didn’t like Jon’s character. The weird horse lady stereotypes how he interacts with DeeDee. I really could’ve done without any romance in this book — it added nothing.

As a veterinary student, the charm of the idea of this book was really the potential for fun patient/doctor interaction and I just didn’t get that. This book had so much potential and it really fell flat.

The Beast Keepers is a whimsical light slice of life rural fantasy with strong romance subplot by Julie Fudge Smith. Released 1st Aug 2023 by Boyle & Dalton, it's 321 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.

This is a fantasy featuring a young veterinarian who moves to rural Appalachian Ohio to join a multi-animal veterinary practice. His daily life includes the more mundane patients like cats, dogs, and horses, but also exotics such as inebriated flying monkeys, unicorns, and talking dogs. The book is full of charm and whimsy, but the pacing is often off (years pass in a few pages and then there are pages written about single days).

Three and a half stars. It's a debut book, and could have benefited from a more thorough editing process, but it's quite readable and fun. Very light and whimsical fantasy. It's unclear from the publisher/author info provided for review, but it would be nice to find out what's in store for Dr. Roche and his canine companion.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Very cute, low stakes cozy fantasy. As a dog and general animal lover myself this was very enjoyable. The book is primarily easy going, while still touching upon a couple of darker themes. The animals, mythical and real alike are very endearing, and the author does a good job in describing the animals without the story becoming too info heavy.