Excellent book, loved it! Looking forward to more from this author! Apologies for the lateness of my review

A irresistible queer romantic fantasy standalone novel set in a magical zoo of mythical creatures written by an ecology professor. Do I need to say more? We find ourselves following the story of the head phoenix keeper at a zoo for magical creatures who dreams of conserving critically endangered firebirds. But there’s just one problem: the breeding program hasn’t functioned for a decade.

When a tragic phoenix heist sabotages the initiative at a neighbouring zoo she must prove her derelict facilities are fit to take the reigns. But saving an entire race from extinction requires more than stellar animal handling skills. Our main characters has no problem wrangling carnivorous water horses, tempestuous thunder hawks and mischievous dragons. But inspiring people … not so much.

If she wants to achieve her lifelong dream then she’ll have to ask for help. Enter the annoyingly brooding and insufferable love interest with the grace of a basilisk and the face of a goddess. Set against an epic fantasy backdrop teeming with all your favourite mystical creates from dragons, unicorns and kelpies.

Everything about this book is magical and enchanting from the creatures, the world and the budding relationship between characters. It’s always a nice reminder to know that you’re not alone. A perfect blend of cosy fantasy and queer romance that will leave readers enchanted and swooning.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚 (𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐳) 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐱 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐒 𝐀 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐧

2.5 ⭐️ these characters honestly kind of ruined this for me (Tanya is the exception)

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette for providing me with an e-arc copy!! Super appreciative.

As a very character driven reader, this book was a dang struggle. These characters are fully fledged adults and yet they fight like children for 80% of this book. It drove me insane. The fmc’s only real personality is that she likes birds and is introverted/socially awkward and I had second hand embarrassment throughout the entire book. It felt like an introverted character being written by an extrovert. It was just SO over the top.

I did enjoy the magical creatures though. The setting was so fun. Each of the creatures had a distinct personality which I really enjoyed. However, it was really more about the people than the creatures.

The plot I found extremely predictable, and the romance really did absolutely nothing for me. I love a queer romance don’t get me wrong but that doesn’t mean I’m going to like them ALL. I was just really disappointed but the immaturity of the characters and their relationships. The only character I enjoyed was Tanya. She seemed to be the only one who actually had her shit together in any way.

Also the amount of times they say “skies and seas” drove me insane. It was kind of unnecessary and didn’t provide anything to the story and I don’t think it needed to be there.

Overall, definitely could’ve been a great book. For me, it just kind of let me down. Really fun concept tho. 💕

The Phoenix Keeper was, in fact, a magical book! One minute I was laughing, next minute I was covering my face (as it was a touch too relatable [laughs]), but ultimately, by the end I was on the edge of my seat.

Between the animals and sweet relationships amongst the characters, you’ll want to escape to this world. I, for one, would definitely want to work at this zoo.

I liked the focus on mental health, particularly through the exploration of our main characters relationships with others. Whilst this is a fantasy read it’s somewhat grounded in reality through elements that exist in our world.

It’s a book that will definitely leave you contemplating things and reminiscing on scenes long after you finish. It’s also a novel I want adapted to screen.

The best part of this book was the animals, the diversity and the side characters. I greatly disliked the main character - Alia was just a really unlikeable character for most of the book and I get that she goes through some personal growth but this doesn't happen until the last quarter of the book.

Sadly most of the book is slow-ish and I almost DNF'd this about halfway through. It was only the side characters and the animals that kept me going. I saw the twist with the 'bad guy' from a mile away.

I gave it three stars because I made it to the end.

Thank you to Hachette and Netgalley for the eARC

Thank you @netgalley and @hachettenz for sending me a copy of this ARC for review 🥰

This book is probably my current fave of 2024 🥺 it had everything I wanted in it! We're talking magical creatures, an MC with hella anxiety (same queen), a little enemy's to lovers and a lot of queer representation, there's a lot to love in this book ❤️

As head phoenix keeper at a world-renowned zoo for magical creatures, Aila's childhood dream of conserving critically endangered firebirds seems closer than ever. There's just one glaring caveat: her zoo's breeding program hasn't functioned for a decade. When a tragic phoenix heist sabotages the flagship initiative at a neighboring zoo, Aila must prove her derelict facilities are fit to take the reins.

But saving an entire species from extinction requires more than stellar animal handling skills. Carnivorous water horses, tempestuous thunderhawks, mischievous dragons... Aila has no problem wrangling beasts. But mustering the courage to ask for help from the hotshot griffin keeper at the zoo's most popular exhibit? Virtually impossible.

Especially when that hotshot griffin keeper happens to be her arch-rival from college: Luciana, an annoyingly brooding and insufferable know-it-all with the face of a goddess who's convinced that Aila's beloved phoenix would serve their cause better as an active performer rather than as a passive conservation exhibit. With the world watching and the threat of poachers looming, Aila's success is no longer merely a matter of keeping her job...

She is the keeper of the phoenix, and the future of a species – and her love life – now rests on her shoulders.

This books really struck something in me. As someone who has dealt with anxiety nearly all their life, it was so awesome to see it represented in a way that I could connect with. Aila is a character is heavily resonate with and is why I fell in love with this book (and the fact there's magical creatures like hello??).

Definitely consider picking this one up if it sounds like a bit of you, you won't be disappointed ❤️

🐦‍🔥 the phoenix keeper review 🐦‍🔥

Okay, this story was SO CUTE AND COSY and I loved it so much!

Aila is such a gorgeous, animal obsessed ball of anxiety and we love a relatable FMC 😍
I adored the other main characters; Tanya is Aila’s BFF and loyal as they come and Luciana is the smart and sexy rival zoo keeper from college.
Trying to keep the phoenix species alive, Aila must not only face her fear of failure, but also her fear of public speaking along the way.
The story is low stakes and a bit cheesy, but that’s what made it so much fun to read! With a diverse cast of characters, magical creatures and perfect world building, The Phoenix Keeper kept me captivated the whole time and I took every spare moment I had to read it 🥰

Tropes:
🐦‍🔥 rivals to lovers
🩷 LGBTIA+ rep
🐦‍🔥 cosy fantasy
🩷 mental health rep

Thank you so much to Hachette and the author for the ARC to review

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Tropes:
🐦‍🔥 Rivals to Lovers
🐦‍🔥 Sapphic Romance
🐦‍🔥 Slow Burn Romance ( takes a bit to be established)
🐦‍🔥 Coworkers to Lovers

This was by far the coziest fantasy book I have read, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Aila is a zookeeper who has a passion project in the preservation of the Phoenix’s (hyper fixated for sure but understandable they are wonderful creatures) and has been waiting for her chance to run the breeding program. Alia is a nervous speaker, anxious and seems to not always be in tune with the people around her that she cares about, very relatable in many ways and very realistic.

The main characters are mid to late 20s and I found it refreshing the way they were portrayed as I too am a silly goose at work and then have a lot of paperwork to do when I get home. I liked that Aila’s friends held her accountable for not being as supportive of their projects and I enjoyed the pacing of the character development.

The romance didn’t define the book for me I was invested in the Phoenix breeding program succeeding and at one point forgot there a romance aspect ( which I did like because it didn’t hold the story together, but it was marketed heavily as a romance which confused me to begin with).

My only major criticism:
This wasn’t a fantasy book for me with the large establishment of the world and magic systems that I’m used to. This was what I would consider a cosy romance with fantasy elements, I adored all of world building with the animals and their backgrounds/species info, but it didn’t scream fantasy for me within the zoo setting ( even though the animals are fantasy creatures I feel like it wouldn’t be remarkably different with classic zoo animals)

I would love if we got a sequel where there’s fieldwork, so we get more of an immersive view of the fantasy world while also having the conservation aspects.

I really enjoyed this book ( I ordered the most beautiful copy from illumicrate) and I have recommended it to multiple friends to read who enjoy romance and have only recently gotten into more romantasy books and one already thanked me for the recommendation.

So many thanks to Netgalley and Hachette Australia & New Zealand for the ARC I was dying to read this and will display my physical copy front and centre ( all opinions are my own)

This was such a cute romantasy that involves magical creatures, zoo setting, enemies to lovers and social awkwardness. From the start alia was self conscious and just wanted to look after her animals and revive the Silimalo phoenix program to save them from extinction. Encouragement from her friend and other zoo keepers helping out, Alia soon comes out of her shell and does amazingly well with her new confidence. I enjoyed the banter as well between characters and definitely was mad when one of the characters were someone I wished they weren't.

If you enjoy enemies to lovers, romance and fantasy then this one is definitely up your alley!

Thank you so much Hachette and netgalley for giving me the chance to read this.

The Phoenix Keeper is the cozy queer fantasy of my dreams staring magical creatures and a spellbinding rivals to lovers story.

Aila Macbhairan is the head Silimalo phoenix keeper who's one dream in life is revitalising the San Tamculo Zoo's phoenix breeding program, and making an impact in the world by keeping the near extinct species alive. Aila suffers from an anxiety disorder the book follows her journey gaining confidence within herself while restarting the breeding program and gaining a community within the zoo.

When poachers target a neighbouring Zoo's breeding program, Aila worries the consequences of the theft will affect her zoo in Movas, and her hopes of being the one to restart the dead breeding program. Aila wants to prove herself and others that she is good enough and has the capabilities to breed phoenixes successfully.

“What if I missed my chance? What if I’m not good enough to breed phoenixes?”

Throughout the journey, it becomes evident that Aila is swept up on wanting to restart the program for the acclaim rather than the general good of preserving the endangered species.

“All Aila wanted was a chance to prove herself. She couldn’t inspire crowds or flirt with cute dragon keepers, but let her show how she could take care of phoenix. Let her prove she could be worth something.”

The sole phoenix left at the zoo is Rubra, a female phoenix who is now at risk of being shipped out to another Zoo. After a penning a proactive and daring email, Aila is one step closer to achieving her dream as her Zoo is now a contender a male phoenix in need of a female mate. An inspection of the zoo's phoenix facilities rests on her chances but it is in desperate need of an urgent face-lift. Aila must put her pride aside and ask for help from her fellow zoo keepers, including Tanya her best friend, her crush Connor, and her arch-nemesis Luciana.

Diagnosed with anxiety, and in therapy, Aila believes like she is a barley functional human being and feels the only semblance of control in her life she has is through work.

However, modern zookeeping involves a level of showmanship that Aila struggles with. Her anxiety disorder makes it difficult to interact and talk with other people and when she is tasked with answering questions about the animals in her care, she is slips into talking heavily in scientific jargon, alienating her audiences. In front of a large crowd, it is simply impossible as Aila's stage fright incapacitates her, leaving her silent, light-headed and wobbly.

Aila's fear of failure leaves her in a cycle of anxiety spirals, catastrophising and isolation, that leaves little room for friendships and growth. She fears failing the zoo, Tanya, Connor, Luciana, the keepers who helped, the phoenixes and most importantly failing 8 year old Aila, whose dream is so close to being realised. Through her tentative truce with Luciana and her best friend Tanya's support, Aila grows and evolves along with the program.

“It’s my childhood dream,” Aila said. “The goal I’ve worked towards my entire professional life. And if I fail, I might never get to try again.”
All I could think about was this meme when she was chanting "Do it for her".

The heist plot was such a fun ending, demonstrating the culmination of Aila's journey. It was an exciting turn of events that was the perfect fiery finish.

The Phoenix Keeper is a wholesome slow-paced book with low stakes but a captivating atmosphere. It radiates warmth and comfort while exploring the complexities of mental health struggles flourishing once enduring and adapting. This is a love letter to friendship, queer joy and appreciation of all things living enticing you to visit your local zoo and to donate to conservation efforts. Unfortunately, in real life there is no loveable kelpies or dragons to go see.

“People nearly drove Silimalo phoenixes extinct,” she said. “Our greed. Our shortsightedness. All for a few feathers, we almost wiped out a species. But people saved the phoenixes, too. We captured the last wild birds and brought them into captivity. We started breeding them, trying to keep the species alive. For me, phoenixes are a reminder of how awful people can be… but also how much good we can do, when we put our minds to it.”

I did cry 4 times while reading this.
I cried happy tears twice and sad, I feel seen tears the other two times.
I am also about to get my period.

Remember to say please and thank you when you go running to pick this book up at your local indie bookshop. Happy Hunting 💛

Would I recommend this book??
Yes 💛
This book was cute, queer, cosy with only a dash of stakes via an attempted heist of the baby phoenixes. Also almost everyone is black.

I loved the backdrop and the premise- a specialist zoo keeper saving pheonixes in an exotic magical animal zoo, with romance and all the fantasy vibes yet, it was a cosy fantasy that fell flat for me. The world building had me torn between, wow so much thought has gone into this and, hmm, this is rather plain.

The friendships were delightful. The romance is very much small ‘r’ romance. Both romantic relationships and the bi-sapphic angle were underdeveloped.

Of our FMC, I had to remind myself was meant to be a high functioning anxious almost 30 year old rather than a fresh out of uni type. This leads to a book of halves. One, a slow deliberate exposition on living life with anxiety and the other, the goal to save the Phoenix.

A cosy fantasy that under performed for me.

With thanks to NetGalley, Hachette Australia & New Zealand and the author for the opportunity to read this eARC ahead of publication. All opinions are my own.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for providing me a review copy on behalf of the publisher!

I want to start off with the things I enjoyed about this book before I dive into the issues I had, so on that note, the easiest praise I have is for the cover: ABSOLUTELY STUNNING. The cover artist nailed the phoenixes, and the style is so simple yet intricate - as a person who unfortunately judges a book by its cover a lot of the time, I'm always appreciative of an eye-catching design. I also want to compliment the narrator, who did a wonderful job bringing the story to life and whose voice offered both clarity and quirkiness to the individual characters. The audio quality itself was also very crisp, and a delight to listen to overall.

Now for the actual story. I had...a few issues with it, to say the least. Firstly, I think this book suffered from a marketing campaign that steered readers' expectations in a direction that is quite different from the plot. When I began this book, I thought it would be a cute, cozy, sapphic romantasy (as per the promotional material), and what I got was a slow-moving, dull story barely able to call itself 'fantasy', and definitely with more of a YA feel than anything else. Maybe if I had gone in with accurate expectations I would have a higher opinion, but sadly that just wasn't the case.

To call this a 'romance' is such a stretch. Is there romance? Sure. Is it a significant enough element for the book to brand itself as 'romantasy'? Absolutely not. But, again, the misleading marketing has pitched it as sapphic romantasy, which is baffling when A) for the first 60% of the book, the main love interest is a guy, and B) the queer romance is underdeveloped, rushed, and overall a small part of the story. This book is more about animal conservation than anything else - obviously, an important topic that deserves attention, but why not flaunt that as the main selling point, then? Also, Luciana

In addition, I struggled with the whole 'fantasy' aspect of the book. Mainly because the only magical elements (literally, at all) were the creatures at the zoo, and even then they were hardly worthy of the name. It was cool seeing these unique animals, but I feel like urban fantasy was the wrong choice for the setting - why not steer into the magic of it all, and create your own high fantasy realm? Especially if the only magical thing about the creatures themselves is their appearance. For the most part, it felt like an ordinary zoo, and the author's lengthy descriptions about these mythical creatures' wonder grew tedious when they all acted like ordinary birds from the real world.

Another issue I had was the 'coziness'. Sigh. I love a heartwarming, low-stakes story, but there is a difference between cozy and boring, and unfortunately I found this book to fit into the latter category. I feel like nothing happened for most of the book, and the things that did happen were so painfully slow or dull that I struggled not to put the book down. Not only that, but it's hard to feel any semblance of a 'cozy' atmosphere when the main character's immaturity is making you cringe every other page. As a neurodivergent, I appreciate the anxiety rep, but having Aila's fears and spirals put under a constant spotlight was mentally exhausting, and only steered me further away from a positive reading experience. She's also just an arrogant, self-centred person for most of the book, not to mention a horrible friend and terrible employee. Anxiety doesn't make you a bad person, but Aila hides behind her mental health issues like she can lay the blame of all her problems on that and her introverted nature. She's a truly exhausting protagonist (who also acts like a sixteen-year-old rather than someone in their twenties?)

The majority of the book was spent getting ready for these big things to happen, and then when they did, these big things would just fall flat and fail to pack the punch the author intended. For example: Aila's zoo getting a new phoenix. A key aspect for the zoo's phoenix program, but it really didn't change what we as readers experience; we still see Aila fussing over her birds (except now she has one more), stressing about everything, and caring for the animals like normal. There was nothing new or unique to draw us in, just more of the same cycle where Aila observes her animals and finds new problems. Then we have an action sequence at the end, which was both predictable and just...meh. We knew nothing bad was going to happen, and I find it really hard to believe that the security would have been poor enough for a break-in to happen. Like, the author rationalised everything with cut camera cords and drugged guards, but considering these phoenixes have already been targeted once, as if they wouldn't have more stringent protocols in place.

I wish I had kinder things to say about this book, but all in all I was quite disappointed once I'd finished. There were certainly some highlights, just not enough to outweigh the sluggish narrative and misrepresented plot.

The Phoenix Keeper is a super cute and cosy fantasy debut about a phoenix keeper in a magical zoo who has to work with her biggest rival for the good of animal conservation and education.
I LOVE animals and reading about the MCs connection to zoo residents and her deep love for them all was so sweet and heart-warming. While most cosy fantasies have low stakes, I was on the edge of my seat, tears in my eyes, so concerned for the fictional animals who steal the show in this book.
My only bone to pick is that I love the enemies-to-lovers trope but get so irritated when it is solely based on miscommunication. JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER!

I wish I could have my memories of this book erased so that I can read it again! It was one of those books you could easily curl up in bed and binge-read the entire thing.
Each chapter had you yearning to find out what happens next, not too long yet not too short.
The characters were gorgeously written, I loved how much I could relate to the main character and her struggle with social anxieties. All the animals were so adorable, and I loved the details they were given from where they originated from and their personalities.
This book was so magically written, it's one that will be going on my bookshelf forever.

When a phoenix and her chicks are stolen from a neighbouring zoo, Alia’s whole world is shaken. It was a chance for the species to come back from the brink of extinction. It also means the future of her own phoenix is uncertain. Being the head phoenix keeper isn’t easy, especially when the destiny of the breed seems to fall on her - it’s even worse when she realizes she can’t do it on her own.

Everything about this book was so fun - the zoo filled with fantastical creatures, the characters and the overall cozy aesthetic. I don’t think I’ve had this much fun reading in a while. I adored Alia and the creatures she looked after and thought the setting was so well done. Maybe it’s because I visited the zoo a few months ago, but I could easily picture the enclosures and attractions and it felt alive. Although not a big part of the story, the romance was super cute! I did pick up on the twist before it happened and it left me a little disappointed for reasons but it was still a satisfying end.

Rating: 3.5

I absolutely adored how much detail the author poured into describing every magical creature that inhabited the zoo, and I could feel her love for animals show through her writing. The worldbuilding is on the lighter side and much easier to follow than one would expect from a romantasy book, but it worked for the story. I also loved how Aila’s crippling anxiety and hyper-fixation was properly handled by the author.

The book is being heavily marketed as a cosy sapphic romantasy read, however the story definitely leaned more towards YA with some fantastical elements, and the romance felt like a very minor subplot.

If you’re looking for a cosy read about a zoo keeper’s passion caring for magical creatures, then I believe you’ll enjoy this book.

The promise of a “burned so bright” sapphic romance was incredibly misleading since Aila spent the majority of the book involved with Connor. The real romance subplot only started about 70% of the way through, which was disappointing because I wanted more time getting to know Luciana outside of Aila’s nonsensical hatred for her.

I normally prefer an older protagonist, but Aila would’ve worked better as a 16 year-old apprentice instead of a 28 year-old woman. While I was sympathetic to her at first, I struggled as the story went on as she kept acting incredibly immature for her age.

The writing can also be a bit overly descriptive at times which slowed down the pacing. I appreciated it in the beginning, but halfway through the book I started skimming certain sections and I didn't feel like I missed any crucial information.

The plot twist was predictable, but its execution was still a thrill to read about. It was fun seeing how Aila would utilise her thorough understanding of the zoo and its inhabitants during the major conflict at the end of the story.

The Phoenix Keeper is Aila, who has wanted to be a Phoenix Keeper since she was 8. She has her dream job looking after Rubra, a lone female of the species in a non-existent breeding program at San Tamculo Zoo. Aila wants to change this and bring the species back from extinction. After newly hatched chicks are stolen from a neighbouring zoo where the female immolates to hatch the eggs, Aila petitions for the now lone male to join Rubra.

Aila, to put it bluntly, prefers the company of animals and is rather socially awkward. Tanya is her sole friend. In the beginning I found the language style of the book quite juvenile for a 28 year old main character. When Aila develops her character and social skills, this does change but it does take over half the book to get there. I really enjoyed the second half of the book as Aila came out of her shell and begun to shine. I did however find the twist quite obvious early on but I am not sure it was meant to be a secret.

Read this if you like rivals-to-lovers and a cozy story.
Thanks to Hachette Australia and New Zealand and NetGalley for this early review copy.

The phoenix keeper is a wonderful read, a sweet blend of contemporary romantasy, magical creatures and modernity. Set in a well built word, similar to our own, but ful of all the magical components we love in a fantasy romance. While the romance took a back seat in this story, it was still very well written & you could feel the tension. The phoenix keeper follows Alia, and her bid to rebuild the San Tamculo zoos Phoenix breeding program, in an effort to fulfill her lifelong dream & save an endangered species. Filled with cheeky birds, fun fantastical creatures and their associated facts, betrayal, acceptance, growth, and lgbtqia representation in main characters, this is a great read for someone looking for a cute romantasy. Thank you to Hachette for the chance to read and review this story.

This is so cute! Who doesn’t love animals? And magical fantasy animals at that!

This is about Aila who is a zoo keeper that looks after Phoenixes, a bird that is going extinct in the wild.

She is awkward with social interaction and prefers her birds than other people. Her sexuality is never told but she has male and female interests.

She really goes through some major growth throughout the book.

This is a great cozy read with some adventures and thrills. The love interest is an enemies to lovers.

And the animals are just the best part of the book!

Enemies to lovers/romantasy feels.

Working as a phoenix keeper in a zoo filled with magical animals, Aila is trying to save an endangered species of Phoenix.
This is such a 'rainy day curled up with a good book' cosy kind of novel. Very character based which I loved.

An awesome debut. Perfect for anyone.