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.

This was such a cute little cozy fantasy and I had a good time reading this. I’m not normally one who loves a cozy fantasy but i think I must have been reading the wrong books because I really enjoyed this! I found it was the perfect mix of fantasy and romance. This is definitely more of a character driven book than plot driven but it was just what I needed when I read it!

3.75 stars!

The story was really good but I struggled to get into it, Its written in 3rd person, and I kinda hate third person. The creatures are really cool. Overall, its a fun book but just not for me

I loved this book, it was such a beautiful and cosy fantasy read. The magical zoo setting felt vibrant and I really enjoyed the introduction to the magical animals who reside there. Aila and Luciana’s character developments were really well done and didn’t slow the pace down but the standout relationship to me was the friendship between Aila and Tanya. Tanya was absolutely my favourite character her love and support for her friend was exceptional and she was also able to lay down some home truths when needed too. The representation in this book was top notch, absolutely flawless. Cannot recommend this book more highly for anyone who enjoys a cosy, low stakes fantasy.

What a fantastic, queer, cosy fantasy book! This was a fun, heart warming, giddy-feet-kicking novel! 🤭

We follow our FMC Aila, a phoenix keeper at San Tamculo Zoo. She’s clumsy, socially awkward, shy, anxious gal, but damn good at her job. She’s utterly relatable to my fellow introverted girlies, which really helped me connect with this book.

Aila has 2 months to help save her beloved Silimalo phoenix, Rubra, from potentially being shipped off to another zoo for breeding. Forced to work with her hot and fiesty co-worker (oh noooo 👀), they team together to get their zoo’s facility back up and running.

I’m such a sucker for all animals (whether they’re fantasy or IRL), and this book provides plenty of cute and cheeky creatures that just make your imagination run wild (I would DIE for Archie)!!

The friendships and relationships that bloom in this book are so wholesome. Everything happened at the right time and made the storyline easy to gobble up faster than Maisie the kelpie!

While this book is classed as a fantasy, it’s not heavy on the usual slog of world building and hard to understand fantasy system. This is more a magic system (still super enjoyable) that the creatures in this book have.

Tropes:
✨ forced proximity
✨ enemies to lovers
✨ sapphic romance
✨ magic elements
✨ mental health rep

This has been my favorite read of the year so far, and I think it will be hard to top. The book is brimming with magic, from the vivid descriptions of the mythical creatures and their exhibits to the dedicated zookeepers who care for them. It’s clear that this story was a labor of love for Maclean. Her background in ecology and environmental sciences enriches the narrative, making it feel incredibly authentic. The characters are well-rounded, quirky, and relatable, with plenty of queer representation. While the plot is a bit predictable, I didn’t mind at all. I loved this book so much that I found it hard to put down, finishing it at 2 a.m. on the day I started reading. This is a thoughtfully crafted and executed cozy fantasy that I will definitely revisit in the future. I even went so far as to order a signed copy!
The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. Maclean is a 5/5 star read that I sincerely recommend to everyone. It’s such a wonderful book that I can’t stop gushing about it to anyone who will listen. I eagerly await reading any future work by Maclean because if this is just the tip of her creative iceberg, I can only imagine what she’ll come up with next.

I absolutely adored this book, I loved every little thing about it! The way it was written the MC’s! So grateful for the opportunity to have read it

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Rating: 4.75/5

One of the best cozy fantasies I've read, "The Phoenix Keeper" delivers exactly what it promises. It's a whimsical delight with adorable magical birds and loveable characters. I will add that I saw the plot twist coming, but that didn't negatively impact my experience. It definitely felt like a long, slow paced book but it was interesting and fun enough to keep me hooked the whole way through. Aila is one of the most relatable characters I've ever read (lol) and the romance was so fitting for her character arc. The side characters were a lot of fun too and I'm eager to see more from this author in the future.

This was a cute fantasy read. It doesn’t have huge world building with the majority of the storyline taking place within the zoo. But it has a solid storyline that had me invested. I mean who wouldn’t love to work in a zoo with magical creatures like this! Some of the animals were so cheeky.

I did find the lead character Aila a bit immature and frustrating with how self absorbed she was, but did appreciate her character growth by the end. It was also very easy to pick the plot twist which I think could have been handled a little better to maintain suspense.

It’s marketed as a queer romantasy but that really only unfolds in the last quarter of the book and not in great depth. The main storyline is Aila, the keeper of the phoenix, and the pressure she places on herself to protect the future of the species through a breeding program and thinking she has to do it all on her own and her way. She was very socially awkward.

If this book has a million fans, I’m one of them. If this book has a single fan, it’s me. I got sucked right in and damn if I’m not signing every petition and pledging all sorts of money to save the Silimalo Phoenix.
The entire cast of characters were a delight to read about - Aila’s growth and self-acceptance journey especially hit home for me.
This review copy didn’t include illustrations, but it didn’t need to - I felt like I could see every single one of Rubra’s feathers just by reading how passionately Aila loved and worked to understand these birbs, and that’s a true testament to the style and flair of this book.
I can’t wait to see this book out in the wild in a couple of weeks - if we don’t get the Phoenixes in real life, this is definitely the next best thing!

Unfortunately, I did not finish "The Phoenix Keeper." While the story premise was interesting and the magical creatures felt original and unique, the overall story just didn’t resonate with me. The cover is beautiful and quite captivating, but perhaps the writing style wasn’t the best fit for my personal taste. That said, my opinion may not be the same for everyone else. All readers are unique, and what doesn’t work for one might be perfect for another. If you’re intrigued by original magical creatures and an interesting premise, "The Phoenix Keeper" might still be worth a try.

Alia is trying to revitalise her zoo's phoenix breeding program, which hasn't been functional for a while. In order to do so, she has to ask for assistance from her old college rival: Luciana. But the future of the species sits on Alia's shoulders, and she will do anything to protect her phoenix.

This was such a fun read! It is a cosy fantasy, with lots of love and animal fun. I found myself really rooting for Alia the whole way, and her love for animals only made her more endearing.

The world building was really beautifully done, and it was easy to slip into this world.

It was all in all a lovely read! Thank you to Hachette for a review copy of this one, all opinions are my own.

Review of The Phoenix Keeper by S.A MacLean
Thank you to NetGalley, Hatchette and the author for the opportunity to review this book and provide my unbiased opinion.
I was super excited to receive an e-arc of this story as I have the special edition from Illumicrate coming, and it’s been on my cosy fantasy radar for months!

Aila is a phoenix keeper at San Tamculo Zoo, where a range of magical creatures are exhibited for the public to visit. Living her childhood dream, she cares for her feathery charges with love and dedication, often having to outthink their mischievous plots. And when the fate of the endangered Silimalo Phoenix rests on Aila’s shoulders, she will do anything to ensure they survive for future dreamers. Even work with her worst enemy…

I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this book! As a fantasy reader and animal lover, to find a story that combines my interests so flawlessly was such a joy. It was a seamless blend of the realities of veterinary/zoological science, tourism and magical elements. The urban fantasy world was crafted so beautifully, that I found myself often having to Google place names, flora and fauna to see if the author had created them or if they were legitimate terms. I also adored the variety of fantastical creatures and their individual characteristics and care needs (it took me back to days of playing with Littlest Pet Shop and reading about Howarts Care of Magical Creatures classes!).
Aila’s love and maternal dedication to her literal flock was so heartwarming and I couldn’t help but laugh at the situations she found herself facing and feel for her while she struggled with social anxiety. The themes of conservation and animal captivity were explored in a satisfying way within the scope of the plot, and I appreciated the important message underlying each page. The romance was subtle and sweet and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more.
Hagrid would be proud 🩷

This was the perfect cosy winter read! I loved how wholesome it was, you really found yourself rooting for the MC and wanting the best for her. It was a really sweet read, and perfect for when you’re in the mood for something lighter and cosier but still craving fantasy.

This book caught me completely off guard, but in a great way! I was not at all expecting this to be a cozy fantasy at all, then again, I did go into this blind. Luckily enough, I love cozy fantasies. I thought the magical creatures and how they co-existed throughout this world were great. Talking about the world, I thought the setting and world-building was very well-done and allowed for me to be deeply immersed in this book.

I really think that sketches or illustrations throughout the pages would fit so incredibly well and bring more depth to this – that would be something great to see (or even just on the chapter headings etc…). I appreciated the diversity and representation of individuals, sexual orientations, and genders. I also thought that there were some neurodivergence in the characters (which I appreciated), although I’m not sure if this was done purposefully.

I will say that I did find the ending quite predictable, but I suppose this may not always be a negative thing as not everything needs a massive surprise or cliff-hanger.

The bones of this book is that Aila is a phoenix keeper for a zoo, it has been her dream to have a successful breeding program and that possibility of that happening is not looking good. Until there is a theft of a phoenix and her eggs at another zoo and Aila is presented with a chance to realise her dreams. The layers of the story are in Aila’s relationships with friends, employers, potential romantic interests and overcoming her own internal challenges.

Aila as the central character is pivotal to whether you are going to embrace this story or not. MacLean has crafted a character who certainly runs the gauntlet of emotions. Aila is a perfectionist, obsessive, an introvert, struggles to interact in any social situation and task orientated. She is loyal to her friends but that single minded drive she has means she is unaware to their trials and tribulations. When she finally realises that she has been neglectful, it always comes through a major blow up or confrontation, rather than self-realisation of wrongdoing. Aila’s immediate circle of friends and family is small but over the course of the story it slowly expands.

Tanya is Aila’s constant and they are tight. You need Tanya, as she demonstrates the good of Aila, that she can be grounded and directed. Tanya helps Aila navigate friendships, social norms and the importance of having a social life.

There are two possible love interests Connor and Luciana. Connor is the handsome dragon keeper, who Aila has many an awkward moment with. Luciana, is her rival from College and the history between the two certainly creates the fireworks. It is here that the heart of the story truly lies as we want to discover just who Aila gives her heart to.

This is a slow burn of a read, it does take time for all the elements to come together and then there is the rush towards the end. The journey is in the character development and interaction, if you are vibing with Aila and her challenges, then this story will swallow you whole. For this story is about people, relationships and about rising above your fears and conquering your self-imposed limitations.