Audio, phenomenal omg love it!!! This was so well done , the voice was perfect. Recommend 100%
Now story wise, this was so damn cute adorable. Omg too much. I loved the easy going of the story and how chill it was. I adored to learn about the animals and the world as they explain. This was so very well set up. I loved Aila and her best friend Tara. And the way Aila and Luiciana relationship develops so good. That was so cute to read . Perfect cozy read for sure .

The Phoenix Keeper is a cozy fantasy that follows a magical zoo employee. I loved the different creatures and laughed out loud multiple times. I struggled a little with the pacing, but I think I might not be the target audience for cozy fantasy.

I received an ARC from Orbit Books and ALC from Hachette Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a big lover of the cozy fantasy genre, and this did not disappoint. I absolutely adored The Phoenix Keeper. This book speaks to my animal and fantasy loving soul. Working with magical creatures would have easily been a dream job for me. Aila was such an interesting character battling her inner struggles with the public against her absolute love of phoenixes. I really appreciated how MacLean approached Aila’s struggles. I also love the cast of great women that Aila ended up surrounding herself with. The enemies to lovers story line was pure perfection. This is definitely a character focused read, so keep that in mind. In terms of the plot, the twists weren’t really twists and were incredibly obvious from the onset. It’s fine, though, at least for me because I felt like the theft storyline was more of a subplot to Aila’s character development. I combo read this between the eBook and audiobook. While I enjoyed what I read in the eBook, I LOVED the audiobook. Stephanie Bentley did so well narrating the book. Bentley made you feel Aila’s anxiety and struggles but also her excitement. I couldn’t stop smiling while listening to Bentley’s narration. If you love the cozy book genre, I would recommend reading this.

I feel rather meh about this book by the end, but the beginning through the middle held such promise!
Honestly I quite enjoyed most of my time reading this and believe those looking for more cozy fantasy books will enjoy The Phoenix Keeper.

My main quibble comes down to the predictability of the plot (we already KNOW this male love interest won’t be endgame from the start, making it easy to guess the twist later on). I also, sadly, grew a bit annoyed with our FMC as the plot dragged on. Her severe anxiety made me sympathetic to her, but it also became a driving issue for her self centeredness. Her friend was constantly coming to her rescue and it was just unreal how oblivious she was to the strain this caused. And the lack of understanding to how unsupported Taryn felt in return?? It took so long for Aila to realize it.

I did enjoy several scenes though (I audibly laughed aloud at some interactions) and overall it's a very cozy feeling book. It certainly succeeded at its genre! I do wish the world was a bit more magical-based outside of just the animals though.

This one skewed a bit more towards romance than cozy fantasy for my taste (I wanted more details about the magical creatures, more worldbuilding than just “it’s basically exactly like the present-day real-world but with magical creatures and countries have different names”). It had romance novel beats as far as how the plot progressed and it had romance novel characters; just a note for romance readers, the spice level is zero.

But main character Aila and her best friend were endearing. The rivals-to-lovers seemed a little contrived, but that’s not entirely unexpected. I also liked the themes of conservation and preventing species extinction but again would have wanted more worldbuilding-level details about the specific creatures, their habitats, and the various uses for their magical components.

All that to say, it wasn’t my cup of tea, but there may be other people who will really enjoy it.

3.5/5

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for this early audiobook copy of The Phoenix Keeper.

Stephanie Bently did a wonderful job with her narration of this book! I could feel Aila's happiness, sadness, and anxiety throughout the story. The producers also did great work, if there were any edits, I could not notice them as the audiobook was completely seamless.

Now for the story. Aila's life goal is to be a phoenix keeper and help conserve this endangered species.

Things I liked:
-Aila's friendship with Tonia's boyfriend. So cute!
-Luciana and her incredible self. 1000/10.
-Tonia is such a great friend, and I doubt Aila would have gotten as far in life if it wasn't for her.

My criticisms:

I like a low-stakes fantasy. I like complicated characters, and I typically feel an instant kinship with characters who have anxiety. However, I can't stand Aila's self-centeredness throughout the entire book. She has moments of self-awareness when she hurts her friends but most of the time she is so judgemental of people who did nothing to her. She carried a grudge against Luciana for so long over something so small, that I was shocked to learn she was 28. She calls Luciana a witch for 30-40% of the book because of a misunderstanding that happened in college. The way Aila treated the Unicorn keeper and judged the unicorns--UNICORNS!--because she wasn't invited to unicorn-themed parties when she was a kid was so ridiculous. All of this and more I could have forgiven if those were starting points and Aila learned from them, but there wasn't even an attempt to make Aila grow. Her big learning moment is to become more confident about public speaking and that Luciana is not, in fact, the devil. She did get to help save the phoenix species. I just wish we got to learn more about the other animals, once Aila gets the male phoenix, the other animals Aila is supposed to take care of disappear from the narrative.

All in all, I am glad I read this book!

While The Phoenix Keeper would be a great read if you like cozy romantasy, it fell short for me. The writing style, setting, and pace of the book were the only reasons I was able to finish this book. What I loved most about The Phoenix Keeper was the relatability to Aila was so spot on that I instantly felt a connection to her. The mental health representation in this book is a great asset and I feel as though that will connect with many people.

The biggest issue I had with this was that the romance in the book was subpar to what I expected. Through half the book Aila is crushing on a man that I knew nothing would come out of it, which annoyed me, but the main romance was only a small fraction of the book. And while I think that rivalry is an interesting aspect of some books the arch-rivalry between Aila and Luciana seemed a bit flat. It seemed as though Aila kept putting her down for things she couldn't see herself doing (public speaking, looks, manicure?!, etc.) these all made the rivalry seem somewhat childish and could have been executed in a better way.

Thank you to both NetGalley, Hachette Audio and for providing the eALC.

Unfortunately I am putting this book down at 56%. The mention of cake pops and stock trading almost put me over the edge. This is supposed to be a fantasy book but the only fantasy element was the magical creatures and I even found myself disappointed that there wasn’t more information on those. I found the world building and characters all very surface level and shallow. Aila’s anxiety was also frustrating to read because I feel like she used it as an excuse to be really rude, judgmental, and selfish. She was literally judging another zookeeper for having manicured nails, which was giving major pick me energy. The writing was fine, but I was bored with how absolutely nothing was going on besides preparing the zoo for a new animal.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a super sweet story of a girl trying to live out her dream while working through pretty serious anxiety.
This is a story that just made me feel happy inside. I cheered for Aila and her friends the whole way, and the fantasy zoo setting was super fun. I also loved the way the romance plot-line was handled, specifically without needing labels, just love.
The story was a little long, but at the same time I didn’t want it to end.

A cozy, fun read that I enjoyed till the last second!

The main character, Aila, was an anxious, overthinker who got on my nerves a time or two. I felt like there were times that I thought Aila had learned from what she had said or done, but for the plot she was held back.

I did love this book overall and enjoyed the fantasy zoo setting! The bestie might be my fav character :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this early listen in exhange for my unbiased opinion.

Everything from the narrator to the story, was perfection. The only thing I could see improved is the cover. The cover is pretty but it does not lend itself to the book's amazing character.

The Phoenix Keeper is a cute cozy mystery about Aila, a socially anxious Zookeeper obsessed with Phoenix's (rightly so). When you finish this book you'll be an expert on Phoenix care, breeding and diet, also Kelpies. As any pet parent will know, creatures have a mind of their own, the unique personalities of each bird is displayed. One of the mischievous birds gives me Kevin vibes from Up hahaha.

💕TPK is Fantasy with a pinch of romance. The romance isn't the star of the show (zookeeper pun intended) or a main plot line in my opinion. 1/2 a bell pepper. I almost forgot there was a romance.

🎧Audiobook Run Time: 10 hours on 1x
Narrator: Stephanie Bentley - loved her! She embodied Aila and her quirks. I was actually 1 Chapter in thinking wow this gal is killin it, I'm hooked. Huge snaps to Hachette Audio for this production. 5 stars for you ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall, I couldn't bump this to a 5 star because it felt a little too long, could have trimmed up like 50 pages or so for perfect length. I did have moment around 40% thinking how I wasn't over the 1/2 point yet. There was also a little bit of predictability at the end, not 100% the way I thought but pretty close. Look, it's cozy, it's super cute and an easy listen. I recommend this one no matter what.
Snaps to SA MacLean on their Debut novel; will be watching for future releases. 😊

Thank you Netgalley, Hatchette Audio & Orbit for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I was thankful to be given early access to the audio recording of this book - thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this in exchange for an honest review!

I really loved this book. I was sold just by the description, to be honest - magical animals, zookeeping, queer, cosy, and recommended to fans of Legends and Lattes which I read earlier this year and adored!

This was a really good length book - well paced, and good character development, though I found the main protagonist to be really selfish and unlikeable for portions and am not sure she completely redeems herself by the end (her bestie is amazing though).

The only thing that properly annoyed me was the continuous “skies and seas!” exclamations. Seriously. Too many. A distracting amount. That’s why I’m giving this a 4.5* instead of 5*.

However, the narrator did an incredible job with this. Great voice acting and it was delivered in such an engaging way.

Overall, I’d recommend and would definitely pick up a sequel - but, skies and seas!, PLEASE less skies and seas (or horns and fangs!!)

This was such a delightful read. A book full of magical creatures, a cute romance and very relatable characters. This story has loads of important rep; bisexual, lesbian, trans and anxiety which I thought was portrayed very well.
The story did feel a little repetitive towards the end which is why it's a 4 star read for me.

Overall a good book and definitely worth the read!

This may take the spot of my favorite read of the year. This is a slice of life, (mostly) cozy fantasy about a Zookeeper at a magical zoo. Aila spent her life obsessed with phoenixes and has landed her dream job as a phoenix keeper. After a break in at another zoo, she's determined to reopen her zoo's breeding program. Meanwhile, she has her friend Tanya, who is one of the most delightful characters I've ever read, a crush on Connor the Dragon Keeper, and a rivalry with Luciana the Griffon Keeper.

Aila is the main character for all of us readers who have special interests, get a bit nervy around crowds or new settings, and unfortunately those of us prone to getting tunnel vision on a goal or task. She is so well intentioned, smart, and kind, but she has a lot to learn about life. I loved watching her journey.

This is a read for lovers of slice of life stories. If you want constant lot twists and explosions, this isn't that. For years, I've told friends that I just want and animal planet style show where dragons just fly around, and this book is very much that. I loved imagining the phoenixes and other creatures and the imagery was so vivid. I know with absolute certainty that I will reread and revisit this story for many years to come!

I was so fortunate to be granted an Audio ARC of this book! Stephanie Bentley knocked it out of the park! She perfectly encompasses the energy of each character and does an immaculate job of depicting their wide range of emotion from anxiety to delight to fear. She brings this already colorful story to life perfectly!

I am so grateful to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and Orbit Books for this ARC!

I had been warned before that "not much is happening". But then again, I adored Emily Wilde and A Letter to the Luminous Deep - two cozy fantasies that are famous for "not much happening".
Just be ready to let the cozy wash over you in the setting of a Magical Zoo, and you're good to go.

Aila is not made for interaction with people - but she's perfect for taking care of magical creatures. She'd rather read and stay either home or close to her phoenix than go out and talk with people. Relatable? Well yeah.
She is 28 but acting as an 18 year old, swooning over the male love interest (Aila is bi) like a 16 year old. Annoying? Not really, just very cute.
She has a kickass best friend and a female 'enemy' with the potential to become 'lover.'

If all of this is what you're looking for, you really won't be disappointed.

The audiobook is very well done, the narrator brings across the voice of Aila real well. It's fun to listen to while going through a summer day, wishing for a phoenix of your own (not a unicorn though, they're just standing around looking pretty).

4/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @hachetteaudio for the eARC!

#ThePhoenixKeeper #Netgalley #MagicalZoo #Bookstagram #CozyFantasy

I saw a review on Goodreads that goes along the lines of "This novel proves that you don't need trauma and heartache to make a great fantasy story, sometimes all you need is a girl and her birds." and I 10000000% agree with this statement.

This book was a pleasant surprise. There was not one moment that I was bored and this book was the definition of cozy. In "The Phoenix Keeper", you can expect a sapphic romance, enemies/rivals-to-lovers, found family, hilarious moments, and cute birds. What more could you want?

The narrator for the audiobook was also phenomenal. The tones and pitches she used to capture emotional, funny, or sad moments made it completely immersible. I would definitely listen to more books narrated by Stephanie Bentley.

Thank you, NetGalley, for a copy of this audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.75
What an incredible debut! I'll be on the lookout for future S. A. MacLean releases for sure. Stephanie Bentley does a great job with the narration, making the audiobook easy to binge.

As a shy animal lover, I related to the main character Aila, a socially awkward zookeeper, so much! Aila loves her job, at least when she doesn't have to talk to zoo patrons, and dreams of one day being in charge of the phoenix breeding program. Sadly, phoenixes are targeted by poachers and her zoo only has one male. Can she prove herself worthy when an opportunity arises? And if that isn't enough going on at work, she has to contend with her old college rival, Luciana, and her budding crush on Connor.

Though I did guess the twist at the ending, I won't forget about this cozy romantasy anytime soon! I'm hoping this gets turned into a series and we get romances for other magical zookeepers and conservationists.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

The Phoenix Keeper is a cozy, sweet, and wonderfully magical fantasy debut with LGBTQ+ characters and fascinating creatures!

I had a really great time with this one. The sapphic romance was so sweet, and I loved the fantastic character relationships and development. This story was heartfelt, tender, and kind. It made me cry (in a good way). The incorporation of magical beasts and a zoo setting was so fun, and I appreciated how realistic Aila was and her beautiful journey. The pacing and writing were lovely, and the whole story was wildly entertaining. I highly recommend checking out this cozy debut!

The audiobook narrator for this one was amazing! They did such a great job with all of the different voices and characters. They immersed me in the story and presented it beautifully!

Thank you to the publisher for the free ALC!

I thought this to be an excellent ‘cozy fantasy’ story. I’m not sure if this is really my genre personally, but I could still tell that the story was cute. It was my first time reading the ‘cozy’ genre and it might be a little too slowpaced for me. But besides that - who doesn’t like reading about magical animals? The main character was very relatable, she struggles with anxiety which makes it easy to really get in to her head, feel whatever she feels. The romance wasn’t really my cup of tea but I appreciated the f/f approach. The audiobook itself was easy to follow for non-native speakers, the narrator didn’t speak to fast and the pronunciation was good. The book starts and ends with a little jingle - which helped me get into the fantasy vibe instantly. Definitely a book/audio I would recommend!