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!

Listen some of this is my fault - I know cozy fantasy isn't really the genre for me. I need just a little more stakes than what the genre typically provides.

I liked some parts of this! I liked the narration by Stephanie Bentley quite a bit, even when sped up to 3x. I liked Aila's friend and I liked the rivals/enemies to lovers sapphic relationship. I see some reviews talking about Aila's anxiety - I certainly agree she has some significant anxiety but I also read her as having autism, though I'm not sure if this is intentional or not by the author.

Some of my issues relate to boredom - really nothing happens in the first 3/4 of the book besides the reader getting to know Aila's inner monologue (which I'm sorry but it's a really difficult inner monologue to listen to) and the group renovating the habitat. The other thing that was really frustrating to me was that Aila is supposedly 28 but reads MUCH younger - she's really immature, naiive, and self centered in a way that didn't really match her age for me

Thank you to Hachette Audio for the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was unable to finish this book. It just didn't grab me. Found it a little confusing as far as animal names and locations. It just wasn't' interesting as the description made it seem.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 “𝐜𝐨𝐳𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐲.” 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞, 𝐥𝐨𝐰-𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 (𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞) 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒙 𝑲𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐀𝐢𝐥𝐚, 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐰𝐤𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐝-𝐭𝐨-𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝐬 𝐳𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 “𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐱 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫” 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐳𝐨𝐨. 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚 𝐳𝐨𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬, 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 (𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞) 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐱𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩, 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 (𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞). 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒙 𝑲𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 (𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐲) 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐀𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒮.𝒜. 𝑀𝒶𝒸𝐿𝑒𝒶𝓃, 𝒪𝓇𝒷𝒾𝓉 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀𝓈, 𝐻𝒶𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

Where do I begin on this? A socially awkward girl with a hyper fixation that she makes her life? Sold. Sapphic romance? Sold. Magical Creatures? Sold. A realistic portrayal of OCD, anxiety, and social anxiety? Sold .

This book is not cozy, I definitely felt stress on behalf of the characters. However, it could be compared to Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea, Spellshop, and The Honey Witch, so I guess it belongs in the cozy fantasy genre. I definitely recommend it if you like the other books mentioned!

I went into this thinking it was an epic romantasy about a magical zoo keeper. And though the zookeeper part is correct, it is very much a cozy fantasy - which overall isn't my favorite. It's not a bad book. Just very much a character-driven story, and it felt repetitive and slow to me. But lovers of cozy fantasy (Legends and Latte and Megan Bannen) will adore this one.

Thr audiobook for this really elevated the story in a way that made it feel even cozie. I enjoyed getting to listen to this and have a different way of enjoying the story

1,5⭐️

it was cozy and all , but lowkey mostly it was boring? I knew what it was going to be about, but it felt like literally nothing happened and sometimes that's okey, there's many good character-driven books, but this one isn't it😭

the main character with anxiety was relatable, however I was very surprised, when I realized she's 28 and then I was like ymmm, she was just very immature and judgemental and selfish, literally getting a realization that "you never know what other people have been going thru" at almost thirty really gave me ick, it would've been better if she was 16

also pls don't market it as f/f romance, cus I was really hyped up for that, but for 50% she's crushing on a man, which really annoyed me, since I knew nothing will come out of it and I was waiting for the romance with her nemesis / academic rival, but that STARTED on about 60% of the book??? and the ending was so predictable

this is a proof that nemesis doesn't work outside high fantasy setting too, cus wdym she's your mortal enemy, cus she didn't wanna do the group project with u in collage???? and hating on her, cus she had manicured nails was so icky I wanted to scream

the zoo setting was really nice tho

Thank you Netgalley for providing digital advanced copy in exchange for honest review.

This was delightful. I will say I was confused at first. I know we aren’t suppose to judge a book by its cover but I thought this was going to be more of a fantasy book. It’s more of a modern day story with some fantasy creatures in it and a story about friendships and a sweet romance. It’s pretty cozy feeling as well. This was a great debut and I’m looking forward to what the author does next.