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.

Review

Honestly I really loved this book overall. I do wish the end was less violent and stuck with the cozy vibes the book is being promoted as.

I truly loved the main character. Her social awkwardness and anxious thoughts were really relatable. I loved watching her grow through the book. While I can’t relate to her nerves in front of others, I think others will relate to that. Her friend was also really great. I love how supportive they are of each other and their solid established friendship. Not sure I love the love interest; not sure why but I just don’t see them working out long term.

The animals 🥺 if you read this book for any reason it’s definitely for them. One hundred percent they MAKE this book.

As for the end… (skip this paragraph to avoid light spoilers) I didn’t love involving such a high level intense situation. I feel like saying this is cozy is inaccurate. The scenes were quite scary and life endangering. To me, that’s the opposite of cozy.

I really loved the audiobook and thought the narrator brought it all to life well.

4.5 stars rounded up!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Phoenix Keeper is the story of a magical zoo and its keeper. Full of fantastical beasts and mythical creatures, it will enthrall you. The narrator did a great job too.

A charming cozy fantasy involving a sapphic romance and mythical creatures? Sign me up! The audiobook for this is just as charming as the story is. I think the narrator perfectly captured how I pictured our main character and the vibe of the story.

This is a cute, heartwarming tale. I related to the main character Alia a lot; she's an anxious bookworm who is trying her best at something she is extremely passionate about. The creatures in this are fun, quirky, and interesting. I love an enemies-to-lovers story, especially when it's sapphic, and I loved it so much that my only critique is that I wish there was more romance in it! Highly recommend this beautiful cozy story.

The Phoenix Keeper is the epitome of a cozy fantasy with enough exciting plot lines to really drive the story. It follows Aila, a zookeeper in charge of the phoenix exhibit at the zoo. She's on a mission to jump start the zoo's defunct phoenix breeding program, while also avoiding having to participate in the massively popular griffin show that brings in huge audiences. Aila is such a relatable character for anyone who has ever struggled with social anxiety and I saw a lot of myself in her. The author's passion for zoos and conservation really shines throughout the book and made me want to pay my local zoo a visit! The romance is perfectly paced and the side characters were excellent. I would read so many more books just like this one.

The audio book narrator was perfect for Aila - she perfectly captures Aila's anxiety and excitement. I would absolutely listen to more of her work.

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.