Book Review: The Phoenix Keeper

There's another version of the cover with different colors which is also fabulous. Shout out to the cover designer!

The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean debuted this past August, and I found it on a list of new books on Instagram. From the moment I read the concept I knew I had to read it: a zookeeper for Phoenixes is determined to restore her zoo's breeding program but the last zoo to make the attempt had their phoenixes stolen. It's cozy fantasy with a queer romance subplot. I'm using it as a comp for the book I'm currently querying because my book also involves fantasy zookeeping, flirting while working at said zoo, and the theme of letting go of the fear of failure.

Aila is the zookeeper in question, a very shy and anxious animal lover who has her dream job of being the phoenix keeper at her hometown zoo. She's great with her BFF, but with anyone else from guests to crushes, she's not as capable. When the phoenix chicks at another zoo are stolen, Aila's program has the chance to step up and become the next breeding facility. However, Aila can't do it all alone, and must learn to ask for help, including from attractive griffin keepers, if she's going to achieve her dream, and protect her phoenixes.

As a former zookeeper, I enjoyed the zookeeping parts of this book, which were realistic despite the animals being fantasy. I really liked the grounded nature of it. I thought the plot was enough to keep be entertained and had specific, achievable stakes. (If you've listened to the podcast, you know I don't always find that the case for things described as cozy.) As a side note, one of my random favorite parts of this book was Aila's family's restaurant. It was a fantasy world fusion as nonsensical as Carlos O'Kelly's, the very real Irish/Mexican midwestern restaurant. If that's not what S.A. MacLean based Aila's family's restaurant on, then I will be blown away. Another thing I liked about this book was that Aila was a really high achiever in school, and was terrified of failing as an adult. (Oh look, it's me!) Her whole character arc, and the theme of the book, was letting go of that fear, figuring out that asking for help is not fear, and realizing you can be successful without that fear.

There were some things that didn't always work for me. I'm a person who suffers from second hand embarrassment, so when characters are too cringy (which the author is doing on purpose because the character is supposed to grow, I know!) then I really struggle and have to skip ahead. Since Aila's social anxiety was so bad, I had to skim some of the more painful interactions. I also knew who was helping the smugglers immediately, so there was no tension there, so I experienced less tension than most readers will. There were also a lot of place and animal names, so I admit I didn't keep track of some after a while.

This book is for you if you love zookeeping/zoos/wildlife breeding programs, fantasy animals, queer romance, or lower tension (cozy) fantasy. This book is not for you if you have social anxiety that can be heightened by reading about others' social anxiety, if you need higher external stakes, or if you're not interested in a romance subplot.


Have you read The Phoenix Keeper? Which was your favorite animal? Let's discuss in the comments!