Ah, cozy fantasy, my beloved.

The Phoenix Keeper by S. A. MacLean tells the story of Aila, who works at a zoo for magical creatures. Her specialty—and passion ever since she was young—are phoenixes, which are critically endangered. She is determined to revitalize the zoo’s breeding program, which hasn’t been successful for over a decade. But this is complicated by Luciana, well-respected host of the zoo’s griffin show… and also Aila’s nemesis from university. The two are thrown together for the phoenix program, though, much to Aila’s dismay. But as they work as a team, with the ominous rumors of poachers infiltrating other zoos in the country, Aila’s feelings start to change. And their bond, plus their teamwork, might be just what the phoenixes have needed all along.

I’ll start by saying that I want to visit this zoo so badly! It’s such a cool setting, with the feel of getting to go behind the scenes of zookeepers’ daily lives… except that the zookeepers are taking care of dragons and phoenixes and such. It’s so fun!

I also enjoyed the themes about conservation and protecting threatened or endangered species, something Aila feels strongly about. These concepts are obviously taken directly from the real world, and therefore make it easy to relate to Aila’s worries and determination. Her passion and advocacy is wonderful, even if she’s often sabotaged by her intense anxiety when it comes to speaking to crowds. While at times the reader might be inclined to feel frustration toward her inability to engage with others, it’s a realistic and sympathetic representation of how anxiety can affect a person. And her growth throughout the story is lovely without being too convenient and without entirely erasing her mental health struggles.

As for the other characters, I really liked Aila’s best friend/coworker Tanya. She fills the role of sassy best friend perfectly. Connor, the dragon keeper, whose job I’m jealous of, was also a decent character (even if the way his relationship with Aila progressed was something I saw coming from a mile away). And Luciana is a good love interest for Aila. I think it took a little bit too long for her development and bond with Aila to really take off, but once it did, it was lovely.

But honestly, where this story really shined for me was the scenes involving the animals. I wonder if MacLean has experience with working in zoos or with conservation programs, because the details and emotional connections portrayed feel so believable. I checked her author bio, and it doesn’t say (though side note, I love that her author photo depicts her holding a sword. More author photos should do this).

In the end, The Phoenix Keeper exceeded my expectations. I started it hoping for a cute read featuring fun animals and a queer love story, and I ended it having gotten what I wanted, but also some excellent content about why the natural world is so beautiful and important, how a person can improve their lives if they dare to be vulnerable with others about what they care about, and the ways in which humans can always choose to be kind in the face of cruelty. It may not be the most literary writing, but it absolutely works for me, and I’ll be looking for more of MacLean’s work in the future. And the audiobook, narrated by Stephanie Bentley, is very well done.

The Phoenix Keeper is available now!