The Phoenix Keeper

June 17, 2024
MacLean’s tepid debut, a cozy queer romantasy, follows Aila Macbhairan, head phoenix keeper at a zoo for mythical creatures. Her lifelong goal is to save her beloved Silimalo phoenixes from extinction, but the phoenix breeding program at her zoo has been dormant for a decade. Though Aila excels at magical animal science, she becomes overwhelmed with anxiety around other humans. Asking others for help is harder than fighting an archibird off of a shiny object. But after a phoenix is stolen from a nearby zoo, Aila musters her people skills and all the help she can get to prove that her dilapidated complex is up to the task of taking over their conservation program. It’s a cute setup and the fantastical creatures are a delight, but the worldbuilding is disjointed, with extensive new information dropped in sporadically. The characters, meanwhile, are thin sketches, making it difficult to invest in their plight, and the eventual romantic subplot, while sweet, feels almost perfunctory. This is a rocky start. Agent: John Baker, Bell Lomax Moreton Agency.

June 21, 2024

DEBUT Phoenix keeper Aila is devoted to saving the endangered species. When a breeding pair is stolen from a neighboring zoo, she gets her chance to raise the next generation. Through that process, she finds within the strength to overcome her innate shyness and reticence to talk in front of other people--which become clear problems when she becomes the face of the beloved, magical birds. MacLean sets her debut in the enchanting San Tamculo Zoo, home of unicorns, griffins, dragons, and more. The details that she works into the zoo, about its operation and animals, will carry readers through the plot as Aila comes into her own--navigating friendships, her relationship with a fellow zookeeper, and the initially unwanted attentions of a long-standing rival--on top of the travails of getting the phoenixes to breed and the danger that criminals will try to steal her birds. VERDICT MacLean has crafted a lovely sojourn in a magical world that feels both familiar and wondrous. This mix of zoology, fantasy, and sapphic romance will have readers wishing they could buy a ticket to San Tamculo.--Neal Wyatt

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 19, 2024
Aila Macbhairan has wanted to be a phoenix keeper ever since she was eight years old and visited the phoenix exhibit at her local zoo. Introverted and anxious, Aila has always found animals to be preferable to humans, with the exception of her parents and her best friend, Tanya. Fast forward 20 years and Aila is now head keeper at the same zoo. When she asks for the zoo to be considered for a phoenix-breeding program, she never thinks her proposal will be accepted. When it is, Aila must learn to work with others, including her rival Luciana, if she wants the program to succeed. Along the way, she begins stepping outside of her comfort zone and stepping into feelings for the last person she expected. The debut novel from ecology professor MacLean is a whimsical contemporary romantasy with heart, layering themes of self-doubt, anxiety, and relationships against the backdrop of a magical zoo. With her chaotic, bisexual energy, Aila will charm readers, as will her companions (especially the furry and feathered ones).

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