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Sign up todayThe Phoenix Keeper
Narrator
Stephanie Bentley
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Length
14 hours 10 minutes
Language
English
Bookseller recommendation
“An endearing and lovely meander through San Tamculo Zoo with a dash of drama, a hint of romance, and a whole menagerie of strange and beautiful creatures. This debut novel is a tender tribute to anyone who has ever been made to feel like they are too much for being passionate about a niche interest. Find the people that allow you to burn your brightest with The Phoenix Keeper.”
— Jericha Macie • Northshire Bookstore
Bookseller recommendation
“Peacock griffins, Sapphic love, and fusion fantasy food that I need immediately. What a wonderfully queer, immersive story! MacLean gives us a diverse cast in terms of queerness, neurodiversity, race, and identity. The world feels teeming with life, with excellent descriptors of its creatures and food. It's definitely cozy fantasy, but has a depth to it that I rarely see in the genre. I was truly hooked from the first scene. If you're an animal lover, you especially need to read this.”
— Kiera • Fulmer House Books & Collectibles
Bookseller recommendation
“This delightful tale will warm your heart and fill you with nostalgia for the magic of a zoo, despite our lack of phoenixes this side of reality. Alia's love for her aviary and all the mischievous charges therein perfectly captures the wonderment of exploring a zoo and revelling in the sight of so many amazing animals. I enjoyed the immersive prose down to the details of noisy zoo merchandise and stale popcorn. In this lovely world, there's an MVP of fictional best friends, an enjoyable slow-burn of enemies-to-lovers, and a super satisfying ending that the author sets up perfectly. A must read for any cozy fantasy lover.”
— Danielle • Books Inc.
Set in a magical zoo teeming with mythical beasts from dragons and unicorns to kelpies and krakens, The Phoenix Keeper is a fierce joy of a cozy fantasy novel with a soul-restoring queer romance at its heart, for fans ofThe House in the Cerulean Sea and Legends and Lattes.
As head phoenix keeper at a world-renowned zoo for magical creatures, Aila's childhood dream of conserving critically endangered firebirds seems closer than ever. There's just one glaring caveat: her zoo's breeding program hasn't functioned for a decade. When a tragic phoenix heist sabotages the flagship initiative at a neighboring zoo, Aila must prove her derelict facilities are fit to take the reins.
But saving an entire species from extinction requires more than stellar animal handling skills. Carnivorous water horses, tempestuous thunderhawks, mischievous dragons... Aila has no problem wrangling beasts. But mustering the courage to ask for help from the hotshot griffin keeper at the zoo's most popular exhibit? Virtually impossible.
Especially when that hotshot griffin keeper happens to be her arch-rival from college: Luciana, an annoyingly brooding and insufferable know-it-all with the face of a goddess who's convinced that Aila's beloved phoenix would serve their cause better as an active performer rather than as a passive conservation exhibit. With the world watching and the threat of poachers looming, Aila's success is no longer merely a matter of keeping her job...
She is the keeper of the phoenix, and the future of a species– and her love life– now rests on her shoulders.
S. A. MacLean is a fantasy romance author from sunny Southern California. Infatuated with magical worlds since her days of brewing mud potions in her childhood garden, she fell in love with the romantasy genre after realizing all her favorite fantasy novels had kisses in them. Her stories invariably feature quirky humor, sassy animal companions, and queer casts who represent her voice as a chaotic bisexual woman. Sarah received her BS in Natural Resources from Cornell University and a PhD in Environmental Science from UC Berkeley. She left the research track to teach environmental science at her local community college, inspiring the next generation of students to save the planet.
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