Reviews - The Phoenix Keeper

2.52k reviews for:

The Phoenix Keeper

S.A. MacLean

3.95 AVERAGE

punctual_oak's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous emotional lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

brittanya's review

5.0

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

l_kendall's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

beatrizbooknook's review against another edition

4.75

emotional funny lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

clarereinhart's review

4.25

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

the_tartan_pumpkin_reader's review against another edition

5.0

What a debut The Phoenix Keeper is for S. A. MacLean! It's the perfect cosy romantasy with the sweetest rivals to lovers sapphic, queer romance you could ask for. The writing is superb, bringing to life a gorgeous world of fantasy, a vast range of magical creatures, and a diverse cast of beautiful characters who leap off the page brighter than the fiery glare of a phoenix's tail.

This book's pacing is like smooth jazz: soft and unhurried, and it takes time to let us get to know the characters and explore exquisite worldbuilding around the zoo and its magical creatures. I loved how gently the story flowed with tones of many different dilemmas, trials, tensions, and betrayals to complicate the plot and turn the character's worlds upside down. Some of the story beats might appear a little predictable, and maybe you might spot the slimball baddie and uncover their heinous acts and intentions early on. I love cooking up theories in my head and reading on to go that 'Ah ha!" moment when I'm proven right, but I was delightfully surprised by some hidden curve balls, too!

You can see how much love has been poured into the worldbuilding of this story to craft a perfect blend of modern vibes and fantasy elements from the cartoon character backpacks to the backstory of how the Simalo Phoenix was brought to the edge of extinction. There's so much information in this story that is used creatively across the writing to bring insight without overloading the story. Every creature has a complex biography of its origin, habitats, breeding information, and history. You can't help but appreciate all the effort, passion, and closeness to detail invested into the writing to bring to life this extraordinary magical zoo to the reader from the daily work of zoo keepers, the importance of biodiversity conservation, and the effort invested in managing breeding programmes to save endangered species.

Honestly, I couldn't tell you who I loved more as characters: the magical creatures or the most inclusive representation of human characters I have ever read. S. A. Maclean has done a stunning job of creating creatures who rival their human counterparts as quirky personalities that you can't help but fall in love with and adore. She has captured the beauty of human relationships magnificently through the ups and downs of love, friendship, and our bond with our beloved animals. I will be the first to sign up if she ever does a character creation workshop, as they are divinely crafted. She captures the essence of being human on the page from our difficulties, talents, and insecurities. I couldn't pick a character I loved more between Aila and Luciana – they were both total opposites, one openly battling with her anxieties, anti-social nature, and desperately wanting to hide with her creatures than speak to humans. The other internalise everything to don a mask of a complex web of lies that shows her a confident, striking figure. However, underneath, she's battling her instincts to be strong and professional, even when her heart is torn apart.

I loved every second of reading this book. It's like a lovely big hug with a toasty phoenix that warms you from your heart to your toes. A whimsically wonderful read that is full of feel-good vibes, fun, and light-hearted with a super fluffy happy ending with all those lovely warm fuzzy feels.

jasminewton23's review against another edition

2.0

I really wanted to like this more than I did. It has such a cool concept, a zoo, but filled with fantasy animals. I really love magical realism especially when the plot is very mundane. However, aside from the concept itself the plot was kind of boring. Every single plot element I was able to figure out in the first 50 pages. Normally I’m not against this if the ride to the plot points I fun, but it played out in possibly the most standard having to get their way possible. None of the characters were incredibly interesting, or compelling. I didn’t even really find any of the character dynamics that compelling. I found Alia to be lacking as a protagonist. She goes through a decent enough arc about her anxiety, stage fright, and general imposter syndrome that kept me interested. Other than that she just came off as never striking a proper balance as a character. With her even coming off as slightly unlikable at times, when I felt like some of her mistakes were meant to and should have come off as more endearing and sympathetic. Plus I got crazy bad second hand embarrassment from some of the character dialogue. It just felt off constantly.

disneygeek8477's review

4.75

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I don't really read slice of life type of books that often. This felt like a perfect balance to that and the fantasy I love. I felt so connected to Aila and the story from the start. The perfect story for animal lovers and those who have dealt with the blessing and curse of being an introvert.