Phoenix Keeper

Aila has dreamed since childhood of working at San Tamculo Zoo, a park of magical creatures where dragons, unicorns, kelpies and krakens live. Now she is its head phoenix keeper, in charge of saving the critically endangered Silimalo phoenix, though the zoo's breeding program has sat dormant for about a decade.

Then a poacher attack at a neighboring zoo upends the phoenix conservation effort, and Aila has to prove her own run-down facility can step up. She is a socially anxious conservationist who would rather work with birds than people, so winning over colleagues and officials does not come easily.

Help arrives in complicated forms. Connor, a charming dragon keeper, draws her attention, while Luciana, the star griffin keeper and Aila's rival from university days, is someone she has to team up with. The romance runs alongside the conservation work.

This is cozy fantasy with a queer romance at its center, in the vein of Legends & Lattes and The House in the Cerulean Sea. The warmth comes from daily animal care, friendship and a gentle pace.