KV’s Reviews > The Phoenix Keeper > Status Update

I know Aila's working on it with Tanya, and it is good the narrative pointed out these problems, but I also feel so terribly for Tanya and so frustrated with Aila, as well as exhausted w the therapist black best friend trend, so even trying to unpack it is frustrating, especially with her constantly calling her animal names.

Get this white boy out of here.

I wanna dnf so badly. The racially charged language is a lot. The contemporary romance writing style is frustrating. I don't see what's cozy about any of this--the high school dialogue and conflict, the stress of how the animals are treated and regarded, the looming pressure of Aila's self-absorbed anxiety. I'm having a really hard time with this one and the most interesting part--the animals--do not get enough time.

"She'd recognize that dulcet accent anywhere, the caramel tone with savage curls and painted nails lurking underneath."

Do not talk about a brown woman this way, especially as our first descriptor, hello???

skin like walnut --> trunk-like in appearance (body?), but then... not tall nor particularly thick (noodle arms) so... what is the description of this man??

We begin.