annieb123
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
The Beast Keepers is a whimsical light slice of life rural fantasy with strong romance subplot by Julie Fudge Smith. Released 1st Aug 2023 by Boyle & Dalton, it's 321 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.
This is a fantasy featuring a young veterinarian who moves to rural Appalachian Ohio to join a multi-animal veterinary practice. His daily life includes the more mundane patients like cats, dogs, and horses, but also exotics such as inebriated flying monkeys, unicorns, and talking dogs. The book is full of charm and whimsy, but the pacing is often off (years pass in a few pages and then there are pages written about single days).
Three and a half stars. It's a debut book, and could have benefited from a more thorough editing process, but it's quite readable and fun. Very light and whimsical fantasy. It's unclear from the publisher/author info provided for review, but it would be nice to find out what's in store for Dr. Roche and his canine companion.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.