I honestly loved this book. It had all the cosy atmosphere I wanted from it going in, with characters I loved, a friendship I adored and magical zoo animals with plenty of personality. It's set in a world very similar to our own (they do have mobile phones and the web cameras) but where creatures like griffins and kelpies are real. 

Some of the publicity I've seen for the book (including the back of the ARC I read) label this romantasy, and I don't really agree. There is of course a romance, a queer f/f relationship I really enjoyed, but it happens quite late on in the book and is never really centre stage. I would instead describe this as pure cosy fantasy, reminding me strongly of Legends and Lattes or Bookshops and Bonedust - only I loved this book even more. There were so many cute and heartwarming moments, and not all of them involved magical birds. 

If there's one thing that stopped me giving the book a perfect five stars, it's that one character has a plotline that I found obvious and predictable from very early on, and I think the novel would have been stronger without that. Still, it's a minor quibble in an otherwise delightful read. Highly recommended, especially if you can curl up on the sofa with the book and a mug of hot chocolate.