The Zookeeper's Dragon is an eccentric cozy fantasy by Carolyn Mathews. Released 19th Jan 2026, it's 217 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 and references throughout. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.
There are elements of magical realism, romance, family drama, and fantasy, and it's never clear what the author's intentions really were; it meanders quite a lot. Although it would've benefited from a thorough (ruthless) professional edit, it is engaging and readable in its current state. There's a cute baby dragon, lots and lots of odd (woo-woo metaphysical) side journeys, some grown up cosmic dragons in a sort of spiritual guide council, trippy interactions, a parrot, some bad guys straight out of the Disney Villain playbook, and a really hapless zookeeper.
The climax and denouement are tacked on and honestly don't match the rest of the book.
There are some good ideas here, but they're mostly underdeveloped. Despite the cute baby dragon on the cover, it's not a children's book at all, and although there's only implied sexual content (fade to black), the language is adult and there are scenes of violence (R-rated).
Three stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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