Cozy fantasy meets small-town drama meets contemporary (queer) romance meets suspense thriller in The Humane Society of Creatures & Cryptids; it might sound like a lot, but somehow Stephanie Gillis just makes it work and pulls off her vision for this genre blendy gem with effortless grace.

Now, for the first half of this book, the entire plot is essentially: inner turmoil and interpersonal drama. And let me tell you, I was eating it up. We follow the three Lambros sisters, Melpomene, Calliope and Thalia, as they just go about their normal daily lives. You know, very normally taking care of all kinds of magical creatures while trying to navigate their own personal problems and keeping the suspicious town’s folk of Pandora in the dark about the goings-on in their old secluded house in the woods.

To me, each sister had a super distinct voice that completely fit with their age/personality, and I loved how they were all allowed to be so beautifully and relatably flawed and messy. Whether it was Mel’s struggles to balance her own happiness with her demanding role as caretaker of the family, Calliope’s mysteriously powerful bond with the magical creatures and her tragic mental battles, or Thalia’s amusingly wayward nature and high school drama, I just connected and sympathised so deeply with them all. And then add to that the fourth POV of Asha, a new girl in town who befriends Thalia, whose curious outsider perspective added a whole new fresh dimension to the story that added so many unexpected layers of fun tension, nuance and complexity.

Moreover, as someone who thrives on digging into the intricacies of all kinds of interpersonal relationships in stories, I loved how much quiet time we got to just explore all the complicated feelings between the sisters as they go from merely living alongside each other to truly connecting and bonding again for the first time in years. And it wasn't just the complex sisterly dynamic that had me glued to the page, but also the tenuous relationship with their absent mother and the development of the wholesome romances that start to blossom in each of the sisters’ lives. Not to mention, all the lively, quirky side characters (both the human and non-human ones) really get their time to shine, and I would very much like to know where I can get myself some saberwolves or Bigfoot Harriët, please and thank you!

Now, I do have to admit that the slow-burn cozy first half of the book didn’t totally prepare me for the sudden shift into such high-stakes, almost thriller-esque territory as outside forces start to threaten them and the magical creatures. Even though I was deeply emotionally invested at that point and was on the edge of my seat out of concern for all my favourite characters, I just couldn’t help but find the shift in tone slightly jarring. To me, the drastic increase in the pacing made the development of some characters’ personal journeys and their relationships feel a bit too unbelievable for me, and I felt like some heavy topics of trauma, redemption, and vengeful retribution were not handled with the care and nuance they deserve simply for the sake of resolving all the mess in a satisfying and wholesome way.

All that said, those quibbles didn’t hold me back from devouring this book, and ultimately the highs way outweighed the lows for me. I mean, Gillis’ slightly tongue-in-cheek authorial voice is irresistibly entertaining (just look at this killer line: “Yes, Sheriff. Bigfoot is a girl. I’m a lesbian. Can you try to keep your patriarchal misogyny in check for this?”), it features SO much fun and rich magical creature lore (including illustrations!), and it’s just got so much heart that you simply can’t help but be charmed by it all.

In a weird way, The Humane Society of Creatures & Cryptids feels like a uniquely exciting mash-up of the styles of T.J. Klune, Alice Oseman, Emily Henry, and T. Kingfisher to me, while also being completely unlike anything I have ever read. And you better bet I will be coming back for more, because I am quite eager to see what kind of wild shenanigans all these loveable misfits get up to in the next stage of their lives. So, if you like the sound of a fun and feel-good genre blendy story of love, sisterhood, animal conservation, and compassion, then I truly can’t recommend this gem highly enough!