A Vision of Air

Three Realms, Nine Monarchs #1

by Nicole Silver, Nico Silver, Nik Sylvan (illustrator)

A sinister magical plot could destroy order in the Nine Monarchies. Foiling that plot could destroy something even more precious.The only seer born to the bird folk in seven generations, Fionn has spent his entire life in an impenetrable, remote abbey, learning to control his visions and to heal the sick. He has never met his parents, has never even seen another of his people, and has never known anything beyond the strict order within the abbey walls.When Kiernan, the half-human son of the forest Sidhe, is sent on a secret mission to the abbey, he finds himself trapped within the walls. He is blinded, weakened, and stripped of his magic—and forced to rely on seer-healer Fionn for everything. To the Sidhe, the bird folk are lesser beings, thought to be barbaric and barely civilized. But Kier doesn’t know Fionn is one of them, and he finds himself attracted the gentle young man he can’t even see.When Kier remembers his mission to foil a plot that threatens both his life and Fionn’s he has to save the young man he is coming to care about, or carry out the vital mission he was sent for, even if it means losing Fionn

Genres: Fantasy, Queer

482 pages, Paperback

Published January 7, 2024

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Elizabeth D · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 I think this needs a more thorough content warning. I read this ARC with the warning that there were two short dubcon scenes not between the MCs. I would argue that there were multiple instances of dubcon from two different characters and an assault of one of the MCs. (When one person feels unable to say “no”, I don’t consider that to be consent.) There was also very little acknowledgement that this was not okay (and in fact the other MC explicitly thinks during one of the earlier incidents that this is very normal and wouldn’t have stopped if someone only verbally said no either). This cast a shadow over the whole book for me, and so while I enjoyed other parts of it, I won’t continue with the series, as there is every indication there will be more of the same.

Fionn is so innocent in so many ways (though I’m glad he’s able to learn as much from books as he can) that it’s painful at times to watch him interact with the outside world, especially when so many people are so awful. Although he and Kiernan meet and fall in love, by the end of the book, I feel like his situation is changed but almost equally as awful as it was in the beginning. I guess this feels like book one of a series where I wanted a HEA—and would have settled for a HFN—and really got neither.

I enjoyed the times where Fionn and Kiernan actually got to know one another and spend time with one another happily, where Kiernan faces some of his prejudices and tries to be a better person. I appreciated the rare allies that they found. This is a carefully thought out world with intricate politics (truthfully, probably too much politics for me). There's a fascinating variety of races, interesting magic, lots more to learn, and the idea of a better future for people (but of course we don't make any real progress on that in book 1). And of course Smoke and Flame are the best!

I received an ARC from GRR. This is my honest review.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

4 stars

I was intrigued with this book from the start as we meet Fionn. Fionn is not a shifter, he is bird folk. He looks part human and part bird and has the anatomy of a bird and I liked seeing a being not usually seen in books. Fionn is a sad character at first. He has lived his entire life in an abbey with no love, no comfort, and no idea really what his purpose is in life. He has never even seen another bird folk. Fionn has visions, but they are sporadic, and he has no guidance for being a seer. He is uneducated and, at 33 years old, he is languishing in an old abbey. There are hints as to what is going on, but Fionn has been too isolated to even think something might be off.

This is book one in the Three Realms, Nine Monarchs series and the name of the series hasn’t fully resonated with me yet. While I felt there was a lot of world and story being built in this first book and not all of it was clear, Fionn is a character that I am looking forward to reading more about as his story evolves.

Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.

[MM Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is very original!!! so so good

A Vision of Air, book one in the Three Realms, Nine Monarch, by Nicole Silver is so, so good!!!! I mean it’s so riveting that I couldn’t put it down and it’s not a novella. And yes I had stay up late just to finish it.

I absolutely love Fionn. This is the character I’ve been dreaming about. A character I was craving for. A character I would write if I were to become an author myself. He’s sweet, kind, innocent and loyal.

And the world building in this series is just amazing. It’s a world I can image in my head while reading this. The descriptions are so thorough.

I want more from this author!!! I’m so excited to see where this series ends.

[Debby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fionn has spent his life behind the walls of a remote, impenetrable abbey. As the first seer born to the bird folk in generations, Fionn is at a disadvantage as he has not known a single bird folk, nor has he met his parents nor anyone else except the sisters in the abbey. The sisters bring him a man for healing who tried to enter the abbey and wound up blinded, weak and stripped of his magic. This young man is Kiernan, the half-human son of the forest sidhe. He is there on a mission, but he does not exactly remember what it is. As he heals, he finds himself falling for the sweet man caring for him. His people consider the bird folk to be lesser, but he cannot help but feel an attraction to this man he cannot see. With healing comes his memories of his mission, he realizes some tough choices will have to be made.

Both Fionn and Kier were fantastic heroes. Kier had a habit of saying what came to mind which often annoyed those around him, including his various captors. Fionn was so innocent and sweet that you could not help but fall in love with him. The plot is intriguing and leaves us wanting more. The story is so intense that we feel as if we are part of the action and we have our own stake in hoping for a happy ending. There is more to this story as this is only book one. We shall be anxiously awaiting book two in order to know what is happening with our new loves.

[Suzanne Irving · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet and bittersweet tale

This is a very bittersweet story especially with the ending that it has but as long as you read the warnings about it (and don’t read if you don’t like that kind of thing) you will probably enjoy it. It’s about a VERY innocent Fionn who is rescued by a VERY not innocent Kiernan. There are various other characters, but this first volume of the series is mostly the two main characters and their travels and travails. Nicole Silver’s world building is great and the fantasy aspects are well thought out and her descriptions of things made it very easy for me to imagine it all. I was captivated by this story from beginning to end and stayed up way too late reading it. Yes, parts of it are difficult to read and Kiernan especially has to make some hard choices but to me they made a lot of sense in the context of the story. I really look forward to the next volume and the continuation of this saga of two males who are not supposed to be together but love each other anyway.

[Siobhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Vision of Air is the first book in the Three Realms, Nine Monarchs series, and it is one that left me conflicted. As a big lover of fantasy, I am always looking for new series to devour. There were many things about A Vision of Air that had me curious, yet it did not quite deliver.

A Vision of Air was a story that did have me curious and turning the pages, wanting to see how the story developed. While I was curious about watching where things headed, I never quite felt the connection to the characters that I had hoped for. There were too many things that felt a bit underdeveloped for me, which meant I always felt a bit at a distance from what was happening to the characters. I can certainly see many things gripping readers with this one, but my inability to feel deeply for the characters meant I was never wholly invested in it.

All in all, this is one of those reads I can see working for many. Although I can see it working for many, it did not quite work for me.

[L H · Rating 4 out of 5]

It felt from the beginning of the story that Fionn was about to find that his currently regimented life in the Abbey would not be so anymore. Fionn is a very likeable character and it was easy to fall into this story and follow along and wait to see what was about to await him. I enjoyed the story and it moved at a good pace. The author took time to invite us into this world, to introduce us to Kier and Fionn and to set up a series that I am looking forward to reading more of to find out what will happen to these two. Not all good stories require a resolution right away or an HEA. Nicely started.
I received an ARC from GRR and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Juniper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story offers an imaginatively crafted world full of deeply interesting characters— I could write a novel’s worth of praise for Fionn in particular, who is lovely and layered and just so deeply worth caring about. The plot is immersive and easy to get caught up in, and the connection that builds between Kier and Fionn is worth rooting for. This is a fairly lengthy book that seems to fly by once started— I truly enjoyed it and will definitely be on the lookout for more works from this author.

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Saskia Veldhuis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magnificent world building with lovely complicated groups of beings who unfortunately all seem to be evil (at least all the ones in charge). The MCs are charming, especially Fionn. Great potential for future books to continue the story. Note for other readers that there are multiple instances of dubious consent.
I received a complimentary copy of this book and am happy to leave a voluntary review

[Ida Umphers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cannot wait for book two of this series. Here we have two wonderful characters in Fionn and Kiernan both literally trapped within an abbey and also trapped within their respective ignorance of how any parts of the world outside the abbey actually work (Fionn) and the ignorance of prejudice against a group he's never met (Kiernan). When these two are thrown together as healer and patient, a bond grows that will change the course of their lives and the lives of all those around them.

[Nina Diab · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Pretty bird.'

I really enjoyed this book. Great world building and wonderful characters. While I loved both Fionn and Kiernan, Fionn's sweetness and innocence really won my heart. I loved the building of their relationship and they had such great chemistry. I liked the dynamic between them. And I was hooked to see what actions Kier would take in the end. This was the first book I've read by this author and I will definitely be continuing this series. 4 stars.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. I didn't love it. I found myself skimming the s3x scenes, because they're not really my favorite thing in a book. There were a lot of them in this, but I went in knowing there would be. It's in the title! Anyway, I thought the world building was interesting. I felt the book was long, and it took me longer to finish than usual.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A plot is trying to gain a foot to destroy life as everyone knows it. He has been locked away in a walled home with monks and trained to use his magic. A young man will appear who cannot see he is the one they think are below them. How will it all go? Will war break out? How will they deal with the consequences? Follow them all to find out

[Rena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the world building, character development and magic parts of this story a lot. Fionn is one of my favorite characters mostly because he is a Seer and a Healer and his inexperienced, kindhearted character was amazing IMO. Overall the story was interesting, but I thought it was a bit too long. This was my first book by this author and I am going to continue with this series.

[Graham Clevenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun book. The two characters, Kiernan and Fionn, are well written and a delight to follow. But in addition to being a great read, the author, Nico Silver, is a wonderful person that I have enjoyed interacting with on socials. I look forward to the future books in this series.

[Natasha Lynn Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Next Book

I liked the world building, character development and the magical elements. Fionn and Kier were fantastic and I'm excited to see where they go in the next book.