Mal and Alina are orphans who grow up in military service. They are great
friends but then a military conflict happens and Alina is drafted by a
mysterious figure called the Darkling to be a Grisha. Alina is learning what
it means to be a Grisha while the Darkling takes a special interest in her
because she has the powers of a sun summoner which have been gone for
centuries. She has to run from the palace though when Baghra reveals the
Darkling’s true colors and reveals that he intends to bind Alina with a
Morozova amplifier. The Darkling starts chasing Alina who found her friend
Mal along the way and the book ends with the Darkling catching Alina and
binding her to the amplifier. The Darkling now has total control over her
power.
I really enjoyed this book because there is really good character
development with Alina and the attachment between the Darkling and Alina
is a great addition to the story because it makes the story deeper when
Alina finds out the Darkling’s true intentions. This is shown especially well
as Alina struggles between Mal and the Darkling with emotional conflict.