This book takes place in 1800’s Tsarist Russia. This book is about a girl named Alina Starkov who was a poor orphan and got scouted as a cartographer for her army. Then one day she travels into the Shadow Fold, a scary and dangerous place. Then a group of vicious volcra attack their boat and Alina unleashed a hidden power that she didn’t know she had. They escape the shadow fold and she gets tested for powers immediately. 

Alina turns out to be the Sun Summoner, the strongest type of magic summoner, and gets recruited immediately. She goes through harsh training to be able to summon her power because she has to be stimulated to summon it normally. Finally, after months of training, she summons her first sun beam by herself.

Alina runs away because her trainer, Baghra, told her that the Darkling, who had recruited her, was evil and she tried to track a never seen before deer that would amplify her power tremendously if she got one of its antlers. The Darkling got there before her, killed the deer, restrained her, and put it on her so now only he can use her powers. They go to the Fold but Alina breaks through the curse and performs the legendary “Cut” and escapes. She and her best friend Mal make camp far away and then the book ends.

I loved this book a lot because of the hierarchy and power system. I loved the characters like Mal and Baghra because they’re very likable funny. This is the first book of the trilogy and it has its own Netflix series. You should check it out sometime whether it’s on Netflix or the books.