#Natural Sorcery by Marina Ermakova #Jordan Sanders 2 #Urban Fantasy #Dystopian

Rome was supposed to be safe–or at least safer than 90% of the planet. That was before the local legends started using their magic to destroy the food supply.

Considered one of Rome’s experts on legends, mostly because she keeps surviving their assassination attempts, Jordan finds herself racing to find the culprits before they strike again. But legends wield powers that aren’t documented, understood, or predictable. And Jordan isn’t even a soldier. She’s just some scientist unlucky enough to stumble over the local political mess.

The chances of getting murdered by magic beyond her comprehension is disconcertingly high. But if this unknown legend goes unchecked, Rome won’t survive the next few years…and Jordan doesn’t have it in her to walk away from that.

Book 2 in the Jordan Sanders series, beginning with Terrestrial Magic.
(From the Book Blurb)

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My thoughts:
Natural Sorcery is the second book in Marina Ermakova’s urban fantasy series featuring Jordan Sanders, a biologist and a leader of a team that studies magical animals (legimals). You can read Natural Sorcery as a standalone, as the author provides enough background into this fantasy world. However, there are also spoilers to the first book, so I would recommend to start from Terrestrial Magic and get a fuller experience of the series.

I did enjoy the second book much more for several reasons. Partly, it’s the blessing of the secondbook where the world has already been established and here we are dealing with an original blend of fantasy and mythology. It is clear from the aftermath of the events in the previous book that Jordan got involved into complex political games which may well be a matter of survival for non-magical humans, but Jordan is a scientist and knows very little about politics. Even she understands straightaway that the mystery at the core of the second book is threatening to leave her community without food and it isn’t going to be easy to find the guilty party, if the legends (the magical community) are involved. There are twists and turns, including narrow escapes from death and lethal animal attacks. Natural Sorcery grabbed me straightaway and I just had to read it in one sitting.

The first book left me a bit unsure about the protagonist. This time it felt as if she matured and left some of her insecurities behind her. Jordan often thought what her family members would say or do in a situation of danger and this helps her analyse the events form different angles and come up with a course of action. She still does it, but now she goes beyond choosing between the options her family would consider and finds her own way.

Overall, I enjoyed this second instalment in Jordan Sanders series and was glad to be back in this original world with legends and mythological animals. I’m looking forward to getting to know more about Jordan and her team in the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Books Go Social for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

This was a buddy read with Louise from louisesbookbuzzhome.wordpress.com