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The Ancient Souls #2

Nation of the Sword

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Zahora's young, naïve, restless, and powerful, so when the Pagans' senior magiks refuse to teach her, she takes matters into her own hands. She stumbles blindly into the magical Sphere, and there are consequences ... but at least Rose knows who she is now. And Rose - the Pagans' leader - wastes no time in putting Zahora to work, finding a way to break the magic binding Raina and Callie to the Templars. But Zahora's impulsive, distracted by a mysterious man, and wouldn't know caution if it hit her in the face.
While Caspar plays politics, meeting the audacious demands of allies to secure their loyalty, Jon is sent to New York, to retrieve Raina's wayward human cousin, Leila, who's looking into things she shouldn't. Isolated from the outside world, Raina walks a tightrope, convincing the Templars she's loyal to them, while searching for anything that could aid her true nation, or speed her return to Caspar, her soulmate.

But the Pagans contend not only with the Templars, but Slayers, a corrupt Registerium, and the shadowy West Coast nation. With so many perilous parts, the Pagans' plans must be meticulous, so when an opportunity to retrieve Raina and Callie arises, they're ready to strike.

The Ancient Souls Series continues in Nation of the Sword. One-click now to dive back into this unique world of past lives, found families, and eternal love.

Trigger warnings for violence and kidnap. Contains adult content and ends on a cliffhanger.

312 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2022

58 people are currently reading
286 people want to read

About the author

H.R. Moore

19 books158 followers
HR Moore writes romantic fantasy, romantasy, fantasy romance, and paranormal romance.

All HR's books contain strong women, high stakes, plot twists, adventure, found family and plenty of romance, with charaters willing to burn down the current order to change things for the better.

She resides in the UK, loves audiobooks, and lives for book club.

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5 stars
46 (35%)
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
Profile Image for Stephanie.
346 reviews14 followers
February 7, 2022
I enjoyed book 1 and was looking forward to seeing where the story went. But book 2 fell a little short for me...

The story is still great. But the story felt really rushed and disconjointed. Some scenes felt like the reactions were really over the top.

Towards the end, the flow finally gets better so I'm still into the series and hope book 3 will be a little more cohesive and keeps a nice pace to let the characters really come to life.
Profile Image for Kaitlyn H⭐ntz.
218 reviews26 followers
December 28, 2023
This was surprisingly good. I actually enjoyed this more than the first one. I can't believe how invested I was in this story. I needed to see what happens next, I really liked all the characters. I will definitely be picking up the last one soon.
Profile Image for Tiff Talks Pages.
93 reviews198 followers
February 12, 2022
This picks up right where the Templar’s set their trap in the last book. I really enjoyed the ariel view of the political landscape in this one. This read like a game of chess. The Pagans strategically prepare for their checkmate, and strike quickly in the third act. Raina is resourceful while relearning old tricks, juggling motherhood,and espionage. I ached for her separation from Casper. Their love is one that spans across eons and I can’t wait to see the fate of the Pagan nation. I’m ready for the next one.
Profile Image for The Pursuit Of Bookiness.
116 reviews9 followers
February 8, 2022
How far would you go to protect one of your own? Action packed, painful, heart wrenching and intriguing Nation of the Sword is a fitting follow on from the excitement of the first book in this series!

Now you all know I’m a MASSIVE fan of H.R Moore and if you haven’t checked out book one you totally should. After being late to the party for book one, I didn’t have to wait long until book two….not that it would’ve mattered I found myself picking up exactly where I left off. This book does not ease you in gently it’s right back to the action. The story line expands from the story of Casper and Raina and not only brings in new characters fundamental to this story, such as Zahora, it cleverly weaves in the other nations of demons to show the political landscape and the tenuous bonds that hold them together in the face of all out war with the Templars.

Much more action packed but still with the peppering of steamy scenes H R Moore writes so well this book will be one you lose sleep over, it will give you the just one more chapter need that is so indicative of a good read and it does not disappoint on the ending. Whilst I felt the cliff hanger was less dramatic than in the first book (which I’m thankful for I don’t think I could take another one like that) I’m not cross that it’s ended I’m excited to see how the Pagans are going to over come the Templars…..or will they???

Disclosure: The Pursuit Of Bookiness received a copy of this book free of charge in return for an honest review. All opinions are our own. This post may contain affiliate links, if you click the links we may receive a small commission. It doesn’t cost you anything.
Profile Image for Anshul (stories.buddy).
1,010 reviews18 followers
April 3, 2022
I’m surprised by this one, I really love the course of the story here. The first book was all about Raina and Casper but this one, OMG is more than the individuals. The story focuses on getting their star back but with a lot of knowledge given about how things work for the demon nations, how magik is worked, what all relations the nations can work on like how to go securing allies, finding their true self. After retrieving the main characters, the story focuses on other characters too and that was the best thing I liked about it. We get to see new characters, baby demons, and old ones getting tested for patience. It was fun to read and have a laugh about it even in this serious situation they are facing. A war is coming and it is just the beginning, I’m sure book three will be thrilling. Zahora is my new favourite in this series and I no longer hate Raina. Raina grew on me as the story progressed and I’m happy with the ending the way it has happened.
Profile Image for Hikami D..
251 reviews12 followers
January 25, 2022
𝑁𝑜 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟.

𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓱𝓻𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓽𝓪𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰

𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹: I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes any of the book tropes within this series. It's an easy, fast-paced read with great romance, banter and an enthralling story as a backbone.

𝗜𝗻-𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹: 𝕊𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕 is a direct sequel to ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕦𝕟, and it was SO so good! In my opinion, much better than its predecessor. It uses the solid foundation of 𝕊𝕦𝕟 to create an intricate world with a complex and captivating story revolving around soul mates and what we are willing to do for our beloved and how–sometimes–love means war.

The book features new characters, a great sub arc, and multiple alternating story lines that create an intricate story tapestry towards the end. Despite the many scenery changes it was always clear what was going on, truly marvelous! 🤌

I still have one small critique; the cliffhanger. Like book 1, it didn't feel like one but like stopping in midsentence. But this is carping with very high standards.

All in all, go read this book, it's amazing. ☺️
Profile Image for Pauline.
380 reviews5 followers
February 2, 2022
I was extremely lucky to read this book as an ARC reader but now unlucky as I have to wait longer for book 3!
This is one of the best series I have read since Deborah Harkness’s discovery of witches or Anne Rice’s Mayfair witches - which is how amazing and long awaited this book series is.
The culture and politics of reincarnated souls through time - the characters with unrequited love, past life vendettas, and newly found demons starting out on their journey. The story makes you rethink myths and history within a what if frame. Great follow up to the first book. Highly recommended ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Profile Image for Samantha.
101 reviews6 followers
February 22, 2022
Thank you so much to H.R Moore for allowing me to read an ARC or Nation of the Sword which is BOOK 2 of The Ancient Souls series.

I was really looking forward to this book and honestly… it didn’t disappoint! I’m always so skeptical about sequels because they usually fall flat for me but I was happily surprised with this book.

Someone mentioned in another review that this book read like a game of Chess. And honestly I can’t get that out of my head now. It really does! And I good at chess? No but honestly the strategy playing on the pages was so interesting to read about!

I cannot wait for book 3!!!

4/5
Profile Image for Michelle Stewart.
534 reviews15 followers
March 26, 2022
I received a copy of this book for an honest review.
Well, book 2 had even more action than the first one.
I am still loving the idea of reincarnation and past lives. The way the characters eventually 'wake' up and remember everything that happened in their previous lives is a perfect way to add depth.
Raina trying to get herself and Callie free while also trying to find out what the Templars were up to was nerve-racking.
The reunion of Casper and Raina with the Pagans was perfect.
Jamie is a psychopath and hopefully he gets the true death at some point.
Again, the book ended with a cliffhanger, and I can't wait to read book 3!
Profile Image for Kerri Doyle.
208 reviews5 followers
April 24, 2023
The book starts right where Nation of the Sun left off, and thank the gods because I had to find out more after that ending!


Where book one was more world building, this one was very character heavy and has a lot of different story lines happening at once. It almost reads like a tv show, which I love. Narration could have used more pause between transitions within the chapters, but I was able to still follow along well.
Profile Image for Kasia Dobosz.
11 reviews
March 8, 2022
The book felt disconnected from the first one in the series. The story line of both book one and two felt rushed and the MC’s storyline doesn’t feel developed enough to be root for them. Too many characters to keep track of.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews

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