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The Tales of Jahani #2
Leopard Princess
Master storyteller Rosanne Hawke effortlessly interweaves ancient Mughal history and settings, fables and traditional story threads to bring to life a magical fantasy. Told over two books – the first book, Daughter of Nomads released July 2016. First Moon of Autumn, 1662: After reuniting with the nomads, fourteen-year-old Jahani is finally home. With her red hair dyed black, she can travel through the Qurraqoram Mountains without fear of being captured.But the tyrants and war lords who pursue Jahani will not rest in their battle for power and, before long, the nomads are attacked.Can Jahani discover a pathway to peace in the northern kingdoms and fulfil her true destiny?
259 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 28, 2016
1 person is currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Rosanne Hawke
60 books96 followersWhen little I ran around with a jotter and a pencil, pretending to write a story but not knowing how to spell any words except Dick, Dora and cat. My mother asked me to tell stories. A lot of my stories stayed in my head, as being the youngest and living in the country didn't bring many opportunities for an audience. I was born in Penola, in South Australia. We had a sheep farm until I was six, then we moved to a property in Central Queensland. I went to school at a one-teacher school in Banana, a little country town named after a bullock.
My first short story was published in the Moura State School magazine in 1967 when I was in grade 8. At 14 years, I moved back to South Australia and attended Gawler High School where I won an Arts Scholarship to complete Years 11 & 12. I started a romantic novel when I was 17 but I burnt it later.
It wasn't until I was working in the Middle East and Pakistan, teaching ESL, bringing up kids, when I started to write seriously. My kids loved the story game we played and one night after telling a story, my daughter asked me to write it down.
I have a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Adelaide and teach Creative Writing at Tabor Adelaide, South Australia, a Christian accredited tertiary institution. I have researched Cornish identity in Australian children's literature and enjoy writing about culture, faith, relationships, displacement and belonging, music and cats.
My first short story was published in the Moura State School magazine in 1967 when I was in grade 8. At 14 years, I moved back to South Australia and attended Gawler High School where I won an Arts Scholarship to complete Years 11 & 12. I started a romantic novel when I was 17 but I burnt it later.
It wasn't until I was working in the Middle East and Pakistan, teaching ESL, bringing up kids, when I started to write seriously. My kids loved the story game we played and one night after telling a story, my daughter asked me to write it down.
I have a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Adelaide and teach Creative Writing at Tabor Adelaide, South Australia, a Christian accredited tertiary institution. I have researched Cornish identity in Australian children's literature and enjoy writing about culture, faith, relationships, displacement and belonging, music and cats.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 12, 2018
This is an exciting story, sort of like a Persian fairytale full of adventure, talking animals, and a fight between good and evil. The main character, Jahani, is a strong and courageous female lead character, but she’s not infallible and this makes her all the more likeable and believable. Overall, this is a gripping fantasy.
May 19, 2018
EVEN BETTER THEN BOOK 1, THIS IS AN INTRIGUING AND SPECTACULAR BOOK!!!
October 22, 2021
This was amazing! Full review to come
January 26, 2019
Rosanne Hawke is a fine author who weaves an epic tale.
December 12, 2022
3 1/2 stars. This book was good, but it didn't captivate me like the first one. I did love reading a story set in India/Pakistan, and now I feel like I ought to read more books set in this area.
January 18, 2026
Pretty good. I feel like things started to lose momentum near the end but no matter; the book was a good sequel to the first one.
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March 2, 2017After reuniting with the nomads, fourteen-year-old Jahani is finally home. With her red hair dyed black, she can travel through the Qurraqoram Mountains without fear of being captured.But the tyrants and war lords who pursue Jahani will not rest in their battle for power and, before long, the nomads are attacked.Can Jahani discover a pathway to peace in the northern kingdoms and fulfil her true destiny?
October 20, 2016
The Leopard Princess is the second book in the series titled The Tales of Jahani by acclaimed South Australian author Roseanne Hawke. Following on directly from Daughter of Nomads, I highly recommend that readers will continue with this only after reading the first book. Unlike some series, which can be read in any order, I suspect that The Leopard Princess may fail to resonate if read in this way. I assume that the publisher made the decision to separate what was one rather long book into two smaller ones as they feared a younger YA audience may feel overwhelmed by such a large book. This was probably the right decision although I feel that both books could easily be bundled together in one volume and pitched successfully at an older audience.
Feel free to read my earlier review of Daughter of Nomads https://ozbooks4teachers.wordpress.co.... The Leopard Princess picks up the story in the Autumn of 1662. Jahani remains in hiding from her jilted fiancée, the cruel Muzahid Baig and the tyrannical Dagar Khan. With the constant risk of capture and increasing fear of retribution upon the nomadic people who are hiding her, Jahani knows that she must travel through the mountains to the northern kingdoms in an effort to secure peace for the region and realise her destiny. Continuing on from Daughter of Nomads, The Leopard Princess develops themes and ideas that explore good versus evil, triumph against adversity, in addition to the quest for one’s identity. The Leopard Princess also asks pertinent questions about love, leadership, followership, courage and self-sacrifice.
With plenty of action, a sprinkling of romance and just enough magic to make things interesting, I imagine that this book will appeal to readers in the middle years. Certainly, as Jahani moves further into adolescence, I envisage that older teens and many adults will also discover plenty to relate to. As with, Daughter of Nomads, this story provides unique opportunities for Asian perspectives, particularly to a History unit focusing on the Middle Ages and Renaissance period (which is too often Eurocentric). I imagine that students might appreciate the opportunity to compare the life of Elizabeth I with Jahani, contrasting the challenges and limitations faced by women in positions of authority at this time.
While The Leopard Princess neatly draws to a conclusion the quest begun in Daughter of Nomads, I will live in hope that Hawke will decide to write a third book in this series. After all, there are still plenty of adventures to be had for Jahani and Azhar. I’d also be keen to read a story written exclusively from the perspective of Azhar, especially one which explores a time before the events in books 1 and 2.
Feel free to read my earlier review of Daughter of Nomads https://ozbooks4teachers.wordpress.co.... The Leopard Princess picks up the story in the Autumn of 1662. Jahani remains in hiding from her jilted fiancée, the cruel Muzahid Baig and the tyrannical Dagar Khan. With the constant risk of capture and increasing fear of retribution upon the nomadic people who are hiding her, Jahani knows that she must travel through the mountains to the northern kingdoms in an effort to secure peace for the region and realise her destiny. Continuing on from Daughter of Nomads, The Leopard Princess develops themes and ideas that explore good versus evil, triumph against adversity, in addition to the quest for one’s identity. The Leopard Princess also asks pertinent questions about love, leadership, followership, courage and self-sacrifice.
With plenty of action, a sprinkling of romance and just enough magic to make things interesting, I imagine that this book will appeal to readers in the middle years. Certainly, as Jahani moves further into adolescence, I envisage that older teens and many adults will also discover plenty to relate to. As with, Daughter of Nomads, this story provides unique opportunities for Asian perspectives, particularly to a History unit focusing on the Middle Ages and Renaissance period (which is too often Eurocentric). I imagine that students might appreciate the opportunity to compare the life of Elizabeth I with Jahani, contrasting the challenges and limitations faced by women in positions of authority at this time.
While The Leopard Princess neatly draws to a conclusion the quest begun in Daughter of Nomads, I will live in hope that Hawke will decide to write a third book in this series. After all, there are still plenty of adventures to be had for Jahani and Azhar. I’d also be keen to read a story written exclusively from the perspective of Azhar, especially one which explores a time before the events in books 1 and 2.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews