The High Priest's Daughter

The Network #3

by Katie Cross

Never Underestimate the Power of a Liberated Witch.

Despite swirling rumors of war, seventeen-year-old Bianca Monroe is living without restraint for the first time. With no curse to hinder her and her enemy, Miss Mabel, imprisoned in an impervious dungeon, she’s finally free.

Nothing lasts forever. The Southern Network attacks, launching Bianca, her beloved father, and everyone she cares for into a war controlled by the clandestine witch Angelina. Chatham City burns, Guardians die, and Bianca soon realizes the only witch who can save the Central Network is the conniving Miss Mabel.

Will setting Miss Mabel free save everyone she loves, or unleash a greater evil on the Central Network and all of Antebellum? Is Bianca strong enough to make the right choice?

The High Priest’s Daughter is the third book in the thrilling new fantasy collection The Network Series. It’s a haunting tale about growing up and finding the strength within.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic, Witches, Fiction, Paranormal, Audiobook

351 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2015

About the author

My world revolves around my husband (who is a major hottie), my precious kids, my Vizsla’s who act like children, and the mountains.

I wear hiking boots instead of heels when I need to feel powerful, and on a bad day, I love a weightlifting workout. Actually, I love it on a good day.

I don’t eat bread because my thyroid doesn’t like it, although there are days I miss it. Especially ciabatta. Sweet potatoes are kind of my thing. Cookies too.

I write because I never stopped.

Author of The Network Series, The Dragonmaster Trilogy, and The Coffee Shop Series.

Email me at kcrosswriting@gmail.com

Reviews

[Kelsey Keating · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm usually picky with my 5 stars--I have to LOVE the book and be geeking out about it in order to do so.
Well, the Network series just keeps on making that work for me. I loved The High Priest's Daughter. It had action, intrigue, mystery...and a twist that had me screaming WHAT!?

Bianca is back and sassier than ever as she finally gets to take a breath and live life free from the curse that should have killed her. She's finally ready to live her life and spend time with her friends free of worry!--Only to discover her friends are growing up and moving on without her.

All the while, trouble is brewing and war is looming closer. B knows this, but with everyone turning on her father, how can she make them see that all is not well, and even though Mabel is locked up...things aren't any safer.

Oh Em Geeness, guys. You NEED to be reading this series. It's so good. *Makes inexplicable, unintelligible sounds*
START THE READING!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where do I begin? I love so much about this book, and loathe a couple of other things.

I didn’t expect to be as enthralled in this series as I am, but I wasn’t able to put any of the books down once I’d started them.

The main thing I hate about this book is the fact that the author has used the old ‘lesbian’ rumor as an insult or a way to pick on someone. I hate it. I feel personally offended as a member of the LGBTQ community and almost wanted to throw the book away and never pick it up again. There are so many different things that could love happened instead of ‘she made up a rumor that I like girls and not boys’. ABOLISH THIS MENTALITY.
I also am not impressed by the lack of diversity, everyone is white and straight. And when talking about the ‘Gypsies’, the author seems to wanna make is sure there’s coloured reps in her books by overly describing their ‘caramel skin’ or ‘full, dark lips’. Seriously stop.

What I loved about the book; I can’t even think of where to begin.
Watching Bianca struggle with the thought of losing her friends through the natural progression of life, ‘growing up isn’t growing apart’ hit me in the FEELS! We need to teach our adolescents this!
Seeing the girls put aside their differences and welcome Priscilla into their lives is amazing and shows the growth in the characters, especially Leda!
Merrick and Bianca excite me. I can’t wait to see the romance blossom in the next book! I hope there’s less of this heavy teasing and jabbing at one another and they just embrace that they’ve called helplessly in love with one another.
Seeing Derek fight internally with being High Priest AND and father was riveting and well written. Also totally relatable seeing an over protective father.

Bianca falling into Miss Mables mind was an interesting twist, one I didn’t expect. And having Isadora show up last minute also was unexpected!

AND THE PLOT TWIST ISOBEL OH MY GOD.
I totally saw it coming.
I didn’t trust that bitch from the moment she was introduced. I’ll admit, the loaning of the Volare threw me a little, but I wasn’t surprised at the big reveal of her being Angelina!

I’ve given this book a 4 star review, based on all the things listed above. I wanted to give it a 3 star review based on the awful rumor but that just wouldn’t be fair.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series gets better and better. This book started out at a fast pace and kept your heart pumping throughout the whole book. The characters are developing wonderfully and Bianca seems so real and easy to relate in this story. Can't wait for the final book in this series.

[E.D.E. Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Network Series just keeps getting better! I love following Bianca's transformation as she comes to grips with a new and dangerous world, her successes, her failures, and the vulnerabilities of the family and friends that help define her.

This is a great series for kids and adults alike, featuring classic storytelling, charming characters, and a healthy dose of magic. I absolutely love it, and I am seriously excited to read the final book in the series. I strongly recommend it!

[Bookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third book in The Network Series of fantasy books for Young Adult readers, ‘The High Priest’s Daughter ’ is an action packed, suspenseful read that is very hard to put down once started.

The characters, plot, settings and cultures are highly original and well-crafted. This is a compelling tale of a battle between the powers of evil that threaten to destroy the world of Antebellum, and those who refuse to yield to the darkness. The story delivers tension and adrenaline in equal measure, and there are plenty of twists to keep the reader guessing.

This book and the series to which it belongs have a magic of their own that readers of magical fantasy will find most appealing. Highly recommended for YA and older readers.

[Muzmuz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't stop reading

Couldn't put the book down.. the intensity with the way the events unfolded was amazing.... the little moments of butterflies gave a bit of light into the heavy story so that you just keep on reading without needing a break to breath ....

[Arnaud · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story continuation, but...

I felt the pace was a bit slow throughout this volume and overall not as interesting. There were some good moments and decent tension building at intervals, just not as good as the first two. Hopefully the 4th one will be better :-)

[Mickie Bernier Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series just gets better and better with each book! Now on to the next...

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting, frustrating, intense. We get to see the other networks in this book and a clearer picture of their differences and interactions with the Central Network. We also get more romance from side characters as the original group of school friends get older. Bianca has some semblance of control over her powers, but still has a lot of emotions to deal with. There is a lot of tension, unspoken feelings, and questions unanswered throughout that really evokes the setting of war in all its violence and uncertainty. The bad guys are just so despicable! As usual, the ending is jam-packed with events that finally give us some answers but also generate more questions. Now I must keep reading!

[Evan Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

At long last, Bianca Monroe is free from the curse that threatened her life and her nemesis and former teacher, Miss Mabel, is imprisoned with no way of escape. But nothing is as it seems. Miss Mabel's mother Angelina, a witch of unimaginable power, is pulling strings throughout Antebellum. Derek, Bianca's father and High Priest of the Central Network, prepares for war, despite a growing number of witches who choose to remain blind to the darkness that threatens to consume them. Meanwhile, Bianca must come to terms with growing up even if it means losing her friends in the process. But in a world on the brink of a war the scale of which hasn't been seen for years, Bianca must also come to terms with what sacrifices need to be made in order to save everyone she holds dear.

Being the penultimate installment of her bestselling Network Series, Katie Cross was face with the challenge of crafting a novel that would leave readers eagerly anticipating the next and final book. She succeeded greatly.

Bianca is as much of a kick-butt, loveable character as she has been since the first book, Miss Mabel's School for Girls. As with the books before this one, The High Priest's Daughter puts Bianca in a position where she must learn life lessons that I-- and I am sure many other readers, as well-- have faced.

I have always greatly admired Katie's mastery of world-building. Miss Mabel's School for Girls was a novel set, for the most part, in one location with the occasional setting changes. Antebellum Awakening expanded outward to locations like Chatham City and Chatham Castle where Bianca spends most of her time. The High Priest's Daughter goes even further with this and takes Bianca-- and the reader-- to places she has never been to before such as the Southern and Eastern Networks. Katie Cross does a splendid job giving each Network its own characteristics, making them easily distinct from each other. She also reveals more about the history of the world of Antebellum, introducing new aspects that I am sure that everyone cannot wait to read more about when the last book, and the planned companion novels, are finally available to devour.

The High Priest's Daughter is a wonderful novel. If you have read its predecessors, get to reading it if you haven't already! For those of you who have not had the pleasure of entering the magical world of Antebellum, you don't want to start here. Be sure to read Miss Mabel's School for Girls, Antebellum Awakening after that, then The High Priest's Daughter. There is also a novella and a prequel novel. The novella, The Isadora Interviews, can be read at anytime, though I suggest you read it after Miss Mabel's. As for the prequel, Mildred's Resistance, I suggest that you read it after Antebellum Awakening. You could read it before any of the books, but the book will mean more once you read them.

A gripping book from start to finish. It's fun, it's intriguing, it's emotional, and so much more. The last book, War of the Networks, cannot come soon enough.

[Andy Gonzalez De M · Rating 5 out of 5]

And the story gets more action packed! I love all the twists and turns this book came with! Fun to read.

[Stan Hutchings · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was reminded that I have not reviewed Book 3, which is part of the Network Collection that I HAVE read. I will remedy that oversight.
'Miss Mabel's School for Girls' is the first of the Network Series Collection (5 novels and one novella). It is gripping and enjoyable on its own, but I just HAD to find out what happened after the first novel ended, because 16-year-old Bianca was cursed to die on her 17th birthday, coming soon. You might have the same curiosity to find out how Bianca escapes the curse. My enjoyment was greatly enhanced by reading the other novels in the series in the proper order; so I strongly recommend that you just start out buying the set, which includes an interesting prequel telling how Bianca, Leda, Camille, Michelle and Priscilla were interviewed and accepted to the School. Then binge read the series. I started with Book 1, but wished I'd read "Mildred’s Resistance" and "The Isadora Interviews" beforehand (included in the set). You'll get important background on Miss Mabel, her mother, and her grandmother May, who raised Miss Mabel; plus background on many other characters who appear during the series. Their stories are integral to finally understand who Miss Mabel really is and how she became evil. The series follows Bianca, her friends and other characters, starting from their admission interviews, entry to Miss Mabel's school, training to be witches, romances and heartbreak, to the "grand finale", the final confrontation of good and evil in "The War of the Networks" several years later. I was not disappointed! There is plenty of action, friendship, romance, pain and suffering, deaths of friends and relatives (yes, sadly a lot of the good guys don't make it to the end), good vs. evil, dragons, fairies, and magic, all tied together by a good story and skilful writing.

[Dramapuppy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this series. I like it so much that I already read the fourth and final book before I got around to reviewing this one, and now I can't remember anything I would have said about this book. I went back to see what passages I highlighted, and nothing-- I did not highlight a single thing while I was reading this. That is abnormal for me.

I know I thought this book was better than the second but still not as good as the first. There's a lot of gearing up for the big fight, but it doesn't feel as transitional as the second book did. I don't remember being bored so I'm sure things happened but nothing particularly memorable.

I was glad to have an exciting villain again. The second book suffered from a severe lack of Miss Mabel, so introducing her mother as another threat made this book more fun. I absolutely saw the twist coming, but I didn't mind the predictability because it allowed me to enjoy the villain scenes for what they were.

Overall, this was a solid entry in a reliable series. It obviously didn't make a huge impression on me, but it got me excited for the next book and didn't bore me in its own right. For a third book, I'll consider that a job well done.

[McKenzie Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I generally do not like to give out 5 star reviews, but I have been addicted to this series since I read the very first book -- Mildred's Resistance. Not to mention, I stayed up past midnight reading on a work night because I could not put the book down.

The High Priest's Daughter is full of action, budding romance, mystery, plot twists, and suspense. The main character and heroine, Bianca, is a strong female lead that full of wit. Bianca has been put under an immense amount of pressure throughout this series and the stakes keep on getting higher. The supporting characters all have unique personalities that mesh well with the story and keep the story interesting as well as moving along. In this book, the third in the series, both the characters and the story continue developing and piquing your interest. Katie's descriptions and writing are fantastic -- I can clearly picture and easily believe what is going on. While this book is geared towards young adults, I think it is a great read for all audiences! I cannot wait for the next book!

[Dragonfriend · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story for the most part, although I didn't think it was as good as previous books in the series. Also, the role of the "gypsies" in this and the previous book continues to annoy me. An unfair amount of expectations seem to be put on them compared to other civilians in the story and I don't think it was made very clear why. I think it also would have helped if the author had given them an actual name, instead of just calling them "the gypsies", a term that a lot of people consider very insulting. Aside from that, I didn't much like the author's idea of storing Miss Mable in the dungeon for a while and then throwing her back into the story to be the villain again. I thought it just made it feel like the plot was going in circles. Not sure about the sudden magical connection with the wood either, I'll see how that develops though I guess. Aside from those parts of the story, I still really liked it. It wasn't so bad that I no longer want to read the series. I still plan to read the next book.

[Jolene MacFadden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, Bianca has captured and imprisoned the evil headmistress who killed her mother but with the sacrifice of the Head Priestess, she is now free from her inheritance curse to live her life. Well, as much as she and her friends are able since they are all on the brink of war.

More great intense writing, lovely imagery, and scenery. Almost quite believable magic that you take for granted and emotional turmoil of growing up, your friends changing and maturing, your dad becoming the head of your network, and you trying to figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life. All tough stuff when you also seem to have this uncontrollable magic urges.

Lovely third installment and looking forward to reading the fourth.

[Lucy Takeda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d actually rate this 3.5. Several scenarios seemed overdone and unoriginal. However, I still adore Leda, and admire the loyalty among the characters.
Bianca is feeling lonely as her assorted roommates find partners. Her beloved Papa is incredibly busy handling political and war issues. Trying to protect her, he insists that she stay in the safety of the castle, and not spend time running with Merrick. However, those limitations make her magic flare up and become harder to manage.
I understand that she is rather naive and seventeen years old. I did find her rather rapid trust of an older woman—questionable. So many red flag warnings!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

GRowing up

Life is changing so much for the four friends who soon unbelievable become 5. Bianca has won in her fight with Miss Mabel who is now in the dungeon but life is getting worse—who is pulling the strings and Bianca misses her father so much as he is so busy. Luckily she has Merrick to keep her working and learning. At 17 she is to young to be to afraid so takes way to many risks. She has a job at the castle also but is she to trusting? You will have to read this book to find out—I am heartbroken that there is only one book left!!

[Michelle Sonnier · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot for this installment is action packed and pulls you along from one event to another. But the real shining star of this series of books is the relationships between the characters. This installment of the series is no different. I really enjoyed seeing the growth of the character and the subtle details that showed the privations of war. The main character is protected from many of the violent aspects because of her position, but things like food scarcity even for the higher social strata show up. I'm very much looking forward to the next installment of the series.

[Megan Blanchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished reading the third book in Katie Cross' The Network Series and now I can't wait to read the final installment! This book was fast paced, developed the main characters and their friendships even further, introduced some new characters, revived old enemies, had an unexpected plot twist, and a budding romance! It was a quick and easy read that kept me entertained and wanting to read "just one more chapter"!

[Wendy Theriault · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find myself surprisingly absorbed in the etwork Series and this book is the best one yet. We’ve had time in the series to get to know the characters and care about them. My only criticism is that I figured out almost immediately who Angelina was masquering as.

That being said, I’m enjoying the books nd the short stories.

[Ruth Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young adult book in a series. Maybe more of a 3.5, but this is an old person talking. 🤔 Seems more like a transitional book to move along to the climax of the entire series. Change is in the air for our protagonist and she matures to accept it as inevitable. The story seems to be slowing down,but it does have it's action moments. I guess it kept my attention as I read through it in a few hours.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful installment of The Network Series. I couldn't wait to finish this book to see how it was going to end. Once again, I could envision what was happening, could see Chatham Castle & Letum Wood. Thanks to Ms. Cross' writing, I felt like I was in the cave with Bianca & Angelica.
I can't wait until the next book!

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books by Katie Cross - but full disclosure, I've only not liked one of her books.
Bianca Monroe's story continues as we follow her wild adventures through a magical forest and her ongoing goal to save Alkarra from Almorran Magic and the evil witch who uses it to her own advantage.

[Joan Kani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story

Bianca, is the daughter of the newly appointed High Priest Derek. After imprisoning Mabel in the castles dungeon, the network has to fight her mother Angelina.

She has been hiding in plain sight all along. No one can defeat Angelina's dark magic, except her own daughter.

Bianca is still getting a rein on her increasing powers.

[Sharon Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book takes you through twists and turns of a witch growing up and learning to use magic, during a time of unrest in her kingdom. You see the strength of resolve through loss . The writing is extremely descriptive, the characters come to life under the authors pen. I am really enjoying this series

[Cecily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book! It isn't my typical genre that I read, but it kept me coming back! I wanted to know what was going to happen to Bianca and her friends! There were elements of magic, adventure/action, twinge of romance, & mystery.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

The storyline is definitely for middle school readers. It moves quickly and the development is simple. This 3rd book was terrific, I'm invested in the character and her development. I cannot wait to read the rest of this series.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great sequel! There is so much going on in the war. Bianca has to deal with other bad people trying to take over the Central City and area, along with other areas as well. A lot happens, so it is great to get to the end. I love the epilogue!
Enjoy!

[Angi Meadows · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

As with the other books in the Network Series, this book was hard to put down and the end leaves me wanting to know how the war will end and if Bianca and her papa finally find peace.