Snowstorm King

Chronicles of Curses #2

by H.L. Macfarlane

What do you do when winter never ends?

Tempestuous, hedonistic Kilian Hale does not wish to be king. Only a curse cast by his father on his deathbed ties him to the throne until his elder brother, Gabriel, returns from war.

Spurned for not possessing the blonde hair and blue eyes of the people of Alder, Elina Brodeur seeks to win their approval by requesting an audience with their cruel, lazy king. But Kilian is not interested in the town’s pleas for extra provisions to help them through the particularly harsh winter, and time and again turns Elina away.

Yet the king soon discovers that he’s met his match in Elina, who strikes a deal with Kilian to get what she wants. But as provisions run low and tensions run high, Kilian struggles to get rid of the crown he never wanted whilst Elina tries to deny her growing feelings for the king she swore to hate.

The appearance of a pair of travelling magicians may just change everything…

Chronicles of Curses is a series of independent but interconnected fairy tale retellings that can largely be read in any order, though Snowstorm King is the preferred second in the series.

NOTE: Snowstorm King is written in UK (British) English, not American English.

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Romance

237 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2021

About the author

Follow me on Bookbub! https://bit.ly/HLBookb

NOTE: H. L. Macfarlane is currently on a publishing hiatus to focus on her mental health. She hopes to return with new titles in early 2026 and appreciates your understanding in the meantime.

Hayley Louise Macfarlane hails from the very tiny hamlet of Balmaha on the shores of Loch Lomond in Scotland. After graduating with a PhD in molecular genetics she did a complete 180 and moved into writing fiction. Though she loves writing multiple genres (fantasy, romance, sci-fi, psychological fiction and horror so far!) she is most widely known for her enemies-to-lovers STEM rom-com, The Unbalanced Equation, and her Gothic, Scottish fairy tale, Prince of Foxes – book one of the Bright Spear trilogy.

Reviews

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (4/26/2019)! 🎁

[Evie Childs · Rating 2 out of 5]

At a push I’d rate this book 2.5, purely because Adrian and Scarlett made an appearance for a lot of it, and there were elements I enjoyed making it definitely beyond a one star.

However, I just can’t get behind a love interest who is sometimes aggressive and uses coercion and underhanded tactics to get a woman into bed with him. Even if he did become a slightly better person with no alcohol in his system and have a tragic backstory. There were parts of this book that were disturbing to read, and had me forcing myself to continue, that’s not what you want out of a fantasy romance novel.

Regardless, the atmosphere of the setting was nice, and though the character of Elina could have done with some more depth, as much as I disliked Killian he did have more layers than Adrian in some ways, even if the latter is the better person.
The plot was an original spin on the tale, even if the solution left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Definitely my least favourite book I’ve read from this author so far. Hopefully the next one is more enjoyable for me. I do have to admit there is a certain charm and whimsy to these stories, even the ones I’m not particularly fond of, but maybe part of that is because I’m a glutton for magic and fairytales.

(P.S. The song Die in a Fire by Living Tombstone perfectly encapsulates my feelings towards Killian for a vast majority of the plot!)

[Vanessa Borges · Rating 4 out of 5]

What would the weather be like if it was controlled by your emotions?

I wasn’t familiar with the snow queen when I started this book, but I have seen frozen. While this retelling had similar elements, it’s no Disney movie. Instead we get characters that feel more raw, believable, and includes some mental health elements. We also got a tad more spice in this book.

We are introduced to two black sheep, one ostracized by the village, one by the opinions of others, including family. Both feel trapped, both want to escape, but one uses it to propel them forward, while the other needs some help before they’re comfortable showing their true self. Another compelling story that I listened to in no time.

It was lovely to meet Adrian and Scarlet again, and I thoroughly enjoyed how the stories seem to interconnect.

If you love fairytales, then reading this book is a no brainer.

Note: a copy of this audiobook was provided in exchange for an honest review.

[Rose Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am loving this series. H. L. Macfarlane has a way of drawing you into the story and immersing you into the narrative and the characters. Mcfarlane's writing style is such that you won't be able to put the book down. He's that good. The banter between Kilian and Elina was great. I loved their relationship from the start. The back story for each of them was so good as well. It was such a fun and entertaining novel. I loved that both Adrian Wolfe and Scarlett from the first book were incorporated into this story as well. It was such a great story. I listened to the audio version of the book and Alexsander Bevan was the narrator, who narrated the first book as well. He is so good. I love his voice, and his accent. It's perfect for these stories. I've listened to other audio books with Bevan as the narrator, and I've enjoyed all of them. Highly recommend this book and this series.

[Janet Smith McHardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elina Brodeur has been ignored by the rest of her village all her life. but when they need someone to petition Prince Kilian Hale. guess who they send. Kilian is thought to be a drunk ad a wastrel. Can these two lonely people help each other. This is a great listen the character are strong and have good back stories. I look forward to the next book in this series.
Alexander Bevan's narration is excellent

[Toni Hallett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book! It is a real page turner, and I loved the twist on the classic retelling of the story. The characters were well developed and I didn’t want to stop reading. I can’t wait to see what is in store with this series!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

He did not want to be king but he had to when his elder brother was at war. It always seemed to be winter. She is shunned because she looks so different from everyone else. She goes to see the king as they need food. They find they are a match for each other. See what will happen

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Ken Biltz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

So I read book 1 of this series and then I read book 3. I figured I Should probably read book 2 to keep the flow proper. Boy was I glad I did, H L MacFarlane has yet to fail me. I never thought I would be so enthralled with a fairy tale. Her writing has grabbed me and kept me from the start. She is currently my favorite author. Can’t wait to see what’s next.

[Elizabeth McDaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this unique story. Kilian and Elina were such wonderful characters. I loved the way they finally found a way to live with the curse.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lydia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not terribly low quality or offensive, just a "Snow Queen" with no said Queen. I can tell it's inspired by, but doesn't really carry any of the markers I look for, not even the mirror.

[Jake_reads_books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent continuation to the story

I loved Big, Bad Mister Wolfe and was happy to see this book was just as good. I loved the characters and the setting. A subtle retelling of the snow Queen, but with an angry king instead. Great stuff.