Thank you Net Galley for this book!
I was unbelievably excited to receive this as I am a huge nightmare before Christmas fan. I always loved the movie and have been a huge fan of Sally for a good while. When I learned that we were going to be getting a spin-off all about Sally and her life before and after Jack I was ecstatic. I thought it was going to be pretty quick and a bit simple but it actually has a lot of depth and emotion to it. It was really fun to read and I definitely recommend this for people who are fans of nightmare before Christmas.

I loved seeing more of sally, zero and some other favourite characters. We get to explore more of the different holidays which is so fun. I think any Nightmare before Christmas fan would really enjoy this book.

This was such a great read, it had the beauty and macabre from the movie. Ms. Ernshaw was able to create a world that was her own and still be a part of the Nightmare Before Christmas universe. I appreciated being able to go to the other Holiday worlds even if it was a glimpse. I enjoyed the new world that was added to this book and loved the history behind the idead. I loved the use of Sandman and thought it was a great addition that I didn't think of.

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen by Shea Ernshaw gets 4 / 5 stars from me.

I want to thank Shea Ernshaw, Disney Publishing Worldwide, and NetGalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thoughts: Long Live the Pumpkin Queen follows Sally, the red-headed doll we all know and love, as she marries Jack Skellington and becomes the very first queen of Halloween Town. Since she sets the stage as the first queen and for every queen that comes after, the town has certain expectations of royalty that don’t exactly match what Sally dreamed her and Jack’s life would be.

Unable to deal with the expectations of everyone around her, and with her own feelings of self-doubt creeping in about her new role, Sally runs to the woods, coming across a new door that only brings tragedy to everyone in Halloween Town.

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen fleshes Sally out in a way that the movie never could, and with it’s cute, funny, hopeful, and endearing moments mixed with scenes filled chalk full of self-doubt, guilt, sadness, hopelessness, adventure, and bravery, this makes it the perfect read for fans of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Themes, Tropes, & Warnings: Fantasy, Romance, Adventure, Halloween Town, Wedding, Honeymoon, Royalty, Royal Life, Royal Expectations, Low Self-Esteem, Potion Making, Freedom, Finding One’s Self, Righting Wrongs, Sleep Spell, Holiday Realms, Sandman, Past Kidnapping.

Reviewed under RosesandSundragons16 @ Amazon, Goodreads, Instagram, NetGalley, and StoryGraph

A sequel that definitely does justice to the original. Sally is now the queen of Halloweentown, but feels out of place and unsure of her role, especially after meeting the queen of Valentine's Day. She proves herself when citizens in every realm is under the powers of an out of control Sandman. On her journey to save her home, she finds out her past and where she actually comes from.

I loved the expansion of the world started in the movie Nightmare Before Christmas, peeking behind the other doors that live in the Hinterlands. My only gripe is that even with the expansion of the number of doors, it's still very U.S.- centric, but it's a small gripe. This is very much a U.S. fairy tale, and a good one at that. Sally comes into her own as a queen in her own right, not just Jack's wife.

A very cute sequel to A Nightmare Before Christmas! I don’t think that you necessarily would have had to have watched the movie before reading but it does help. I was unsure how I felt about continuing the story but I wanted to see more of Sally, and I’m glad I did. She goes through a lot of physical journeys to save her town that also help her learn more about herself. We also get to see more of the towns hinted at in the movie. Save this one for your October reading list!

Overall
I grew up with Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas alongside his other films, but this one is very close to my heart. Which means, when I saw that Netgalley had an e-arc of it available I couldn't stop myself from hitting that request button.

And, dear reader, I don't regret it one bit.

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen is a delightful continuation of the NBC universe and I feel like Tim Burton would be proud of how Shea Ernshaw wove the traditional atmosphere with an all-new adventure. Deliciously creepy with plenty of nods to the original film, this novel is a must read for any die-hard Nightmare Before Christmas fan. There were a few nit-picky things that just didn't work for me but didn't detract from the experience of reading it. Rated PG for Teen, this book would also be a great crossover recommendation for your older middle grade readers or young teen readers.

✔️ What I Loved
🎃 I think Tim Burton would be proud of this companion/continuation of his beloved film. The atmosphere is just so creepy and nostalgic, it really serves the universe well.

🎃 This is my first Shea Ernshaw book, though now I'm much more inclined to pick up more by her! Her writing style is absolutely gorgeous and right up my alley. I am a sucker for beautiful, descriptive writing and she really knocks it out of the park.

🎃 One of the biggest questions I had growing up and watching the original film, is what was behind the other doors and in this novel that question is FINALLY answered. We get to peek behind the doors with Sally for the first time and get a few glimpses into what the other towns look like.

🎃 Sometimes it is really hard to get the motivation to pick up a book to read during the season it is set in. Long Live the Pumpkin Queen is the perfect length to give you that quick boost of Halloween vibes during October.

🎃 The way Shea Ernshaw portrayed Sally slayed me. It is a rare occurence when I find a fantasy heroine I connect with on a spiritual level. Sally was the perfect balance of an anxious, awkward duck coming from a rough background to coming into being a badass heroine and queen.

🎃 The epilogue was glorious

✖️What Missed the Mark
👻 I don't want to dissuade you from reading this, but honestly I found that the conflict resolution was a little lack luster. It was missing the drama that I expected of a NBC sequel. It was still good, but I was expecting more after all the build up.

👻 This is a very quick read. I feel like I blinked and was already halfway through. While this is a good thing, it also left me feeling that there was a lot more to the worldbuilding and the plot that needed to be expanded on.

👻 Love the author's writing style, but there was a lot of telling vs showing when it came to major plot points in my opinion. I can't really describe them without spoiling anything so IYKYK

👻 I really wanted more character interactions. I know the point was that this was Sally's story and her figuring things out on her own but I wanted to see her interact with more characters.

Absolutely adorable. The Nightmare Before Christmas’s Sally is featured and must figure out her new role as Jack’s wife and Queen of Halloweentown. Told by the excellent Shea Ernshaw, this is a must-read for any fan of Jack Skellington and the Nightmare Before Xmas.

As a long time fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas, I was really excited to read this book! It’s a fun story about Sally after she marries Jack. She makes a mistake she needs to right and finds out where she’s from in the process. I love the growth you see from her at the end of the story. As a fan of the movie, I did have a hard time with how Sally is portrayed in the beginning of the book. It was almost like all the growing she did in the movie didn’t happen, and she’s still stuck in a role she doesn’t want, in this case the role of Pumpkin Queen. Other than that I really enjoyed the book!

This one was almost a 4.5 star!
I'm not a super fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas, but I do like it, so I figured I would give this book a chance. I'm really glad I did! I loved that it was a continuation and not a retelling.
In this book, we follow Jack and Sally as they get married and go to Valentine's Town for their honeymoon. When they get back Sally gets overwhelmed by all the duties she now has as Pumpkin Queen, so she runs into the woods and finds a new tree with a crescent moon shaped door. Sally returns to Halloween Town and find everyone in a deep sleep and covered with sand. She realizes that she left the moon shaped door open and let out a monster.
Sally was a really fun character to follow instead of Jack (who is asleep). She was trying to figure out where she fit in as the newly appointed Pumpkin Queen and she did not like being the center of attention. But as we go through the book, she really starts to find herself and gain confidence. But it isn't easy for her. She second guesses herself and makes mistakes and it all felt very believable.
The villain in this story was so creepy. We don't see a ton of him, but whenever he makes an appearance, it just gives goosebumps.
It was really fun to see Sally's backstory and have her be the hero. I'm really glad I gave this book a chance because I really had a lot of fun with it!

When I saw this book was coming out I knew I had to absolutely read it. The cover is absolutely beautiful and so perfect. This story was very well written and had all the characters I love from the movie and so much many more details. Also, it’s really nice to see the story thru Sally’s eyes. She sees it so very differently than Jack those. It was a quick read but I didn’t like how slow-paced the story was and a little all over the place. It was an okay read for me. I’m happy I got to read it. If you're a fan of the movie it’s a must.

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen
by Shea Ernshaw
5 stars

Sally has always been in the shadows so when she marries Jack the Pumpkin King her life is thrown into the limelight of being the Pumpkin Queen. After a nice honeymoon in Valentine's town they return to the hustle and bustle of Halloween town and sally just wants to return to the peace she was enjoying with Jack. After feeling overwhelmed she goes on a walk to get away and discovers a new door she's never seen before to a new town, as she opens the door she gets distracted and forgets to close it. Later she wakes up not too sure what happened but as she heads back to Halloween town something isn't right no one will wake up what has happened? As she suddenly realizes she needs to figure out what has happened and who did this.

I loved this book it was something I've been hoping for, for a long time. I loved how Sally's emotions were brought to life and they gave her a voice and showed who is she and what she can overcome. The moments with her and Jack were so adorable and oh Jack is a cutie for being dead. He is so sweet but the stories are not about him so back to Sally haha. The whole story of her getting her confidence in herself and being able to overcome her fear of it all was powerful and such a great thing to see when you have loved Sally since you were a kid. This story grabs you and takes hold.
Any fans of Nightmare before Christmas go read this book, I will be getting a physical copy once it's released.
Thank you, Net Galley, and Disney Publishing for the eARC for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley, Disney press, and the author for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I was SUPER EXCITED to be approved for this book, as I number myself amongst the legion of Nightmare Before Christmas superfans. It was a surprise to me that the original poem by Tim Burton (from whence the iconic movie was inspired) has very little plot and almost nothing to do with Sally? Almost every detail that I've come to know and love about the story is unique to the movie. I tried to keep that in mind when reading this book.

In THIS book, Sally and Jack have just married, and Sally is feeling lots of pressure to be the picture-perfect (or perfectly horrible, as the Halloweentown residents might say) Queen that her new constituents demand. All she wants to do is spend quality time alone with Jack, but the timing is not ideal: two weeks before Halloween, Jack is very busy with holiday planning. Their honeymoon is cut to a single night, then it's back to work for the lovebirds. Sally just wishes for quiet and a respite from all the hubbub, and takes Zero for a walk in the forest of holiday trees. She inadvertently sets in motion a chain of events that gives her exactly what she wishes for, just as she realizes that's not really what she wanted.

Much emphasis is placed on Sally's insecurities and inner turmoil, which is in keeping with her personality from the movies: going off alone, making plans by herself, picking daisy petals while singing a lament. Seems fair. I really enjoyed Sally's growth arc in this story, and I GET it, but I just wish we'd been able to spend more time with JACK, and all the Halloweentown residents. I was disappointed that they spent almost the entire story (view spoiler), and weren't able to see witness any of Sally's bravery and resourcefulness firsthand. On the other hand, Zero did have a substantial cameo, which was awesome, because he's my favorite <3


3 1/2 stars.

Fans of The Nightmare Before Christmas will not be disappointed in this continuation of the film. Shea Ernshaw resurrects the screen characters evocatively on the page, presenting characters that readers will recognize while also deepening their inner lives. Sally is a likable and capable hero and it was a lot of fun to spend. more time with her.

Calling all Nightmare Before Christmas fans!!! The story finally continues...

Jack and Sally are newly married and Sally is struggling with the title of Pumpkin Queen. When she flees to the grove to get some breathing room, she finds a new doorway into a world that was believed to be lost long ago -- Dream Town. But when Sally inadvertently lets the Sandman loose on Halloween Town, resulting in everyone falling into a deep sleep never to be awoken, it's up to the new Pumpkin Queen to save everyone. Sally will have to travel to different worlds and find the bravery she didn't know she had in order to save everyone she loves, and learn more about herself along the way.

Thoughts: I am a huge NBC fan and have been able to recite the entire movie word for word since I was a kid, so I was ecstatic to see a continuation of the story after all these years. The story picks up shortly after the movie ends, and fans will not be disappointed as author Shea Ernshaw portrays our beloved characters exactly how we remember them. Sally remains the most well-developed character of everyone and Ernshaw treats us to a long-overdue backstory for Sally and how she came to be in Halloween Town. This is a quick read that I wish had a bit more substance in each conflicting scene, as a lot of the story focuses on Sally's imposter syndrome over being the new Pumpkin Queen. But regardless, I enjoyed the introduction of new worlds in the grove as well as the revisting of some from the original movie. Sally's backstory weaved into this continuation was a wonderful plot point, and she finally gets her true moment to shine not only as the main character but the real hero of Halloween Town. Ernshaw's Long Live the Pumpkin Queen is perfect for fans of The Nightmare Before Christmas young and old as well as both middle-grade and young adult readers.

**Thank you, NetGalley and Disney Publishing, for a DRC in exchance for an honest review.**

I didn't really remember a lot about The Nightmare before Christmas before reading this, but I really like the movie so when I found out about this being a sequel and that it was going to be narrated by no other than Sally I knew I had to read it. And oh boy, I'm so happy I did!

In this book, we go through this new part of Sally's life, now that she has married Jack and, as a consequences, has become the Pumpkin Queen, a title she doesn't feel she really fits into. In a moment of stress and despair, she opens the door to a new, unknown town, but gets distracted and doesn't close it. She later wakes up to find that something weird has happened in Halloween Town and in the other holiday towns, and it seems that, right now, she's the only one who can do something to save everybody.

Something that I really loved is that Shea Ernshaw really gives us a good look into Sally's feelings. She has a lot of self-confidence problems because of all the things she has been through, so it's hard for her to start trusting herself and the things she's capable of. I really got to a point where it was so easy to know what she was feeling at that moment, like a connection created between me and her character, and that's something that gives a lots of points to this book. Also, her relationship with Jack had me swooning! They are THE CUTEST COUPLE and honestly, every time Jack called her "my queen" I was SCREAMING. I just love them so, so much.

About the plot itself, well, the way it made me feel was very unexpected. I thought, hey this is kind of a middle grade book, so it'll totally be an easy, happy read. But when I tell you I was STRESSED most of the time, I'm not lying. I was scared and frustrated (in a good way, like, that's what you're supposed to feel kind of way) and I wanted to go into the book, take Sally's hand and help her save her town. I really was invested in the story and how everything was developing! And that factor makes that the book turns into a very fast read.

If you're a fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas, you really have to read this book. It's totally gonna grip you from beginning to end!

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen by Shea Ernshaw is the long-awaited sequel to the Nightmare Before Christmas from Tim Burton. Sally is married to Jack Skellington and is now the Pumpkin Queen of Halloween Town, but she doesn't feel very queenly. Thrust into duties she has no say against, Sally feels out of place. Escaping into the Hitherlands she - along with the ever faithful Zero - discovers a long-forgetten door to Dream Town. After accidentally releasing an ancient evil Sally must find it within herself to stop not only the evil, but calm the tides within.

Well, I screamed when I saw this book announced and then I screamed again when I saw I had received an arc. The Nightmare Before Christmas is such a piece of nostalgia for me - as for many others. I can't tell you the countless times I watched the movie, sang the songs and just loved all of the Halloween Town world Tim Burton had created. Opening this book was like stepping back into my childhood. Shea Earnshaw artfully captures the tone of the Nightmare Before Christmas in Long Live the Pumpkin Queen but adds her own spin as we now see through the eyes of Sally Skellington.

I was grinning like a fool from the first line of this book. The love between Jack and Sally is portrayed ever so beautifully and is sure to make every fan of this couple heart's soar. As we journey through this story with Sally her feelings are very prominent. It is almost heartbreaking to realize that Sally has everything she has ever wanted - Jack - but feels like she's trapped in another prison.

Earnshaw uses imagery expertly in this book. Sally is a ragdoll filled with leaves. The leaves in her heart leap at excitement or fear, her seams feel like they will break when she is stretched too thin (figuratively or literally) and she pulls at a loose thread idily when she is nervous. These descriptions were beautifully crafted and allowed me to get further lost within the novel. I could truly and easily see a movie in my head while reading this book.

Beautiful, captivating, and all around absolutely horrible (in the Halloween Town sense of the word) Shea Earnshaw 's Long Live the Pumpkin Queen is a triumphant sequel and a must-read for fans of the Nightmare Before Christmas and especially lovers of Sally Skellington.


Thank you ever so much to Netgalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for providing me with an arc of this novel. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Thank you, Disney Books Publishing, and NetGalley for sending me this digital arc!

As a longtime Nightmare Before Christmas fan, this was an instant "add to TBR" for me. I see something new and fall in love with the characters all over again every time I watch the Tim Burton film - which is every Halloween. So I was so excited to see a sequel spinoff novel exploring Sally's past, present, and future following her love story and marriage to Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town.

This is a YA book, but I would consider it bordering the line between middle grade and YA, mainly for some of the cookie-cutter, flowery prose and dialogue. But there is kissing and frequent descriptions of Halloween horror and death, so I see why it's YA.

My expectations for the world-building and prose style of the novel were met, but my "Long Live the Pumpkin Queen" exceeded my expectations when it came to Sally's story of self-discovery. Her journey from "just Sally" to the commanding, respected, and beloved Pumpkin Queen is as cozy and spooky as it is suspenseful. After a bit of a slow burn start, the action picked up and I found myself unable to put this book down because I just HAD to know what happened next.

This book is perfect for Nightmare Before Christmas fans who've dreamed of living in Halloween Town as a hopeless romantic rag doll who falls in love with a skeleton king.

After reading this I need there to be a sequel to the Nightmare Before Christmas, and I need it to be THIS story!

Sally and Jack are married, and as the ultimate introvert, this is causing Sally some concerns. She is beyond happy with Jack but everyone else wants to turn her into what they think the Pumpkin Queen should be, and Sally just wants to be herself...

When after getting a bit too much undivided attention Sally and Zero run into the woods and open a long closed-door and accidentally unleashes the Sandman on everyone... Well at first this seems kind of great right? I mean it's finally quiet, no one is staring or trying to make her into someone different. But, after she realizes that she can't wake Jack up, and everyone in every town is in deep sleep she knows that she is going to have to figure out how to stop him on her own...

Sally shows us all what you are willing to do to save the love of your life... and even if you are scared, and alone you can do anything... and something I didn't even realize was missing but desperately needed was Sally's backstory!!!! I won't give anything away, but it's amazing and heartwarming... and absolutely perfect!

Shae Ernshaw did such a wonderful job with this story, it really felt like we picked right up from where The Nightmare Before Christmas ended and added so much more to it! When it was over I just wanted to watch the movie and then immediately read this again... This is one that I will definitely be buying and adding to my library

What a great continuance of Jack and Sally's story! I loved every moment of this story, and I really enjoyed specifically how the new and old stories intertwined in a web (pun intended) of fantastic fairytale.