I've always been a fan of Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas. Jack Skellington is still the best-beloved character in Disney's character bag, yet Sally is often overlooked. In this reimagined sequel, Sally is front and center. Shea Ernshaw keeps Sally conscious of solid nature, and this adventure will take on a ride through many of the Holiday Doors. I was pleased about this because I've always wondered what was behind each door. The Moon Door is the newest and more mysterious in this story, along with a few surprises along the way. I recommended this to anyone who enjoys these characters as much as I do.

This book extends the lore of Nightmare Before Christmas in such a fantastic way, without feeling like it is stealing from other similar styles of stories. The story follows Sally as the main character after she and Jack get married. She's apprehensive about now being called the Pumpkin Queen when she never fit in with most of Halloween Town. In the process of trying to figure out how she fits into her new role, she unwittingly finds a new door and lets in a new type of trouble into the town. Only she can fix this problem!

Ernshaw does a wonderful voice of capturing the mannerisms evoked in the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas, before expanding to allow the characters to feel like her own creations. Her use of language turns "negative" language into a wonderful positive description that encourages the reader to consider what they might find beautiful. I very much enjoyed reading this, and will probably reread it again and again. Definitely, something I would want to read to future generations too!

To be honest, I did not finish this book. The writing style lost me in the first paragraph with the phrase 'my soft rag doll hands', and felt immature.

I really enjoyed this! Halloween Town felt just like the town in the movie. Jack and Sally also felt like the Jack and Sally I grew up with! The story was fun and I loved getting to see glimpses of the other holiday worlds.

Great backstory for our Pumpkin Queen, Sally. Was really exciting seeing the world building in the other towns and how they run. Felt true to Tim Burton’s style and loved seeing Sally as a hero.

“You are a treacherous, willful girl, he would say. But is it willful to want freedom? To choose your own way? To risk everything to save the ones you love?”

From one treacherous, willful girl to another, Sally’s story is one that I was so excited to fall into. Stepping into Halloween Town again, and getting to peak through the other holiday doors, felt like coming home.

The author, Shea Ernshaw, did a beautiful job of capturing the atmosphere of The Nightmare Before Christmas and original voice of the characters. Her prose about Sally’s dead leaves, seams, and stitches was perfection 🖤

However, the parts that left me stumbling along with Sally on her journey were the pacing, a few iffy character choices, and some too-big to overlook plot holes with the Sandman.

I’m incredibly happy I had the opportunity to read this book, and I hope there are more in the future. Jack and Sally deserve a dark and twisty adventure together. Until then… long live the Pumpkin Queen! 🎃

This book was wonderful and a must read for fans of The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Sally has just been crowned Queen of Halloween Town, but she doesn't feel up to the job. She just wants everyone to stop making a fuss over her and leave her alone. But then she stumbles upon an ancient danger and must save Halloween Town. We learn a lot about Sally in this book, as well as expanding the world of Nightmare Before Christmas.
This was fun for me, as an adult, to read, but I also feel it's perfectly acceptable for younger readers as well! (No language, gory violence, or much romance)

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC for review

Thank you NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for allowing me to read this arc copy.

What can I say other than it's freaking Nightmare Before Christmas!!! I was sold as soon as I found it.

This book takes place just under a year after the movie. Halloween is two weeks away. Jack and Sally get married. Only the pressures of being Pumpkin Queen stress Sally out. Her expectations of herself and what others expect from her pressure her to run away. After that, a whole new world is discovered and a horrible fate awaits the Holidays and the world if Sally doesn't find a way to stop it.

What I loved about this book:

1)The expanded world. New doors lead to new adventures! I'm always happy to have more adventures in Halloween Town.
2)Sally got a full back story. There is more to Sally's life that what we were told in the movie. Some might poopoo it because it isn't movie canon, but I quiet enjoyed the revelation.
3)We get to see more of what Sally feels and thinks since it is centered around her. She wasn't my favorite character in the movie, but with this book, I ended up liking her more.

What I didn't quite enjoy:

1)The first chapters was a bit much with her 'woe is me' attitude. I got that she didn't like all the pressure and being the center of attention, but it was mentioned over and over again to the point where I was irritated by it.
2)It read more as a Juvenile book rather than a Young Adult book. I wouldn't hesitate to put this in the hands of 10 year old to read. I would have liked a bit more depth to it. Maybe darker consequences. The movie was pretty dark with Oogie Boogie where lives were on the line. I was hoping for a bit more grit maybe. I can't really say exactly.

Other than those complaints, I loved the book. Once she ran away, it was a nonstop roller coaster ride adventure.

Thank you again NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for allowing me to read this arc copy.

Shea Ernshaw has a very mesmerizing way with words and they make me fall in love with her books. She's one of those must-read authors now. When I heard that she was writing a story about the Pumpkin Queen, I think I nearly fainted. My two favorites, Nightmare Before Christmas and Ernshaw come together for the ultimate book.

The story takes place right after the wedding of Jack and Sally. They have been swept away to the land of Valentines for their honeymoon. Once they come back, Sally didn't know that it took a lot to be the Queen of Halloweentown. She tries to escape the craziness and runs off into the woods. Spotting a door she has never seen before, she accidentally opens it. It takes her to Dream Town and she releases the Sandman. He puts all of Halloweentown to sleep. Sally is more determined than ever to save not only her town but the love of her life, Jack. Will she find the answers she is looking for and save the town? Or will Halloweentown be in dreamland forever?

This pains me to say this and it hurts when I do. These two favorites combined just didn't work for me. The concept for the story was interesting and I loved finding out more about Sally's past. There just wasn't that wow factor like with her other books. There was no glue that kept me stuck to these pages. Am I glad that I read it? Yes. Would it be something that I would read again? Probably not.

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen was an okay story. This was one of my most highly anticipated reads of this year and I am so bummed by the outcome. The story just wasn't what I was expecting and it was way too slow for me. Sally's story just wasn't for me.

4/5 stars. To be released July 2022.

Once I saw there was going to be a Nightmare Before Christmas novel, I was so excited. When I saw it was going to be from Sally's point of view - I was over the moon. I've dressed up as Sally for multiple Halloweens and the movie is one of my all time favorites.

Shea Earnshaw was the most perfect author for this novel. Her writing style and prose were so on brand for Nightmare Before Christmas. We get to learn more about the other holiday towns and more about Sally's past as Sally struggles with her new role as Queen of Halloween Town as well as an otherworldly monster.Any fan of Nightmare Before Christmas absolutely needs to read this!

Absolutely Wonderful! It delivers just what I would want out of a continuation of The Nightmare Before Christmas - further exploration of the holiday realms/trees we saw in the original movie. Honestly, I think the book is wanting for more of it. While we get a good image of Valentine's Town, we only get brief glimpses of the rest. The opening is also a bit slow, but once we get into the real action of the book, it had it hooks in me and I could hardly put it down. Loved the atmosphere and sense of tensions as we see Sally face off with the Sandman.

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen follows Sally after the events of The Nightmare Before Christmas. The book begins with her marriage to Jack where she becomes the queen of Halloween. Sally doesn’t feel like a queen should and she’s not quite sure she can live up to the title. How can she be Pumpkin Queen when she’s just Sally? After she unleashes something that could put all holidays in jeopardy as she knows them, she sets out on an adventure to set things right. I loved this book. As a lifelong lover of The Nightmare Before Christmas, I was so excited to receive an ARC of this book. Shea Ernshaw is the perfect person to write this book. Her books are always a perfect mix of cozy, spooky, and atmospheric. This is no exception. You’ll grow to love Sally even more after reading this book and the world of The Nightmare Before Christmas. So much of this book felt like sinking into a warm bath, I just wanted to curl up with it and read it forever. It’s so, so good. Please read it, even if you haven’t seen The Nightmare Before Christmas. It’s just that good. (Though, seriously, watch the movie and read the book and then watch the movie again and then…repeat until you end up in the Halloween Town cemetery.) I can’t wait to see the cover for this book! I’m back in my Nightmare Before Christmas era. Happy 2022!

I was given this ARC by the publisher in return for an honest review, thank you so much!!

I have to say... I was so so so so so psyched for this book. I, being the emo goth kid that I am, have always been in love with Tim Burton and Nightmare Before Christmas. I watch it religiously every year for Halloween and Christmas. I was so excited when I found out there was going to be a YA book about the Nightmare Before Christmas... then I found out it was going to be from Sally's perspective.. then it was going to be after the events of the movie... and then Shea Ernshaw was going to be the author?!?! I mean it could not get any better at all. I was all hands in, already preordered. I was so excited when I saw I was granted approval for the ARC. I dropped every single thing I was doing to read it.

And I was thoroughly disappointed... one of my favorite things about the movie was the atmosphere throughout the whole thing. Yes, the majority of the movie is creepy, but during the time we are in Christmas Town it was this amazing atmosphere throughout the entire thing. You also get such a sense of what every character was about and there was none of that in this book. Which is so weird because Shea Ernshaw's books are so atmospheric. I also thought that Sally was portrayed as someone a lot meeker than she is, yes she is a rag doll, yes she has this meek little voice, but she also was strong enough to stand up to Jack even though she loved him.

**Spoilers ahead**
I also could not stand how Jack was not a part of this book at all! I know they went on their honeymoon together, but she spent the majority of the time describing their surroundings, the things in their surroundings, rather than the interactions between her and Jack. There was none of the love that you feel in the movie. And as I said earlier, the author described the surroundings of the other holiday towns, but you don't get a feel for them, which is so strange because she is so good at that!

Needless to say, I am really super bummed about this. I was so looking forward to this book and, for me, it was a total let down. I know this book will be great for some people, I just wish I loved it! 2/5 stars