Long Live The Pumpkin Queen by Shea Ernshaw is the long awaited sequel to The Nightmare Before Christmas movie. The book has been an instant best seller for the simple fact that so many of us love the movie. But is it worth reading? I actually found out about it 4 days before it’s release and pre ordered it immediately on Audible.* I collect just about any NBC thing I can get my hands on, but I think we should take a look an see if its right for you with a Long Live The Pumpkin Queen Review! (the rhyming was not intentional)
*Not sponsored or affiliated, it’s just what I use for audiobooks.
Was it worth the wait? Let’s see what you think.
Genre
This would be considered a fantasy/horror fiction.
I honestly don’t think it was all that scary, but that’s what it’s considered.
This book is on the short side, the audio book is 6 hours and 28 minutes long. So it’s probably considered a novella.
Long Live The Pumpkin Queen Book Summary
Sally Skellington is officially, the Pumpkin Queen, a title that has never been bestowed before. Some of the denizens of Halloween town seem to have their own ideas about what a Queen should be… But Sally just wants everything to stay how it is.
A new dress? A crown? Planning large events? Why does she suddenly have people paying attention to her? Sally is overwhelmed by it all, why can’t it just be her and Jack.. and Zero of course.
Sally can’t help but wonder if she’s traded one cage for another. But when she and Zero stumble upon a long-hidden doorway to an ancient realm she finds that she has unleashed a nightmare on Halloween town. And not the kind that they like.
Will the new Pumpkin Queen be able to save her town and holiday before it’s too late?
Reader
Cissy Jones is the vocalist for this audiobook. She definitely went for Sally’s voice and pronunciations from the movie. She wasn’t bad at it although I was a bit annoyed by the way she said the words “queen” and “lab”. I also found her reading to be amazingly slow and drawn out. This is personal preference of course, but I highly recommend listening to the sample before you purchase to see what you think.
When she did the voices of the other characters, I was quite pleased with how you could easily recognize the voices and who was speaking.
In my opinion, Cissy Jones is a wonderful voice actress, but Sally’s voice needed to be less drawn out because it was a first person narration.
Long live the pumpkin queen review
I love Nightmare Before Christmas, it has been a favorite movie of mine since childhood. So, when I saw that this story was canon (officially part of the story by Tim Burton) I was both thrilled and scared. Especially when I read the synopsis, for the book.
It starts with, “Jack and Sally are “truly meant to be” … or are they?”
My immediate fear was that they would make Jack out to be a bad husband and continue the whole one-sided relationship that was in the movie. That did not happen, thank goodness! However I do have some complaints… we’ll get to those later.
Sally is dealing with a whole new set of problems. She was always in the shadows, trying to hide from Dr. Finklestien. Now, Sally is the center of attention as the brand new Pumpkin Queen.
She’s not entirely sure what that means as there has never been one before. A few of the denizens push their idea of what a queen would be on her, a new dress, a crown, and new responsibilities. But, Sally doesn’t want anything to change, she wants to just enjoy being with Jack and have everyone leave her alone..
She is full of anxiety, and runs away from her problems, only to find, and cause, many more. Soon, she will have to over come her fears and take her rightful place as the pumpkin queen… if she still has time.
Complaints
I really felt like the side characters in Halloween town were not acting in character with the movie. The mayor was just… off. As were the witch sisters and the Vampires.
I was actually disappointed that more of the book was not done in Halloween town. I wanted to know more about how they plan for their holiday. More Jack in the story would have been wonderful as well. I love a good heroine, don’t get me wrong… but I feel like Jack could have been in the story more without messing anything up.
Forgive me for being so vague, I’m trying desperately not to give anything away. There are a lot of plot lines that lead into others and I don’t want to ruin the twists.
Pros
I loved hearing about all the other holiday towns, I always wondered about them from the movie and the author is descriptive enough that you really get a good idea of the atmosphere of each town without being weighted down with information. I would love to visit them all! Including a new town that I’d never heard of before.
Hearing about Jack and Sally’s wedding was wonderful! They had a honeymoon that made me even more sure that they were adorable and couple goals. It made my little romantic heart happy to see them in love.
Over all, it was a good book. I’m hoping this is a jumping off point for more books, maybe about Jack and Sally’s children, and ideally another movie!
WHERE TO GET Long Live The Pumpkin Queen
And here is the book and audiobook on Amazon: Long Live The Pumpkin Queen
I’ve heard that there is a special version of the book at Barnes and Nobles that you get a fun extra. A potion book by Sally. I believe you have to ask for it as the front desk though because people were stealing them.
You might be able to find it at your local library or request it. Just go to the circulation or check out desk and ask for a book request form. (That’s how my library works with requests any way) Bear in mind that you’ll probably be waiting a while if you do a request form.
WANT MORE AUDIOBOOK REVIEWS?
Did you like my Long Live The Pumpkin Queen Review? Then why not check out some of these!
- Audio Book Review: The Vampire Knitting Club
- Audiobook Review: Stitches And Witches
- Audiobook Review: Crochet And Cauldrons
- Audiobook Review: Stockings And Spells
- Audio Book Review: Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce Book 1
- Audio Book Review: Mystery Stories Of Violet Strange by Anna K. Green.
I hope you liked this Long Live The Pumpkin Queen Review and found it helpful! If it was, please show your support by liking this post and following my blog, so you’re alerted when ever I make a new one. You can also sign up for The Crocheting Owl Monthly Newsletter for free patterns, updates, yarny bonuses and more!
Subscribe to my newsletter!
You have your book, do you have a project? Try this:
2 thoughts on “Long Live The Pumpkin Queen Audiobook Review”