Long Live the Pumpkin Queen

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen 

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen is the latest novel to be checked off my to be read list. I purchased this book last year for my wife and me to read, as she wanted to. We decided to read it together, which has been a lot of fun. 

I’m enjoying reading Lord of the Rings with my husband the exact same way. It is a lot of fun to be able to read books with both of them and see what they choose. It opens up more doors to me, and I think everyone should try this. Pick up your spouse’s favorite book and give reading it a try. 

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Have you read Long Live the Pumpkin Queen? Come on in and let me tell you about it! 

About Long Live the Pumpkin Queen 

Jack and Sally are “truly meant to be” … or are they? 

Sally Skellington is the official, newly-minted Pumpkin Queen after a whirlwind courtship with her true love, Jack, who Sally adores with every inch of her fabric seams– if only she could say the same for her new role as Queen of Halloween Town. 

Cast into the spotlight and tasked with all sorts of queenly duties, Sally can’t help but wonder if all she’s done is trade her captivity under Dr. Finkelstein for a different cage. But when Sally and Zero accidentally uncover a long-hidden doorway to an ancient realm called Dream Town, she’ll unknowingly set into motion a chain of sinister events that put her future as Pumpkin Queen, and the future of Halloween Town itself, into jeopardy. 

Can Sally discover what it means to be true to herself and save the town she’s learned to call home, or will her future turn into her worst… well, nightmare?  

Thoughts on Long Live the Pumpkin Queen 

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen started off great, then gradually became boring and tedious. I was considering not finishing it, if we’re being completely honest here. Which is rare for me. I reached the point where one more chapter of Sally going to visit other holidays was going to be the dealbreaker for me. Because it was all the same. She visits a town, everyone is asleep, she feels guilty and beats herself up because it’s her fault. Then we rinse and repeat in whatever the next holiday town is. 

The descriptions of her being filled with leaves and seams breaking was also tedious for me. Or how she was nothing but a rag doll that nobody wanted except Jack. 

I also noticed Shea Ernshaw seems to have a serious obsession with Queen Elizabeth. That was a weird chapter, and almost felt creepy in a way. Like stalker-ish level creepy for me. The interesting thing was that Sally visited another queen in Valentine Town, and it definitely did not have the same weird creepy obsessive vibe to it. 

Other than those things, I enjoyed Long Live the Pumpkin Queen. What I really appreciated about it were the moments when Sally stood up for herself and was strong. She was more creative and resourceful than I expected her to be. 

There were a couple of really good plot twists that made the whole thing worthwhile, and I wasn’t expecting them, but they definitely happened at the right times. 

Final Thoughts on Long Live the Pumpkin Queen 

I enjoyed Long Live the Pumpkin Queen. But for me it isn’t a book that I would read again. Some books you can read over and over, and never get tired of them. This isn’t that. I’m glad I read it, but I just didn’t love it the way that I expected to. 

Not loving it the way I expected to was the one big disappointment for me. I fully expected I would love it, because I am a big Nightmare Before Christmas fan. I went to check other reviews to see if I was the only one who felt a letdown from Long Live the Pumpkin Queen, and I’m not the only one. But overall the book had better ratings than I would give it. I’d call it a three star, and the majority of reviews were four and five stars. Very few one or two stars, which says something. 

I would certainly encourage you to go and read the book for yourself and form your own opinions. Because you may be in the group of four and five star ratings, and I really hope that you are. It just didn’t live up to my personal expectations. 

I own a couple of Shea Ernshaw’s other books, so I’m still willing to give those a try and see if this was just a mediocre book or if that is her normal style. I rarely let one book be the deciding factor for me. 

Discussion 

Have you read Long Live the Pumpkin Queen or any other writing from author Shea Ernshaw? Are you a fan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! 

About the Author 

Shea Ernshaw is the #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Indie bestselling author of The Wicked Deep, Winterwood, A Wilderness of Stars, Long Live the Pumpkin Queen, and A History of Wild Places. 

Her books have been published in over twenty countries, repeatedly been chosen as Indie Next Picks, and A History of Wild Places was a Book of the Month selection. She is also the winner of the Oregon Book Award. She is happiest when lost in a good book, lost in the woods, or writing her next novel. 

Purchasing Long Live the Pumpkin Queen 

If you are interested in buying the hardcover version of Long Live the Pumpkin Queen, click here.

Click here for the Kindle version.

Click here for my favorite Kindle I currently own.

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