This is the author who wrote the Charley Davidson series. I was excited to read a new series written by her. We have Sunshine who is returning to her hometown with her teen daughter Auri after leaving years ago because of severe trauma. Sunny is returning to her hometown because somehow her parents got her elected as Sheriff. As she returns she connects with old friends as well as an old crush. There is a case of a missing teenager which Sunny must solve. This book is written in a way that you get caught up in the mystery as well as are intrigued by all the characters. There is old history of Sunny’s trauma which effects her and others. This is an enthralling start to what I hope will be a long series. I can’t wait to see what the author has in store for these characters in the next installment. I honestly reviewed a copy of this book.

I love Darynda Jones. Her books always make me laugh. The story is very engaging and fast paced. i am looking forward to the audiobook.

Darynda Jones as another phenomenal book, that is hopefully the beginning of a very long series. This book was amazing. It was funny and intriguing. I could not put it down once I started reading. I was sorry to have the book end. Sunshine quickly became an addition as one of my favorite characters. If you enjoyed any of her other books you will definitely not be disappointed with this book.

After the "heaviness" of what is going on in the world, I needed an escape, detective mystery. This definitely foot the bill. There were enough red herrings to have some twists and turns and to keep the interest there. There is enough history and unfinished stories to make it easy for a sequel. The only recommendation would be whether to advise the reader of book #2 if s/he needs to read these in order to better enjoy the book.

Thank. you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and meet Sunshine Vicram in A Bad Day for Sunshine in lieu of my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
A Bad Day for Sunshine Jones was just what I needed after months of reading dark, psychological thrillers. It still had all the good mystery parts, but it was creative and fun. The short chapter introductions were hilarious. The town became its own character in the book. Sunshine is flawed in a relatable way, and her murky past will make me grab the next book in the series. Thoroughly enjoyable.

This was such a thrilling & funny read. It was like reading the next installment of a favourite series, which is great when it's the first book in a new series. The characters were well written & I am looking forward to seeing how they develop on the next book.

If someone asked me to sum up this book in one sentence, I would say, "Imagine that Lorelai and Rory Gilmore lived in a small town in New Mexico, and Lorelai was the sheriff." Though I love the Gilmore Girls, the constantly wisecracking characters and small-town quirks mixed with suspense and crime-solving didn't work for me; I felt the quips and quirks detracted from the gravitas of the crime elements. For others, though, who like their genres mixed, this may be a winner.

Thank you Darynda Jones for giving us another great book!! Storytelling at its best!! I could not stop reading!!

I received an advance review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. THANKS so much to #NetGalley and Darynda Jones.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick, fun read.

The main characters Sunshine Vicram and her daughter were entertaining. The story building was decent and there was a good amount of mystery and suspense.

The reason I'm only giving it 3⭐⭐⭐ is not because I didn't enjoy it, but because it was just too much like a cookie cutter version of so many others in this genre. I would definitely recommend it due to the aforementioned enjoyment, I just don't feel that it had much to make it stand out from the other books of this type.

Maybe I've just read so many of the mystery/suspense genre that it takes more to make them stand out for me.

Darynda Jones never fails to have me glued to the pages and laughing out loud with her books. I absolutely loved A Bad Day for Sunshine! The main characters are fantastic, and the storyline is a definite page-turner. I loved the bond between Sunshine and her daughter. And Levi Ravinder…*fans self* Ooh baby! I can’t wait for more from this series!

So Darynda Jones is writing a new series after the end of her wildly popular Charley Davidson series??? Sign me up! Sunshine Vicram is a local girl and newly elected sheriff. Her first day on the job has her knee-deep in a crime involving a kidnapped girl. She's trying not to let her traumatic past get in the way of solving this crime even though it's eerily like something that happened to her when she was 17. Throw in a Mayor who's suspicious about how Sunshine got her new job; Levi - her childhood crush who still makes her melt; and her worrying about her teenage daughter's transition into this kooky little town - and you just know this is going to be a wild ride, I love Darynda's way of developing her characters as she tells a story. She makes you want to visit the places and get to know the folks. I am fully engrossed in the continuing story and all the inhabitants of this little town of Del Sol. My only question is - how long do I have to wait for book 2???

*I received an ARC from the publisher for an honest review.*

This is a fantastic novel! The well rounded characters, interest backgrounds and fast pace make for a can’t-put-down page turner. I enjoyed the several layers to each sub-plot and how certain people/events were connected and some were not. It takes a skilled writer to be aware of how much to include as well as how much to omit. This author is amazing! Most of the questions we, the reader, start out with in this novel are answered by the end in a way that gives us the satisfaction of “an ending” but leave enough hanging so that we are intrigued by the possibilities and will be waiting for the next installment. Great book!

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'll start off my saying I have not read any of Darynda Jones' books prior to this, but I'm impressed. I feel she did a great job with character development and the story itself was good. BUT I did have issue with a few things. I feel that there were way too many questions for one book and that the solution to the most important (and honestly was ignored too much for my liking) problem was just kinda thrown out there. Sloppy almost. But again, I did very much enjoy the book. I'll be giving book 2 a chance when its released (hopefully not too far in the future) and I may give her other series a go while I'm waiting.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read A Bad Day for Sunshine. It kept popping up on my NetGalley homepage. Then I got a Read Now email from them and decided to bite the bullet.

I was surprised at how I felt about the book while reading it. Usually, I either like it or hate it right from the beginning. But in this case, I was neither about it. That “meh” feeling continued throughout the book, and it did play a massive part in why I gave the book a 3-star rating.

I felt that the plotline was dragged down by too many secondary storylines (no matter how brief). I wanted full attention on Sybil’s kidnapping and Sunshine’s past kidnapping. I kept getting overwhelmed with information while I read. I also felt that I should have kept notes because there was a point in the book where I couldn’t keep track of everything.

Saying that I did like the characters. They were all well written, and each had an individual personality, which appealed to me. Sunshine was amazingly strong in overcoming what she did. I also liked that she wasn’t stupid, and she was able to piece together clues fast. She did have a weak spot for attractive men (her BFF, Levi, the other agent), but I didn’t hold it against her. It made her more human in my eyes.

I thought Auri was adorable. She was determined to find out what happened to her friend, Sybil, no matter what. I loved how tough she was also. She dealt with a lot in this book. I won’t go into it, but how she dealt with everything that was happening to her was a testament to her inner strength.

The mystery angle of the book was well written. The author did a great job of keeping who the kidnapper was and why Sybil was taken under wraps until the end of the book. I was shocked by who it ended up being.

Sunshine’s kidnapping was brought up frequently in the book. By the end of the book, it had become one of those plotlines that would be stretched across a couple of books. I know I sound jaded, but I have a feeling I know who took her and who Auri’s father was.

The end of the book was ok. The main storyline, Sybil’s kidnapping, was wrapped up. The author set up for the next book. Do I want to read the next book? Maybe. I am interested in seeing if my theory about Sunshine’s kidnapping is correct.

This was laugh out loud funny in so many places. I so often had to read passages aloud to my husband after he glanced sideways at me after another outburst. Of course they're never as funny as stand alone paragraphs but he did understand occasionally what I found to be so funny. Sunshine was fabulous, so was her daughter and I loved the rest of her family too. I became totally invested in the story as she tried to unravel the mystery of the kidnapping in the town to which she vowed never to return. I've never read work by Darynda Jones before but I definitely will again. 5 stars!!!!

I just finished Darynda Jones's new book "A Bad Day for Sunshine" that comes out in April. If you have read any of Darynda's other books you will love this new series. In this book, Sunshine has just moved back to her home town to become the new sheriff. She has won an election that she never entered but decides that it would be a good move for her and her daughter. On her first day back in her home town, she gets hit by a car and has to help find a missing girl who predicted her own disappearance and death. Both Sunshine and her daughter both try and solve the case of the missing teen. Darynda Jones has another winner with this series and I can't wait to see what happens next. You meet a character from her last series who plays a bit part in this. Be prepared to laugh out loud and not to be able to put the book down. Just one worrying you will have a hard time waiting for the next book to come out. 

If you enjoyed this book make sure to read anything Darynda Jones writes. Another author that has some humor and mystery try Janet Evanovich. She writes the Stephine Plum series and several more.

100% honesty. I requested this as soon as I saw the cover. C’mon, it’s soooooo good. Then I noticed who the author was and I read a few of her Charley Davidson books waaaaaaaaay back in the day. My previous experience along with the title indicating “Sunshine” might not be a great thing had my brain thinking this was going to be the story of a vampire Sheriff . . . . .

Don’t you judge me. Charley was a dang grim reaper so it wasn’t that much of a stretch. However, turns out Sunshine is a regular gal, not a supe. My second thought was this was going to be another love triangle that made me want to kill things, but I turned out to be 0 for 2 on my predictions because one (Quincy) was simply her BFF and the other (Levi) will absolutely end up being the target of some sort of hot/cold/on/off thing in books to come. Another dude did a drive-by of sorts in order to satisfy all of us perverted housewives, but it wasn’t anything worth putting your good underpants on for. The crime to be solved here was about a missing 14-year old girl and three days to find her. There were also other things to deal with like the local flasher and a possible custody battle of sorts regarding a rooster named Puff Daddy.

Ugh this boooooooooook! So many mixed feelings!!! Since I absolutely cannot wait for the second one to come out that should say pretty much all that needs to be said to my friends. (Spoiler Alert to those who don’t know me: Homegirl generally don’t read past #1 in a series.) That being said, this book certainly did plenty to irritate me. The “secret” that was hinted about for eternity before finally being revealed was super obvious to pretty much anyone who has ever read a book before so that sure as heck shouldn't have dragged on forever. Also, I get that it’s Darynda Jones’ calling card of sorts to have sassy dialogue, but enough is enough at some point. I mean, this was supposed to be about a potential kidnapping, I could have lived without the Lenny Bruce impersonation. And without spoiling the ending there is a chance that I will have to set things on fire if the story goes in the direction that is clearly being hinted at. It’s gotta be a bait and switch, right? Please???????? I’m going with 3 Stars since I maintain hope this series will be a winner.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

Who doesn't love a novel with deep character development, a sense of humor that feels like the author mined my sarcastic brain for well placed quips, and a setting that feels familiar, even though it's not. Being a Charley Davidson fan, I was super, uber excited to read this book and thank goodness I wasn't let down in the least.

Warning: Gushing Ahead!


Last year, I discovered the Charley Davidson novels. I think I started reading at book six or seven. Then I went and binge read all 13 of them in a couple of days. And then they were over and I was sad.

So, when I got A Bad Day for Sunshine I was both excited and worried. I was really hoping I’d like it, but the description sounded nothing like Charley Davidson – nothing! But, I started reading.

OMG, I loved it!

It’s all here. The wicked sense of humor, the funny little chapter header quotes, the characters who would all make just the best friends in the entire world. A wee hint of something otherworldly for those of you miss that. And a rooster named Puff Daddy because every book should have a rooster named Puff Daddy.

I’m in. I mean, I’m also just completely bummed that I’m going to have to wait so long for the next book, but I’m also so very happy that I’ve got a brand new series!

Nothing but love for this one. (Okay…the author did make me teach my tween some kind of cuss-y life rules based on Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, but mad survival tips!)

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

MAN, I liked this book. Sunshine has baggage and muddled memories and an adorable kid and a best friend who has her back and a potential love interest who...ahh, well, let's just say things are complicated on that front and leave it at that.

Brought back to her hometown by (possibly) underhanded means (although all signs are pointing to it being for a very good reason), Sunshine has a lot going on her first day on the job. The one that hits closest to home is the disappearance of a teenage girl - a situation that Sunshine VERY MUCH wants to resolve with a happy ending.

While she deals with all the stuff that comes part and parcel with being sheriff, she's also still trying to unravel what happened to her in the not-so-distant past. Which opens up a whole other can of worms and has her finally coming clean about a bunch of things she's been bottling up.

I'm seriously smitten with Sunshine and her daughter and their friends and family and how sweetly bizarre this little town is. I have suspicions about things and I'd very very much like to see how everything plays out at Sunshine delves deeper into her ongoing investigation.