This suffered from middle book syndrome, especially since I was mostly reading due to the little plot twist dropped at the end of book one. That isn’t really addressed until the end here to set up the proper excitement for book three.

Narration: great casting

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for my chance to review.

Tag line: Our heroine gets more than one blast from the past in this installment of SUNSHINE VICRAM.

Audiobook narration was superb!

Full review to come on FreshFiction.com.

3.5 Stars

A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones is delightful! It has humor, crime scenes, and a fantastic mother-daughter relationship. You will be hooked on this series and won't want the book to end. The audiobook is incredibly entertaining.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

A small town mystery being solved by a Sheriff who also has her own mystery following her around. Sunshine Vicram is a Sheriff who infuses comedy and sass into her work and everyday life.

I loved this one! This series so good. The characters are just wonderful and it's just written so well. The storyline just keeps getting better and now I can't wait for the next one!

Dark yet funny, I love a good thrilling mystery and this one didn’t disappoint! I think where I went wrong through was in not realizing this is the second in the series and now I need to read the first one asap!

Love this series! Can’t wait for book 3 to be released.
Some suspense, a little laughter and a whole
Lot of trouble.

Dang! Now I have to wait until December for the next book in the series! What a cliffhanger! I enjoyed this second book in the Sunshine series. There’s mystery, witty conversations, romance, friendship, and great family dynamics in this book. I can’t wait for next one!

Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this mystery story, the tone of Sunny reminded me of Kinsey Milhone but with a little more spunk and a daughter who adds so much to the story! Can’t wait to read/listen to the next one!

I love a female detective book and appreciated the humor and wit on display in A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones. Readers get to dive back into the world of Sunshine Vicram and her exploration of her own cold case in A Good Day for Chardonnay.

Many thanks to the author, narrator, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

I love, love, loved this book.
After I got an ALC copy of the book, I went and bought the first book in the series and now I'm all in, awaiting the next book in the series not too patiently.

Sunshine is back in action, trying to sort out her life, who kidnapped her, and who killed Brick. Too bad everyone in Del Sol is admitting to the murder. And Auri is on her own quest to catch a decades old serial killer.

I loved this book from start to finish, and I really hope the series keeps going because I'm 100% hooked.

Note to NetGalley, this review is best seen on Goodreads as the gifs don''t translate here. I've included a link at the end.

This review of A Good Day for Chardonnay (Sunshine Vicram #2) is gonna be gif heavy, so bear with me.


I love Darynda Jones. Her love for both coffee and snark has carried over into every series she's written and I for one am thankful for it. Kudos to you, Ms. Jones.


I mentioned in my review of A Bad Day for Sunshine that the Sunshine Vicram world felt rather Gilmoresque. Between the changes in POV between Sunshine and Auri, I totally got a Lorelei/Rory vibe. Add in the often hilarious and adorably quirky secondary characters in Del Sol, New Mexico and it fills a bit like Stars Hollow. Only hotter, but we'll get to that.


I didn't feel it as much in A Bad Day for Sunshine, but with the continued world building in A Good Day for Chardonnay, I also got Veronica Mars vibes. I mean look at Auri. She's all like...

Sunshine Vicram is the love child of Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars and I will die on that hill. Also, I'm pretty sure that this particular scene-turned-gif is perfection.


Onto the hotness factor. Ms. Jones created a character named Reyes and he's in her Charley Davidson series. Reyes is literally hotter than the blazing sun. Reyes is also a supernatural being. Levi, while only human, is so goddamn sexy that by the time we got to see that hotness in detail, I was wanting to kill Sun and steal him. Not really cause he's fictional and all, but I did think about it. I mean, come on. Levi. Is. Hot.


Sunshine Vicram is a fun, mysterious, snarky, quirky, and on occasion hot fictional world that I have wholeheartedly fallen in love with. I'm not sure who's the Kirk of Del Sol yet, but I'm patient and look forward to learning more about both the main and secondary characters.

In closing, Ms. Jones really won me over with this brilliantly crafted world. It may totally give me Gilmore and Veronica Mars vibes and you'd think that's redundant, but it truly stands on its own and by design or not, it gives expert homage to two of my favorite, fictional TV worlds. While not perfect, A Good Day for Chardonnay was damn close.

If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend checking out book one, A Bad Day for Sunshine. Until next time...


*Audiobook provided by Macmillan Audio via NetGalley in exchange for honest review*

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4379578569?book_show_action=false

I loved this book so much and am already counting down the days til the next.
This book definitely has a lot going on but it was well balanced some of the conversations between sunshine and her daughter were off putting as a parent but maybe I'm a prude.
I love the quirky town and all the characters.
Looking forward to the next book

This is the second book in Jones' Sunshine series,, and you will want to read the first book in the series A Bad Day for Sunshine, as there is a case that goes across both books as well as establishes the relationship between the characters.

In the second book in this series, Jones shows that no day is easy for Sheriff Vicrim and that Chardonnay should never be to far away:

Ever since moving back home and becoming the Sheriff of the the town, all she wants is one day to be easy going and end with a date with a fun guy, or The guy that she has been pining for since she was a teenager. Instead she finds herself dealing with a bar fight that has gone seriously wrong, her daughter deciding to hunt serial killers, a racoon and receiving new information about her abduction that occurred when she was younger. To top all of that off, her first case as a detective, that of a missing kid, has come back into the spotlight and Sunshine is determined to have a different outcome this time. Sunshine is due for a day off and some wine.

I really enjoyed this book and I personally found this book more funny that the first one as this one had me laughing out loud at times, especially involving the racoon and again when Sunshine and Quincy try some new um things. I think that Jones has found a good way to mix the seriousness of the investigations that Sunshine is undertaking with humour to lighten things up. The mystery in the book is pretty straight forward, I still found that I was interested in the story and I appreciate that Jones had three separate mysteries in the book to keep it interesting. I like that for the most part

I think one of the reason that I enjoyed this book more than the first book as I found that there was less Auri parts which I appreciated. And really other than Auri constantly sneaking out she seemed a bit more mature in this book, which would also make sense from the events from the first book. I also like how Cruz and Auri's relationship is developing and the best way I can describe it is cute and intense at the same time.

I am really enjoying this series as it is a lighter read than what I normally read and I appreciate the characters that Jones has created in this book as well as the easy ability she has to combine humour and mysteries. I look forward to reading the next book in the series when it comes out.

Enjoy!!!

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* i didnt read the first book unfortunately but would reread this book again after reading the first one, has a lot going on so you dont want to put it down lol

Thank you to MacMillan Audio, NetGalley and the author for this free audio book in exchange for my honest review.

Sunshine Vicram is my new favorite fiction detective!

“Running a small-town police force in the mountains of New Mexico should be a smooth, carefree kind of job. Sadly, full-time Sheriff—and even fuller-time coffee guzzler—Sunshine Vicram, didn’t get that memo.”

I fell head over heels laughing for Sunshine and her friends in the first book, A Bad Day for Sunshine, and book two did not disappoint! Sunshine is a single mom, small-town sheriff with a great sense of humor and relatable supporting characters. The relationships in this book are believable and the snark is on fire! Sunny is honest, down to earth and great at solving crimes.

In a Good Day for Chardonnay, her daughter tries her own hand at detective work solving the town’s serial killer case, a missing child cold case is reopened and of course, the super sexy, bad boy Levi Ravender is involved. Lorelei King does a great job narrating this audio book.

If you have ever visited Santa Fe, NM you will understand and appreciate the eclectic vibe this book brings. Being born and raised in NM myself, this series is quickly becoming my new favorite. Sunshine Vicram is to the desert southwest what Eve Dallas is to New York. Fans of JD Robb will enjoy this book.

A Good Day for Chardonnay, book 2 in Darynda Jones’s Sunshine Vicram series, is a hilarious, suspenseful, and entertaining read from beginning to end. I had no idea what to expect when I requested it, but I had a smile on my face from the moment narrator Lorelei King’s husky voice spoke, drawing me into the non-stop drama of Sunshine’s small New Mexican town. Driven by a captivating narrative, the novel features a nice combination of small-town charm and intriguing mysteries. Jone’s descriptions, plotting, suspense elements, and character development and interactions are fantastic. Her characters are diverse, complex, engaging, and developed with easy nuance by Jones, evolving naturally within the story.

Sunshine Vicram is the sheriff of a small town in New Mexico, and her job is not as carefree as she would like. While settling in as sheriff, she’s faced with matchmaking parents, her teenage daughter hunting a serial killer, and a bar fight spiraling out of control. That’s on top of solving the mystery behind her abduction as a teen. Although it seems local distiller and bad boy Levi Ravinder might be responsible, Sunshine doesn’t believe he is behind it. But she is starting to suspect he might hold the key to solving the mystery.

Haunted by the mystery of an abduction she cannot remember but is driven to solve, Sunshine is snarky, intuitive, and stubborn, but also fairly low-key, considering. She is surrounded by interesting, memorable, and delightful characters that keep her on her toes, a few of whom cannot stay out of trouble – particularly her free-spirited daughter, who is too smart for her own good, and Sunshine's guarded childhood crush. The strong, silent, mysterious, and dangerous type with killer abs, Levi is always there whenever Sunshine or her daughter needs him. He’s also the man Sunshine has crushed on forever, and her feelings only continue to grow stronger with time. The novel shines when focusing on the relationships between the different characters – especially between Sunshine and her daughter and the other characters.

King’s narration perfectly captures the humor, snark, and charm of Jone’s novel. Each character’s voice is distinct, as she uses her diverse vocal range to effortlessly shift between characters – i.e., from Levi’s deep, sexy voice to Sunshine’s daughter’s youthful tone – and change cadence and pitch to reflect each character’s emotion, mood, etc., from scene to scene. Her voice enlivens the novel with added flavor and character, bringing the urgency of suspenseful/action sequences, the heightened passions of emotional scenes, and the humor and silliness that ensues at a moment’s notice to life and smoothly switching between these different tones with ease. Her superb narration makes A Good Day for Chardonnay not only a must listen but also a great audiobook for repeated listening.

Full of surprises, small-town secrets, quirky characters, suspense, first love – of the teen and adult variety – A Good Day for Chardonnay is a thrilling romantic suspense listen/read that explores love and family and their ups and downs, and the things we will do to protect them. Although I haven’t read the first book, I easily followed the story, which seems to pick up from book 1. Once I finished this one, I was ready for books 1 and 3.

This story had me laughing for days. It's perfect for curling up with a great glass of chardonnay and reading the day away. I loved the main character. Picturing her as she patrolled the town is definitely worth the read!

Sunshine Vicram books have become my top favorites, and A Good Day for Chardonnay doesn't disappoint. This second book in the series continues the adventures of Sheriff Sunshine Vicram and her precocious daughter, Auri.

Sunshine is still investigating her own cold case; her abduction at the age of 17. Bits and pieces of memory are returning, but she's trying to remember the coherent whole. She's still in love with Levi Ravinder, her hero since childhood, but he's as elusive as ever. She's also investigating a near-fatal stabbing at a local bar, which seems to have ties to an old case of a missing child.

While Sunshine is burning the candle at both ends, Auri is running her own investigation. She's decided that a nice old lady is a serial killer, and she's trying to find the evidence to prove it.

I really enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it to all Darynda Jones fans, as well as to anyone looking for a fun new series.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a free digital audio copy of this book from Net Galley.

#AGoodDayforChardonnay#NetGalley

I absolutely loved the first book in this series (A Bad Day for Sunshine) and I wish I would have reread it before starting this one. I feel like I missed a few references along the way in this second book but I still really enjoyed it! It had the same great characters and was still as captivating as ever. I alternated between reading the ebook and listening to the audiobook and both were excellent. The writing was great and the narration was amazing. Highly recommend checking out this one (and the first book if you haven’t read A Bad Day for Sunshine yet).

Thank you to the tagged publishers and @netgalley for providing a free advanced copy of this ebook and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.