I started reading this book and found that it was not for me. I didn't think it was fair to review a book I didn't finish.

I loved reading this book! I've always really enjoyed Darynda Jones's writing, and the first book, so I was anticipating reading this book, and boy was it a joy to read! Sunshine is such a fantastic narrator, I loved her voice, and watching her deal with these various investigations!

The overarching plot in this series is what happened to her-and how Levi was connected. And we learned a lot about it, and now it's a matter of the family politics, and how they're going to deal with the rotten members of the bunch!

And then there's the case going on in this book, with the case that Auri is investigating, suspect and all! And I really enjoyed watching her do so, and get those updates in her life, and her worries. Like the secret that her boyfriend is keeping. That broke my heart!

Absolutely loved how everything wrapped up, it was just so darned clever and amazing! And then there that sweet, sweet cliffhanger, like, how could it end on such a good-but unfinished-note! That last sentence has me so worked up! I'm so desperate for the the 3rd book now!

This was a fantastic read, and I can't wait for book 3!

I absolutely love this book! In this segment we find out what actually happened to Sunny and who the father of her daughter is. And can I say how great the secondary characters are.

Thank you to NetGalley, Darynda Jones and St Martin's Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I don't know why I put off reading this one so long, but it was worth the wait. I wish I had read the first one before digging into this one, but it wasn't totally necessary to read it to know what was going on. I loved all the characters and I would definitely read the next novel in the Sunshine series! It is a good action novel that had its funny moments. It was just fun!

I love the Sunshine Vicram series! It’s addicting and I’m totally hooked.

The mystery continues as Sunshine searches for answers to her past. She’s also solving a new case that seems to have more than meets the eye. We also get more of Levi Ravinder! He’s totally book boyfriend material. I love the chemistry and the push and pull between Sunshine and Levi. There’s a lot of snark between the characters which is funny cause I love a good snark. However, at times it was a bit too much. The beginning is slow going. Which I now know is how these books will go. Once it gets going, there’s no putting the book down. Twists I didn’t see coming and that ending! Whyyyy!! I need the next book asap!

This book has it all! Suspense, snark, book boyfriend material, and murder. Start this series today! You’ll be entertained and falling in love with a new series. I give this 4 stars.

This book was super fun! IT was fun to revisit the characters and have another great story to dive into.

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

Darynda Jones is one of my favorite authors because she writes these plucky, sarcastic, sweet yet strong female protagonist. And with every book, we learn more about this female character that makes her three dimensional… a well rounded character.

In this book, Jones builds on the characters of Sunshine, Aurora, and Levi in a way that leaves the reader breathless and hungry for the next installment. Can’t wait!!

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!

A Good Day for Chardonnay is a bitingly humorous murder procedural and the second book in the series by Darynda Jones. Released 27th July 2021 by Macmillan on their St. Martin's Press imprint, it's 416 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats (paperback due out in 2022). It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is such a relentlessly humorous book - honestly more of a slapstick romcom with murder mystery elements. The dialogue can only be described as repartee and is delivered rapid fire and glibly throughout even when (in my opinion) it's unwarranted such as discussing murder, abduction, sexual assault, and stabbing. Protagonist Sun, the titular sheriff of her small mountain town, has more inappropriate intrusive sexual thoughts about potential perpetrators and random passersby than would seem possible or entirely healthy. It's all crotches and abs. To be fair, most of the crotch references were concerning a local raccoon run amok (don't ask) which irritatingly enough was referred to on multiple occasions as a rodent (they're not - they're procyonids and more closely related to kinkajous and coatis)).

All that aside, the drawbacks for me personally: the rapid fire funny dialogue, the relentless sexy talk, the bitingly sarcastic writing, and the tough-guy action will be pluses for readers who really enjoy romance mysteries with lots of action and fighting. The plotting is tight and the descriptive writing is competent and readable; the author does know her craft. There are several plot threads which entwine more closely throughout this book, culminating in a satisfying denouement and resolution. Most of the plotlines are resolved in this book so it works well as a standalone, but there's a central background theme which arcs throughout this book and the first one. That plot theme includes abduction and sexual assault in Sun's past, so readers should be aware of potential triggers.

Three and a half stars (for me), likely higher for readers who enjoy humorous romance.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Sunshine Vicram is back again, heading up a small police force in the mountains of New Mexico. When her one easy day turns into a boatload of crazy, how will Sunshine handle the pressure? Will the truth of her abduction finally see the light of day?

I thought the first book in this series was charming, but I was really not a fan of A Good Day for Chardonnay. The author tried too hard to make her main character snarky and funny, but most of this charm just comes off the pages flat as a pancake. Although some of the personal history was fleshed out a bit more, the main part of the story was a jumbled mess. The side plots alone ruin the pacing of the book and I found my attention wandering. A Good Day for Chardonnay was a struggle to finish, so I would not recommend it to other readers.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy of A Good Day for Chardonnay by NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press. The decision to read and review this book was my own.

A big thank you to Darynda Jones, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my candid opinion.

I love this author and this series. It is about a sassy young woman named Sunshine who is sheriff of a small town in New Mexico. That she just happened to grow up in. Where her parents still live. And where everyone knows each other and each other's business. And she was elected sheriff without having actually run for the office. It is funny, quirky, has a cast of great characters and it is a little steamy. I love her very sassy daughter Auri who has both Sunshine and her grandparents wrapped around her finger. It does have some darker moments too which make it a more realistic story than some others. I really enjoy this series and cannot wait to read more! Besides, what's not to like a woman who loves both coffee and alcohol?

A GOOD DAY FOR CHARDONNAY - Darynda Jones

#2 in the Sunshine Vicram series

Moving the story along - 4 stars

Plot - 4 stars - This is generally a combination of police procedural, chick lit, detective, and humor. It is loosely following the life of Sunshine, the sheriff of a small town. There are a lot of nuisance calls as well as a couple of real cases to follow, including a cold case from Sunshine's past that she's anxious to solve.

Writing - 4 stars - Jones is very familiar for her long-running Charley Davidson series, and this series follows the same sort of writing style. That is to say, it's entertaining, fun, and easy-to-read. Lorelei King is admirable as narrator and her skills add to the reader's enjoyment of the story.

Characters - 4.5 stars - As with all Jones books, this is where the story shines for me. The characters are very fun and appealing. Sunshine is a dedicated law-enforcement officer. It's just that she sometimes finds herself in awkward situations, especially when her precocious daughter or ever-helpful parents are involved. Plus her sense of humor is hilarious and often adds light-heartedness to the story. Aurora, her daughter, is very smart, but she's still a kid and often gets herself into situations that she can't control. Her cohorts, Cruz and Sybil, don't help matters since they're always willing to tag along with whatever crazy plans she has. Levi Ravinder, Sunshine's sexy "sort-of" love interest is attractive but elusive, adding a tough of mystery to every incident. The rest of the police force (especially Quincy) are always funny, always willing to help out even while making sarcastic but warm-hearted comments, usually at Sunshine's expense. And I love Sunshine's relationship with her parents--silly but totally loving.

Title - 4 stars - The title follows along with the same format as the previous book in this series. And Sunshine definitely takes time in the evenings to have a soothing glass of wine.

Cover - 4.5 stars - Gorgeous cover and very clever, with the southwestern landscape as part of the wineglass. Bright colors to draw the eye. Very attractive.

Overall - 4 stars - This story moves right along, with action scenes fitting in along with lots of entertaining personalities in the small town of Del Sol. Sunshine is a good sheriff, but in this case she also has to handle several personal issues, including her daughter's behavior (or misbehavior) as well as her feelings for Levi Ravinder. We discover a lot more about Sun's situation and the cold case she was involved in many years ago. There's also another long-standing case from her early days as a detective, and there's some resolution there as well. It was interesting to follow the progress of cases we already knew something about, while also getting to know the characters better, especially Cruz, Aurora (who has a featured role), and Quincy.

Solid second entry into this trilogy (?). Love Sunshine and her relationships. She is a strong mother who has the embarrassing part down pat. The continuation of the mystery of what happened to her 15 yrs ago is brought forward in a satisfying way. The ending left me content but also excited for book 3 - if only it wasn't a year away!!

A Good Day For Chardonnay
By Darynda Jones

This was a very suspenseful, exciting book. The characters were unique. A glass of Chardonnay seemed to help in every way. I recommend this book.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

Another Sunshine Vicrim book and I was quite excited to dive into this one since I really liked the first. I do like these characters and feel they are realistic with an interesting back story (which we learn a whole lot more about here) but I was taken aback with the graphic writing of a sex scene in #agooddayforchardonnay and feel it was a bit to graphic for this style of cozy mystery. I am giving it, however, 4 stars like my rating for #abaddayforsunshine with thanks for #netgalley and the publisher for this arc to read and review.

A Good Day for Chardonnay is the second book in Darynda Jones's Sunshine Vicram series. While this book can be read as a standalone, don't do it. Seriously, learn from my mistake and put the book down. Read the first book before picking this one up. The jokes will be funnier and some of the plot points will make more sense. And you don't want to miss any of it!

I love Darynda Jones's writing style. She is sassy and sarcastic and clever with her words. Plus each chapter starts with a quote from a sign around town or the local police blotter that you wish you could put up in your town.

Sunshine Vicram was elected Sheriff for her small hometown without ever running for the office (from book one) and is tasked with the equivalent of herding cats where the cats are the town's residents. Her two gay best friends followed her home and started their own coffee shop where they hoard the secret to their perfect eyeliner. Mischief abounds and Sunshine has evildoers to stop and a personal past to unravel.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for sending me this book in exchange for my honest review.

Another great one from Darynda, but a cliff hanger again!! Sunshine is just another working woman with too many responsibilities for her to give in to love. I know, she's a cop and the love of her life seems to be in the mob, so maybe it won't work. However in book two I keep holding out hope and not to spoil the story, but I'm anxiously waiting the next installment.
Again though, it's her daughter who gets in over her head and Sunshine along with the rest of the policy force and her not so boyfriend mob boss rescues her once again. Amidst all this, we progress in the mysteries of book one, with the exception of why one local is always confessing to every crime to happen in town. One mystery down, it seems like 3 more to go. Sunshine does make headway in remembering things about her own abduction that I'm sure will wrap up in the next book. The daughter on the other hand just needs a tracker installed so she can be found when she gets into trouble because that seems like the only thing she's really decent at. Darynda brings her usual snark and color to the book with a runaway racoon, text messages between mom and daughter, and the things grandparents say and do. If you like the first book, you'll enjoy this one just as much.

i really enjoyed this mystery novel, it was a lot of fun to read with interesting characters and getting to go on this journey.

My rating scale:
5☆ - I loved this book and it brought out true emotion in me (laughter, anger, a good cry, etc)
4☆ - I loved this book.
3☆ - I liked this book.
2☆ - I didn't really care for this book.
1☆ - I did not like this book at all and probably did not finish it.