Fresh, brilliant, bright, and funny! Darynda takes readers on a ride through Del Sol you won’t want to miss. She’s a champion writer of romance, comedy, mystery, and suspense. The funny things are laugh-out-loud-and-hope-the-people-around-you-don’t-think-you’re-crazy funny. Even the serious things are funny. The even more serious things are, well, raw and unfiltered. True.

Sun and Auri are two of my favorite girls in all of literature. There’s simply no escaping this world once you’ve stepped into it. Sunshine has found out just enough enough of the mysteries in Del Sol, but not all of them, to keep me coming back for more. And don’t get me started on Levi Ravinder or we’ll be here all night. Swoon!

A Good Day for Chardonnay, book #2 in the Sunshine Vicram series, by Darynda Jones is even more engrossing than A Bad Day for Sunshine. The New Mexico setting is perfect for Sheriff Sunshine Vicram, her cute and tough daughter Aurora Dawn--Aurie, and the guys in their orbit. The plot pacing is fast and furious--more thriller than cozy. The investigation into the kidnapping from book one is picking up speed as new clues are revealed, there is a cold case serial killer hunt, Sunshine's parents are still trying their best to 'hook her up', and her feelings for sexy Levi are growing by leaps and bounds. Oh, and Cruz? He melts my heart. Darynda Jones pulls the reader into the story with wonderful characters, snarky humor, and a thrilling fast paced mystery---leaving the reader both satisfied AND wanting more. Excellent read!
Thank you #AGoodDayForChardonnay #NetGalley #Kensington for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I review books I enjoy so that others can enjoy them too.

It's about four months after the events of A Bad Day for Sunshine and Sunny finally seems to be able to have a real life outside of her sheriff-ing duties. She's even going on dates. Granted, they are blind dates that are set up by her parents with men who really aren't her type, but it's a start. Right?

Things get a little crazy when her best friend calls her in a panic over a wild raccoon at his cabin.

They get a little more crazy that same night when there's a stabbing at the bar of the man that Sunny has been crushing on since she was around four years old (and he was about 6).

Things get even crazier when a cold case from Sunny's past ends up back on her radar.

And, on top of all that, the mayor is holding things over Sunny's head if she doesn't solve the mystery of the legendary group who is thought to run the town.

If only there was some time to just sit back and get a drink!

Final thoughts: I love all Darynda Jones books and this one is no exception. She's got a special writing voice that just makes me jealous. I wish I could come up with these comebacks in a few months, let alone the seconds the characters have to say them. I got a little confused by the Dangerous Daughters subplot as it was mentioned in the beginning and resolved near the end, with nothing in the middle. I feel like either I missed something or something was just missed. Additionally, one HUGE peeve was the use of c*&t in the book. It's just once (at least in this ARC) but it seriously pulled me, more accurately, YANKED me right out of the book. That is such a harsh word and its use was in a place that was the exact opposite of the connotation I usually feel for that word. I hope it gets changed before the final book is released.

And she does it again! Darynda Jones has a true talent for creating a cast of interesting characters whose past and present are intertwined in so many ways - you can't stop reading and end up wanting to know be one of the crew. You will be turning pages, laughing out loud, a bit teary, tense and even sometimes angry - what a roller coaster of fun! This is the second book in this series and even better than the first if that's possible - keep them coming!

Darynda has hit it out of the park once again! Readers truly couldn’t ask for more as a follow up to A Good Day For Sunshine. This book has a little bit of everything: mystery, comedy, romance, cliffhangers, tears, joy, and everything else in between!.
All of our favorite characters are back from book 1, some highlighted more than others.
Many important questions are answered in this book while leaving plenty of room for more cliffhangers and adventures in the next installment of the series.
I simply couldn’t put this book down. I lost several nights of sleep because of it but it was well worth it. I can’t wait for book 3!

This book is just a total hoot! I have not read the first in the series (must do that now!) but I was able to get the gist of characters and place soon enough. Honestly, you could read it just for the tongue in cheek headers at the beginning of each chapter. So clever! Anyway, just read the book. It will make you laugh and then make you feel good after you've laughed. The author has a nice way with words that is unpretentious and downright funny.

LOVED IT

I would like to thank Darynda Jones, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t think I speak of anything in enough detail to be considered a spoiler, I made an effort not to, but if you want to make sure to avoid them, maybe don’t read this.

I loved this book more than the first! I have a strong craving to reread it already, to reread both of them. There were a million plots, per Jones’s MO, but they were all interwoven seamlessly, also per Jones’s MO. A few threads didn’t get completely tied up because they’ll extend into book 3, but they were resolved enough to leave the reader satisfied, which is much appreciated.

I refuse to think too hard about this book and pick it apart, I don’t have the heart this time. But off the top of my head, there was one thing that could probably have been cut without consequence: the Randy gag. As far as I can tell, it served no purpose but to be funny. And now that I think on it, was it even resolved? Were we told what happened to Randy? If we were, I don’t remember. *runs search* No, he isn’t mentioned past chapter 24. But anyway.

The pace was fast but steady, every scene had room to breathe. It might throw some readers off that the climax for one plot is as early as 60%, but personally I was ecstatic to know that there was still so much left of the book! I didn’t want it to end. Jones said she had to cut like, ten thousand words during revisions, which makes me gasp like Damian when Cady breaks the crown at the end of Mean Girls.

The characters were all amazing, every single one. I couldn’t get enough of them. I admired Sunshine’s goodness and dedication and maturity (that’s a feat, making the character appear mature despite her constant quips); I related to Auri’s well-intentioned mistakes and to just generally being a teenager; I sympathized with Quinn and Sun’s parents; I was afraid for Hailey and Jimmy; I was conflicted about Wynn; I adored Rojas and liked Zee and Salazar.

And oh god, Cruz. Cruz simply shattered my heart.

I was most impressed with Levi, though. I liked him a lot more this time around; he was still prickly and obstinate, but much less of an asshole, at least to my mind. He didn’t once complain as he ran himself ragged trying to help and protect everyone he cared about. I think he reveled in being involved, being needed, being useful, especially in regards to Sunshine. I hope his eye’s okay . . . I kept expecting Sunshine to force him to go to the hospital and he’d come out with a sexy eye patch. But alas, no eye patch.

I do wish Jones had included a few more lines at the very end; I’d really like to hear Levi’s answer to Sun’s question, because it would help me understand where his head’s been at for the last fifteen years. When did he? I want so badly to understand; I’m still tempted to be angry with him for not doing anything, but I’m much more willing to give him the benefit of the doubt than I was after book 1. He earned that benefit in 2.

*groans* The third book cannot come fast enough. I want it almost as much as I want Beep and Osh, that’s how much I’ve come to love this series. Forget Annette’s book, can we have A Hard Day for a Hangover this fall? Pleeeease?

Overall, this has to be one of Jones’s best books of late. I loved it times infinity.

I was so excited to get this book, I love Darynda Jones books so much! Thank you NetGalley for the advance reader copy of A Good Day for Chardonnay in exchange for an honest review. I also got the first book of the series as an ARC and loved it and have been impatiently waiting for this book as soon as I heard about it. Now I am doing the same with the next one, is there going to be a third book? Please tell me yes, I would fall into a deep depression if this was it in the series. In A Good Day for Chardonnay we start about four months after the events of A Bad Day for Sunshine. Auri and Sybil have become best buddies, Auri has also gotten much closer to Cruz. Sunshine has to solve a murder, a kidnapping and save herself too. Levi was a much more present character in this book, much to my delight and Sunshine's. Yes, I have a mad crush on Levi, is that weird? We learn more about Sunshine's kidnapping all those years ago and a lot of blanks are filled in of her missing time. I just want to talk about everything in the book, but no spoilers, so I'll just write that I loved this book even more than "a glass of Chardonnay". Thank you Darynda Jones for writing such amazing books full of humor, love, intrigue and compassion. You make me laugh, cry and want to hug your books to my chest like they are oh so precious. I also feel less abnormal reading your work, knowing that other people have the same sense of humor. I LOVED this book!

A Good Day for Chardonnay is the second book in the Sunshine Vicram series. I really enjoyed the story and how it played out. The story does stand alone, but I'd recommend reading the first in the series first. I love the characters and their witty dialogue. Is it the next great American novel, no. Some things are unrealistic, like "are you kidding me?" But will you enjoy the story, absolutely!

Kudos to author Darynda Jones for a fun and well written book! Of course the title drew me in but I did not expect quite this type of book to unfold with each page turn.

What a delightful read! Sheriff Sunshine Vicram leads readers through so many twists and turns, frolics, mayhem and mystery and at each page turn had this mystery lover engaged and wondering what the heck was coming next. Each character was filled with just that - character - and I loved each and every resident and visitor to this New Mexico town.

From secret societies to decades old love affairs, murders and mystery, this book took me on a great escape from reality for the time I was reading it. Crafted by a great wordsmith this is one that will stay with me for awhile. I am anxious to read more by this author for sure!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a free digital copy for my honest review. Definitely one that will top my favorites list.

A Good Day for Chardonnay is a great read! I always like books by Darynda Jones and this one didn’t let me down. I enjoy the authors books because the story is always fast paced and has bits of humour in every chapter.

I love Sunshine and the way she interacts with her colleagues. I love her relationship with her daughter and the way they check in with each other by text. And I love the slow burn relationship she has with Levi.

This book was a great escape with mystery, secrets and revelations. I can’t wait to read more in this great series.

I received an e-arc of this book from NetGalley and this is my honest review.

When an author I love starts a new series, I'm often a bit worried that it won't live up to the previous one. After loving Darynda Jones' Charley Davidson series, I was excited when A Bad Day for Sunshine was released. I was thrilled to be approved for an ARC of a Good Day for Chardonnay and debated rereading A Bad Day for Sunshine to refresh my memory... but I was too impatient and jumped right in. No need to worry - A Good Day for Chardonnay sucked me right back in to the story and the characters. Very few books have been quoting lines to my kids, but this one did (several phrases and Auri's bike/bridge experience). I love the banter between characters and Sunshine's comments to her daughter, Auri, fit right in with my relationship with my kids. A Bad Day had me questioning some of the elements (like how Sunshine got her job) but the relationships and storylines that came out of it had me forgiving all my doubts.

A Good Day for Chardonnay continues the story of Sunshine Vicram, sheriff of a small New Mexico town. There are still the unanswered questions about Sunshine's abduction 15 years ago and who was involved, but that's got to make way for a bar fight, a teenage daughter who takes after her mother in so many trouble-finding ways, and unresolved missing persons cases. Never a dull moment when you consider the good and bad elements of the local Ravinder family - lost love Levi, in prison Wynn, scheming Clay, enigmatic Hailey. We get the fantastic cast of characters from the first book with Darynda's usual flair for banter and relationships. The longer arc storylines feature along with newer issues combining into a fast-paced read. I enjoyed A Good Day for Chardonnay more than the first in the series, perhaps because I already knew the characters. There was ALOT to unpack in this book with many of the characters having their own stories. In many ways, even having just finished the book, it's hard to say which storyline stood out the most. There are also a variety of tones set -- a mischievous raccoon, old missing persons cases, young love and friendship, adult love and friendship, blind dates, bar fights, stabbings, abductions, and crime... and when I got to the end, I loved how it all came together (although I was sad about one of the endings). Literally, when I read the last sentence, my first thought was MORE. Now I have to figure out how to patiently wait for the next in the series. (Who am I kidding, I won't be patient.)

My thanks to Darynda Jones for another fantastic series, St Martin's Press for approving my request, and NetGalley for providing the ARC.

THIS BOOK. I don't know what to do with myself. I just finished this one and this has been the fastest I read through a book in months. If I could give it a million stars it wouldn't be enough. Granted it was my most anticipated and it didn't disappoint. People, if you have never read a Darynda Jones book, your loss. There is an easy fix though. A GOOD DAY FOR CHARDONNAY is the second installment in this author's Sunshine Vicram series. So you can still read the first book before this one releases.

Now to the good stuff. What you need is tissues. Many, many tissues. For the parts you when you're laughing so hard that tears are running down your face and for the parts when you have tears in your eyes because you're overwhelmed with emotions. Yes, that happens too.

Apart from the awesome, fabulous, amazing, wonderful, unbelievable, quirky cast there is an equally awesome, suspenseful storyline that was such a page turner that it was hard for me to tear myself away. I ADORED Sunshine and Levi in this book, just as much as Sun's clever, clever daughter Auri.
“You have no idea what your mother put us through. You couldn’t disappoint us any worse than she did that time she threw a party while we were out of town and invited an entire biker gang called the El Choppos, who used my bras to shoot water balloons at the neighbor’s house.”

And Cruz, Auri's boyfriend, is someone you want for your own daughter, believe me. He is THE BEST. This kid hit me in the feels right where it hurts best. The whole. Forking. Time. Enigmatic and charismatic Levi shows that he is more than the grumpy hot guy and when he shines it's spectacular.
“You’ve bewitched me.”
He kissed the corner of her mouth.
“You bewitched me the first time I saw you and no one else has ever measured up.”

There is also this wonderful friendship between Sunshine and her BFF and Chief Deputy Quincy. These two walk through fire for one another and their conversations were some of the most humorous. And how I loved the our heroine, Sheriff Sunshine Vicram, whose integrity is absolute, who always questions herself. If you don't love her, we can't be friends anymore. #SorryNotSorry
“Do you think, and I know this is asking a lot, but do you think you could possibly keep your granddaughter from getting into any more trouble for the rest of the night?”
Her father shook his head.
“I can’t make any promises, Sheriff. Look who her mother is.”

There is a slew of characters but I never felt that I got lost. The author does an amazing job to make you remember every single personality in this small town in New Mexico.

If you're like me and had thousands of questions after A BAD DAY FOR SUNSHINE you'll get answers but prepare to have even more questions when you're done. That's just how this series works and I don't care. Give me twenty books in this series and all with cliffies and I'll die a happy woman.

Darynda Jones is an exceptional storyteller who has one of the best writing voices I've read in recent years. Her sense of humor, that hilarious sarcasm and the many "oh snap" moments, are what make this story so fast paced and captivating and outstanding, I giggled, laugh-snorted, and downright laughed hysterically throughout most of the book. She also cranks up the heat between Sunshine and Levi. Phew!


Fans of her Charley Davidson series will delight in the easter eggs - have fun finding them! What I said about the cliffies is true but I really hope that we don't have to wait as long for the next book because, boy, this series is my new addiction and I need my fix in a timely manner. For now I predict that this will be my top favorite of 2021.
She loved everything about this man. Not just his physical appearance. It was him. Levi. The noble being she’d been in love with since she was a kid.

A small-town sheriff should have an easy job, but Sheriff Sunshine Vicram seems to be a magnet for trouble, and it looks like her daughter Auri is taking after her mother. Her chief deputy sheriff has a running dispute with Randy, a racoon, her parents keep setting her up on blind dates, her secret crush on Levi Ravinder keeps her off balance, and now her teenage daughter is trying to solve a very old serial killer case. And that is just the start of Sunshine’s problems.

I love Darynda Jones’ sense of humor (lots of sarcasm) and style of writing. Sunshine’s running internal dialogue, her relationship with her daughter (the teasing is hilarious, especially the talk about the Devil’s button), and her wonderful circle of friends makes this book stand out.

What I liked: there was more Levi Ravinder in A Good Day for Chardonnay! Auri’s budding romance with Cruz (it seems to parallel Sunshine and Levi’s early relationship); and the introduction of Levi’s uncle Wynn.

What I liked the least: having to wait for the next book in this series. Seriously, I love this story and the ending only made me eager to read more. Also, one detour with Sunshine and Quincy seemed unnecessary.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing digital advanced reader copy; This is my exchange my honest opinion.

Darynda Jones hits another homerun with this fun and witty second book of the Sunshine Vicram series. This clever story of a small town sheriff is a balance of mystery with laugh-out-loud humor while never losing the tension of the story. This is a angst-filled mystery is everything you want from a Darynda Jones book. It was a true delight.

Not sure which one this is in the series but enjoyed this one a lot. Have read at least one before, but not sure if this is two or three? Doesn't really matter, as once I got started it was hard to put this one down. Love the snarky relationship between Sunshine (yes, that is her name) and her friends and her daughter. Good action, good story, good author and one I highly recommend.

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of A GOOD DAY FOR CHARDONNAY (Book 2 of the Sunshine Vicram Series) by Darynda Jones in exchange for an honest review. Sheriff Sunshine Vicram revels in the ridiculousness of her life. She’s busy wrangling raccoon banditos when a friend of Levi Ravender’s is attacked by multiple assailants and stabbed repeatedly. Meanwhile, everyone in the Ravinder family, including a long-imprisoned uncle of Levi’s, has confessed to the long-ago killing of Sunshine’s kidnapper. At the same time, the current stabbing case may be related to another cold kidnapping case. Sunshine works to find answers to both stabbing cases as well as both kidnappings while her daughter investigates a third cold case involving a local serial killer. Sunshine will find the most surprising answers to these questions. Will everyone survive the revelation?

I liked both this book and the first in the series, A BAD DAY FOR SUNSHINE. I recommend this book to fans of mysteries featuring murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, serial killers, secrets, and silliness.

It is absolutely A Good Day for Chardonnay, and book #2 is undeniably a 5-star read. Author Darynda Jones has hit it out of the park yet again with the further exploits of Sheriff Sunshine Vicram and the gloriously sexy Levi Ravinder in the mysterious city of Del Sol, New Mexico. If you are looking for a great mystery that includes all the feels, look no further. Darynda writes remarkably colorful characters and makes you fall in love with them, quirks and all. The story delivers a roller coaster of emotions. It has considerable humor mixed well with a bit of steamy sexual tension. What a ride! All this excitement is expertly written with a side of nail-biting suspense. And then she does it all over again. Yes, I stayed up past my bedtime to finish this page-turner; the icing on the cake was finding out it would be a trilogy.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC copy of this available to me.

This was a great follow-up to the first in the series, with a couple of major outstanding questions answered toward the end of this book. There are also some major plotlines that will be continuing into the next book of this series. Sunshine's daughter is annoyingly teenage-like in her denial of possible consequences to her actions, causing some major damage.

Here's hoping the author keeps bringing us more of those Sunshine books!

It honestly escaped my notice that this was a book 2 in a series. I wish I had known that going in and read book 1 first - A Bad Day for Sunshine. And while A Good Day for Chardonnay could definitely be read as a stand-alone, there may have been helpful backstory in the first. I don’t know.

Argh, what did I think of this book? I hate throwing shade on such an overall creatively astounding work, but I will. First, though, I’ll tell you what I loved. The two central characters of Sunshine and her daughter Auri were wonderful! I fell in love with both of them. And Sunshine’s parents. And Quincy too. But mostly the mother-daughter relationship between Sunshine and Auri and then each of these characters as individuals.

I also loved Darynda Jones’s writing style and her incredible sense of humor. She’s ridiculously clever and made me literally laugh out loud several times. So I had those moments of smiling and thinking the book was great, but there were also lots of moments where I was confused and frustrated too. As much as adored the clever wit, comebacks, absurdity, and hilarious banter, there were times I wanted it to stop. When every character in the story is supremely quick-witted, (not to mention incredibly beautiful), it becomes too much. Levity, stabbing, levity, rape, levity, murder, levity, abduction, levity, danger, levity, kidnapping. Fresh out of surgery? Dying? Just killed someone? On the run for your life? You keep that sense of humor! Everyone is in a good mood. Cue the Indiana Jones theme music and run for the mine.

There may have been an over-abundance of plot lines to follow too. Sometimes the flips from one issue to the next made me shake my head to clear it. I forgot about a couple of them too, and when they would re-appear, I almost wouldn’t care and wanted to stick with the other ten irons in the fire. Also, this was supposed to be set in a small town, but there are times when it seemed big. You can get anywhere in about 3-4 minutes, but they had all kinds of businesses and services and schools. . . and shit tons of crime! The town should be in Ripley’s Believe It or Not.

These next paragraphs are spoilers. . . Why the hell wasn’t it a problem/criminal matter that Mrs. Fairborn killed her husband and buried him in the backyard? It would be if I did that. Instead, they/cops just took sweet Mrs. Fairborn’s word that the guy was a serial killer and held her hands tearfully proud that she had dispatched him. But, hey? You think your husband killed 23 people? That seems like a lot! Did you ask him where the bodies are buried? Any thoughts? Was he a big man? What was his problem? Can we dig up your backyard? And during those decades (?)—where he killed 23 people—you didn’t suspect him and you never told anyone? That’s okay, we love you. We’ll let the teenaged Auri work on the case in the next book.

Hey, Levi. . . why do you insist on never seeking medical treatment? Sighing a bit at the machismo. The superhero thing was a lot. And Cruz, you just got stabbed several times in the gut and you’re fresh out of ICU, are there really so few lingering medical issues you can just walk out of the hospital and grab an Uber? Super smart move with no consequences I’m sure and hey, you left so you could do a noble thing, but where did all the hundreds of people holding candles come from? Who coordinated that when no one was 100% sure where you were? Nice timing for the small town to come out by the hundreds all at the same time in case you were going to go to xxx. Did Levi poke his head up over the hill? How was he involved? And how did Grandma and Grandpa sneak up on that hike?

Also, Sunshine never slept. And I find it super hard to believe that no one looked inside (Mrs. Fairborn, Auri) the necklace. Those old-fashioned cameo types almost always opened. It seems obvious. But also, how big was that piece of paper that was stuck inside with a will? It’s a necklace.

Oh! And maybe I read this wrong, but while Sunshine was taking a shower in the hospital, Levi comes into the bathroom and holds her while she finishes shampooing her hair. . . which would mean she was naked. No mention of this big heart-pounding sexy moment was made. Did I read that wrong? For all the chemistry and yearning between these two characters, this might have been a thing—he saw/held her naked. (Kindle reading issue here—I can’t go back and find it. If I were reading this in paperback I could. Argh.)

I could go on listing my issues, but I won’t. Because I’m mad at myself for even making the list. My inability to look the other way when something isn’t logical is part of my downfall. It prevents me sometimes from just shutting off my mind and enjoying the pleasure of the journey.

Because all in all, it was a nice read.