A Good Day For Chardonnay Review

Author: Darynda Jones

Series: Sunshine Vicram #2

Publisher: St. Martins Press

Genre: Romance Suspense, Humor

Release Date: July 27, 2021

Order Link: Amazon

My Rating: 5 Sweet & Hilarious Hearts

Special thanks to St. Martins Press for an arc of this book.

From the New York Times bestselling author Darynda Jones comes the second novel in her laugh-out-loud Sunshine Vicram mystery series, A Good Day for Chardonnay.

Review:

Sheriff Sunshine Vicram is back along with her sleuth teenage daughter Auri and the rest of the quirky crew from the first book A Bad Day For Sunshine.  I went into A Good Day For Chardonnay with fingers crossed for more of the sarcastic, witty banter and laugh out loud scenes and was richly rewarded with all that and more.  This book gifts readers with much needed depth in story line that I found lacking in book 1 - depth found through the exploration and development of the case of Sunshine's abduction.  All clues point to badboy Levi Ravinder, but Sunshine knows in her heart he didn't do it although she has a feeling he was there.  Major revelations there, and the author takes this opportunity to strengthen and develop their relationship and move it forward at warp speed.  Readers also get more depth through the inclusion of an old serial killer case that daughter Auri, whose determined to follow in her mother's footsteps, decides to investigate along with her best friend and boyfriend Cruz.  What a fiasco that turns out to be!  Again, great character and plot development!  These plots all twist and intertwine in surprising ways, producing hilarious scenes filled with snark and yet also real emotional connections between characters.  I can't say enough about this cast of characters - each command their own space in the story and every single unique personality has its time to shine.  Jones has outdone herself!

A Good Day For Chardonnay is hilarious, heartwarming and entertaining to read.  Development in character relationships and overall plot lines are huge as missing pieces of the puzzle fall into place and questions are answered.  I loved the sexy banter between Sunshine and Levi as well as the heartfelt moments, the awesome family moments between Sunshine and Auri and Auri and her grandparents, the witty banter between Sunshine and her best friend Deputy Quincy and the quirkiness of the whole crazy town . . . including the raccoon who refuses to stay put, creating chaos everywhere.  Jones lends her unique voice to this fast paced, action packed, captivating story and spins a tale worthy of a tall glass of Chardonnay.  Humorous, stimulating and an absolute delight to read, I highly recommend A Good Day For Chardonnay to everyone!  Cheers to a five star read!

Synopsis:

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.

All Sunshine really wants is one easy-going day. You know, the kind that starts with coffee and a donut (or three) and ends with take-out pizza and a glass of chardonnay (or seven). Turns out, that’s about as easy as switching to decaf. (What kind of people do that? And who hurt them?)

Before she can say iced mocha latte, Sunny’s got a bar fight gone bad, a teenage daughter hunting a serial killer and, oh yes, the still unresolved mystery of her own abduction years prior. All evidence points to a local distiller, a dangerous bad boy named Levi Ravinder, but Sun knows he’s not the villain of her story. Still, perhaps beneath it all, he possesses the keys to her disappearance. At the very least, beneath it all, he possesses a serious set of abs. She’s seen it. Once. Accidentally.

Between policing a town her hunky chief deputy calls four cents short of a nickel, that pesky crush she has on Levi which seems to grow exponentially every day, and an irascible raccoon that just doesn’t know when to quit, Sunny’s life is about to rocket to a whole new level of crazy.

Yep, definitely a good day for chardonnay.

NYTimes and USA Today Bestselling Author Darynda Jones has won numerous awards for her work, including a prestigious RITA, a Golden Heart, and a Daphne du Maurier, and her books have been translated into 17 languages. As a born storyteller, Darynda grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, certain they went away the better for it. She penned the international bestselling Charley Davidson series and is currently working on several beloved projects, most notably the Sunshine Vicram Mystery Series with St. Martin's Press and the Betwixt and Between Series of paranormal women's fiction. She lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys.

She can be found at http://www.daryndajones.com