Book Review | The Five Star Weekend By Elin Hildebrand
July 24, 2023Password Protecting Posts – I still want you to read! :) (Hint: It’s my last name, capital first letter)
August 1, 2023
I adored this series. It was very far fetched and unbelievable most of the time, but after the first book, I knew what I was getting into. There was humor sprinkled into every chapter. Sunshine’s character was entertaining, I’m a little bummed the series ended in 3 books but also, glad that it did because it was the perfect amount.
link to other review – I think this is a great review of the series! I had this in my drafts a little too long that I have forgotten some of the key plots. I do remember I still loved this series and want to have this published so I can find the endings when I think of them.
Key characters throughout the series:
- Sunny’s parents, Cyrus and Elaine Freyr
- Sunny’s best friend since kindergarten and her current chief deputy, Quincy Cooper, is another hotty, Elaine’s best friend,
- Darlene Tapia, who makes “magic muffins” that predict upcoming disasters for the town
- Levi Ravinder
- Levi’s sister
- Levi’s nephew
- Levi’s uncle – the one in prison
- Levi’s uncle – the one trying to steal his distillery
- Doug, the town flasher
- Owners of the coffee shop
A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones
Sunshine Vicram Series Book #1
Sheriff Sunshine Vicram finds her cup o’ joe more than half full when the small village of Del Sol, New Mexico, becomes the center of national attention for a kidnapper on the loose.
Del Sol, New Mexico is known for three things: its fry-an-egg-on-the-cement summers, strong cups of coffee – and, now, a nationwide manhunt? Del Sol native Sunshine Vicram has returned to town as the elected sheriff – thanks to her adorably meddlesome parents who nominated her–and she expects her biggest crime wave to involve an elderly flasher named Doug. But a teenage girl is missing, a kidnapper is on the loose, and all of this is reminding Sunshine why she left Del Sol in the first place. Add to that the trouble at her daughter’s new school, plus and a kidnapped prized rooster named Puff Daddy, and, well, the forecast looks anything but sunny.
But even clouds have their silver linings. This one’s got Levi, Sunshine’s sexy, almost-old-flame, and a fiery-hot US Marshall. With temperatures rising everywhere she turns, Del Sol’s normally cool-minded sheriff is finding herself knee-deep in drama and danger. Can Sunshine face the call of duty – and find the kidnapper who’s terrorizing her beloved hometown – without falling head over high heels in love . . . or worse?
A Bad Day for Sunshine Spoilers
- They find her in a shed that is in the middle of property – when they are there, Sunshine realizes that’s where she was held captive when she was kidnapped as a teenager — and starts to flash back and think that Levi’s uncle kidnapped her
A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones
Sunshine Vicram Series Book #2
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.
A Good Day for Chardonnay Spoilers
- Cruz’s dad died of a stroke while they were out hunting, he has been living on his own and pretending that this dad was alive the whole time so he wouldn’t be sent away
- The locket that everyone was after actually held the deed to land that is worth lots of money now
- Sunshine finds out that Levi is the father of Auri, she tells him at the end of the book and then doesn’t find out how he feels
A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones
Sunshine Vicram Series Book #3
Some people greet the day with open arms. Sheriff Sunshine Vicram would rather give it a hearty shove and get back into bed, because there’s just too much going on right now. There’s a series of women going missing, and Sunny feels powerless to stop it. There’s her persistent and awesomely-rebellious daughter Auri, who’s out to singlehandedly become Del Sol’s youngest and fiercest investigator. And then there’s drama with Levi Ravinder—the guy she’s loved and lusted after for years. The guy who might just be her one and only. The guy who comes from a family of disingenuous vipers looking to oust him—and Sunshine—for good.
Like we said, the new day can take a hike.
This was the third book in the trilogy and I’m glad it was the end. It was a perfect length of a series, just enough to get the necessary closure but not too much to drag it on and overdo it.
A Hard Day for a Hangover Spoilers
- The previous sheriff’s son is the one who murdered the previous missing girl and who attempted to murder this one as well
- Levi’s uncle tries to blow up the distillery to get money based on an insurance claim – he is angry that Levi killed his brother/dad?
- Wanda is Cruz’s grandma, so he can stay after all