A Perfectly Sonny Daye

Fish Out of Water #7.01

by Amy Lane

Sonny Daye works hard in the business he and his lover Ace have built from scratch. He sweats through days that shouldn’t be so hot, he fixes cars that shouldn’t be broke—he even puts up with customers that oughta just drive off the road and spare the car and Sonny himself the pain. On an ordinary day, Sonny can help a bunch of stupid kids, teach a snotty rich guy a lesson, and stop a felon in his tracks without killing him! It's hard work indeed—but Sonny’ll do anything for Ace.

note: This story is also included in Only Fish

Genres: M M Romance, Short Stories, Romance, Contemporary, LGBT, Fiction, Gay

48 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 23, 2024

About the author

Amy Lane dodges an EDJ, mothers four children, and writes the occasional book. She, her brood, and her beloved mate, Mack, live in a crumbling mortgage in Citrus Heights, California, which is riddled with spiders, cats, and more than its share of fancy and weirdness. Feel free to visit her at www.greenshill.com orwww.writerslane.blogspot.com, where she will ride the buzz of receiving your e-mail until her head swells and she can no longer leave the house.

Reviews

[Gail Overholt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Fish Out of Water books because I love Ellery and Jackson. But somewhere along the line, Amy Lane expanded the universe to include the Racing for the Sun guys . Then she added the Johnnies, the “porn stars with a heart of gold.” *Eye roll* I miss my two heroes.

I’ve never read Racing for the Sun, so I don’t know the origin of Ace and Sonny, and I’m not interested in pursuing it. What I do know is this shouldn’t be a Fish out of Water story. It takes place solely in the Racing for the Sun universe. Ellery and Jackson (the Fish) are nowhere to be found. It’s just a day in the life of Sonny Daye.

The beginning of the story is delightful. It’s told in first person, and Amy Lane does a wonderful job of getting into Sonny’s brain. (Supposedly, he’s neurodivergent?) How much he loves his job, how good he is at it, and how Ace is his entire world.

But as the story goes on, it becomes clear Sonny and Ace often take justice into their own hands. I’m not a fan of that. I found the 3 teenagers more annoying than the rich dude, yet they eventually helped the teens, while leaving the rich guy stranded. He might have been all bluster and privilege, but he did calm down. And he certainly didn’t deserve to be left alone in the desert.

At least I think that’s what happened. But I don’t plan on re-reading this short story about a couple of guys I don’t really care for. How much don't I care? It took me eight days to read 40 pages.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Perfectly Sunny Daye by Amy Lane is a novella about Sunny, an auto mechanic in Victoriana California, who struggles to maintain his people skills and just exist in the here in now. I enjoyed this novella as Sunny is a one of a kind person who works hard to stay in the light with Ace and just work on his cars. Amy can pack a lot of emotions into a short novella and wow does she do it in this novella wher she can make you fall in love with Sunny Daye.

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

A day in the life of Ace and Sonny from “Racing for the Sun”. Nice addition to the series. This story is included in the Only Fish anthology of stories.

[Pete W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as ARC for my honest review. I also pre-ordered this free ebook from DSP as well.

This was a free work on Ms. Lane's patreon. It is also included in . This book is like a taste of what's going to be in . A good introduction into the dynamic between the Victoriana crew. You gets to know Sonny and Ace pretty quickly. And then you gets to see Jai's at work as well.

No spoilers, this book is free, short and you should read it. Especially if you already read and/or Fish series.

[Jennifer R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute short featuring Sonny and his partner Ace as they encounter a variety of clients at their wayside auto shop in the middle of the desert, including hapless college kids, a snooty business man, and a would-be robber. Since it is free, this is a great introduction to Amy Lane's work and to get a glimpse into the Fishverse, which contains multiple series set in a similar area and/or have characters that interact with each other. If you like this short, I highly recommend Only Fish, which contains this story and several longer ones, most of which interconnect or build upon each other.

[Zane Kage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love me some Sonny Daye. Let's be real, I love this Fish universe. This is a great snippet that gives insight to Sonny, Ace, the people around them, and life in Victoriana. I have to admit, anything from this world usually gets a "five-star, you're-going-straight-to-the-reread-pile" rating from me, and this is no different. I'm not sure how this works as an intro since it only gives you a glimpse, but hey, maybe it's enough to pull you into the rest of the stories, all of which I highly recommend.


***ARC***

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sonny Daye works hard in the business he and his lover Ace have built from scratch. He sweats through days that shouldn’t be so hot, he fixes cars that shouldn’t be broke—he even puts up with customers that oughta just drive off the road and spare the car and Sonny himself the pain. On an ordinary day, Sonny can help a bunch of stupid kids, teach a snotty rich guy a lesson, and stop a felon in his tracks without killing him! It's hard work indeed—but Sonny’ll do anything for Ace.

Heather's Notes
This story was short but cute. I liked seeing a glimpse of Sonny and Ace's life.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Short Intro to the Fishiverse

Wondering if you should invest in “Only Fish” by Amy Lane? This short piece by Amy Lane serves as an introduction to the most of the cast of secondary characters she’s created. Mechanic Sonny Daye knows cars, works daily to suppress his violent impulses. Here one gets to see Sonny in his element, along with his partner, Ace, interacting with a series of clients – who range from hapless to criminal. It’s a great short read.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a snippet of a story but it gives us so much insight into our Sonny, how his mind works, how he feels about him and Ace, how he feels about his true family (no one does chosen family better than Lane), how he feels about most everyone else. Not a standalone but adds a bit more to the Fishverse!

[Splash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything Amy writes - especially in this universe - I just need to consume. It's a pretty short but amazing look into the mind of Sonny Daye. For anyone having read all the books in the Fishverse this one is a must-read.

[Rosalyn McGill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not terrible

Personally was a little.confused. The fist short story was good just slot of guitar language back to back. The second part I was confused but then again I habe not read the base story so that could be part of the confusion.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple short stories.
I'll never understand which gets put in other books, grouped together into a book, or published/released on their own
But these are good glimpses into the fish that I've come to appreciate and enjoy.

[kenn hewett · Rating 5 out of 5]

too short!

Come on Amy I need a longer story.What there was is great 👍.If I write anymore words it will be longer than the story.

[T.A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it!

Sonny is having a bad day, but it all ends perfectly when Ace returns like it always does.

I really love this series.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK at 39 pages I knew it was going to be short but then it finishes around 57% and you get a preview of the next book.
Glad it was a freebie and not something I had to pay for.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Sonny!

[Lisa Guertin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Sonny Daye so much! He never quits and loves Ace so much. This story is such a treat and so perfectly Sonny Daye.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long time NO see! Short and not always so sweet, but it was still entertaining!

[Suze · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quick story where Sonny and Ace deal with a number of trying situations.
Sonny is grumpy, Ace is practical!

[Kobie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this, but also remembered why the Sonny stories were a no-go for me for a while. I have to do an extreme amount of willful suspension of disbelief with the violence.