Oh this was beautiful!!! I was transported to beautiful Bali and captivated by its beauty!!! A gorgeous sunny read

A fun holiday women's fiction meets sort of romance in a book that gives my Josie Silver vibes by plotline alone.It's a bit slow for me but the found family trope is sweet and cute. It was alright, I guess.

Quite an inspiring read in a way, seeing Jaelee do something about the way she was feeling about her life/love/work. She took action and escaped to Bali for a rest and a reset. The description of UROP sounded idyllic and it was lovely to read about the fast developing friendships between the residents, regardless of age, profession and general life experience.
Some steamy romance obviously developed between Jaelee and the hot Scot and clearly not just a holiday romance. An easy, escapist read!

A fun. Easy read. Took me a little while to feel a connection with the characters but got there in the end. Would definitely try this author again

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


An easy read in a lovely setting with a woman trying to find herself.

I was invited to read this book early in exchange for an honest review. The story follows Jae who wants to escape her hectic life and heartbreak in Miami so takes a trip to Bali. There she meets some great friends and explores the way her life is going. She also meets Alistair who soon becomes a key part of the story. I loved this book. It was easy to read and a good bit or romance but also explored other issues and got me thinking about work and how we dont always need to follow the traditional routes. The story kept me hooked and I'll definitely be reading more by this author.

A Sunrise Over Bali by Sandy Barker was the dose of escapism that I didn't know I needed. Prepare to be whisked away to gorgeous Bali, and to have your wanderlust stirred.

Jaelee Tan is a woman for whom overachievement is the status quo. Highly successful in her professional life, she has been unlucky in love, and it is her most recent heartbreak that sends her seeking an escape to the other side of the world. Rather predictably, she will find romance, but she will also come to fall in love with herself as new friends and adventures become the order of her unstructured days.

While the Balinese setting quickly seduced me, as I knew it would, I was less enamoured of protagonist Jaelee, who was emotionally and socially complex, and the polar opposite of the self deprecating heroine who is more familiar to readers of this particular genre. While this by no means detracted from Jaelee's story, I did find myself to be less invested in her journey toward a happily ever after.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for an ARC.

I've read and enjoyed the other books in Sandy Barker's Holiday Romance series, so I was looking forward to this one - and it didn't disappoint! As ever from this author, the love story was sweet and romantic, the Hot Guy VERY hot(!), and the friendships, particularly between the female characters, believable and great fun. But even more so than the other books, the location here was a character in itself. Sandy Barker obviously knows and loves Bali very much, and that love feeds onto the page. I felt like I was there!

Recommended for anyone who loves a good romcom and a spot of armchair travel!

I am a solid Sandy Barker fan and have devoured all her previous books, in a flash, so to know there was a fourth coming in her travel romance series, was just fantastic.
I love how each story is individual, but that there are links and characters that tie them all together. so, yes, it could be a stand-alone, but equally, it's always fun to read books in a series, in order, to keep track of each character's story.
This book centres on Jaelee Tan.
She's a bigwig VP back in the US, and the daughter of a mother who doesn't show much emotional involvement in her life but expects big things from her only child.
After bumping into her ex at her best friend's party, and feeling her world unravel, Jaelee takes a sabbatical from work, which ends up being the catalyst for her leaving her job.
She moves to Bali to UROP, a place filled with 'digital nomads', where she hopes to ground herself.
Jae finds herself in paradise, with new friends, and ideas for a new future for her career.
As I was expecting, there was going to be romance, and it came in the form of Hot Scot, Alistair. An intense romance that gathers speed fast in this idyllic location.
But, romances are not meant to be smooth-sailing, are they?
There are exes involved, then families and their issues have to crop too...
So, Jae swaps the beauty of Bali for the gloom of Scotland...
All in all, an easy, fun read, with lots of laughs, love and sizzles!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins, UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

'Look. everyone's path is different. If you keep beating yourself up because you didn't decide until now what you want to do with your life, the you will miss this opportunity to do what you want to do with your life'

I really enjoyed Sandy Barker's The Dating Game, so was happy to see a new book to take me away to another beautiful destination. A Sunrise over Bali is the story of Jaelee who is headed for Bali for a bit of a sabbatical from her high power VP role in Miami. Pretty soon upon arrival she decides to actually quit her job altogether, and spend her time in Bali to figure out what it is she wants in life. Living in a communal living arrangement, she soon makes friends with Australian coach Peta, American actress-slash-model Helena, and the hunky Scottish software engineer Alistair. What follows is a couple of weeks of fun, friendship, food and drinks, romance, and a heck of a lot of soul searching.

I will be frank, it took me a while to connect with Jaelee. I found her to be spoilt, unyielding and not particularly open to cultural difference. However, she goes through quite a bit of character growth and becomes significantly less stuck-up throughout the book. At the same time, I loved Peta and Helena and the different relations they form with Jaelee and one another. And of course Alistair is just the right amount of hot and good guy to make the perfect romantic interest.

All in all, A Sunrise over Bali provided that perfect getaway. It is easy to imagine oneself on Bali and Gili Air alongside the characters, enjoying a Bintang with your feet in the sand. It made me daydream about giving up my job and doing something of the same and while It's a bit of a predictable story, sometimes, that is just what you need, a bit of daydreaming.

It was quite an easy read for me. I really liked the message it was trying to impart and the feelings and thoughts it elicited for me. Overall, it’s a 3.5 stars read for me.

This is my first Sandy Barker novel. I loved the settings - mostly Bali, with a little Scotland and Miami thrown in as well. Barker is adept at describing the beautiful scenery. The main theme was nice - I can always appreciate a woman trying to find herself and her path in the world. It was longer than I expected, but that wasn't a bad thing. This is a nice beach read - or in my case, a nice -27 winter read!

What a fun, easy read. It’s a nice reminder that your goals in life might change with time and what you envision for yourself might change. The characters in this book continue to evolve even into adulthood and seek to be their best selves. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC!