I had a lot of fun with this one! I went into this a little hesitant after hearing some mixed things but I think the audio and the narrator REALLY shined.

Trishara is a strong but slightly beat down engineer at a company that has super minimal diversity which has been a struggle for herself as a woman of color. When Trisha is surprised by the selection of a spot at the company's large multi-week retreat in Hawaii, she decides to take advantage of it and get the most out of the experience and hopefully gain some advantages from the exclusive trip. Trish's hope at a fun, relaxing trip is dashed when the boss' son Rafe has to share her one-bed suite at the hotel.

The narrator here did soooo good and I was so entertained and captivated throughout, she did an incredible job with Trish and Rafe's voices as well as all the side characters. Although you definitely have to suspend your disbelief on a handful of the workplace aspects, I still had a lot of fun with it. Trish could be a little frustrating because she refused to acknowledge how her relationship with Rafe was evolving when they were stuck together but it was honestly kinda understandable. I also think Nisha portrayed the struggles that Trish experienced really accurately. I'm a woman in a STEM field and although there are about even women to men on my direct team, my field is pretty severely skewed towards men.

All in all, I really enjoyed this and definitely recommend the audio format for this one!

Thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the eARC!

This was an enjoyable and sizzling summer read for fans of workplace rivals to lovers, angst, and spice. Reading through Trishara’s POV was very relatable as a woman and POC, my jaw dropped at moments when men have the audacity. I loved the tension, development, and growth between Rafe and Tris. The ending made it all worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. When I found out Nisha J Tuli was writing her first contemporary romance I was so excited. I love her fantasy romance books and knew this one was going to be just as great. And I was definitely not wrong. Tris and Rafe's story was totally swoonworthy and I couldn't put the book down. I read the whole thing in one day and it just got better and better each page. I'm a sucker for a workplace rivals to lovers story and this one had everything I love about the trope. Nisha J Tuli has quickly become an auto read author for me and I can't wait to read eveything else she writes.

Trishara is an engineer working for a very large corporation, frustrated that she keeps getting looked over just because she’s a woman. There is a huge opportunity up for grabs for two employees to be sent all expenses paid on a company retreat to Hawaii. Tris had lost her spark a long time ago & had no expectations of getting chosen, so when her name was called as one of the recipients…she was suspicious. It also didn’t help that her mortal work enemy, Rafe, would be the one accompanying her. She had every intention of staying far away from him for the entirety of the retreat & enjoying her time away, but there is a room mixup. Tris & Rafe have to share the only remaining suite left at the resort…which just so happens to also be the honeymoon suite.

One of my favorite tropes 🤭 this book reminded me of The Hating Game which I also loved! While the main draw to this book is definitely for the love story, it touches on some real life issues in the workplace as well. I loved the characters & how they showed development in more ways than one. Looking forward to reading more from this author! 🫶🏻

I really really was looking forward to this and then it fell so flat for me. I've had to sit with it for a couple of days to see if my thoughts would change and if anything I'm more settled in my dislike for this book. I did finish it though - there was enough in the voice and story to keep me to the end!

I was not a huge fan of the STEM representation at all - I am a woman in STEM and this felt like a caricature of real life. It may have been inspired by real life experiences, but something about it was still off for me.
I'm not sure where the romance was in this book because it mostly felt like lust. There were far too many descriptions of this man and in a way that kept pulling me out of the story. I wanted more from the two of them and I don't understand how, without truly knowing her, he was so in love with her so quickly. There was just soooo much left to uncover!
It felt like this book was trying to be too many things at once and I wish it had picked something and followed it all the way through. The chemistry between the two main characters IS great - definitely the highlight of the book for me!

Talk about a perfect beach read! This cute, banter-filled RomCom will definitely get you in the mood for summer. Not only does it have a cute vibe, Not Safe for Work contains real, relatable characters with a impactful underlying message.

Tris is a brilliant engineer in a male dominated field, frequently being passed over for opportunities in favor of less deserving male counterparts. It's a shock when she's nominated as A Rising Star and chosen to represent the company at a corporate leadership retreat in Hawaii. Even if they selected her as a minority staff member to improve the company image, Tris will show her bosses how intelligent and invaluable she really is.

Rafe is a shoo-in for the position of Rising Star as his father and uncle are top executives. He hasn't been the easiest to get along with over the years.

A mix up at the hotel has the clashing duo sharing a one bedroom honeymoon suite. Tensions rise and their agreement to avoid each other during their stay turns to dust.

Fun, flirty, and full of angsty slow burn romance, Not Safe for Work is a perfect read to start your summer TBR!

Tropes:
✨️Workplace Romance
✨️Rivals to Lovers
✨️Tropical Getaway
✨️BIPOC Stem FMC
✨️Banter
✨️Forced Proximity
✨️Slow Burn
✨️One Bed
✨️Spice

Thanks so much for the ARC!

Ever since she joined WMC Purcell, Trishara Malik has dreamed of becoming the first woman of color to smash the glass ceiling there, but instead, her dreams keep getting smashed by white privilege, or in the most recent case, nepotism, when the boss’s son and her nemesis, Rafe Gallagher, snags what should have easily been her promotion. When we meet Trishara, she is on the verge of burnout and thinking of leaving the firm until she is unexpectedly chosen to attend the corporate leadership retreat in Hawaii and compete for a spot in the executive training program. The only downside is that Rafe of course is chosen to go with her.

I love an underdog character so I was hardcore rooting for Trishara at this retreat in terms of her career so I liked that we actually got to see her in action there. She’s smart and a talented engineer, and it’s well past time she got her time to shine. I really liked Rafe too though, and from the start, felt there was more to him than meets the eye, particularly when it came to his feelings for Trishara. I alway enjoy when forced proximity acts as a catalyst for characters to learn more about one another, so I was excited when a mix-up at the retreat forces the two of them to stay in the honeymoon suite together. Trishara has always thought Rafe was hot, even when she hated him, so what would happen if she realizes he wasn’t so bad after all?

I thought this was a fun read and a quick one. There’s lots of fun banter, tension, and plenty of chemistry between the main characters to keep things interesting. I was never bored even though the romance itself is a slow burn. It’s worth the wait though, particularly if you enjoy a bit of steam in your romance reads.

3.25⭐️ Not Safe for Work had all the ingredients for a spicy, enemies-to-lovers workplace romcom: forced proximity in paradise and a slow-burn romance with a swoon-worthy rival with hidden depth. The setup was delightful, but the execution was a little frustrating.

Trishara is a woman of color in the male-dominated world of engineering. The book does a great job at showcasing what Tris has had to deal with in her workplace, such as sexism, racism, constantly getting passed over career growth opportunities simply for being a woman, just to mention a few. This whole background serves to show that Tris has sharp edges that are understandable as she's had to deal with so much as a woman. That said, her immaturity and juvenile thought-process and gut-reaction made it difficult to root for her.

Tris had it all to become a favorite fmc: smart, ambitious, and rightfully pissed about workplace inequality. Unfortunately, she kept making some truly baffling choices based on miscommunication from her part. This may sound cruel but I wanted her to be smacked with a wrecking ball of common sense—I felt like Stitch clawing at his eyes. Her tunnel vision and refusal to really think and reassess situations with Rafe with new eyes tested my patience more than once. I wish Tris had evolved a little earlier in the story or at least stopped jumping to conclusions like it was a full-time job.

Thankfully, the balance to Tris being...Tris came in the form of the charming and every-so-supportive Rafe. He was the complete opposite of Tris, constantly in her corner and completely gone for her from day one. He was willing to have conversations and was open to really listen to Tris so he wouldn't jump to conclusions. He would look out for her well-being, and the way he took care of her during a storm? I had heart-eyes for him! Honestly, he's the reason I stuck with this book.

I will say the banter was certainly giving! Pair it with the beautiful island setting, it's a good and quick read to escape into.

- rivals to lovers
- forced proximity
- slow burn
- only one bed
- woman in STEM
- workplace romance

It is a 3.50 🌟 for me.
This was my first book by Nisha and I didn’t know what to expect.

I liked the way she wrote the story and it kept me going because, I wanted to know more about Rafe. That said, I didn’t really connect with the story or the characters. Aside from the migraines Tris experienced — I relate to that, there wasn’t much that stood out. I wanted to like it a lot more, but I just didn’t feel that spark.

I do admire and respect women working in male-dominated fields, especially in STEM. But overall, the story didn’t offer anything I haven’t seen before. I did like the HEA ending. 🙃

I will give her a try on other of her books.

ARC provided by Netgalley. Courtesy of Forever (Grand Central Publishing) | Forever

Not Safe for Work by Nisha J Tuli was a romantic comedy perfect for the Summer ! The banter and witty storyline was so entertaining to watch play out.

Nisha remains the QUEEN of the slow burn!
Her debut contemporary romance also surpassed every expectation. Of course, it didn't help that the story is one that I can easily identify with. And I believe I am SO not alone in that.

Tris has struggled for years to make a space for herself in a male-dominated field, while her arch-nemesis, Rafe, is handed everything on a silver platter. In a weird twist of fate, they are both selected for a special "rising-star" retreat for their company. And end up having to share a hotel room due to an error in booking. The result is a revival of her spirit, and the birth of something new...

There is SO much happening in this book, and Nisha has laid it out in a way that makes it easy to follow along. I wanna be Tris when I grow up!

Tropes include:
Rivals/ Enemies-to-Lovers
Workplace / Office romance
Woman in STEM
BIPOC rep
Glass Ceiling challenge
Family conflict

Thanks to @readforeverpub for the gifted e-ARC and to @hachetteaudio for the ALC!

With a title like Not Safe For Work, you’d expect non stop spicy scenes. But this is more of a slow burn. Don’t worry though. There’s plenty of angst and chemistry and heated glances and pining. And when the spice does hit, it hits hard. 🔥 Whew! I love enemies to lovers. All that pent up passion explodes off the page in some very satisfying steamy scenes.

Add in a work conference in Hawaii and only one bed, and you can see why I loved this one. But there’s a lot more to the book than spice. Trishara is a woman of color trying to navigate the boys club of engineering firms. Sexism and racial micro aggressions are illustrated clearly as she fights to get the recognition she deserves. Ultimately she has to decide if it’s worth what she must accept to keep her job. Rafe, who got his job through nepotism, is an admirable MMC who uses his privilege to hold his fellow white men accountable. He’s also the sweetest cinnamon roll beneath all those scowls!

The audio for this own was excellent. The single narrator carried both main characters voices beautifully. And her tone conveyed all the pent up emotions of the books we so well.

This will be an excellent beach read this summer. So pick it up today!

I loved this enemies to lovers workplace(ish) romance! The tension and slow burn paid off in the best way.

Many, many thanks to the folks @ReadForeverPub, @NetGalley and @hatchetteaudio for the e-arc copy and Audiobook

Workplace drama, a training getaway in Hawaii, a  booking nightmare mixing up rooms, angst and character tensions while calling out and addressing key workplace issues...can I get a yes please!🤭
*
Sometimes the competition results in more than one winner—especially when the environment forces you to confront all the messiness.
*
📚I was intrigued by the blurb and jumped right in! This was my first Nisha book and it did not disappoint. I was highly entertained and hooked from the first chapter.
The office retreat set in Hawaii took a turn when these two rivals are given the perfect opportunity to get to know each other up close and personal.
Nisha gave us the angst, drama, swoon and major main character energy while covering key themes of the many challenges facing women in male dominated fields, women of colour breaking barriers, nepotism in the workplace and male privilege.
*
🎧As an audiobook, Soneela Nankani is fantastic, lively and on point in her performance, character depictions and capturing this story in its intented form through her narration. 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿

Happy Reading!

STEM industries are infamously known for having high dropout rates among women, and Trishara Malik knows exactly why. She puts in the work, gets praised for her expertise, but loses out on every promotion to the endless boys’ club politics and nepotism at her prestigious engineering firm. The casual misogyny only gets worse when, seemingly out of nowhere, Tris is one of two employees at her branch chosen to attend a conference in Hawaii aimed at training potential future leadership. Worse yet, Tris is going with her workplace rival (who also happens to be a company VP's son,) Rafe.

Tris is focused on networking and making the positive impression while enjoying a restful Hawaiian retreat in between events. So of course, she arrives in Hawaii to a booking error that forces her to share a honeymoon suite with Rafe.

This ARC opportunity came at a really great time for me–-I'd just finished a really dark, heavy book and I needed the exact opposite of that. Thankfully, this book was fun, sweet, and a very easy read. I usually go for twisty and unpredictable books, but this was really soothing in this instance.

Tris and Rafe's rivals-to-lovers tension as they work their way through forced company-sponsored “teamwork” activities makes for a fast-paced and adorable story. There is some spice, but it takes a while to kick in and isn't overdone. The story works in some bumps in their relationship other than the obvious coworker dilemma, and those help keep things interesting more than anything.

Some romances seem to lose the plot entirely, but Not Safe For Work knew the story it wanted to tell outside of the romance. Nisha J. Tuli worked in Engineering for years before leaving under the tension and discrimination BIPOC women often face in STEM careers, so she does an excellent job of showing Tris faces in the field, as well as the companionship she finds with other women during her struggles. It's a really smart subplot wrapped up in a romance, and it really added some brilliant depth to the novel overall.

If you're looking for an enjoyable workplace-meets-vacation romance with a realistic edge, Not Safe For Work is a breezy winner.

This premise was so enticing but I wish it was executed slightly better.

Not Safe for Work is Tuli’s contemporary romance debut featuring rivals to lovers Trishara and Rafe as they navigate their growing chemistry on a tropical company retreat. As they learn more about one another, Trishara wonders if the man she thought was her nemesis was never that all along.

For this standalone book, I think we really lose a lot of character development in exchange for a dynamic plot.

The plot had a lot of things happening (albeit repetitive at times) but I couldn’t get invested in Rafe’s character. I was about 30% through the book when I realized we didn’t really know anything deeply about who Rafe is and what he cares about. His main character trait is that he’s hot, which Im always for, but I wish that there was more to him than that. Trishara was really fleshed out and fun to root for, but I also wondered if she was stubborn for the sake of being stubborn which I didn’t really vibe with. There were also many times where I got pulled out of the story because I just felt like the situations were not realistic (such as yelling at a coworker at a work conference in front of everyone in your 30s).

The chemistry was satisfying but because I didn’t really know Rafe as a character, I wasn’t very invested in it. The banter was nice but I wish there was a bit more substance to their chemistry.

The themes were my favorite part of this story. It follows a WOC main character as she confronts the issues women (and WOC in particular) face in a male-dominated field, which is all too relevant in this day and age. As someone who works personally in a male-dominated field, I really resonated with this and am so glad its being examined in a story like this.

I think if you are looking for a light read, I would recommend this story.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Grand Publishing for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for this review.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The premise of this book was super fun - two competitive engineers travel together for three weeks at a corporate retreat in beautiful Hawaii. Except they’re stuck in the same room, and they can’t stand each other.

Rafe is the boss’s son. Trishara willingly admits he’s gorgeous, but is sick of being passed over for promotions she’s earned and watching him get them. So when a booking error forces them to share the honeymoon suite, Tris might eventually admit that Rafe isn’t quite the villain she’s made him out to be.

The banter is funny and the tension that builds between the MCs is palpable. The side characters are a wonderful supporting cast. My only real downside to this book is that the characters all felt pretty flat to me. I was left feeling like something was missing, that in 350 pages I still didn’t really know these characters as well as I should.

“…𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑹𝒂𝒇𝒆’𝒔 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝑰’𝒎 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒇 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒚 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆.”

This was a fantastic slow burn workplace/island retreat romance.

The chemistry between Rafe and Tris was sizzling and the one room/one bed was so good 🥰. The banter was on point and slow burn on and off between them was chef’s kiss!

Nisha also tackled racial and gender discrimination and nepotism in the workplace, reflecting on her own experiences, with wit and finesse.

This book was fun and spicy with a deeper message that makes the story profound and beautiful.

If you’ve loved books like The Spanish Love Deception and The Unhoneymooners you will love this book!

I enjoyed the book.
It gives me the perfect vibes for reading or listening on the beach.
I enjoyed the tropes and spice.
Overall it was a fun read.
It was light and enjoyable.
I received an ALC and ARC.
The narration was fantastic.
I do think I prefer her fantasy books more.

I absolutely LOVED this book and it's the perfect book for summer! You get a workplace rivals to lovers romance where our main characters, Tris and Rafe, end up having to share a room together on a three week company retreat. There's such great tension, banter, and chemistry between these characters and they feel so grounded and complex while also being light, fun, and sexy! You also get all the vacation vibes you want, so bring this one on your summer holiday with you! I honestly couldn't put this book down and can't recommend it enough.