Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli is a fun forced proximity enemy-to-lovers modern romance.

When two rival colleagues end up stuck together in the honeymoon suite on a work trip, they find themselves fighting and falling in love.

This is a good contemporary romance. It is funny and sweet and falls into what I typically look for in the forced proximity trope. If you enjoy modern spicy romance, you will enjoy this enemies-to-lovers story.

This book was everything I look for in a romance—engaging, emotionally satisfying, and undeniably spicy. The chemistry between the characters was electric, but what really stood out was the depth of their development. I loved watching them grow individually and together in a way that felt both real and rewarding.

If you enjoy romance with heat and heart, this one absolutely delivers.

I tried reading this at work and my face was so red that my coworker asked if they should turn the AC down a bit. So yeah, I really enjoyed lol.

I loved this. 4.5/5 because there was one thing that was mentioned over and over again and it could’ve been resolved so easily. There’s a block button for a reason.

I found this book very entertaining and easy to read. I always enjoy a workplace romance. I will say that while I had fun reading it, it was not my favorite due to the lack of connection I felt towards the characters. I think if you are looking for just a fun and entertaining time this book is for you!

Regardless, I am excited to add this author to my auto-buys because I enjoyed the writing.

This book made me feel so many emotions

- Engineering
- Workplace romance
- Enemies/Rivals to lovers
- Sexism
- Friendship
- Following your dream
- Spice

As a Female engineer myself this book brought out so much of my female rage towards the industry. I related to her so much working in a company of mainly men. Watching her fight her way through the industry was inspiring and made me angry for how people treated her.

I loved reading the details of the main characters getting to know each other and sharing secrets. I really enjoyed their progress which felt natural and not at all forced. Also the Scenes between them were so good hehee.

The friendships the main character had were so wholesome and made me feel warm and fuzzy each time she interacted with them.

I really recommended this book to people who love romance or anyone who is also a female engineer.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Forever Publishing for an Arc in exchange for an honest review.

4.75 stars ✨

Thank you so much to Ali Hazelwood for putting this absolute gem on my radar 🫶🏼😫

Trishara is a baddie. She intelligent, hilarious, bold, and kind. From her nosy habits and love for sweets to her big dreams of improving the future female engineers, everything about her felt so REAL 😫 Even when her spirits are low, she knows her worth and is unapologetic about it—she’s my role model.

Rafe is a total stud. He’s charming, considerate, just as competitive as Trish, and so much more than his family drama. The man is a talented artist with a dirty mouth, and even though he’s the boss’s son, he clearly has both an understanding of and skills in engineering—just a well-rounded individual. However, we really could’ve done without the constant mentions of his various smiles. It was plain and repetitive rather than endearing.

The chemistry between these two is palpable. They can be incredibly gentle with each other or total firecrackers, depending on the moment they’re sharing. I very much enjoyed their banter and Rafe’s protectiveness clashing with Trish’s stubbornness. Those scenes had me SMILING. BLUSHING. KICKING MY FEET. This was one hell of a slow burn, and it was worth every agonizing page where they refused to give in and just let the tension keep building.

I don’t usually read single POV romances, but I truly enjoyed reading this whole story from Trishara’s perspective. It actually worked better that way, given what Rafe represents in their workplace dynamic and how that influences the development of their romantic relationship. Trish is a brown woman trying to succeed in a male-dominated field, and Rafe is yet another white man in a leadership role, not because he earned it but because of who his father is. Rafe is an interesting MMC, but I honestly do not care to hear from him because I know that Trishara would have more valuable insight beyond just their romance. I appreciated the representation and the thoughtful approach in portraying the intersectional class, gender, and racial issues that remain rampant in corporate settings.

Two random things that I love about this book:
1. The HUMOR?! 10/10.
2. The cover!!! The very beautiful characters in sweet poses, the color scheme, the background—I love everything about it!!

As much as I loved this book, there were a couple of things that held me back from giving it five stars:

1. Hannah’s calls and the fact that Rafe always answered them. Every time she called, it felt like Trish was the side piece 😭😭 Even though he and Trish weren’t officially dating, he claimed that he wants to be with her, and he knew she had trust issues from her past relationship, so WHY was he disrespecting her like that?! I understand that Hannah is a childhood friend, but he really needed to set some boundaries. The man was sending some serious mixed signals and had the audacity to act frustrated by Trishara’s hesitation when she had every reason to doubt his sincerity.
2. The ending was not it. The sudden Instagram Live was soooo underwhelming and quite tacky. That was such a weak reunion.

Overall, this was hot—and not just because of the spicy scenes (there were actually only like two). The chemistry between these workplace rivals was everything!! This was such a fun read, and Trishara was an incredibly inspiring lead.

Audiobook side note: Soneela Nankani was an incredible narrator! She captured Trisha’s irritation and wit perfectly, and really brought her fiery character to life. However, I wasn’t a huge fan of her Rafe voice as it felt a bit flat and she sounded rather monotone when reading his lines.

Thank you very much to Netgalley, Hachette Audio, and Forever for the ARC and ALC of this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

A big shout out to the publisher for giving me this amazing opportunity to read Not Safe for Work early by providing me with a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book.

✨ This. Book. ✨

I don’t think I knew what I was walking into when I started Not Safe for Work, but if you read my previous review (for The Knight and the Moth) you’ll know that I sort of skirted around a slump. Well, after I finished TKaTM, I fell straight into the aforementioned slump. Straight up sank into it and drowned.

When I slip into a slump, it’s often the slump that decides what I do during it. Whether it’s an old show, or an old favourite book or a new show that I’m going to engage in while the slump lasts, is always a mystery. This time it was an old show. From out of nowhere, I binge watched it and all I could think (even while I enjoyed the show and the nostalgia that came with it) at the back of my mind was, “When will I start reading again?”

Then… intermittently, I found myself, picking up my Kindle and reading one page … then two pages … then three of Not Safe for Work. Until suddenly, with barely a sound, I snapped right out of the slump and dove straight into NSFW and didn’t surface until it was done.

One sitting, people.

One. Sitting. And I was done. I read the whole day without stopping and I fell in love with Tuli’s story.

This is the absolute first book I read of Tuli’s and I don’t think it’s going to be my last. In fact, it’s this book that was the deciding factor in my adding the Artefacts of Ouranos series that I’ve been for some reason hesitant about, to my TBR immediately. The biggest contributor to this is Tuli’s writing. It’s not lyrical, it’s not flowery. It’s painful and real, seeped in heartbreak and humour and brimming with tension. It matched wonderfully to the voice of the main character.

My favourite thing in any book/content, is a call-back that I don’t expect. Is it because it indicates planning, or it’s a wonderful surprise and I love unpredictability in books? I’m not sure. But it’s faiiiiirly rare in presence in a contemporary novel in comparison to a fantasy novel. But when Tuli did a callback to the smallest detail that was mentioned almost as a jest with a subtle but strong seriousness to it in the very beginning, the line both initially stayed with me and the effect had me so emotional at the end. I loved that. Loved it.

The plot of this story was so interesting. Tuli makes you think it’s a love story, and yes, of course it is! But it’s not just a love story between the main characters, but also one with themselves. Learning to love themselves, stand up for themselves and maybe even the people around them. With that plot-line comes the larger more complex plot-line that perhaps I should’ve seen coming but was so so pleased to watch unfold. What it’s like for the heroine as a woman, what it’s like for the hero as a man and how they and their respective genders are treated in their own spaces and how they face, fight and overcome that. I loved all of it!

The characters are key to a reader enjoying any book, all the more so in a contemporary novel and to say that Tuli has kicked it out of the park with both her main characters is to say little. I think it was interesting to see an imperfect male protagonist and even more so to see a female protagonist who doesn’t simmer in her denial until the very last page. The secondary and tertiary characters had their own very space and role in the book and I enjoyed the little snippets into their lives, personalities and characters.

I think it’s safe to say the pace in this book blew me away. Given that I was done in one sitting (majorly) I think the book draws you in and never lets you lose interest at any point. The tension in this book between the characters is somehow consistent and I found that wonderfully surprising and amazing to experience in a contemporary novel. I’m sorry, okay, I’m a fantasy girl and I’m used to tension coming from life threatening situations!

The themes in this book were so so so important. I loved the ways that Tuli has written them into her work and I was as heartbroken for the characters’ situations as I was cheering and rooting for them throughout!

Five stars! I think NSFW has my heart and will always be remembered as a warm place I could rest and laugh in after a terrible slump. Please do check trigger warnings as always! Happy reading!

Disappointment doesn't cover what I felt reading this book. ugh. took me more than a month to finish this and I only finished this through sheer stubbornness because I had the ARC + ALC. It's safe to say that if I didn't have the ALC I would have dnfed it long ago.

let's begin with what I enjoyed in this Book - honestly I have no clue. Tris giving back to Rafe's dad I think? Oh and the friendship with Molly, Lan and Gabrielle. Her email ( Chap 28) was the highlight of the whole book for me. Rafe's tenderness for her could be counted as well.

the last 10 percent - Tris standing up for herself and learning to trust herself and her heart was probably the best thing about the entire book. I felt proud of her for realising what she deserves and also because she chose to give rafe time to unfuck the whole thing with his ex rather than the third act breakup I was expecting. that was the only reason I bumped my rating up.

what I didn't like -

- When you market a book with a desi ( Indian) FMC but except for a mention of her ethnicity in the first chapter and a racist comment in the last 10 percent, there is nothing about Trishara that would distinguish her from your usual white fmcs. The workplace toxicity was more sexism than anything more, and so much so that if Tris was any other ethnicity or race, it would change nothing in this book. As an Indian woman in stem, reading this felt like Indian FMC was just a marketing/inclusion tag strategy - do what you will with that information.

- this is one of those books which might have been a lot better as dual pov Because as a single pov, what's supposed to be sexual tension ( I am assuming) comes across as desperate horniness from the FMC and nothing more. First 45 percent of the book is Tris talking about Rafe's arms, abs, smile and how she wants to fuck him every two paragraphs. it drove me up the wall.

- They kiss at 69 percent and then have their first real, honest and heart to heart conversation. Then the next few chapters are just fucking. then there is Rafe's Ex drama. and this is at 95 percent of the book.

- I can't really tell where the romance was? Their whole “rivalry” is based on the fact that she was attracted to him, scared of it and mad that he didn't seem to be attracted to her. there was sexual tension and physical chemistry but love? it fell flat and shallow. i felt no emotional connection with Tris or Rafe or their relationship. For two 30 year olds they are both felt very immature. and even in the last chapter when they are confessing to each other I couldn't tell if there really was any love. Everything felt very superficial.

- the other woman drama - why give so much page space to Hannah the ex if we get to know nothing? why was rafe picking her calls? how did he break it to her that they were done? what were the consequences? what was the point? we know nothing except that she created mistrust between tris and rafe and then everything was sorted off page and hannah 'moved on'.

Would Tris and Rafe last after the epilogue? i don't know.

This was my first book from the author and knowing she was an Indian author writing an Indian FMC - we deserve better rep and this book wasn't it. Finishing this book felt like a huge task until the 85 percent mark and I am not sure I would ever pick another book from the author..

thank you netgalley for the arc and ALC

⭐️ Review: Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tulli

3.5/ 5 stars

Why I picked it up:
This novel intrigued me with its promise of a workplace romance entwined with serious themes like sexual harassment, the glass ceiling, and nepotism. Those elements felt timely and sharp, promising both heart and heartache.

⸻

✅ What Worked
-Urgent, relevant themes — Tulli doesn’t shy away from the systemic challenges women face in corporate culture. Scenes addressing harassment and incest-like nepotism feel authentic and necessary, grounding the romance in real stakes.
- workplace dynamics — I appreciated how professional hierarchies, power plays, and promotion politics weren’t just backdrops but pivotal to how characters grew. The tension over promotions and favoritism added layers beyond a simple love story.
- Workplace Retreat in Hawaii! Ummm Dream come true, Loved that the chunk of the book was set in Hawaii.

Nisha had my jaw on the floor! I was laughing through the banter and on the edge of my seat over the scorching chemistry between Tris and Rafe. I highly recommend anyone who's a fan of romcoms to give this a try-- you won't be disappointed.

I will be buying it for all of my besties.

Thank you so much for my early copy! I will be going to read Nisha's entire backlist now.

**3.75 stars

Thank you to Nisha J. Tuli and Forever for the eARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Before I go into the details of my review, I did enjoy this book. I loved Rafe. He had so many layers and really tried to do the right thing so many times, even if we don't learn everything he's done over the years until later in the book. I also really loved the female friendships. Supporting one another, but also calling each other out when it was needed. I also really enjoyed the diversity of this book.

This book, while a fun rivals to lovers romance, also deals with some heavy topics. The FMC is a woman of color that works in a male dominated field, and a big part of the plot is her experiences as a woman and a woman of color in engineering. It touches on racism, nepotism, misogyny, sexism, sexual harassment, and different types of toxic relationships (between partners [not the MCs with each other], parents).

But with all of that, and understanding her experiences have shaped who she is now, I did not like the FMC until WAY later in the book. She has every right to be bitter, but that bitterness made her mean. And not just to the MMC, which is part of their flirting dynamic, but to others who get in the way of them bickering. And that part is just glossed over. She says sorry and it's never mentioned again. I would have liked more development of her character seeing how her experiences have caused her to treat others over the years, and not just pushing them away because she's scared to get hurt. But besides that, I liked her character growth and her getting her spark back.

Overall, it was a good book. And I liked the way the FMC stood her ground throughout the book. I also enjoyed the ending. It was realistic while still giving you the HEA you want from a romance.

A fun workplace / Hawaii-set romance! Tris is a great main character, I loooooved following her as she fell in love with Rafe. And he's such a solid love interest! I adored Lan and Gabrielle — I want their story, STAT!

2.75 - 3 stars!

This was alright—nothing particularly groundbreaking, but still enjoyable in its own way. I appreciated how easy and fast-paced it was to get through, and OMG Nisha definitely knows how to write some steamy scenes!

One of the standout elements was how Tris didn’t tolerate workplace harassment or discrimination—that was genuinely empowering to read and added some much-needed substance to the story.

While I liked watching the main characters dance around each other, I struggled to buy into the idea that they were true enemies. The rivalry felt either nonexistent or very one-sided. Rafe was arguably one of the most boring book boyfriends ever - he feel so flat & that's likely because we never got his POV. The “ex-girlfriend” subplot didn’t sit well with me either—it felt unresolved and lacked any real confrontation or closure, which was disappointing.

Overall - it's easy & has it's fun moments but it's nothing special.

I'm adding this author to my must read like ASAP! I'm a sucker for a workplace romance, then add in enemies to lovers and I'm sold. With Tris being a female in a male dominated workforce, she's struggled to find her place, not only as a woman but as a WOC. She been passed over for a promotion that should have been hers, but was given to Rafe instead. This felt beyond relatable, and I'm sure others will connect with the FMC as well.

This was a slow burn! If that trope is your thing, then this book should be your next read. The writing is witty, thoughtful and engaging and had me hooked. It was easy to finish this book in a weekend.

⭐️: 4/5
🌶️: 3/5

Very slow burn, but once Tris decided she was willing to give in to her “obsession” with Rafe, it got spicy real quick! Tris is a badass boss babe who ultimately knows her worth and decides to stand up for herself in the end! Her resignation email should be framed in their house somewhere. “Who run the world? GIRLS!!”

Thank you to Net Galley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC (even though I didn’t start reading it until after it was already released. 😔)

I had an absolute blast reading this! I devoured it in less than 48 hours. I loved the banter and spice. This is a perfect book recommendation for people who want a fun summer read that feels like a rom com.

I love this book, there was a lot of sexual tension and this payoff is spicy. If you like spice, this is a good one, we have enemy to lovers, forced proximity if you are into those tropes, Tris is a strong woman, which we love and she was THE lead of this book, I loved her- she's a boss and not afraid to show it or apologize for it, Rafe is the boss's son so you know what she thinks of that out the gate they are both chosen to go to a career making retreat in Hawaii and suprise only 1 bed is available! - maybe there is more to Rafe than Tris realizes, I would definitely read more with Tris and this would make a good movie

Thank you net galley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately I did not love Nisha Tuli’s debut romance. I found both main characters to be immature and frustrating. The Hannah situation didn’t have enough closure (or at all?) and I was hoping to see more about Tris’s headaches since they were brought up frequently. I struggled to understand why Tris and Rafe fell in love. There was chemistry but I wasn’t sure why.

Man oh man I do not know why I waited so long to read this book!!

The spice, the relatable workplace dynamics and skewering of the racist and patriarchal systems in our society, the layered characters, the crazy high jinx — what more could you ask for in a romantic comedy? This book is filled with heart, commentary on the systems of oppression we exist in, and the yearning y’all. Oh the yearning the pining the TENSION. It was delectable. Simply the best.