🔉Thank you to Nisha J. Tuli, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and NetGalley for this arc of Not Safe for Work out May 20, 2025!

📜Quick Summary: Trishara is one of the only female engineers at WMC Purcell, a company based in Chicago. After being turned down multiple times for promotions, she’s had enough with the company. But then she gets chosen to go on the company’s leadership retreat. The catch? She has to go with Rafe, the owner’s son and well, someone she just can’t stand. With a traumatizing past relationship, Tris knows she has to keep her walls up and not let anyone interfere with what she’s worked so hard for. But will Rafe and Tris be able to work together while on this trip? Or will things take a different turn?

❣️Initial Feels: I am loving the characters and am impatiently waiting for the spice to kick off with these two!

👀Trigger Warnings: unfair work setting, toxic (past) relationship

🌶️Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

📖Read if you want: spicy scenes, forced proximity, enemies to lovers, workplace romance

🙋🏼‍♀️Moving Character: Tris was such a strong character. I loved her banter, I loved her steadfast view on her strengths and her worth, and I loved her journey in a career mostly dominated by men. She also held strong in her views on workplace romances…until, well…you’ll have to read it to find out! But overall, she stood up for herself and made known that she was not someone to mess with!

🗨️Thoughtful Words: “My future stretches before me, but the road I’m traveling is blank.”

💡Final Sentiments: Make sure to read the author’s note to fully understand her deep connection with being a woman in an engineering, male dominated field. I really enjoyed this novel! I love an enemies to lovers, slow burn romance kinda novel, and Tuli did not disappoint! Once the romance started spicing, it got SPICY! Not only that, but there was a lot of depth to these characters and their beliefs. She dug into Rafe and Tris and made them truly think about what was important not only in their careers, but important to their well being as a person. I loved that Rafe opened up and was emotional with Tris and not embarrassed to show his true feelings. Overall, an enjoyable, hot read!

🌟Overall Rating: 4.5 stars

This novel was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

Not Safe For Work

I rarely say this about a romance but it could have been longer, OR the beginning shorter with more time for their relationship to grow. It felt like enemies to lovers to in love hit so fast my head was spinning. There’s also some solid friends in this book I would have loved more from.

The MMC was a bit of a walking red flag, in my opinion. But the main FMC was likeable, powerful and her confidence was amazing! She felt real, and I enjoyed her a lot.

The last 15% the book really picked up and it became a smoother read.

This was a fresh fun read! A real divergence from some other heavier titles but it was a great way to spend a rainy weekend!

Rivals on a retreat? What could go...right? I absolutely loved Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli! I will be looking forward to reading more by this author!

Wow. Wow. Wow. I adored this. I read it in a day. This is my first Nisha novel, but I will be coming back for more like a feral cat at a restaurant dumpster. The banter? PEAK. The tension? I can’t even describe. And HE PINES FIRST?? Just take my wallet, Nisha, you earned it. Great tropes. Great writing. Steamy as heck. It’s at 12/10 for me.

As someone who is a big fan of Nisha's fantasy writings, I was really curious if she would crossover to romcoms successfully. And I'm happy to say, she did. "Not Safe For Work" is about two rival engineers who get stuck doing the one room trope during a conference in Hawaii. It was cute, it was funny, and it's a perfect beach read this summer. I felt a chemistry between our two main characters and ended up reading this book quite quickly. Also love any book with women in STEM. I hope Nisha writes more romcoms in the future, they will be automatic buys from me.

Are you happy, Rafe?” He smiles and touches his forehead to mine.
“Of course I am, Tris.” Then he winks.
“𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗜’𝗺 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗲𝗻.”

Trishara Malik, an engineer, is feeling defeated after she's repeatedly passed over for promotions while the boss’s son, Rafe Gallagher, gets ahead. So he became her very hot, delectable nemesis. 🤭 They both get selected for a leadership retreat in Hawaii and find out that they are stuck together in the same room (with one bed! 🫣) for 3 WHOLE WEEKS! What's the solution? Avoid each other, of course! But, how long can that really last?

Omg! Tris was so obsessed with Rafe! Like she wanted to hate him so bad, but was sidetracked by everything about him! The tension, pining, and obsession had me giggling and kicking my feet! Their banter was quick witted, their competitiveness was hilarious. The way they would be vulnerable with each other was everything. I really enjoyed seeing another side of Rafe that Tris didn't know. He is definitely the protective/growly cinnamon roll. He's equally obsessed with her, I'm sure of it! 🥰

While this is a romance, it definitely shines light on the sexism and racism that women face in the workplace. I thought Tris’ experience and struggles at work were incredibly well written. The defeat she felt and questioning if her hard work is ever truly going to pay off is so relatable (unfortunately) to many women in any workplace. I thought the author did a great job expressing that. I did love the way Tris continued to stand up for herself. This was such a good time, and I can't wait to read more contemporary romance from Nisha! 😁

Thank you to @netgalley & @readforeverpub for the eARC.

Comes out May 20th!

I hope Nisha writes more contemporary romance because this was a great one! Biased slightly by being in STEM myself, I loved the progression of the romance balanced with work. um hello there's only one bed!!! I also loved the nods to her fantasy books, they were such a fun touch!

This was my first ever Nisha J. Tuli, and I would easily read more! I see her fantasy novels EVERYWHERE, so once I saw this one and my best friend told me it was a must read I requested it! I was definitely in (and still am) in a bit of a reading slump at the moment, so I think if I was not I would have enjoyed this a bit more.

Overall I thought this was fun and cute, and I fully plan to add it to my shelf so I can reread! I love a women in STEM romance, and find them so fun to read. I know its not everyones jam, but it is mine. I feel like this reminded me of Ali Hazelwood romances because of the nod to STEM. I did feel like the FMC was a bit immature for my liking, and there was not much development (or did I miss it, idk?).

Again, I feel like my reading slump caused me to not enjoy this as much as I would have if I was not in one, but with that being said, I do plan to reread this later on!!

I really enjoyed this book. Workplace romance isn't for me, especially when there's a power dynamic involved. I liked that this was more between peers/ adversaries and that, spoiler, they didn't have a true third-act breakup. I also loved the nods to Tuli's other books.

This was a spicy good time!! From the beginning you could feel the brimming tensions between Tris and Rafe. As the book went on I was beggggging for them to just kiss! I loved the sort-of clown burn of their story.

While I had a grand ole time reading this, I do wish there was a bit more depth to characters like Rafe. I liked him, but I just feel like some of it was too surface level for me to really latch onto.

Overall a really fun summer-y romance!

4.5/5 stars!!!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book!!!

Yall. I’ve never read anything by Ms. Nisha J. Tuli, but when i tell you she ate this up and left no crumbs whatsoever. Wow. Now this is how you do Rivals to Lovers and the one bed trope??? You know what, yeah, hell yeah.

I genuinely really enjoyed this book. I loved the FMC, and even really loved Rafe. I also loved Trisharas name, like it legit was so satisfying to read for some reason. I loved how realistic this was as well– because the way Trishara was treated was basically how most POC and Black people are treated in the corporate office space.

The romance in this too? UGHHHHHH YESSSSSS 10/10.

The only quip i had about this book was that Rafe seemed to do a very random 180 out of no where, and his previous character traits seemed like they just disappeared to me? Idk it was kinda random but still made sense in a way? I’m not sure but just you’ll know what i mean once you get to like 80%.

Overall though wow. I’m SO glad I requested this ARC!!! This was such an amazing read and truly enjoyed it.

Forced proximity, enemies to lovers, and work romance? Yes please. This was a fun and steamy read that I really enjoyed.

2.5 ⭐️
I haven’t read any of Nisha J. Tuli’s fantasy books, but I’ve seen many positive reviews that when I spotted this stunning cover and found out it was her first contemporary romance, I knew I had to read it. Unfortunately, my first experience with this author didn’t go well.

The FMC is an engineer who faces injustice at her workplace. The promotion she deserves goes to her boss’s son—her enemy—and she also receives inappropriate propositions from one of the company’s executives.

I appreciated that the author touched on important issues like women in STEM and workplace sexism, especially for women of color, because these topics are still relevant.

However, I struggled to connect with Trishara because of her behavior. She acted quite immaturely. Rafe was polite and kind to her, but she constantly criticized him and dismissed his suggestions. Meanwhile, she kept thinking about how sexy he was, eavesdropping on his private conversations, and discussing them with her friend.

This book also reminded me of The Hating Game by Sally Thorne and felt predictable to me. Maybe if I’d read it five years ago, I would have enjoyed it more.

𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬:
✓slow burn
✓forced proximity
✓enemies to lovers
✓woman in STEM
✓only one bed
✓workplace romance

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

THIS WAS SO GOOD!! I ate this book immediately from the first chapter and it was so hard to put it down. I’m absolutely obsessed with Trishara and Rafe. 😍

This was the perfect enemies to lovers, forced proximity, one bed and slow burn all rolled into this book. The tension was tensioning and I could not get enough of their banter. I couldn’t stop laughing and smiling as I read it.

Absolutely loved how the author showed how things can be for women in the workplace. Please look up trigger warnings as this deals with sexual harassment, misogyny and micro aggressions. I was applauding Tris at the end. She definitely burned that place down. I also appreciated the representation of having chronic migraines and anxiety.

The one thing that really made me take off a star was Rafe and Hannah. I was soooo annoyed that he couldn’t just be like bish please, GO AWAY. And I was not a fan of how he showed his love to Trishara in the last chapter before the epilogue. After not talking for 3 days? Nope nope nope. But I forgave him because the man that he is. 🤌🏽

Some favorite moments: the room situation, the storm, being wedding crashers, when they sneak away during training, Trishara standing up for herself.

An absolutely delightful book overall though. Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

A solid start for this being Nisha's first contemporary romance! As someone who's read her completed romantasy series Trial of the Sun Queen, I was intrigued to see how this change in genre would be. While I do feel the characters fell flat at times, the story was full of cheesy moments throughout the book and I found myself not wanting to put it down, especially towards the ends. I really enjoyed the last half of the book over the first half. Also the ending of this book was perfect, it was sweet and to-the-point which made such an impactful punch.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for providing this eARC! This is Nisha’s first contemporary novel and SHE DID NOT MISS THE ASSIGNMENT 👏👏👏

This book was amazing. Hilarious and swoony and so utterly atmospheric. I love when a romance story takes us to a beachy setting! Something about the ocean and romance are just the perfect pairing. Add in some forced proximity and I’m completely sold.

Tris and Rafe had so much chemistry it was practically burning the metaphorical pages of my ebook. Nisha nailed the true rivals vibes with these two- you could absolutely believe how much Tris hated (or thought she hated 😏) Rafe. I love the workplace dynamic and really enjoyed the work convention setting- it was fun getting to meet so many characters! Lan and Gabrielle were my absolute faves 🩵🩵

This story was not just romantic, either. Nisha did such a wonderfully heartbreaking job of showing how it is to be not only a woman in the workplace, but a woman of color. And not just the workplace, but an environment that is typically dominated by white men. The way that people treated Tris was abhorrent and this sort of thing happens all. The. Time. It’s sick and infuriating and absolutely unacceptable. As much as it’s hard to read moments like these, they’re so incredibly important because it mirrors the real world reality for BIPOC women and female-presenting people everywhere. That being said, Tris is an incredible character to look up to. She’s strong and takes zero shit from anyone. I LOVED the ending. Queen behavior 👑

Anyway, I can’t sing this book’s praises loud enough. Please do yourself a favor and pick it up when Not Safe For Work releases this May!

Nisha’s debut romcom is an 11/10! I am the biggest fan of everything that Nisha writes, and this was no exception. Not Safe for Work was an absolute joy to read. It had everything you could wish for in a romcom.

This book had vibes reminiscent of Kate and Anthony from Bridgerton but made into a workplace rivalry romcom. And I was LIVING for it. There was so much tension and so many moments that made me laugh aloud. It’s absolutely no surprise to me that I adored this book.

I admire Trishara so much. She was so funny! I loved her monologues and her inner battle against her attraction to Rafe. She was an incredible character, and I was rooting for her from the beginning to the end. She had so much strength and resilience. I loved watching her stand up for herself and speak out against everyone that tried to push her down.

And Rafe!! Nisha KNOWS how to write a MMC. He was full of witty comebacks and was the perfect counterpart to Tris. And on behalf of everyone, thank you for the rolled up shirt sleeves. Even though he’s fictional, he certainly could pull that off. 😮‍💨

The biggest thank you to Forever Pub and Nisha for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved every second of it! And for those who are looking to pick up their next romcom, let me suggest this one! Readers of Nisha’s fantasy series may find a little easter egg! 🤭

This just didn’t really work for me. I wanted to love it because women in stem rep and chronic headache rep but it overall fell flat. The bipoc women in corporate stem representation was done really well and the ending for that plot line was exceptionally gratifying! The chronic headache representation was underwhelming. As someone with chronic pain/headaches, I wanted more from it and the conversation between the fmc and mmc around medication made me angry at the mmc. Speaking of the mmc, Rafe gave me whiplash so many times throughout the book and I think this book would have been better as dual pov so I could have understood what was going on in his brain. I liked Trishara (the fmc) but I liked her friends more. The relationship between trishara and rafe also didn’t not have much depth. It was very much you’re hot/you’re hot.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ || 🌶️🌶️

Tropes:
🌺Enemies to lovers
🍷One bed
🌺Forced proximity
🍷Workplace romance
🌺Woman in STEM

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The banter between Rafe and Tris was just *chef’s kiss* I found myself rooting for them throughout the whole book. The third act breakup was pretty predictable and I felt like the story was kind of rushed at the end. I would definitely read another book by this author!