Not Safe for Work is a fun only-one-bed contemporary romance where rival colleagues are both invited to a three week training program for their company in Maui. Tris is shocked to be picked after being passed over multiple times in favor of lesser male coworkers. During the three weeks she experiences racial micro aggressions, misogyny, and a company culture that should make every woman cringe. She also discovers a new side to her coworker, Rafe, and feelings that she has suppressed due to a prior horrible experience with workplace romance surface.
Overall, this was a fun read and it was great seeing Tris recognize her value and stop taking shit from a bunch of shitty men. And Rafe's secret talent...yes. This was exactly what we needed from him!

✨ Spicy Destination Rom-Com (Hawaii)
✨ Workplace Romance
✨ Rivals to Lovers
✨ Slow Burn
✨ One Bed
✨ Women in STEM
✨ Chronic Illness Rep (migraines)
⚠ Sexism and Racial Microaggressions

I can't believe this is Nisha J. Tuli's contemporary debut! I cackled and swooned throughout this book and completely ate it up! NSFW follows Trishara as she is granted one of two coveted branch spots at her engineering firm's Rising Stars Leadership Retreat in Hawaii. The other spot- given to her handsome and infuriating rival and boss's son, Rafe Gallagher. Tris has hopes that the Retreat is large enough for them to stay away from each other and actually enjoy their 3 weeks in Hawaii. One big issue - there's only one room booked for both of them and only one bed.

This is the perfect vacation read! It's backdrop is the beautiful island of Maui, has a comical and smart FMC, a handsome and misunderstood work rival MMC, and ALL THE BANTER! I cackled so many times! I absolutely adore Nisha's writing as she immediately transports you into her books. Trishara is a wickedly smart character who has a hilarious inner monologue, especially as it relates to Rafe. She has to overcome the uphill struggles to make in a STEM field only to be get knocked down again and again. This Retreat is a career game changer for her yet she has to be around her nemesis day in and day out, one who has a habit of not wearing a shirt and has forearms of a god. But as the saying goes, there's a fine line between hate and love. This is a definite slow burn romance but when it picks up (roughly 75% in), it's straight fire!

I also really appreciated that this book is about women in STEM jobs and the struggles that women in this career field have to go through. Nisha herself was an engineer and used her experiences as inspiration. Thank you Nisha for allowing us readers to get a glimpse of what that environment is like.

Thank you so much to Forever for the advanced copy!

4.25 Stars
Trishara and Rafe were wonderful MCs. Tris is brilliant, snarky and a complete badass. As a woman in STEM, she hasn’t had it easy so I loved that this didn’t shy away from showing the struggles women, especially women of color, face in male-dominated fields.
Rafe may be the boss’s son, and her nemesis, but she quickly finds out she was wrong about him. Turns out he’s sweet, protective and just downright swoon-worthy. I loved the way he looks out for her.
The tension and angst between these two was top-tier and their witty banter had me laughing out loud.

I enjoyed the corporate leadership retreat in Hawaii and the honeymoon suite mixup was absolutely delightful!
The rivals-to-lovers workplace romance, forced proximity and only one bed tropes all made this impossible to put down. And the romance? It may be a slow-burn but it’s extremely satisfying.

This was so much fun and I highly recommend picking it up if you love forced proximity rom-coms with a bit of drama and just the right amount of spice.

4.5⭐️

I loved the Artefacts of Ouranos series, so I was really excited to learn that Nisha was releasing her first contemporary romance. Not Safe for Work was such a fun, sexy summer romance and I had such a great time reading it! I love a good rivals-to-lovers romance and this one was amazing. You could really feel the tension between Tris and Rafe. I also really loved how this book explored the difficulties associated with being a woman, particularly a woman of colour, in a male dominated field. I was hooked from the beginning and I truly enjoyed every second of this story.

What to expect:
🌴 Romantic Comedy
🌺 Work Retreat in Hawaii
🌴 Rivals-to-Lovers
🌺 Only One Bed
🌴 Woman in STEM

Thank you to Nisha J. Tuli, Forever and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun read! Everyone needs to read this for the summer! Our two main characters are work rivals and are sent to a leadership training program for 3 weeks. They accidentally get booked to stay in the same room and now they have to be in eachother orbit. Rivals to lovers ✅ Slow burn ✅ banter ✅ funny ✅

This one had it all - enemies to lovers (tropical work retreat edition), forced proximity, one bed, slow burn. A fun cute summer read with a little spice. The tension between Tris and Rafe was 👌.

Thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

I really wanted to love this book. I havent read anything else by the author but I know this was her debut into contemporary romance and her author books have received pretty high praise.

I love an enemies-to-lovers, workplace romance. While this had that, I couldn't stand the banter between the two. It felt like the FMC just hated the MMC for no reason and found the tiniest reason to be annoyed with him. I understand he got the role she wanted but it felt like she made him out to be this horrible person when I didn't get any background info to show why he was.

Honestly, the FMC just felt way too immature for me and as someone who is around the same age as her it is really hard to relate to her. I wanted to and I tried, because I'm also a POC in a male dominated field so I was hoping this would speak to me but if I didn't know ages or that this revolved around a workplace I would have believed she was in high school or college with that mindset.

This wont stop me from eventually giving the author's other books a try, this just didn't do it for me and my TBR and ARC lists are way too long to keep forcing myself to read something that I'm not interested in.

I made it 32% of the way. I received this e-ARC from NetGalley.

What stood out the most for me when reading this book is the FMC, Trishara (Trish). I appreciate Nisha writing a romcom with a FMC who is bold, hardworking, highly opinionated and goal oriented. Trish has confidence in her skills as an engineer and wasn’t afraid to speak up when she wasn’t being treated fairly. She is aware that as a BIPOC female working in a male dominated company, she was passed up for a promotion as a result of gender bias and nepotism as the boss' son Rafe is awarded the coveted role. When Trish and Rafe are selected to attend a corporate leadership retreat in Hawaii, Trish is willing to put aside her contempt for Rafe in order to impress the executives and give her career a boost.

The tension between Trish and Rafe was at an all time high with their sarcastic banter. Being forced to spend time together in a beautiful location such as Hawaii, soon their constant bickering turned into flirting. As someone who loves a workplace romance with an enemies to lovers trope, I ate this up.

Thank you Forever Grand Central Publishing for providing this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

✨ARC Review✨

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

“I’ll follow you anywhere, Tris.”

Whether it’s fantasy or romance, if it’s written by Nisha I know I’m going to love it. Her writing style pulls me in every single time and it wasn’t any different with this one! Not Safe For Work is a workplace romcom between rivals that’s full of tension, chaos, and witty banter.

✨Trishara is an engineer who has dealt with problems in the corporate field. She has been told she’s too loud or too bold. I was rooting for her the entire time. The last thing she wants is to work with her nemesis, Rafe. When they’re sent to an island, she finds it impossible to avoid him. She’s doesn’t know if she can trust him or not, but he makes it so hard for her to not see him as the villain in her story.

✨Rafe is the hot and broody rival engineer. He has a cold exterior and seems to want to charm everyone but Tris. He takes up the competition between them to a sizzling notch. While they’re nemesis, underneath it all he is a cinnamon roll for her. He was in fact down badddd.

✨If you love a relationship where you can tell that the line between hate and love is thin, then you will love Tris and Rafe. Most of the time I was trying to decide if she hated him or wanted him. The witty banter and games they played with each other field the tension and created a slow burn that did in fact burn.

Not Safe For Work has:
❤️Workplace romance
🌊 Travel to Maui
☀️ Slow burn
🌹 One bed
🐚 Forced proximity
🔥 Spice
📖 Women in STEM
💙BIPOC fmc

Ps, it’s out today!!

Pss, this story starts with an author note from Nisha, and she actually wrote this story with a lot of her personal experience in her early career.

Not Safe For Work is a workplace romance full of forced proximity, stem rep, banter, and delightful tropes like only one bed. This book is definitely the book of the summer. The setting is super tropical, I think it’s the perfect book to read on the beach or by the pool. It gave me all the summer vibes and I can’t wait to reread it soon.

I really loved Tris. She is very strong and knows what she wants. She doesn’t back down, and is unafraid to stand up for herself. I always love it when the FMCs have a backbone and use it.

I really loved the chemistry between her and Rafe. It was very slow burn and I loved it. I’m always a sucker for a good slow burn romance.

This was a solid, hardcore enemies-to-lovers workplace romance—entertaining, exciting, and engaging throughout. The storyline stayed focused on the workplace dynamic without relying on overly dramatic or annoying scenes, which made it a refreshing read. While there were hints of the miscommunication trope, it was handled in a way that wasn’t frustrating or overdone.

The characters were just as compelling as the plot. The tension between them was intense, which kept the story moving. My main issue was with Tris—her tendency to turn everything into a competition, along with her quick judgments and assumptions about Rafe, felt a bit overbearing at times. Still, I could understand where she was coming from, and it added complexity to her character. Honestly, the story holds a lot of promise.

As the story progressed, though, some parts felt slightly out of context. Rafe’s character became a bit confusing—at times, he seemed to represent two different personas, which made it hard to grasp his true purpose in the story. This inconsistency made me question the development of both main characters. The narrative occasionally felt scattered and lacked cohesion, but the potential was definitely there.

Despite its flaws, the story was cute and light-hearted in many ways. Some scenes carried heavier themes, but they served a purpose and conveyed meaningful advocacy. The smut scenes were a bit rushed toward the end, but they were present—no complaints there! If you’re looking for your next contemporary enemies-to-lovers romance, this book is a strong contender. This was enjoyable but needs some more improvements!

Just when I thought I couldn’t love Nisha more… she gives us Not Safe for Work—a contemporary romance that had me grinning, swooning, and thinking about “Lucifer in a Ralph Lauren model disguise.” Like??? Obsessed.

This book has workplace chaos, tropical retreats, STEM rep, and the kind of tension that crackles on the page. Trishara is a queen. Rafe is hot, supportive, and broody. Every glance, every argument, and every “accidental” touch had me kicking my feet. The vibes? Immaculate.

I genuinely love how Nisha can go from fae battles to office flirtation and make both feel equally addictive.

Thank you to Nisha J. Tuli and Forever Publishing for the eARC!

I'm not even shocked by the fact that I absolutely loved this book!! I've loved every book I've read thus far by Nisha J Tuli. Her writing style is truly so good, I love the way she goes into detail and I just love every single character she creates however I hold a special place for Tris, she is such a bad as* woman with such a strong head on her shoulders. I also loved Rafe, he is so dreamy and the ending of this book was truly chefs kiss. highly highly recommend!!!

I have had Nisha’s “Artefacts of Ouranos” series on my TBR for ages and when I discovered that she was writing this contemporary romance, I was instanstly in. However, Not Safe for Work fell a bit flat for me. While I completely understand the main character, Trishara, especially as a black woman who also works in the tech space, I was constantly disappointed by Trishara’s immaturity? I’m not sure how to describe her but I felt like she complained alot. They weren't really enemies to lovers as the rivalry was more lack of communication that anything. I was also a little turned off by the amount of times the MMC’s smile was mentioned. There is losts of pining and yearning so if you like that, you’ll definitely enjoy it. And the writing itself is great, I just don’t think the story was for me. I also listened to the ALC and will say that Soneela Nankani was excellent! The acting was great and her voice is amazing.

Thank you so much NetGalley for the ARC.

Nisha absolutely delivered with this rivals to lovers workplace romance. She is one of the few authors that can lure me away from romantasy and dark romance.

I related so deeply to Trishara (the FMC) and her experience in a workplace mostly dominated by men. The struggle to strive for excellence in order to compete with mediocrity is real. Because of this, Tris has had to put up some walls in order to protect herself. Then we have Rafe, our MMC who is so much more complex than Tris gave him credit for.

Nisha writes fabulous banter, and the dialogue between Rafe and Tris is no exception. The characters are quick and witty, and there’s just so much tension in the slow burn. I love some of the more vulnerable moments between the two main characters once some of the hostile exterior is peeled back.

I would definitely recommend Not Safe for Work for somebody looking for a rivals to lovers romance set in paradise. It’s a very quick read – I finished this one in just a few hours.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC!

Just a general observation I have (with all the best intentions!): I think modern non-genre romance novels could often be more impactful if they were about 10-15% shorter. With Not Safe for Work, there was so much to appreciate. I loved the dynamic of the main characters who recognized their own imperfections, the lively setting, the engaging side cast, and, of course, the fantastic STEM representation. My only significant critique is that the frequent arguments between the protagonists felt quite contrived and could have been substantially reduced. Doing so would have tightened the narrative and made the character interactions feel more authentic.

If you enjoy authors like Ali Hazelwood, you'll likely find a lot to love here. This book has certainly made me a new fan of Nisha J. Tuli, and I look forward to her next release.

I loved Trial of the Sun Queen so I was super excited to see this one as a NetGalley option!

It was such a fun workplace romance with a lot of focus on equality in the workforce. I liked the note by the author at the beginning because she is coming from STEM before deciding to be an author and the book was rooted in some of her experience.

I will say one thing, Nisha, you are amazing at writing the tall, dark LI which I love.

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Thank you Nisha J. Tuli and Forever for an ARC of this book via NetGalley.

I really wanted to love this book but I didn’t quite get there. That said, I think it has enough potential that if it sounds at all interesting to you, I would still encourage you to go ahead and give it a try!

I loved Tris. I loved her strength in fighting for herself but I also felt her exhaustion after years of settling at the only job she could get (and I am still LIVID on her behalf at what happened). Now presented with a long overdue opportunity to advance her career, should she take full advantage of it or should she pivot? I wish the story explored this conundrum further. The story took place during a retreat that could lead to an even greater opportunity and while we did see her strive for that coveted opening, it felt like it fell to the wayside. The retreat activities felt short and fleeting and altho we did see her struggles navigating a male-dominated field, this was done primarily through her mentions of past experiences (which I appreciated!) and in that regard, the retreat activities felt lacking as they served to move the story in time rather than in depth. And that critical decision she had to make? To continue or change course? We got very few hints that another viable option was on the table until the last moments so it felt unfortunately sudden. And the events that led up to and including the critical point could have been so much more powerful had it been more developed prior to. As it was, it felt like it was included last minute to force a slowing plot to move along. That said, I do LOVE Tris' resolution and how she ultimately stuck it to corporate corruption. 👏👏👏

Rafe was also presented as a character with a lot of potential but unfortunately felt underdeveloped. He faced familial struggles that bled into his professional discontent but bc we only saw what Tris saw and he didn’t share much beyond feeling stymied, we didn’t see him make progress in addressing any of his issues. And when he finally did, it happened off-page and was briefly mentioned towards the ends as the book wrapped up. As a result, his personal journey felt rushed. Were we happy he finally did something for himself? Sure. But we didn’t get to share in that emotional victory bc we weren’t with him in any of it.

Unfortunately, I also found the connection between Tris and Rafe underwhelming. We *do* get a few heart-to-hearts and I LOVED those moments bc they felt real and intimate. But their interactions before they got together felt a little repetitive, namely the ones stoking Rafe’s jealousy. And when they finally decided to try, I understood Tris’ reservations but the way her insecurity was triggered also felt repetitive (as in the how, not her feeling insecure in and of itself). It felt like it relied on Rafe and his ex which, as a plot line, felt unnecessarily long. And it’s not that I thought Rafe should have been able to resolve the conflict quickly (communication is hard, I know that), but it recycled what felt like a single tactic to stay relevant throughout most of the story and at that point, with only Tris’ POV and no further insight, it started to feel stale. And in all honesty, I think I needed more from Tris and Rafe to fully believe their romance. I didn’t necessarily doubt them but I also wasn’t fully invested.

On the whole, I think this book had a lot of potential and while it fell a little short for me, I *do* think this book will be right for someone.

CN: open-door romance, sexism and racial microaggressions, nonconsensual touching, recounting of an incident involving the sharing of an intimate image from a past relationship

I had heard of Tuli's romantasy series, but this was my first time reading one of her books. I am absolutely a fan. Not Safe for Work was such a delightful romance with all of my favorite things: an awesome main character, an adorable love interest and a tropical location. Sign me up! I'm not an engineer, but like Trishara I do have experience working in a predominantly male office so a lot of the things that Trishara has to deal with I've seen with my own eyes. I love how Tuli navigates Trishara (Tris') journey to finding out what she wants and deserves both with her career and with her love life.

Going to a corporate leadership retreat in Hawaii sounds like a dream...except in becomes a nightmare when Tris ends up having to also be there with the boss' son, the handsome and infuriating Rafe. Rafe and Tris were so much fun together and it was such a joy to watch them fall in love with each other. Also...Tris is from Chicago! Precious few romance novels are located in Chicago and I loved that for Tris and also for me.

This was such a fun, hot and delightful read and I am definitely going to check out Tuli's other books.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I cannot believe that this is the first book I've read by Nisha Tuli. It was incredible! It had all my favourite tropes - enemies to lovers, just one bed, forced proximity (on a Hawaiian island - yes!!). When I tell you this book was soooo so good - IT WAS SOOOO GOOD!! I finished it just a few days ago and have not been able to stop thinking about Rafe and Tris. Loved it so much that I ordered a signed and personalized copy from an indie bookstore, even though I read the arc.

Thank you so so much Forever Publishing and Netgalley for this incredible arc of Not Safe For Work!!