Ohh how I love a work place romance and this one was chef's kiss 💋! They took it out to the resort and it just made it so much better, the chemistry, the angst, the banter, the spice umph! So perfect!

First of all let's start with the writing. I felt like I was watching a rom com. It was so beautifully done. The depictions of Hawaii, the talks with other characters, everything was just perfect.

The aspect of the corporate world was so good. As another BIPOC woman that used to work in the corporate world this was depicted so great and I'm so glad this was made a focal point of the story.

The growth those two made throughout the whole story was so great to watch. It was also great seeing them explain their reasoning for them being enemies at all and communicate them. The reason it wasn't 5 stars you'll see once you read the book I don't want to give away any spoilers.

Thanks to Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review as always, all words are my own.

I am a huge fan of Nisha’s romantasy series, so when I saw she was coming out with a contemporary romance, I jumped at the chance to read it! She is such a consistently enjoyable writer for me - I know I am always going to have a good time with her books!

In NSFW, we follow Trishara and Rafe, rival engineers (and stupidly attractive humans). Tris is majorly experiencing burnout in her job, having been skipped over for various promotions and opportunities, so she is a bit shocked to learn she was picked for one of two spots from her branch at the company’s leadership retreat in Hawaii. Unsurprising to her though, the boss’ son Rafe is picked for the other spot. She plans to ignore him during her three weeks in paradise, but due to an error they wind up having to share the honeymoon suite, which you guess it, has only one bed. The next three weeks are filled with lectures and team-building exercises, and while they start out at each other’s throats, the more time they spend bonding, the more Tris realizes that Rafe might not be the nemesis she thought he was.

I enjoyed this book so much! I love a good rivals to lovers story, and these two were so fun. They had so much chemistry even with their angst. I loved seeing them go from butting heads to finding comfort in the other person. Tris is such a strong FMC! I loved seeing how smart she was, but also showing that leadership and strength are only possible one way. She knew the mold that people wanted her to fill, but chose to stay true to herself.

Rafe was absolutely delicious! I love a man who is down bad, and he was kneeling for this woman. Rafe is such a gem. He cares so deeply for Tris and when he finally lets it known how bad he wants her, man does he show her! I loved this man so much! I ADORED finding out more about his passions and what he wanted to be doing instead. I love a man with a sweet tooth!

I wish so badly this had been dual POV though, so we could have seen how badly Rafe wanted her as well. We got to see some of his yearning through her perspective, but I just KNOW that man would have been the king of pining if we saw his side.

Nisha did a great job in handling some harsh realities of women in STEM fields as well. Tris dealt with so much discrimination being a woman of color in her office. I am so glad that this was written into the story as it added a lot of depth, along with making me want to punch several people in the face 😅

The setting of this was beautiful as well - who wouldn’t want to go on a three week retreat in paradise? There was even a fun cameo of one of Nisha’s romantasy books!

On an aside - I so badly wished Nisha had picked a different location for Rafe’s bakery. As a Chicagoan, Michigan Ave is for tourists and I wish she had picked a cute neighborhood location instead! I feel like a place like that would thrive in another location. Downtown would ruin that place.

Thank you Forever for the arc!

This was my first book by Nisha J Tuli, but it won't be my last. I am always a little afraid of workplace romances because they can often feel too close to home to me, as a woman who works in tech. But this book really worked for me, probably because it wasn't set fully in the office. I loved Tris and Rafe's banter! Their chemistry was undeniable, and once they finally got together, the book was truly NSFW. My one qualm is that things worked a little too well in the end, as far as making the company a better place, but it is a romance book after all, so I can forgive it.

I'm excited for everyone else to get their hands on this book and to read more from Tuli!

I enjoyed this one! Trishara and Rafe definitely kept me on my toes. She's an engineer at her company, and he's the boss's son who is undoubtedly headed towards more promotions that her. They've been long term rivals at work, but fate steps in and puts them in a forced proximity situation where they have to share a hotel room while away on a company retreat. Yes, it's been done before, but this type of situation always makes me giddy to read because sometimes rivals need that forced proximity to help nudge them in the right direction.

She's got a lot to prove, and sometimes her inner doubts about her work can make it a little hard to read because I want her to be strong and confident all the time. Alas, her struggles are real because she's passed up for promotions, and doesn't expect much to come out of the retreat either. Rafe for his part is very much hot and cold, but he's honestly a smitten man with Trishara and doesn't know how to get out of his own way. Much of this book was her trying to prove herself, and him trying to form some sort of bond with her.

After the 50% mark, when all the backstory is told and it's straight romantic plot, I could feel the emotions forming. The subtle way that authors can write a glance, a touch, and so much more between characters is always so much fun, and Trishara and Rafe were no exception. While it seemed like these two needed to jump mountain-high hurdles to get their HEA, it was absolutely worth it and made the book more fun to read.

Nisha J. Tuli has made her contemporary romance debut, and she has certainly made a splash! Not Safe for Work is as addicting and fun as its gorgeous cover. From page 1, Tuli’s writing garnered my attention, making it hard to put this book down. Tris is a great main character. She’s a hard worker and super smart, but her employer takes her for granted. She’s been passed up for several promotions due to nepotism and the fact that she is a woman of color in a male-dominated field. I felt her pain and could relate to the unfair power dynamics between men and women in the workplace. I was rooting for her and her success the entire time! Rafe, our love interest, is the son of one of the higher-ups at the company, and Tris sees him as her nemesis. They argue constantly, trying to one-up each other every chance they get. When they both get selected for a leadership trip opportunity, Tris is not excited to learn she is stuck with her nemesis for 3 weeks in Hawaii. But is there more to Rafe below the surface? 😏

Romance lovers, this is a book you will not want to miss! Full of banter that will make you laugh out loud and chemistry that flies off the page, Not Safe for Work is the perfect beach read. This book covers the whole spectrum—light-hearted banter and swoonworthy romance, balanced against the reality and complexities of being a woman of color in a white male-dominated field. I can’t wait to see what this author writes next.

this was a fun time - Hating Game vibes in a tropical setting 🏝

Thank you to Forever Publishing & Hachette Audio for the eARC & ALC. All opinions are my own.

✦ tropes & stuff:
🧮 engineers - women in STEM
🏝️ work retreat in Hawaii
✨ rivals to lovers
🔗 forced proximity
🛏️ only one bed/room
🐢 slow burn
💖 single 1st person pov

•┈••✦ review ✦••┈•

⭐️: 4.5/5
🌶️: open door, several descriptive scenes

I really enjoyed listening to this one on audio, and couldn’t put it down! A few small things bothered me a bit, but overall it was a fun read.

💭 what I loved about this one:
- the tension my goodness 😮‍💨
- the treadmill “race” 😅 + all their banter
- Rafe defending Tris & his protective nature
- when the slow burn stops slow burning 🥵
- that f*cking MIC DROP near the end 🎤

🙃 what didn’t quite work for me:
- Trishara talks a lot about sexism and how women are treated in the workplace, and most of her inner dialogue is how hot Rafe is (I realize it’s in her head, but still didn’t feel right)
- the incredible amount of back & forth, especially about Andy (a guy hitting on her)

🎧 audiobook thoughts:
Soneela Nankani did a fantastic job bringing the story to life, I definitely recommend it!

I’ve been a fan of Nisha J. Tuli for years when I found both of her fantasy series so when she decided to write and release a romance book I knew I’d love it and I wasn’t wrong! Trishara’s career is stagnant after being passed over for promotions due to nepotism and racism and just overall feels very blah about her job until she wins a three week retreat to Hawaii for career growth and her spirits are lifted, especially after negotiating some additional perks due to their reasoning to be picked. She ends up going with the boss’s son, and her career rival Rafe, who ends up in the same suite as her and they do not get along well at all. Rafe feels stuck in the career that his parents chose for him even though he wants other things, and also has been interested in Trishara for a while, but ended up in a relationship with a childhood friend’s to make his parents happy and when that fails too, you can tell he’s just struggling overall.

Trishara and Rafe cannot get along on this trip, but the chemistry between them is so strong everyone else knows why but them. They end up competing, sabotaging each other, and their own teams when they should be working together and also just overall spending a lot of time together until the chemistry combusts and then they end up in beds, and other places, and man it’s hot. I love when they stuck up for each other, and pushed each other to work and achieve their actual dreams rather than shots they should do, and I loved the female friendships in this book too! I’m not running out for things to say but I do feel like I’m rambling so like go read this book!

Rating: 4.75 ⭐️
Spice: Open Door, 🌶️ 🌶️
Media: 🎧/ eARC

👷🏻‍♀️This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and @nishajtwrites delivered!

From the first few chapters, I was hooked! So much of what Tris goes through felt like experiences I’ve had in my career as a chemical engineer from the becoming disillusioned to the micro aggressions. I loved how fierce and unapologetic Tris was and said what was on her mind even if it played against her in the corporate setting, a reality that very much exists.

I enjoyed the back and forth between her and Rafe. The denial on her side that she was attracted to him and the slow burn😮‍💨𝗜.𝗔𝗧𝗘.𝗜𝗧.𝗨𝗣.

I switched between ebook and audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. Soneela Nankani did an amazing job capturing Tris and her fierceness, confidence and bravery.

Rafe reminded me of the allies I’ve had in my career who stood up when someone tried to take credit for my work or that made sure my voice was heard. We need more Rafes in the world! He was such a great complement to Tris.

Thank you @nishajtwrites for writing a book that made me feel so seen and reminded me of the value of being 𝓶𝓮 in the STEM corporate world.

Thank you as well to @readforeverpub for this eARC and audiobook.

For anyone feeling disillusioned with the corporate world or my fellow women in STEM, do not miss out on reading this amazing book!

Read if you like:
✖️Women in STEM
➗Enemies to Lovers
➕Workplace Romance
➖One Bed

🟰Blurb: Tris has stopped trying. She keeps getting passed over and slowly her ambitions have been minimized by the culture of her company. Somehow, she ends up being nominated to attend the company retreat to evaluate talent in Hawaii. Seems great, right? Except her workplace nemesis, Rafe, was also nominated. The luck of the draw has these two bunking together. As they get to know each other better, Tris finds that she can’t deny her attraction but is he into her as well and will Tris get the role she wants?

DNF @ 40ish%

Maybe I'm in a reading slump, but this book was not doing it for me. At first, I was sort of with it - office rivals are forced to go on a retreat together and whoops there's only one bed. But as I kept reading, the things that bothered me built up until it didn't feel worth it to me to keep going.

It's single POV, so we only have Trishara's voice. And she thinks Rafe is distractingly hot, but also a total dick. And the latter opinion is not well supported even in her internal dialogue. We don't know what Rafe thinks, except he's kind of unpredictable around her - hot and cold.

They were getting physically closer, but Tris was still caught up in her dual opinion of Rafe, and it was getting tiresome to me. Additionally, they're in a work situation and the HR violations were starting to stack up, especially as it isn't clear that everyone is fully on board.

I can see this working for other readers, but it wasn't my cup of tea at this time.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was my first book from this author- and I believe it’s her first romance! She has a very popular fantasy series! I loved it! I read/listened to it in a day, it was soooo good! The audio was fantastic!

Do you enjoy books where the MCs work together and get sent to like a tropical place? This is my second book this year that has this setting and I love it!

These two- Trishara and Rafe are so fun! They are rival engineers who are both sent to partake in the company’s leadership retreat in Hawaii. They have to learn to work together, despite not liking each other…. Or do they? The line between hard & love is very thin, especially when their original meeting wasn’t so great, but HE has always liked her. Despite him being the boss’s son and seemingly having everything handed to him. Whereas Trishara has to work twice as hard in a male dominated career, dealing with male privilege and blatant nepotism.

This romance is a slow burn with forced proximity (they have to share a room!) and only one bed… and they don’t like each other… umm perfection!!! I loved it! The chemistry between these two was so good! The slow burn was slow burning and when they finally gave in? 🔥🔥🔥

But what I really loved is how Trishara was able to ride up and stand up for herself and for others after she was passed up for the promotion for a very very disgusting reason (I’m not saying anything due to spoilers!) but trust me, what Trishara does after? Freaking amazing! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

While I haven’t read this author’s fantasy books, I think if you enjoy them, then make sure you read this one! It’s so good! A perfect summer read!

I absolutely loved this book. I’ve previously read Nisha from her fantasy books and enjoyed her writing style so I jumped at the opportunity to read a romcom from her.

This book is a wonderful balance of workplace, rivals to lovers set in beautiful Hawaii with a little forced proximity thrown in. I completely resonated with this book as the FMC is south Asian and in the STEM field. I could relate to her issues and feelings despite being extremely highly qualified and educated. I love how Tris was unapologetically herself, we often see females in male dominated fields allowing themselves to be walked over to keep life easy, but she stood up for herself. It reminded me to keep up what I’m doing at my own job and not allow men to dictate what I do when I’m also right.

Rave was a great MMC but I feel like his character could have been developed a little more. It didn’t take me out of the story at all though and I still enjoyed him and will be adding him to my book boyfriend shelf. The banter between the main characters was so cute and fans of The Hating Game would absolutely love this book.

I can’t wait to see what Nisha will do next because she can write in any genre she wants and I will read it. This was a very enjoyable 5 star read from me.

Wow wow wow! This was incredible!

Absolutely loved the dynamic between Tris and Rafe. I love a workplace romance and this did not disappoint! Add in some rivals to lovers, forced proximity AND the one bed trope? Winning recipe right here. Absolute perfection.
Tris is an amazing FMC. Brilliant, headstrong and she knows it. However, she is constantly getting passed up for positions she knows she deserves because - let's face it - she's a woman. She's starting to get burned out and is wondering if this is even the path she wants to be on. Enter her getting chosen to be a part of a leadership retreat as the diversity candidate alongside her sworn enemy Rafe Gallagher, the boss's son. She turns the situation in her favor, in an incredibly badass way. But of course things couldn't be that easy for her. We hit on some real world issues and it's handled beautifully. Do better corporate world! There are times when she's obviously insecure about something, but she doesn't diminish herself and I appreciate that so much. Give me the strong woman!
Rafe. This man. You cannot tell me this man hasn't been head over heels for Tris since he first laid eyes on her. OH! The way he interacts with her is like a game. He does whatever he can just to get a rise out of her. Just so he can have a nibble of her attention. I'm torn cause I would have loved to have some of these chapters in his POV just so I could read about how much he was yearning for Tris. The way he took care of her when she was at her most vulnerable. The way he opened up when he was at his most vulnerable. The banter was so good. I loved their back and forth so much.
I loved this so much. I will be rereading it via audiobook. I've heard the narrator did an incredible job and I can't wait to listen to it.

I had a lot of fun with this book! I did have an e-arc via Netgalley for a while. The audio also became available, and I read it that way. The audio is fantastic. The narration is by Soneela Nankani. She did such a fabulous job. I am sure I enjoyed this more because I listened to it. Nankani captured so many emotions. She caught the frustration, anger, and so many nuances. I highly recommend the audiobook if you are interested in this story.

There are so many tropes in this romance that I lost count. We have a workplace romance, forced proximity, and my favorite- enemies-to-lovers. I did find this entirely predictable, but I had a lot of fun with the journey. Rafe and Tris have a lot of misconceptions about each other. While they are on this work trip, it was interesting to see all of their ideas of each other unravel. There are times that I found Rafe a little flat regarding his character and character development. I wish we had gotten a little more depth from him.

Nisha did not hold back about putting corporate patriarchy on blast. It is still so frustrating that in 2025, this is still such a big problem in the workforce. STEM is such a male-dominated area, and I loved how she showed how unfair it is. Not only was Katie female, but also brown! Yes, for a POC rep.

I am glad to say I have finally read a Nisha Tuli book! While it wasn’t the perfect read for me, it was a great time. She did a fabulous job with the enemies-to-lovers trope. It was going to rate high for that reason alone, haha. If you enjoy a tropical setting, with a workplace romance and some spicy scenes, you’ll enjoy Not Safe for Work.

Thank you, Hachette, Forever, and Netgalley for the e-arc/audio. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

what happens when you put two workplace rivals on a plane to hawaii and stick them in a room together? tension, angst, surprising tenderness, some hot spice & a delightfully satisfying ending that leaves you wanting to order desert at 5 in the morning!

before i get into more detail, i wanted to say a massive thank you to foreverpub for sending me a physical arc of this book, and for letting me read the e-arc on netgalley too!

this book was a DELIGHT. a fun, witty, easy read that had me snorting audibly and very ungracefully throughout the whole thing. the banter and tension between rafe and tris was so so good (but i also wanted to smush their faces together so many times!!!) and made for a great book to get me out of a reading slump.

you can really tell nisha put her heart and soul into this book as while it is an easy read that you’ll lose track of time while reading it, it also deals with some really important topics such as workplace misogyny, micro-aggressions and healing from past relationships.

nisha handled and wrote each of these topics incredibly well. trishara truly is a character to admire for her resilience, strength and passion and i ended up adoring her and really respecting the way she handled the situations she was thrown into. rafe? what a MAN. but tris? easily one of the best written fmcs ive read in a while.

i was incredibly lucky to receive a physical arc of this as an ownvoice reader with my chronic pain. trishara struggles with migraines and while it wasn’t a huge focus in the book, i have never read a character having to experience chronic migraines like i do, which made me feel so seen.

there was a particular scene that really stood out to me where tris’ preventative medications and painkillers were mentioned, and it was stated that it was just something she lived with and it was either existing on medication or spending half her days curled up in bed in pain. that really hit home for me. thank you nisha for both raising awareness for us chronic migrainers, but also for writing a strong fmc that doesn’t let it define her or hold her back from going after what she wants. 💓

if you’re looking for a swoon-worthy book with good banter, hot spice, a one bed trope, some hilarious side characters, but also a book that has some amazing chronic pain, STEM, BIPOC, and queer rep while dealing with some really important themes, i can’t recommend this enough.

just make sure you have some desserts stocked up before you dive in, you’ll thank me later!

A great, light summer read with hate to love (this hate is mostly one sided) slowwwww burn and pining.
Tris and Rafe were so much fun (I wanted them to be in love by the airport scene) I do wish Rafe had more of a back bone, but Tris has enough for the both of them! Going scored earth via company wide email? Chefs kiss, loved it.

Thank you so much Nisha J Tuli and Read Forever Publishing for the eARC of Not Safe for Work. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you’re looking for a great book to read this summer, look no further than Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli! To be honest, I devoured this book in about a day in a half! I just couldn’t get enough of the romance, tropical locations, strong female friendships, delicious desserts, and of course, spice!

I was initially drawn into the book by the author’s note at the beginning of the story. It was here that author Nisha J. Tuli told the reader that some of the scenes in Not Safe For Work were inspired by real life situations, which I thought was very brave. I could tell right away that Not Safe For Work was going to be a lot more personal than her previous books, while at the same time, still being humorous and full of heart.

One of my favorite parts of the story was FMC, Trishara. She’s so confident, smart, and unapologetically herself. I loved that she absolutely refused to let any of “the Khakis” define her and her role within the company. She never backed down or made herself smaller to make others more comfortable. Honestly? I’d love to see more FMCs like Tris in the books I read.

I also found Trishara’s female friendships to be incredibly refreshing. Although everyone on the work retreat was vying for the same major opportunities, the women in the story never let the competition be more important than each other. In a world where the media constantly tries to stir up conflict between women, it was so nice to read a book where exactly the opposite happens.

In the pages, you will find:

🧬BIPOC and women in STEM
🌴Workplace romance
🛏️A luxury suite with only one bed
💪A strong FMC
❤️Romance
🌶️Spice
🤝Healthy female friendships
🥚A Rule of the Aurora King Easter egg!
📖A great standalone contemporary romance!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

#notsafeforwork #nishajtuil #romance #bookreview

Workplace romances might be one of my favorite things to read. I wanted to love this one, but it’s so outside the realm of anything even feasible in corporate world that it pulled me right out of the story.

I was so intrigued by the beginning. The fact that it gets brought up that she’s a woman in STEM who has been wronged and passed up for so many promotions and teams that she deserves in place of men immediately had me hooked, but everything after that point showed why she was passed up everytime. I’ll start with the fact that she yelled at someone who is considered her superior at this work trip in front of a board member. That is so grossly unprofessional. Other moments where she’s argumentative in front of the entire board further proves this. It completely negated the fact that she is a incredibly accomplished female in stem and made her look like a petty 29-year-old.

The second thing that pulls me out of this book was the fact that if there was a company wide retreat happening, there is no planet in which they would allow a male and a female coworker to share the same room. I was told from a friend about how issues where rooms are underbooked for corporate stuff happens all the time so I get it’s possible for that to happen, but no way they have a male and female coworker in the same room. I understand that this was to make it the one bed trope, but there are so many different ways that this could have played out that would have made this believable and better.

This had so much promise, but ultimately the level of “where is HR” pulled me straight out of the book.

In Not Safe for Work, Trishara is becoming more and more disillusioned about her job as an engineer at a large corporation. As a woman of color in a male dominated (and nepotism heavy) field, she’s been passed over for so many opportunities and promotions. So when Trishara is selected as one of two people at her office to travel to Hawaii for a leadership retreat, she’s shocked to say the least. Unfortunately the other person chosen to go is none other than her workplace nemesis, Rafe.

This book was just so much fun! The enemies to lovers vibes gave such good banter and tension. And all of that was heightened by the tropical location and having them have to share the honeymoon suite. (I can’t say I was shocked when that happened, but I was thrilled nonetheless! 😂) I adored Trishara. I thought the way she fought back against the inequality at her job was noble and an important conversation the book highlighted between romance scenes. I thought her confidence and realness was inspiring! I’m glad that Rafe ended up being more than just his wonderful forearms. 😅 I was a little worried he’d fall flat in comparison to Trishara in the beginning, but I loved how dynamic he became as we learned more about him. Their relationship was slow and steamy and I loved it!

Give Not Safe for Work a read if you enjoy :
▫️Workplace romance
▫️Enemies to Lovers
▫️Vacation / beachy vibes
▫️Only one room / bed
▫️FMCs in STEM

I had high hopes for this book—I love the author, the cover is stunning, and the premise sounded like a win. I was expecting The Hating Game meets a tropical setting and I was totally sold on the idea.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite hit for me. The overall tone felt immature, particularly from the FMC, which was hard to reconcile given the characters’ age and professional status. By the 14% mark, I found myself frustrated—the FMC kept going back and forth about how attractive the MMC was, repeatedly contradicting herself - that was basically the entire first 14% of the book and the book isn't that long. Surprisingly, I didn’t think Rafe (the MMC) was that bad and idk felt like the "rivalry" was one sided.

I actually wonder if the audiobook version might have helped—the internal monologue and back-and-forth thoughts might have come across more naturally in audio than they did on the page.

That said, I truly appreciate the ARC and still look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

A workplace romance from Nisha J. Tuli?! I was intrigued! I loved her Artefacts of Ouranos series so I was really excited to give this one a try. Side note - there’s a little mention/easter egg of the Rule of the Aurora King in NSFW 👀 guess which scene lol

Anyway back to NSFW thoughts -
Tris, our FMC, has dealt with a lot of shit being a woman in a male dominated field. I appreciated her strength, not playing the man’s game, and trying to make things better for future females in the field. Would love to see this in more romcoms. I definitely resonated with her at times - feeling like conquering the corporate world to feeling deflated about it all.

Rafe, our MMC, is hot with a dirty mouth! I liked that we got glimpses into his passions outside of work and insight into his family drama. But I still felt like I wanted more from him!

The spice was hitting and I felt chemistry between Tris & Rafe. We did have to wait for it as this one ended up being more of a slow burn. The wait was worth it though. I was a bit frustrated with one of the conflicts in the book aka Rafe still in contact with his ex. And did feel like the resolution was very quick at the end. The epilogue was cute though!!