This one just didn’t quite work for me.

I love a good workplace rivals-to-lovers story, but the dynamic between Tris and Rafe leaned more immature than enemies-to-lovers. A lot of their banter felt unnecessarily mean-spirited, and for characters in their 30s, the level of pettiness didn’t sit well with me.

The pacing also threw me off—it went from zero to a hundred really fast, and that emotional jump didn’t feel earned or believable based on what we’d seen from the characters. I found myself feeling disconnected from their relationship, especially as the story progressed.

There were a few plot points that just didn’t work for me: Tris’s company-wide resignation email felt like an overstep and didn’t quite match the tone or professionalism I was hoping for. And Rafe? I had a lot of frustration with how he handled things with Hannah. If you’re going to sleep with someone else, you should probably not still be answering your ex’s calls—or waiting to end things in person. That really rubbed me the wrong way.

By the time the big romantic gesture came around, I just didn’t feel invested. I wanted to root for them, but I was more relieved to be done than anything else.

What a sloooooow burn. The angst! The sexual tension was off the charts but it paid off in the end. What starts as hate and sarcasm turns into flirtatious banter and it was so good. This was such a fun read, perfect for summer. I loved the take on workplace equality and talk of women in a male dominated industry. The letter at the end was pure gold! Tris is a strong FMC and Rafe is just misunderstood.

🌺 Workplace romance
🌺 Enemies to lovers
🌺 Forced proximity
🌺 Only one bed
🌺 He comforts her
🌺 Grey sweatpants
🌺 Single POV

Thank you Forever and NetGalley for the arc!

Our FMC Trishara works in a predominantly male field and is constantly overlooked for promotions, regardless of her talent. To her surprise, she gets chosen along with our MMC Rafe (the CEO's son and her rival) as rising stars in the field and sent on a 3 week leadership program to Hawaii. When the show up, due to an error, they end up getting booked together in the only room left available, the honeymoon suite. Over the 3 week period they're forced to spend time together and Trishara is faced with learning that maybe Rafe isn't the person she thought he was. This book was SO GOOD. The tension and banter between our main characters had me giggling and kicking my feet. Rafe?! Wow, the mouth on him. I love Nisha's writing, and seeing her seamlessly step into this genre was so fun. The story was not only engaging, but it was funny, romantic af, had incredible spice, and shed light on real problems women face in the work force, especially women of color. I highly recommend this. Thank you to Nisha J. Tuli and Forever Publishing for this ARC!

Probably one of my favorite co-worker romance books, especially as a reader who sometimes struggle to surpress the urge to be very worried about the HR concerns of the romance. This was funny, lighthearted, and fun to read. The “enemies” aspect was done well enough that it was believable but not so much that it was hard to forgive either character, and I appreciated the handling of the general sexism and racism in the corporate environment in a way that felt realistic (with a touch of wish fulfillment). Definitely a book I would recommend.

Thank you to Forever for the ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I have been trekking through a bit of a romance slump and looking for a light, fun, summer read to end this rough streak. Found it!! Not Safe for Work gave me Christina Lauren vibes, with some solid romance tropes and some big themes, while still being grounded in realistic experiences and interactions. I loved the banter between the FMC and MMC, and the slow burn was excellent. Also I'm always here for representation of women in STEM!

I did have a bit of trouble with the extent to which Trishara seems to be completely, unhealthily obsessed with Rafe from the get go. There is apparently strong animosity between them, and the author attempts to pin it on mutual hate, but the explanation didn't make sense to me and it just feels like sexual tension to me right from the beginning. I'm not buying that they are true enemies, though there is no doubt that they are workplace rivals. I also would have loved more backstory for Rafe; we got to know him well in the present, but learned very little about his past.

Overall, I enjoyed it and give it 4.25 stars.

Content Warnings:
- Racism
- Sexism
- Sexual harassment
- Chronic illness

This book will be released on May 20, 2025.

Not Safe for Work was such a fun, swoony slow burn with all the right enemies-to-lovers vibes! Trishara is an engineer who's been working twice as hard for half the credit, and watching her try to survive burnout while stuck on a corporate retreat in Maui—with the boss’s golden boy son Rafe—was chef’s kiss. The forced proximity (hello, honeymoon suite mix-up), the banter, the “I hate you but also maybe I don’t” tension… it was giving giggle and kick-your-feet energy the whole time.
What really stood out, though, was how the book balanced the workplace commentary with a genuinely sweet and satisfying romance. Tris’s struggles in the corporate world felt so real, and I was absolutely rooting for her the whole way. And Rafe? The more we saw of him, the more I loved him. He wasn’t just the “hot rival”—he was layered, supportive, and quietly rooting for her even when she couldn’t see it. Yes, the miscommunication drama tested my patience a bit, and the side characters added some chaos I wasn’t totally here for, but honestly? Still had such a great time. Would 100% recommend if you’re in the mood for workplace drama, tropical vibes, and slow-burn gold.

I LOVED this book. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be shipped off to Hawaii on a company retreat with your boss’ son that hates you but you not so secretly fawn over?!?

Rafe was a great MMC. The way he comforted Tris throughout the book was adorable. Especially during the storms. I also really loved how both the MMC and FMC support and stand up for each other. I do feel like the other woman drama was a little annoying, but ultimately it did not affect my enjoyment of the story. At times I felt like he entertained the drama for too long, but at the same time, he was telling her to gtfo. 🤷‍♀️

The spice was great and I LOVE when they don’t do anything together until like 70% into the novel. It’s like a treat lol slow-burn physical intimacy is my weakness (I still need a little of the emotional intimacy and pining before then though).

I also wish that we got a little bit more of their life after they reunited back in Chicago and before the epilogue.

The audiobook was phenomenal too. Of course I always want a dual pov/narration novel, but the narrator did a great job with all the characters. I do feel however that if we had Rafe’s POV I would have enjoyed it more!

I really enjoyed getting to read Tris and Rafe’s story. You could cut the tension between these two like a piece of cake and it was delicious! Tuli did this slow burn so well and once it boiled over *chef’s kiss*. The chemistry built up well as Tris walked the line between hate and love for Rafe. I loved getting to be in Tris’ head. She may have started feeling a little worn down but watching her journey through out and ending ready to burn it all down felt so satisfying. Overall had a fantastic time with this story!

An insta lust slow burn? Sign me up.

When your competition is as hot as Rafe? Who could resist a few stolen glances or a dozen walks around his desk? Obviously not our crushing queen Trishara.

A prodigy in her field, but passed over numerous times because she’s a woman. Trish has plenty of reasons to crash out. When she gets a coveted spot for a company retreat next to Rafe, she soon finds out it was solely for diversity. Using this leverage she gets a first class ticket, a suite and new luggage. The downside? So does her crush/enemy Rafe.

In a twist no one sees coming, Rafe and her have to share the hotel room. More specifically the honeymoon suite. With only one bed.. Will years of tension and frustration play out on the mattress or will they be able to keep an HR approved distance from each other?

I absolutely loved this book! The tension, the back story and learning the depth that each of them possessed outside of the office. The audiobook narration was fantastic as well. Thank you so much Forever publishing and Nisha J. Tuli for the advance readers copy of this book!

I first off want to say I love Nisha's fantasy/romantasy books. This is her first contemporary romance and I think she did well but it left me wanting a bit more. This is a workplace romance where the main characters are rivals. He is the boss's son and she is a BIPOC woman in engineering who has had to fight her way up the corporate ladder while he appears to have been given everything. They end up on a work trip together in Hawaii and have to share a room. There is lots of rivals to lovers, forced proximity tension but I really think we needed both characters POV's to get the best version. We only see things from the FMCs side and there is just something about a man sharing his feelings and yearning that makes it so much better.

I did love the summer vibes and think this is a great beach read. The audiobook narrator was great but again, it would have been so much better with dual narration and the guy's POV.

Stop everything you’re doing and add this book to your summer tbr. It is the perfect read for summer. Nisha absolutely knocked it out of the park with this one. I was hooked from the very beginning. This book had the perfect amount of laugh out loud moments, tension, banter, spice, and being light hearted while still addressing serious issues that occur with women in the workplace.

They’re enemies/rivals and when they show up to the hotel to check in for their 3 week work conference, they get told there’s only one room. When they get to the room, they find out there’s only one bed! Everything about this book is just so good.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy for my review.

🌺 Workplace Romance
🌺 Rivals to Lovers
🌺 Forced Proximity
🌺 One Bed
🌺 Slow Burn
🌺 Women in STEM
🌺 POC FMC

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC and ALC.

I absolutely devoured this! I'm not normally a fan of slow burn but this was 🤌🏻.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever Publishing, Hachette Audio and Nisha J. Tuli for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Yes yes yes.

Nisha J. Tuli's slow burn REALLY works here. Work rivals, individually picked to go on a three week work retreat.. add in a beloved hotel based trope, and it's the ultimate forced proximity in a beautiful setting tale!.

The ultimate conflict is the commentary we NEED on the way women in stem (AND any professional environment) are treated by men. Honestly- we NEED to call out the female predecessors that continue to enable this behavior. We should expect more out of our idols and call them to the carpet. When you read- you'll get what I mean.

Soneela Nankani did SO well on narration. I've listened to her many times before and will continue to seek out her narrations.

This is honestly one of the best books I’ve read in 2025. I am so excited for the rest of the world to get to read and experience this story, too! It has so many of my favorite tropes: workplace rivals, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, only one bed, and a dash of forbidden love since the MMC is the boss’ son. I loved that the FMC, Tris, was a strong female character who stood up for herself in a male dominated field. I don’t feel we get to know the MMC, Rafe, as much as we could and that’s a shame. We know about his smile and his forearms, and we know that he’s as frustrated with the company as Tris is. What I do know is that their chemistry is HOT and made the slow build and lack of depth a little better in the end. Also, the gorgeous Hawaii setting for the majority of the book helped to make this story the perfect escape from every day life.
Thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

My rating: 4.25 stars

I really enjoyed this! The banter, the humor, the tension and kind of slow-burn were all so much fun.

Rivals to lovers is one of my favorites, and the BIPOC woman in STEM representation was great. I appreciate how the book was part light and fun, but also touched on discrimination and sexism that women face at work, and the racism that women of color have piled on top of that, especially in male dominated fields. I loved watching Trishara push back against all of it too, and Rafe was (mostly) a green flag. His biggest flaw was the situation with his ex, but it was realistic and I liked having it included.

3.75 ⭐️ This was really cute! Summery feeling workplace romance with likeable MCs and side characters. It took me a bit to get into it, and even once the relationship started moving, the points where conflict still existed were hard to read. I appreciate how the author tackled writing the hard topics. I do wish there was a bit more relationship development, but overall, it was a good read, with great audiobook narration!

Thanks to the publisher for an advanced copy of the ebook and audiobook 🫶

Having never read any books by this author I was unsure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed her writing. This book was so funny and some got hr things the FMC said had me in stitches. Overall, I really enjoyed this book - the beginning took some time for me to fall into rhythm with. I didn’t think the FMC and MMC were particularly mature and I didn’t think I could ever find myself rooting for them, but once they started opening up and tearing down walls and communicating, I enjoyed watching them fall together into a fun, messy, and altogether wonderful romance. I liked the premise of this one and felt it was unique for a workplace romance. I can’t wait to pick up more of this authors work.

This book was phenomenal. I loved the slow burn and rivals to lovers aspects. I laughed a ton and couldn’t stop reading. I particularly liked that even though it was funny and tension-filled, it was still full of heart and touched on important topics that I resonated with. Highly recommend.

what a slow burn this was 😮‍💨

trishara and rafe allegedly hate each other but their hatred gets put to the test when they’re “accidentally” forced to stay in the same suite in hawaii for three weeks.

tris goes back and forth a lot on whether or not she should pursue rafe, and i completely understood where she was coming from. she has a distrust in men and it only takes one man to reach that point. she really tried to stay away from rafe and suppress all her feelings for him but it doesn’t work and they end up banging 😛 as a woman in a male dominated field, i related to her. thankfully i don’t work directly with the types of men tris does, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist and it absolutely sucks that women have to deal with that. her letter of resignation was iconic and i’m here for it.

i found rafe to be quite reserved. he goes back and forth with tris but other than that, his real personality doesn’t show much. he’s quite the creative.

Not Safe for work was a fine romance. If you love workplace romance books, this one hits all the major beats and has a MMC that is very attracted to the FMC (and great at showing it after a slow burn). I didn't find anything that stood out incredibly about this book. Like the female POC in STEM I think is an important part of the story and needs to be told often, but this book did not wow me.

I would absolutely recommend this book for the right reader. This is a lovely story with great characters and I wanted them to succeed at the end.