4.5 stars; 2 chili peppers

“Rafe, why did you draw me?” I whisper. The silence drags on so long that I don’t think he’ll answer me, but then he says, “Because I draw things that are beautiful to me.”

IS IT HOT IN HERE OR IS IT JUST ME??? This is my first Nisha J. Tuli book and I am in awe. The tension, the passion, the subtle (and not-so-subtle flirting) - I kicked my feet and squealed *multiple times* and I have no shame. I swooned over Rafe. I kid you not. Not only is he top tier book boyfriend material, he’s just an awesome human. Every time another male character was a douchebag and made really creepy, sexist comments (this books takes place at a male-dominated corporate retreat, so let’s be real, there were a lot), Rafe actually stood up for women and put those jerks in their place without being self-serving. Please - read this book when it comes out on May 20th so we can all be in love with Rafe together.

In addition to being a fantastic romcom, this book was also so empowering (for multiple reasons). I specifically could relate to the FMC because she gets debilitating migraines, and I’m in the same boat. I love seeing chronic illnesses repped in books. It makes me feel like less of an outsider. This story also features a badass BIPOC FMC and women in STEM. As always, please check out the trigger warnings before reading. This is a romcom, but it tackles some pretty sensitive (and impactful) themes throughout.

You’ll love this book if you’re a fan of workplace rivals to lovers, slow burn, forced proximity (DID SOMEONE SAY “ONE BED”???), and glass-ceiling-breaking FMCs.

Thanks so much Forever for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a fun read, but it also hit on the topic of being a woman of color in STEM. I enjoyed this one!

Here is the scoop:
Trishara (or Tris for short) is an engineer, but after 5 years of being looked over for advancement and other opportunities she is tired and might just be ready to move on. But then she is chosen for a corporate leadership retreat and has the opportunity to compete for a training program that might just give her back the spark she was missing. The catch? Rafe Gallagher- the bosses son and the man who got the advancement job she wanted, is coming with her. Will there be trouble in paradise? Or will these rivals become something more?

My thoughts:
Overall this book was an easy read and enjoyable. I read this one after a more serious romance and it was a nice change of pace. I can tell that Nisha writes fantasy with some of the imagery and language she uses and it didn’t bother me but I can see that bothering others.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the eArc!

3-4 open door scenes.

3.5/5

this book was a great pick to start of my summer reading! it absolutely delivered on the vacation summer vibes, as our two main leads, coworkers who absolutely can’t stand each other, are forced to go on a work trip together in hawaii (forced proximity you say? sign me up 🙂‍↕️)

I really liked tris as a main character, I felt genuine rage every time she was mistreated by her coworkers and bosses just for simply being a woman of color in a male-centered field. I think the author did a fantastic job of showing just how prevalent sexism and racism is in the workplace and how easily it is overlooked or brushed aside. the satisfaction I felt when tris gave a big ol metaphorical (and literal) middle finger to every old white man in her workplace?? UNMATCHED, she was such a queen 👑

but rafe on the other hand? he felt a little bit flat to me 🥴 I don’t really feel like I got to know him as a character beyond his family drama, his veiny forearms, and being the biggest simp for our girl tris. which isn’t the worst thing by any means, but it made it hard for me to connect to his character when I felt that I barely knew him!

and lastly, it was really to be convinced that this was a “rivals” to lovers type of situation when 1. it was so obvious from the start that rafe was in love with tris, and 2. tris was thirsting after rafe from PAGE 1 😭☠️ I think there are better ways to convince us readers that characters have chemistry beyond instant attraction, especially for books marketed as “rivals/enemies to lovers.”

overall, I think this is a fun book for the summertime and the cover is GORGEOUS ☀️🌴♥️ the topic of workplace discrimination was portrayed very realistically, and I did like tris and rafe as a couple!

thank you to NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Nisha J. Tuli for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

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

This was a fun romance that had some real life unfortunate realities.

Tris - FMC who is a POC, one of the few women at her engineering firm and has gotten passed over for several promotions (once to MMC). Broody MMC who the FMC character views as her nemesis at work, his father is their boss and gets preferential treatment. They but heads and push each others buttons at work. Tris doesn’t see it but it’s obvious to others there’s something between them.

They both are selected to attend a 3 week training in Hawaii and somehow are sharing the honeymoon suite.

This story is told in single POV (FMC) so while the interest and tension is pretty clear I think it would have been beneficial to have a few moments of Rafe’s perspective. Since we didn’t hear from him, we were left with Tris’ doubt and almost self-sabotage.

Overall I enjoyed it. The only thing I could have done without was Molly, Tris and Rafe each saying Tris was “obsessed” with Rafe. For some reason that wording just felt icky.

❤️🌴ARC REVIEW | Not Safe For Work🌴❤️

My rating: 5⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

This book follows our FMC, Trishara, as she navigates being not only a woman of color, but an engineer in a male dominated work force. After years of being passed over for promotions and suffering at the hands of the white privilege surrounding her, Trishara’s employer chooses to send her on a company leadership retreat as a way to “diversify their staff and offer equal opportunities”. The kicker, she has to go with her nemesis and the boss’s son, our MMC, Rafe.

After a plane ride filled with awkward silence and animosity, they arrive at the retreat in Hawaii to find that there’s been a mistake and there’s only one room available. So not only do they “hate” each other but now they have to share a room for three weeks. Oh, and did I mention there’s only one bed?! (Oooooooh nooooooo 😉)

Through many stolen glances, forced proximity, and team building exercises, Trishara discovers that maybe Rafe isn’t the villain that she made him out to be. Chemistry builds, secrets are shared, and friendship develops, but will it be enough to convince Trish to trust in love again?

Tropes:
❤️Work Place Romance
💛Only One Bed
❤️Forced Proximity
💛Enemies to Lovers
❤️STEM Rep

I was hooked from the very beginning of this book. The tension and banter between the two main characters is so real and believable that it makes their story so easy to consume. I was immediately rooting for them and I was craving that moment when they finally gave in to their feelings. The spice was 😳🔥, without going overboard, and I never felt like it was too much or not believable.

The representation of being a woman of color AND a woman in a male dominated career is so well written and, in my opinion, so important and relevant to the current climate. While these topics can be triggering for some, I found it to be empowering and refreshing to talk about these things so plainly rather than tip toeing around them. Simply put, it’s a must read💕

Not Safe For Work pub date is May 20th, 2025.

For 5 years Trishara has been passed over for promotion after promotion in favor of the "Corporate Bros." even though she has more than proven herself at the engineering firm she works at. She's about ready to throw in the towel when she's offered a spot at a 3-week training retreat in Maui, the only drawback she has to attend with her office enemy and boss's son: Rafe Gallagher

This is my first book by Nisha Tuli but I sped through this so fast. I now want to see how her other books measure up.

I loved everything about this read. First and most notably, the relationship between Tris and Rafe was perfection. The slow burn between them, the searing eye glares everything was on point and the emotional payoff was so satisfying. This may have also been helped by the fact that these two clearly have made assumptions about the other that have clouded their initial perceptions. Which, of course, nothing helps break like a case of the only-one-room/bed trope!

What really made the book for me was, I think, the overall commentary about women carving out space in fields normally dominated by men - in this case, a woman of color in a field dominated mainly by white men - and how hard they have to work for even a little of the recognition that seems to be more freely given to those men. We see Tris struggling with this throughout the entire book and it was frustrating but also, unfortunately, relatable. I felt every disappointment and could feel how weary she had become with the constant fight. I felt the truth in the story and seeing Tris not afraid to use her voice and not easily cowed and the way she stands up for herself an tries to call out the the injustices she sees just made me love her all the more.

This book was probably the surprise read of the year so far for me. I was thinking it would be a regular enemies to lovers romance read, but it was so much more than that, and that makes me incredibly happy that it piqued my interested in the first place.

3.5⭐️

First, I want to say I loved the representation in this book. While I’m not in STEM I am a corporate girly and could unfortunately relate to quite a bit in this book. I honestly wish we could have gotten even more of the struggles women face in the business world.

The email Tris sent was iconic and one of my favorite moments I’ve ever read in a book.

I have a bit of mixed feelings about the characters. It took me a while to warm up to both Tris and Rafe. A lot of their earlier interactions in the book came across as two people trying to find any reason to be offended and get angry at the other. It was just a lot of miscommunication which I’m not a huge fan of.

However, once we got past that stage the banter was incredible. I really loved reading as Tris and Rafe’s relationship developed and they started slowly trusting each other and opening up.

Overall, a really solid read and I can’t wait to read more from Nisha in the future!

Thank you so much to Forever for the free copy of the book!

What a frustratingly fun read! The nemesis-to-lovers reopening one I’ve read much of in novel format (graphic novel, yes) but I thoroughly enjoyed it! The back and forth and flirting was a perfect balance to build to the final arc. The competitiveness was so amusing. I was also pleased with the work place conflict resolution with others in the office. The issues of sexism, racism, etc. are far too prevalent in the workforce and I loved how Trishara handled the situations that arose. Very inspiring, to say the least.

I almost DNF'd around the 25% mark, but then I realized I was the problem. After a little break from reading romance I came back and I'm glad I did. I loved the dynamic between Rafe and Trishara. It's a very one sided rivalry when we come into the story, but historically these two have been work rivals, mostly because Rafe was convinced that Tris hated him. Funnily enough, she never hated him - she just convinced herself that she did because feelings are scary. Watching them slowly become more vulnerable with each other was great. The examples of misogyny in the workplace/at this work conference felt a little heavy handed at times, but honestly so are men who behave like this so go off Nisha J. Tuli. I appreciated the way she sprinkled these instances throughout the story while also feeding us these little check in points of progression for Tris and Rafe. Kinda felt like getting to eat dessert after being forced to eat the carrots your mom overcooked, but way more satisfying.

I would recommend this one for folks who loved Shipped by Angie Hockman and wanted a little more from The Hating Game by Sally Thorne.

“I’d rather it was balled up on the floor with my face between your thighs.”
~~~~~
So, I had one day off this week between work rotations.. I spent the entire day reading this….AND IT WAS THE BEST DECISION I MADE!
Omg! I couldn’t put it down at all! It had a hold on me the entire time! Even took it to the bathroom with me cause I didn’t wanna put it down! Like damn! 😍🖤 Also, the tension and spice! Sweet Jesus!
For real, yall better get this on your TBR or in your hands on 5/20 🥵🥵🥵
Thank you also NetGalley, Forever, and Nisha for allowing me an eARC!

There is nothing quite like discovering that a coworker you once disliked might actually be "the one," especially during a work retreat on a Hawaiian island. First of all, I really appreciated the representation of women in this story. Tish, who works in a STEM medicine role, continuously fights for her place in the workplace and stands her ground throughout the entire book. I loved the intense tension and banter between Tish and Rafe. The addition of a tropical storm, which forced Rafe to protect Tish, was a perfect touch. However, I did feel that the romance progressed a bit too slowly for my liking, as I found myself on the edge of my seat, eagerly waiting for Tish and Rafe to take action for over half the book. Overall, this is a sweet enemies-to-lovers romance set in close proximity! Also, the narrator Soneela Nankani did an excellent job narrating for the audiobook.

Thank you to NetGallery and to both Hachette Audio | Forever and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) | Forever for my copy.

This was my first read by Nisha and she did delivered!!
This book was a great rom-com that touched on hard topics like unfair treatment of women in STEM while graciously delivering a good time.

Characters had A LOT of chemistry, banter, tension with a great story plot. It portrays both main characters going on a work conference and having to share a room with only one bed.

Soneela Nankani did a fantastic job narrating this book, she performed both characters voices to perfection while keeping a nice flow to through them.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for allowing me to read to this ARC.

Okay y'all! Buckle up for a fun forced proximity goodness with popular romance tropes galore!

I was familiar with Nisha J. Tuli's name from her popular fantasy series. I was so excited to read her take on a contemporary romance and this was SO FUN! It was hot and the author did such an amazing job conveying the juicy moments of simmering heat from the "enemies-to-lovers" tension. If this is what her fantasy series hold, I am bumping her series to the top of my tbr! I was thirsting with Tris for Rafe. He was such a standout gentleman, your next book boyfriend material for sure.

The thing I appreciated the most about this was the portrayal of the struggles that women (especially BIPOC women) go through in male dominated fields. This one is for you engineer, mechanic, finance, computer science (and so many more) girlies! I appreciated the author's decision to keep the hot takes and real commentary in the book. As someone who has encountered and continue to encounter these scenarios at work, I want to thank you, Nisha J. Tuli! The balance of the fun, steamy characters with the focus on real life really brought the story together.

Big thank you to Forever for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.75! Nisha has successful gone from Romantasy writer to Romcom writer! This book was so fun and good on audio!

There is a good balance of spice, banter and barbs, humor, love, and serious topics. This is a workplace, rivals to lovers, set at a work conference in Hawaii, forced proximity, ONLY ONE BED, he comforts her during a storm, & more type of book.

Nisha balances this with topics of Women in STEM, unfair treatment of women, especially women of color, in the workplace. Misogyny, micro aggressions, racism, sexism and more are all addressed and handled well.

Tris is our strong willed, smart, and funny FMC who is willing to burn the world to advocate for herself. Rafe is her rival co worker she’s (always, yes ALWAYS) been attracted to. He’s a 12/10 with gorgeous forearms. When they’re at a work conference together and forced to share a room, anything could happen 😏 and maybe they’ll finally begin to thaw towards each other!

I personally, wished for a little more depth and connection, between the MCs. And a lot of Tris’ internal monologue was just her lusting after Rafe lol

10/10!!!

Early on in this book, I knew it was going to be a 5 star read. I went through all of the emotions while reading. I swooned, I teared up, I was hot and bothered and rooting for Tris to give all the toxic men around her the middle finger.

I adored Tris and her relationship with Rafe. They were perfect together. I loved seeing the hints here and there about their growing affection for one another.

A million bajillion stars please and thanks. Omg that was fantastic. I laughed, I cried, I got real freaking angry, and then laughed some more. But boy do I adore Trishara, wow another soul character for the books. As someone who also worked in a similar field this just hit close to home. And just reading about her journey brought up all the feels.

But for the romance?!! HELLO?! Devoured. Craved. I want more. I loved the dynamic between Tris and Rafe. They are everything I desire and more. I truly enjoyed watching these two witty introverts fall in love and it was so beautiful. 😭🥰 And the wedding crash scene iconic, I loved this book so so much.

Thank you to Nisha and Forever Pub for the ARC

I read this while on my honeymoon cruise, and let me tell you, this is the PERFECT summer vacation read!

I’ve read and loved Nisha J Tuli a lot over the past two years, and she has always managed to impress. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from her first contemporary rom-com, but she knocked it out of the PARK (which is really no surprise)

There are a few things I absolutely NEED in order to enjoy a rom-com: chemistry & tension, a relationship between the two main characters that makes SENSE, ACTUAL comedy, a fun plot line, and some well-done spice 🌶️. Fortunately, this book has literally ALL of these things, plus a beautiful resort backdrop, a workplace-rivalry, burning down the patriarchy, women in male-dominated fields, a diverse cast, and a Henry Cavill lookalike MMC. Like???? What else could I possibly ask for???

Seriously though, I adored this, and I blew through it even on my very busy and chaotic vacation. I loved both Rafe and Trishara, both separately as characters and together as a couple. I loved the banter, and felt the tension in a palpable, squealy way. The third act conflict is actually incredibly well handled, and there were plot points that came to a head even outside of the couple (which I really, really enjoy). I’m definitely finding myself hoping for a Molly sequel in the future, because Tuli should definitely keep going with this genre alongside her show-stopping romantasies!

Thank you so much to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for this eArc!

Not Safe for Work is a fun, steamy, and addictive workplace romance that had me hooked from the start. Trish and Rafe are total opposites, longtime work rivals thrown into close quarters on a tropical corporate retreat.
The enemies to lovers energy is strong, with a push and pull dynamic that makes every scene exciting and full of tension.
The dialogue is sharp and witty, and the chemistry between them is off the charts. I loved how both Tris and Rafe grew throughout the story. Their character development felt real and satisfying, especially as they started to see each other in a new light.
It’s a perfect blend of romance, spice, and a little bit of office drama. If you enjoy slow burns, forced proximity, and a hero who’s not as bad as he first seems, you’ll definitely enjoy this one. A solid recommendation for fans of steamy contemporary romance.
Very grateful to the publisher for my copy through NetGalley, opinions are my own

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!
Not Safe for Work is romance that gave me major workplace Pride And Prejudice vibes. The story had romance and spice but still addressed problematic workplace behaviors such as sexual harassment, racism, and other problematic aspects of being a minority in a white male dominated field. What I loved most about the story was the female main character Trishara. Without giving away any spoilers, Trish’s growth throughout the story was satisfying to read about the especially her email at the end! So satisfying!
I also loved Trishara’s confidence when it came to expressing herself through her clothes. She isn’t afraid to show her feminine side, which often is discouraged in workplace settings. Trish embraces her femininity while also acknowledging that it is not an invitation for men to hit on her. She dresses for herself and I loved that about her character! Overall I really enjoyed the book and definitely recommend for a summer read!

Tropes: rivals to lovers, work retreat, forced proximity, only one room, slow burn

GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!! this was the MOST fun!! I didn’t want to stop reading- the tension was absolutely everything. THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN TRIS & RAFE ARE YOU KIDDING????

I was giggling from start to finish. Tris was actually so hilarious, in the “it’s hard to be a burnt out woman in stem” way which means she was also so relatable & I wanted to cheer, cry, and hug her constantly.
Rafe…. Man oh man. MY MAN! What a delightful treat Rafe was & I don’t have any other notes for him. He was a seriously good blend of jealous & respectful so obviously I ate him up.

Overall, I think this book was pure vibes for me & i definitely recommend!!! I wasn’t expecting the slow burn but it was incredible & I had an amazing time!!!