Thanks to Netgallery and Forever Publishing for the e-ARC and ALC of Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli, in exchange of an honest review.

Summary: Not Safe For Work centers on Trishara Malik, an engineer that has fought for her place in a company that is not deserving of her. Burnt out but hopeful, she's sent to a corporate retreat in Hawaii, only to find herself stuck sharing a suite with Rafe, the boss’s privileged son and nemesis. As they compete for a top executive spot, Tris discovers that Rafe may not be the enemy she thought, forcing her to question old assumptions—and possibly open her heart.

Tropes:
- Workplace romance
- Nemesis to lovers

Review: This is one is HARD for me to review, because I spent a 70% of the book thinking about DNFing. I have to be honest, while I admire Trishara, and really appreciated her as a fmc. Her situation with work was very relatable (female engineer in a male dominant work space) and I appreciate the way that part of the plot was addressed. It was her dynamic with the mmc that really threw me off and made the reading experience not enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, Rafe is just "there" and annoyed me at times too with the whole "ex" situation but their whole relationship felt immature. While I didn't enjoy the romance, the reason I don't give this a lower rating, surprisingly is the spice. The book did an excellent job with the spicy scenes, they were not overwhelmingly long, and for a book with characters that were very obviously attracted to each other from the start, it took a while to get to them. I appreciate that, and they were very well written imo. This book imo needed either dual POV or at least chapters going back to there begins working together. We are thrown to the story already having the fmc obsessed and while the mmc surely is too, we never see it.

This was not a particularly bad time, but it just wasn't great either.


Again, thanks to Netgallery and Forever Publishing for the e-ARC and ALC of Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli, in exchange of an honest review.

A few things... When you read this book - and what changed my entire perspective was one Friday afternoon at work:

I, a scientist, work in an R&D facility (moonlighting as a book reviewer) - and on this fine Friday.. I received one of the most infuriating emails I've ever received from a coworker who has skated along by the skin of his teeth, asking me why I didn't do something properly (even though I did), and he was shown the error of his ways by my boss after said email was sent. No apology etc.. no matter that there was proof that he had messed up. It's not recognized necessarily that I'm working with an absolute jerk.. or that this person desperately needs to be fired.

So, in sharing that story, I felt our main character, Trishara's plight. I felt every moment of her frustration, and I cheered in triumph at the end!

-- The only reason I'm taking off one star is because I feel like the main character needed therapy, and any gal in my/her position would know that. Like girlie pop... you know you're not ok. You need a little help and it's not necessarily your fault but do not go after the bad boy on vacay. Do better for you BEFORE vacay ya know? He wasn't really all that freed up.. and that's a no no for me.

**Thank you to Forever for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the eARC!

Nisha J. Tuli knows both romantasy and romance!

This was such a fun and spicy read following Trishara and Rafe as they go to a work retreat in Hawaii for three weeks, after being workplace nemeses for years.

This books has a bunch of tropes that you’ll love to see, as I did, like the one bed trope! It was wonderful to see underneath the persona that Tris had of Rafe and see the depth of his character and just how misunderstood he was.

I loved the representation of how companies like this can operate (by being sexist and racist) and it was very satisfying on how it was handled — although, I would like to know more about what happened to other characters involved. This could also be said for Hannah, Rafe’s ex. I want to know more about how Rafe handled her and if he knows what she said about Tris.

The only reason I took off one star was due to how Rafe proved to Tris that he was all in. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I believe she should have more of a say in how their relationship is shared, I guess.

Otherwise, I had such a great time reading and couldn’t put it down! Can’t wait to see what Tuli does next!

Workplace rivals Trishara and Rafe are sent to a three week company retreat in Maui. Trishara hopes to stay as far away from Rafe as possible, but an error with their hotel booking leaves them with no choice but to share a suite. Throughout the retreat they compete against each other in a series of tasks, with their sights set on the ultimate prize of earning a spot in the company's executive leadership program. As the three weeks go by, Trishara and Rafe begin to realize they might not actually hate each other like they thought they did.

Honestly I ate this up in one sitting. This was such a cute romance with great characters and a fun setting. Trishara and Rafe were both really interesting and felt fully developed, and they had great chemistry.

There were also heavier topics mixed in with the romance and fun. This book focused a lot on being a woman of color in a field dominated primarily by white men. I loved the strength that Trishara showed throughout the book as she was dealing with pretty rampant sexism.

Lots of people's favorite tropes in this one:
- Enemies to Lovers
- Workplace romance
- Forced Proximity
- One bed

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC!

Thank you so much to Forever for the arc, all opinions are my own.

When I saw Ali Hazelwood posting about this I knew I needed to get a copy!

A workplace rivals to lovers romance leaves the office and goes to Hawaii for 3 weeks to attend a leadership retreat. Unfortunately, due to a series of "errors," Tris and Rafe are forced to share the honeymoon suite at the exclusive hotel. There's all of the ups and downs of women in STEM, nepotism, and have a hate crush on your hot coworker.

This was laugh out loud funny, full of amazing banter and tension, and a spectacular clashing.

This book was TOO CUTE! Tris and Rafe truly have my heart and after feeling like it took a bit of time for me to get into, I then got to a point where I couldn’t put it down! This enemies to lovers workplace romance, in a tropical paradise, with a badass FMC and broody hidden golden retriever of an MMC brought total early 2000s hidden romance vibes in the BEST way possible! I really enjoyed this read, loved how badass Tris is (especially in sticking up for herself along with all the other ladies and minority members out there) and she makes me want to go out and change the world! Rafe is such a sweet MMC in so many surprising ways I really enjoyed watching their relationship blossom and her grow as an FMC! I think this read was such a sweet, enjoyable, easy read (in the sense I felt it wasn’t too heavy or difficult to get through which therefore made it enjoyable)!
I gave this book 3 stars due to the enjoyable time it was to read, and I’m lucky to have be granted access to this e-arc prior to release! 🤍

“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒏𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑰 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒈𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖.”

I freaking love a work romance and even more when they pull the “let’s take this to a resort” card so the tension follows into a whole new setting. I AM HEEEERE FOR IT. And this one delivered.

My reading experience felt like watching a full-on rom-com—vibes? IMMACULATE. The sarcasm, the banter, and don’t even get me started on the borderline flirtation between them... SO. FREAKING. GOOD. 😮‍💨🔥

Now let’s talk about the book itself. Trishara noticing how her company consistently favors white men over qualified women and POC it hit hard. As someone who has worked in corporate as a women and hispanic (where english is my second language), this reality felt all too familiar. The rom-com undertone brought humor, but underneath all that? There were so many moments it made me want to scream “YEAH, F**K YOU KHAKIS!!” at the top of my lungs.

I adored Trishara. In the workplace, she’s seen as “too bold,” “too loud,” someone who needs to “tone it down” but honestly, she’s a queen 💅✨ I would die for a work bestie like her. At the start, you can see her light has been dimmed, and watching her rediscover her fire was EVERYTHING. I rooted for her so hard ❗❗

AND THE ROMANCEEE okay, you don’t understand. I already love a workplace setting, but take them out of the office and drop them in a resort?? You know things are about to pop off. And boy, did they. Their enemies-to-lovers banter was gold. It started off as harmless sarcasm… then someone would cross that blurry line into flirt territory… and suddenly the air was thick with tension. MAMAAAAA I COULD NOT STOP READING 😏

I enjoyed that not only was Trishara having issues with her job, but Rafe as well so it wasn't as one sided as you thought (even though Tris is obviously a different level in the work climate) still you can also feel for him. At the end both character development makes you want to stand up and applaud like YES YOU BOTH ARE DOING AMAZING.

I recommend this book if you ever worked in corporate you would just get it!!! Period.

Why wasn't it a 5 star for me? Well please take this with a grain of salt, but Trishara was describing Rafe smile in every other chapter and.. I swear I was about to break his smile so she could stop talking about it asdvbgfrd

tropes:
🌺 enemies to lovers
🌺 work place romance
🌺 first single POV
🌺 only one bed
🌺 forced proximity

Thank you Forever Publishing for my eARC and Hachette Audio for my ALC

Rivals in Paradise

What happens when you win an all-inclusive luxury work trip to Hawaii for three weeks BUT your biggest workplace rival is going too? And he's ridiculously hot. Oh, and you have to share a room, oops.
Trishara is about to find out.

Well this was an absolute delight! I came expecting a fun romcom but that was just the surface of this novel. We tackled:

•Women in corporate workspaces
•BIPOC challenges and micro aggressions in the work place
•Women in STEM
•Sexual Harassment

and more, all in a heartfelt, honest, and conversational way.
I also enjoyed the migraine rep and the realistic take on the daily management of chronic headaches. All of this is so beautifully woven into a funny, touching, and steamy love story between Trish and Rafe.

Trish was an absolute firecracker! I loved her wit, her confidence, and her straightforward attitude. She was also thoughtful and supportive, a truly well rounded character.

Rafe was charming, funny, and such a teddy bear once you scratched his starchy corporate exterior. I loved discovering the artistic side of him, a beautiful depth beneath the surface.

Banter? Check ✔️
Steam? ✔️
Tension? Double Check ✔️✔️

This was a proper slow burn which ratcheted the tension up about 100 degrees! Once the dam broke, the spice was incredible. This book is hot. It's everything I love in a romance, and I already preordered a physical copy.

If you love women in STEM, rivals to lovers, or workplace romance give this book a try!
This was my first Nisha J Tuli novel and I will now be reading everything she writes.


*thank you to Forever at Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC. This is my honest review

I DEVOUREDDD this!!!

Workplace rivals, only one bed, he comforts her during a storm… WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT? Oh, you want him to have drool worthy forearms? Done. You want him to be Down Bad? OH HE IS 10000%. You want there to be amazing figurative language that makes you go, ““I GET it girl!!!! 🔥🔥“ Yep. That’s all in here. I’m not an e-book highlighting girly but I was highlighting up a stormmmm! Love these 2 and they will be together FOREVER MARK MY WORDS!!!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Before I begin, thank you NetGalley and Forever Grand Central Publishing for sending me this eARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Can you say absolute perfection?
The slow burn, the banter, the annngst! My goodness I couldn’t breathe!

Nisha J. Tuli has written a beautiful love letter to herself and I gobbled up every bit of it within a day.

Trishara and her inner voice are so relatable. The doubts she has about herself, the convincing tone she uses to assure herself that she shouldn’t doubt herself and the cute way she talks about Rafe and his forearms, his grey sweatpants and his thick thighs! And she is doing this while trying to manage working in a mysogynistic and racially discriminatory environment?! QUEEN!

Rafe is the perfect, complex book boyfriend who is fighting his own demons as well as his feelings for his rival/co-worker, Trishara but we only see him through her lens. I think this was perfect because if we had gotten a dual POV, I think I would have really disliked him for being so wishy washy with his family. I was on verge but he won me over with the macaroons and the drawings!

I don’t want to share too much because I want people to be able to walk in as blind as I did and find the treasure in the chapters!

I will say my favorite description of Rafe is verbose villain and when she said it, I screeeeamed so loud I woke up the dogs!

10/5 stars
Spice level: 4
Definite preorder!

Were Tris and rage allergic to communicating? I don’t understand how they went the entire book having the same problem over and over again because they just wouldnt talk. The whole thing with Rafe’s ex was so annoying because he just needed to set some boundaries or block her. The way that he let her call him over and over AND kept answering? Including times when he was with Tris? It really started to get in my nerves. And then tris wouldn’t tell him it was bothering her, she just kept letting him get close and then push him away. It took them until the end of the book to actually talk about their feelings and what they meant to each other and I think there needed to be some sort of conversation earlier in the book. They went straight from “hating” each other to hooking up without really clearing the air.
All that aside, this was a fun book. I liked the way Rafe was so protective of Tris and tried to keep people away from her. I also felt like there was really good representation of what it’s like to be a woman in a male dominated field, especially a woman of color (spoiler alert: it’s not good). I really felt for tris and how hard she worked just to be overlooked by her bosses. I liked how she stood up for herself and learned not to take any bs from anyone.
Despite his inability to set boundaries, Rafe was such a sweetie and I really enjoyed his secret passion for desserts. He obviously really cared about Tris and it was really nice once he finally handled his issues and was able to really show her that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC!

oh I absolutely LOVED this book!!!! there’s so much growth, understanding, tenderness, fun, and love. I really appreciated this book only in Tris’s pov bc it lets us as the reader know how each situation looks through her eyes— her experiences, vulnerabilities, morals, etc. framing it all. it makes the story so authentic and captivating, especially as she and Rafe get closer and start to clear past misunderstandings.

and oh my GOSH RAFE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!! he is the perfect book boyfriend, the most understanding and obsessed MMC, always trying to do what’s best, even if it misses the mark sometimes which makes him and their story so much more authentic! he doesn’t always make the right call, but he ALWAYS does what he thinks is the kindest, most just way to do things. the way we learn how he’s always been thinking of Tris, and how he puts his own interests and passions on the back burner in the name of making others happy, was so special and heartbreaking to read. he’s really just been trying his best all along, and (shocker shocker) when the happily ever after comes for him and Tris it also comes for their other problems, not because they all get magically solved in the best way, but because they each have a strong, steady, honest partner supporting and loving them through it all.

truly such a beautiful, lovely, perfectly spicy story!!! and I loved the audiobook! thank you so much for the ARC!!!

Spectacular, give me 14 of them right now.

I absolutely loved this debut contemporary romance from Nisha J. Tuli—honestly, she should’ve written in this genre sooner! I’ve already been a fan of her fantasy series, so my expectations were high going in, and she did not disappoint. I loved every minute of this book and completely fell for both the MMC and FMC.

Trishara is brilliant, beautiful, and constantly overlooked in her career because she’s a woman. She’s easy to root for and impossible not to love.

Rafe? He’s the swoony son of a company VP—and Trishara’s longtime rival at work. Their chemistry and hate is off the charts, and their competitive tension only makes this book more satisfying.

Forced proximity, workplace rivalry, and some spicy beach resort scenes? Yes, please. Once I hit 40%, I knew I’d be up all night finishing it. This book is pure addiction in the best possible way.

Thank you to Nisha J. Tuli and NetGalley for the ARC of Not Safe For Work. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a steamy, smart summer romance they won’t be able to put down.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

4.5 stars

In this book we are following Trishara and Rafe who are rival engineers at a company retreat in Maui. Tropes include slow burn, enemies to lovers, and forced proximity.

I cannot remember how I came across this book. I have never read from this author, but I decided to give this book a chance and it paid off! I had such a good time with this book. It has such a slow burn with these two characters dancing around each other and it has been awhile since I read that trope because I was dying. The storm scene?! I loved it! I think that really is the turning point between them and I absolutely loved it.

If you are a fan of The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren then I think you will be a fan of this book. For me, it reminds me of that book, but with more open door spice which was really good.

I’m giving this one 4.5 stars. There was a reveal that I am still unsure about because of how unexpected it was. In the end, it worked out to wrap things up, but I was not fully convinced that this character would have that kind of reveal, so I decided to bump it down a half star.

Other than that, I really enjoyed this book. I think it even had five star potential for a while. I will be keeping an eye out on more adult romances from this author in the future.

This was so cute!!! Rivals to lovers on a work retreat in Hawaii. Delicious tension and banter. Mouth watering spicy scenes! A perfect poolside summer read

WOWOWOW. The tension? The longing? The slow burn? THE CHEMISTRY? This book was phenomenal!! I can't wait to dive in and read Nisha's other books because her writing is fantastic. I admire Tris so much and absolutely adore the way she stood up to sexist jerks and forged her own path in life. TRIS, I WANNA BE LIKE YOU WHEN I GROW UP.

I'm not sure what it is that Nisha puts into her books, but I read this so damn fast. For this being her first purely romance book I'm amazed. Everything about this book was phenominal. The characters, the plot, the side characters, the details of everyone and everything, SO GOOD. The tension had me sitting on the edge of my seat. I made a comment to a friend of mine saying "Call me the Wicked Witch of the West because bitch I'm melting".... Rafe UGH can someone just clone him? I think everyone deserves someone like him. And Trishara is such a badass, I love her. She's so witty and funny and just geniunely the type of person I'd go out of my way to be friends with. 10/10 will read again.

I was so hyped for this book and it lived up to my expectations! This had everything I wanted The Hating Game to have - sizzling chemistry, workplace rivalry, and an exploration of the systemic barriers women of color experience in male-dominated fields (as well as life in general). The forced proximity and workplace romance aspects were a blast to read about and I loved watching Tris realize maybe (unfortunately) Rafe isn't as bad as she previously assumed. I ate this book up and am thrilled to read more contemporaries from this author!

•• “𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵”

It was strange to read a book by Nisha Tuli with no magic in it, but I definitely still felt her writing style in this one! (𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘢 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨) This was a quick fun read and was nicely balanced with some heavier themes - but Trishara’s character arc really stole the show for me.

•• “𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦”

I loved watching her overcome the obstacles while remaining accountable for her actions. She is so strong and rises above so much unfairness but still recognizes that she isn’t always fair in her assumptions as well. All of her growth finally sets her free and you can’t help but be so proud of her by the end.

And of course, in Nisha’s usual fashion, our mmc Rafe is just perfect. While he did have me blushing and smiling, it was really Rafe’s long game that made me love him. There’s something special about a man that waits for what he wants, and Rafe delivers. He never allows being misunderstood to change him and is always looking out for Trishara behind the scenes - and when their timing is finally right it’s truly beautiful.

•• “𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘴”

This is a well deserved happy ending and leaves you with a nice reminder to take a risk on yourself and advocate for yourself as much as possible.

Trishara Malik is one of only a few female engineers at WMC Purcell, and after years of being passed up for promotions because of white male privilege and nepotism, she's feeling burnt out and ready to move on. But in a move to be more inclusive, Tris finds herself as one of the two attendees from her branch of the Chicago office selected for the corporate leadership retreat in Hawaii, which could boost her career and give her a chance at the coveted executive trainee program. The problem? The other attendee is her rival, Rafe Gallagher, the boss's son and the guy who was given the most recent promotion she was passed up for. The other problem? When they arrive at the resort, there's been a mix-up and they're booked to share the honeymoon suite.

I loved this one so much! Tris and Rafe have worked with each other for the past 5 years and have both secretly been attracted to each other so although they've been rivals, their transition to lovers didn't feel entirely out of place. Rafe is such a fun MMC. He proves to Tris that he's not one of the 'khakis,' and there's so much more to him than she ever realized.

Although this was a cute romance with a few spicy scenes, there were also some heavier themes throughout the book. As a woman of color in a white male-dominated company, Tris deals with racism and sexism, including things that are both verbal and physical. While she shouldn't have to deal with any of it, she ultimately handles it like a boss, and comes to realize that she's better than how the company and its executives treat her.

Read if you like:
Rivals to lovers
Forced proximity
One bed
Late 20s FMC
STEM romance
Tropical setting
Single-POV