Another absolute slam dunk from Nisha J. Tuli for me. This is her first contemporary romance and it DID NOT DISAPPOINT ONE BIT. I'm in love with both Tris and Rafe. This book made me so happy.

Tris's career is stagnant, something she's sort of resigned herself to at this point. Being a woman in engineering (WOMEN IN STEM!!!!), she knows how hard she works and how often she is passed over for promotions she deserves. Including the one that went to her work nemesis and of course company nepo-baby, Rafe. But when she's given the opportunity to attend a leadership conference in Maui for three weeks, even though it's WMC's half-hearted attempt at diversity, she agrees to attend. Except through a stroke of bad luck and apparently a very busy island, she and Rafe are forced to share a room. They're continually thrown together, and the animosity they've always felt towards each other may actually be a mask for some other feeling than loathing.

I LOVE A SLOW BURN AND NISHA WRITES IT SO WELL. From the start, we learn that Tris is wildly attracted to Rafe but they can't help annoying and jabbing at each other (hot, imo). I love how throughout the story, we're given these little snippets of soft tender moments where their true emotions come through. And also the spice was *chef's kiss*.

I think the experience of being a woman in a male dominated field was also accurately represented here, and I know that in the author's note, Tuli mentions drawing from her own experience. I felt uncomfortable with the way that Tris was treated by some of the men at WMC, and unfortunately it's a reality that so many women face every single day.

I enjoyed this so much, and while it's a different type of genre than her previous books, Tuli's writing is still so enjoyable and she KNOWS how to tell a story. 5 stars, would like some more please!!!

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

🌟 4.5/5
🌶 R

What you get:
📍Hawaii
• Enemies/Rivals to lovers
• Forced Proximity
• One bed
• Office romance
• Secret crushes
• BIPOC FMC
• Women in STEM
• He takes care of her and bakes
• Slow burn
• Sizzling chemistry and banter
• LGBTQ supporting characters

TW:
• Sexism
• Racism
• Toxic work place
• Sexual harassment
• Guys that give you the ick

●

Tris and Rafe work together at an engineering firm and have always butted heads. They find themselves nominated to go on a three week seminar in Hawaii as the representatives for their office.

A booking mistake lands them in a suite with one bed (and a couch).

This was my first book from Nisha J. Tuli, and I was hooked. A rivals to lovers trope can go either way if not written correctly, but this was *chef's kiss*.

I loved their banter from the beginning. The saying, "There's a thing line between love and hate," is 💯 captured in this story. You can tell they liked each other even if they didn't know it yet. It was a slow burn that you knew was going to light up a blazing fire at the end.

Throughout the book, you can see they start softening towards each other, with their real feelings starting to show. It made the spicy scenes meaningful. I tend to lean towards less spice if the spice adds nothing to the plot, but these just fueled their chemistry.

The book also addresses problematic issues for females and BIPOC employees in a predominantly male (and white) industries/companies. I was intrigued to see how the author was going to play this out, and was happy to what she did with it. It's the reality for many people and it was addressed in, what I could say, was an empowering way. Does everyone have the luxury to address the issues like Tris did? Probably not, but do most people wish they could do what she did? Most likely.

PS: Someone call Netlfix and get Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Noah Centineo signed up for the movie adaptation.

●

What could've been better:
• I was expecting more about her chronic headaches based on earlier promos. It didn't affect the book, but as someone who has chronic pain, it's what attracted me to this ARC.
• I'm not a fan of why Tris left her last job. Sharing a private pic is so risky and I expected more from her. It's not her fault it was shared, but her character doesn't seem the type to let herself get photographed in a compromising position.
• The realist in me couldn't wrap my head around why they didn't get a pull-out cot for their giant suite or that the hotel didnt offer one. 🤣 I would've accepted the "All our cots have been reserved."

This is an absolute home run! Nisha J. Tuli’s adult romance debut is everything I hoped for. The characters are stunningly written with both MCs experiencing unrequited yearning for each other that had my heart in knots. They also demonstrate beautiful vulnerability. Their chemistry is explosive. I also found the way this story highlighted the experience of a BIPOC woman in STEM navigating a highly and toxically male dominated industry incredibly empowering (especially as a woman in STEM myself). Every little detail of this book was just perfection. I’m so excited Tuli took this genre leap and I hope we get more in this space.

Highlights:
✨Rivals to Lovers
✨Forced Proximity
✨BIPOC Woman in STEM
✨ONLY ONE BED!!!!
✨Workplace Romance

Favorite Quotes: “You’re allowed to have misgivings about the circumstances of your life, regardless of how they might seem to others.”

“I should be furious at Rafe and his caveman antics, but my inner feminist is taking a nap. She understands that sometimes you need to counter one point of male nonsense with another.”

Side call out to Tris the FMC reading Romantasy about a broody fae prince!! Absolute perfection.

Thank you to the author, Forever Pub, and NetGalley for the advanced copy. My opinions are my own.

4 stars.

"Not Safe for Work" by Nisha J. Tuli is going to be an instant classic, quote me on that! It is a workplace rivals/enemies-to-lovers/forced proximity/only one bed rom-com full of amazing banter, an excellent story, and fabulous characters. I loved Trishara and Rafe so, so much! Trishara is such a bad@$$ woman in STEM, and Rafe is top-tier book boyfriend material with his smouldering gaze and incredible arms (Tris's thoughts, not mine!) Trishara has faced a lot of sexism, racism, and microaggressions in the workplace, and the way she handles it in the end will have readers cheering. I really enjoyed Tuli's commentary on all of this, but I don't want to give too much away. Rafe is more than meets the eye. He might be a nepo-baby, but he's got a lot of ambition beyond the office where he and Tris work... where his father is boss. Nisha J. Tuli has created two absolutely wonderful personalities that readers can root for from start to finish. The chemistry between them is electric, and even when they are fighting, you cannot deny that there is a spark between them. Tris has had a bad experience with a workplace romance in the past, so she is more than hesitant to begin anything serious with Rafe. Her apprehension is a source of strife between them, as is Rafe's father's insistence that he be promoted for everything and anything at work, even if he hasn't necessarily earned it. There is quite a bit of excellently written spice to gobble up! I also enjoyed Soneela Nankani's audiobook narration. She brings these characters to life in a vibrant, fantastic way. I have always loved her narration style. She has excellent pacing and diction, and you can really feel the emotions with every word she speaks. All in all, this is a terrific book, and I really hope you read it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Nisha J. Tuli, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

I am not in the business world but I felt so inspired by Tris and her desire to make things equitable at her workplace. There were a couple characters in this story that I absolutely wanted to dropkick into the sun. Honestly though, Tris handled each one like the badass she is.

I loved that Rafe was so gone for her and wasn’t a total numpty to the things that weren’t right both at work and in their relationship. The forced proximity was great and I love a “comfort them when they’re scared” moment. These two were HAWT.

This one was single POV and I honestly loved being in Trishara’s head. She was witty and strong and I chuckled at all the times she begrudgingly admitted how hot Rafe was.

Looking forward to more from this author!

(4.5 rounded up!)

Not Safe for Work follows Trishara who works at a male driven company. Her company lacks diversity and she has been passed over for promotions time and again. This year she is shocked to learn that she is chosen for 1 of 2 spots for her company's leader retreat, the other spot taken by her work rival, Rafe, wgo also ha0pens to be the boss' son. A scheduling mixup has them sharing a room with conveniently only 1 bed. Tris and Rafe become closer and sparks fly.

I loved this book. The autgor writes some wonderful, strong FMCs who have hard exteriors and soft gooey centers. I love the way she makes Tris someone who stands up for what she believes in (and maybe gets some awesome luggage on the side). She won't compromise herself or her morals to get ahead in the male driven world and she is not against calling out BS when she sees it.

Rafe is another swoony MMC. He loves to challenge Tris and their arguments get tense! The chemistry between these two characters just leaps right off the page. I caught myself smiling like a fool so many times while reading this and I am not an expressive reader. The chemistry, banter, and attraction were so well done. This was a wonderful, fun tropical romance. I highly recommend if you like rivals to lovers, forced proximity, only one bed, and a bad@$$ FMC.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc of this book. This book is absolutely amazing, and so refreshing to have a mfc that isn’t financially struggling living with their parents while everyone harps on her. The mfc of this book is amazing but shy but watched her nemesis at work and the banter in this book is perfect. She works hard for to get promoted at work after being passed up multiple times she finally gets a chance to go to a work trip to advance her career, but there was a mistake in scheduling for hotel rooms and she gets roomed with her work rival and bosses son. They slowly grow together and decide that they have a work trip fling, but he wants more, but since her previously relationship was a workplace romance she decides she doesn’t want to go down that road again.
After there relationship starts to heat up she finds out that he wants more than anything to become a baker and has a huge following online, but his family thinks his “hobby” is a waste of time and force him into his father’s business, but she encourages his passion for food.
She finally gets break and invite to interview for a promotional program when she shows up early the guy there decides the only way he’ll let her advance is if she does something for him. She decided that she’s not letting happen again and quits when the head woman shows up and says to just let it happen and turns a blind eye, she goes home and emails the company calling out all the gatemen that she has endured the last 5 years.

I cannot recommend this book enough, and I was hooked from page one. This book has easily made my top 5 for the year and will definitely be rereading this book as a favorite comfort read.

“Trishara Malik, you will not throw your life away over a man.”

☆☆☆

I just finished reading Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli, and this is her first contemporary romance novel!

This book follows along Trishara and Rafe, who are both engineers for WMC and workplace rivals, who end up getting stuck in the same hotel suite on a work trip. Not just any work trip, though, but WMC's Rising Stars Leadership Retreat in Hawai'i.

Rafe was an obvious choice to go, as he's the "swaggering crown prince" of WMC, but Tris is shocked to hear her name called as the other engineer invited to go. Being stuck in a suite with a senior VP's son? ...awkward.

This book started off so strong with Tris being a total badass! She's snarky, sarcastic, and ruthless in her pursuit to make it to the top. As the book progressed, I found myself liking it less. Especially with how petty and mean she could be to Rafe sometimes. Sometimes, it was cute, but mostly, it was just a little immature.

It is such a switch from her normal romantasy books, and unfortunately, I just couldn't get invested in this one. I wanted to love it like I loved the Artefacts of Ouranos series and the Nightfire Quartet series, but this one just seemed to lack... something.

I do love how Tuli speaks out on the inequality and sexism against women in a male-dominated field, and it's not nearly talked about as much as it should be! Also, the last email she sends near the end is amazing, and the book is worth reading just for that!

Some of the tropes:
// Enemies to Lovers
// Hawai'i setting
// Women in STEM
// Forced proximity
// Workplace rivals
// Only one bed
// Some miscommunication

This book gets released on May 20th, and is available for pre-order now!

Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley, and the author for the opportunity to read this ARC. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.

This is a fast paced summer rom-com that you’ll definitely want to pick up! I enjoyed the setting and characters so much! Rafe and Tris are absolutely adorable. The story also talks about the problems with women and diversity in STEM positions, a problem that should have been fixed years ago. Watching Tris stand up for herself was inspiring.

Read if you like: forced proximity, only one bed, and workplace romance

I don't think I've read another book as fast as I did this one since I started the Artefacts of Ouranos series (also by Nisha). I could not put it down and was sucked into Trishara's story from the first page.

I love that this story was partially based on real life situations from Nisha's life. Being a woman in any industry is insanely difficult but being a woman of color makes it all that much more difficult. It was very inspiring to see her journey and all of the hardships women (especially women of color) are facing everyday but nobody wants to talk about it. I'm so glad she stuck with her career goals and was able to make a name for herself. Tris' character growth was so great and I loved watching her grow into herself and learn what she wanted out of life and how to get there.

I also love Rafe. That's it. Rafe is the perfect fictional man and I have no notes. And the fact that he bakes makes him that much better.

I am a HUGE angst and enemies to lovers girlie and this book did not disappoint. I remember there being several chapters I told a friend of mine that if they didn't do SOMETHING soon I might die. And once things started happening, they didn't stop (and I don't blame them one bit).

I'm also a sucker for a cutesy HEA and Nisha did not disappoint on that aspect either. And I love that it was an HEA for both Tris and Rafe separately in their careers and together in their relationship. That plus the HEA for Lan and Gabrielle put a nice little bow on the absolute gift this book was.

Not Safe for Work features overqualified, underdignified engineer Tris slogging her early career as the only woman of color in her workspace. She is SHOCKED when picked for a three week development meeting in Maui--even though her office crush and resident nepo baby Rafe (daddy's the boss) will be going along as well.

The banter/wit is on point and the spice is spicing. The premise was completely unbelievable--I mean, would an admin really book the two in a honeymoon suite together for three weeks? But, the microagressions toward race and sex were completely on point and led to the humor for me.

This was a cute, light fun read that I absolutely enjoyed! Thank you to Netgalley and Forever Publishing for an advanced copy.

3.5⭐️ overall it was a decent read. I had had this on my ARV Shelf for a hot minute and kept picking it up, reading the first chapter and putting it down, rinse and repeat. That’s until the audiobook became available and I jumped at the change to do an immersion read and I’m glad I did as it got me over that hump.

The book is fairly faced paced with a few not so smooth transitions along the way that interior the flow. But that’s the beauty of an audiobook, it keeps going!

The narrator Soneela Nankani did a great job with the material albeit a touch on the slow side. But speeding up the playback rate was easy and didn’t impact the pitch of her voice too much. Had I not been reading along I would have listened at 1.5x speed comfortably. However, I used 2x speed in order to be able to somewhat keep
Up with my reading speed.

My biggest challenge with the book was the constant miscommunication. It just becomes too far fetched. I don’t mind it here and there especially when you can sink into your own world but this type of constant miscommunication was just anger producing.

I enjoyed the setting as well as the representation. I also “liked” the realness of exposing how women, particularly non white women have been treated in the workplace. However, that sub plot definitely overshadowed the romance.


I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary audio ALC from Hachette Audio and The eARC from Forever Publishing through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

I really love me a good back and forth work romance. The smut was top tier. The banter, immaculate. I loved every second of this and I hope Nisha writes more romcoms because she is so good at it!!

I'll be impatiently waiting for her next book now.

This is the bipoc women in stem book I've been waiting for.

True to her brand, Nisha delivers a sexy, page-turning romance, now in rom-com format. Set at a three week company training retreat in Hawaii, the setting is glamorous and immersive with a perfect forced proximity romance (oh no, there's only one room/bed). All that, plus diverse representation and the issues faced by those of marginalized identities.

"There was a time when the idea of smashing through glass in a male-dominated field was thrilling. But over the years, it's just left me as wrung out as a threadbare dishcloth."

Tris's struggle is so very real, and it was immensely cathartic to read how she fights the good fight, messy and uncertain and fierce. Nisha perfectly captures the nuance of Tris's experience and wraps it up with an optimistic ending.

If you're looking for contemporary romance with a strong FMC, look no further! Apparently this is Nisha’s first contemporary romance and she does not disappoint.

It is wonderful and refreshing to see women of colour but also in engineering/STEM represented. Nisha says that this is sort of loosely based on her own personal experiences as a woman in a “man's field”.

This book was spicy and funny although, it was also a little bit predictable-
but also unpredictable! I didnt see the twist- it was so cute and satisfying. I totally recommend if you're looking for a contemporary romance with forced proximity, sharing one room, and enemies to lovers. Such a fun, spicy, unexpected read.


I rated this four and a half stars and I'd say it's a 3 to 4 chili pepper.

🦇 Not Safe For Work Book Review 🦇

❓ What's your favorite book featuring a woman in STEM?

🦇 Engineer Trishara Malik once dreamed of being the first woman of color to smash the glass ceiling at WMC Purcell, but after years of dealing with white male privilege and blatant nepotism, she watches her hard-earned promotion go to her nemesis, Rafe Gallagher—the boss’s son. When she’s chosen to attend WMC's corporate leadership retreat in Hawaii, it’s a dream-like chance to revive her stalled career, until she realizes Rafe is her co-attendee. When they arrive in Maui, a booking error has them stuck sharing the honeymoon suite. As they vie against each other during aptitude tests and team-building exercises, Tris begins to realize Rafe might not be the villain after all. With her dreams at stake, can she learn to trust the man who might have been standing in her corner all along?

💜 SA-WOON. Where can I get a sugar-sweet man like Rafe (with those ARMS) or a sassy smart woman like Tris? Be still, my chaotic bi heart. Let's break it down.

✨ Characters (4/5): Trishara Malik is intelligent, headstrong, done being trampled on by white men (The Khakis) in corporate America, and I am HERE for it. Girl has style, too. And Rafe? Man has all the layers of a multi-tiered cake, but there's hot hot spice hiding under that sugary exterior. Unfortunately, the side characters Tris encounters during their trip are TOO real (they bring the ick, but as Tuli's disclaimer notes, people say and act exactly like that). Loved Tris' ferocity and guardedness given her backstory.

✨ Plot and Pacing (4/5): This book deposits you in Maui like a little vacation from the real world. Despite this being a slow burn, the pacing never stalls; it'll sweep you off your feet as well as Rafe does Tris. Love seeing women crush male-dominated industries, despite the bittersweet reality that we're STILL trying to bust that glass ceiling. Thank you, Tuli, for shining a light on these issues and reminding everyone of something essential: we need to do better.

✨ Romance (5/5): You KNOW I love some sassy banter, and this book DELIVERS. Beyond that, I absolutely loved Rafe's protectiveness (specifically, the tropical storm scene). This slow burn scorches in the best way.

✨ Tone/Prose (2/5): There's some strong figurative and descriptive language at the beginning, but it tapers off too soon.

🦇 Recommended for fans of Sonali Dev and Nisha Sharma.

✨ The Vibes ✨
🌴 Forced Proximity
🌺 Hawaii Retreat
🌴 Only One Bed
🌺 Workplace Rivals to Lovers
🌴 Women in STEM
🌺 Contemporary Romance
🌴 Slow Burn
🌺 Banter
🌴 Women of Color (South Asian FMC)
🌺 Spice

⚠ Trigger Warnings: sexism, racism (including racial microaggressions), nonconsensual touching, mentions of a past incident where an intimate photo was leaked and shared, blackmail

🦇 Major thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. #NotSafeForWork

💬 Quotes

He tucks his phone in his back pocket and strides past my cube, throwing me a smirk that conjures up images of fairy tales, villains, and maidens locked in high stone towers.

He’s Lucifer, wearing the disguise of a Ralph Lauren model.

This is the first book I’ve read by Nisha J. Tuli and it was a great time. I enjoyed the romance between the mmc Rafe and fmc Tris. The banter was bantering. It also had some of my favourite tropes. The mutual pining, the slow burn, the forced proximity with only one bed…give me all the tropes! I didn’t feel like it dragged at any point, it was fast-paced and enjoyable. The only thing I didn't love was the storyline with Hannah as I don’t really enjoy OW drama as a trope. Beyond the romance, Not Safe for Work also tackled serious issues faced by women in STEM well, and was empowering to read. Thank you to Netgalley and Forever for this e-arc opportunity! 4.25 stars!

This book has (unsurprisingly) cemented my love for Nisha! I have already read and loved her fantasy work, so I was excited to see what she could do on the contemporary side of things and I am absolutely here for it! (I will even forgive the first chapter henley reference 🙃)

I really enjoyed the forced proximity of the corporate retreat, and thought it was a refreshing change from the usual workplace romance.
The Khakis had me cringing and laughing, because they're so real and also unavoidable. And as a women in the midst of going from one toxic male-dominated field to another, this felt so relatable, but comforting, like complaining with your friends who actually get it.

I loved Trishara's journey through this experience because it felt so real. Too often people put this toxic positivity spin on it, but Nisha did not shy away from the reality of these environments and the effects they have on women, especially women of colour. Tris gets to have all the normal and real emotions and reactions to everything, and Nisha manages to do this without making the story incredibly depressing.

I also really loved that the HEA was not just for Tris and Rafe's relationship (but I won't say more because spoilers). The ending/epilogue made me so happy!

Thanks to Forever and NetGalley for the arc!

This book is hot. Like, sizzling hot. Trishara and Rafe hate each other so good - I was feral from the very beginning. I’m not surprised by Nisha J. Tuli’s writing - her skill knows no bounds. But for this being her first foray outside the romantasy genre? You’d never know it. She slips into contemporary romance like she was born to do it.

I try not to compare books, but this gave me everything I wanted from The Hating Game and didn’t get. Workplace rivals to lovers where she actually hates him. Rafe cataloging every little facet of Trishara - but in a way that feels observant, not stalker-y. Their constant competitions, subtle sabotage, the electric tension of being two brilliant people trying to outdo each other? Absolutely delicious.

And Trishara? She is that girl from page one. She’s smart, sharp, and unapologetically driven. She doesn’t even want this job, but she’s still pouring herself into it and calling out the systemic bullshit around her. Watching her clock the retreat “opportunity” for the performative diversity stunt it was? Iconic. And then demanding every possible benefit out of it? Even better. This book doesn’t forget it’s set in the real world, where workplace challenges hit different when you’re not white and not a man. Trishara navigates that with power and precision, and it adds so much richness to her story. She’s a badass, period.

And Rafe. Rafe. He’s passionate, infuriating, magnetic - and the way he cares for her is so obvious to everyone but her. The storm scene?? The stairwell?? I have not recovered.

Nisha J. Tuli didn’t just dip a toe into romance, she cannonballed in and made a splash. I need everyone to read this book immediately.

**Thank you to Forever and Netgalley for the e-arc of this book! All thoughts are my own.

I'm sorry but this one was not for me! I got bored :(

Trish actively hates Rafe for like 50% of the book but also is clearly obsessed with him so it was just kinda eh to read? Rafe doesn't like job and but being a nepo baby he still has to work but he as secret deeper passions. When he gets caught drawing beautiful stunning landscapes and portraits its like oh! He wants to be an artist! but jk?? he's actually a super famous baking influencer?? With ton's of followers and yet she's never heard of him? Also, he has a stalker ex thats constantly being used for drama but we never actually see any of that get resolved. He just shows up to grand gesture Trish while being on INSTAGRAM LIVE???

It takes them until at least like 60% of the book to do anything spicy and its brief. I wanted to like this one but alas!!