Rival engineers dabble in personal chemistry while at a tropical company retreat in this smart, zippy romcom.
This was a good, bingeable enemies-to-lovers/forced proximity romance - and we all know I love a good forced proximity! Not Safe For Work follows Tris on a company retreat (that we all know she earned even if her company gave it to her unwillingly....) while she's paired up with the boss's son, Rafe. 
As we learn more about Tris and what her experience has been as a woman in STEM, I kept thinking back to the Author's Note at the beginning of the book and how this might be one of the most accurate portrayals I've read of these workplace situations. They felt real and unfortunately not exaggerated. Now the romance, it felt heavy on the physical attraction and while a slow burn, they wasted no time on the physical relationship of it all, too. The enemies-to-lovers dynamic felt a little immature at times, but I liked how Tris was reality checking herself throughout and almost calling herself out on the behavior. 
This was my first Nisha J. Tuli book and her first contemporary romance, but I've definitely added her fantasy books to my TBR after finishing! Thank you, Forever, for the ARC in exchange for honest opinions!

Already a fan of Nisha J. Tuli, I was excited to dive into this contemporary romance, and jumped on the chance to read the e-arc. I absolutely adored this book and its characters. The experiences of the FMC were 100% relatable. Tris deals with her frustrations and navigates roadblocks in a humorous and realistic way.
And Rafe! *swoon* The banter between them was top tier, the romance between them didn't feel so insta-lovey despite the one bed.

This confirmed that I continue to be a fan of Nisha J. Tulie across genres, and I need to go on a vacation with a dessert bar.

Thanks to #netgalley for the advanced copy!

This was a really enjoyable read! I thought that Tris was such a strong character and I loved her character development throughout. I thought that Tris and Rafe had such good chemistry and banter. This book has so many fan-favorite tropes: enemies to lovers, only one bed, forced proximity. I really liked the office retreat as the setting. Definitely add this to your summer tbr! It's a great summer read. It was really cute, fun, and lovable!

3.75 ⭐️ It was a cute story. I have never read a book from hers and loved the women in STEM and ethnic diversity aspects. I was surprised about the MMC storyline! I would have never guessed.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🌴ARC Review🖇️ 5/20 Release

🌟Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
💧Drip-o-Meter: 💦💦💦
💗Something I Loved: You all know by now that I freaking love an enemies to lovers story and Nisha really delivered that angsty banter I live for. It wasn’t just mild dislike that quickly turned into love, but actual hatred (although somewhat one sided) that didn’t begin to morph until they were forced to get to know one another and had no choice but to throw away their preconceived notions of who they thought the other was. But before that happened… The amount of tension between them because of their rivalry was perfection and was made that much better by how slow the slow burn burned. Truly a 10/10 on the enemies to lovers scale. 🙌🏼
🫤Something I Would Have Changed: I’m sure if I was also obsessed with Rafe, I too would constantly think about his smile, not quite a smile, the upward tick of his lips, yada yada yada. So I get it, but also… WE GET IT! 😒
🥰Favorite Moment: I’m torn. It’s either when Rafe discovers her sex toy (I literally laughed out loud… then went and searched for the specific toy to see if I needed a new one in my collection), or when they are doing a team building activity and have to say three nice things about each other. TBH, I’m still a little worked up over Rafe’s 3rd compliment. 🥵
🌶️Spiciest Scene: When they FINALLY give in to their desires in chapter 22. There are several spicy scenes after this but this one was by far the most graphic.
📚Standalone vs. Series: Standalone
📖Would I Recommend: Yes. While the resolution felt a tiny bit rushed for my liking, and I’d have preferred to know a little more about Rafe in general, I really enjoyed this book and even wondered if Nisha laced parts of it with crack because I couldn’t put it down. Did it make me angry as hell at times? Absolutely. But only because of the (sadly very realistic) misogyny and racism that Tris had to face. But… it also filled me with joy and giddiness as the rivals became lovers, and a sense of pride as Tris finally decided she’d had enough and gave them all the giant middle finger. I haven’t read anything else by this author but will definitely be checking out her backlog after this one.
🙏🏼Thank you to the author, Nisha J. Tuli, as well as NetGalley and Forever Pub for this ARC.
💬Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Forced Proximity, Only One Bed, Workplace Rivals, BIPOC Women in STEM
⚠️Quotes taken from an uncorrected advanced copy and may not appear in the finished product.

Not Safe for Work follows Trishara as she’s chosen to participate in a leadership retreat in Hawaii. Unfortunately for her, her rival, the boss’ son, Rafe, is also chosen. I was fully expecting to love Not Safe for Work, but it, ultimately, fell flat.

Not Safe for Work touches on themes of nepotism, sexism, and nonconsent in male dominated workplaces. More specifically, engineering.

Trishara is intelligent, competent, and funny yet frustrated because she’s been passed over for promotion after promotion. In contrast, Rafe is one dimensional. Since the book is told through Trishara’s perspective, readers only read about his physical appearance. Rafe has little to no personality. His secret hobby does not replace a personality.

Trishara and Rafe’s chemistry and angst is lukewarm at best. Their work rivalry coupled with a handful of retellings of their shenanigans did little to convince me they were unconsciously interested in each other let alone what happened at the end of the novel.

Spice level: 🌶️

Overall, Not Safe for Work started with an interesting premise and main character, but fell flat with the one dimensional MMC and lukewarm chemistry.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

If I thought I was a fan of Nisha J. Tuli’s fantasy books, her contemporary romance has blown me out of the water. If you are a fan of Ali Hazelwood, Christina Lauren of Camilla Isley style romance, Not Safe For Work is for you!!! Firstly the banter between Rafe and Tris was absolutely delectable- their ire for each other was addictive. NSFW was one looooong and torturous slow burn in the best way, and I sincerely enjoyed watching Tris change her mind about our misunderstood MMC. I also think that Tuli touches on an important issue too, about the discrimination seen in “male dominated fields” and how women are supposed to conform and cower to the “boys club”. I got so attached to Tris that every little slight reminded me of all the things myself and many other women put up with everyday and I was indignant on all our behalves. If you are looking for an adorable romance, with perfect spice and also shining a light on some serious social issues- I would highly recommend this book. Wish I could un-read it, so I could reread it again for the first time.

NSFW yet another amazing book from Nisha! This story is different from her other books but it was cute, cozy and a fast read! Definitely recommend the read for those who love a good contemporary romance 🩷

A little more than 3 stars. This is a cute beach read.

A lot of this book felt like forced romance tropes. I tried to find anything that set this contemporary romance apart from others and came up nil.

Rafe is an interesting and complex character who was enjoyable to read. I also appreciate the diversity focus in the workplace along with the illustrations of micro-aggression examples.

"Not Safe for Work" was a super cute rom-com/enemies to lovers book. It highlighted important issues that are occurring in the world while keeping the message wrapped in the romance book formula and it works well!

4.25 ⭐️

A fantastic contemporary romance debut! This is a first for me with this author and I loved it! I think a lot of stories classified as “rom com” forget the com, but NSFW didn’t! This book tackles issues women, specifically BIPOC women, face in STEM jobs. Although Rafe and Tris’ mutual distain for one another is due to miscommunication and getting off on the wrong foot, it’s justified. You can see from Tris’ perspective why she would grow to hate Rafe and forge a sort of rivalry with him at work. I loved everything about this, however the ending felt a little juvenile. OWD is not for me, and it was frustrating to see that although the MMC wasn’t interested in his ex, he wasn’t tying up his issues until it came to a head. Then to announce via live stream his declaration of love without first talking to Tris privately was odd. Even if he walked in, started talking about his feelings, then wanted to “prove how serious he was” by doing the same thing, I think it would’ve made that make a little more sense.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book! I would highly recommend, and I will be reading her fantasy series soon since I enjoyed her writing style!

i love tris and raf, and the girl group of friends. once they started actually communicating, i really enjoyed this as a rom com. i almost didn’t make it though, because at only 260 pages, how did this feel like forever to get through and rushed at the same time? the first half of the book there was so much antagonistic behavior and miscommunication, which I adore in the enemies to lovers workplace trope, but it just felt off to me. too much “tell” and on top of the “show.” forced and in your face, like it had to make a point about misogyny in the workplace. that said, once i got into it (somewhere at 150+ pages), i did not put this down and flew through the rest in one sitting. because the first half was so slow for me, the second half of resolutions and relationship building felt rushed because there just weren’t as many pages left to dedicate to it. at the end of the day, i totally enjoyed the experience, it just felt a little clunky compared to other romcoms with the same type of themes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was so excited to read Nisha's debut contemporary romance story after being a fan of her fantasy romance books.
What I have learnt after reading this is no matter what the genre, if Nisha writes it, I will read it!!

In this book we have:

✅️ Rivals to lovers
✅️ Workplace romance
✅️ Forced proximity
✅️ FMC in a STEM environment

What could possibly go wrong on a tropical work retreat when you get stuck with your work arch nemesis in the same room? The competitiveness between Trishara and Rafe had me laughing, the constant need to one up the other, and Tris' sarcastic streak speaks to me! Both were just such relatable characters and so well written. I also love how the book also highlights some of the unfortunately common inequalities in stem workplaces, but Tris dealt with it amazingly. This is a must-read!

Thank you to Forever and netgalley for the arc 💚

Not Safe For Work
5/5
Review
Tropes:
Work Place Rivals
One Bed Trope Remixed
Slow Burn Romance
Tension And Competition
Between Rivals
Rep:
Sapphic Rep
Summary:
Tris Works At A Toxic Workplace.
A Work Retreat Is Being Offered To Two Top Performers.
To Triss Surprise, She Is Picked But Her Workplace Rival And Son Of The Boss, Rafe Will Accompany Her.
Will They Survive The Work Trip Without Killing Each Other Or Will Their Unresolved Tensions Get In The Way

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

I love a good workplace romance and Nisha J. Tuli delivers in this enemies to lovers, all while giving a scathing look at the racism and sexism that proliferates in corporate culture.

WHAT TO EXPECT:
-Enemies to lovers
-Workplace romance
-Destination romance
-Forced proximity
-Sexy red dresses
-An overbooked hotel (!!!)
-Open door romance
-1.5/5 spiciness
-TW racism and sexism on the page

Overall I enjoyed this. The dreamy Hawaiian setting was a blast and I loved the chemistry between Rafe and Tris. I docked a half star because I found that Tris’s dislike of Rafe seems…largely unfounded. It often feel disproportionate to the perceived offense and that took me out of the story a bit. This is an open door romance and I can’t believe I’m saying this but I wish it weren’t. The banter and dialogue are phenomenal and I would have loved to just stay with that!

All in all this is a great beach read, it’s light and quick, and I love any book that goes after corporate BS as effectively as Tuli does in Not Safe for Work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the Ouranos Series by Nisha and when I found out she was releasing a contemporary romance I immediately added it to my TBR. I was fortunate to get my hands on an ARC. Thank you to Netgalley and Forever. I found this book to be an easy and quick read. It would be perfect poolside. I am a sucker for the only one bed trope and most of the book takes place in Maui. I loved the mention of the Ouranos series in the book!

I am here to say that Nisha can write ANYTHING!

I have been a fan of all her romantasy books, so when I found out she was writing a contemporary romance? I immediately knew I needed to read it!!

Let me say, Nisha is phenomenal in writing not just slow burns, but TENSION 🔥🔥🔥🔥 The tension and angst between the MC’s was palpable and had me binge reading this book!!

If you like an office romance with rivals to lovers then I highly recommend reading NSFW!!

emotional funny lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0

Thank you to Forever Pub, Netgalley, and Nisha J Tuli for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

What can I say about this book that could possibly do it justice? I absolutely loved it. I loved every moment of reading this book from the tough subject matters that came up, to the gruelingly slow burn, to the tension of the main characters and the stress and angst of the environment. Everything about this book was perfect. It was balanced and engaging, and when it ended, I wanted to re-read it all over again (but I fought the urge). You're going to want to pick this book up, and never put it down. It's a read in one-sitting, ignore your responsibilities, and stay up until morning, kind of read.

MIGRAINE REPRESENTATION I felt so seen! I enjoyed this book, I love a rivals to lovers and this delivered it in the way I love best... two people who are actually insanely attracted to one another! Nisha also did such a beautiful job of highlighting the difficulties woman often face in the workplace, especially woman of color!! I appreciated how she was able to weave elements like that into the story while it still also remained feeling lighthearted and fun to read! Am looking forward to rereading by the beach this summer!