What a slowwwwww burn!!!!! I’m obsessed!

This was my first Nisha J. Tuli book (thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC), and it absolutely will not be my last. I went in expecting an overly predictable office romance, but I was genuinely surprised by how layered and emotional this story turned out to be. The chemistry between Tris and Rafe builds so deliciously that by the time things finally spark, you’re fully invested and rooting for them.

Tris is a phenomenal FMC!! Confident, complex, and SO badass. I adored getting to know her. Rafe is your classic hot MMC with power, money, and forearms.... While he didn’t quite steal the show for me on his own, the dynamic between him and Tris really worked, and their relationship felt authentic and earned.

This book had me hooked with the tension and LOTS of yearning. Highly recommend for fans of slow burn, enemies-to-lovers office romances with a good amount of spice.

This book was a cute, fast paced slow-burn perfect for the approaching summer season! I loved our fmc tris who is no nonsense and very confident paired with her workplace rival rafe this was sizzling, fun, and hot! Such a fun read and introduction to this author!!

i think this book was just ok.

i really wanted to love it especially since there was asian representation, but i couldn’t read past the immaturity that was the (always) angry female mc.

like i just wanted to give tris some pot and tell her to smoke it and chill. like girl i know you’ve been through a lot but learn to take that stick out of your a** and live a little for yourself. it was SO hard to look past the immaturity.

i did like that she stuck up for herself in multiple ways, especially voicing her opinions on the injustice of women in male dominant fields and workplace discrimination (her email was her saving grace for me) - but that’s really all i enjoyed about the book.

and did she really have to attack rafe on his character left and right? when he clearly was always apologizing and always clearing things up with her. i don’t remember tris ever owning up to the harsh, untrue things she said to him (but we’re supposed to be okay with that, because what, she’s angry at the world? no. accountability sis)

and the entire plot was just messy. rafe’s cousin only shows up at the beginning of the book but then gets reamed in the end (was this just an afterthought? what was the true point?)

thank you to forever pub for gifting me this arc. it wasn’t for me, but maybe it will resonate with others!

I absolutely love Nisha Tuli. She just knows how to make you enjoy a book and be invested in the relationships. Great book!

4.25/5
This was a great summer romance! Tris and Rafe were a really fun couple to read about. They are such a fantastic example of workplace rivals to lovers. It was a treat to see their relationship develop throughout the book, from mild sabotage and tons of flirty bickering in the beginning, to being exactly what the other person needed by the end.

Nisha did a really great job representing the struggles so many women face in a predominantly male corporate setting, and she built the story really well around that. While the ending felt a bit rushed to me, overall this was a very enjoyable read with some fairly emotional moments.

ARC provided by Forever via NetGalley.

This was SO good. I really enjoyed that the main reason that Tris didn't want them to get together wasn't just because they worked together, but also stemmed from her own personal experiences, since it made it feel so much more realistic. I also really liked Tris and Rafe together - I think they really complimented each other, as well as working through things really well. This also did such a great job tackling the bigger issues of not only being a woman in a male dominated field, but a woman of color in a white male dominated field. I really liked the Tris didn't just accept the creepy and inappropriate things that were said to her and actually stood up for herself. My only slight complaint with this is it felt a little too insta-lusty, but not so much that it overtook the whole plot.

I really liked the narrator for the audiobook as well. Soneela Nankani did such a great job (as usual). Her voice really fit Tris in my opinion, and I really enjoyed listening to her narrate the book.

Thank you to Hachette Audio, Forever, and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Okay, so Not Safe for Work is basically everything I want in a slow-burn rivals-to-lovers rom-com—with a side of career angst, social commentary, and, yes, a whole lot of heat. Imagine you’re forced to share a honeymoon suite in Maui with your workplace nemesis (who also happens to be maddeningly hot), and you’re both secretly pining for each other? Yeah. It goes there.

Trishara Malik, aka Tris, is a whip-smart, ambitious engineer who’s been constantly undervalued in a male-dominated company. She’s been playing this exhausting game of corporate chess for years, and Rafe, her frustratingly perfect work rival, has always been her biggest competition. When they’re both selected for a high-stakes work retreat that could finally level the playing field, neither expects their mutual loathing to start looking a lot more like mutual lust. Or… feelings. Gasp.

The chemistry? Off the charts. The banter? 10/10. The tropes? Oh, we’ve got the good stuff: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, only one bed, and even some top-tier “Forearm Daddy” moments (don’t ask, just read).

But what really hit me was how Sharma doesn’t shy away from the real-world issues women, especially women of color, face at work. From microaggressions to sexual harassment to being repeatedly passed over, Tris’s experiences are painfully relatable. And through it all, she remains strong, funny, and utterly compelling. I adored her.

Rafe, meanwhile, is more than just broody eye candy. He listens. He grows. He screws up, sure, especially in the whole stringing-along-the-ex situation. But by the end, he earns every ounce of redemption. And honestly? The man says things like “drowning in strawberries and creamy vanilla frosting” and somehow makes it sexy. Help.

Bonus shoutout to the audiobook: Soneela Nankani absolutely nails it. It makes such a difference when the narrator’s identity aligns with the character’s, and Nankani brought Tris to life in the best way—funny, fierce, and full of heart. And her male voices? Not cringey. A miracle.

So if you’ve ever worked in a toxic office, had a love-hate thing with a coworker, or just want to escape into a steamy, smart, laugh-out-loud romance—pick this one up. It’s not just “not safe for work.” It’s not safe for your heart.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and Nisha J. Tuli for this ARC!

4.75 starssss!

OMGGGGGGGGG this is my favorite book by Nisha J. Tuli so far!!!!! It was amazing. I am so pleasantly surprised by this because this is her first romance book to be published. I read her fantasy books and liked them a lot but I am a romance girl through and through. This book gave me everything it needed to give me. Seriously. Do yourself a favor and read it.

The tension could be SLICED WITH A KNIFEEEEEE and it was so delicious! I was obsessed. The tension between the characters was perfectly done. So much that I’ll say it’s the BEST tension I’ve ever read in a romance book. I was literally giggling and screaming. I was annotating and highlighting the whole time.

The characters were amazing and I loved both of them. Tris’ obsession with getting her own hotel room made me laugh because girllllll, I just wanted her to accept it wasn’t gonna happen. I liked seeing her grow as a person and be stronger in what she believed in. I was so proud of her by the end of the book. What a baddie.

I was also so freaking proud of Rafe because he was such a softie and so talented and his family just would not let him be who he wanted to be. I was so mad for him. Seeing both of these characters grab life by the balls and get what they wanted was one of my favorite parts. This was delightful!!!!!! Thank you, Nisha 🩷

Thank you so much to @nishajtwrites, @readforeverpub, and @hachetteaudio for the ARC and ALC of NSFW!

This delicious slow agonizing burn absolutely ATE and left no crumbs! It was so worth it. NISHA, this was sooooo damn good. NSFW has all my favorite tropes/microtropes. I gobbled up this book like Trishara and her macaroons!

Soneela Nankani is an amazing narrator. She absolutely brought Trishara to life.

The chemistry between Tris and Rafe was 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻. There is so much banter, tension, and angst. This book was such a fun ride while also bringing notice to women in stem and exposing company patriarchy. Tris is such a phenomenal character. Me every time she shot back at the sexist comments/remarks "THATS MY GIRL!!" I devoured this book within a few hours.

I see what you did there, Nisha... "revenge blöwjöb to the hot fae prince who kidnapped her." and I am here for it. 😏 Shoutout to AOO!!

Overall, this was such a fun, cute, steamy, tropical workplace romcom with some important topics!

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC

I've read Nisha Tuli's fantasy books and was excited to get a chance to read her contemporary romance. This was an angst-filled enemies-to-lovers wild ride! I truly loved the setting and how Tris always stood up for herself in the workplace, valuing her self-worth. She truly is an inspiring FMC. Rafe is amazing, and I love how his real interests become revealed as the story unfolds. There was some immaturity within the characters and how they acted toward one another, but sometimes this happens in workplace situations where we really don't act ourselves when faced with rivalries, especially when there is a deeper attraction. Overall, a fun read!

An enemies to lovers, work based romance. Tris and Rafe work together but she has had to fight for everything and he is the bosses won and life seems easy for him. Will a company retreat bring them together or drive them further apart? A great read.

3.5 stars. Not Safe for Work is not an entirely light book. It deals with sexual harassment as well as a workplace environment that isn’t great for the Indian American protagonist in the book. Trishara has been an engineer at the company for 5 years and hasn’t advanced. Meanwhile the owner’s son Rafe got a promotion she felt she deserved. The two have never gotten along, and now they’re on a company retreat in Hawaii. Making matters worse they were booked to the same suite with no other rooms available.

The strength of this book was the slow burn friendship. The two got to know each other well before they got together. But there was a lot going on with Trishara and this company. Individually these incidents were plausible, but put together, let’s just say it seemed more like a scene from the TV show Mad Men. However, the happy ending for the company’s policies at the end was sadly out of date, given today’s political climate. In defense of the author, she probably wrote this book a year ago. But that definitely put me out of the story. Overall this was a pleasing rom com, if you don’t mind reading about issues women face in the workplace.

Thanks to the publisher for the gifted copy.

Not Safe for Work is exactly what the doctor prescribed. Two colleagues who have been competing with each other get sent on a company vacation and forced to stay in the same hotel room that only has one bed?? Say less. I loved that even the the two were put in a position where they could have been instantly bumping and grinding they didn't. This was a true slow burn and the relationship progression felt natural. The MMC Rafe had me kicking my feet giggling the way he was so protective of Trish. I loved that this book tackled microaggressions in the work place and the main charaterTrish being overlooked because she was a woman and a person of color. I love when a romance book is more than a romance. Nish J Tuli was already one of my favorites after the Artefacts of Ouranos series being cemented as my top 5 fantasy series. I am glad I picked this one up and now know whatever genre/story she chooses to tackle will not disappoint.

This was definitely a cute read! I loved the women in stem vibes. It reminded me very much of an Ali Hazelwood rom-com in such a good way. Considering this was Nisha’s first real foray into contemporary romance, I thought it was really good! Definitely well written and it scratched that witty rom-com itch I needed.

This book is the epitome of fun. The banter was top tier and there was tension for days. This book was definitely on the higher side of the “com” in a rom-com but I was not mad about it at all. And I really loved the BIPOC representation along with the women in stem representation. I know I saw this a lot, but this is a great summer beach read.

For fans of:
🔎BIPOC MFC
🔎Banter
🔎Rivals to lovers
🔎Tension
🔎Workplace romance
🔎Only one bed
🔎STEM (specifically FMC)

I also had the pleasure of having the audio book and I loved it! I’ve really started to realize that if it’s Hachette Audio, I love it!

A very special thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and Forever Publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a fan of Nisha J. Tuli's romantasy series, so I was excited to see a contemporary romance coming out and it did not disappoint! The dynamic between the two main characters was done so well and the push and pull in their relationship was fun to read. This workplace enemies to lovers introduced a lot of deeper topics, as well, including the effects of racism and lack of workplace diversity. I hope Tuli writes another contemporary romance because she's become one of my new favorites to watch!

Really loved the descriptive writing in this book! I could imagine everything so easily and it made the book feel so immersive. Tris is a baddie who knows how to stand up for herself, and is so strong and brave. I admire her so much and how she does what’s right, not easy. Rafe is a softie hiding in an intimidating body and I would have loveddd getting his pov. Their banter was so fun & had me giggling and kicking my feet. Their tension at the resort was so good. I will say it felt a tad rushed at the end but overall I really enjoyed this book. Will definitely be reading more of Nisha’s books!

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

I binged this sexy workplace rom-com in 24 hours and can confirm it is the perfect beach read! Add it to your summer TBRs immediately!
Tris is a smart and sassy FMC. She’s been chronically overlooked by management and you can’t help but root for her to take down the patriarchy in her own way. In the author’s note at the beginning of the book Tuli writes about how while this book is fiction the misogynistic and racist things that occur in the book also happened to her.

The chemistry between Tris and Rafe is so so spicy. This one is a slow burn and the tension is immaculate. There’s a forced proximity/one bed situation and I absolutely ate it up!

Check this one out for:
- workplace romance
- enemies to lovers
- one bed
- women in stem
- slow burn
- touch her and d!e

Thank you @readforeverpub for the #gifted eARC of NOT SAFE FOR WORK!

Not Safe for Work
By Nisha J. Tuli
Pub Date: May 20th, 2025

Thank you so much Forever Pub for the digital ARC!

“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 adored this story!! Trishara is a force to be reckoned with. Super smart and driven. She works hard and wants to make a difference in the world. She cares about the environment and has amazing ideas. But it's super challenging when so many barriers to achieving greatness. Passed over for promotions, moved onto different teams, slowly chipped away her drive and her passion. Along comes an opportunity to show the top brass at WMC Purcell what she's made of: an all expense paid trip to Hawaii to compete for a spot in the executive training program.

Nothing is standing in her way, except the one person that gets under her skin and that she has tried to stay away from since starting at WMC: Rafe.

Rafe is everything Trishara isn’t sure she wants—charming, infuriatingly competent, and always one step ahead. Their rivalry crackles with tension, and the tropical setting only turns up the heat. As the competition intensifies, so does their chemistry, forcing Trishara to confront not just her ambitions, but her heart as well.

What I loved most about this book was how real Trishara felt. Her struggles with workplace politics, her passion for making a difference, and her vulnerability all rang true. The author does a fantastic job weaving together themes of ambition, romance, and self-discovery. The Hawaiian backdrop adds a lush, vibrant energy to the story, making it impossible to put down.

If you love stories about strong women finding their voice, overcoming obstacles, and maybe falling in love along the way, this book is for you. Trishara’s journey is inspiring, funny, and heartfelt—I couldn’t recommend it more!

I really appreciated Tris and headstrong attack of the gender inequalities in STEM as presented throughout the book. She’s not only strong, outspoken, and intelligent, she’s done putting up with the tolerated misogyny in her company. Her character is well developed and sassy. Rafe felt almost like a supporting role in comparison at times, rather than the MMC. Prodigal son of the CEO, he’s trying to buck the system without destroying things for his mom, but we’re well into the book before we get much beyond his surface. The tension between the two is spicy from the start and makes for some very fun moments. Lived the new approach for just one bed! Overall a good read, but I’d have loved more development for Rafe earlier in the book.

I. Am. Obsessed.

I DEVOURED this book. The slow burn tension between Tris and Rafe was immaculate🤌🏻 And the workplace environment for women of color in STEM was written incredibly well. I was ready to march into Tris’s boss’s office and give him a piece of my mind.

I can’t believe this was Nisha’s debut contemporary! It felt like she’s been writing in this genre for years! I’ve been reading her fantasy books since she first started publishing and they’re all amazing but I always get a little nervous when an author switches genres. She did an incredible job though and now I’m dying to get my hands on more of her contemporary books❤️