Workplace rivals and forced proximity in a tropical setting. Overall a super fun read with tension, build-up and spice!
I really appreciated the representation of gender/racial inequality in the workplace. Chapter 28 was so SATISFYING and made me love this FMC!!!

The general plot wasn’t anything spectacularly unique, but it was a good time! I felt some of the “ogling” of the MMC felt repetitive and overdone at times, but Rafe is hot so it’s fair.

Audio: I didn’t love the narrators voice at first, it felt very intense but I ended up really enjoying the audio of this story! The narrator inflected well and felt natural and engaging, especially when the story became more playful. Narrator also did different voices well and none were overdone.

I'm in my audiobook era and Not Safe For Work is going right up there in my list of faves. Usually, I only pick up audiobooks that are dual narration but I honestly didn't even notice this wasn't until about 80% in.

Nisha does such a great job of delivering all the steamy moments, almost painfully slow burn (I'm talking 50% in before they even realize that they can be in the same room without causing a scene LOL) while also shedding light on the issues surrounding women of all colors in corporate America- especially male dominated STEM fields. I do love a possessive man that always cares. And when Rafe apologizes for going caveman on Andy, SWOON. I think I would have enjoyed a little more of the story focused on them after coming back from the trip. The ending felt a tad rushed for my liking.

Thank you to Hachette Audio & NetGalley for gifting me a copy of this audiobook!

Thank you so very much to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for this ARC of Not Safe for Work.

This was such a fun read! The tension and build up was perfect and felt very believable. Spicy spicy spicy!

I loved how sweet and protective Rafe was even when he thought they were enemies. I also loved that Trishara was able to take her power back in the end.

Highly recommend! And will read more from this author in the future!

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a phenomenal job! I thoroughly enjoyed this listen.

#NotSafeforWork #NetGalley

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review!

Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli is a sharp, witty workplace romance that balances laugh-out-loud moments with poignant commentary on navigating corporate spaces as a woman of color. This was my first novel I’ve read from this author.

Tish is a powerhouse: fierce, confident, and unapologetically herself. This is different than most women characters I’ve read and it was refreshing.

After years of being overlooked in a white male-dominated field, she’s ready to throw in the towel. That is, until she’s suddenly selected for a three week executive training program in Hawaii. It sounds like a dream… until she realizes her nemesis, Rafe (who also happens to be the boss’s son), will be there too.

I loved watching the tension between Tish and Rafe unfold into something layered and unexpectedly tender. Their banter is sharp, their chemistry is undeniable, and the emotional depth (especially as Tish confronts microaggressions, roadblocks, and her own desires) is handled beautifully.

If you’re looking for a romance with a fresh voice, a strong heroine, and genuine laugh and swoon moments, I highly recommend this one. Bonus: the audiobook narration was on point. It was a great emotional delivery and a voice that was super easy to listen to!

Many thanks to Hachette Audio for the ALC!

Trishara is an engineer who has been slighted at her company a few too many times while mediocre men are promoted instead. When she and her rival, Rafe Gallagher, the boss’s son, are selected to attend a leadership retreat in Hawaii, she is shocked. She’s even more shocked when she finds out they will be sharing the honeymoon suite for the entire trip. Despite their competitive nature, both Rafe and Tris start learning more about each other and giving into temptation.

Not Safe for Work is Nisha J. Tuli’s first romance novel, and I loved it just as much as I have loved her fantasy books! Tris was such a strong FMC, and I loved the STEM representation. She’s funny, confident in herself and not afraid to stand up to anyone. I loved her personality so much! Rafe is so much sweeter than I expected him to be, and has the best forearms that I have ever read about. They have great chemistry and banter, and their romance was such an agonizingly slow burn. In addition to the obvious romance, this book took on topics like sexism and racism directly.

I highly recommend listening to the audio. The narrator, Soneela Nankani, did a fantastic job bringing Tris’ character to life with her expressions and speech delivery. I listened at 2x speed, and the pronunciations were still clear and easy to understand.

There’s just something about the chaos and charm of a corporate retreat that sets the perfect stage for unexpected romance—and this book leans all the way in. With classic tropes like grumpy-sunshine, enemies-to-lovers, and the ever-iconic “only one bed,” the story delivers a blend of humor, tension, and heart. What starts off as a lighthearted trip filled with workplace awkwardness turns into a meaningful exploration of miscommunication, vulnerability, and emotional growth. The banter is fun, the chemistry is undeniable, and watching these two navigate their rocky dynamic was such a treat.

But this book doesn’t stop at just romance—it also dives deeper, exploring themes of career purpose and the pressure of family expectations. Both main characters wrestle with the question of whether the work they're doing is truly what they want to dedicate their lives to, or if they’re simply chasing goals someone else set for them. It’s a feel-good story that balances self-discovery with swoony moments, leaving you with a smile and maybe even a little inspiration to reevaluate your own path.

Okay, so I will admit that I saw this cover and was immediately sold haha. I have read one other book from Nisha J. Tuli that I overall enjoyed too, so I was excited for this! But unfortunately, it ended up being just okay for me.

First what I did enjoy: the narrator! She was phenomenal! I don't know if I have listened to anything from her before, but for this being a single POV story, she did an amazing job with everyone's parts. Highly recommend.

I also did like most of our characters. I thought everyone was fleshed out pretty well and especially by the end, could really see and appreciate how Rafe and Trishara fit well together. They were really sweet. And Rafe! When we got past the slow burn, which I thought also was a good pace, he was super hot haha.

But aside from that, there were a few issues I had. First, I do really wish this was dual POV. I think we missed a lot of getting to know Rafe. I felt like their attraction and interactions were very surface level for a lot of the book and the rivalry wasn't super believable to me. Like how she could believe he wasn't into her is beyond me lol.

There was also a lot of focus on the workplace sexism and racism and for us having these heavy and important topics that I am sure do happen in real life, Trishara still seemed very immature to me?! Like for her being 30 years old, the childish nicknames, how she acted after being nominated for the trip, listening in to phone calls, things like that were not my favorite. Really a lot of them at this leadership workshop were immature and as someone who has been to things like this, I never saw behavior like this lol. I am personally a woman in STEM in a non-male dominated field, so I was excited to read about these things from her perspective, especially as a POC. But a lot of the things that happened to her didn't have the impact they should have because I just couldn't get past her immaturity lol.

So overall, this was a miss and was a disappointment for me. But I see so many others loving it so if you are interested, I say still give it a shot!! The narration alone is worth listening to!

Thank you so much to the author and Forever Pub for the advanced audio!

I absolutely adored this book! The tension and spice were at the perfect levels....my only complaint is I just wanted more! I would love to see some of Wraith's POV especially to see his relationship with his father and ex (bonus chapters please...cough cough). I really like Nisha J. Tuli, but this has to be my favorite book of hers. The production level was great and this is the first time I have listened to this narrator and I really enjoyed her voice.

The narrator’s style invokes visualization in the listener. Setting the scene, pulling you in to watch the story unfold. The way she voiced the individual characters giving the proper infliction of emotion and tonality was fantastic.
Chefs kiss of clarity and connection. Sign me up for more audio!

Hatchett Publishing via NetGalley, thank you for selecting me to listen and review this ALC. I’m looking forward to hearing from you in the future.

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I have to start by saying that I love reading about women in STEM! Trishara (Tris), the FMC, is an engineer, and this book dives deep into the difficulties and misogyny that often goes along with being a woman (particularly a WOC) in that profession. Tris also dealing with chronic pain (headaches/migraines) just felt so real.

I loved the dynamic between Rafe & Tris. The banter. The TENSION!! The yearning. Omg, these two... you can cut the tension with a knife! It's a slow-burn workplace, rivals to lovers romance with forced proximity & only one bed. And when that slow burn finally ignites? It blazes 🔥🔥 All set with a tropical Hawaiian backdrop for the story.

The narration was excellent! I've listened to other books narrated by Soneela Nankani and loved those audiobooks, and this one is no different! She did so well in this one that you can feel all the emotions and subtle mood shifts throughout the story. Each character has their own distinct voice, and she does a great job with both female & male characters.

No matter how you consume your books, I highly recommend Not Safe for Work!

🗓 Pub date: May 20, 20205

Thank you so much Hachette Audio via NetGalley for the ALC!

Not Safe for Work was super cute enemy to lovers romance. The story was very well written and the overall story was great with a perfect sweet ending.

4 ⭐ 3 🌶️ 5 🎧

This was so cute and so much fun. I loved the frenemies/loathe to lovers that Tris and Rafe had going on and Tris' friends absolutely slayed me the entire time with their bets and side eyes regarding Rafe. There was a lot of depth here as well with workplace isms and how Tris dealt with being a woman of color at a white collar firm.

Rafe was such a simp for her and I hated (in a good way) how long it took for her to get past her past and truly give him a shot. That being said I did want to give him a talking to regarding Hannah, that nonsense went on for way too long. His grovel was positively perfect though.

Tris' see ya next Tuesday needs a paragraph of it's own. Epic. Absolutely epic.

And the audio was fantastic. Soneela Nankani did a wonderful job with Tris and the rest of this cast and this was a fantastic listen. Thank you so much Hachette Audio for the advanced copy!

I recently read one of Nisha J. Tuli's Romantacy series and loved it and wanted to give a contemporary romance by her a try and I loved it!
I thought Tris and Rafe's workplace rivalry was so well done because it allowed them to have such great banter with each other, which is always one of my favorite parts of a romance.
I really enjoyed the way that both Tris and Rafe grew individually and as a couple throughout the book and how by the end, Tris had really stepped up to defend herself against her toxic employer; I was definitely frustrated for her and didn't want her to continue tolerating how poorly she was being treated. Likewise, Rafe finally deciding to follow his dreams and not keep working for his fathers company really showed a lot of growth.
Lastly, I really liked that this book didn't shy away from talking about topics that I feel tend to get swept under the rug in a contemporary romance. Tris experienced a lot of sexism, misogyny and even racist microaggressions from multiple characters in this book and by the end she finally has had enough and speaks out against it. I think it's important to bring attention to the fact that these things do/still happen in corporate settings and people need to be more willing to speak up when they see it.
I also really enjoyed the Narrator for this book.. I have only heard her on a few books recently, and i really love her performance. Her pace and intonation are really good and she does a great job keeping my engagement.

This was a super fun read. I’m not typically a contemporary romance reader but I enjoy RomComs and this one delivered. It was really funny (albeit sometimes a bit cringe) and I can tell why the author says it’s her favourite. As a female engineer myself, I found the themes discussed were consistent with what we have to tolerate but I do think they were a bit more blatant than how they occur in reality (but I understand why that was necessary). Soneela Nankani did an amazing job narrating it. Thanks Hachette Audio for the ALC and opportunity to review early.

I had a really hard time deciding on a rating for this book. It was undoubtedly extremely well written and I loved the inclusion of the authors note explaining that the blatant sexism and racist micro aggressions were unfortunately her own experiences from her time as a woman in the STEM world. Also, the audio narration was EXCELLENT! However, I think where this book couldn’t be rated higher for me was just that I honestly hated these characters. The FMC was written to be this self assured, extremely confident woman which I LOVED but then the most common thread of their conflict stemmed from her feeling insecure about him talking to his ex so frequently which she just flat out refused to talk to him about. If she’s as confident as we’re led to believe I don’t understand why this wasn’t just communicated about in a healthier way? Also, Rafe, the MMC was okay for most of the story, but again, he continued talking to his ex constantly and it was played off as him being worried about her feelings. But like, why is he so concerned about his openly racist, vapid ex’s feelings that he just disregards how Tris feels the entire story??? I just kept getting progressively angrier as the story went on so by the time I reached the end I just wanted it to be over so I didn’t have to hear about either of these people ever again haha!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Loveddddd. I got to read NSWF a few months ago in an ARC and loved it so much I wanted to jump on the audiobook asap. A great read!!

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Going into this book I was very excited, it checked all the boxes for me and the narrator is one of my favorites and the cover was beautiful. I have read Nisha’s previous series and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The story follows Trishara and Rafe while they are on a work retreat in Maui, they are enemies in the workplace and booked in the same suite with one bed, forced proximity and full of confusing feelings for Tris, while Rafe seems to know exactly what he wants but has just been doing what his family expects of him.

I was never truly conceived of their dislike for each other let alone hate. I think if this was marked and workplace rivals instead of enamines to lovers, it would’ve made more sense. It almost felt like Trishara was just fighting herself the whole time and Rafe didn’t seem to hate nor dislike her at all.

The romance between the main characters also seemed very rushed? I kinda just don’t believe it. I’m not sure, maybe I would’ve enjoyed this more if it was dual pov and we got to see more from Rafe. I wish I understood the relationship between Rafe and his father.

I hope this author will continue to write, I will pick up her next book.

Didn’t realise when I submitted for the eARC that it was for the audiobook! That was my bad. I don’t generally listen to audiobooks so it took me longer to listen/read this than it would had I just been reading the book as a regular copy.

Overall, a spicy rom com. Narration was clear and was good to listen to whilst pottering around doing things. I think I would have had a better connection with the characters had I read the book rather than listened, but I enjoyed this and look forward to more from the author.

4.5⭐️
Une romance de bureau comme je les aime !

Nous avons là Trishara et Rafe, deux (supposés) rivaux au sein d'une grande boîte, qui s'envolent pour Hawaï lors d'un (long) séjour professionnel de trois semaines (cool cool le séminaire hein !) avec des tas d'autres collègues, ainsi que les membres du conseil d'administration. C'est un séjour destiné à dénicher parmi les participants les perles rares qui décrocheront un nouveau poste/une promotion, ce qui donne donc lieu à de nombreuses scènes centrées sur le travail, avec des séquences de team building, des sortes d'épreuves afin de déterminer qui sera le meilleur, et forcément, entre nos protagonistes qui sont mis en concurrence dès le début (et qui sont déjà en froid au quotidien) ça va faire des étincelles !
Et histoire de pimenter cette proximité déjà bien forcée, pourquoi ne pas en rajouter une couche côté hébergement avec un petit only-one-bed ?

C'est vraiment un roman qui tient toutes ses promesses et qui offre même encore plus que ce à quoi on peut s'attendre. On est dans un esprit de RomCom estivale fun, légère et sexy, avec une très belle romance, mais l'autrice ne néglige pas pour autant d'autres aspects, plus graves et très importants, que ce soit les attentes d'un père envers la carrière de son fils, les sacrifices faits au quotidien pour son travail, mais aussi et surtout la place des femmes au sein des postes à responsabilité. Racisme (Trishara est d'origine indienne), sexisme et misogynie font malheureusement encore figure de standard dans un monde très blanc et très masculin. Et au milieu de tout ça, l'héroïne garde la tête haute et se bat pour que ses compétences soient reconnues.

La romance ? Pfff j'ai adoré ! Vous le savez sans doute, je tombe systématiquement sous le charme des héros froids (en apparence) avec l'héroïne, mais qui dans le secret bouillonnent de sentiments pour elle. Et là avec Rafe, bingooo ! C'était tellement bon de voir cette tension monter au fil des pages, accentuée évidemment par cette proximité forcée, et puis de les voir enfin craquer ! Et bien sûr, ça va au-delà d'une simple tension sexuelle à soulager, et c'était un délice de voir leur relation évoluer.

C'est une lecture que j'ai faite en audio, et l'interprétation parfaite de la narratrice Soneela Nankani a vraiment mis en valeur la personnalité de Trishara, en incarnant à merveille ses valeurs, ses émotions et ses sentiments.

Sortie le 20 mai en VO, j’ai d’ores et déjà précommandé le paperback car je veux ce livre dans ma bibliothèque ! ♥

I'm not sure I'm the target audience for this book. That being said, I did really enjoy this book. I can't relate to the corporate struggles or being a POC. The story itself was a fun read. I love the fmc's confidence growth through the storyline and of course I'm a huge lover of the one bed trope.