THE. COVER. 🥵

I loved the tropes in this book: enemies to lovers, workplace romance, women in STEM, bickering married couple banter—YES.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was incredibly relatable to see Trishara navigate a man’s world. I feel like I’m in a similar boat where she doesn’t want to disappoint her family but she’s also doing her absolute best. She was such a girlboss character and her wit made me so happy.

I won’t lie, the book sort of went downhill when Trishara learned that Rafe was single. Then the pacing felt completely off and I was losing interest. And the thing is that they had a good relationship and dynamic towards the end that made me want to root for them more.

But that ending? When she returned home? GET THEM QUEEN 💅🏼

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC!

I loved the audiobook for this book! I read the eARC a few months ago but loved the story so much! Listening to it was even more enjoyable. I loved the pacing of the narrators, as well as the voices. It really brought the book to life for me. So enjoyable!

This was my first book by this author and it was enjoyable. The story line is enemies to lovers. The narrator was great and pleasant to listen to.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

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.

The audiobook is also a great option for this book. The narrators performed these parts so well and brought the characters to life off the page.

ARC and ALC provided by Forever Publishing and Hachette Audio via NetGalley.

Not Safe for Work is a smart, sizzling, and heartwarming workplace romance that hits all the right notes. Nisha J. Tul delivers an enemies-to-lovers story packed with sharp banter, slow-burning tension, and a tropical setting that turns up the heat in more ways than one.

The novel follows two professional rivals who are forced into close quarters during a high-stakes company retreat on a lush, sun-soaked island. What begins as mutual irritation slowly transforms into something far more complicated—and unexpectedly tender. Tul masterfully peels back the layers of both characters, showing how personal histories and misunderstandings can fuel workplace friction, and how vulnerability can break it down.

The chemistry between the leads is electric, but it’s the emotional depth and character growth that truly elevate the story. Tul blends humor, introspection, and steamy romance into a narrative that feels authentic and satisfying. The tropical backdrop is not just picturesque; it serves as the perfect metaphor for the characters' journey from emotional isolation to openness and connection.

Fans of rivals-to-lovers dynamics, witty dialogue, and feel-good yet meaningful love stories will find Not Safe for Work utterly unputdownable. Nisha J. Tul has crafted a gem—equal parts fun and heartfelt—that proves sometimes, the line between love and hate is drawn in the sand.

Trishara has experienced everything as a woman of color in corporate spaces. She’s seen others be promoted when it should have been her and watched nepotism take over. She’s given the opportunity to go on a work retreat to beautiful Maui only to find out her work rival Rafe (he’s also the son of the boss yay!) will be attending as well. Only he’s not just attending, he’s also in her room because there’s been a booking error. They’re still in a place to compete when an executive training program is the prize.

I really enjoyed the parts where Trishara stood up for herself. I was just hoping for so much more! I anticipated this being one of my favorite romances of the year and while I found the characters great, I also found myself bored at times and just wishing for more heat and passion. They were into each other from the start and it felt like it just lacked chemistry.

The narrator did an amazing job with these characters and this story!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Nisha J Tuli, and Hachette Audio for providing this free ARC. This is my honest review. This published on May 20th!

Read this is you love:
🌺 10/10 banter
🌴 workplace rivals
🌺 women in STEM
🌴 forced proximity

Nisha does it again with another fantastic read! I’m a huge fan of the Artefacts of Ouranos series so I knew I needed to read NSFW immediately!

Tris and Rafe are two rival engineers who work for the same company, WMC.
For years Tris has worked her ass off to earn a promotion at WMC only to lose it to Rafe, the boss’s son.
They’ve both been selected to attend the company retreat in Hawaii. Tris knows this is her time to shine and earn the coveted spot in an executive training program there’s just one thing standing in her way…RAFE freaking GALLAGHER!

I loved reading the tension and banter between Tris and Rafe! The honeymoon suite, the one bed, the care taking….i’m swooning! Do yourself a favor and read Not Safe for Work right now!

4.5 stars - I devoured this book! Enemies to lovers, workplace romance (at a retreat in Hawaii - my favorite setting), one bed! There are also the infuriating moments with some of the men in the book and how they treat women in the workplace. Sadly this is all to real however I love the way Tris trusts her gut throughout the book. It's a bit of a slow burn but so worth it when the spice hits! Thanks Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the copy. Available now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette audio for this audiobook ARC!

This is a nice palette cleanser read. I don’t think it’s anything I will remember in great detail, but it had fun banter and enough tension to keep me entertained while I was reading it. That’s really all I ask when I pick up a book like this, and I think it would be wonderful to read at the beach or on vacation.

I think for a romance book, the pacing of the romance was really good and on the slower side. I hate when the first kiss/smut happens too early, and it didn’t here. There were some awkward pacing strides while I tried to figure out what their relationship was at the beginning of the book, but I figured it out after a couple chapters.

This book is full of cringe, and there were a couple moments in the beginning where I was afraid I wouldn’t like it, but I really had fun overall. If you can’t handle pop culture references and occasionally questionable outfit descriptions, you might not like this, but I really don’t mind those. I really think a lot of people who like Ali Hazelwood will have fun with this (and I’m one of those people).

I did find the fmc in this kind of annoying, but her stubbornness also provided me with good romance pacing, so it’s mostly water under the bridge.

Audiobook wise, I liked the performance and found it very easy to listen to.

Just finished Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli and I’m obsessed. It’s a spicy, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance with major tension and heart. Trishara Malik is a badass engineer trying to make it in a male-dominated field, and suddenly she’s stuck sharing a honeymoon suite (yes, one bed) with her work rival—who just happens to be the boss’s son. The forced proximity in a Hawaiian paradise? Absolute chaos, in the best way.

What I loved most is that it’s not just steamy—it’s smart too. It dives into workplace sexism, cultural identity, and the pressure of being the only woman of color in the room, all while delivering witty banter and major swoon. Tris and Rafe’s chemistry is off the charts, and the emotional depth made it more than your average rom-com. If you love Ali Hazelwood or Elena Armas, this one’s for you.

Thank you to Netgalley & Hachette Audio for the EALC.

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!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC of this book!

The narrator Soneela Nankani did a fantastic job considering it's just single POV and she carried the entire book.

This book is so cute. But it also doesn't shy away from workplace misogyny, racism, and nepotism.

Trishara (Tris) and Rafe are sent to Hawaii on a work retreat and end up in the same suite together. Inject forced proximity and one bed trope into my veinnnssss.

They start out as workplace rivals and over the course of this very horny slow burn, become more.

It's got a lot of really adorable moments and Rafe is a doll but I do think this book suffered a little from only have one POV. I had a hard time figuring out our MMC and why he made the decisions he did. I really needed to get in his head because I didn't feel as connected to him as I wanted to be.

Overall, a solid 3.5 stars for me, rounded up!

I was excited to receive this as an ALC! A friend on booksta raved about this, and I knew I had to read.

The audiobook narrator was fantastic! Loved the way she brought out the humor and tension.

Tropes: enemies to lovers, coworkers, forced proximity, one bed.

Having the author's note at the intro was genius. My favorite part about the note was when she said this was loosely based on her personal experiences. If you wonder if people really said and did this--they did!! We see so many crazy examples of sexism and inappropriate male behavior in the workplace.

The tension was TENSIONING. Such a slow burn. When I say this book is SO GOOD.

This review will be posted on my booksta, toomanyfivestarreads.

Thanks to Hachette Audio, Grand Central publishing & the Author's team for the opportunity to listen to this ALC.

I liked this book, but I felt something was missing or off for me. I think the dialogue all felt a bit unnatural and over the top - even for enemies to lovers. There was also a bit too much whiplash between the enemies to lovers. While I do like a bit of tension/banter/sass between love interests this dynamic felt a bit juvenile for grown adults in the workplace. It felt like elementary school "boys being mean because they actually like the girl and cant process their feelings", the lack of communication/ continuous inability to communicate effectively for grown professionals lost me a bit.
The premise was good, but the execution was lacking a bit.

I find it pretty unrealistic that a company sent this many young professionals on a 3+ week retreat in Hawaii.
That being said - aside from this conference/retreat scenario - I did appreciate that the careers of the main characters otherwise felt realistic and tangible - which I think can be attributed to the author drawing on her personal experience working as an engineer in what sounds like may have been a large multi-national EPC firm similar to Tris and Rafe.

I feel like Rafe could have used some more depth to his character and personality. It was a little too slow-burn, retreating to old patterns, shrouded in mystery for too long. To the point where I feel like commenting on this next part could unfortunately be construed as a spoiler...:

I did enjoy the complete 180 on the career facet to his personality but felt weird that his ex girlfriend and family were literally embarrassed and told him to keep it a secret that he was a chef influencer. It's one thing for the character to face conflict around family (boomers especially) questioning whether influencing or more unconventional career paths are stable and reliable forms of income... but it seems a bit over the top to be embarrassed and tell him to hide it considering he was still very much working at his 9-5 traditional office job.

The multiple instances office politics / offences around racism and misogyny while concentrated in the story, unfortunately ring fairly true - especially for a male dominated field like engineering.

I liked the narrator, and it was an easy listen, but it was not a favourite in this genre.

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.

Please listen to me when I say this: I want to marry every single page of Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli. 
This book is an absolute MASTERPIECE. 
 
So, funny story, I went to the bookshops for the mental healths, you knows and I saw this gorgeous, gorgeous cover - clearly it HAD to come home with me. 
Funnily enough, when I looked at my netgalley tbr, there it was as an audiobook! So obviously I did what I had to: I listened to it while simultaniously reading it.
In 1x speed.
Because I couldn’t miss a single word.
 
I freaking love Trishara (also, when Rafe says her full name? GOOSEBUMPS. Also, also, great job by the narrator @soneela saying Trishara as Rafe. Insert the Jürgen Klopp Meme with the erotic translator at the press conference here. 10/10) (the narration in general is just gorgeous). She is headstrong, knows what she wants - and when to quit. She is such a loveable narrator and such a fierce woman - honestly, her confidence? Jesus, she’s just great. 
 
Rafe? Be still my beating heart. Because we hate him. He’s an 11/10. But he’s also kind and caring when he’s not busy being a corporate alpha-guy-type. And when we find out about his kind of hidden persona? Let me tell you. The way I swooned. Also, the forearms. Trish is absolutely right to go mad over them.
 
Now that we’ve established I ADORE the main characters (and also side characters. Trish meets the most amazing people in Hawaii!), let’s talk tropes. Because... only one bed. Check. Destination romance. Check. Workplace romance. Check. Rivals to Lovers. Check check check. And the pining. MUTUAL pining. Don’t even ask. 
 
This book was perfection. And the only thing in the world I’m mad at is that I didn’t know about this before because Not Safe for Work had the most fabulous character art as a pre-order incentive so if you are not yet convinced to read this (why tf not?), go check out the insanely beautiful art on @nishajtwrites s profile!
 
Happy reading and please please come SCREAM at me about this book when you’re reading it! This is a 6 Star HIGHLIGHT.

This book was fantastic. The story was paced well and easy to listen to. The narrator did a great job giving each character a voice that I could easily tell apart. The growth and courage the main characters through is refreshing. A great book about the author's experiences and reflection on her growth.

Great Banter. A great balance fun summer read & commentary on sexism & racism in corporate America. It was engaging & was hard to put down.

I am a million out of ten obsessed with this book! This was such a cute, fun, romcom that still had deep, real world topics for me to stay really commited to our main characters finding their voice and spark. I did wish there was ✨️more words✨️ said to Hannah because WHAT. I was rooting for Tris, I was rooting for Rafe, AND I was rooting for them as a couple!

I neeeeed a book about Molly and her happily ever after ASAP!!

Tropes::
⭐️ Enemies to lovers
⭐️ Forced proximity
⭐️ Slow burn
⭐️ Women in male dominated fields
⭐️ Tension
⭐️ Workplace romance
⭐️ Banter
⭐️ He falls first

Huge thank you to Hachette Audio via Netgalley for letting me listen to Not Safe For Work, I loved listening to Soneela Nankani bring this book to life!!

I thought this book was fun and steamy and a decent enemies to lovers story. My problem was that I felt that the characters’ interactions felt immature which got annoying after awhile. I also wasn’t a fan of Rafe and the fact that he stayed in touch with his ex. So that made it hard to root for our MC’s when I wasn’t in love with them to begin with. I’m definitely open to trying other books by this author and thought the audio narration was well done. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ALC