Thank you to the publisher and author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Not Safe for Work is the flagship book for any woman that works in a male dominated field. I cannot stress enough the amount of frustration I felt for Trish! Being looked down on or relegated to the note keeper simply based on the fact that "we're better at it" or whatever the heck that means. Granted it gets worse for Trish than it should, so check the TW's. Watching Trish grow more confident and giving less fucks, was so completely satisfying. The way that this books deals with not only women being looked down on but also nepo babies, was really satisfying!

Now on to the best part right? Trish and Rafe. If you're a fan of rivals to lovers, forced proximity, and ONE BED!!! Then this was a good one!

Smart, Steamy, and Satisfying—But the Cultural Voice Felt Muted

Book Details:
• Title: Not Safe for Work
• Author: Nisha J. Tuli
• Genre: Contemporary Romance
• Format: Audiobook (Narrated by Soneela Nankani)
• Publisher: Hachette Audio
• Source: ARC via NetGalley
• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐½ (3.5/5)

Short Summary:
Not Safe for Work is a spicy, emotionally grounded workplace romance that follows an ambitious South Asian woman navigating office politics, attraction, and self-discovery. The plot has momentum, the chemistry is palpable, and the audiobook is a standout — but the protagonist’s cultural identity lacks the nuance I hoped for.

What I Loved:
• Soneela Nankani’s narration is a revelation. She captures the emotional tone, comedic beats, and sensuality with precision. Her performance adds dimension and made the audiobook truly enjoyable.
• The romance arcs were fun and the tension well-paced.
• I appreciated the infusion of ambition and vulnerability in the storyline—it’s not just about love, but also about voice and agency.

What Could Be Improved:
• While the protagonist is written as Indian, her character felt culturally indistinct. She could easily be swapped with any other generic rom-com lead, which left me craving more specificity and depth.
• Her personality didn’t resonate deeply for me, and at times felt like a familiar template.

Final Thoughts:
An enjoyable, steamy romance elevated by outstanding narration. If you’re in it for witty banter and boardroom sparks, you’ll likely have a great time. I just wish the cultural grounding matched the emotional intensity. Looking forward to what Nisha J. Tuli writes next.

:Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for providing an advance audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.

**𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘** 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝑺𝒂𝒇𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒃𝒚 𝑵𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒂 𝑱. 𝑻𝒖𝒍𝒊

Release Date: May 20, 2025

4.5⭐️4🌶

Trishara Malik has been an engineer at WMC for the last 5 years, and has been passed over for a promotion that should have been hers 3 times.

Rafe Gallagher, the boss’s son, has been her rival almost from day one at WMC. They seem to constantly disagree on project details, and he's taken to stealing her stapler regularly while she unplugs his computer monitors.

Trishara has had just about enough of WMC when she's offered a three week Corporate retreat in Hawaii. The only catch is that she has to spend those three weeks with her least favorite coworker Rafe, who just so happens to look like a younger Henry Cavill. She had planned to spend as much time on her own as possible while at the retreat, but things to NOT go as planned where Rafe is concerned.

I love the banter between these too. Plus, I'm also a woman in engineering, so a lot of these scenes make complete sense to me. The descriptions of Hawaii are also a fun and blissful read.

Themes/Tropes:
🍁Enemies to lovers
🍁Workplace Romance
🍁Forced Proximity
🍁Slow Burn
🍁Vacation in Paradise

TW:
✨Sexist coworkers
✨Misogyny
✨Inappropriate workplace comments
✨Explicit Sex Scenes

I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. The tension in the book was DELICIOUS. I want whatever was put into this book injected into my veins. It was THAT good. Trishara and Rafe are the perfect match. They meet each other intellectually, emotionally, and definitely sexually. This is a book/couple I will be thinking about for a long time. I just want more!!

ALSO, the narration?!?!?!? SPECTACULAR! Infinity stars!!!! I loved everything about this.

3.5 rounded down - thanks for the ARC NetGalley!

Overall I really appreciate what this story is trying to do. Disparities in the workplace amongst gender and race HAVE to be corrected. They are very real and need to be called out.

I did enjoy it enough to finish it in two days but I think a big part of that was the incredible narration by Soneela Nankani.

Here are my issues:
Overall where this fell flat for me was the writing. “My breath turned into mud” when Tris was anxious. Rafe’s eyes are described 4626 different times. Trishara is so fit and beautiful and smart. *yawn* It just wasn’t particularly funny either? I don’t think I laughed once.

There was a specific line that Rafe said that really annoyed me as well. Tris frequently gets migraines and takes preventatives/pain killers for it. Rafe sees this and says “Taking all of that medication can’t be healthy.” What a privileged statement to make. While yes, that’s likely the point, he never gets corrected on why that’s such a messed up thing to point out. They just move on.

Overall just kind of meh.

Thank you Hachette for an ALC of this title! I was approved post release of this book, so I have listened to it from my local library, but I am still very grateful for the copy!

Not Safe For Work was everything I wanted it to be and more. The chemistry between Rafe and Tris was jumping off the page from the very beginning and the writing made visualizing this book as a rom-com movie so so easy. The tropes were so well done- my favorites being Loathe/rivals to lovers, the forbidden romance, and forced proximity. The audibook was sensational to listen to. This is an amazing summer time beach read for both the story and the setting (obviously). I seriously gobbled this book up.

Nisha Tuli turns everything she touches into gold. This was so adorable and funny, the perfect workplace drama.

Tris is strong, brave, and smart, but also has that "GET IT TOGETHER, GIRL" energy that makes her feel extremely realistic. Less miscommunication and more misunderstanding, the tension between Tris and Rafe felt perfectly stretched to breaking without feeling too drawn out.

The audiobook was a delight to listen to! Soneela Nankani has such a distinctive voice and its always lovely when she narrates something incredible. Her delivery is emotional and funny and she always sets the tone for the book so well. I listen quite fast, and the audibook was produced really well so the pacing of the audio felt very natural, even at 1.75x speed!

No notes. Loved this love story, and can' wait to see if there will be more books to go with it!

What do you do when you are picked for a training conference in Hawaii only because of your race and sex? Well you go of course, with your arch enemy sharing the same room as you…

I really enjoyed this book! It touched on so many things that women go through everyday working in industries that are mostly men run. Sexism, racism, questioning a woman’s intelligence based on her looks, anxiety, women feeling as if they need to act a certain way or turn the other way when inappropriate comments are made. So much of this was sad but relatable.

Now for the spice! Oh gooooodddddness the spice!!! We have enemies to lovers, slow burn, secret feelings, ex girlfriend’s getting involved, families not approving, I mean it’s all there and makes the build up to the spice that much better ;)

I loved so many parts of this story, Rafe’s secret passions, Trishara’s growth, Rafe’s growing protectiveness over her. The way she both stands up for herself (I was cheering at the end) and the way he stands up for her.

I also enjoyed the narrator of this story, she did everything great!!

Out now! Get your hands on it!!

I have been in a reading slump lately, and 'Not Safe for Work' brought me out of my slump! Trishara and Rafe are co-workers, but she doesn't like him. His dad and uncle run the company that they work for, and she sees him as just another example of a privileged man. Tris is an engineer, and she has been passed over for promotions time and time again. When she unexpectedly is given the opportunity to attend a work retreat in Hawaii, she jumps at the chance. When she gets to the retreat, she discovers that she has to share a room with Rafe- and not just any room: it's the honeymoon suite!

As they spend time together, Tris starts to see that her thoughts about Rafe were totally wrong. He's actually a sweet, thoughtful guy, and he is down bad for Tris (and has been for years). The slow burn of their relationship led to so much banter and pining for both of them. When they finally kissed, it was amazing! The tension had built up, and it led to an explosive first kiss.

The narrator, Soneela Nankani, did an amazing job with bringing this story to life. I loved her voice as she expressed Tris frustrations with her workplace, and she also brought out Tris fiesty side to banter with Rafe.

Great concept, amazing writing, and beautiful narrating. Soneela Nankani takes Tuli's work to the next level. I felt everything deeply and I will definitely be listening to more of her work in the future.

I really enjoyed this book! The tension between Tris and Rafe was off the charts - I love a workplace enemies to lovers romance and the only one room/bed was just the cherry on top. I also loved the plotline - being in corporate finance, I definitely understood some of the gender dynamics that Tris was enduring in her job. The narrator did an amazing job changing their voice to not only portray all of the different emotions, but clearly portraying each character differently to make it easy to follow.

𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗦𝗔𝗙𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞 𝗯𝘆 𝗡𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗮 𝗝｡ 𝗧𝘂𝗹𝗶 was a fun, fast-paced rom-com with a tropical twist, perfect for fans of workplace drama and sizzling slow-burn romance. Trishara and Rafe’s dynamic is entertaining, and the banter between them kept things lively. I appreciated how the book touched on real challenges women face in male-dominated spaces, especially in STEM careers. However, I found the characters a bit immature for their age and roles, and some steamy scenes crossed into territory that felt unprofessional for a corporate setting. A little more emotional depth or honest communication would’ve strengthened the story. Despite this, the chemistry was undeniable, and the Maui backdrop made the rivalry-turned-romance more enjoyable. A good pick for readers who love sass, tension, and second chances in paradise.

🎙️ The audiobook, narrated by Soneela Nankani, was engaging and easy to follow.

4.5 stars

I received a copy of the audiobook in exchange for a review from NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this book, just the right amount of drama and romance. Both Rafe and Tris were great characters and their love story was believable. I loved the setting and the themes of going to get your dreams!

The audiobook quality was great. The narrator was clear and showed lots of emotion in her voice which was great when listening at a faster speed. She was outraged when needed, happy, angry and conveyed this in her voice. I also like how the narrator adjusted her voice for each character, which really gave a clear view of who was who.

The best part about this book was the chemistry between the main characters, but I feel like the conflict dragged on a bit too long. I wish we had more time with the couple being together, rather than having to wait until the end to get the love confession/getting together.

The audiobook was good, the narrator very expressive and good at differentiating the different character voices.

This was probably gonna be a 3.75⭐️ for me, but the MMC (swoon) + the way the FMC handled herself at the end bumped that rating right up to a 4⭐️.

I do love a good will-they-won’t-they, and this definitely served. The slow burn and tension was 🤌 just the way I like it.

The overall theme paired with the author’s note in the beginning was very moving and the FMC’s struggles and ability to preserve was hope-inspiring.

The FMC had me wanting to be her at times, and caused me to have the biggest eye rolls in other moments. I do think that may have been part of her charm? And I do love an imperfect FMC…

Overall, a really pleasant read. My first by this author, and I’m interested in picking up her fantasy series— as I really enjoyed her writing style.

Audiobook narration was really well-done and pleasant to listen to. Great performance.

The Perfect Summer Romcom Escape

Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

First off, I would like to thank Hachette Audio and Forever Grand Central for the ALC of this book.

Not Safe For Work was so much fun! It was full of things I love in a contemporary romance. Rivals to lovers (one of my favorite tropes) done to perfection. Hilarious banter. Tension, yearning, and a slow burn. Delicious spice. A mix-up that leads to there being only one bed. It felt familiar in the best way, like a big, comforting bowl of mac and cheese.

Narrator Soneela Nankini did a great job of bringing Tris' voice to life, capturing all her emotions and adding to my enjoyment of the story. The audio production quality was good, and I could easily hear and understand Soneela's narration throughout the book.

Witty, engaging writing made NSFW a highly bingeable listen. The story flows effortlessly from one scene to the next, and not a single word feels unneccesary or out of place. Having a workplace romance take place on a Hawaiian retreat instead of in the office was an absolute stroke of genius on Tuli’s part.

I loved finding out who Rafe truly was along with Tris. (Turns out he’s a top-tier book boyfriend!) The two of them complemented each other so perfectly that they felt like soulmates in every sense of the word. If you’re looking for a romance that will make you swoon, giggle, and kick your feet, this is it.

I also appreciated that this had chronic headache sufferer rep and how it addressed the struggles women and people of color deal with in the workplace. NSFW succeeds brilliantly as Tuli’s “manifesto against the mediocrity of white men.” Tris’ journey to reclaim her power was so satisfying. The end made me want to stand up and cheer!

Prior to Not Safe for Work, I had only read one of Tuli’s fantasy novellas. Now all of her books have been added to my priority TBR, starting with Trial Of The Sun Queen!

**Book Review: *Not Safe for Work* by Nisha J. Tuli**
**Rating: 3.5/5 Stars**
**Narration: 4/5 Stars**

**A Tropes-Fueled Escape with Heart and Sass**
Thanks to Hachette Audio and Forever Publishing for the ALC! *Not Safe for Work* delivers a sun-soaked, workplace rom-com brimming with wit, social commentary, and a slow-burn romance that’ll leave you both frustrated and swooning.

**The Vibes**
Imagine: enemies-to-lovers tension, forced proximity in a Hawaiian paradise, STEM rep, and a fierce brown girl boss battling corporate patriarchy. Tris Malik, an environmental engineer, is ready to quit her toxic job until a leadership retreat pairs her with her nemesis Rafe, the boss’s unfairly promoted son. A booking error forces them to share a *honeymoon suite* (yes, **one bed**), and the sparks fly slowly. Very. Slowly.

**What Shines**
✨ **Tris Malik, Queen of Sass**: Tris is a triumph a bold, unapologetic WOC in STEM who refuses to shrink in a male-dominated world. Her rage at workplace sexism and microaggressions is visceral, and her journey to reclaim her fire is empowering. Cheers to every time she eviscerated a khaki-clad bro!

🔥 **Slow-Burn Chemistry**: The banter? Top-tier. Tris and Rafe’s enemies-to-lovers arc simmers with tension, blending sarcasm, angst, and flirtation. When they finally ignite? *Whew.* The spice is worth the wait (though patience is required).

🎧 **Narration Magic**: Soneela Nankani’s performance is a standout. She nails Tris’s frustration, Rafe’s brooding charm, and every awkward, lust-filled moment. It’s like binge-watching a rom-com!

🌺 **Social Commentary**: Tuli doesn’t shy from exposing corporate racism, sexism, and nepotism. Tris’s struggles mirroring the author’s real engineering experiences add raw authenticity. The rage is cathartic; you’ll want to scream, “YEAH, F**K YOU KHAKIS!”

**What Fizzles**
⚠️ **Rafe’s Missing Depth**: Hot forearms? Check. Protective streak? Check. But beyond family drama and a filthy mouth, Rafe feels underdeveloped. More *him*, less “mysterious hot guy” tropes, please.

🐢 **Pacing Hiccups**: The middle drags, testing commitment to the slow burn. The conflict’s resolution also feels rushed Tris deserved a *mic-drop moment*, not a quick fix.

😬 **Repetitive Quirks**: If I never read “Rafe’s smile” again… (We get it—he’s dreamy! Let it rest.)

**Tropes Checklist**
🌺 Enemies-to-Lovers
🌺 Forced Proximity + Only One Bed
🌺 Workplace Romance
🌺 STEM Rep & Chronic Pain Rep
🌺 Sun-Soaked Chaos

**Content Warnings**: Sexism, racism, nonconsensual touching, blackmail, leaked intimate photos.

**Final Thoughts**
*Not Safe for Work* is a fun, fiery escape with substance. While imperfect, Tris’s journey and the Hawaiian backdrop make it a compelling read. Perfect for fans of smart heroines, slow burns, and rom-coms that punch up at the patriarchy.

**Recommend?** Yes—with a piña colada in hand and patience for the burn.
**PSA**: If you’ve ever survived corporate nonsense, Tris feels like your spirit animal. Justice for women in STEM!

*“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.”*

(Now, where’s my enemies-to-lovers retreat invite? 👀)

After reading some of Tuli’s previous books, requesting Not Safe For Work was a no brainer. Unfortunately, I chose to DNF this book due to the pettiness and immaturity of the female main character. I struggled with her inability to move on. She is also an incredibly intelligent human who is incapable of seeing what’s been in front of her for years, but also within close proximity - and for me, the two together weren’t believable for the character.

I will say, I loved the narrator and enjoyed her ability to bring this story to life. I would absolutely listen to more from Soneela Nankani again.

DNF @ 52%

Ok so this was actually a second read through for me as I did read the digital version first, then went back and listened to the audio. And what can I say? I loved it more the second time around than I did the first! I loved the banter and the true rivals to lovers aspects. The way the narrators made these characters come to life was amazing. Loved everything about this book and I can't wait to read more romance from Nisha.

My rating for the audiobook for NSFW is 5 stars. This was narrated wonderfully by Soneela Nankani. I had no issues at all. It's hard to mess up an audiobook in my eyes. She had distinct voices for each character and her pronunciation was clear.

Tish, our female senior software engineer FMC in a male dominated industry, has been trying to get promoted at WMC for the past couple of years, only to find out that she is being sent on a 3 week long training retreat to Hawaii with her biggest rival Rafe Gallagher—who is the son of one of the big bosses at WMC.

The forced proximity trope is strong with this book as Rafe and Tish have to share a honeymoon suite together and they seem to get partnered up a lot in the team exercises—so naturally they start talking to each other, learning more about one another, and eventually sparks fly.

The overall plot for NSFW was ranging around 3.5 stars for me because I felt that the relationship between Rafe and Tish before they went on this training retreat was a little lacking. I think this book would've been great in a dual POV because there was so much happening around Rafe that I felt like I wanted to know! This was a decent palette cleanser read for the start of the summer.