Thank you to NetGalley, @ForeverPub and @HachetteAudio for this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Not Safe for Work is the kind of romance that hits all the right tropes—forced proximity, enemies to lovers, one bed (!!)—but also manages to tackle real workplace issues with heart and honesty.

Trishara Malik is an ambitious engineer who’s spent years climbing the corporate ladder, only to have her promotion handed to the CEO’s son, Rafe—her longtime office nemesis. When they’re both sent to a leadership retreat in Maui and accidentally booked in the same honeymoon suite, it’s game on. But as the retreat unfolds, so does their dynamic… and Rafe might not be the villain Tris always believed he was.

This one had me hooked with the tension and slow-burn payoff, but what really stood out was how it weaved in themes like sexism, racism, and workplace burnout without losing its romcom spark. And Rafe? Total surprise. Thought I’d hate him. Absolutely didn’t.

I listened to the audiobook and Soneela Nankani was the perfect narrator—emotional, nuanced, and completely immersive.

Smart, steamy, and full of heart. I’ll be watching for whatever Nisha J. Tuli writes next.
4.25 Stars!
#NetGalley, #HachetteAudio, #ForeverPub, #NotSafeforWork, #NishJTuli, #EnemiestoLovers, #WorkplaceRomance

I have had Nisha’s “Artefacts of Ouranos” series on my TBR for ages and when I discovered that she was writing this contemporary romance, I was instanstly in. However, Not Safe for Work fell a bit flat for me. While I completely understand the main character, Trishara, especially as a black woman who also works in the tech space, I was constantly disappointed by Trishara’s immaturity? I’m not sure how to describe her but I felt like she complained alot. They weren't really enemies to lovers as the rivalry was more lack of communication that anything. I was also a little turned off by the amount of times the MMC’s smile was mentioned. There is losts of pining and yearning so if you like that, you’ll definitely enjoy it. And the writing itself is great, I just don’t think the story was for me. I also listened to the ALC and will say that Soneela Nankani was excellent! The acting was great and her voice is amazing. Soneela Nankani was excellent! The acting was great and her voice is amazing.

Thank you so much NetGalley for the ARC and Hachette Audio for the ALC. I love being able to read and listen at the same time so I’m really grateful for getting this in both formats.

I loved Trial of the Sun Queen so I was super excited to see this one as a NetGalley option!

It was such a fun workplace romance with a lot of focus on equality in the workforce. I liked the note by the author at the beginning because she is coming from STEM before deciding to be an author and the book was rooted in some of her experience.

I will say one thing, Nisha, you are amazing at writing the tall, dark LI which I love.

I also really enjoyed the narrator.

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

I loved the Artefacts of Ouranos series and knew I had to get my hands on Nisha J. Tuli’s new contemporary romance! Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the early access audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Trishara is losing motivation in her engineering career after being passed up for promotions repeatedly for men such as the boss’s son Rafe, Trishara’s work rival. Trishara and Rafe are stuck in forced proximity when selected to attend leadership retreat in Hawaii.

Tropes
* Work rivals to lovers
* Forced proximity
* One hotel room / one bed
* Women of color in STEM
* Slow-burn
* Hawaii setting

I love the banter in this book! Trishara and Rafe dig at each other and make things difficult for the other. Rafe is a nuanced guy standing up for her even through their rivalry. He looks out for her and cares for her, and I love his secret passion. They had great communication, and I’m so glad the tension toward the ending did not include a miscommunication trope.

I really enjoyed the audiobook! I’ve listened to multiple books narrated by Soneela Nankani, and she always does a fantastic job. I listened at 2x speed, which is typical for me. Such an easy read/listen that I finished it within 24 hours. Fun and lighthearted while also tackling the serious topic and complexity of women’s struggles in a male dominated career.

This is a review of the audiobook.

I received the e-ARC in April and loved it so much that when I saw the ALC was available, I jumped on the opportunity!

Soneela was a great choice as the narrator for this story! I think she definitely did Tris justice and gave her the all of the personality I was getting from her when I read the e-ARC.

˗ˏˋ 4 stars ⟡ ݁₊ .

i loved the pacing of this book, it was addicting and fast. the characters were easy to love. it gave off such hard core "i don't know if i hate you or if i want to fuck you" vibes. the tension between the two characters was chef's kiss.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧• trishara malik
i loved that trish was so smart and confident, a literal badass. she was very relatable and i found myself rooting for her throughout the book. i was so proud of her when she finally stood up for herself! you go girl!!

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧• rafe gallagher
i loved how rafe was broody and overprotective of trish. he was also very kind to her too. i liked how he was self-aware and apologized to trish when he got a bit caveman-ish. i didn't expect him to have such a cute little hobby.

my only issue is that rafe and his ex-girlfriend drama got dragged out so long for no reason. also, that man from the company was completely and utterly disgusting. EW.

i listened to this book as an audiobook and i really liked the narrator. even though it was a single narration, the narrator does an amazing job distinguishing between the characters. the mmc was portrayed very well and it was super easy to follow.

⤷ thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

︶︶︶⊹︶︶︶˗ˋ୨♡୧ˊ˗︶︶︶⊹︶︶︶

₊˚⊹♡ pre-read ♡⊹˚₊ ↴
i'm OBSESSED with this book cover, why do they actually look so hot!?

Thank you NetGalley for the audio book ARC of this book!

I didn’t really have any expectations for this as I was a little nervous to listen as an audiobook and I tend to only listen to graphic audio however it was alright actually!

I really enjoyed our FMC she was smart and on it and I appreciated that she wasn’t weak. The MMC though I didn’t really like or root for. He was a little flat to me and I wanted more to him.

Overall it was a good palette cleanser.

Happy Publication Day to this gem! 4.5 stars rounded up!

This book has everything if you are into specific tropes: one bed, enemies to lovers, slow burn, forced proximity... whew. Executed beautifully!

Because I received an audio ARC, first I want to shout out this narrator. Soneela Nankani is an absolute goddess and I will read anything she narrates. Her cadence, the depth she gives the characters, all of it - 10/10. Perfect choice for this book.

Now, content of this book. Yes, yes, yes! There were some complex topics discussed such as sexism and racism, unwanted advances, workplace conflict... things many women in the workplace deal with regularly. And then of course there's this hunk of a man who makes us reconsider our feminism. Rafe is my new book boyfriend and I'm not even made about it. The slow burn was torturous in the best way, and the spice was spicing!

Nisha Tuli - more please! Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for the audio ARC and not making me read with my eyeballs. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 4.5/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

If you’re a fan of the following tropes you will like this book, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, work-place romance, one bed, and slow burn.

You will meet Trishara who is a brilliant engineer at a large firm, she is often overlooked for promotions and any advancement opportunities. She is now feeling the burnout of having to prove herself at her work so much, so when she gets the chance to attend a corporate leadership retreat in Maui, she is all in to make sure that she learns the most she can, shake hands and make friends. Sadly, her boss’s son Rafe is also going to be there, and she cannot stand him. Yes, he is sexy, and yes, she did have feelings for him but after seeing how he has treated her and knowing that he had a girlfriend made it easy but now that she is Maui and having to share the only room left with Rafe, she is seeing different sides to him that she never knew about.

I thought the plot was well done, and perfect for a workplace retreat romance, I found the pace of the book to be right for a romcom. The banter throughout the book was well done, and I found myself smiling or laughing at the situations that the characters would get themselves into. The romance in this book was slow burn and I mean SLLOOWW burn, but the way that Nisha writes it with all the tension between these characters it was just chefs’ kiss. I loved that throughout the book we got to know and understand the characters. I liked that once the characters started to really talk, you got to see the different layers that they hide from the world and see that just because someone seems happy doesn’t mean that they’re. I loved that Rafe was really a romance and knew what he wanted in life, but he didn’t want to disappoint his parents. I loved that we got to see the characters go for what they both really wanted and stand up for themselves.

Trishara is a sassy, confident, successful woman. She loves her work at the engineering firm, but she is not okay with being passed over and over just because she is a woman and a colored one too. I really enjoyed the scene where she stood up for herself and other women in the STEM community. She is a real GIRL Boss, and I am here for it. Rafe I was unsure if I should like this guy, and I would have loved to see him shine a little more throughout the book, but I felt as though the author did a great at making it, so the readers get to really see his true character and he is so cute. I loved that he was there for Trishara when she needed it and yes, I do think a certain act was a little much, but I enjoyed the way that Nisha wrote it, because it actually wrapped up everything nicely.

I also received the audio of this book, and I found the narrator really helped to bring these characters to life. I could close my eyes and picture the book as a movie and could feel what the characters were feeling. Soneela Nankani did a fantastic job and I would recommend this audio/book to all STEM romance lovers.

I want to thank NetGalley and Grand Central Pub for the opportunity to review this book.

The title did not lie — Not Safe for Work is absolutely NSFW 🥵🔥
Hot damn.

This rivals-to-lovers story had everything I love: the tension, the banter, the slow-burn pining, and that glorious finally moment when they kiss? Perfection.

I was hanging on for that first kiss and the inevitable no-pants party… and let me tell you — it did not disappoint. Rafe’s bedroom talk just hits different. 🤭

And that’s likely due in part to the amazing narration by Soneela Nankani, who brought Trishara and Rafe to life with so much emotion and nuance. There were moments I had my jaw on the floor because of a line delivery — or had to hit replay because it was that perfectly performed.

But it’s not just the spice that makes this book great. Nisha J. Tuli also weaves in important themes — gender and cultural inequality in the workplace and the impact of trauma and PTSD — all while keeping the romance hot and the emotional stakes high.A beautifully written story, an incredible narration, and a new fan in me 🫶

Thank you so much for the opportunity to be an ALC reviewer! What a way to pop my ALC cherry 🤭

Read: May 13th - May 18th
Format: Audiobook
Rating: 3.5 stars rounded up

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The rating on this book is weird, because it was a fun read, but it doesn't feel like one that will stick with me? So yeah, 3.5 rounded up for the enjoyability, but not quite a 4 because I'll probably forget about it at some point 🤣

It's a STEMinist BIPOC romance, though aside from the work environment, there was very little engineering talk that I could see. Maybe Hazelwood has just spoiled me with thinking that the STEM part in STEMinist books will be more prevalent? Not that this made it bad, but definitely made me a bit sad to not see very much actual STEM.

The book was very focused on Tris and Rafe (which, like, yeah, it's a romance), so a lot of the stuff was made up of banter and Tris appreciating how hot Rafe was. I think the reason this won't stick out to me in the future is the lacking of secondary plot (the retreat itself felt like a backdrop, not a plot, okay? XD). Also, most of the character development was just Tris beating down the patriarchy.

Again, nothing BAD, and definitely a fun time. Just saying why I don't think it was a book that'll leave an impression on me in the long on.

So yeah, if you want a feminist BIPOC with STEM elements, a hot dude and a hot woman denying themselves each other only to be obsessed with the other, and a Hawaii location, then definitely recommend. I will say, just because I know how many people love spice, this was (thankfully for me) way less spicy than the title implied 🤣

Overall- I did enjoy this story. It is your stereotypical cliche romcom.
Our MCs are coworkers & end up on a trip together. There were times I did feel frustrated with the FMC- I also felt we get to know her much less than we do the MMC. When they would talk about themselves I felt we just learned more about him & his interest. With hers always staying more surface level.
I appreciated her experience though, as she is not only a woman but a poc in the tech world. That being part of the main storyline. Both MCs though I felt were immature for their ages ( almost 30) - just the choices and actions they had felt off personally. Multiple times I did pause and think wtf - Tris is suppose to be badass & smart but comes off impulsive. And we are more so told of her smarts rather than shown throughout the story, in fact I think we are shown the opposite.
The writing was good though & the narration of the audiobook amazing.

Otherwise - this was a good quick ( spicy - but not fully detailed ) read! Great for the summer.

I loved this book with my whole heart. The characters were likable and the slow burn was definitely slow burning but once it picked up the spice was top notch. Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes if it’s done right and this one definitely was.

Thank you Hachette Audio, Read Forever, Netgalley & Nisha J. Tuli for this ALC.

I really wanted to love this STEM romance, especially as supporting BIPOC authors is important to me—and while there were some strong elements, overall it fell a bit flat.

Trishara had real potential as a character. I loved the moments when she stood up for herself and called out the terrible ways she was treated at work, and I was rooting hard for her success. However, I wish she'd been given more room to own that power consistently—especially in the workplace, where I expected to see more of her badass energy.

Rafe ultimately came across as one-dimensional. Apart from being "hot," he lacked depth, and without his point of view (this isn't dual POV), it was hard to connect with him beyond surface-level traits. His lack of assertiveness, especially in dealing with his ex-girlfriend was frustrating to read.

The romance just didn’t land for me. It was a slow burn but I wasn't excited by it at all. There didn't seem to be much foundation for their connection and the "enemies" angle was thin to begin with.

The spicy scenes didn’t help either—they leaned more cringe than chemistry, and some of the dialogue felt recycled & predictable. (I lost count of the number of times her obsession with his forearms came up.)

Narration-wise, the audiobook was well done, as expected from Soneela Nankani.

In the end, while it hit popular tropes STEM romance, workplace rivals, forced proximity, one bed) it didn’t bring anything new to the table.

2.5⭐

Rating: 3.5 ⭐️ (rounded down)
Narration: 4.5 ⭐️
Spice: 2.5 🌶️

Tropes:
- Workplace Romance
- Rivals to Lovers
- Women in STEM
- Employment Biases
- Mutual Pining
- Forced Proximity
- Only One Bed
- Slow Burn
- BIPOC & LGBTQ+ Rep

I think Not Safe for Work is a solid outing for Nisha J. Tuli's first foray into contemporary romance. The premise of the story was there - workplace rivals forced to share space in a dreamy tropical setting - but it just didn't quite live up to my expectations. I liked it, but I didn't love it.

Overall, I enjoyed Trishara's character. She is witty and unabashedly herself. I liked how she refused to tone herself down for anyone and wasn't afraid to call Rafe out when it was warranted. Trishara and Rafe's chemistry is off the charts, and the way that they were both down bad for each other but refused to admit it even to themselves made for some delicious tension. And while I mostly enjoyed their banter and playfulness, I often felt that their actions and dynamic were too immature for two characters in their late twenties. The will they/won't they went on for a bit too long for my taste, and the jumps between burning hot to ice cold were starting to give me a bit of whiplash. [ There is also ex-girlfriend drama that I really didn't care for. It serves a purpose, I guess, but I'm just not a fan of other man/woman drama in general. (hide spoiler)]

This book did not pull any punches when comes to employment biases, particularly in regards to race and sex. The way that it addresses sexism, sexual harassment, micro-aggressions, and other issues women face in the work force, especially in a male dominated field, is very well done. I believe most women will be able to relate to at least one situation that Trishara faced. I know I did.

The narrator, Soneela Nankani, was new to me, and I really enjoyed her performance. I felt like she really captured Trishara's personality. She was emotive and did an excellent job voicing all of the characters, including the males. It was quick, easy, entertaining, and overall, worth the listen.

I received an advanced listener copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving my honest review. A big thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC!

I didn't connect with this book, and I found it really hard to get into. The characters felt immature and childish, and over the top at times. I found only getting Trishara's POV have the enemies part of the story lacking, as we never really get any angst or perspective of why perhaps Rafe antagoized Tris at the beginning. I found the inclusion of the ex-girlfriend to serve only as a distraction and bit off-putting. Rafe was okay but felt a bit one dimensional. I listened to the audiobook and it was easy to listen to, though I did have to speed it up a bit. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

My first Nisha J Tuli and most definitely not my last!! I will be reading her romantasy series asap!!

NSFW was the perfect summer vibes book. Rivals to lovers, forced proximity, THERES ONLY ONE BED.
On top of that, a female engineer clawing her way through the injustices of simply being a woman of color working in a male dominated field. YUCK.

There was heat, there was tension, will they won't they, banterrrr. My god this book really had it all! It was such a fun read while still showing what it's like for women(women of color specifically) to work in white male centered spaces.

Highly recommend picking up this book if you want a beach read this summer that's also full of female rageeee. LOVE LOVE LOVED.

Thank you Forever and Hachette Audio for the early audiobook!

I went in expecting a tropey enemies-to-lovers beach read with forced proximity and boardroom banter. And yes, we do get a shared honeymoon suite in Maui, high-stakes corporate games, and a hero who could probably land a GQ cover without trying. But If All Else Sails has a surprising emotional depth that sets it apart from the standard romcom.

Trishara Malik isn’t just a high-achieving engineer—she’s a woman of color constantly bumping up against the glass ceiling and a parade of microaggressions. When her long-awaited promotion is handed to Rafe Gallagher (aka the nepotism prince), it’s the last straw. But what follows isn’t just a grudge match on a tropical retreat, it’s a nuanced exploration of ambition, exhaustion, and healing.

And Rafe? He’s a revelation. Emma St. Clair crafts a male lead who genuinely gets it—not just in the steamy moments, but in the hard conversations. The chemistry sizzles, but the mutual respect simmers even hotter.

Themes I loved:

-Women of color in STEM navigating toxic corporate culture
-The emotional toll of burnout and how self-worth often gets entangled in achievement
Honest, grounded discussions of race and privilege—in a romcom setting!
-Second chances, but not just in love, also in career, identity, and purpose

The Narration:
Andi Arndt and Patrick Zeller are a dream team. Arndt delivers Tris’s sharp wit, vulnerability, and simmering fury with a richness that feels lived-in. She nails the internal monologue of a woman who’s always had to be ten steps ahead just to be seen.

Zeller brings a quiet confidence to Rafe’s chapters, less smolder, more sincerity. His performance feels intentional, respectful of the character’s arc, and honestly? Kind of swoon-worthy. Their alternating POVs give the audiobook a strong rhythm that feels like you're overhearing real confessions rather than listening to fiction.

The Flow:
The pacing is excellent. Whether it’s the crackle of romantic tension during a luau scene or the slower, introspective moments after a career gut punch, the story flows with precision. Transitions between chapters are smooth, even without visual cues, and the emotional beats land with clarity.

There’s never a moment where the narration drags or gets lost in exposition. Instead, you feel swept along by the story’s tropical breeze—occasionally scorched by the heat between Tris and Rafe.

I love me a SPICY enemies to lovers workplace romance. Throw in a tropical training retreat, only one bed, a storm, lots of female rage against workplace injustices and a MMC who BAKES!! YES! I was so here for this one by a new to me Canadian author. Great on audio narrated by one of my favs, Soneela Nankani and highly recommended for fans of authors like Nisha Sharma or Sajni Patel. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio and digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I devoured this story right up. Not only did it include
- enemies to lovers
- forced proximity
- ONE BED 🥵
- slow burn
- protective MMC, we’re talking sexy caveman status 🤣
- the best banter (I was laughing throughout)

… but also thoughtfully weaved in heavier topics such as the challenges faced by women in a male dominated field, chronic pain, harassment/blackmail, and a toxic ex. It was touching to watch her healing journey as she navigated these issues.

Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for the ALC. The production and narration was incredible, and made reading this story come alive and that much more enjoyable.