This was absolutely amazing. I was given an ARC This to read and man I could not put it down. I literally finished this book in 48 hours. Nisha, wrote an amazing Rom-Com, I honestly can’t wait to read more from her. Pick up this book on May 20. You will not be disappointed.

3.5 ⭐️

god, men fucking suck. obsessed with that email and the way Tris said bye and fuck off to these losers. obsessed with the way she knew her worth and dealt with the toxic work environment.

the romance aspect was okay but for some reason I wasn’t obsessed with it and that’s kinda disappointing for me. it wasn’t bad but something was just missing for me.

Rafe was a great guy but the social media grand gesture was not my style. also the whole ex storyline was just super annoying. anytime they got somewhere, the phone would take Tris to the beginning and it got old real quick.

maybe I’m reading too much romance lately because nothing is hitting for me.

I do love Nisha’s writing, she’s funny and witty, so I’m definitely gonna read more of her books.

thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this early version of audiobook!

This was a good time and a quick read, but ultimitely not a story for me.

I was never totally sold on the chemistry other than mutual attraction and part of that is because the love interest Rafe didn't feel like a fully fleshed out character to me. I wish this had been dual point of view so that hist motivations would've been clearer to me.

I did enjoy Soneela Nankani's narration though!

One of my favourite trope combos is rivals to lovers and forced proximity. I also love reading about women in STEM and the obstacles they face in a male dominated environment. So, with all that, this book really hit the mark for me!

I fell in love with both MCs, they were giving flirty banter and fiery chemistry!😍🔥

I listened to this in one sitting, I just couldn't put it down! The narrator was fabulous! I really felt all the feelings: the laughs, the frustrations, the passion! She really brought the story to life for me!

Tropes:
👩🏽‍🔬 BIPOC woman in stem
🍩 Cinnamon roll MMC
❤️ Rivals to lovers
🔬 Workplace romance
🫶 Forced proximity
💋 Flirty banter
🛏 Only one bed

This is a perfect summer read!! I highly recommend it!

Not Safe for Work
By Nisha J. Tuli
Narrated by Soneela Nankani

Publishes May 20,2025

This workplace romance was so good, with just enough spice. This was my first book from Nisha and she can sure right a romcom! Trish works in a male dominated company, but gets selected for an opportunity for an internship program, with an epic reward of a business trip to Hawaii. But, the twist is her workplace rival Rafe is also going. The enemies to lovers between then kicked up the heat! I really want a follow up to this because I loved the chemistry that Trish and Rafe had at the end.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC audiobook. All opinions are my own.

This had it all! Rivals to lovers, work place romance only one bed!!!

Trish has had her ups and downs being woman of color in STEM so when she is chosen with her nemesis Rafe to attend a 3 week retreat she is taking full advantage.

When Trish and Rafe arrive in paradise for the work event they are not amused to find they are sharing an amazing suite...with only one bed.

They learn over the coming weeks what expectations are made for them and what they want to do in life and love. These two had such chemistry...of the charts 🔥 ❤

Although I didn't get into this book, the voice narrators did a great job of bring it to life. I just didn't connect with the story.

so you’ve got banter, a setting of hawaii and slow burn? okay say less, i’m entirely hooked.

this was also my first read by the author and i loved it so much. i had such a good time reading this and thoroughly loved the whole story. rafe and tris were so hot and delicious. i loved how they both wanted each other but didn’t want to admit it, until they finally did. i loved how tris was and how she was about the things she wanted. the narrators also did such a fantastic job bringing these characters to life. they had me wrapped up in the story the whole time.

This was a fun listen and I am glad I got to listen to the audio which I highly recommend.
It is a workplace romance with enemies to lovers vibe where they end up going to a work retreat in Maui and there is only one room and one bed! (for romance reasons of course).
In NSFW we have Trishara who has been working really hard at her current company but keeps getting over looked for her male colleagues who are not nearly as qualified and we have Rafe who is like a sort of work rival and the son of one of the director! Somehow Trish and Rafe end up going to this work retreat in Maui and end up in the same suite and have Trish has to confront that Rafe might not be who she thought he was and the more they interact, the more chemistry there is between these two! The main reason this book isn't five stars for me is that some parts felt a little repetitive, like she kept mentioning his smile and forearms on almost every chapter. like we get it, he is hot!
Thanks to netgalley for the ARC, opinions are my own.

A BIPOC FMC in STEM? Yes, please! As soon as I saw the tropes, I ran to NetGalley to request the audio because how could I resist?

✔️ Workplace romance
✔️ Boss’s son
✔️ Enemies/rivals to lovers
✔️ One bed
✔️ Fiery FMC
✔️ Work trip in Hawaii
✔️ Slow burn
✔️ All the angst

Trishara and Rafe had long-standing misconceptions about each other that only snowballed over time. Their communication from the beginning was messy, so naturally, that carries into the story.

Trishara is bold, driven, and unapologetically herself. She knows what she wants and how she wants to get it and she’s not one to stay quiet when something’s wrong. She quite literally burns it all down, walks away, and sleeps soundly at night. Iconic.

Rafe, on the other hand, is quietly battling the weight of family expectations and a life that doesn’t quite fit. His struggle to bridge the gap between what he wants and how to go after it was incredibly relatable. Even though the book is told solely from Trishara’s POV, I felt deeply connected to Rafe, too.

The setup, a three-week work event in Hawaii (where can I sign up for this job?), provided just the right amount of time for them to peel back their assumptions and start truly seeing each other. It’s a slowwwww burn (which I love), so by the time they hit their “eff it” moments, the payoff is chef’s kiss.

Soneela Nankani did a fantastic job with the narration. I was so immersed I didn’t even realize it was single POV until the very end!

Big thanks to Nisha Sharma, NetGalley, and Hachette Audio for the ALC!

What a great audio book! Soneela Nankani did an excellent job narrating! I loved her voice and the emotion she put into telling Nisha Tuli's story. Hachette Audio did a great job choosing a narrator and producing this book. I don't think it would have felt the same if I read it myself instead of listening to Soneela. Not Safe for Work was a beautifully written work place romance that had one of my favorite tropes: a strong woman that puts men in their place. Trishara's character was sooo good! I loved how her character was: complex, loving, strong, smart and independent. She's probably one of my favorite female characters that I've read from a romance book recently. This also read like one of Ali Hazelwoods STEM romances, and I mean that in the very best way. I ate it up. I'm so happy that I was able to get an advanced copy.

Slow burn workplace romance, enemies to lovers that are forced into a one bed situation at work retreat in Hawaii. Fun read, but feels a bit stale in the premise and the characters are immature but it does address real issues that females face in male dominated industries. Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for an advanced copy for an honest review.

“Engineer Trishara Malik once dreamed of being the first woman of colour to smash the glass ceiling at WMC Purcell, but after years of dealing with white male privilege and blatant nepotism, she watches her hard-earned promotion go to her nemesis, Rafe …” — oh boy, where do I even start.
She may have felt it was hard-earned, and she certainly said that over and over again, I just couldn't find any evidence for it — the exercises on the retreat proved otherwise. And she might have been passed over for so many years, but what made me actually mad was not the very real life inspired situation, but the preach-y tone it was dealt with. Dear author, you do know the audience you are writing for, right? WE KNOW. And many have experienced it. No need to handle it that way.

“Rival engineers dabble in personal chemistry while at a tropical company retreat in this smart and steamy romcom—perfect for …” well, apparently not for me. The “rival” part was nonexistent. From the beginning, the FMC lusted over the MMC — and that should've been indication enough for me to know where the story was heading… still, I had hope. But then, we find out that the rivalry was due to miscommunication, past relationship trauma, and trust issues. Nice things to work through, for sure (and warranted things to experience and be influenced by, don't get me wrong) — but not a reason for the characters working against each other and calling this story a rivalry. Also, dealing with her past experiences felt like one step forward, two steps back. There's only so much of using her trauma for drama you can stomach.
And don't get me started on their childish and lust-y behaviour. How old are they supposed to be? Oh — not 16? Could've fooled me. For two people in high positions and eligible for a leadership retreat, I would think they had more restraint. Or more mature standpoints. And that's the thing, Trishara's thoughts really grated on my nerves. At some point, I felt metaphor-bombed and irritated and exasperated… and I kind of shut down.
Also, I don't know about the smart part, but it was steamy, I give the author that. Or at least horny. And one thing also bugged me: WHY do books always harp on how long it's been since a woman had sex? And when it's been a few months or maybe a year, she almost “becomes a virgin again”?? My god, just stop this male-centric, masochistic bullshit.
And the moment where she thought “maybe I should tell him about my past relationship and my trauma, that will turn him off and leave me alone, so I can get over him and this crush”? Girl. I swear 🙄 And her constantly thinking he will get together with his ex-girlfriend, even though he constantly says otherwise. Not only he was frustrated. Me too.

Since I listened to the audiobook:
The narration was fine. Not the best, not the worst. Some parts had a weird intonation, but overall it was okay.

In the beginning, the book started off really good and it made me want to hear more about how Trishara and Rafe's story would unfold. However, as I got to around 50%, it felt very slow to me. I know this is a slow burn and I am into slow burn romance, but it was just hard to get by. The spice was really good though. I was also so giddy when they had to share 1 bed 🥰 Overall, if you want an enemies to lovers workplace romance with forced proximity, this is a good pick!

4.5 but only because of one thing that happened over and over again in the book that could’ve been easily fixed with the block button. but I loved this!!!!!

I wanted to love it because as a corporate world working woman, I like books that show various sides of the corporate life. I'm not an engineer and have heard stories so I really appreciate the perspective from a woman of color in a male dominated world. I really liked a lot of things about this book like addressing sensitive toxic environments, not making assumptions, how he showed up, how he was a foodie like me, and having people that call you out and cheer for you wholeheartedly. I loved that there were aspects of the author's story of going from engineering to pursuing her love of writing!

I inhaled the story, but I rated it this way because the writing and narrating wasn't my top fav, the slow burn was realllllly slow, and there were quite a few things that frustrated me. I kept going OMG get the Andy memo girl, plus the Hannah thing was so annoying (cut it off already!!), the executive letting her down was devastating (necessary I know but I was so disappointed in her) and enough about the forearms! Though it did remind me of a conversation I had with a friend about forearms, so it made me giggle.

I do want to check out her Romantasy series though, I've heard great things!

This book was fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed the narration and it helped you feel more of Tris's emotions. This book has a little of everything: enemies to lovers ✅, forced proximity ✅, who hurt you?✅ stand up for yourself and others ✅ beautiful setting ✅ angst and scorching attraction ✅ . One of my favorite parts of this book was all the metaphors and imagery. I was laughing out loud at some parts and blushing at others. Look forward to checking out more from this author as this was the first book of hers I read. Loved Tris and Rafe and their journey 😍

Thank you Hatchette audio for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

4,25/5 stars

This was just what I needed after a dark fantasy! It was cozy rivals to lovers set in Hawaii that hooked me from the beginning and I had fun time listening to it.

I loved both of the main characters, Tris was strong fmc and as an upcoming engineer (in IT) I looked up to her. And Rafe was cute and sweet and whose passion is baking. And the slow burn to spice was very much worth the wait!

I truly enjoyed it and can't wait to read it again the near future. Highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Not Safe for Work’ is a sweet and spicy slow-burn featuring all the best tropes - only one bed, rivals-to-lovers, workplace romance, forced proximity and lots of banter. It ticks a lot of boxes for a romance book in the 21st century, providing representation for women of colour, chronic pain and STEM workplaces, all with the beautiful backdrop of a tropical resort paradise in Hawaii.

Trishara is a badass FMC - she’s headstrong, witty, and knows what she’s worth in the workplace, but on the same page she’s vulnerable, hurt by her past (aren’t we all?) and has a bit of a temper. I absolutely loved her. The narration of the book from Trishara’s POV felt very true to her character. I particularly enjoyed whenever she used STEM references, which are obviously in-line to her profession and how she relates with the world. It’s little things like this which highlight that she is really well-written as a character. This is no doubt a credit to the author herself, and it's sad to know that parts of this book were based on Tuli’s own life experiences, as mentioned in the author’s notes. While being a cute slow-burn romance book, ‘Not Safe for Work’ also sends a great message about equality in the workplace.

Unfortunately, while I love Tris, I do feel like she was the only character that was fully-fleshed out and well-rounded. Rafe was an absolutely sexy and scorching love interest and, while his hidden love of pastries and desserts was certainly cute and charming, I felt he lacked the depth we get to see in Trishara. Molly, Lan and Gabrielle were fun friends and great examples of female friendship, but all their scenes and actions did feel a bit repetitive.

That being said, the chemistry between Tris and Rafe was absolutely crackling throughout the book, despite their romance blossoming slowly. There were soooo many hot scenes - in the hotel’s penthouse suite, in the gym, in the break-out room (👀) and the list goes on. I also really loved the way that Tris and Rafe slowly learned to trust one another and share the most intimate parts of themselves, things they’ve been too scared to share with others. And the epilogue? Super damn cute.

The workplace retreat and training program plot was interesting, though was definitely second to the focus on the budding romance between Tris and Rafe. The retreat was a genius way to portray a workplace romance in an even steamier setting, and it’s one I very much enjoyed. I was also absolutely LIVING for the moment when Tris finally gave WMC Purcell what they deserved. You go girl!

I listened to ‘Not Safe for Work’ as an audiobook, and Soneela Nankani’s narration perfectly complemented Tris’ character. The narration ebbed and flowed with Tris’ emotions, and Nankani did an excellent job of portraying all of Tris’ sarcasm, anger, frustration and embarrassment. There were several moments where this book had me absolutely giggling or blushing as I listened to this while walking my dog, and that’s credit to Nankani’s wonderful narration of Tuli’s writing.

‘Not Safe for Work’ is the first book by Nisha J. Tuli that I’ve read, and I absolutely cannot wait to explore more of her works in the future. Especially if they’re going to be as fun and flirty as this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for sending me a digital ALC (audiobook ARC) of ‘Not Safe for Work’’. All opinions shared in this review are my own.

Such a fun book- Rivals to Lovers vibes, but also focusing on so many important topics I feel!!
Sexism in the workplace & Diversity were a big part of this & I feel it was well depicted.
As disgusting as it is, these topics are still very prevalent in today’s society. The chemistry between the two MCs was def fun- A slow burn mixed w/ forced proximity & so many fun 🌶️ tropes!!
My fave was def the texting each other at the table across from each other & Miss Whistle can shove it- The amount of people you want to fight in this lmfao.
So many need to take a hint 👏🏽
I really enjoyed her conversations w/ her girl too!! The text msgs/phone calls had me cracking up 🤣
Narration by Soneela Nankani was perfect!! Although, I do wish this was a duet, but that’s totally just my preference 🤍 She was amazing nonetheless.