I read this while on my honeymoon cruise, and let me tell you, this is the PERFECT summer vacation read!

I’ve read and loved Nisha J Tuli a lot over the past two years, and she has always managed to impress. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from her first contemporary rom-com, but she knocked it out of the PARK (which is really no surprise)

There are a few things I absolutely NEED in order to enjoy a rom-com: chemistry & tension, a relationship between the two main characters that makes SENSE, ACTUAL comedy, a fun plot line, and some well-done spice 🌶️. Fortunately, this book has literally ALL of these things, plus a beautiful resort backdrop, a workplace-rivalry, burning down the patriarchy, women in male-dominated fields, a diverse cast, and a Henry Cavill lookalike MMC. Like???? What else could I possibly ask for???

Seriously though, I adored this, and I blew through it even on my very busy and chaotic vacation. I loved both Rafe and Trishara, both separately as characters and together as a couple. I loved the banter, and felt the tension in a palpable, squealy way. The third act conflict is actually incredibly well handled, and there were plot points that came to a head even outside of the couple (which I really, really enjoy). I’m definitely finding myself hoping for a Molly sequel in the future, because Tuli should definitely keep going with this genre alongside her show-stopping romantasies!

I also so, so enjoyed this audiobook narrator! She captured both main characters voices really perfectly, and kept the humor and charm flowing all throughout.

Thank you so much to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for this eArc!

I was really intrigued by the premise of Not Safe for Work because I mean, a slow burn romance centered on a woman in STEM is always a yes! I’m always excited to see more women navigating male-dominated fields like engineering, and I’d heard great things from some romance-loving mutuals. I enjoyed the narrator on this, I thought she did a great job voicing the characters. Honestly, because the narration was solid and engaging, it kept me invested enough to finish.

The resort-style work retreat setting caught me off guard (I hadn’t read the full blurb). I assumed the romance would unfold in a more traditional workplace environment, but instead, we’re dropped into a team-building getaway full of personality tests, awkward group bonding, and a “one suite, one bed” trope. To be honest, this forced proximity felt pretty implausible in a professional context.

I wanted to root for the main couple, but struggled to connect with either character. The FMC’s frustration with sexism in her field is valid and relatable, but her constant back-and-forth about the romance got exhausting. She also misread the MMC constantly, and one moment in particular, when she revealed something (trying not to spoil!!) to others without his consent, really rubbed me the wrong way. The MMC also sometimes frustrated me, mainly because of his unwillingness to cut ties with his ex.

That said, readers who enjoy workplace romances, especially ones with a STEM twist and lots of slow burn physical tension, may still find this worth picking up. While this one didn’t totally work for me, I’d be open to trying something else from Nisha J. Tuli in the future.

"These men were the Khakis-white hetero men of mediocre competence and undeserved confidence who wouldn't know their way to a clitoris if someone strung them over a swamp rife with testicle-eating crocodiles."

The clapbacks. The banter. The spice. The representation of women in STEM. The tropical island. I absolutely devoured this audiobook! Thank you, Hatchette Audio & Forever, for the ALC. I found myself listening to this any stolen moment I could find. Soneela Nankani was the perfect choice for the narrator. She brought so much dimension to Tris.

"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."

Tris was such a strong FMC. She was the queen of snark, wasn't afraid to stand up for herself, and was the true backbone of this story. Rafe and his forearms were so swoonworthy. I loved that Rafe had layers to his character so he wasn't the typical "boss's son stereotype." They had amazing chemistry even if them actually acting in it was a slow burn. The tension builds & builds then explodes when they finally give in.

“Rafe, why did you draw me?" "Because I draw things that are beautiful to me.”

I've heard such amazing things about Nisha's romantasy books, but Not Safe for Work is proof that she can't be pigeon holed into one genre. If you love rivals to lovers, one bed romances that take place on a tropical island, this book is for you.

I was really excited to read this and am incredibly thankful for the ALC from NetGalley, but ultimately, this did not work for me.

I think the narration was done well and probably helped me keep going with the story. I think I probably would have DNF'd if I had been reading an e-ARC instead.

Something I loved about the book was Trishara telling off people that deserved it and calling out the absolutely horrible way she was treated. (Though I wish Rafe would've done more to stick up for her especially with his Ex and especially x2 because she stood up for him). So as far as her career goes, she was so strong and I really was rooting for her to succeed.

I think her character had the potential to be incredible, but when it came to the Romance part of the book is where it all fell apart for me. I got so frustrated with her and with Rafe. I lost count of the amount of times they decided to be together and then she would change her mind and pull away again. Rafe didn't help matters by not being straightforward with his Ex either. It just really took away from a relationship that didn't even have a strong foundation to begin with.

They were barely enemies and there was hardly any build up and no deep connection. Please don't get me started on the Grand Declaration of Love™️. That would've been a dealbreaker for me.

In the end the romance just felt very superficial and really could've been so much more.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆(3.5 stars)
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Pub Date: 05/20/25 🚨

I had such a fun time listening to Not Safe For Work! I devoured the audiobook in just a day and a half—it was the perfect way to kick off my summer reading season and instantly got me in the mood for warm weather, sunshine, and beach reads.

This story has so many elements I love: a delicious slow burn romance, the irresistible one-bed trope, and a tropical getaway that added an extra layer of escapism. The chemistry between the characters kept me hooked from start to finish!

Beyond the romance, I really appreciated the deeper themes the book explored. It shines a light on the challenges women—especially women of color—face in the workplace, particularly in male-dominated industries like STEM. I found it refreshing and empowering to read about a smart, capable woman in STEM navigating her career and her personal life.

The Hawaiian setting added a lovely touch, though I do wish the island had been a bit more developed in the narrative—it had so much potential to be even more vivid and interesting.

Overall, Not Safe For Work was a fantastic, feel-good listen with heart, heat, and an important message. If you’re looking for a summer read that blends romance, career drama, and a dose of sunshine, this one’s for you!

Thank you to Hachette Audio, Forever, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with an ALC and ARC!

Three weeks in Hawaii, in a suite of a luxury hotel, all inclusive, travelling first class? Hah, I would sell my soul for that. And the male main character doesn't exactly look like the Devil...

The STEM blah-blah is a nice marketing trick but was hardly there in the story - which was quite shallow and predictable. But we are not reading these books for their world-redeeming ideas or impressive character development. The audio version was actually very entertaining, thanks to the narrator who did a good job. All in all, this is an enjoyable enough read for a summer weekend or a mini holiday.

Okay, I have OFFICIALLY been convinced that I need to read everything Nisha J. Tuli has ever written, like immediately.

The writing, impeccable.
The characters, impossible not to love.
THE TENSION, absolutely everything.

As a fellow woman in STEM I related so much to Trishara’s story. Navigating a career, your needs and your dreams can become so easily confused and honestly a bit tainted when you feel like your gender is a contributing factor in your success. It’s something we need to talk about more and I really appreciated her perspectives and bravery when it came to fighting for what she deserved. We love a smart, successful, beautiful, BADASS! 😍

What didn’t fully work for me here was the pacing! I’m a huge fan of a slow-burn and of course, the pay off was worth it - HOT HOT HOT! But some of the conflicts leading up to the MC’s getting together felt a bit unnecessary which lead me to feel like things dragged on a bit longer than necessary!

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and felt like the audio helped to bring Trishara’s spiciness and heart to light!

Not Safe for Work had such a fun premise—STEM rivals forced to share a room on a tropical work retreat? Yes, please. But unfortunately, the execution completely missed the mark for me. Trust me when I say I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to love this but I couldn’t. The characters, both pushing thirty, acted more like hormonal high schoolers than professionals, and the “enemies to lovers” dynamic felt incredibly forced. Tris’s constant trash-talking of Rafe while simultaneously obsessing over him wasn’t cute or funny—it was exhausting. The romance lacked chemistry, the emotional shifts felt unearned, and the workplace setting never felt believable. I had high hopes after loving the author’s fantasy work, but this one just didn’t land. A forgettable read that left me more frustrated than entertained.

So I didn't love this as much as I had hoped to.

I thought the narrator did a great job. I love a slow burn, enemies to lovers romance and I enjoyed the synopsis and the development of the main characters and their relationship.

The book overall was good, but the first few chapters were difficult for me to get through. The MFC's experiences with racism and sexual harassment in the workplace was an important part of the story. However, she seemed to be somewhat of a pushover, jumping at the chance to get tangible things from her employer rather than demanding respect by dealing with the issues. And though she did redeem herself by the end, I found that disappointing. And what is with her obsession about his forearms? It just became a bit annoying and redundant.

I was surprised to find the book labeled as a romcom. Aside from a couple of parts, I really didn't find it funny.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for this ARC.

Everything about Not Safe for Work was fine—right down the middle, classic workplace romcom with miscommunication and a third-act breakup. That's also somewhat the issue here. I don't necessarily feel like books need to break the mold or shake the table, and I am very open to books containing WOC/POC taking on tropes and situations white characters have operated within forever, but I also wasn't expecting it to feel so barebones.

I think both Trishara and Rafe could have been developed more/better. Rafe keeping contact with his ex throughout the entire book was very off-putting, and it didn't come across that he was a nice guy who was letting someone down easy, it came across as someone with a complete lack of interpersonal boundaries, especially when paired with the dynamics between his dad and cousin. Trish was a bit of a pushover in this respect, and I wished she demanded more for herself in literally every aspect of her existence because she was so deserving. But ultimately both Trish and Rafe being extremely passive and non-communicative wore me down. This is marketed as enemies-to-lovers, which I struggle to buy for contemporary contexts but I also fully don't buy for them at all. They both very clearly liked each other and held up some wall between them for some odd reason, and then once they let on that they liked each other it was balls to the wall in record time. There wasn't much build up or angst or tension, so even the spice felt kind of unengaging.

This is my first Nisha J. Tuli book and I overall did enjoy her writing style and the themes discussed within, such as white female complacency in patriarchy, corporations smothering Black and POC hires in the workplace, sexual harassment, etc. But I didn't connect to these characters, so the story ultimately didn't click with me. However, I look forward to reading more from Tuli!

The narrator was a little stiff/robotic at times, and I think Trish would likely read much warmer if this book is consumed via ebook or physical copy, but the narration was by no means bad—just not my favorite.

Thank you to Hachette Audio, Forever, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with an ALC and ARC!

3 ⭐️s
2 🌶️
🚨 Pub Date: 05/20/25

This book was absolutely fantastic! I loved the story, the representation, the setup, and everything between these 2 main characters.

Having Tris be our narrator for this story was everything! Her POV was fresh and well thought out. It made the story much more enjoyable because her intentions, feelings, and thoughts were well flushed out. I was able to laugh, cry, be upset and every other emotion with how Nisha was able to write her. Rafe was also a fantastic MMC, and he wanted to make things better, even if misguided at times. I think he was such a good foil to Tris and was able to make her better, while eventually following her lead to make his life better.

Normally, I have a personal preference of Dual POV in my romance books, but I TRULY think that this book stands on his own in just Tris' POV. It just makes sense in this story with how it has been set up.

Soneela Nankani as a narrator of this story was just fantastic. Her pacing and variations throughout her performance made me feel like I understood what was going on in Tris' head perfectly, so it felt more like I was with my friend talking through the problems.

Overall, this was a fantastic story, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book from Nisha!

Thanks to Forever for an ARC and Hachette Audio for an ALC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I ate this audiobook up in one day. It’s cute, witty, fun and has an ending that warms your heart. #NotSafeforWork #NetGalley

Rating 4.5⭐
Spice 🌶️🌶️.5

ALC REVIEW

I hate, HATE, HATE a slow burn......but I love it at the same time (why do i do this to myself?) The tension..omg the tension was super palpable. I probably wouldn't have minded a tiny bit longer for the tension to officially snap. I felt the snap of the tension was quick...I love a "fuck this" moment, but it wasn't really the case for this book.

I really enjoyed the overall banter. The quips were great and also....umm the dirty talk? I love a filthy MMC. (shh don't judge me)

A few thing I personally didn't like (remember its personal), I hated being in Trishara's mindset. I get it...I truly get her struggles. It doesn't mean I have to like it! I would have liked being in Rafe's head like for a chapter or two. *sighh* it's fine, it's fineee (it's really not, but I'll get over it)

I overall really enjoyed the book of in itself, it was very empowering and inspiring for women and women in color.

P.S I forgot to add; I'm usually not a big fan of the narrator who did this book (I read another series she narrates, and I absolutely couldn't stand it), but she may made a comeback for me.

I received an ALC from Netgallery approved by the Publisher. This was my first Nisha J. Tuli book I have read, and I can definitely say I will continue to read her books.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! I enjoyed the tension, the grumpy sunshine, enemies to lovers rom-com. Was it absolutely drop dead amazing—- no. Was it a good story—- yes.
I enjoyed the story, but I hated both MCS. Very immature, unlikable, sorta toxic. Just admit y’all like each other already!!

Trishara is a smart, capable woman who has been held back at every opportunity she's gone for due to the toxic old boys club of an industry she works in. Her rivalry with Rafe is funny, infuriating and full of sexual tension. For me this was a very, very slow burn, but when these two finally get past their differences and crossed wires, their relationship heats up at superspeed. I loved the back and forth between these two because it felt real, even though we as the reader could feel the underlying attraction from both of them. The only thing missing for me was Rafe's POV which would have been a great addition to fill out the story. The narration in this was fabulous and the narrator carried the story with ease. I will definitely be searching out more of her work.

"not safe for work" by nisha j. tuli left a lot to be desired for me. for the first 15-20%, it was giving me the same giddiness that elena armas' "the spanish love deception" gave me, but it progressively became more and more lackluster as the plot progressed. one could say i'm picky with my romance novels, so maybe that affected my perspective of the pairing, but the chemistry felt very inauthentic between trishara and rafe. there was so many parts in the second half where rafe was OBSESSING over trishara's legs that it made me uncomfortable. i even skipped through most of the spicy scenes, which is something i do not normally do.

all in all, this book started off strong, but lost me after a while. one of my mutuals recommended her romantasy series to me, so maybe i'll see how i like that instead.

After loving Trials of the Sun Queen I was excited to read a contemporary from Nisha J. Tuli. I was lucky enough to receive an ALC from Hachette Audio through NetGalley. I really enjoyed Soneela Nankani's portrayal the of the story and highly recommend the audio format. I thought the reality of women in corporate America felt accurate and the most believable part of the story. Unfortunately, I wasn't a big fan of the main character or the love interest. I didn't feel like I understood them well enough outside of their attraction for each other. If you enjoy a lot of yearning, constant descriptions of the MMC's smile, and stubborn arguments masking as banter then you'll love this story.

Not Safe For Work sounded perfect on paper - stunning cover, gorgeous setting in Hawaii, work rivals to lovers and one bed trope! Overall, it was just okay. I enjoyed and would recommend the book solely on the basis of a quick summer read (in my case listen) with some spice. However, I felt it lacked in a lot of areas so can’t recommend expediting it to the top of your TBR unless you’re sitting poolside any time soon.

For context, I’m a firm believer that 3 star books (in the arbitrary ‘vibes’ star system) are still worthwhile reads, even if they don’t blow you out of the water. That being said, this is more of a 2.5 star or soft 3. Not Safe For Work for me felt like the definition of the shrug emoji. “I’ve read better, I’ve read worse” - by no means bad enough to DNF but equally I couldn’t really justify giving it any higher than a 2.5.

For the most part, the narrator Soneela Nankani was great. The only time I felt the dialogue was robotic was when there was an occasional drop in quality in writing. I would say the audio elevated the overall experience and influenced my decision to round up the star rating.

Once we pushed past the mixed signals and ambiguity, I grew to really like Rafe, the MMC. He brought some great spice and I would’ve loved a dual POV as the single felt a bit repetitive at times. The FMC Trish is equal parts fiery and whip-smart while also being immature and a bit abrasive at times. I couldn’t personally connect to her but do, however, appreciate the important discussion of diversity in the workplace through the lens of gender dynamics, POC/women in STEM.

The pacing slightly dipped between 30-40% making the slow burn seem all the more slow but the spice does deliver. I actually think the spice and unique backdrop of a work retreat saved it for me. This is not the most memorable love story or groundbreaking read but one that will pass the time on a plane or the beach.

*TW for some unhealthy and outdated views on exercising and food as a reward - it didn’t add to the story in any way.

I had such a good time with the Not Safe For Work audiobook! The narrator was amazing and did a great job at matching Trishara's wittiness and Raef's cool calm personality. I zoomed through this one and before I knew it, the book was over! I really hope the author and narrator do more books like this together in the future!

The story itself was awesome, it highlighted some of the struggled that women in stem and POC women go through daily. As an Indian myself, I felt like I could relate to a lot of Trishara's struggles as she tries to climb the corporate ladder in her engineering field only to have it passed on to the next mediocre white man.

The romance was phenomenal to the point where it had me giggling and kicking my feet! Raef and Trishara make a hilarious and seriously sexy duo. And the spice was definitely spicy!

This is an amazing romance that is funny, witty and sexy whilst also highlighting issues that POC women face. I feel like anyone who is an Ali Hazelwood fan would absolutely devour this book!

Could not get into this one, for me the humor and characters were a little too childish, we're told the main female character hates the main male but the whole time she's trying to just convince herself to stay away, the narrator did an amazing job on this audiobook though!