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!

Slow burn, forced proximity is just about one of my favorite things and this book does not fail to deliver. It is perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwoods Stemnist series. It doesn't fail to deliver on romance, societal reflections, and humorous situations that slowly increase the intensity.

Not Safe For Work by Nisha J Tuli lives up to its title. This audiobook had me blushing and making sure nobody could hear what was playing in my headphones!

Trishara Malik is tired of trying to smash the glass ceiling in the corporate engineering world as a woman of color. After her previous employer (and ex boyfriend) ruined her reputation, she tried for years to build a career at WMC Purcell. Promotion after promotion went to white men with family members in corner offices. When the ceremony to announce the attendees for the executive training program happens, she’s resigned to the fact that all she’ll get is grocery store cake while the son and nephew of her boss will be the two selected. Much to her and the nephew’s surprise, she’s chosen. Two weeks in Maui with hopes of career advancement sounds perfect, but it’s with Rafe Gallagher, the boss’s son and her workplace nemesis (and unrequited crush). To make matters worse, they’re in the honeymoon suite with only one bed and the hotel is fully booked.

Soneela Nankani is an above average narrator and I was so excited to listen to her again. While this audiobook was above average, it wasn’t quite on par with her previous work. It felt like there were random syllables that were lengthened, especially words ending in -er. Some characters voices weren’t different enough, which she has the skills to do. It was perfectly fine, but I went in with the expectation it would be the same quality as her other work which made it a tad bit disappointing.

The actual novel was great. It ticked so many of my boxes: slow burn, workplace romance, enemies to lovers, strong FMC, scenic location, diverse characters, one bed, forced proximity, the list goes on. I can’t emphasize enough how much I love workplace enemies to lovers and this one was perfect. My only gripe is how long the slow burn went on before it turned into a full on fiery romance. It was definitely worth the wait, though.

The characters had depth and much more character development than expected for the genre. Trishara was an absolute firecracker and I was so excited to see her get her spark back throughout the novel. I was pleasantly surprised with Rafe, but it’s hard to explain without spoilers.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been watching a lot of White Lotus and dreaming of a beach vacation, but I absolutely adored the setting. It was so well incorporated into the plot. Tuli did a great job describing it.

I would recommend this to anyone that’s a fan of spicy romance novels!

⭐⭐⭐⭐/🌶️🌶️ Not Safe For Work by Nisha Tuli

Tris keeps getting passed over at work for promotions, either because she's a woman, or because she's not white, or both. She is smart and talented and is hopelessly trying to bust the glass ceiling of the patriarchy that thrives at her job. When she gets invited to a 3 week leadership retreat, she goes with no expectations of it actually leading to a leadership role despite her experience and qualifications. When she arrives, she discovers that not only does she have to share a room, but it's with her work rival, Rafe.

This is laugh out loud funny, full of tension and witty banter, and truly badass FMC.

🌴Forced proximity
🧡Workplace romance
🌴Rivals-to-lovers
🧡Only one bed
🌴Women in STEM
🧡Slow burn with so much tension (it is worth the wait!!! 🥵)
🌴Rom-com

I’m a big fan of work romances, and this one did not disappoint. The resort setting really turned up the tension, and Soneela Nankani’s audiobook narration was fantastic. She brought Trishara’s sarcasm and emotions to life, making it feel like a rom-com.

Trishara’s struggles with corporate favoritism were tough but empowering to watch, and her growth as a character was one of the best parts. I loved how she owned being “too bold” and “too loud.”

The enemies-to-lovers romance was on point. The tension between Trishara and Rafe was electric, and their slow-burn banter kept me hooked. I also liked that Rafe had his own work struggles, which made the story feel more balanced.

Overall, this was a great mix of humor, romance, and real-world issues. The audiobook made the experience even better. If you’ve worked in corporate, you’ll totally relate. The one-bed trope was a perfect touch, and I loved every minute of it

Thank you NetGalley & Hachette Audio for the ALC!

Work rivals is a favourite trope of mine in contemporary romances and this was a great read. The backstory was quickly filled in and I was excited to follow Tris on a corporate training program in Hawaii.

Rafe is described as a younger Henry Cavill - combine that with a strong, direct woman with long dark hair, I pictured Geralt x Yen a-la Netflix. Anya Chalotra would be a great casting choice if this becomes a movie.

This missed the mark for the rivalry aspect <spoiler> since it ended up being a dull misunderstanding. She believed he was like his father & cousin. Meanwhile he was oblivious to that and admired her from afar - while enjoying cake - and sketched pictures of her </spoiler>

Overall, the audiobook was beautifully done. There were fun bonding experiences, one-bed shenanigans, many desserts and wedding crashing.

P.S. Tris' parents were MVP, I loved how supportive they were

Not Safe for Work by @nishajtwrites was such a delightful, feel good story! I’m so glad I got to read along while listening to the audiobook it made the whole experience even more immersive. The narrators were incredible; they brought so much life and personality to the characters. I felt every emotion every laugh, every moment of frustration, every swoon. It was such a fun ride from start to finish!

Trish was an absolute standout for me. Her strength, determination, and the way she stood her ground were so empowering to witness. She wasn’t afraid to show vulnerability, and that only made her bravery shine more. I rooted for her the entire way. She’s a character who truly stays with you.

The dynamic between Trish and Rafe was everything. Tender, playful, steamy their chemistry was off the charts! Their banter had me laughing out loud, and the tension between them was impossible to ignore. The rivals to lovers vibe, mixed with that delicious forced proximity, made for such a fiery, fun romance. And yes the spicy scenes? Absolutely worth the wait.

This was my first read from Nisha J. Tuli, and I can confidently say it won’t be my last. She completely nailed it with this one. If you’re into slow-burn romances with humor, heat, and heart, this book needs to be on your TBR. Five stars honestly aren’t enough!

Thank you so much to @hachetteaudio @readforeverpub, and @netgalley for the advance copy of this eARC & ALC!

Hot damn. This book. Yes. Just yes. Tuli needs to write whatever and whenever she can, and I love that she’s coming into the contemporary romance genre. The audiobook was great, the characters amazing, and this book is so damn sexy.

Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli is a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance that sizzles with tension and chemistry. Set during a corporate retreat in Hawaii, the story follows Trishara Malik, a woman of color in STEM, who’s forced to share a room with her workplace rival, Rafe Gallagher. What begins as professional animosity soon turns into something far more complicated, with every interaction crackling with unspoken feelings and a steady build toward inevitable passion.

Tuli excels at creating romantic tension, using tropes like forced proximity and the infamous one-bed trope to heighten the stakes. The slow-burn pacing keeps readers hooked, allowing the emotional and physical connections between Tris and Rafe to unfold organically. With sharp writing, steamy moments, and underlying themes of workplace inequality, Not Safe for Work is both entertaining and thought-provoking—perfect for romance readers who crave heat, heart, and a heroine who refuses to be sidelined.

Nisha J Tuli to the front please…AHHHHH I love you! What a phenomenal debut into your contemporary romance era and I truly hope there is many more!

Not Safe For Work has it all. There’s a strong female lead, a broody and sexy love interest, it’s full of humor, swooning, romance but also packed full of extremely important and relative conversations about the struggle of women (especially BIPOC women) in male dominated fields.

I absolutely loved this and will be a reread for sure. The audiobook? 10 outta TEN!!! I believe it was my first listen by Soneela Nankani and she was phenomenal. Her voice is easy to listen to and kept me engaged the entire time. Cannot recommend the audiobook enough! Thank you Hachette Audio and NetGalley for the early audio copy!

The stunning cover first drew me in, and the story didn’t disappoint. I really enjoyed this audiobook!

Tris is sent on a work retreat to Hawaii, though not for the reason she hoped. Still, she makes the best of it… shopping spree included. She’s joined by Rafe, the boss’s son (cue the eye roll), and things get interesting when they realize they will be sharing a room.

Their banter was great, and I loved watching Tris warm up to Rafe. Why is it so hot when a man loves to bake?

The story also delivered a powerful message about women, especially women of color. I was cheering when Tris finally stood up for herself.

The single narration was absolutely fantastic. Narrator Soneela Nankani knocked it out of the park. Definitely glad I listened to this one!

Thank you Hachette Audio & NetGalley for providing this ARC to review.

Workplace rivals Trishara & Rafe are sent on a company leadership retreat in Hawaii. Upon discovering they will be forced to share the Honeymoon Suite, chaos unfolds and Tris starts to see another side to Rafe. As well as delivering on the romance aspect, the book also focuses on the ongoing issue that surrounds strong women/poc in white male dominated fields.

I would highly recommend consuming this one as an Audiobook. The narration was perfect. Soneela kept me completely engaged the whole time and she did a spectacular job of making each character feel completely individual. I feel like my review is more forgiving having listened to the story as I was completely immersed. If reading, I would have preferred a dual POV as although Rafe was a communication king, I would have loved his side of the story too. I struggled a little with Tris as I didn’t find her inner monologue matched a lot of decisions she made in real life.

If you enjoy tropical vibes, forced proximity, women in STEM, slow burn, only one bed, banter with a few shakes of spice - this is for you.

4.5 stars. Not Safe for Work is a steamy enemies-to-lovers workplace romance. Engineer Trishara Malik, overlooked in her career, is forced to share a honeymoon suite in Hawaii with her rival, Rafe Gallagher—the boss’s son—during a corporate retreat. As sparks fly, professional rivalry gives way to unexpected attraction, challenging both their ambitions and assumptions.

I love a strong FMC, and Tris is just that. As a resilient and witty woman of color in STEM, she defies nepotism and bias, showcasing her strength. Yet, her vulnerability shines through as she embraces growth, her worth, and unexpected feelings while focusing on her goals. Standing up for herself and calling attention to wrongdoing shows her desire to make work a safer place for women.

Rafe, though initially seen as a classic “boss’s son” riding on nepotism, steadily earns respect by showing genuine emotional intelligence and humility. He supports Tris as an equal and never tries to overshadow her while still challenging her. He was a surprisingly likable MMC.

I highly recommend this book. I loved it, and it’s perfect for summer! Soneela Nankani was great as the narrator. The way she presented the content made me feel even more connected to the characters. Thank you, Netgalley and Hachette Audio, for allowing me to listen to this ALC!

Nisha certainly delivered with this outstanding, tension filled, workplace contemporary romance! Look, I’m not a contemporary romance girlie, I prefer the darker side, but this book had me hollering “You go girl!”. Well balanced characters, witty banter, well written story, spunky, quirky, relatable and once you finally get to the good stuff it’s hot! It really shines a light on the misogyny and imbalance between the sexes in the workplace, especially the professional world, and even more so for a PoC. But that email at the end was EPIC! This is a must read for its genre. And if you prefer audiobooks the narrator gives an amazing performance and adds just the perfect amount of pizazz amplifying the enjoyment factor.

Smart, funny, and full of fire. Tris is a total powerhouse—confident, fed up with the corporate BS, and impossible not to root for. Rafe? Hot, sure, but I wanted a bit more from him than just forearms and mystery.
The enemies-to-lovers tension was deliciously slow-burn (yes, the one bed trope delivers!), and the Hawaiian setting? Pure escapism. Loved the sharp commentary on sexism in STEM and corporate culture—Tris calling it out was everything.
Some pacing dips and I wanted more depth in the romance, but overall? This was a fun, feminist, sun-soaked read with heart.

FIRST OF ALL — Soneela Nankani is an AMAZING narrator! I laughed and giggled so much while listening, and even got almost teary towards the end. She really brought Tris’ charm to life and acted the hell out of this book. Her pacing was spot on, her voice is super pleasant to listen to, and she’s effortlessly funny. Highly recommend the audiobook when it comes out!

As someone who used to work in the live sound industry as a sound engineer, I really felt this one. Being a woman in a male-dominated field is no joke, and that’s what initially drew me to the story. In NSFW, Tris is a BIPOC engineer who’s been repeatedly passed over for opportunities and promotions during her 5 years at the company. This includes a promotion she applied for but was instead handed to the boss’s son, even though she was clearly the most qualified with stellar performances in her department. That’s when Rafe Gallagher officially earned the title of Tris’ work nemesis!!

The story was such a fun ride—even if some parts were a bit outlandish, but it works because this is a romcom. It’s the kind of fantasy I’d love to live in! I mean, who wouldn’t want to be sent on a 3-week leadership retreat in Hawaii (aka paradise), and be forced to share the honeymoon suite with your nemesis-slash-secret crush-slash-boss’s son???

Workplace romance hits different, especially when it’s set during a work trip. The slow burn was delicious, sparks definitely fly, and the chemistry between Tris and Rafe feels natural and well-developed. I could feel the emotional connection grow between them the whole way through! Although I didn't mind that it's only single POV, I would LOVE to see Rafe's POV too!! But this story is more about Tris than Rafe so it makes sense for it to be single POV!

So grateful I got the chance to review this ALC. Huge thanks to Hachette Audio for the copy via NetGalley!

First of all, I LOVE this narrator! She brought this story to life in all the best ways!

I also just loved this story! Being a woman in a man's line of work is hard! Tris is a female engineer and a damned good one. Being passed up for promotions and opportunities has really hurt and she's applying for other jobs when she's chosen for a company retreat. She thinks she's finally been noticed and is being given the recognition she deserves, only to find out she was only chosen to tick an equality box for the company. And she has to go with the boss's son- her absolute nemesis who she's secretly always been obsessed with 😏

We've got enemies to lovers, forced proximity, only one bed, office romance, etc. Absolutely loved this!

First and foremost, Rafe is a sweet little cinnamon roll who just wants to be a baker influencer on Instagram. My precious boy has never done wrong in his life and I will accept no criticisms at this time. 😌

Tris is a BIPOC woman in the male-dominated field of Engineering and while she encounters a lot of relatable scenarios regarding being a woman in STEM, but I just couldn’t quite relate to her beyond that. She suffered through blatant sexism, racist undertones, and faux-DEI initiatives but I had a lot of trouble connecting with Tris as a character as a whole. Her behavior was often so immature that it was painful to read. I did however, really appreciate that she stood up for her morals at the end. It was a “stand up and cheer” moment for me.

I had a few instances that took me right out of the story, and mostly they were just too wild and outlandish scenarios that I just couldn’t ignore them for the sake of the story and I would continuously think of them throughout the book. For example: Tris is chosen to go on a THREE WEEK leadership retreat in HAWAII with over 100 of her coworkers. This company must be on par with Amazon-like profits to even come close to funding this trip. So not only does she get chosen to go on this trip, she also blackmails (ish) her boss to fly her first class, have her put up in a top floor suite of their luxury Hawaiian 5-star hotel (her accommodations alone would have cost like $75,000 or more), and buy her a multi-piece brand new set of LOUIS VUITTON luggage? Another $25,000??? I couldn’t get past it. And then at the end she’s all “I’m going to burn this luggage” 🤯 Ma’am, I beg your finest pardon???

But I digress.

The story was enjoyable, and beyond those truly incredible details i mentioned above, I enjoyed the story. It was a fun little tale, full of spicy goodness and a cinnamon roll MMC (who again is perfect and didn’t I just tell you I’m not accepting any criticisms at this time?? Shoo).


Thank you to Forever for providing me the opportunity to read and review this eARC in exchange for my honest review. Thank you also to Hachette Audio for providing me the opportunity to listen and review this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Not Safe For Work was a great realistic romance. I appreciated the perspective and experiences of the author that really brought realism to this workplace romance. The narration by Soneela Nankani was fantastic. The pace was perfect and her voice was pleasant to listen to. Nisha J Tuli has written a wonderful romance in a beautiful setting with realistic scenarios and characters. I really enjoyed listening to this book.

I really wanted to love this book. There was certainly a lot to like
- A strong capable woman working in STEM
- Calling out on the crap that female/brown engineers face in the workplace
- A workplace rivalry between the bosses son and the smart women who deserved the promotion
- A likeable boyfriend with a crush on the smart girl

Tris is an engineer working for a ho hum company and has been passed over for promotions for years. She seems too stuck and jaded to do anything about it until she is selected to go to a leadership team event that runs over three weeks (what company can spare all it's aspiring leaders for 3 weeks???!!). Tris demands a room upgrade and you guessed it - there is only one bed with her rival Rafe.

Sparks fly on this trip and it was easy to see the chemistry of the leads as well as the emotional connection develop between them. That was the best part of the book.

All in all this was is a 3.5 to 4 stars for me. I wanted it to be 5 stars... Maybe it was the audio - which was OK but I didn't love. Some parts felt repetitive. Some of Tris' actions seemed immature and annoyed me. I was frustrated with her lack of spine in wanting to resolve workplace issues in the first half. I also got frustrated with the Rafe dragging on the drama with his ex. But enough there for it to be enjoyable.

All in all, an OK to good read (listen) for me.