This one was so fun!!

Tropes:
-miscommunication
-Rivals to lovers
-coworkers
-one bed
-slowburn
-LOTS of funny banter

When two coworkers go on a business trip, their attraction to each other starts to intensify! Doesn’t help that they have to share a room together …. And there’s only ONE BED 👀
The banter the mmc and fmc had was so funny and the sexual tension they had was 🫠🔥
This is a perfect steamy and fun book to read especially for the summer ! 😍♥️

Tris works in a white male dominated industry. She's working to push through the glass ceiling of her job and make it in her field. But when her boss' son gets the job she's been working hard to get she nearly loses it. But soon she finds out that she's been picked for a leadership retreat (along with Rafe - her boss' son) and that gives her a little hope. But when they get there, guess what ladies and gentlemen... there's only one bed. (What a great trope!) But Rafe's not half the monster she thinks he is.

This enemies to lovers, workplace romance, with only one bed and forced proximity is a really fun listen. Soneela Nankani (our wonderful narrator) made the book fun, and she brought all the characters to life in such a great way. Kudos.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

Clever, real, and full of energy, I am thoroughly impressed by Nisha’s writing. Consistently I have found myself drawn to her work; if she writes it, I will definitely read it. The engaging dialogue and hot chemistry made this book utterly binge-worthy. Providing an exhilarating and empowering journey, this story was excellent from start to finish. I had to alternate between the audiobook and the eBook, but every time I switched, the audiobook was perfect—the narrators truly delivered! I really recommend the audiobook, personally it added so much to the experience.

Review:
This was my first book by Nisha J. Tuli, and I absolutely loved it! I was so engrossed in the story I couldn’t stop listening. What really stood out was how the book tackled real-life issues (like workplace sexism and racism) without losing the heart of the romance.

We follow Trishara Malik, a woman of colour determined to prove herself in a male-dominated industry, as she's selected for a corporate retreat in Hawaii. Her reluctant companion? Rafe Gallagher, her workplace rival. And to top it all off, they’re stuck sharing a honeymoon suite. What begins with fiery animosity gradually transforms into something much more vulnerable and intense.

Nisha does an excellent job highlighting the challenges Trishara faces. While it was great to see Rafe supporting her, even from behind the scenes, it’s Trishara’s own resilience and determination that was so inspiring. I would’ve loved a deeper look into Rafe’s internal struggles and backstory, but the chemistry, witty banter, and slow-burn romance more than made up for it.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Soneela Nankani, and the narration was so good I could feel every ounce of emotion.

Overall, it’s safe to say I’ll definitely be picking up more from Nisha J. Tuli!


Side Note:
Barnes & Noble reviewed posted under kardesira
Amazon review will be posted on release day

3.75/4 ⭐️

This was a pretty clear cut, stereotypical rom com. It wasn’t a serious book and if you looked too deep into the idea of the characters / plot it felt pretty immature, but i still had a lot of fun.

The MCs definitely came off pretty immature making it hard to buy a lot of the things that were happening, BUT if you’re looking for something fun, quick, easy and won’t make you think to hard but laugh and swoon quite a bit this is a really good option!

I really enjoyed the concept of our FMC being BIPOC female in a male dominated field. It was dealt with mainly with humor and being that i deal with serious things with humor quite frequently, i really enjoyed that! 😅

I really enjoyed the narration! I liked the commitment and i was engaged with the story the entire time. I would definitely recommend reading via audio if you’re an audiobook frequenter!

You’ll find:
-Females in STEM
-BIPOC FMC
-Forced Proximity
-Instalove-ish
-Rivals to Lovers
-One Bed
-Workplace Romance

Overall, it was a fun read. It was pretty funny, surface level and i had a great time. It’s not the best book i’ve ever read, and i’m not sure it’ll stick with me. BUT it was fun during! 😊

SPICE: 2.5 🌶, RATING: 5⭐️, VIBES: Smart Girl Energy, Workplace Tension, Feminist Feels, Grumpy x Capable Queen 💼❤️‍🔥⚙️✨

One of my fave contemporary romances this year! A brilliant, overlooked female engineer battles daily sexism in a male-dominated field—until a forced work retreat with her “rival” shifts everything. Turns out, he listens. He respects her. And yeah… he's kinda hot when he’s emotionally competent.

Watching these two navigate their past assumptions, share vulnerabilities, and slowly fall in love was both heartwarming and hilarious. The banter? Sharp. The tension? Delicious. The chemistry? Off the charts, and just the right amount of spice.

I devoured this in one sitting and couldn’t be more grateful for the early listen. The characters felt real, the narration was perfectly delivered, and the blend of heart, humor, and honesty made it chef’s kiss.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was such a great office romance! But honestly... my favorite part was how it showed how women were treated in a workforce that is prominently male. After listening to the author’s note in the beginning, I knew that this was going to be a great read that is very personal to the author.

The romance itself was also super good! I love Trishara and Rafe, they are just so cute!

I listened to the audiobook version of this book and the narration was also very good! They did a great job of bringing the story to life ❤️

I want to thank @hachetteaudio for giving me this ALC in exchange for a review. Not Safe For Work is a workplace rivals, enemies to lovers, forced proximity romance with a lot of discussions about sexism in the workplace and females in a male dominated field. The FMC, Trishara, and MMC, Rafe, are both engineers at a large corporation and have had this silent competition to beat each other. At least on Trishara’s side of the story, that’s what was going on; constantly trying to move her place at the company and show her worth.

While I loved the premise of this story, I couldn’t help but think it felt awkward at times. As Triahara grew confidence in expressing her worth at the company and the confidence she has in doing the job well as a future leader, I would have loved to see her confidence grow in the relationship with Rafe. There were so many times that her past brought up insecurities with trusting Rafe, understandably so, but as her confidence grew with work, I wish her personal confidence mirrored that.

I thought the audio was beautifully done, except for when it was Rafe speaking. Something about a woman doing the impression of a male voice made the character hard to believe.

Overall I did enjoy listening to the narrative and hearing the workplace rivalry unfold as truths came out.

I listened to Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli on audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator—she brought the characters to life with great pacing and personality, which definitely helped pull me into the story.

As for the book itself, it was a decent romcom with a fun premise—rival engineers forced to share a honeymoon suite in paradise? That setup had so much potential. I appreciated Trishara’s ambition and the commentary on workplace inequality, but I found some of the plot beats predictable and the chemistry between the leads took a while to fully click for me. There were moments of humor and heat, but I wasn’t totally sold on the emotional payoff.

A solid listen if you enjoy workplace rivals-to-lovers tropes and tropical settings, but it didn’t completely wow me. That said, the narrator made it worth the time.

Book: 3.5 stars! ⭐️
Audio: 4 stars! ⭐️
Huge thanks to Hachette Audio for the ALC & Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC via NetGalley 💌

Okay sooo… it wasn’t bad per se but I definitely went in with higher expectations. Like, I was READY to be obsessed, and while it delivered on some levels, it didn’t exactly knock me off my feet.

Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli, narrated by Soneela Nankani, was honestly such a vibe-y workplace romcom with a much-needed dose of brown girl boss energy.

Let's talk tropes (because duh):
🌺 Enemies-to-lovers 
☀️ Forced proximity
🌺 Workplace romance 
☀️ Only one bed
🌺 STEM rep (engineering queen alert!)
☀️ Woman of color in a white man’s world 
🌺 Chronic pain rep 
☀️ Slooooow burn (like painfully slow) 
🌺 Protective MMC who’s secretly soft 
☀️ Banter & angst combo pack

Tris was a STRONG lead. Smart, bold, tired of the BS, and not afraid to stand up for herself—honestly loved that for her. She carried this story. And I mean that literally and emotionally. I cheered every time she snapped back at sexist workplace nonsense.

But Rafe? Hmm... okay hear me out—he’s hot, sweet, and has forearms (which apparently is a thing now??) BUT he felt kinda flat to me. Like, I got more out of his family drama than him. I just wanted a little more depth, you know? Not just hot-and-mysterious energy.

The chemistry though? YES, they’re spicy but in a super slow-burn way—like, we’re crawling to the fire here. It took forever to get there but once it did? Whew. And the tension? Delicious. That one bed? Tragic (for them), hilarious (for us).

The audio performance by Soneela Nankani? Chef’s kiss. She made Tris’s frustration and sass SO real and gave life to even the most awkward tension moments.

What stood out the most?
The setting = literal paradise. Hawaii vibes, sun, water, awkward hotel situations... gimme all of it.
And also—THE CALL OUTS. Like, Nisha really said let’s expose corporate patriarchy and I was so here for it. The author note about her own experience? Heartbreaking. And powerful.

That said, some pacing issues dragged the middle, and I wanted more evolution from Rafe and their relationship outside of lust. I also wish the conflict resolution hit harder. Like girl, you deserved a SCENE, not just a half-apology and some sunshine.

Butttt the ending was cute, the epilogue gave me the warm fuzzies, and I smiled closing the last chapter.

Final thoughts?
A fierce brown woman in STEM navigating a sexist workplace with a lot of sass, a hot co-worker she swears she hates, and one bed in paradise?? YUP, that’ll always get me to click “Request.”

3.5 stars from me!
Would recommend with tempered expectations and a craving for slow burn, smart girls, and sun-soaked chaos.

CW:
– Sexism
– Racism + racial microaggressions
– Nonconsensual touching
– Mention of leaked intimate photo
– Blackmail

So yeah... Not perfect, but definitely a fun ride.
Now someone get me a piña colada and an enemies-to-lovers retreat ASAP.

Not Safe for Work was so cute! I loved the idea of a workplace romance but make it on vacation/work trip, and love to see women represented in male dominated fields.

This was my first read by Nisha, apparently she does some amazing fantasy and will have to check that out!

Tish and Rafe were adorable! Their romance was so sweet and swoony, and I loved every minute of their story.

❤️ rivals to lovers
❤️ workplace romance
❤️ forced proximity
❤️ overprotective MMC
❤️ one bed
❤️ wedding crashing

I went into this kinda blind. I requested an arc and received it in the form of an audiobook. Thank you Netgalley ! I didn’t realize until i only had like a chapter left that this was the same author who wrote trial of the sun queen which I loved. I will say that I think this author does a better job writing fantasy than contemporary romance. Some parts were a little cheesy with sentences like : his eyes darkened like the color of an autumn storm and comparing their kiss to an earthquake/storm/etc.

I loved Trishara, the FMC. She’s strong, independent and kicking butt as a woman of color in the male dominated engineer company. Definitely a heroine we can root for. We love a woman in STEM.
Rafe is a stereotypical book boyfriend. Tall, good looking, and protective of our girl. No complaints there. AND I loved that he bakes as a fellow dessert maker.
I felt like some of the side character friends were supposed to be the comedic relief. Which they were cute and likable but some of their jokes/bits kinda fell flat for me.

Overall a good read, I would definitely recommend
3.8/5 stars

I don't have too many specific complaints — it was just a bit boring for me and didn’t really hold my attention. It’s totally fine for passing the time or listening to something while doing chores around the house, but I don’t think I would’ve finished it if it hadn’t been in audio format.

All in all, I can’t fully recommend it.

First of all, I received the ALC for this book and I was very excited to start it. I started it before, like, you know, my exams—my final seminar exams—and I really needed a booster with all the current situations going on in India. So yeah, I was very excited. This book is a workplace romance, and I hadn’t read one in a long time.

The story follows Trishara Malik, an engineer navigating a toxic, male-dominated corporate environment at WMC, where gender bias and nepotism are very much alive. She’s passed over for promotions and constantly undermined, but she’s strong-willed, opinionated, and not afraid to speak up. Then comes Rafe Gallagher, the charming, witty, art-loving son of the VP—and Trishara’s competitive rival.

So, there’s a three-week retreat to Hawaii where she, her co-worker Rafe Gallagher (who is also the VP’s son), and many other employees from different branches of WMC go. It has a very beachy vibe, and I was enjoying it. There was SO much alcohol in this book—I was literally laughing. Like, does their liver not get rotten with that much alcohol consumption? It was very funny to me.

The vibes were great. I was loving the atmosphere and the characters. I like layered characters—who doesn’t? Rafe was definitely layered. He likes baking, he likes art, he’s witty and charming. Trishara is also a great character. She’s ready to stand up for injustice, she’s outspoken, and she isn’t afraid to speak her mind—and I really liked that.

The work environment at WMC was honestly so bad. They seriously need to work on that. I was so happy with that last email Trishara sent to all the employees—it was hilarious. I was like, “Damn girl, you’ve got some balls!” Also, the way she blackmailed her boss in the beginning? So funny.

Now, the whole “one room” situation between Rafe and Trishara was not very realistic. Like, come on. In such a big hotel, there’s no spare room? Really? And them getting the honeymoon suite was just the cherry on top. But still, the comedy and their interactions were entertaining. Their relationship wasn’t limited to just flirting—they were competitive, bantering, and had their own kind of chemistry.

This book is supposed to be a slow burn, but I don’t think it really was. It all happened in three weeks. Yes, they knew of each other for five years, but they were never really close—just competitors. So suddenly saying “I love you” at the end of those three weeks? Yeah, not very realistic. Slow burn was there—like they kissed at 65%, and they were banging at 75%. So maybe? But in retrospect, I wouldn’t really call it a slow burn. Though I still enjoyed it.

The middle felt a bit repetitive. But I loved the side characters—Lan, Gabriel, and even Molly. I love female friendships!

If you’re looking for good Indian rep, though—you won’t find much in this one. It doesn’t go beyond the name and a random samosa mention to give you the desi-ness you might be craving.

Also, the audiobook was great. The narrator had such a good vibe to her. She was very lively with her narration and expressed emotions really well.

I really love the story, its such a fun work romance! It gives you all the feels. I love the main FMC and how she knows her worth.
The tropes,
🩷work place romance
🩷rivals to lovers
🩷forced proximity
🩷one bed
And more!

I really love the voice for the audiobook. It's so easy to listen to and enjoy every bit of it. I really love where this story went and how it all came about.

I'm an ebook/physical book reader who likes to read along sometimes with an audiobook, but being able to listen to this without the words in my face was easy. It was easy to picture this story and everything in it and enjoy it!

This workplace romance was fun, spicy, sexy and enjoyable. Trish and Rafe go on a workplace retreat to Hawaii to be better in their careers and learned so much more than they could've imagined.

Thank you @nishajtwrites for a wonderful fun read. @netgalley and @hachetteaudio for the opportunity to listen and enjoy this novel.

🌺Workplace Romance
🍹Forced Proximity
🏝One Room/One Bed
🚤Enemies to Lovers
🐠Slow Burn
🪸HEA

4 🌟

Thank you so much Hachette Audio for giving me an audiobook on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

First off, the artwork on the cover of this book is gorgeous and it really drew me. The narration of this audio is gorgeous and they do a great job, it’s such an easy listen.

The themes in this book of sexism, corporate culture and racism were great to read about, from a FMC who is such a confident powerhouse.

The storyline itself, I was a bit disappointed by it. I kept waiting for something to happen that made me feel an emotion of excitement or tension or suspense and nothing came. There no ‘wow’ moment. For mr the chemistry with Rafe and Trishara wasn’t really there, but I’m such a huge fan of banter so maybe that is what I was missing. Overall I really enjoyed this book but it just needed a bit more zing.

Trishara Malik is facing an extreme case of burnout at a workplace she feels doesn't want her. When she's selected to attend a corporate leadership retreat in Hawaii, she's shocked - and she intends to make the most of it. Until she leans that Rafe Gallagher, the boss's son and her workplace nemises, has also been selected for the trip.

Nisha is one of my favourite authors (and I've been lucky enough to read arcs for almost all her books), so when I saw her post about her first contemporary romance I knew I would love it - and I wasn't wrong.

Nisha is great at creating witty banter between her main characters. The representation in all of her novels is always top tier, and as a fellow migraine sufferer, I loved seeing the MC suffering the same way I do (although, I always felt bad for her) because even though it's fairly common, no one really talks about it.

Rafe was also a delight. Nisha has a way of always smashing her MMCs out of the park.

The narrator (Soneela Nankani) was excellent - her "male" voice didn't creep me out - so it was amazing!

For fans of:

📚 Workplace romances
🌺 Rivals to lovers
📚 The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
🌺 Only one bed

Thank you to Hachette for an audio listener copy, all opinions are my own.

🌿 REVIEW 🌿

Title: Not Safe for Work
Author: Nisha J Tuli
Rating: 5⭐️

**Thankyou Hachette Audio for giving me an audiobook on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

This might just be one of the best romance novels I've ever read. I went in not sure what to expect, but I should have known better than to underestimate Nisha Tuli. Oh. My. Word.

This book is rivals to lovers at its finest. The banger? The tension? Off the charts. I couldn't stop thinking about it from start to finish.

However, what really did it for me was the real-world commentary about life as a woman in male-dominated industries, especially as a woman of colour. After reading the author's note at the very beginning, I knew it would be good, and Nisha delivered on every front. The things Trishara goes through in this novel (and the real experiences they were based on) made me so mad, and I felt so liberated reading how Trishara continued to stand up for herself at every turn in spite of everything. And the letter? Perfection.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book, and the narration was great. Soneela Nankani was expressive without being overly so, and I would definitely listen to her narrations in the future!

⭐️ 3 stars

This was such a fun listen with a great premise—and we love a WOC in STEM! Trishara is an ambitious, passionate lead and I really enjoyed her perspective as she navigates the ups and downs of her career in a white male-dominated space. The tropical workplace setting, rivals-to-something-more tension, and slow-burn banter gave this romcom its charm. Plus, the audiobook narration—while it started off a little flat—quickly found its rhythm. The narrator’s delivery of the banter and tension really helped bring the story to life and made for an engaging listen overall.

That said, a few things held this back for me. The third-act conflict felt a bit drawn out and could’ve been resolved more smoothly with better communication (typical for romcoms, I know). At times, both Trishara and Rafe read emotionally younger than their supposed late-20s (almost 30) age, especially in how they handled certain conversations and reacted to things. And while Rafe has plenty of physical description early on, his emotional depth came in much later than I would’ve liked. Still, the chemistry was there, the spicy scenes definitely delivered, and I appreciated the humor woven throughout.

One major highlight was how the story addressed the reality of sexism and racism in corporate culture—particularly in the second half. It was handled in a way that felt honest and impactful, and added meaningful depth to Trishara’s arc.

Overall, this is a solid debut contemporary romance from Nisha J. Tuli. The premise, setting, and narration kept me invested, and I’m looking forward to what she writes next!

🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.