i love a man who yearns so openly and a woman clueless to it all.

absolutely loved being able to get to listen to this audio. trish and rafe are sugar, spice and everything nice. a perfect dive into workplace romance with heat, yearning, and romance with a beautifully delicious slow burn between these two characters.

Not Safe For Work
By Nisha J Tuli
Narrated by Soneela Nankani
4.5 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this workplace romance. I found it to be cozy, sweet, witty, and refreshingly honest. I LOVED the tension, banter, and Tuli-themed Easter eggs. Tuli is already a favorite author of mine and this further solidifies that. I throughly enjoyed this.

I do recommend this one as an audiobook. The audio narration was superbly executed. Characters were depicted so extremely well that the voice given to them pulled beyond the page. Seriously well done all around on this audiobook.

Thank you NetGalley, Nisha Tuli, Forever Pub, and Hachette Audio for an eARC and audiobook ARC of this witty and entertaining read! 🍰

This was d cute, easy enemies to lovers. I liked how lighthearted the book was; at times the characters could be immature but it was fun. The lightheartedness did take away from the deeper issues the author tried to touch on but she didn't add enough depth to those issues in my opinion.

Rafe was so sweet and supportive - I would have really loved to have had his POV.

The narrator was the perfect voice for this one and I'm definitely looking forward to finding more books narrated by her!

-Rivals to Lovers
-Workplace Romance
-Tropical Retreat
-One Bed

You know there was no way I would t want to read/ listen to this book. If it came from the great mind I’d Nisha J Tuli… I am SOLD being an avid reader of her romantasy series. However #NotSafeForWork is something different!

It’s a Romcom with a great nemesis to lovers arch that had me laughing so hard at time, and I lost tears as parts of it. Because as a woman of colour in the corporate world… I GOT IT!

Soneela Nankani’s voice brought Trish to life for me, her acting skills and the way her voice fit so perfectly is Chefs Kids! And not to forget to mention the amazing performance given by her!

The whole quality of the production of this audiobook is incredible, a full experience worth reading and listening to together!

Favourite Quote: “How was Margaret Thatcher the first name to pop in your head? Do I remind you of a dead white lady?”


Spicy Level - 🌶️🌶️

As a woman engineer, I was genuinely excited for Not Safe for Work. A romcom set in the corporate engineering world with a woman trying to break the glass ceiling? It felt like it could be so relatable. And on paper, the setup had everything I love: workplace tension, a tropical retreat, the “one bed” trope, and an enemies-to-lovers arc. But despite the potential, the execution just didn’t work for me.

I completed this via audiobook, and let me say—the narrator was fantastic. Truly, she brought the characters to life in the best way she could. But even the best performance couldn’t save this one from how painfully slow and frustrating the story was. Hawaii somehow felt bland, the “one bed” scenario dragged on without delivering any real tension or payoff, and the characters? Their behavior often felt more middle school than mid-career.

I pushed through, hoping it would turn around, but by the end, I just felt annoyed. There were so many opportunities to explore gender dynamics in the workplace or dive into real emotional growth, but the book leaned too heavily on tired tropes and shallow banter.

This could’ve been an empowering, fun read for women in STEM or anyone who's ever felt stuck in a corporate grind—but instead, it left me wishing I’d used those hours for something else.

A good "enemies" to lovers workplace romance! The audiobook performance was well done! I hope Nisha chooses to write more romcoms!

Trishara and Rafe’s story from workplace enemies to friends to lovers was so fun! The setting of the corporate retreat gave it a vacation vibe mixed with work, and I think that really added to the developing relationship on the page. Rafe was so sweet and had so many moments on the page where he stood up for or cared for Trishara with no questions asked, and seeing those from Trishara’s POV was truly the best. The ending was great and really tied everyone’s character arcs, and the relationship, together so well!

I’m usually not a big fan of single narrators in romance books, but Soneela did a fantastic job switching between voices for characters! The voice for Rafe was perfect in my opinion. She also enunciated clearly and didn’t have any extra sounds or breaths that detracted from listening. Absolutely would recommend listening to other books she narrates!

Not Safe For Work is a good romantic work rivals to lovers book that is definitely not safe for work. The spicy scenes are nice and spicy and not cringy. Overall this is a good read that kept me interested. 3.5 stars

Nisha J. Tuli does it again!!

She never fails to write amazing, deep and complex characters.

I loved the romcom vibes of this story but also the minority representation in so many ways. Not only did she add a layer of shaming the cis white man who gets everything handed to him with no accountability (not the main character), but she highlights women in men dominated fields and even deeper BiPOC women in white men dominated fields. I was rooting for Tris so hard and was thrilled to watch her stand up for herself in her field and say F the consequences!

The narrators brought the characters to life in an amazing way. The accent inflexions on an indian character were great. They truly did a wonderful performance to make me truly feel like I was hearing Tris and Rafe themselves!

This book was quite delightful! It’s an easy listen and was the perfect background for doing chores. The narrator did a great job and I am looking forward to reading this author’s Romantasy catalogue.

I didn’t like the instagram aspect, I’m realizing now that social media subplots in books are really pulling me out of the story.

I would have LOVED a dual POV for this book. I was craving some of Rafe’s down bad thoughts of Tishara.

Found in this book:
•FM romance
•Indian FMC
•Enemies to lovers (but were they really enemies??)
•Workplace romance
•Forced proximity
•Only one room left in the hotel and *gasp* it only has one bed
•Sexism and racism in white male dominated field
•Mic drop quitting email moment
•Spice 🔥

t’s hard to believe this is Tuli’s first foray into romcom, because she absolutely nailed it in this enemies-to-lovers only-one-bed workplace romance. Setting it in an engineering company where every single woman who has ever existed shares the pain of embedded misogyny? So on point.

Trishara is a confident and capable shining star who is constantly overlooked because she’s “too loud” or “too bold” but we all know it’s really because she’s a person of color who also has boobs. She’s sent on a 3 week workplace conference in Hawaii with Rafe who represents everything we hate in corporate America (white, nepo baby, privileged because of the color of his skin, who he knows and the fact he possesses a penis). They’re forced to share a 1-bedroom suite for the stay, and it turns out that Rafe isn’t quite who she thought he was.

Because I listened to the audio, review is in 2 parts -

Story - Rafe and Tris have amazing chemistry. Some storytelling makes you yearn for the touch that the characters are breathless for, and this is definitely a fantastic example. I loved the lush setting, the vibrant side characters and the gradual reveals of details of Rafe’s life. Of note, definitely appreciated Tris learning that her corporate role model was a disappointment- we’ve all been there, looking up to someone who claims to want to break the glass ceiling only to find out they’re helping to seal the cracks in the glass all along.

Narration - amazing! I usually prefer duet narration and while it would have been nice to hear what’s going on in Rafe’s mind, he does a pretty good job of just telling us (and it’s not HIS story!). But I felt all the sarcasm, frustration, embarrassment and heat the Tris did. The narration here is 100% on point.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC - all opinions are my own.

Ok Nisha J Tuli, I see you! 👀 She said I can do more than just fantasy, watch this. And did not disappoint!!

I was already hooked when you hit me with the rivals to lovers… but then you jump started the entire thing with a one bed trope??? I’m sat.

This book was funny, adorable, and had me kicking my feet! The pacing was absolutely perfect, the slow burn took a tiiiiiny bit longer than I would have preferred but was well worth the wait and build up! The spice is mild, but it’s good 😮‍💨

Per usual with contemporary romance, I’m just not a fan of the lack of communication issue in the relationship. I know it’s a common one to write but I’m just still not a fan. But that’s just my preference!

Cannot recommend this cute book enough, it’s such an easy read to just sit down and devour one day!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts are my own and are in no way influenced by early access to this title.

Thank you to Netgalley & Hachette Audio for the ALC.

This was my first book I've read from Nisha and it was fantastic.

What a killer romcom with just the right amount of rivals to lovers banter and scalding hot spice.
Some of my favorite tropes were thrown in here (forced proximity, workplace romance, only one bed), but nothing felt cliche.

The pacing was perfect and the chemistry was off the charts.

The narration was wonderful and engaging. I normally feel like I need to listen at 1.5X speed, but this was perfect as is.

Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli is about a Tris, a woman of color in the engineering field, when she gets sent on a three week corporate leadership retreat, except she must attend with her workplace rival, Rafe.

As far as rivals to lovers goes in an employment setting, I actually really like that trope. What I didn't like about this book was Tris,. For someone who wanted people to respect her in her career, for her brain and not her body/looks, I feel like she objectified Rafe in literally every single paragraph of this book. It felt like way too much and a little hypocritical to me. She kept talking badly about her male coworkers and their actions, which weren't right either, but then she would go and do what felt like the same thing. Also, if she eavesdropped on his phone calls one more time I was gonna lose it.

I did think the additional layer of Rafe's family having a tie in to the company added more to the story, and I liked other characters. It was just hard to enjoy this book when I disliked the main character so much, and it was from her POV.

In terms of the audiobook, I thought the narrator did a great job!!!

3.5/5

The concept of this book is great! But when I say I want slowburn, I mean the physical and the emotional. I was dropped in the middle (tail end, really) of this "slowburn" where all the attraction has been realized already. To me, that's the more fun part. The "what's this, this feeling in the air" moments.

A contemporary romance by Nisha J Tuli? Yes, please. Not Safe For Work follows Trishana Malik and Rafe Gallagher in a work rivals to lovers story. Tris has been passed over for promotions and awards in her career at WMC where nepotism and white male privilege runs rampant; she is surprised to learn that she is selected to go on a corporate retreat in Maui with none other than Rafe, who is her boss's son who was chosen for a team lead promotion over her. They arrive in Maui and are stuck together in a single hotel room after a booking error. I enjoyed the character development for both Tris and Rafe. They both figure out what they deserve and want in life. The storyline on Tris' career path was very satisfying and showed the difficulties of being a woman in a male-dominated workplace and how the women we look up to are not always our allies. I found this extremely relatable.

I enjoyed this story and thought Soneela Nankani's narration was wonderful. Nisha J Tuli continues to be an auto-read author for me. Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This was like a movie. One of those romcoms that show up out of nowhere, with vivid colors and good vibes. I feel that it’s half because the author did her thing, and the narrator got in the booth and also did their big one. A picture was painted, indeed. Halfway through and it was already five stars. Not a lot of books make me giddy, but this one did.

The banter between the main characters was top tier, and so was the romance. This book had a lot of popular tropes. It was so predictable but I loved it. I’m not sure how I would’ve taken to it if I hadn’t listened to the audiobook. Maybe I was simply in the mood for something low-stakes with the right amount of drama—I gobbled it up. I need a physical copy because I will be here again. Reading what Tris went through on a daily basis for years sounded about right. It was the kind of crap that would make you livid because there’s nothing fiction about it. But the execution, the pacing, that HEA? Yes. I need twenty more of these.

I don’t usually ask for a male’s pov… but it would’ve worked! They were both dynamic, flawed, wronged people working through their issues. I would’ve loved to see Rafe’s side of things and how he got through his problems with work and his family. He had A LOT going on and I wanted to be all up in it. There was a great balance between showing both characters tortured/unhappy, but still living in the moment and finding joy in the little things. In the end, everyone got what they deserved by my standard.

This was just so fun! I’ll give it a month or two before rereading it.

4⭐️3🌶️

Contemporary romance
STEM romance
Workplace romance
Engineer FMC
POC FMC
Workplace rivals
Hawaii Setting
Forced Proximity
Chronic headache rep


Nisha J. Tuli wrote one of my favorite romantasy series, so I was thrilled to receive both an ARC and audio ARC of her latest book. This marks her first foray into contemporary romance—and she absolutely knocked it out of the park.

The story follows two STEM workplace rivals sent on an all-expenses-paid conference trip to Hawaii… and of course, there’s a hotel room shortage. Heck yes! Throw in sharp banter, simmering tension, and I was hooked. The book also did a great job weaving in thoughtful moments about misogyny and microaggressions in the workplace. The pacing hit the sweet spot for a workplace romance. It was engaging without ever dragging.

The main characters were well-developed, but I would have loved a bit more backstory on their work relationship. For a five-year history, it felt like we were dropped in midstream without enough context. A little more depth there would’ve made their romantic progression even more believable. Also, the MMC’s side gig felt a bit out of left field. It leaned too heavily on the influencer angle, when the actual skill behind it deserved more attention.

As for the audio version: the narrator was excellent! She was engaging, with great intonation and character voice work. I did find her pace a little slow, but she was perfect at 1.8x speed.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the DRC and audio galley of this book. All opinions are my own.

Wow. Where the heck do I start! This book blew me away! Seriously based on true events ?! This book really explains what it’s like as a woman and a coloured woman at that working in a male dominated role. Theee sexism is mainly in this story obvi by one sleeve ball in particular the bosses nephew. ✨ICK✨ the what about this guy basically yapping away about his date and because women are in short supply to ask Tris is the being put through the hell of Boredom with a dash of dissociation just to listen so at the end he can ask ‘well should I call her?!’ Or I’m about a 5 or he could of said seven even I began to dissociate at that part ( in a good way ) I felt so genuinely immersed the whole way through this story I really felt as though I was in Hawaii myself sipping cocktails and working on my tan! But seriously the shocking and ridiculous things Tris hears, witnesses and has be the receiver off because she’s a woman of colour in yup you guessed it a male dominated role.

It was witty, funny, shocking and bloody HOTT all at the same time! My reactions honestly were so vocal all the way through and if you were on the outside looking in sorry I promise I’m not crazy it’s just that this book was THAT good!! Pleaaase add to your TBR I know you are just going to eat this upp!

I would like to say a huge thank you to the publisher for giving me access to an early edition of this book's audiobook through NetGalley.

This book was exactly what I needed to cleanse my palette after reading some many fantasy books. I always tend to look for those feel good romance books and this is what Nisha has done here!

Not Safe for Work is amazing from the very beginning and had me hooked, I literally finished listening to it in 3 days, unheard of for me in recent time! As a STEM girly myself and an engineer at that working in a male dominated industry, this story gave me a lot to consider.

I absolutely adored the characters and found the romance incredibly charming. Lately, I've come across too many books where the lack of conflict makes the romance feel dull. However, this book is the complete opposite. As a reader, you're immersed in the romance from the start, experiencing all the highs and lows along the way. I should also compliment the narrator—she was absolutely amazing and brought the story to life beautifully.