✨✨ARC REVIEW✨✨
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Spice in chps: 22, 23, 24, & 29

‼️‼️TW|CW‼️‼️
- Revenge porn mentioned
- Sexual harassment in the workplace
- Abuse of power in work place
💕💕Tropes💕💕
- Rivals to Lovers
- Work place romance
- He falls first
- One bed
- Slow burn
- “Fuck it”
✨✨Onto the Review✨✨
Thank you @readforeverpub and @netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book!
The FMC Trishara (Trish) works at WMC Purcell and is their only woman of color, she is getting ready to call it quits after working there for 5 years and getting overlooked time and time again for promotions that she is more than qualified for when she is sent on a work trip to Maui for a leadership retreat.
The MMC Rafe starts out as your regular nepo baby getting everything handed to him in the workplace including being given a promotion that Trish deserves and as a reader I kind of didn’t like him at first in solidarity with Trish. Later in the book you learn that there is more to Rafe and that he doesn’t want everything that his father (a person in corporate at WMC) is pushing him towards and that he would rather be a baker and you feel bad for him and start to love him.
I adored the banter between the characters, beware though this is a slowburn they do not kiss until 60% into the book but it is well earned for both the reader and the characters.
I also enjoyed how Nisha J. Tuli represented a woman in STEM and the issues they might encounter in what is a male dominated field. Nisha writes in a message at the beginning of this book that some of the issues Trish faces in the book is base on some real life experiences the author had which was very sobering to think of.
If you’re looking for a rom-com with a strong willed FMC definitely go pick this book up! “Not Safe to Work” comes out May 20th! #arcreview #romancebooks #womeninstem #stembooks #netgalley

I never thought i would say this, because Nisha J. Tuli is one of my all time favorite authors, but I DNF’d this book. I normally love Nisha’s writing style, but this time it felt stilted and a tad juvenile. Every time I wanted to continue, the next chapter was worse than the previous one. So, I sadly DNF’d at the 20% mark. Hopefully, this is the first and last time I DNF a book from this amazing author.

The narrator was decent when she read female voices, but I also thought her male voice was super nasally. I wish my review was more positive, but sadly, this wasn't the case.

Trishara Malik is a bad*ss! 3.5⭐'s

Such a fun enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, workplace romance. I was hooked by the beautiful cover and the book description. Who doesn't enjoy a story about a woman of color in STEM overcoming obstacles in a man dominated field while also finding love?

While Trishara started off as a strong character, some of the things she did seemed a little childish, especially when it came to Rafe. She had no issue telling everyone else, including the CEO, when they stepped out of line but for some reason she just couldn't be completely honest with Rafe, that was just frustrating. I do like that she redeemed herself at the end, at least at work.

Rafe lacked depth for me. While he was protective and comforting towards Trishara, it seemed as though he only did it when it was convenient for him. He had trouble standing up to his father, but it was the whole ex situation that was just annoying. Not to give too much away, but the conference room scene after he received a phone call from his ex, disappeared and then came back later to get hot and heavy with Tris kind of gave me the ick. Not to mention how he was still trying to be nice to Hannah after she was a total B toward Tris. He somewhat redeemed himself at the end with the groveling but his character needed some work.

Not Safe for Work is a really solid addition to STEM romances. Trishara (Tris), an engineer constantly passed up for promotion, is one of two employees selected to represent their location at a corporate leadership retreat. The other? Her workplace nemesis, Rafe. But maybe he's not her nemesis after all? It's a fun set up.

Tris is a strong main character. Any scene in which she speaks out against sexism is a highlight. Rafe was perfectly fine but didn't stand out as much.

The audio narration and production were well done. The cover art is beautiful.

3.5- 3.75 rounding up. 🌶🌶

As soon as I saw the cover for this book, I knew I wanted to read it! I loved Nisha's romantasy series, Aretefacts of Ouranos. And it even made a little cameo 😆

I really loved the representation of women especially, WOC in male dominated industries.

This felt like I was watching a summer romcom, and it was just a really easy listen. The audiobook narrator Soneela Nankani (also narrated Aretefacts of Ouranos) did a really great job. This is a single POV, and it was really easy to understand who was talking just by listening.

I did have a hard time fully connecting to Trishara. Some of her actions seemed a little immature in relation to Rafe.However, I will say the way she stood up for herself was bad*ss!

Then, for Rafe, I loved his protectiveness and possessiveness over Trish. But, I really wanted to see him stand up to his father and Hannah. I didn't feel like there was much depth to him even with the baking passion-it felt out of nowhere.

I also felt like their love declaration was really fast. I know they both had some feelings for each other over the years but there was just something missing for me.

Overall, it was an enjoyable and entertaining read!

🌺Forced proximity
🌺Workplace romance
🌺Rivals to lovers
🌺One bed
🌺Chronic pain rep
🌺Women in Stem
🌺Other woman drama

Thank you Hatchette audio and netgalley for the ALC.

4.25 ⭐️

audio review: i really enjoyed this on audio!!! i enjoyed the narrator a lot! i felt the narrator brought the story to life with great pace! i would definitely listen to more!

workplace rivals to lovers??? sign me up. rafe and trishara have to share one room in hawaii on their work trip??? sign me up.

trishara is the badass fmc in stem who gets picked to attend a work retreat with her coworker and rival rafe who has more to him than trishara sees. this was the perfect rom-com with banter between the two, one bedroom, and a fun summer setting. this was such a great debut contemporary romance! it also has some spice!!!!

this touches on topics of racism and workplace struggles for women in stem careers which is so important as it’s extremely relevant to today!!!!

Pub day is May 20th and you need to grab this one!!

This is similar to the hating game but I loved this book so much more!! I appreciated how the author described and incorporated their own experiences and highlighted struggles women face in STEM. I love the voices for the characters too. Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC ❤️

Trishara is chosen to attend a corporate retreat. It's an opportunity to revive her stalled out career after she was passed over for a promotion. The only catch, her workplace nemesis Rafe, the engineer promoted over her, will be at the retreat too. And thanks to a reservation mix-up, the two are sharing the honeymoon suite for the next three weeks.

Read if you like:
-Workplace Romance
-Rivals to Lovers
-Women in STEM
-Badass Babes who take no shit
-Only One Bed
-He Falls First

I loved Not Safe for Work! This book is perfect for readers who like Ali Hazelwood but want a slight more mature FMC who has her life together. Trishara is my new role model. And dare I say it: Rafe is more delicious than a Hazlewood leading man. I could not stop listening to this book. The narrator was perfect and really helped me get caught up in the story. And what a story! Only one bed in paradise with your workplace rival. This is the ultimate mash up of some amazing tropes. No spoilers, but the third act was so satisfying. Trishara is a badass.

I absolutely loved Trials of the Sun Queen, so I was thrilled to see this author venture into romance—and she did not disappoint! This was a solid 4.5-star listen for me. Huge thanks to NetGalley for the early access!

Fans of Ali Hazelwood are going to adore this book. The FMC is phenomenal—she’s truly my hero. I felt so deeply connected to her experiences, especially when it came to the microaggressions she faced. They’re portrayed so realistically and poignantly. That moment in the bathroom with Hannah? It hit hard because, sadly, it’s such a familiar type of comment for so many.

The plot was engaging, and I really appreciated how both main characters grew over the course of the story.

That said, Rafe felt a little one-dimensional to me. Yes, he has his endearing hobbies and he clearly cares about Tris, but his communication style—especially toward the end—was frustrating. Still, it’s a minor gripe in an otherwise compelling and heartfelt story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I feel like this book took me a little bit to get into and maybe that’s due to the narrator not being my favorite. The only thing that really helped that was listening on 2x speed. This book reminded me of aspects of Meghan Quinn’s books but at times it felt slightly disjointed. Like the main characters didn’t like each other and then all of a sudden they did. I’m not sure how to explain it but I almost felt a little random and the chemistry (for me) between them wasn’t fully there? I don’t know. I did like it and maybe if I read it with my eyes I’d have enjoyed it more…sometimes it be like that. I’m interested to see how I feel about this authors fantasy books!! This probably lands around 3.5⭐️ for me.

Obsessed!!!! This book is everything you are looking for in a rom com book!!! And it has so many of the best tropes including forced proximity, one bed, work rivals and wedding crashing (didn’t know how much I loved this!).

Trishara wins a 3 week all paid expense work trip to Hawaii but the catch is she has to go with her work rival!!! And when she gets there is ends up her suite is really their suite and there is only one bed!!!! Ahhh the setting is perfect, the banter is top tier, and I just absolutely loved these characters!! I need more!!!

Also the audiobook is amazing!!!

This book was a fun read! I love workplace romances and beach reads, so this was the perfect pairing! Think Unhoneymooners meets The Hating Game! This will be a great summertime read!

Calling all corporate baddies, this one’s for us!!

As a woman in Tech I too am afflicted with the with the plight of MWM (mediocre white man). Tris spoke directly to my jaded corporate soul in my favorite language: sarcasm and calling out BS.

This was my first Nisha book and her first contemporary romance, and it did not disappoint!

Thank you Net Galley for ARC

Trishara Malik is getting fed up with hitting the glass ceiling in the male dominated engineering firm where she has spent the last five years. The company favors nepotism and white male privilege over intelligence and hard work. Unfortunately, the author admits the scenarios used in this book are all things said and done in real life work situations. Among the slow burn romance, the topic of BIPOC women in corporate STEM is successfully tackled.
So Trishara is shocked when she is chosen to attend the company’s leadership retreat to be considered for the executive training program – does she really have a chance to finally be recognized for her skills. Unfortunately, the boss’s son and her work nemesis, Rafe Gallagher. And as fate will have it, a mix up in booking means they are stuck sharing a suite together.
This book provided everything you want in a rivals to lovers romance! Witty banter and forced proximity provide the backdrop. The FMC is smart, funny and confident and done with being put down, harassed and over looked.
The audiobook was narrated by Soneela Nankani and was the perfect choice for bringing these characters to life.

I started this book but unfortunately I will not be finishing. It missed the mark a little bit for me at the moment. I think I might go back to it as it has potential to be enjoyable but currently it has not kept my interest as much as I’d have hoped for.

Love all the different tropes this covered. Workplace romance, enemies to lovers and forbidden love. I enjoyed the story and the fact that it had a woman having to learn her strength. Cute ending and mmm dessert is all I'll say.

Netgalley arc for the win.

Thank you NetGalley and Author for this ARC for an honest review!

I really loved this book. I very rarely give 5 stars but this book was balanced, wasn't too long and I was interested the whole book. I literally can't think of anything I didn't like about it. FMC was sassy but not annoying. MMC was broody without being a douche. OW was involved but he wasn't cheating, not even emotionally. OW was involved without the MMC losing credibility with the nice guy side which rarely happens in my opinion too. I honestly really liked this book and I'll definitely be checking out Nishas other books.
Also... The main characters names in the book were really cute. Are they Indian names? Cause they are really cute! 😂❤️

I absolutely love this book. Five stars, no notes. Both the story itself and the narration are *chef's kiss

No but honestly as a woman in tech I resonate with so much of Tris's experiences which is what drew me in. That with Nisha's top tier writing this rivals to lovers was everything I didn't know I needed. Absolutely swoon worthy romance.

This narration was top tier. The pacing was wonderful and the narrators voice perfectly fit the FMC. Emotion was easily gleaned.

This story was amazing. The hook was right there from the beginning and I was heavily invested in seeing how this unfolded. I enjoyed that the characters were complex and the author didn’t have to rely on tropes alone to propel this story forward. I would highly recommend this book to any romance reader.

Topics enjoyed: women-in-STEM, women-in-corporate, BIPOC representation, slow-burn, chronic-pain-rep, rivals-to-lovers.

4⭐/2.5🌶️

Thank you Netgalley and Hachette Audio for this Arc!

This was a fun audiobook. I really wish it was dual pov, but it was still fun on its own. Two engineers on a work trip have to share a room while competing for a coveted new position. There's lot of tension since the two obviously have had crushes on each other since the start :") I wouldn't call them enemies, since they both admit fighting is how they flirt, but more like rivals to lovers?

-Rivals to lovers, sorta
-Forced Proximity
-Coworkers on a work retreat competing
-Only one bed/room
-Slow burn
-POC fmc rep
-Woman in stem-adjacent career