What to expect:
- a strong-willed, driven BIPOC woman in STEM
- a slow-burning, forced proximity romance with so much delicious tension
- the one-bed trope!
- witty banter
- a kind-hearted MMC who will make you swoon
- a book that transports you to Hawaii (a.k.a. the perfect summer read)

Because this is a single POV, the focus is on Tris rather than Rafe. We see her heal and grow from her past relationship, and fight against misogyny and unfairness in the workplace, while falling for Rafe (even if she really doesn't want to 🤭).

“I want to taste your mouth and eat you out and f—k you until the sun comes up, Tris.”

Thanks to the publisher for the e-ARC and ALC!

- workplace rivals to lovers
- endless banter and insults as flirting
- interracial romance (South Asian FMC, white MMC)
- slowburn with spice
- tension 😮‍💨
- Soneela Nankani is a fabulous narrator who brings all the characters to live and gives them all a distinct presence seamlessly

Trishara and Rafe have the kind of tension and chemistry that you can feel - their competitiveness and blunt words don’t fool anyone but maybe themselves. A work retreat to compete for a leadership position and hotel mix up landing them in a shared room with only one bed is all they need to have an opportunity to face what they really yearn for.

Tris is smart and excels in her job as an engineer but she’s constantly passed up for opportunities in an obvious display of racial and gender based bias. While she’s somewhat given up on hoping her ambition will go anywhere with her current company, being selected to compete for a leadership program spot reignites that fire in her. You can’t help but to root for her, even as you start to question if it’s really what she wants when the company has never treated her like she deserves and it will likely continue to be an uphill battle.

It makes her rivalry with Rafe ramp up, but their time together proves to her that he has a lot more depth than she thought and that his dreams are very different from the life he’s been leading. Rafe is good at his job but nepotism and systemic bias favor him - it’s something he’s aware of and has resisted, but leadership has been determined to maintain the status quo.

The romance is perfectly balanced with the thematic exploration of systemic oppression in work environments. The romance is not sidelined but the deeper themes are not glossed over either.

I love this authors Romantasy stories and her foray into contemporary romance is just as good!

4 stars!

Not Safe for Work follows engineer Trishara who is struggling with discrimination in the workplace, as she’s sent on a company retreat with her enemy Rafe - the boss’ son who has had everything handed to him on a silver platter.

First of all, I need to share how much I loved the narration of this audiobook. Soneela Nankani delivered every emotion our main character was feeling and really added to the listening experience!

I loved our FMC Trishara and her development throughout the story. She was strong, bold, and really learned to hold strong in her values throughout the story. I loved seeing her learn to stand up for herself more and more!

This romance was such a great slow burn, I felt the tension in every interaction between Trishara & Rafe and was dying to see them together!!

My only complaint with this book was that I wish we got to learn a bit more about Rafe and his family dynamics - I would’ve loved to hear more through his perspective as things developed.

Overall I would recommend this to anyone looking for a slow-burn steamy workplace romance!

Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli is a contemporary romance that is a sexy ride (pun definitely intended). This workplace romance between Trishara a spunky no-nonsense woman with a heart of gold and her sworn enemy Rafe an always in control Greek God of a man with many layers and secrets. It just so happens that Tris finds herself wanting to peel back those layers much to her chagrin. I loved Soneela Nankani for the audiobook narrator! She was able to capture the emotions, banter, and the absolute sass of the characters that had me falling in love with the story even more than I already was.

Tuli also touches on some very real, but very important issues to talk about like corporate workplace harassment and discrimination. It allows the listener (or reader) to walk in the main character’s shoes for a moment and makes people more aware as well as more empathetic to those who experience or have experienced it before. The book is wonderful and Soneela Nankani brought it to life. Excellent work!

I was lucky to get an ALC through Netgalley, thanks to Hachette Audio!

I love Nisha's writing, and this first Rom-Com of hers did not disappoint. I loved this story! The characters (both main and side), the paradise setting, the tension, and the spice were all amazing. This story hit on some hard topics in the most perfect way. I always enjoy reading books with MFC in STEM careers, and the fact that the author didn't shy away from difficult situations women face in the workplace made this book even more perfect.

I also really enjoyed the narration by Soneela Nankani. I think she truly enhanced the story and did a great job driving the story with all the emotion. Her vibe was perfect!

"Not Safe for Work" by Nisha J. Tuli is a delightful workplace romance that I thoroughly enjoyed listening to! Get ready for sparks and clothes to fly as work rivals Tris and Rafe are sent to a retreat together, setting the stage for a truly engaging read.

While the premise itself isn't necessarily groundbreaking, the book truly shines with its well-executed storyline and incredibly lovable characters. Tris is a standout, strong and self-assured, knowing she deserves to be a leader. The novel beautifully explores the challenges of building trust in new relationships after past betrayals and the importance of standing up for yourself. Tris and Rafe share an easygoing banter that's both funny and complex, making them incredibly relatable. Tuli truly brings out the best in these characters, crafting a story I couldn't put down (or, in this case, stop listening to!).

The narration by Soneela Nankani was excellent. She did a fantastic job portraying Tris and even handled an Indian accent for Tris's dad very well. I could easily distinguish between characters, which is a huge plus for a single POV audiobook. Nankani's reading style was perfect; she truly brought the text to life, making me feel the ecstasy, pain, and happiness right along with the characters. The narration pacing was spot-on, even at 2x speed – it never lagged or became jumbled. The overall flow of the audiobook was seamless, making it easy to follow the story without visual cues like chapter breaks. The narration and the written work fit together perfectly, creating a truly immersive experience.

This book is right on par with other works I've read by Nisha J. Tuli. I highly recommend "Not Safe for Work" to anyone who loves enemies-to-lovers stories, a somewhat slow burn, and classic tropes like one-bed or close proximity. It's a fantastic listen!

I really enjoyed this book until about 70% but in all honesty, if you don’t mind spice, I truly believe this would be a 5 star read for you. It was just a bit more spice than I prefer. I loved the premise of this book and the characters were lovable. There was a satisfying amount of swoon and tension! I am a sucker for the one bed trope and enemies to lovers! This book had so many parts where I was literally laughing out loud. I would have never guessed this to be Tuli’s debut into the romance genre because she had it figured out! I appreciated the attention brought to the issues around female treatment in male-heavy careers. It made me wanna scream when Trishara went through what she went through. I also wanted to scream for what pushback Rafe experienced when sharing about his passions and interests since they didn’t meet “typical male hobbies.” Overall, this was a wonderful book, my weird self just preferred a little less spice 🤣 Thank you Net galley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

If there are two things I love, they’re rivals to lovers and forced proximity. This book had both and I ate it up! Tris and Rafe had great chemistry and I loved experiencing the tension building between them throughout the story. The audiobook was really enjoyable, the narrator was great and really embodied Tris in full.

While I ate up the tension, romance, and spice, I also really enjoyed how the author treated the topic of women’s experiences in a male-dominated field like engineering. It’s really unfortunate when some scenarios that happened to Tris weren’t even shocking because they’re so common.

Thank you to the author, Netgalley, and Hachette Audio for the ALC!

This was such a fun and unique read and my first ever book by Nisha J. Tuli. Thank you to NetGalley, Nisha J. Tuli & Hachette Audio for the ALC. My first ever Advanced Listeners Copy too!

This book had a lot of focus on women in STEM and showed the sexism that Trishara had to deal with during her career. The majority of her department consists of men, there are no women's bathrooms in the Engineering building where she works, and Tris continues to get passed over for promotions in favor of less qualified men. All of the women are referred to by their last names, though all of the men are referred to by their first names. I loved that Trishara was not afraid to call people out for the sexism - capturing screenshots and pictures.

Trishara was really relatable with the trauma from her previous relationship as well as her career struggles. I found myself cracking up at a lot of the comparisons and descriptions used.
-Her legs felt as "hollow as plastic straws".
-"His previous glower replaced with a smirk that would make satan look like a cinnamon roll."
-comparing her lady parts to dusty cobwebs & that someone would need a flashlight.

Trishara was also a phenomenal headache/migraine rep, which I have not read about often yet. As someone that deals with daily chronic migraines, I felt so incredibly seen. When Rafe asks about her pills, she explains that they don't know what causes the headaches and that it is just something she has to live with - she's been to doctors and they're not helpful. She said it's take pills or spend the other half of the time in bed in agony. She rates the level of her headaches & can sometimes push through one of a higher intensity but usually brings a pill case to take a few painkillers to assist. This is 1000% accurate and relatable, it almost made me emotional just reading any of these connections to chronic illness - seriously, I felt so seen. Thank you for this.

The banter and tension were phenomenal - loved the chemistry & flirting between Rafe & Trishara. I love how Trishara keeps emphasizing how much she hates Rafe, but Molly calls her out for her obsession with him for years, Lan senses the attraction & caught Rafe staring, & others keep commenting on the tension. One of my favorite moments - on the plane to the resort, Trishara is reading a Romantasy series and Rafe gets nosey. "There's nothing wrong with fulfilling my needs through a smutty novel." Don't even get me started on Rafe's lines - just read/listen!

What to expect:
-BIPOC reps
-Rivals to Lovers
-Workplace Romance
-Women in STEM
-Introvert + Anxiety with Storms
-Tropical island work retreat
-One room/one bed
-Slow Burn
-Migraine/Chronic Illness Rep
-Secret hobbies

Quotes:
-"It's hard to believe you're an introvert because you shine in every room you enter."
-"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. And I'm apologizing for every idiot who has ever treated you that way."
-"We've spent years in orbit, moving like planets. Parallel but never crossing."
-"With you, I'm always a million out of ten."

Nothing gets me more excited for a summer read than enemies to lovers set in a tropical location where tensions are high and the spice is even spicier. If this is your vibe, this book is perfect for you! I had a great time devouring this book in two sittings. The reader meets Tris, a competitive engineer working in Chicago at a company full of a bunch of white bros that she has (not so) affectionately nicknamed “the Khakis.” Yeah, you got the picture. The biggest bro of all is Rafe, son of one of the executive team members, of course, and her arch nemesis. When they are both chosen to go on a company-wide retreat in Hawaii, and somehow end up in one honeymoon suite, nothing bad can happen, right? What transpires is such an entertaining story! It’s enemies to lovers, it’s steamy, it’s women in STEM dealing with sexism and slight casual racism. This all sounds like a lot, but it is definitely entertaining and a perfect beach read. There were times when Tris leaned a bit immature, but then she redeemed herself and that email that she sent the company? She got me all the way back in, baby. The audiobook narrator did such a good job bringing this story to life as well! I really enjoyed listening to this one. If you need a great summer read, put this one in your cart!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing)/Hatchette Audio for an advanced listening copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

This book was okay overall—nothing particularly bad about it, but also nothing that really stood out to me in a memorable way. I went in with fairly high expectations, especially knowing it was written by Nisha, whose previous work I’ve really enjoyed for its emotional depth and strong character development. Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite deliver on that front.

I found myself struggling to connect with the female main character. She felt a bit flat to me, lacking the complexity and nuance that I’ve come to expect from Nisha’s protagonists. It was hard to fully invest in her journey or choices because she didn’t feel as fully fleshed-out or emotionally grounded. Compared to other books by the same author, where the characters tend to linger with you long after the final page, this one felt a little forgettable.

That said, the writing itself was solid, and there were moments of potential that I appreciated. But in the end, it just didn’t leave a strong impression—more of a middle-of-the-road read for me.

Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

This book was HOT 🔥🥵 Full steam ahead, I absolutely blew through this book! Women in STEM? ✔️ A pining man? ✔️ Tropical location? ✔️ Fighting the patriarchy? ✔️ Office rivalry? ✔️ Only one bed? ✔️ Steamy scenes? ✔️✔️✔️

When environmental engineer Trishara winds up receiving an all expenses paid executive trip to Hawaii to further her career with the company who has been passing her up for promotion after promotion, she’s rightly a little suspicious … especially when she finds out that the coveted second spot went to the boss’s son, her longtime rival and the person who was awarded the last promotion that should have been hers. When a major mix-up happens with booking and Tris winds up having to share her suite with her Rafe for the entirety of the trip, tension builds and sparks fly!

If there’s one thing I will always gobble up, it is office rivals to lovers!!! And set in a tropical oasis? Sign me up! Tris is such a baddie fmc. She stands up for what she knows is right and has balls of STEEL. I admired her character so much, especially once I learned she was modeled after the author herself and her former career in engineering. Sexism and racism in the workplace should NOT still be a thing in the year of our Lord 2025, yet here we still are. I love how the author drew on her personal experience and attacked that cause head on. And Tris’s email … 👀 uh yeah, that’s how you get it done, girl!

Rafe was the epitome of green flags. I loved how he went all “caveman” any time some punk was trying to do wrong by Tris. I have no notes for my king, Rafe 💆🏼‍♀️ This man knew how to do pining RIGHT, as he should. The banter, the tension, the slow burn, all of it was just perfect. And don’t even get me started on the way that man can move 😮‍💨

If you’re a fan of Ali Hazelwood novels or The Hating Game, then you’ll LOVE Not Safe for Work! Chock full of all our favorite romance tropes, you won’t regret it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Nisha J. Tuli, Forever, and Hachette Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions stated are my own.

Trishara Malik, a brilliant woman of color in a male-dominated STEM field, finds herself at a crossroads in her career. When she's compelled to share a suite with her workplace rival, Rafe Gallagher, during a company retreat in Hawaii, their forced proximity ignites a slow-burn romance filled with tension and undeniable chemistry.

Nisha J. Tuli's *Not Safe For Work* is a delightful contemporary romance that seamlessly blends humor, heat, and heartfelt moments. As her debut in the rom-com genre, it showcases her exceptional storytelling prowess.
Tuli masterfully crafts a narrative that balances witty banter with poignant commentary on the challenges faced by women of color in the workplace. Trishara's journey of self-discovery and empowerment is both inspiring and relatable. The book delves into themes of sexism, microaggressions, and the complexities of workplace dynamics, all while maintaining a lighthearted and engaging tone.
The enemies-to-lovers trope is executed flawlessly, with Rafe's transformation from a seemingly aloof colleague to a supportive and caring partner adding depth to the story. Their evolving relationship is both steamy and sweet, with moments that will make readers swoon.

*Not Safe For Work* is a must-read for fans of contemporary romance. Tuli's blend of humor, heat, and heart ensures that this book will resonate with readers long after they've turned the last page. Whether you're reading or listening, this debut is a standout in the genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC!

Not Safe for Work was such a fun listen! The characters were incredibly likable, and the story had such a good vibe overall. The slow burn romance? Painfully slow in the best possible way. I loved every second of the tension and buildup. If you’re into workplace romance with a side of longing, this one delivers!

If you enjoy watching a man suffer with longing, pick this up!

Overall: 3.5
Spice: 3 - 2-3 scenes
Narration: 4

Tris has been working to bust the glass ceiling at her engineering firm, but keeps running into so much nepotism and white male privilege. She is surprised to be selected to attend the firms leadership retreat, but is less than thrilled when she learns she's the diversity pick and that her co-attendee will be her nemesis Rafe, the boss's son who was promoted over her. Can she use the retreat to her advantage to succeed within the firm?

I was seeing this book all over my IG feed, so was happy to be able to enjoy the ALC via NetGalley. So many enemies to lovers romances turn into lovers by chapter 3, so I was thrilled when this book maintained the enemy relationship for a goo part of the book which allows you to really feel the tension between Tris and Rafe. Tris is of course oblivious to the fact that Rafe has wanted her for awhile, so we get to enjoy all that longing on his part. The workplace sexism is uncomfortable, especially if you've dealt with that personally. There are a few lines in the spicy scenes that I felt conflicted with the narrative, but some may like that approach. Overall a solid romance with 2-3 well-written spicy scenes. Recommend.

Such a cute read! I absolutely devoured this audiobook! It was a great summer read that I couldn’t stop listening to. The narrator did a phenomenal job portraying the characters in this book and made them come to life.

I had SO much fun listening to the audiobook of this book! 🎧💃 The tropical, laid-back vibes of the island retreat 🏝️ were just chef’s kiss. Add to that a delicious enemies-to-lovers setup (except… were they really enemies? 👀 More like two people very into each other but pretending otherwise 😏), and I was hooked!

There’s forced proximity (only ONE room! 😱), and then—yes, you guessed it—only ONE BED!! 🛏️🔥 Absolute perfection. The banter between the characters was sharp, funny, and gave me life. Their chemistry was undeniable and so much fun to follow. 💥❤️

And can we talk about how he takes care of her during the storm?? 🌧️⚡ She’s scared, and he’s just there for her, calm and protective. My heart!! 🥺💞 We LOVE a man who shows up emotionally.

The emotional depth was really well done too—not just the cute and flirty moments, but the resistance, the longing, the slow burn… ughhh yes please. 🔥💔

This book is an absolute gem for a summer read. Perfect for a day at the beach or lounging in the sun with a cocktail 🍹 and just letting yourself get lost in a sweet, steamy, emotional romance.

I’m an absolute sucker for a workplace romance—and when it takes a detour to a resort? Game over. That’s my catnip. The change of setting only cranked the tension higher, and yes, this book delivered.

I read the eARC while listening to the audiobook, and let me tell you: Soneela Nankani ate. It felt like I was watching a full-on rom-com unfold in my ears. The delivery? Immaculate. Every snarky line, every spark of tension, every dramatic pout—she nailed it. I felt everything Trishara (our FMC) was feeling. Honestly? The audiobook gets a 10/10. No notes. 😮‍💨🔥

Also, I adored Trishara’s internal monologue. The way she would shamelessly ogle him and then immediately be like, “I wasn’t staring”—girl, same. That’s literally me. The chemistry, the banter, the longing stares? All top-tier.

If you're into laugh-out-loud banter, sizzling tension, and workplace dynamics that spill into tropical getaways, this one’s for you.

The narration was great, & I love a powerful, independent woman who is willing to stand tall & face the injustice of the corporate world.

However, I was a bit bored with this one. Nothing about the plot, characters, or chemistry felt unique. It was all wildly predictable & repetitive.

The overly descriptive moments of the FMC describing to MMC’s facial expressions got downright cringe-worthy. Because it felt like every single scene, she felt the need to vividly describe his face. We get it, he’s hot lol.

I do think that him being a baker was fun. I just wanted more drama, more taboo, etc. especially given the premise of the book & the MMC being the son of the boss.

It was a 2.5-3 ⭐️ listen for me personally.
Thank you for the e-arc!

Trishara was SO FUN! I loved the banter and tension between her and Rafe. I felt like they really jumped off the page thanks to the excellent narrator!