"Not Safe for Work" takes us into the male dominated world of engineering through a burned out woman of color in the field.

As we meet Trishara she's resigned to being passed over for another opportunity and weighing her options. She's also weighing her hatred/fascination with her workplace nemesis, Rafe.

Then in a twist she and Rafe end up at the same management retreat, in the same room, and preconcieved notions start to change.

Nisha J. Tuli creates an empowering world as Tris re-discovers her worth and her boundaries. Some of the scenarios are a little melodramatic-- but it is a rom-com-- so that's expected.

In Rafe we see a man at a crossroads-- can Tris empower him to fight for himself too?

It's a fun read with some deeper messages. I enjoyed it!

Fans of STEM girl romance will like this one. Much more of a beach read than Love, Theoretically. I love the vacation fling trope so I gobbled this one up. It’s Tuli’s first time dipping her does in the proverbial contemporary romance sand after being IMO a very good romantasy writer. The pacing was a little slow but as this is a standalone compared to her other longer 4 book series I don’t fault her for that. It was cute and definitely recommend as a quick summer read.

Not Safe For Work is my first Nisha J. Tuli, and I enjoyed her writing style. The single POV story didn’t lessen the quick wit of Tris’ character, as I typically prefer a dual POV story. Tris and Rafe’s pairing was meant to be. Rafe goes from someone Tris boxed into as the guy she competes with within a male-dominated workplace to the guy she is on a work retreat with and opens up to. Though they are the same person, once they are on the retreat, she sees Rafe differently and becomes more relaxed about sharing things with him. It certainly helps when they are stuck in the honeymoon suite.

There are several funny moments, from the mishap with their rooms to a wedding they may not have been invited to. I loved Tris’s character and outspokenness, not just with Rafe but also with her colleagues. The satisfying ending had me smiling.

I love a good spicy read, and this book delivered! I love nothing more that an enemies to lovers plot, and this book did that! It was a light, easy read. It may not have been the kind of book that melted me into pieces, that is hard to do, but it did leave me smiling super cheesy like in parts, and that says something. =]

We are the burn of heat and fire and every conflicting emotion I've ever felt for this infuriating man. A break on the rocks. A star dropped from the sky. This. Is. A. Reckoning. Ships sink. Tornadoes spin. Volcanoes erupt.
~
If I had to choose one phrase to show you how incredible Rafe and Tris are for each other, it’s that one above. This was everything I could’ve ever wanted in a romance book and I truly had so much fun reading it. I was infuriated for Tris so many times but also felt immensely proud as she continued to stand strong on her beliefs throughout the book, even when the chips were down. Rafe is quite the enigma, and he slowly opens up as the story progresses, which I think not only fits him as a character perfectly but works so well in complement to Tris and her background. The migraine rep? Perfection. I loved how the author didn’t make it the focal point of the story but it was there. It was inconvenient. And it was addressed tenderly. Well done. The setting is in beautiful Hawaii and the weaving of a work trip combined with personal fun worked so well, and peeling back the layers of the characters was a journey I never wanted to stop. And boy is this a slow burn. But honestly? Even though I was begging for them to connect, I also didn’t want them to because I didn’t want it to end and I think that right thee tells you just how wonderful this book is!

I am not the biggest romance reader but love the rivals to lovers trope, and this book was such an amazing time. While this isn't the best romance I've ever read, this was fun, flirty, and enjoyable. I feel like those who love rom-com romance style books are gonna love this.

Not Safe for Work is the kind of book that surprises you—in the best way. Nisha J. Tuli delivers a workplace romance that’s not only full of steam and chemistry but also grounded in smart, engaging dialogue and characters with real depth. The banter is sharp, the tension sizzles, and the story keeps things moving with just the right mix of heart and heat. It’s entertaining from start to finish, and I genuinely had a blast reading it. If you love a confident heroine and a romance that doesn’t take itself too seriously but still delivers emotionally, this one’s worth picking up.

I cannot say enough good things about this novel! Diverse, hilarious, sexy! I would've never guessed that this is the author's first romance novel (a huge change from her fantasy writing career). This story had all of the well-loved tropes (forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers, etc) but gave them enough of a fresh twist to keep me interested. I could not put this one down!!

OBSESSED WITH THIS BOOK. I'm already a big fan of Tuli, but I have only read her fantasy work. I was excited to jump into a romance by her, and WOW WAS I PLEASED. Where do I even start!? I didn't know if I wanted to cancel all my plans to finish this book in one sitting, or savor it over a few days. I'm glad I opted to savor it- but I'm still so sad it's over!
The characters are very real and well written. I fell in love with them all! There was such intense slow burn with such a great pay off in the end! The flow was incredible, the chapters were perfect length, the story was well thought out and plot explained well. The ending broke my heart and healed me all within a few pages!
I absolutely LOVE this book and highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the opportunity to read and review Not Safe For Work by Nisha J Tuli!

Thank you so much to Forever Books for an early copy of Not Safe for Work (out on May 20th)! 🥳💕
Not Safe for Work is Nisha J. Tuli's romance debut and if you've read any of her romantasy books, you know she can DEFINITELY write some romance! 🤩 The FMC, Trishara, even reads The Artefacts of Ouranous series and I'm obsessed with the references! 🥹
I LOVE writing book reviews for books that have so many amazing tropes because 1) they're easy to categorize but also 2) I feel like some people love knowing the tropes of a book before getting into it so hold on to your seats because here's the tropes in Not Safe for Work: enemies to lovers (even a little rivals to lovers 👀), workplace romance, women in STEM, and forced proximity (and by that I mean ONE hotel room and ONE bed)!!! 🔥 There's also a LOT of personal and professional growth that, as a girlie in the corporate world, I LOVE! I mean all of these tropes together makes for such a sweet and steamy romance that I think will be THE book of the summer!!!! It is such a summery, beachy read and I 10/10 recommend reading it while on vacation (or reading it if you want to FEEL like you're on vacation)! I really enjoyed this book and hope to see more contemporary romance books from Nisha J Tuli in the future! 💖

I really enjoyed this romance! Nisha Tuli hit the nail on the head in blending a fun, fluffy storyline with much more serious and timely themes about women trying to break the glass ceiling, sexism, harassment, and racial microaggressions. She somehow made it possible to make her points salient without detracting from the fun and spicy story.

Tris and Rafe are mortal enemies working in the same engineering firm, when they are both selected to attend the same competitive retreat in Hawaii. Tris is shocked that she was selected because she's been passed over for every promotion she's applied for. At the retreat the two are thrust together time and again and their latent, simmering chemistry only grows. Tris starts to realize Rafe might not be all that bad. At the same time, she continues to question her place in the company where she's worked so hard to succeed.

Things I liked: The slow burn chemistry, the WOC in stem rep, the realistic and unflinching portrayal of harassment, microaggressions, and toxic workplace culture, the setting, the tropes.

Things I didn't like: Rafe smirked an awful lot.

Thanks so much to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have never read this author before despite hearing rave reviews about their fantasy series. This is a workplace rivals to lovers, forced proximity, one bed, delight. Their communication was surprisingly good despite having several legitimate issues that they needed to work through. I will say though, especially for someone in her position and with her history, the public sex scenes stressed me out. Oh also don’t blindside me with a live stream. No, thank you. I really enjoyed the writing and the characters. Because this is a version that still has not gone through its final edits, I would love for the “hunchbacked” trolls line at the very beginning of the book to be removed. It’s ableist and unnecessary.

🍹Rivals to lovers
🍹Forced proximity
🍹ONE BED
🍹He's the boss's son
🍹Workplace romance

OH. MY. GOD. This book took some of my favorite tropes in the world and shoved them into one delicious book!

The tension! The pining! The banter! And the mouth on Rafe? He had me absolutely screaming and kicking my feet! Even though we only had Tris's POV, it was so abundantly clear from the jump that this man was Down Bad (tm) for her.

We learn so much about Tris from the beginning, and why she believes she could never be with Rafe (or anyone else from the office.) Without spoiling it, there's a moment on the plane to Hawaii where Tris listens to 'exile' by Taylor Swift on repeat for two hours. That song choice did not go over this Swiftie's head. "I think I've seen this film before, and I didn't like the ending." I pointed out this line on Threads and Nisha responded to me(!) saying she was glad I picked up on it. So naturally, I would be remiss if I didn't include that here in my review.

Tris and Rafe have so much delicious banter. They're so competitive with each other, and when you find out more about his own obsession with her... it's so good. He has a fantastically dirty mouth on him. He also apologizes more than any MMC I've ever read! And when it comes down to his relationship with Tris, Rafe really sees her. He notices so much about her, and when he finally tells her, her many walls come crumbling down. What a beautiful thing. Anyone reading this book will think "may this love find me!"

This was my first time reading one of Nisha's books, but it absolutely will not be the last.

Sweet, Sexy, and Surprisingly Tender.

NSFW was such a fun surprise! Set against the lush, sun-soaked backdrop of a company retreat in Maui, this workplace romance is full of tension, banter, and a classic enemies-to-lovers setup. Tris is guarded—understandably so, after a rough past relationship and a career filled with being overlooked in favor of less talented (usually white and male) colleagues. Rafe? He is gorgeous, intriguing, and always in her space… especially when a hotel mix-up forces them to share a suite. What appears as mutual annoyance slowly turns into something deeper.

Once these two started opening up to each other, the story truly blossomed. Their banter was sharp and fun, and when the walls came down, the emotional intimacy felt real and earned. One standout moment? A storm hits the island, and he takes care of her in such a tender, attentive way—it is so sweet and sexy and easily one of my favorite scenes in the book. It perfectly captured the shift from tension to trust.

This was my first time reading this author, but now I want to check out her fantasy books. Her writing is engaging, and when she focuses on character vulnerability and connection, she really shines.

If I had any gripes, it would be that both leads leaned a little too hard into immaturity at times—it dragged out some of their tension unnecessarily. I found myself wishing they’d talk like adults a bit sooner. Still, Tris' friendships were a highlight. Rafe's social media presence was hilarious—those comment sections were gold, and I would have loved more of that.

Overall, this was sexy, sweet, and super-readable. It tackled workplace inequality with just enough weight while keeping things light, heartfelt, and fun.

Thank you to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for a gifted advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Stars.

NSFW was a really fun time. I loved the main characters Tris and Rafe, and the friends present were really fleshed out and entertaining as well. I think the slow burn was done very well, even though the book itself was short(ish), and it was interesting to read. The tropes included were also done well, and exceeded my expectations.

I appreciated the focus on how women in male dominated fields can feel and the ways that this influenced Tris' life. I think it's really important for books to recognize this, as it's such a big deal in the world and as wonderful as it is to not have anything about it in a fictional world, it's nice to see it discussed and really shown.

This was my first book by Nisha J. Tuli, and after reading it, I can't wait to get into the rest of her books.

I really enjoyed this book! Enemies to lovers and forced proximity? Sign me up! I really loved Trish, the main character, and I really identified with the stagnation she feels at her job. I also really liked how the author tackles important issues like discrimination and sexism in male dominated fields. The romance was good too, I just wish we could have had more insight into Rafe's thoughts, but the book was single POV. Other than that, the story was great, the chemistry was H.O.T, and I had a great time reading it!

I’m a super big fan of Nisha J. Tuli from reading the Artefacts of Ouranos so I was super ecstatic to get an ARC of her first adult book! ❤️

This follows Trishara, a female engineer in a very male dominant field and her struggles to compete in a company filled with gender and race bias. At the same time, Tris is struggling to fight her attraction to Rafe, a nepo baby, who seems to get handed everything and for some reason hates Tris. What happens when they attend a three-week training in Maui forced to share one room and one bed??

I enjoyed this! I think it did a great job of tackling a lot of deep issues like gender bias, nepotism and race bias in a male dominant field while remaining light hearted and spicyyy! I just think Hannah wasn’t really necessary and if anything just annoyed me but I still loveee this! ❤️


Thank you to Forever Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC! 😊

I absolutely adore this author (her Trial of the Sun Queen series is one of my all-time favorites!!), so I was excited to dive into Not Safe for Work.
While this one didn’t hit quite the same for me, there’s still a lot to appreciate here.

On the positive side, the representation is on point, and I applaud the way the book tackles real, often frustrating workplace dynamics that many women (especially women of color) will recognize all too well.

That said, the first half felt a bit slow for me. I struggled to connect with the characters early on, especially Rafe, who initially seemed more like a collection of abs and smirks than a fully formed love interest. Tris’s fixation on his looks was repetitive at times, and I found myself wishing for something a little deeper from the outset.

However, once the story hit its stride, I enjoyed it. Their dynamic grew in a believable and engaging way, with the banter and chemistry really shining in the second half. The supporting cast was another bright spot - Molly, in particular, had me laughing out loud despite her limited page time.

Overall, this wasn’t a standout hit for me like some of the author’s other work, but it had its moments. If you're into enemies-to-lovers romances with workplace drama and a tropical backdrop, you may enjoy it!

This was a fun mix of workplace drama, enemies-to-lovers tension, and tropical escape. I liked Tris right away—her ambition, frustration, and burnout felt super relatable. The corporate retreat setup in Hawaii gave just enough rom-com chaos (shared honeymoon suite, of course), and Rafe surprised me in a good way. The pacing dipped a bit in the middle, but I was invested enough to keep going. If you like smart heroines, forced proximity, and a side of professional redemption, this one’s worth picking up.

So, it’s a yes to the representation and to issues that many women face in workplace politics. It’s also a yes to the slow and deep connection between the two characters. I wasn’t really a fan of the MC and felt some the side characters could have been better fleshed out but I really liked the deeper rooted issues that many women face in offices. It was a good balance of realism and romance. 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc