This book was okay. I liked the tropes, and I liked the plot, however, it actually seemed to focus on stereotypes on women while overly discussing how harmful things are to women? She’s nosey- eavesdropping on conversations, quick to jump to crazy conclusions- at one point a guy asks what is he out of ten, and she internally thinks how weird it is that’s he’s asking her a pretty common question, and she overly sexualizes the MMC while also talking about how men overly sexualize everything. I just think it puts the big argument in a weird position. The banter was good though!

I really enjoyed this book! It gave me some vintage Ali Hazelwood vibes (a la Love Hypothesis or Love Theoretically). I thought the workplace rivalry was pretty well done and I loved the tropical Hawaiian setting. 4.25/5 stars!

Thank you, Nisha, for another fun and amazing read. I've really enjoyed Nisha's other series and wasn't sure how something more relatable would play out, and it did not disappoint. I did expect something a little more sinister with Andy, but I'm glad it didn't go there.

4.5⭐

Thank you Nisha J. Tuli, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the ARC!

Not Safe For Work is a spicy rom-com about two workplace enemies who find themselves in close proximity on a tropical work trip that challenges their assumptions—and just might make them fall for each other.

This book blew my mind and Nisha J. Tuli outdid herself with her rom-com debut. I love how it is a work-place fluffy rom-com but with a meaning story behind playing out in the background.

The tension and angst between Rafe and Tris was hot and sizzling. Their chemistry was on a whole other level. Their banter and tension was top tier and the slow burn paid off so well.

The author does an amazing job of balancing the humor with some of the stark realities of being not only a woman, but a woman of color in an industry dominated by white men.

Their relationship set against the backdrop of what Trish was enduring at company was done well. Some of these scenes were influenced by the author's past career and the themes of sexism, harassment and male species being literal fucking idiots was explored.

Trishara is a badass. I love how she stood up to herself and didn't take any of the shit thrown at her. She knew what she deserved and she knew they didn't deserve her. Girly knew her worth.

This story is everything I look for in a rom-com -- sizzling chemistry, worry banter, tension, angst and forced proximity.

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
spice: 🌶️🌶️
review:
I really loved this book! It took awhile to get into it for me but once I was in, I was locked in and devoured the rest of the book! For awhile I worried that Rafe was a tad one-dimensional but he really showed to have depth and a whole character arc of his own which I really enjoyed! I loved loved loved Tris!! Her inner strength and outer strength really carried this book! She was everything and her finally getting her happy ending was beautiful! I really liked this book, it was the first i’ve read by Nisha J. Tuli but I will definitely be reading more!!

Nisha is such an amazing writer. I have read all her romantasy and was excited to see how a contemporary romance by her would be. It was amazing. The banter between the characters was great. Everything was azo g and I can't wait for a physical copy to put on my shelf of favorites!!

As a woman with both a day job (finance) and a hobby (storm chasing) that are both heavily male-dominated, it’s always a “yes please” for a FMC like Tris, fighting the good fight to prove herself amidst a sea of men who aren’t always so thrilled to have a woman in their midst. There are so many little details throughout that were all too familiar to me from my own career, but how cathartic that Tris gets to actually say some of the things a lot of us wish we could! I also really liked that Nisha touched on how exhausting it can be to exist in these spaces, even when your career is advancing.

I am also never saying no to using a storm as a plot device 😂

Releasing in May, Not Safe for Work would make a great beach read that combines the lightness of romcom with the more serious underpinning of being a woman, and a woman of color at that, in a corporate environment. Rafe is a protective, broody while secretly sweet MMC who isn’t overly fond of shirts (but IS fond of breaking out dirty talk & forearm magic!), and while the romance is a slow burn, once it gets there, it really sizzles!

finally, i've read a book about a woman who works in a male dominated field (and the company disrespected her). and i'm touched at her author's note.

onto the book, the banter between them got me laughing. at the same time, there is slow burn in it. aND RAFE CAN DRAW AND BAKE? you got me there 🤭

but my complain is that there are some scenes that got me disappointed. and i expect more chemistry between tris and rafe.

nonetheless, excellent contemporary romance debut from ms. tuli

I really love me a good back and forth work romance. The smut was top tier. The banter, immaculate. I loved every second of this and I hope Nisha writes more romcoms because she is so good at it!!

I'll be impatiently waiting for her next book now.

Links to come.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)

Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli is the perfect blend of steamy tension, banter-filled rivalry, and unexpected heart. From the first page, I was hooked by the enemies-to-lovers dynamic and the electric chemistry between the leads. Tuli effortlessly captures that addictive, slow-burn energy while also exploring themes of ambition, vulnerability, and self-worth.

Our heroine is sharp, ambitious, and fiercely independent—a woman you instantly want to root for. And the male lead? Whew. The brooding, charming, absolutely infuriating kind you love to hate…until you realize you’re head over heels for him, too. Their dynamic is full of whip-smart dialogue, laugh-out-loud moments, and serious steam.

I loved how Tuli layered in emotional depth beneath all the spice. It’s not just about the push and pull of office politics or sexual tension—there’s genuine growth and healing that made the ending so satisfying.

If you’re a fan of workplace romance, hate-to-love tension, and emotionally charged storytelling with spice and sass, this book is definitely for you. Nisha J. Tuli proves again that she can write fantasy and contemporary with equal brilliance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Not safe for work

Thank you Second Sky and @nishajtuli for the opportunity to read this ARC from NetGalley. The following thoughts and review are my own:

I've read all of Nisha's romantasy series, and just scroll back in my feed to see how much I love them - so I was super excited to dive into this contemporary romance!

This book had all my favorite tropes rolled into one. I was giddy each time one popped up, and it made for such a fun read.

If you know anything about Nisha, she always gives you a delicious slow burn. This book does NOT disappoint and the payoff is 👌

This book gave me all the feels. I swooned, I teared up and I LAUGHED. I would definitely call this a romantic comedy because Tris's inner monologues are LOL worthy.

Not Safe For Work is a solid 5 star read and I hope you give this book and Nisha a try!

🪷Tropical Setting
🩵Forced proximity
🪷Only one bed
🩵Enemies to lovers
🪷Forbidden workplace romance
🩵Slowest slow burn but worth it

#bookrecs #bookstagram #favoriteauthors #favoriteseries #ARCread #booktok #contemporaryromance

This book was a banger. And did wowzas did they bring the bang. I loved enemy/rivals to lovers vibes.

Tris is the snarky, smart engineer who keeps getting looked over for promotions at WMC for being a woman and a person of colour. Rafe is the attractive, charismatic bosses son, who gets everything handed to him on a silver platter.

To Tris' surprise she's picked to attend a coveted leadership travel conference in Hawaii, along with Rafe. She plans to avoid him but Rafe is unavoidable.

I loved Tris' humour and that Nisha drizzles little bits of her romantasy references throughout the story. I love her ambition and her no nonsense attitude towards how men and bosses should treat her. I loved that Nisha didn't shy away from pointing out little racial microagressions Tris is subjected to in her career and in life.

Rafe was an interesting MMC. He definitely was spicy and very sweet. I'd say the reason this misses the 5⭐ point for me was that I wish we got a bit more depth to Rafe. Yes, he has beautiful forearms and a sweet personality, but I wish we got his plot twist a bit sooner, or maybe more insight to the interactions between Rafe and his father. I loved his little plot twist though. I feel as though the ending sort of wraps up a bit too quickly, but am really happy with the bonus epilogue.

Overall, I enjoyed this and I hope Nisha writes more contemporary romance.

Thanks to Forever ( Grand Central Publishing) @netgalley for the arc.
Pub date: May 20
4.5⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and Ms. Tuli for an eARC of Not Safe For Work in exchange for my honest review!

This review may contain things that other readers may consider spoilers (tropes, character personality, etc), so please proceed with caution!!

As a BIPOC woman in STEM (software engineer) with chronic migraines, I really resonated with Tris’s character. It is something special to really be able to relate to a character over a chronic illness that deserves to be discussed more in literature, fiction and nonfiction alike.

I loved how realistic Tris’s character was throughout the book, not being able to just “push through” a migraine or fears or anger towards injustice. It also really made me think how the corporate world really tries to train us to believe standing up for what’s right is unprofessional or distasteful or that we should just accept things because that’s just the way they are.

Ms. Tuli does an excellent job with creating such delicious tension in her all of her books, but especially in Not Safe For Work. I was on the edge of my seat seeing how the “will they, won’t they” play out. Not to mention the SPICE, oh my GOSH! She writes absolutely toe-curling scenes.

Rafe’s character was so beautiful. He is an absolute sweetheart, cinnamon roll. The things he helped Tris through made my heart melt. I think he quickly became one of my favorite book boyfriends.

I devoured this book on my flight to O’ahu and wished there was more book left to read by the end of it. I loved every bit of it and found myself very satisfied with the ending.

Thank you again to NetGalley and Ms. Tuli for this wonderful read!

This is my first book by Nisha J. Tuli, I’ve got “Trials” on my shelf and I’m moving it right up the TBR! I had a lot of fun reading this! Trishara is a strong, funny FMC who has to put up with a lot of bullshit in the workplace. The author’s note at the beginning of the book sets the tone about how the aggressions, micro or otherwise that Trishara faces are real and happen every day. There were so many times I was fuming right along with Tris as she worked twice as hard to have half as much as others. Rafe was a fun MMC, I do wish we got a little more background on him. His hobby was cute, though. The romance was a slow-burn and the rivals to lovers hit so good! I love that the author is writing in different genres, and I look forward to reading whatever she writes next!

This was such a fun read! Perfect beach or vacation romcom.

This reminded me a lot of The Hating Game or The Spanish Love Deception. The romance has very similar vibes. So if you like those, you'll probably like this.

The banter is fantastic, the characters start as rivals and it's workplace romance. I enjoyed the pairing and thought it was the couple was a lot of fun. They are cute and steamy. Plus who doesn't love the one bed trope, especially in Hawaii? The steam here was great and didn't randomly happen. The build-up to it was paced well.

A fun and entertaining read!

Cute, but just okay for me. I loved that this book calls out the need for diversity and representation—not just in stories, but in the corporate world too. And I really appreciated that Trish stood up for herself and knew her worth after spending years getting passed over for opportunities she was more than qualified for.

That said, I was pretty annoyed with both main characters in the beginning. It felt like they were just fighting to fight, and their banter came off a little forced. Their chemistry was subpar at best, and the miscommunication didn’t help, it kind of turned me off to be honest.

I still enjoyed it for the most part, but I just didn’t connect with the characters the way I wanted to.

I’ve heard amazing things about Nisha J Tuli’s romantasy series, which made me very excited for her romance debut. Plus, the cover is absolutely stunning!!

Unfortunately, this book did not hit the mark for me. The plot felt a bit lacking, and I couldn’t connect with the characters. The banter, which I was hoping would be witty and playful, ended up feeling like mean-spirited remarks instead. The relationship dynamic was extremely lust-driven, which left me feeling disappointed. I really wanted a more emotionally engaging connection between the two characters. The only thing I really learned about Rafe is how hot he is. This book was somehow so over-the-top cheesy and also so lustful at the same time, which was an odd mix.

I really appreciated the representation of women in stem and the experiences they go through within a male-dominated field.

As a woman in engineering who deals with sexist remarks, I’m all too familiar with the topic of sexism, BUT here, I felt like the emphasis on these remarks taking place overshadowed the potential for real growth or character development. Instead of focusing on how Trishara overcomes these challenges or proves these sexist (and false) beliefs wrong, the story got bogged down with constant examples of sexist comments. It felt like it was trying to make a statement but didn’t quite deliver the empowering moments I was hoping for.

Overall, this book just wasn’t for me. I definitely think it will resonate with other readers, and I hope my review doesn’t turn interested readers away!

Nisha J. Tuli has written the next must-read rom-com! This book is both fun and charming while addressing the very real issues that women - particularly women of color - face in the workforce, especially in male-dominated fields (love our powerhouse FMC Tris!). For anyone who enjoys rivals-to-lovers, workplace romance, women in STEM, and great banter, this should be your next read!

Thank you, NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing), for this ARC!

This is for any woman who has worked or existed in a male dominated field.

I flew through it in about 24 hours. My only complaint really is that the entire relationship only forms over 3 weeks and I wish it had been a longer timeframe to feel more authentic

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli.

Tris is an engineer who has worked for WMC for years when her promotion goes to the boss’s son, and her nemesis, Rafe. Tris gets selected to attend WMC’s corporate leadership retreat in Hawaii for three weeks. The opportunity may also help her get a spot in the company’s executive training program. What Tris doesn’t expect is to spend three weeks as Rafe’s roommate when it turns out there’s only one room left!

I’m obsessed. This was my first book by Nisha J. Tuli and I loved it!! I love the main character, Tris. The romance made me melt and Tris’s workplace storyline was so engaging. The conclusion was done so well. And Rafe! I loved these two together. The tension and chemistry was perfect for these two and I loved when they finally give into their feelings.

If you love rivals-to-lovers, workplace, forced proximity, there’s only one room/bed tropes, this is a book to check out!