‘Rival engineers dabble in personal chemistry while at a tropical company retreat in this smart, zippy romcom.’

Not Safe for Work couldn’t have been a more appropriate title. Shave 15 years off the FMC & MMC and then dump them onto a set more reminiscent of Bayside High, this story would have been much more feasible.
As a grown man and a grown woman, these 2 were tragically off-putting. I winced, shuddered and rolled my eyes so many times, I knew my face was starting to pay the price. I was gonna be Stonecringe....

Enemies to Lovers, close proximity. Tashara and Rafe are accidentally stuffed together in a hotel suite in Hawaii for a company retreat. They hate each other, of course. The theatrics begin.
FMC is a neurotic chihuahua. Runs hot and cold & goes back and forth in a constant & steady rhythm, like Grandma Agnes in a rocking chair. A constant push and pull with her. Nitpicking. Nagging. Whining. Trying to keep up with her contradicting thoughts & actions was an occupation all by itself. Her banter & behavior was shamefully sophomoric. And Rafe wasn’t any better.
They fight each other until they don't. Then they get naked. Finally. And wherever they want. They say things to each other that are meant to make you go all weak & gooey, but unfortunately, it all just comes off like grated cheese.

Tashara’s goals for advancement in the past 5 years have all been for naught. Not b/c she’s not qualified, but because she’s a woman. And all the men in this book are sexist assholes & creeps who discount, belittle & grope women at their convenience. All except Rafe of course, who works for the same company, but actually just wants to go live for his followers, baking cupcakes (against his father’s wishes & better judgement).

3 weeks in & voila, they’re in love. FMC finally quits her job and goes out with a bang, blackmailing the company for a large comp. Rafe opens a bakery. And yay, everyone’s happy. Cue curtains.

Sorry. I didn’t buy any of this. May be a simple case of the wrong audience though...

Thank you NetGalley and Forever GCP for this in exchange for an honest review. I am always grateful.

Pub: 5.20.25.

Love. Love. Love. An amazing workplace romance with the best leads. Not Safe for Work has an engaging romantic storyline while also dealing with the very real shortcomings of the corporate world. 10/10 would recommend.

This was such a fun workplace enemies to lovers, but also hit a lot of points on the challenges that women, women of Color, and queer individuals face in the workplace. How they’re passed over for promotions and raises, and how it’s always white men who are always on top. It was nice to see how the MC Tris navigated all of that while still having a workplace romance with the bosses son! Sometimes you just have to follow your heart, have the confidence to say no more, and stand up for what you believe in with an amazing man supporting you along the way. We love a supportive king!

i wasn't a fan of the writing and how fast the romance part of the story was, they're supposed to be rivals and can't stand each other but the mc immediately highlights how hot rafe is. also there was lot of "stomach churning" going on as a reaction to their interactions, it felt a bit repetitive. i liked the author's note, how she represented the sad reality of a woman working in a male dominated field.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for a copy of this book for review purposes.

Not Safe for Work was a fun, breezy read that only took me half a day to finish. It features a biracial FMC in STEM and a classic workplace rivals to lovers storyline. I haven't read anything from this author, but I thought that the writing was well paced and consistent throughout.

Let's start off with the positives: I think this painted a relatively realistic picture of what it's like for women in a male-dominated field and I found some of it painful (but not in a bad way) to read through. I also love the side characters and that they weren't shoved to the side by the end.

However, where this fell a little flat for me was the weird non-love triangle that was happening. It felt like there needed to be something to give some angst to their relationship (and I was glad it wasn't about race), but it was frustrating as a reader. There wasn't a "real" third act breakup, so that saved it.

3.5, rounded up to 4 stars

Highly enjoyable! Some of my favorite aspects about this book include the diverse characters, the tropical setting, and the twists in the plot! I didn’t expect some of the reveals / plotting and loved the surprises. Tris and Rafe are well-developed characters with real, grounded, believable layers.

I read this book in <24 hours and expect it to be a hit as a summer beach read, especially with the gorgeous cover art.

This was such a fun romance full of tropes I enjoy. The work colleagues and "we hate each other but we've never really hated each other" vibe were reminiscent of Sally Thorne's The Hating Game. A substantial build up of tension that I was not bored during (Hallelujah) and a hefty dose of jealousy kept me reading without wanting to put it down. Medium to fast paced and an interesting plot aside from th romance. I was rooting for these characters' HEA. Truly enjoyed the heck out of this.

"And it's then I know that this one - this smile is only and forever just for me."

This book had me feral from start to finish. It is a smart and sexy rom-com with so much depth and the best combination of tropes (rivals-to-lovers, forced proximity, a man who would 1000% throw hands for his girl, etc.) Tris and Rafe, two workplace rivals with years of pent-up tension, are both chosen to attend their companies corporate retreat in Maui - and after a booking mishap, they get stuck in the honeymoon suite. and yes, there’s only one bed—someone call me an ambulance. Tris is so painfully relatable, her hopes and ambitions constantly crushed under the weight of a white-male-dominated field. Meanwhile, Rafe is a walking contradiction—grumpy, protective, secretly soft, and saying things that should be illegal. Their slow-burn chemistry is intoxicating, and their banter feels like second nature, blurring the line between rivalry and something much deeper. The humor is seamlessly woven into the story, balancing out the heavier themes of ambition and workplace inequality.

The slow-burn was so agonizingly perfect, but the moment things finally explode? Life-changing. The writing is so vivid it felt like I was watching a movie (or maybe an emotional hostage situation). Between the humor, the tension, and the filthy chemistry, this book owns me now.

I flew through this book. The cover, title, and description drew me in, but the story kept me reading.

I don't typically read fantasy, so this was the first Nisha J. Tuli book I've read, and I thought it was a fun contemporary romance debut. Single POV stories do tend to be some of my favorites, so I loved that about this book and I really enjoyed the way the workplace romance trope was done here. I also liked the pacing of this book. The descriptions were just enough for me to picture the beauty of Maui and understand the many situations Trishara found herself in, but not lengthy or overly descriptive.

There were brief moments when characters' behavior felt unrealistic or just slightly off, but I'm always willing to suspend my disbelief for the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC!

3.5 stars. There was so much to love, but the immaturity of their quips and fights really brought this down for me. I was kind of mortified at how they would lash out and then the next day be totally normal. Couldn’t get over that. I think those moments could have been hard hitting AND funny (more on the side of The Hating Game), but instead they were deep cuts and all I could think about was how toxic their fights would continue to be. Other than that it was very cute.

I am so happy Nisha has decided to dive into the world on contemporary romance. This book has the perfect mix of banter and enemies to lovers, ugh Rafe and Tris spice is impeccable, this workplace romance has it all. I seriously cried with her and fell in love with her as the book went on, this has the perfect amount of steamyness and spice to create the perfect workplace romance. I also enjoyed how she was so vulnerable with us and used real life stories from her life. I hope that we see more of her in this genre.

Not Safe for Work was entertaining and so fun to read! Enemy coworkers, forced proximity, and workplace romance tropes fit together so well and I could not put it down! I loved Tris' character and her inner dialogue, I felt like I related to her as a biracial women in a predominantly male field, and shared many of the same thoughts and experiences. Rafe's hidden passion was a pleasant surprise that made me like him a lot more! Together, their story was so sweet and full of self-discovery. Overall, I loved Tuli's first romance and I hope she continues to write more in this genre!

Super excited to have received this ARC! liked this easy read and I think it was a super solid first foray into romance for Nisha Tuli! I loved the female power/FTPatriarchy messaging but I found myself wanting more depth in that space--it feels so relevant and important in our current political climate. I also feel like Rafe's character needed a bit more to him, not sure exactly what he was missing but I found myself wanting more backstory and personality. I did love that his secret thing was being a baker haha. The epilogue was short and left me wanting more but it was nice to see their HEA!

I really enjoyed this book! It was much more light hearted than Nisha's fantasy genre books (which are also great). I noticed she did include a couple Easter eggs from her other novels, which I was pretty excited about. The main character in this book was at a point in her life where she has stopped putting weight on what others think of her professionally and it was super empowering and freeing. The "be yourself" vibes were strong in this book and I loved that. Always a good reminder!

Oh, this book just makes me giddy with happiness! I laughed. I sighed with contentment. I raged on behalf of Tris and Rafe. I felt emotionally connected to both of them, which for me, is what brings me ultimate joy when reading. The quips, longing glances, and the tension (oh, the delicious tension!), made me all gooey and melty.

Rafe might irritate and annoy Tris, but he respects and protects her. He's imperfect but owns up to his mistakes and apologizes for his wrong doings.

Raef SHOWS how he feels about Tris...
• when he tells her the truth about why he got the promotion she wanted.
• when he notices her love of store bought cakes (and all sweets) and buys her macarons.
• when he tells her about his dreams.
• when he takes a bite of chocolate lava cake off her fork, then proceeds to feed her a bite, all while telling her how perfect she is.

Tris is my hero! She's strong, smart, loving, and kind. She stands up for herself, her principles, and Rafe. I love her final parting shot to WMC.

Nisha congratulations on your first contemporary romance! It's P-H-E-N-O-M-E-N-A-L, and I can't wait to get my hands on the next one! Oh, and your nod to a certain, ahem, spicy scene in Chapter 28 of the Rule of The Aurora King...the BEST. I had to go back and read that scene again because it's so good! (If you haven't read The Artefacts of Ouranos series, it should be next on your TBR.)

• Rivals to Lovers
• One Bed
• Forced Proximity
• Banter
• Angst & Chemistry

Great book, love the Characters they we are very well written. Perfect romcom with a great trope! This was a fun read and I read all of the fantasy books from Nisha, this book was amazing, she's very talented I love the books from early Ali Hazelwood and this was very similar type.. which was an amazing read!!!

Nisha girl I'm your biggest fan!

One thing I will never skip is a Nisha ARC opportunity and I was so excited to see how things went for her debut (I think) in the contemporary romance genre!

This did not disappoint, it had all the classic angst, yearning and tension that we are used to with her writing. There was some plot in the background that kept me going in the non-romantic parts and overall I really enjoyed it. I also love how Nisha always has POC FMCs! I loved the MMC and you could really feel the absolute pining these had for each other.

My only complaint is I wish we had a little more resolution with the ex girlfriend at the end. Like why he bothered to keep picking up the phone, why he seemed adamant that she was a good person when she made a racist comment at the end to our FMC and got away with it. She didn't feel like a good person and I wanted a little more penance or maybe a small amount of groveling from the MMC.

I did love the idea of an MMC who secretly wanted to be a baking influencer instead of a high powered engineer/corporate shark. Not enough MMC's wanting to do cutesy jobs like this and I was obsessed with it lol.

Also the company email at the end....do your thing girl.

Thank you Netgalley and Forever Publishing for my Earc!💕


Trishara is just a Indian girl trying to make it in a world of nepotism in the engineering industry….its hard when one of the managers sons keeps taking all the positions over and over again

Until one day they both get a work trip to Hawaii that hopefully will lead to an executive position at her company….but along the way they have to share a room and fight of the urge to constantly kiss each other since they are mortal enemies 😉

I thought this was a fun lighthearted romcom. It made me giggle out loud multiple times. Rafe was such a comforting possessive hottiee!! And Trishara really learned a lot about her self through the whole process.

If you enjoyed the movie The Hating Game but on an island work place trip you will love this book!

This delivered and more. Between the humor and tension, Tris and Rafe were perfect. I did not want to set this down and only did so to sleep, wake back up, and immediately finish the book. I was hooked from “These men are the Khakis” when I knew this book was for me. After this and Artefacts of Ouranos, I know Nisha J. Tuli will be a future auto-buy author for me.

Not Safe For Work had me staying up past my bedtime because the enemies started lover-ing!!

This was a fun read! Enemies to lovers is my favorite trope and this did not disappoint. I loved the personality of Tris and how the author realistically portrayed struggles of being a BIPOC woman in a male dominated field. Race’s dirty talk and subtle actions showing his interest were irresistibly charming.