3.5 stars. ARC review - thank you to the author for sharing!
A cute workplace romance. I loved the STEM representation and Tris’ character. Rafe felt a bit one dimensional, maybe because there are no POVs from him, and by the end of the book I felt like I barely. I did enjoy his sexy banter. However Tris' internal monologue felt super repetitive. Overall a fun, easy read, but nothing particularly groundbreaking.

✨️ Female POC in STEM
✨️ Enemies to Lovers
✨️ Workplace romance
✨️ Banter
✨️ Forced Proximity
✨️ Only one hotel room/bed
✨️ Slow Burn
✨️ Protective Alpha Hero
✨️ Medium Spice
✨️ Tropical Setting

*Thank you to NetGalley for the arc*

This is the first book I've read from this author. Looking over her profile, I can't believe this is her first rom-com! It was so well done! I highlighted a lot in this one and was giggling and OMG-ing all the way through. The banter and Tris' internal monologue were so sharp, adding to the simmering tension between Tris and Rafe. I love a slow burn, and this one was done well. There was a steady balance of sexual tension and moments when the characters opened up and were vulnerable with each other.

I also really appreciated Tris' experience as a female of color in a male-dominated field. While I'm not in the same situation, I connected with a lot of her feelings and reactions as a professional female.

This one checked all the boxes for me. I recommend it to anyone you like romance or anyone looking for a fun beach read.

Nisha J. Tuli has officially cemented herself as an auto-buy author for me. I first fell in love with her Fantasy Romance series, and when I heard she was venturing into contemporary romance, I knew I had to read it. Trust me, Not Safe for Work did not disappoint!

This book delivers everything I love. It has the slowest burn, witty banter, rivals to lovers, and so much more. The pacing is spot-on, and Tuli’s writing is effortlessly engaging, pulling me in from the very first page. I could vividly picture every scene, as if I were watching a movie unfold. In fact, I genuinely wouldn’t be surprised if this one gets picked up for the screen someday! Beyond the romance, Tuli expertly weaves in deeper themes, tackling workplace challenges like sexism and racism, chronic illness, and self-discovery with nuance and authenticity. The story highlights the importance of advocacy and awareness in a way that feels natural and impactful, adding an extra layer of depth to an already compelling read.

Knowing that Nisha drew from her own experiences as an engineer, the authenticity in the storytelling shines through. The corporate world, particularly the struggles faced by women in male-dominated spaces, is portrayed with incredible accuracy. And that author’s note and letter at the end? I was in tears. This book was everything I hoped for and more, and I truly hope Nisha continues to write contemporary romance alongside her fantasy books. Not Safe for Work is a must-read for romance lovers. It’s fun, emotional, and absolutely unforgettable!

Loved this book! The women in STEM aspect, the BIPOC rep, the way that Tris handles misogyny in the workplace was really well written. I still can't get over her email at the end of the book, I hope it inspires women to do the same and call out sexual harassment in the workplace. Rafe and Tris had an incredible enemies to lovers arc and the banter was top notch.

I adored this book. There were some uncomfortable moments but they were so real. It kind of shows the lie of many corporate DEI programs when they’re half assed and given lip service.

And the romance was hot! I really liked that the only one bed didn’t have them immediately falling in to bed together. The characters fit so well!.

Workplace rivals to lovers. Trishara gets picked to go on a work retreat with, none other, her work rival and bosses son, Rafe. Trishara is battling whether she wants to stay with a company that usually overlooks her for promotions due to her being a woman in a male dominated field. As she figures out her own internal battles, she has to seemingly battle it out with her work rival. With a hotel, and assistant booking, mixup, the two are stuck sharing a suite at the Hawaiian retreat. How will they ever manage?

I do love a good forced proximity and honesty, I really liked this one. I wouldn’t call it “enemies-to-lovers” but it is definitely a rivals to lovers tale. Trishara is scared of relationships and Rafe is still dealing with a somewhat recent breakup. The two of them slowly begin to open up about their true wants in life and even love. Some of the banter at the beginning was more like bickering which was tough for me since I just finished a book with nothing but annoying bickering buuuut this one mellowed out and the banter became true banter. I really enjoyed this slow burn and the pining was pretty good. It was also refreshing to move back into one POV. The duel POVs have become so prominent now so, this was a nice shift.

Thanks to NetGalley for a digital ARC for an honest review.

I really loved this one! I love books written with such smart dialogue and banter. It sucked me in. It was sexy and spicy, and touched on so many important topics. The characters were great and the location…. Yes please. Such a fun one!

this was so much fun to read! I enjoyed the vacation/ work aspect of this book and the hard issues that were tackled. I think they were done well. I loved rafe and tris, I think their chemistry was explosive. I only thought their fights were kind of childish and repetitive which lost me a bit, but overall I really enjoyed this one! Thank you to Netgalley and Forever for this ARC!

A fun and sexy romance book that doesn't reinvent the wheel but does provide a good reading experience.

4.5

Not Safe for Work follows Trishara who once dreamed of being the first woman of color to smash the glass ceiling at WMC Purcell. She keeps being overlooked by white men. She watched her hard-earned promotion go to her nemesis Rafe who is the boss's son. Tris is shocked when she is picked to attend the WMC's corporate leadership retreat in Hawaii. She thinks this is finally her chance to prove that she is worthy. But there is one downside Rafe is going as well. Tris has plans to avoid Rafe and focus on her job. But when they arrive in Hawaii Tris and Rafe find out they have to share a room due to a booking error. They are forced to deal with each other. But soon they learn they might actually not be enemies at all.

This book had the most basic tropes of them all enemies to lovers and only one room. However, those are two of my favorite tropes. So I loved this book! I love that like me the author is bi-racial and it focused on those things throughout the book. I loved that this book showed women proving that they are just as worthy as men because we are! I like that this book used romance to balance out the more serious tone of this book. I thought that Tris and Rafe were so cute. I will say the spicy parts were just meh for a book called Not Safe for Work. But this was really cute and fun read. I highly suggest it.

Thank you so much, Nisha J Tuli, Forever Publishing, and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This comes out May 20!

Get your fan out, because this book was HOT! So full of spice and fun I just could not put it down. I absolutely loved the main characters and their sweet love story. Fabulous book!

I got this book as an ARC from NetGalley, and let me tell you; it surprised me. I was already a fan of Nisha's writing, because I really enjoyed her fantasy romance series, Artefacts of Ouranos.

This was short, sweet, and surprisingly deep. Trishara is a woman who works in engineering, at a very male dominated firm. She also has eyes for the bosses' son, Rafe. When they both get selected to go on a work trip to Hawaii, Trishara thinks it can't get worse. Then it does. When she finds out she has to share a room with Rafe.

Thanks to the forced proximity, team building games and exercises, the pair start to learn a lot more about each other.

I have read other romcom's before, but this one has by far been my favorite. The book is light and airy, but also dives into some deeper issues too, without feeling too uncomfortable for the reader, but still holds impact. There was a moment towards the end of the book where my jaw literally fell open, and I had to read the page a couple of times because I couldn't believe something was said.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy romance and is looking for a fun way to jump into a contemporary romance, if it isn't typically your genre. I was kicking my feet and giggling at certain spots because our FMC is also a fantasy romance reader, and it's a trend throughout the story.

It was all around, just a truly entertaining read.

ARC review: Nisha just knows how to write snappy fun dialogue that will continually suck you in. Having read her fantasy books ahead of this release, you can certainly feel her signature (and maybe a small plug for one of my favorite scenes in The Artefacts of Ouranos series) but it definitely stands on its own as a traditional romance novel.

Highly recommend for all my romance lovers out there. I can see this becoming a fantastic beach read for the summer!

*Thank you Dana and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I honestly liked this book and appreciated the fast pace. The workplace rivals romance with forced proximity and a ton of bickering and tension was well done. I also appreciated the reflection of real-life. While I still find myself more of a fantasy reader, I enjoyed this contemporary romance.

Thank you Forever for the e-arc!

This one was a little disappointing. I was very excited going in, a woman in engineering fighting the corporate ladder and standing out in a male dominated field sounds great. Add a workplace rivalry and a work trip/vacation to Maui and it sounds even better. While those aspects were great, the actual characters let me down.

Trishara is very bitter after being passed over for promotions just because she is a woman. She sees them go to the bosses son time and time again, as well as a chauvinistic pig and the other bland men she names 'the khakis.' While this bitterness felt fully justified, her reactions to some very innocent comments from Rafe - that were meant to be COMPLIMENTS- felt childish and made me not want to root for her. Also because this is a single POV book, I found myself questioning why Rafe liked her.

All that to say there were parts I liked, especially her email at the end, but definitely wasn't as good as I was hoping for.

AH rivals to lovers and in the workplace?! YES PLEASE. I really enjoyed this one. The tension was soooooo good! I thought they were so fun together from the flirty texting to the wedding crashing.

The term Khakis had me laughing my ass off.

I would recommend this one!

I adored this, devoured it, was giggling and kicking my feet the whole time. The vibes were perfect and this would be perfect to read on a beach with a drink and a snack. I could not get enough of Tris and Rafe. Seeing a smart woman take what she wants and overcome both racial and sexist stereotypes in the corporate world was amazing. I cannot recommend this book enough.
Tris is a badass woman vying for a promotion at work and instead, it goes to Rafe, her sworn rival and the boss’s son. On a work trip that Tris, to her surprise, gets selected for, she must break barriers and revamp her fire for her career while also dealing with a rooming mishap that ends with her and Rafe sharing a Honeymoon suite. Is there more than meets the eye to Rafe, or is he exactly what she thought he was? Find out what happens in Not Safe for Work by Nisha J Tuli!

I have a love/hate relationship with this book. For the most part it was so good, but there where some parts that felt so rushed...the ending being one of them. The tension and angst had me wanting more throughout the whole read. I was caught constantly saying "KISS ALREADY" lol.

The book was a fun read, but I don't feel fulfilled... If that even makes sense. I still have questions about characters, and I just have the feeling that there could have been more. Over all it was an enjoyable read. Definitely a nice pallet cleanser in between reads.

On a side note, the cover is stunning. *spoiler* but that part of the book was one of my favorite moments.

Work place romance
Rivals to lovers
Forced proximity
Only one bed
Women in STEM
Biracial fmc
Slow burn
ANGST

3.5/5
I like a rivals to lovers romance, it always creates good tension and banter. Here Trishara and Rafe had plenty of that combined with a trope I enjoy, forced proximity. Since the story takes place in the span of three weeks as they are on a work retreat everything progressed a bit fast and like certain situations where dealt with on a surface level. I will also say that the characters reactions to some of their conflicts came across as immature, they would just storm off or jump to conclusions without hearing the whole story. I think the author did a good job at showcasing what women go through in the workplace setting, specially in a STEM and male dominated field as she herself dealt with it. Overall is was a good romance with some steamy scenes and nice ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

3.25

I liked this. I didn’t love it as much as I thought I was going to.

The first half felt like the characters were teenagers. I didn’t really get the ‘rivals’ part of it except for a couple mentioned instances from the past that we didn’t see happen on page. Also the focus on his ‘not a smile but it’s…something’ was repetitive and got on my nerves after seeing it every other page. I understand the importance of the progression of Rafe’s smiles but this was really shoving it down our throats.

The second half of the book was a lot more enjoyable. Once they finally started opening up to each other, I liked their chemistry a lot more. Though I appreciate Tris’s fiery attitude, I didn’t like her hot and cold attitude towards Rafe; it felt like flipping a switch on and off with her which might have been an easier pill to swallow if we had more of their ‘rival’ dynamic shown beforehand. Also her interactions with Andy felt uncharacteristic considering she knows how to stand up for herself especially when he was making her uncomfortable. I felt like these scenes just gave Rafe an excuse to swoop in and save her when the whole basis of her character is one that is NOT a damsel in distress. Rafe felt very bland, very khaki, until the 70% mark which is sad because he is such a great character once you finally get to know him.

Maybe I would have enjoyed this more as a dual POV?

Overall this was a fun, spicy rom-com with very relevant and current themes of racial and sexist discrimination. The author did a fantastic job highlighting those struggles that women, especially of color, still face today. And that standing up for yourself is always the way to go.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eArc.
All thoughts are my own.