nisha j. tuli – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Nisha J. Tuli
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: May 20th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

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

Engineer Trishara Malik once dreamed of being the first woman of color to smash the glass ceiling at WMC Purcell, but after years of dealing with white male privilege and blatant nepotism, she watches her hard-earned promotion go to her nemesis, Rafe Gallagher—the boss’s son. Teetering on the edge of burnout, Tris is stunned when she’s picked to attend WMC’s corporate leadership retreat in Hawaii. It’s a chance to revive her stalled career and compete for a coveted spot in an executive training program—plus, three weeks in paradise! The only downside? Rafe is her co-attendee.

Tris plans to avoid Rafe entirely, but when she arrives in Maui, a booking error has them stuck sharing the honeymoon suite. Sure, it’s not all torture. Rafe is a smoldering ten—okay fine, an eleven—but after years of competition, they can barely stand being in the same time zone. As they vie against each other during aptitude tests and team-building exercises, Tris begins to realize Rafe might not be the villain after all. With her dreams at stake, can she learn to trust the man who might have been standing in her corner all along?

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ALC.

WELL I AM SURPRISED.

I did not like the fantasy series by this author. And so picking up the contemporary made me hesitant, but you know what, I’m not mad I read it. I actually liked more of this than I thought. A soft four stars feels like an apt rating for me.

It’s very much a summer romance type of read. On location in Hawaii there were many beach activities, hanging out on boats and more. The idea behind having a three week work conference seemed a little far fetched, but I could be wrong, maybe they are that long. At least there was an intense amount of forced proximity thanks to a hotel snafu (IYKYK).

I did find the FMC quick to complain a lot (mostly about the hotel situation, it got repetitive. But I did love her tenacity in other areas. Trishara had a great character arc where she found the best ways to fight for what she deserved and the way to do so. I thought the themes were very obvious but I didn’t think they were heavy handed.

The romance was super swoony. I loved the slow burn (though when the spice hit, watch out). I just adored Rafe. He communicated [mostly] well and was sweet and protective and broody while rolling out good banter and heat too. The ex-girlfriend drama though? I hated it. It’s just a plot device that I don’t love seeing and I also find goes a step too far. That was my biggest gripe.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: moderate
Romance: 4ish open door
Content warnings: sexism, misogyny, racism, nonconsensual touching, blackmail

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Nisha J. Tuli
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: November 15th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The Bachelor meets the Hunger Games. Ten women. A deadly contest. Only one can win the Sun King’s heart.

Lor has endured twelve long years of torment under the Aurora King’s rule. Her only desire is to get free and pay him back for every moment of misery.

When a surprise release finds her in the hands of the Sun King, Lor is thrust into the spotlight when she competes against nine other Tributes for the role of queen. If she wins his heart, she’ll earn her freedom and finally get her revenge.

But Lor doesn’t belong in the Sun Queen Trials. She doesn’t understand why she was freed, and she isn’t a citizen of the Sun King’s court. The other Tributes resent her presence and will stop at nothing to ensure Lor is wiped off the gameboard, permanently.

Now Lor must win, because if she loses, she dies. Or worse, she’ll be sent back into the hands of the Aurora King.

THAT’S A NO FOR ME.

This book has a pretty solid rating and I am convinced I must have read a different book because many things didn’t work for me in this one.

The whole the first guy isn’t the true love interest trope can be great, I’ve read ACOTAR, I know the drill. This was executed poorly. Filled with insta-love and unnecessary smut scenes that did nothing for the plot other than to call it “spicy”. That was my biggest turn-off.

I also didn’t love the FMC. And I’m easy to please in that regard. There was this hot/cold nature that did not make sense and I felt like I kept looking at a different character depending on the scene. Could have used some consistency.

The big “twist” with the end could be seen from the beginning of the book. It resembles another few books I’ve read, of which, the secret was hidden much better and felt like a true surprise. While cool, at this point I don’t think I’ll pick up book two.

The idea of the trials was fine, There’s small things here and there I didn’t mind. And it still gets three stars because I think others could enjoy this.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance
Language: some strong
Romance: 1-2 open; moderate explicit, some innuendo
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: brief mentions of past rape/sexual assault, near death experiences, loss of loved ones