The Lifestyle is smart, heartwarming and lively - a tale of what happens when when you spend so much time trying to do “the right thing” and forget to actually live your life fully.

Georgina thinks she’s leading the charmed life, and she’s rather smug about it. She’s a partner at a big law firm in NYC and her husband Nathan is also a partner at the same firm. She’s rather intense in her mentoring of the junior associates. She considers her marriage to be superior to that of her friends. She likes to take credit where credit is due for essentially arranging everyone’s relationships and lives for them the way that she sees fit. Until she walks into her husband’s office one night to find his head buried between the legs of a junior associate. A client of her’s suggests the join a group of swingers, claiming it salvaged her own marriage. Desperate to reclaim her seemingly perfect life and refusing to even consider divorce, she considers the idea that she needs to do something drastic, and Nathan, in a frantic attempt to win back his wife, agrees. Her friends Norah and Felix, along with their partners, join her for the eye-opening experience. At their first party, she’s shocked to see a familiar face from her past that will have her re-evaluating all the choices that led her to this point.

After the first few rough chapters, I almost gave up. I found Georgina to be shallow and judgmental - she’s a martyr in her marriage and career, and manipulative to boot. She takes credit for setting up her father’s happy relationship with his girlfriend. She manipulated Norah back in college into breaking up with Felix because he was just average and Georgina thought she could date someone better. Even going into their experiment with the lifestyle, she continues to manipulate her friends at parties in order to get them back together, without asking either of them if that’s what they would want. She looks at fixing everyone else’s problems - problems that only she thinks they have - instead of focusing on her own. Luckily I stuck with the book long enough to see her gradually grow up. She starts asking herself the hard questions and gets comfortable with herself instead of glossing it all over and acting superior. I did enjoy seeing Norah and Felix take from the whole experience the wisdom they needed to help themselves get to a happy place. And it was gratifying to see Georgina grow and mature as a person and finally get her happy ending. Finally, I appreciated how sensitively the topic of “the lifestyle” was handled - it was respectful of that community and those who participate in it, and I did not feel like it was at any time handled as a convenient or shameful plot point.

But for the love of all that is holy, this book cover is terrible. Quite terrifying actually, and not at all reflective of the quality story contained within its covers. It doesn’t have to be the cute illustrated covers we all love, as this is not a straight rom-com, but it deserves better than this horror cartoon.

This is Taylor Hahn's debut novel and it was well written. I personally did not enjoy the storyline or characters though. My heart was heavy during this book and never lifted. Maybe it was too real, and I read to escape. Maybe the timing of my reading it was wrong. I really wanted to like this more. I've been known to re-read books, ones I liked and ones I wanted to give a second chance. This one go into the give it a second chance "pile".

Thank you NetGalley and Anchor Publishing for the ARC of this book. This is my voluntary and honest review.

The Lifestyle
by Taylor Hahn
Pub Date: June 7, 2022
Anchor Books
* contemporary
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. Definitely an escape novel.
In a desperate attempt to save her marriage with not-so-perfect-anymore husband (and by extension her sham of a perfect life), she suggests they invigorate their mundane lives (sex and in general) by becoming swingers and embracing “the lifestyle.”
Wow! This was not the book for me, but I know it will appeal to others.
3 stars

Georgina thinks her biggest problem at the moment is having inadvertently given food poisoning to the junior associates at her Manhattan law firm—until she walks in on her husband and the one associate not afflicted with food poisoning in a very compromising position.

One of her clients convinces her that exploring the swinging lifestyle (or more simply, “The Lifestyle”) will improve her marriage. To Georgina’s surprise, not only does her husband agree, but two of their couple friends are also intrigued.

The real surprise comes when Georgina’s ex boyfriend shows up at one of the events. Her marriage isn’t improving, but that’s mainly because she can’t help comparing her husband Nathan with Whitaker.

This novel is a fun, entertaining page-turner. If raunchy sex scenes aren’t your thing, no worries. Most of the sex is off-screen. THE LIFESTYLE definitely exposed me to a side of NYC I wasn’t aware of. #TheLifestyle #NetGalley

I gave this book 4 stars out of 5 last month when I read it last month, but I think I have to take away a star. As I'm thinking back, I can barely remember anything that happened. It just wasn't a standout. I think I was hoping for a bit more steam and perhaps a stronger plotline. An okay read, but wouldn't rave about this one.

I picked up this debut because I was admittedly intrigued by the plot. The woman who has it all, until she walks in on her husband? Tale as old as time. But the twist is Georgina turns to swinging to fix their marriage and joined by two best friends navigating their own relationship dynamics.

I thought it was interesting how author Taylor Hahn developed each character's relationship over the course of the book. The book is sexy, but not raunchy at all. It's funny too, I love how she nailed the conversations between Georgina and Norah, with the latter playing double duty as BFF and Mom simultaneously.

The Lifestyle is an easy escape read--I flew through it in under 24 hours! Perfect beach read for your summer reading!

Thank you to NetGalley, Anchor and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for providing me with an advanced copy and the opportunity to provide my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the e-ARC of The Lifestyle by Taylor Hahn.

Synopsis:
Georgina Wagman has it all—a great marriage, a great job at a prestigious law firm, and great friends. She’s living the life she always wanted, and everything is perfect. Until, that is, she walks in on her husband Nathan in a compromising position with a junior associate. Georgina has a moment of crisis. But divorce is not a part of the five-year plan, so she comes up with an idea to save her marriage and recapture the spark. She and Nathan are going to become swingers.

Georgina isn’t going to embark on this adventure alone, though. Her friends Felix and Norah and their respective partners decide to tag along for the ride. They’ve got relationship woes of their own that swinging just might fix. Georgina, convinced Felix and Norah belong together, is thrilled. What better place to reignite romance between two people destined to be together than a swingers’ party? Her plan is foolproof, until she runs into a college ex at the first party. When they reconnect, Georgina will find herself torn between her head and her heart, with her very happiness hanging in the balance. Perfect for fans of Jennifer Weiner and Sophie Kinsella, The Lifestyle is a playful homage to Jane Austen's Emma Woodhouse and an outrageously fun summer read.

First of all, that cover is atrocious. Luckily I didn't have to look at it whatsoever. Anyways! I was super excited to read this one. I don't know much about the 'Lifestyle" but something about seems fascinating-probably because it IS a bit "taboo" if you will. But then sadly, it just became "meh" to me and I was pretty bored with the book. Believe me, I wanted to love it. I just didn't, But do go in with an open mind!

I… adored this book and couldn’t put it down. The creativity that’s needed to do an Emma retelling but with swingers? I’m in awe that Taylor Hahn’s mind came up with that, and she executed it so well. The plot was fairly predictable, but I honestly felt like that made it a simply enjoyable, low stakes read.

I really wanted to enjoy this novel, but the writing was too simplistic and the premise was way too far-fetched for me.

The Lifestyle is Taylor Hahn’s debut novel. It’s a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma, which I have never read so I can’t offer a comparison. What I’m assuming makes it modern is that the main character, Georgina, along with her husband and close friends, join the lifestyle (aka swinging) to fix their marriages. There was a lot to like about this book and a few things I didn’t like. I really did not like Georgina. She was constantly in everyone else’s business while ignoring that her own life was falling apart. Another thing is swinging; joining the lifestyle should be based on trust between you & your partner - not done as a result of your husband cheating. If you don’t have trust and communication, the lifestyle will likely destroy your relationship altogether. The ending made my eyes roll, but the book does follow a typical romance recipe, so that makes sense.

I was so excited to read this once I read the description because the lifestyle is so interesting to me. I was ecstatic when I was approved for the ARC! Overall, I did enjoy reading it. Most of the characters were likable and I enjoyed the normalization of the lifestyle!

The Lifestyle comes out on June 7! Thank you NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday for this ARC.

Selling this as an Emma retelling set me up for the wrong expectations. There *are* some minor parallels, but not much. The characters are vapid without the endearing qualities that made the original work. And I just didn’t feel invested in what should have been a rather subversive story…the writing and characters feel super flat.

I thought this book was entertaining. I struggled with Georgina a lot though because I found her a bit ingratiating. Her attitude that she is perfect & her life is perfect therefore I know what everyone needs in their lives was a bit annoying. I'm not a huge fan of these type of people in real life so it was a bit hard to get past it in this book. I am glad I did thought because I ended up enjoying how it wrapped up. The lifestyle she & her friends embark on is interesting to read about for sure. Not sure it would ever be for me but it definitely made these couples reevaluate what was happening between all of them. Overall a good book that let me escape for a little while.

Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

This is the first book I ever read from Taylor Hahn and I absolutely loved it. It's funny and just a fun read! Georgina Wagman is married & a partner in a law firm. One night, she is out with a friend and realizes she forgot an important file in her office. She gets to the office & notices her husbands (who is also a lawyer in the firm) light on in his office. She walks in on him screwing Georgina's junior associate. She comes up with an idea to save her marriage after talking to a friend... She and Nathan join a swinger group! She convinces her two best friends to join them in the group. As you can imagine, it is funny and crazy all in one! Especially when she finds her old college boyfriend is in the same group! An easy beach read!

DNF.

Really struggled to get into this. The writing style didn't flow for me and while I loved the premise, the delivery just didn't hook me.

Thank you Doubleday and Anchor for the ARC - out 7 June!
Emma is one of my least favorite Austen leads, so the fact that this modern take on the story engaged me enough to overlook her annoying habits and presumptions is a triumph in and of itself.
Georgina has a high-flying job and a boring, cheating husband. Refusing to admit that she may have married the wrong person, she enlists their friend group, all of whom are in sturggling relationships, to give "The Lifestyle," a try. We all know what happens next; confusion, mixed intentions, secrets spilling into the open, love found and abandoned.
For a book that has sexual liberation so squarely as its center, there is surprisingly little sex actually taking place. Not a bad thing, but something to tamper the expectations of anyone going into this expecting a FULL romp. It's quick, fun, and engaging, and if someone could please fix the cover art (???) then I think we will be seeing a lot of it at book clubs and beachs this summer.

Read :
You broke up with someone before a study abroad
You talk a big game about how much you like sex, but you still don't own a vibrator
Your friends refuse to tell you their secrets because they know you can't keep your mouth shut.

The Lifestyle by Taylor Hahn is another fun take on the classic Jane Austin story of Emma. From the outside world Georgina has the perfect life. A great husband and successful law career. While everything seemed perfect, Georgina walks in on her husband cheating. How does one fix their marriage? Become swingers! This is a different take but I feel this was also showing a little women empowerment from Georgina. This is a fun read and kept me wanting more. Highly recommend!

I really liked this book. It's a loose interpretation of Jane Austen's Emma, but with swingers. I know, it sounds a little crazy. But for some reason it works! I really liked the main character Georgina, despite her MANY flaws. I think the main reason why I enjoyed this so much was her growth throughout the novel - you could SEE it happening before she did, and it was fun to be along for the journey. I could see where a lot of people would be put off by the "lifestyle" storyline, but I thought it played well with the novel's overall theme of finding your true self. Sometimes you need a very strange kick in the pants to get the hint!
I would recommend this to others, but on a selective basis - the lifestyle storyline is definitely not for everyone!

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the ARC!

Georgina is Ms. Perfect - perfect husband, perfect friends, perfect job (partner at a big NYC law firm) - until one late night at the office, she walks in on her husband cheating on her with her junior associate mentee. After a weekend crying to her best friends, Georgina comes up with a solution: she and her husband will become swingers and embrace "the lifestyle" to recapture the spark in their marriage. It's an odd remedy, and while at first I loved Georgina and related to her can-do attitude and desire to find a fix for anything, she soon started coming off as a busybody who thought she knew better than everyone else. This plot was supposed to be a hilarious modern retelling of "Emma", but having not read "Emma" myself, I can't say how well it mirrored the original (though I assume Jane Austen didn't write about a swinger lifestyle?). I thought the premise was interesting, if odd, and I appreciated that the author profiled swinging without being at all graphic, but... this was not really for me.

Could not get into the characters nor the plot for this one. I completely understand a stale marriage but the character was too annoying for me to sympathize much.

This is my fourth book that is a very loose retelling of Emma I’ve read in the last few months. And it really is a stretch to think Jane Austin would see herself as the inspiration for this story. The closest thing I can say is that Georgina thinks she knows what is going on with her friends and their relationships and like Emma she gets much of it wrong.

Georgina is a successful lawyer married to a partner lawyer who works in the same firm but in types of law. At the office she catches him with cheating with her mentee, a first year associate. Trying to save her marriage follows the suggestion of a friend to give the lifestyle of swinging a chance. Believing that if both participate, in controlled safe consensual parities it will bring them together. Amazingly she convinces her two best friends and their partners to give it a try as well.

The author does a good job of setting up the value to be gained by the experience and the rules. Putting aside my own judgment on the morality I went along with the story. At the first party she re-meets her old college boyfriend. The love that got away. He wanted to explore the world and she was focused on going to law school. They don’t become partners but he gives her guidance the Lifestyle. The parties do cause each of the couples to look at their relationships and make changes which is one of the focuses of the story.

I would call this women’s fiction because the romance is secondary to Georgina figuring out what she wants in her life. None of the characters is overly likable but I found the story compelling. Much will be made about the book promoting swinging but it is surprisingly not a steamy read. You experience a couple of encounters with Georgina which are mild and minimally described. I often take off a star for cheating but that isn’t applicable in this story.

For a debut novel it is compelling but has flaws. The description as heartwarming and hilarious seem really off the mark. Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.