The Lifestyle is about exactly what you may think that it is-the swinging lifestyle. However, it's a fictional story that also pays homage to Jane Austen's Emma. I was in for the ride when I heard that description lol.
Georgina has the perfect marriage with Nathan-or so she thinks. She finds him cheating with a younger associate at their law firm and is inspired be some advice from a client to pursue a swinging lifestyle to make her husband happy. Since Georgina, like Emma, likes to fix all of her friends' romantic relationships, she invites their friend group to join them as well. I really cared about all of her friends and how they would solve their individual issues, if any. Georgina was exasperating, just like Emma. Emma has never been one of my favorite literary characters just because she assumed to know what was best for everyone.
As to the swinging scenes in the story, they are both steamy and funny, depending on the moment.
Georgina is forced to confront her impressions of her friends and ultimately herself to decide what makes someone happy.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for my honest review.

“The Lifestyle” by Tyalor Hahn, new author to this reader. Did I like it? Can’t say that I enjoyed as some readers but it did have its laughable moments. I got a kick out of each character unfolding on the pages. I don’t believe this is a modern day “Emma” re-telling…quite far from it in fact. A quick read and not what I anticipated of the heroine, Georgina, as she chose to include swinging as a form to fix her marriage. That was just unrealistic for me, however anything can happen. Not big into the swinging lifestyle and fell short of its mark for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Anchor Books and NetGalley for an e-ARC of The Lifestyle, scheduled for release in June 2022. A re-telling of the classic novel Emma, the novel focuses on Georgina Wagman, a woman who has it all. A high-paying, fulfilling career at a prestigious law firm. Wonderful, close friends that she's known for ages. A happy marriage to her husband. She prides herself on living life with good intentions, convinced that her actions are helping the people around her. Eventually, one of her well-meaning objectives backfires when she walks in on her mentee having sex with her husband. With divorce not part of her five-year plan, she sets off to breathe new life into her marriage. She's decided that her and Nathan will become swingers and not only that, she's convinced some friends to come along for the ride. Georgina believes her plan is full-proof until an ex walks back into her life. When they re-connect, is saving her marriage still something she wants?

I've never read Emma so I'm not sure how the retelling would compare but there was certainly a lot to enjoy about this debut novel. I very much enjoyed the writing and felt that the writer did a good job showing the benefits and consequences about the swinging lifestyle, how each couple was able to use it to make empowering choices. The supporting characters were also enjoyable to spend time with. My quibble is with Georgina. She struck me as insufferable some of her time, mostly due to her alleged do-gooder attitude. It was clear she cared deeply about the individuals in her life but just the way she talked about them and/or described them at some instances was a little off-putting. Finally, some people could view her emotional affair with her ex as worse than Nathan's brief fling with the junior associate.

All in all, a good escapist read for the moment.

Wait, what? This is billed as an Emma re-telling? I think that is a very far stretch. Yes the book was funny at times but I did not really care for the characters. Thank you netgalley and publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review. Sorry I did not like it more.

I enjoyed The Lifestyle by Taylor Hahn. There is a lot of humor in the book and it's fun watching the characters discovers things about themselves. I did have a problem though with the idea that Georgina would automatically decide that the only way to fix her marriage was by swinging. That hardly seems realistic to me but overall it was a fun read. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me read this digital ARC.

This was a great story and it was written pretty well too! I would say go into this book not trying to compare it to another book. I think you will giggle quite a few times in this book. Enjoy!

This was a great book. It shows the true passion and hard work it takes to find yourself and to be happy for you. Georgina’s journey is executed wonderfully, and you can’t help but want to route for her.

The Lifestyle was my first book by Taylor Hahn but definitely won't be my last! I wasn't sure what to expect when reading a story about swinging, but it was so much more. It was super interesting to read about The Lifestyle but even more interesting was the relationship between all the characters. Lots of great characters and stories, a super fun read!

I wish that I could actually put into words how I feel….but it’s really hard right now. Um, this book was just not for me I guess. I saw that a lot of other people liked it but it just wasn’t my jam and it took me forever to even get through it

It was billed as a modern day Emma. This was nothing like Emma. One of the characters fancied herself a matchmaker... that was the only similarity and it was a stretch. I guess if you're interested in the swingers lifestyle this might be interesting. However, the characters aren't redeeming and the descriptions of romance are not even that steamy. This was a big miss for me. I don't think many of our readers will enjoy it either.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for this ARC. This is an excellent debut novel by Taylor Hahn.

Taylor draws clear delineations between all of the characters and each one has an independent and easy to follow story, with the book following the main character Georgina closely. The story quickly captivates readers after Georgina, who is attempting to surprise her husband, finds him in a compromising position with a junior associate, Meredith. As the story unfolds you find yourself quickly pulled into Georgina's world as she looks to explore the world of swingers with the hopes of saving her marriage. This book is filled with lots of great laughs and a surprising level of humanity that cannot help but keep any reader captivated. Hahn did an excellent job of bringing each of the characters to life in this fun and witty story. This book is hilarious and made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion, with one of my favorite quotes coming from Georgina - "Somewhere in the multiverse, I'm in bed watching Matthew McConaughey right now, you bitch!"

A great read you shouldn't pass up, especially if you're a Janet Jackson fan!

I didn't finish this book. I read about 25% of it. I thought the writing was stiff and the plot was uninteresting. I don't care enough about the story or characters to finish the book.

3.5 stars: This book was entertaining, and I was interested in the characters to some degree. It was an easy read. I wish some of the side characters were fleshed out a little more, as many of them felt flat. It was a slow start but later picked up & kept my interest.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and Taylor for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

OH MY. O H M Y. You are definitely NOT ready for this one. I wish there were enough words to describe how I felt while reading it. Hot and bothered is a very good one. This book was hot, sweet, and it also had some sort of self growth in between. The book is super sex-positive and it navigates through the first unconscious judgemental stage of humans towards taboo topics and towards reflection and acceptance. I liked that each character got something different out of it. The writer was able to write sensual and suggestive scenes without the need of explicitly, which for me (even though I do love an explicit scene) it’s a plus.
The only reason why I took out a star was because there were too many descriptions and too little dialogues for my liking. But the rest was just *chef’s kiss*

THE LIFESTYLE was phenomenal. This retelling has everything you're looking for in a book!
Like they say "all good things must come to an end!"
Yeah I did not want this story to end!
A beautifully written book that spills emotions on every page.
One of the best debut novels I've read!
The characters were so enjoyable and very likeable.
They were well developed and detailed that you felt like you knew them all.
The characters are strong, relatable and I loved Georgina and the side characters.
They left a special place in my heart. Hahn, her descriptions, her characters are very intriguing and interesting.
A truly well written, uplifting, funny, engaging story that envoked a complex of emotions whilst reading.
I think this is going to be a new favorite author for me!

Knoof Doubleday|Anchor,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review closer to pub date.

In her quest to be perfect and have everything under her control, Georgina lost sight of what makes her happy and fulfilled. Yes, she may be great at her job but she had a stiffness to herself that created a shield around her. Nathan straying seemed inevitable as he could not understand what she needed and wanted due to the breakdown of communication. Georgina wanted to fix others such as Norah and Felix but couldn't fix herself. The book does mention a lot of sexual fantasies but it is to prove the point of feeling desired. What really resonated with me is that Whitaker needed to feel chosen.

This book has been touted as a “modern-day Emma,” though I would have to add “mashed together with Netflix’s Sex Life” as a qualifier. Using the classic tropes of “failing marriage,” “one(s) that got away” and “swinging will save this relationship”, the story of Georgina’s love life unravels, often unwittingly at her own hands. Hahn does a great job of filtering the entire narrative through Georgina’s eyes, making it clear from the first page that we have a chronically unreliable narrator on our hands. The issues surrounding relationships, friendships, swinging and falling out of love are all handled as deftly and honestly as possible through this lens. The fact that as a reader, you maybe don't really even like Georgina serves as a feature, not a bug. Despite the quality writing, this book still only gets three-stars from me because it wasn't interesting to read. The Emma/Sex Life blend skirts so close to the originals, that it doesn't feel like a unique story. You know how it will end a chapter in, then just have to watch the characters flail towards resolution for a couple hundred pages. For me, that isn’t enjoyable, though other readers may enjoy that convention.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the chance to read and share a review of The Lifestyle. I am sharing my review voluntarily.

I was immediately intrigued by the synopsis and was so pumped to receive it. I liked that this book examined love at different stages of life and Georgina had epiphanies about her life and not only her love. It resonated with me as close in age woman who can more honestly reflect on past choices made from expectation.

The characters were well developed and I enjoyed spending time with them. The characters were so thoughtfully created that even the most flawed ones were special and worthy of analysis. The writing is strong and evocative. One critique I have is that I found some of the chapters to be rambling and provided unnecessary detail. It did have the impact of relating to Georgina as a sentimental person who loved deeply but it didn’t always hold my attention.

I enjoyed that the lifestyle was explored honestly- with curiosity, sometimes quick judgement and then reflection. The book is sex positive for sure. I wish the bedroom scenes would had more chemistry and sizzle.

There’s something really special about a book that challenges you as you read and leans into the conflict of choices. I guess wasn’t sure how it would end up for Georgina, it was up and down throughout and I guess that was the point.

I received an advanced readers copy of The Lifestyle thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review.

This retelling of Emma is absolutely HILARIOUS. I had to force myself to put it down so my 6 year old wouldn’t be stuck at school and trust me that was a hard decision to make. This book is THAT GOOD.

although I thought this was a fun entertaining book, I wouldn't purchase for my library. the content is adult heavy. we have adult books in the library.... but range from YA to adult, and the theme is a little inappropriate.
I enjoyed it though.