The Lifestyle very much reads like an author's first work. For every event there is one descriptive sentence. Combine that with a slapped together last quarter of the book, you've got a book that just isn't very good.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

I loved this book so much! Told from the point of view of 35-year-old attorney Georgina Wagman, it’s a story of self-discovery and having the courage to discover and go after what you really want. The characters were realistically flawed but generally likable. Even though their lives and choices were very different from mine, I felt like I could relate.

Georgina and her friends were all having trouble in their marriages or committed romantic relationships, and some were unsatisfied in other areas of their life. As a group, they decide to experiment with swinging, with unexpected results. Although I’m not personally familiar with swinging, I thought the descriptions of the lifestyle were informative, and it was refreshing to see this uncommon relationship style handled so respectfully. There are a few steamy scenes, but mostly, the focus is on how people relate and what they learn about themselves and each other.

The book deals with some difficult topics and has some very emotional moments, but I really liked how it resolved. I also appreciated how much Georgina learned and grew over the course of the story, and her determination to support other women. If you enjoy women’s fiction and you’re open-minded about alternative lifestyles, I recommend this.

Thanks to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and Anchor Books for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley, which I volunteered to review.

Unfortunately, Georgina Is No Emma Woodhouse From Jane Austen’s World. She Is 34, Married, & An Attorney. The Things That Make 21-Year-Old Emma So Endearing Are Far Less Forgiving In A Middle-Aged Married Woman. This Is Not Light & Playful In The Manner Of Emma, But Rather A Largely Sad & Depressing Tale (With A Happy Ending).


ABOUT THIS BOOK:

This book is Georgina’s story. It includes a large cast of characters, but it largely revolves around her marriage with Nathan and two other couples – Felix and Alina, and Ari and Norah.

This book is a modern take on Jane Austen’s Emma, a classic and beloved tale. At first glance, I hadn’t known that fact and would not have chosen to read and review this book, but when I glanced at the praise in combination with the Jane Austen angle, I quickly decided to take a chance and changed my mind. Despite the name, it seemed that there was more to this story than a swinging lifestyle – parties for couples where lust and fantasy outside of committed relationships and marital vows take place.

It turns out that this is very much a lifestyle book, though what that means to the different characters in this book varies. At some points, this is a primer on living the lifestyle. There are some explicit and steamy moments, but surprisingly, there are not as many as you might think.

I very quickly regretted my choice, but in accepting a review copy, I felt committed to seeing the book through. I really had to force myself to finish it. I am an Austen fan, and unfortunately, Georgina is no Emma. She is a married thirty-four-year-old attorney. The things that make twenty-one-year-old Emma Woodhouse so endearing are far less forgiving in a middle-aged married woman. In Emma, we know that Mr. Knightly is the perfect match for her if only she opens her eyes. He is already an important part of her life. I kept trying to figure out who Mr. Knightly was in this story – Nathan or Felix – as they were the two men in her life. I won’t spoil things by saying who it is, but this does not follow the same pattern. This story feels much more dependent upon coincidence, luck, and timing than Georgina’s scheming and her ultimate humility. It does paint Georgina as a matchmaker, however, which is Emma’s obsession. That said, Georgina only seems to have two real matches to brag about.

I would not recommend reading this simply because you are an Austen fan. Emma is a light and playful read. Despite Georgina’s somewhat similar personality, this story is not light at all. It is very sad. All of her friends are struggling in their relationships as well. An affair is discovered very early on in the story, which sets the stage for all that follows – and the lifestyle, in particular. Georgina’s wisdom is questionable throughout, and it doesn’t make for an enticing read when so much is at stake. On the contrary, it had me constantly angry with the story. I felt manipulated, unlike when reading Emma. Of course, Georgina is meant to be imperfect, but I must say there were times I was disgusted by her for her gross negligence, blinders, and quick judgment.

The first few pages of the story did lend a Jane Austen vibe, which had me initially thinking I had made the right choice. But the sick feeling in my gut that soon followed spoiled the mood. The cheating was easy to see coming, and unfortunately, that dragged out longer than I would have liked. I had not anticipated this would be a book about cheating and broken marriages, and while there is a place for those books, it is not my cup of tea, particularly if it is a big part of the story. I did expect the broken marriage part, but I anticipated there would be an actual effort put forth to save it instead of just relying upon luck. I was very unsatisfied with Georgina’s reactions. Her reaction to Nathan was not enough and yet too much at times. She was a horrible wife. Yes, he was a horrible husband, too, but she claimed to want to fix her marriage and did almost nothing. She hates him one minute and then has no animosity. It feels off. But it is her behavior with Meredith that really upset me. She wants to be all-in for women, but at what cost? By all accounts, Meredith was a problem. Her character later opens a little, but it feels entirely inauthentic and not inconsistent with all earlier accounts. It is nice to support other women, but not to give them special treatment just because of that fact. There is something to be said for earning respect, and much is lost in its absence.

There were many seemingly important moments that this story skipped entirely. There are conversations and events that seem important but are never referenced. Some are later referenced or explained, but many get no explanation at all. It feels like a void.

It does work out in the end, and I was most happy for Georgina, but it feels rather pathetic and unearned. Again, it is based mostly on good luck and timing. I did shed tears in this story, but none were for Georgina. By my count, there were six teary moments, all with Norah and Ari. I love how that played out (even if I was not a big fan of the lifestyle part). I think I was expecting Georgina’s happy ending to be something more like Norah’s when I agreed to read.

IN THIS BOOK:

Georgina, turning thirty-five, has the perfect life. Her perfect marriage is the envy of all. She works as a litigator; her husband Nathan works at the same firm in structured finance. Both made partner last year. She and Nathan met as first-years, and five years later, they married. They have had seven wonderful years of marriage together, and she is proud that she made a safe choice in him. Seeing her own parents’ passion end in divorce, she had decided that a heated romance only led to heartbreak. Safe is good, even if it is boring. She and Nathan have a routine, and it works perfectly well for her.

With a life so perfect, Georgina has made it her mission to help others find the same happiness that she has. Georgina is proud to have matched her father and Buppha, who have been together for about twelve years now. She is also happy to have matched Norah, one of her two best friends. Her other best friend, Felix, had briefly dated Norah until Georgina intervened and set Norah straight. Norah has now been married to Ari for twelve years and they have three children together, but that marriage is not going well. Ari does not live up to Georgina’s standards, and she feels that Norah allows him to walk all over her. She wants to help her friend learn to stand up for herself, and she regrets her ill-fated match. She hopes to correct her earlier mistake and get Norah and Felix back together.

Georgina had met both Norah and Felix at Fordham Law School, but Norah had dropped out at the end of the first year after getting pregnant and marrying Ari, another student at Fordham. Felix went on to work as an attorney but eventually burned out. He has since drifted from one relationship or idea to another. He has been with Alina for the last year, who is very much a free spirit. The match will never last, but since he is so unsure of his own beliefs, it will take some time for that relationship to fizzle out. Georgina hopes to help him along and get Felix and Norah back together through her machinations.

When she suddenly is faced with the fact that her marriage is not great, Georgina is determined to fix it. Her client had been raving about how the lifestyle had saved her own marriage, so Georgina latches on to that idea as the answer to all her woes – and those of her friends. In no time at all, she manages to get herself, Nathan, Norah, Ari, Felix, and Alina invited to a lifestyle party.

There is much to learn about the lifestyle, which is different things for different people. For some, it saves a marriage; for others, it does not. Much advice is offered to make the experience work, but unfortunately, Georgina fails to take most of the advice. She and her friends break the rules, and soon things get out of control. All their lives and relationships are on the line. As Georgina puts on the blinders to her own problems and inserts herself in the lives of those around her, she is eventually forced to face some hard facts. Her story eventually has a happy ending.

Note that Georgina and Nathan met as first-years and married five years later. They have now been married seven years. That is twelve years together, but that puts her at twenty-three and one year into law school when they met. The timeline thus dictates that she and Nathan began dating in their second year of law school, not as first-year associates. Georgina and Nathan should have met when Norah and Ari married, according to the timeline. It is a little odd that her father and Buppha got together twelve years ago also, and that Norah and Ari have been married twelve years.

Georgina’s story was difficult to read. She acts like a middle-aged teenager, and she makes so many mistakes that it is painful. The writing is excellent and the characters feel real much of the time, but the storytelling did not work for me. The story was not likable. There are many inconsistencies and holes in the story, in addition to odd conclusions that don’t add up. It is a wonder that nobody put the breaks on Georgina, who keeps going like the energizer bunny but without a true sense of her direction. She is most talented at avoidance. She also ignores all of the good advice given to her, which is rather maddening. For someone set on saving her marriage, she does her best to do everything wrong, which seems completely out of character for someone that lives on to-do lists. The plot is fairly simple. The story is told in third person in Georgina’s POV. I rate this book 3.5 stars.

I received an advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

THIS BOOK!!! First of all, 5 stars! A new favorite, running to add this to my BOTM box (and you should too!) because it deserves a place on my shelves. It is so funny, witty, and charming! I’ve never read Emma (sorry Jane Austen stans) but this a modern-day retelling (emphasis on the modern, because… swinging 😆) of Emma! With a topic like swinging you *might* expect something raunchy right? But NO, this was funny and cute! So well-executed. It’s like a quarter-life coming of age / quarter-life crisis story in the best way. If you’ve read Evvie Drake Starts Over and enjoyed it, you will without a doubt enjoy this book as well! Definitely a fun book with substance.

I’ll leave you with ONE my favorite lines from the book…
“How did someone who hadn’t once asked herself what she really wanted finally figure it out?”

Please give this book a chance, I beg!! 🤩

Thank you NetGalley, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, and Taylor Hahn for the opportunity read and review!

Pub Date: TOMORROW 06.07.22!

The Lifestyle is pure perfection.
Georgina becoming part of "the lifestyle" to help save her marriage and recruiting her friends to join is one of the best ideas for a story I've every read. It is well written and is full of laugh out loud hijinks. But it is also full of realistic complications in relationships and realizations for each couple that lead to some surprising endings.
I loved how sexually empowered Georgina was through her experiences-it just made her journey that much more enjoyable. And the vulnerability these characters display-just when you think I've got you figured out each person shows a side to them you didn't see coming. This book is sexy, funny, realistic, and one of the best debuts I've read in a while.

Thank you NetGalley and Anchor for the chance to read and review this book.

Are you on TikTok? I wholeheartedly admit that I go on it to see what is going on. Somehow a few months ago, I stumbled onto Momtok - the Utah moms with their matching sweatsuits, Swig drinks and Stanley cups. So when the whole swinger story broke last week, I was all over it and now I like to use the phrase soft swinging with authority - like I had any idea what that was until last week.

So imagine my surprise when I started a new book that was about swinging. Weirdest coincidence ever to have The Lifestyle come out next week when swinging is front and center on social media gossip. The gist of the book is that Georgiana, a lawyer, walks in on her husband with a first year associate at their firm and decides to introduce swinging into their life to fix their relationship. Not my normal kind of read but it was highly entertaining with some very funny, outlandish and over the top moments and quirky characters in the swinging world. There were also very heartwarming and sweet messages about second chances, self-reflection, being who you are, following your dreams and finding your own happiness, all mixed in with the 🔥 . As an added bonus, the author is an attorney so the law firm info actually felt realistic and not cringy, though maybe a little too true when they talked about weekends not meaning anything for lawyers….

Georgina seems to have it all. She's a partner in a successful law firm married to another partner in the same firm. He's seemingly the perfect husband....until he isn't...until the night she finds him cheating on her with a first year associate. Georgina's perfect world is rocked and she's completely adrift. One thing she decides is that she doesn't want to divorce Nathan. She also doesn't want to be cheated on again. She definitely wants to fix their marriage but isn't sure how.

Georgina has a client that has touted the joys of "the lifestyle" and she decides it might be what she and Nathan need to fix their relationship. Two of her friends (Norah and Felix) and their partners join them in the experiment with the understanding that none of them will swap with one another.

One thing Georgina didn't expect was to see her college boyfriend...the one that got away...at the first party they go to. Feelings come to the surface that she thought she'd buried long ago.

Georgina has been involved in her friends' relationships since college. It seems she always thought she knew what they needed more than they did. She still has the tendency and is trying to manipulate the relationship between her friend Norah and Felix because she doesn't think Norah's husband Ari is good enough for her. A lot comes out later in the book and Georgina has to eat crow, so to speak.

Georgina's meddlesome ways make her a little difficult to like initially but she does show a great deal of growth over the course of the book, in my opinion. The way she handles the situation with Nathan's former fling is impressive but not realistic. If she can really pull that off, she's pretty much a super human in my opinion.

Even though the book isn't extremely explicit with the lifestyle parties and what happens there, if you're put off by the idea of this at all, I wouldn't recommend the book. I read a great deal and a wide variety, so this doesn't bother me. However, I thought choosing to try the lifestyle was an interesting choice by Georgina when her relationship was struggling already. Personally, I would think you'd want to heal the damage before you venture into this type of activity, but I'm no expert.

I really did love Georgina's college ex, Whitaker. He'd been through his own difficulties and seemed grounded and caring. Their back story and how they broke up in the past was a little heartbreaking.

Georgina definitely goes on a journey of self discovery after Nathan's affair. She takes him and her two friends with her. Along the way, they all discover things about themselves that can either change their lives or improve them. I thought the book had some great messages tucked in. It was a good read and one I couldn't put down.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

There is nothing about this book that I can recommend. It is very poorly written and the characters make you wish that they would just go away

Thank you to Netgalley, Knopf Doubleday Publishing and Taylor Hahn for the ARC!

This book was such a surprise. The concept is different than anything I've read, and I loved how free the writing was from societal stigma. I thought the characters were well rounded, not just as individuals, but as an overall friend group. One criticism I would have is I thought, mentally, there was a lot more to unpack with the main characters (Nathan and Georgina) than what was shown in the book. Their relationship was more superficial and it was hard to believe people who had been married for so long would be able to break apart so easily. I felt there was more emotion in the other two relationships than there was in theirs. Maybe that was the authors intention.

Additionally, there wasn't a ton of "heat" so to speak considering the book was all about the swinging lifestyle. I thought there would be more passion than there was, however, I like that the author focused on other aspects of the Lifestyle than just intimacy, almost focusing on the "why." They also did a good job of showing the range of types of relationships that participate in the L:ifestyle- older and newer, divorces and just dating. It made it more than just a punchline and it really added the shading and highlighting beyond the color of the text.

Last thing I didn't really love...this cover lol. Kind of creepy and doesn't live up to the quality of the story.

Out tomorrow, 6/7, pick up a copy or make it one of your BOTM selections!

The Lifestyle” is truly a unique book that covers a couple trying to better their relationship by becoming swingers. While there were certainly some interesting parts, there was just too much going on in this book. It includes unrealistic inter office romances and affairs, relationship sabotage, swinging with friends, long lost loves, etc. I just felt a bit overwhelmed by the side plots, such that I lost appreciation for the main storyline. 3 stars ⭐️ . It was a decent read, but not one that left me very satisfied. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy for review.

Okay this was an unexpected delight.

The Lifestyle really hadn’t been on my radar but the synopsis intrigued me when I saw it on Book of the Month so I grabbed it. A woman trying to save her marriage by becoming swingers? Such a unique plot.

I. Loved. This. One. I flew through it in a day. The swinger parties definitely added a good amount of steam, but the real winner here was the growth all of the characters went through. It was fascinating to see how each of the couples reacted to the lifestyle, and how in each case they really discovered more about their relationship and themselves as individuals, allowing them to make the changes they needed to be happy. In some cases the relationships got stronger and in some they realized they needed an even bigger change.

This book was so fun and one you should definitely add to your summer reading list! Thank you to Anchor Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

The Lifestyle :

When I read the synopsis and decided to request the book I was really excited but unfortunately it was a complete disappointment.
Pretty predictable with a plot that has nothing different but people believing that Swinging might a solution to their martial problems.
Honestly, I didn’t enjoy it all and kept skipping to know what will happen next.

Quick summer read to pass the time.
It was funny and playful read. It started off grabbing me with the storyline but then It felt short for me at the end.
I liked the theme but felt it was missing a lot while reading.

The Lifestyle follows Georgiana Wagman, a high-priced New York City corporate litigator who, at the very beginning of the book, walks in on her husband and law partner, Nathan, in his office performing oral on a “junior associate.” That fact, and the fact that Nathan is not punished in any way for his actions was enough to put me off. (This is not a spoiler.). The junior associate ends up in the hospital from an accident in this supposed to be amusing melee? (It was not.) On top of that, I was also put off by the storyline that Georgiana, who is self-involved and focused on her perfect image, fancies herself a ‘mentor” and goes about mentoring this particular beautiful junior associate. There was no other mentoring and this relationship did not work for me.

The parts about the Lifestyle were interesting — Georgiana, Nathan, and a couple of their friends become swingers in part to save their own relationships.

Thank you @netgalley and @anchor for a free e-arc in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley & publisher for this e arc of The Lifestyle by Taylor Hahn.
This is a rom-com novel that explores the complexities of relationships of love/marriage. 4+*.
Themes: "swinging, marriage, and complexities of the heart/love ,relationships, and sex.... save a marriage by swing...head vs heart...trying to fix people...fixing yourself vs others...
Things I liked:
1. Rom coms feel lighter despite the topic actually being deep, i.e. infidelity
2. Humor woven in as well as tidbits of the hard parts of love, timing
3. The roles of men vs women and the importance of women not taking blame or quitting in a man's world ... no blaming ...helping other women, not stereotyping men about sex, etc.
4. Quick read, read in one day
5. Only thing is the topics are a bit heavy at times despite being a rom-com
I was glad to read this one. I would recommend this adult rom-com and enjoyed reading about something I know little about, swinging.

Read this if you:
•like to try new things
•like to read books with a unique plot
•have an open mind
•like pineapples 🍍🍍🍍(which, if you don’t know, is code for being a swinger, so lol to the target doormats with pinneapples alllll over them, I hope they know the meaning)

First of all, thank you Anchor Books for the copy in exchange for an honest review. Second, this one was on my list because of the unique premise. There was less spice (little to none, actually) in this book than I anticipated considering the plot was about swingers. It was an interesting premise and not one I’ve read before. I think the most surprising part was when the MCs and coincidentally all her friends all became swingers at the same time!

Overall, this book was good, not great. I’d still recommend if this is a topic you’d be interested in reading about - I really don’t think I’ve ever read a book like this!

Sadly this book was just not for me. I really tried, but I did not enjoy it enough to finish it. The pace is way too slow.

The Lifestyle was a cute and spicy rom-com. Exactly what I needed to kick off my summer! Georgina is a type-A workaholic lawyer. She walks in on her husband going down on one of her own mentees, and her first instinct is to “fix” her marriage. After some brief hesitation, she decides to try swinging to put some heat back into her marriage.

And here comes to me, the most unbelievable part: she talks her two closest friends and their partners to come to swinging parties with them! What? Look, I love my best friend and think she is drop dead gorgeous, but I don’t want to watch her get her freak on with anyone!

Anyway, there are secrets and jealousies and communication gets better. And there is a happy no ending (pun intended) for each of the 3 friends.

In general, I thought it was a pretty good book. I disliked that the book blurb described it as “Emma with swingers”. I feel that the main point of comparison with Emma is that they both acted as matchmakers for everyone. I liked the characters and thought the sex scenes were hot without being too graphic. It wasn’t a great novel but it was enjoyable!

Georgina Wagman is a 30-something partner at a law firm who catches her seemingly perfect husband, Nathan screwing a first year associate/mentee. 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 by becoming swingers and embracing “the lifestyle.”
At her first such party, she randomly runs into an ex boyfriend, Whitaker Nolan, her first love in college and whom she left to go to law school. As this is a book based on Jane Austen’s Emma, Georgina rather unhelpfully tries to matchmake, fix and meddle in all of her friends’ lives. She finally realizes that she should really mind her own business.
Overall, this was an interesting read because it offered a unique retelling of a beloved classic romcom. Fun beach read!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Anchor Books for an e-arc of this novel.*

I really wanted to love this book but found the MC to be so unlikable. The pace of the book was slow and a bit boring and overall hard to get through.

2/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.