I requested this because it was billed as an Emma / Clueless retelling and it is that at first because Georgina the MC is meddling in all of her friends' love lives. But after she discovers her husband has cheated on her, she decides to become a Swinger to save her marriage. The book then turns into a story about The Lifestyle, that is to say the swinger lifestyle. It's a group of married couple friends who go to sex parties and sex clubs and switch partners in order to save their troubled relationships and to spice things up.

Needless to say I was fascinated and by 25% completely hooked and it became a page turner for me. I think this would make a great beach read. It's a contemporary romantic comedy set in New York City which is always fun to visit in a book. And you do get your HEA. I really liked it and think this is a good debut novel. I would read more by Hahn.

– Thanks to NetGalley / Knopf Doubleday for the ARC –

Meh. This book was okay. As an Emma retelling it kinda missed the mark. The only Emma vibes I got was with Georgina being up in everyone’s business and getting everything wrong. The “swinging” scenes were good and the characters in the parties were very fun. Overall I just felt like I wanted more and I wanted Georgina to be less annoying.

Lighthearted fun, a beach read for the more adventurous beaches. This was touted as being based on Jane Austen's Emma, but that really didn't click for me. Sure, Georgina was annoying, and had ideas about wanting to hook her friends up, but that was about it. One thing I really appreciated was her support of other women, even when she was wronged by them. Based on other reviews I was expecting the sex scenes to get fairly over the top, but everything was done well and tastefully with an appropriate amount of steam that won't get you into trouble if you're reading this in public. A fine debut novel for Hahn.

My thanks to Knopf Doubleday/Anchor Books, the author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and Net Galley for the opportunity to review this book, The Lifestyle, as an ARC. This book was billed as a reimagining of the novel Emma, by Jane Austen. Emma, to refresh my memory , is billed as a congenial young lady who delights in meddling. It has been a while since I read Emma, or have seen any of the adaptations(including Clueless), but it sounded like a fun read. It was and it wasn't. The premise was intriguing. Georgina ( our Emma stand in) is a lawyer in New York. She has been married to Nathan, also a lawyer in the same company for 7 years. She has 2 dear friends,Norah , who is married to Ari and Felix, who has a girlfriend named Alina. Norah used to date Felix, but Georgina fixed Norah and Ari up on a date while they were all in Law School. Norah got pregnant, married Ari and dropped out of law school. When the story opens, Georgina has just brought cannoli to all the junior lawyers in her firm, as a makeup for the lawyers having to work late. The cannoli are tainted and give everyone food poisoning. Only one of the young lawyers, Meredith , had refused the cannoli and stayed healthy.Georgina then goes off to meet a client . The client opens up to her about her personal life. Suzanne ( the client) had been having marital problems and confides in Georgina that she and her husband solved their problems by joining the lifestyle- becoming swingers. Now, over the past 40 some years I have read and seen some books and shows involving swingers ( Gay Talese's Thy Neighbors Wife, Sarah Dunn's The Arrangement and an episode on CSI). Happily, unlike the CSI episode, there are no dead bodies in this account:) Georgina assures Suzanne that her marriage is fine and she needs no help. Georgina then goes back to the office to pick up a file and finds her husband Nathan, having sex with Meredith. In a total turn around, Georgina decides that not only do she and Nathan need to become swingers, but Norah, Ari, Felix and Alina need to as well. Georgina thinks that both Norah and Felix are unhappy , and this will not only help her marriage but bring Norah and Felix together again. Everyone goes along with her plan, perhaps not wholeheartedly, but they do agree to join her at a party. Now things really get convoluted. I do not want to give any spoilers, but things do not go as planned .Georgina seems to make plans for everyone in her group, and they just go along. I would like to say hilarity ensued, but it didn't. There are a lot of other characters in the book.Georgina's college boyfriend who turns up at a party, her father and his significant other, who seemed a write off in the early chapters but end in a meaningful sequence toward the end, and several swingers who start out to have good storylines, but ultimately fade away.There is a nice wrap up to Meredith's story, but it was almost as if she was forgotten, then rushed back to tie up a loose end. I usually complain that books lately are too long , but this is one where I would have liked to have seen more attention given to the the other characters. Too much of it was Georgina making plans and pronouncements for everyone. I kept wondering why more people didn't just tell her to stop. As I said, I enjoyed parts of it and parts I felt were farfetched. It was a fun read in parts.

I wasn't really sure what to think about this book after I got a few chapters in. Sometimes not reading book synopses bites me in the butt, but I enjoyed this story about swingers [apparently that's outdated terminology, and there is not one mention of a pineapple anywhere in this tale, please alert those who need to know on Twitter]. The story and situation was complex, but I felt like the author handled it delicately and has an ability to draw in the reader. I was on the edge of my seat wondering how everything would end up and was pleasantly surprised by a few of the storylines. All in all, a fascinating story that had me side-eyeing things at several turns, but an enjoyable read nevertheless. NSFPL OBBBBBVIOUSSSSLYYYYYYYYYYYYY. 4 stars for great writing, wildly intriguing characters and an ending that was given the time it needed to feel full and complete.

I often only read the first sentence or two of a book synopsis before diving into the book because I like to be surprised. So I picked up The Lifestyle after reading it was an “Emma” retelling. Well, imagine my surprise when the main character ends up becoming a swinger. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure I was going to finish the book. But I’m so glad I did! The swinging scenes are PG-13, and honestly, are a pretty small part of the story.

More than a romance, this book is about a woman finding herself and discovering what’s really important to her, and I ended up really enjoying it. I’d give it 3.5 stars.

The Lifestyle was a fun read with the characters learning about being honest and true to themselves. It was interesting to follow the journey of relationships and each discovering what was important through entering an unconventional method of self-discovery. Thank you to NetGalley.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

Read it, its really good.

Very interesting read and take on Swing culture! I found myself cringing a lot while reading this, At times it felt like the characters were being forced to do things they were not comfortable with, which made it difficult to read. It was still very enjoyable and an interesting look at how relationships vary. As we all know what works for one person may not work for another, no judgment. I am not certain how healthy of a little lifestyle this was for any of the characters but it was surely eye-opening for many , The love story aspect was a bit unbelievable and there was not much backstory or development and sort of made it seem like the sex was the most important thing in a relationship. It would have been interesting to get a five years later point of you to see how things develop with our characters. I felt the ending was a bit odd and uncomfortable for me as someone that was married for seven years had such a short and quick interaction with no feelings. I did find it very difficult to manage all of the character names and their relationships, I am still not quite sure who was with you and such but I do not feel it is important to go back and reread, overall a fun quick read, thank you net galley

I really enjoyed this book! It was compelling and kept me on my toes which I love! I can’t wait to add a physical copy of it to my collection soon!

Funny, head strong, full of laughs and heart. Georgina is a great lead character that packs a punch and makes you cheer for her throughout the book. Really enjoyed it.

Thank you, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Taylor Hahn, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Members of a close-knit circle of friends are all in need of some kind of change. Is swinging the answer?

The Lifestyle by Taylor Hahn kept me hooked from the first word to the very last! Hahn's whimsical writing style offers the reader a compelling blend of humour and heart. Though it is a wildly entertaining easy read, it should not be reduced to simply "fun." Through well-drawn characters and unexpected storylines, this book carries real emotional weight. A perfect choice for bookclubs. I can only hope it's given the Hollywood Treatment one day soon, I'd love to see a film or television adaptation!

Give it a read, you're gonna love it! 4 Stars.

This book was well written and I didn't see any errors while reading it. I didn't like the lifestyle. I don't find that exciting. It had me looking up percentages of people that actually engage in this behavior. I liked that she ended up happy in the end, but I don't think being a whore makes someone "sex positive."

I went into this one blind, I don’t think I would have read it had I not.

30-something Georgina, a big city lawyer, walks in on her husband and her mentee in a compromising position, throwing everything she thought she knew about her perfect marriage out the window.

In order to save her marriage, a friend suggests Georgina and her husband consider swinging, aka “The lifestyle” (I don’t consider myself judgmental or prudish but it certainly seems counterintuitive at this point).

After attending a “lifestyle” party, friends and spouses in tow, Georgina reconnects with her college boyfriend-Who apparently was a great love of her life with whom she had no closure.

Georgina must decide if “The Lifestyle” is helping to save her marriage or if she’s ready to let go and move on.

This is the same story you’ve read a million times wrapped in a taboo bow.

I will say-
I can appreciate the way in which these parties and interactions are written. More implied than described. This is not a book that is primarily about sex. It does try to focus on the relationship aspect. For me, it just fell flat.

I liked Georgina as a character fine, but I did feel they were all pretty two dimensional. I wasn’t attached at all, I cared nothing for any of them honestly.

I give this book a 3.25 stars. It was just interesting and short enough to keep my attention, but likely not something I’ll be recommending to all my friends.

I received this arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I decided to pick this one up after seeing @captainolya recommend it. I thought this was such a hilarious debut! It was light-hearted, sexy, and fun to read. Georgina seems to have everything you could want going for her, until she finds her husband cheating. She then decides that a divorce is not what she wants, and suggests they try the swingers life. She then reels in her friends, and their significant others, to go along with for the ride with them. Well, all fine and dandy untill the first party they go to, she meets up with one of her college exes. Now, Georgina is torn about her feelings that have surfaced.

I thought the insight into this lifestyle was fresh and new as I have never read something like this before, and I liked seeing how these couples worked it all into their lives. Definitely made me laugh quite a few times. It's has some steam but not overly crazy. Really great story!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy! All opinions are my own.

I received an advanced reader's copy from NetGalley for this honest review.

I can't speak to how much this mirrors Emma, as I haven't read it. But the the tagline of "the funniest retelling since Clueless" is completely wrong. I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it either. Georgina is a perfectionist, lawyer, in her mid-thirties, and a meddler. She is married to another lawyer, and early in the book she catches him cheating on her. Instead of working it out (or realizing she wants a divorce) she turns to the world of swinging to heal her marriage. And she ends up bringing her best friends into it as well (kind of by happenstance). The first chapter of this book is overly infodumpy about Georgina's friends and husband, and took me so long to get through because it was painful to read. I almost DNF'd this at chapter 3, but decided to press on. I did read the rest of the book on a 4 hour flight, so it picked up, I guess.

Pros: it has some funny moments, it's complete, there are some silly scenes, Whitaker sounds hot.
Cons: the writing can be overly complicated, the characters are kind of shallow, cheating being appropriate in one situation but not another, and lying to loved ones.

I don't hate that I read this, but I also don't like that I read it. Meh. Fine enough.

I am not one for non- monogamous relationships. I thought I could read this but I just can't get into it. Again, this is my mindset and I'm not critiquing the authors writing.

4.5 stars
What a great debut novel! I liked knowing going in that it was based on Jane Austen’s novel “Emma”. It informed the basic plot devices, while definitely giving everything a unique spin. I enjoyed seeing how these friends navigated their relationships and “the lifestyle”. It was completely entertaining from start to finish. I stayed up extra late last night to finish it as I couldn’t put it down until it was done!
Thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for this advance copy.

I really enjoyed this book! It is the story of Georgina, an attorney is New York who is married to Nathan, another attorney in her firm. At 35 she thinks her life is perfect, great marriage, supportive group of friends, and she just made partner. Her world is turned upside down when she finds out her husband is having an affair. They decide to try swinging to strengthen their relationship and their friends decide to try it too. The swinging part is secondary-the plot really revolves around both the romantic and friend relationships within the group. The author did a great job of creating not only the main character but supporting characters that were well developed. It was very interesting to see where all of the characters ended up. Definitely recommend!

Overall it’s a good retelling but much tamer than the synopsis suggests. The main character is likable enough but some of her choices seemed to simply extend the story rather than serve a purpose.