I was surprised by this book. It was more serious than I expected but I did not dislike it. I am not sure how I feel about it but it made me think

Thank you @netgalley for the Advance Readers Copy! Daphne and Dominic have been together since college and happily married for three years. But they think things may be getting boring, so decide that they will make a pact that once a year, they can each have sex with someone else. They put parameters in place to make sure that this does not ruin their marriage, but come on, how can this not turn out badly!!! And do they both really think this is a good idea? This is kind of a fun read, but the premise was hard for me to get over. #thefreedomclause #hannahsloane #netgalley #bookstagram #booklover #reader #bookblog #lovetoread #fictionreader #bookreview #bookrecommendation #readersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #takeapagefrommybook #readallthebooks #booksbooksbooks #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #booknerd #whattoread #readingtime #bookaddict #ilovetoread #ilovebooks #advancedreaderscopy

I hope this book finds its audience, but unfortunately I am not among that group. This one just didn't work for me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity.

The Freedom Clause by Hannah Sloane

The Freedom Clause is an old story with a new twist. Boy meets girl. Boy marries girl. Boy wants to open the marriage.
Hannah Sloane’s Dominic and Daphne meet in college and marry. After a few years, Dominic suggests opening the marriage for one night a year for five years and Daphne agrees. Sloane weaves an interesting narrative as Dominic and Daphne navigate the usual difficulties of marriage along with the added effects of The Freedom Clause. This book may change the way you think about “happily ever after”.
Hanna Sloane’s first novel is a great read and I look forward to more from this author.

I both enjoyed and cringed a bit reading this debut novel by Hannah Sloane. Dominic and Daphne met during their early days at university. Once they bonded, they never looked at life other than connected and forever together. As they approach their thirties, things shift, and each travel through demanding professional and personal diversions.

The couple, Daphne, reluctantly agreed on a 'Freedom Clause' in their marriage contract. Each person could have sex with someone unknown to the couple once a year. No one could ever know about this, and they would not talk about it. As in divorce, we tend to side with one person in a fractured relationship. I was not a fan of Dominic's choices. The story gets messy and painful for both characters. I could not put down this novel describing a train wreck in slow motion. The book is well-written and reads like a thriller. I couldn't put it down!

The publisher provided this ARC via @netgalley in exchange for an honest review. It comes out on August 1, 2023.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"The Freedom Clause" had an interesting premise, and I did enjoy reading it. The writing wasn't stellar, but I found it to be a quick, interesting read that I would recommend to others.

If your significant other asked you for a pass to be sexually involved with one stranger a year for five years, would you do it? This question is explored in Hannah Sloane’s debut novel, The Freedom Clause. This comedic romantic lit fic follows Daphne and Dominic, a married couple in their mid-twenties, as they come to a crossroads in their relationship. As each other’s only sexual partner and significant other thus far, their romance is lacking…and so is their sex life. Dominic proposes a pact: for one night a year, they’re allowed to have a sexual experience with someone else, and they don’t need to discuss it with each other. The novel follows the pair as they navigate the openness of their marriage, their family dynamics, and finding themselves in their twenties.

Sloane does a phenomenal job with developing the main characters. Throughout the story, we see how the Freedom Clause affects Daphne and Dominic’s marriage, but we also see how it affects them as individuals. The character development is a marker to how good the book is, and it shows how focusing on who characters become by the end of the story can be done well without forgetting about the plot, and vice versa. Daphne breaks out of her shell and grows into a self-assured woman that I didn’t predict when beginning the book. Dominic, however, developed in reverse and becomes jealous and less confident, which I did see coming. Society teaches us that what a man wants would benefit us all, and we learn from Dominic’s failures that men’s selfishness is more of a detriment than a saving grace.

Ash gets his own paragraph. We meet Ash when Daphne waits at a bar for her sister, and he accidently gives her a free drink meant for another woman. From here, Ash joins the ride of the Freedom Clause — not sexually, since he’s gay — and he is Daphne’s biggest supporter. He’s also the best character in the story. Without Ash, we wouldn’t see Daphne grow into her own, nor would she push herself to try out the Freedom Clause. He’s a catalyst, and he keeps the story going with his banter and free spiritedness. I would read a sequel that follows Ash, with or without Daphne.

I have a few issues with the story, but they don’t take much away from the story and my enjoyment of it. The novel begins when Dominic and Daphne meet in college, and it doesn’t go much into their relationship prior to their marriage. As stated before, the pair never had a sexual experience with another person, and they didn’t date other people. With this information, I wanted to see a little more of their relationship dynamic and how they built it before we jumped to the future and the pact came into play. Also, the formatting of the “chapters” (or sections, really) made reading confusing at times. I had to reread some scenes because the point-of-view wasn’t clear until a couple of paragraphs in — the novel alternates between Daphne and Dominic’s perspective — and sometimes it seemed like it was in both character’s perspective at a time. Readers may find they have this same issue when they pick this book up, so paying close attention to the narrative is important.

Overall, Sloane’s debut is solid. The premise is fresh, and the outcome is far from cliché. Oftentimes, we see the man come out on top, and the woman suffers throughout the story because she doesn’t gain anything from what the man proposes. However, Sloane decides to say, “Look; the woman can win in these stories. The woman can have the most to gain, and the man has to sit back and watch in defeat due to his own selfishness.” And I like that.

Hannah Sloane’s debut novel, The Freedom Clause, was not what I expected when I picked it up. But I wasn’t disappointed.

Daphne and Dominic have been together since they were 18. They were each other’s firsts and only. A few years into their marriage, Dominic is unsatisfied with their sexual relationship and Daphne is unsatisfied with the sex. One night, Dominic proposes an idea, a Freedom Clause. One night a year both he and Daphne are allowed to have sex with a stranger. The rules are simple, only one night, nobody they know, no affairs, no asking the other person questions about their night and they can’t tell anybody they know about it.

I assumed Daphne would end up heartbroken by this freedom clause because she so reluctantly agreed. But what unfolded was a great story of a woman finding herself within her marriage. I loved Daphne as a character. I really enjoyed the premise of the book and without giving too much away, I’d recommend you check it out too!

Thanks to Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thanks so much Random House Publishing and NetGalley!

Dominic and Daphne met their first week of college and were married young. They love each other, but Dominic wishes their sex life was more fulfilling. He blurts out that they sleep with other people and comes up with the Freedom Clause. They are allowed to sleep with one person on one day a year for five years. Daphne really pushes herself to be more assertive and starts to realize a bunch of things. There's a lot for the couple to reconsider.

I liked watching Daphne's journey to self discovery and how she was able to become her own advocate. Dominic was an interesting character who did not think through situations. I struggled a lot with him because I felt like he was putting so much pressure on Daphne with so many unrealistic expectations. She was doing the brunt of the emotional work in the relationship. This reminded me a lot of Next Year, For Sure by Zoey Leigh Peterson.

Daphne and Dominic got married right after college. They’ve only ever had sex with each other. Three years into their marriage, Dominic suggests they open up their marriage one day a year to a stranger. It can only happen with that person once so it doesn’t become an affair with actual emotions attached, and they can’t tell any of their friends lest they judge them for doing this.

For Daphne, it doesn’t begin well, but eventually she gets books and toys and does a better job of expressing what she needs to really enjoy herself during sex. For a while, it seems their plan is working—their sex life is getting better.
Because she can’t talk to her friends about it, she starts writing about it anonymously along with recipes since cooking is a pleasure of hers. She gets more and more followers on her Substack entries.

Even though this is about sex, it wasn’t erotic. I appreciated that Daphne didn’t change her mind about not wanting kids even though Dominic wanted them. Unfortunately I never had a real emotional connection to these characters or what they were going through.

NetGalley provided an advance reader copy of this novel that will be RELEASEs AUGUST 1, 2023.

Dominic & Daphne are each others first for everything. They get married right out of college & everything seems to be going okay, but Dominic decides to open up their marriage for one night a year (the freedom clause) they can sleep with a different person for one night a year. No family or friends included and it can’t be the same person ever year. It sounds like a dream come true until it suddenly isn’t. I cannot recommend this book enough!!

This book was hard to rate. I was definitely intrigued by the overall premise and thought it would be an interesting read but it was not a perfect novel.

I really enjoyed the character of Daphne, I love how the Freedom Clause opened up her life and how she took charge and gained confidence. I loved her Substack column and the creative way that she told her stories through her recipes.

But I didn't like how we got to the Freedom Clause. Which ultimately comes down to the character of Dominic for me. I found him pretty insufferable and I just wasn't emotionally invested in him from the beginning. I got the sense that he was putting all of his unrealistic expectations on Daphne without truly knowing who she was in reality. I just found myself groaning every time it switched to his POV. He was not for me.

I also think the POV switched back and forth too much to keep me engrossed in the story, I don't mind a book changes POV with each chapter, but this was after every few paragraphs. But this is just my own personal preference.

I honestly liked the blunt writing - straight to the point and no questioning what was happening. It was also such a nice way to see someone accept and own their sexuality and not be suffocated with "what ifs"

I read this on a coworker's recommendation, and I'm glad I picked it up! It was the perfect thing to read on a long train ride--it's emotional and interesting, but it moves quickly. The writing feels a little blunt and amateurish, but the story is a lot of fun and I really appreciated where it ends up. This will be a GREAT beach read when it comes out.

A husband comes up with the bright idea to take one day off a year to open his marriage. His wife is greatly hesitant but agrees. Things will not turn out as expected.

Dominic and Daphne married young and are happy, but there is a problem with their sex life. They take a chance on a bold move. Over time, Daphne changes, and Dominic’s true self comes to the surface. We follow along as their marriage takes hits, and their forgiveness capacity is tested. In some ways though, things are improving.

Daphne finds herself and grows stronger, and this impacts Dominic, inspiring him to make some not-so-wise decisions. Daphne’s feminism comes to the surface, and readers can ponder the truth in her words. Surprising things happen when she makes choices based on her new self, and this is fun to watch (read about). Dominic’s reactions are revealing of his true nature.

It is clever how Daphne comforts herself. She relates her feelings to food and creates recipes to complement her experiences. Readers are treated to yummy-sounding dishes—for Daphne writes out the ingredients and cooking instructions for each dish. The food is so closely connected to what she is going through that the taste of these meals is easy to imagine.

Relationships of various types are explored here and help readers to understand the main characters on a deeper level. The secondary characters are good foils for the protagonists. Some characters leave, and others arrive unexpected, changing the direction of the plot. When certain characters cringe, it is easy to feel it along with them. When others celebrate, we know why.

Throughout the novel, one is under suspense. What will become of Daphne and Dominic? Could they possibly come out ahead after five years of this odd experiment? What good could come of it?

The pacing is quick overall, with the ability to hold one’s interest. This is a book about personal growth, done in a creative and engaging way.

TW: graphic sex, infidelity, drugs

The Freedom Clause is about a young couple who after just three short years of marriage decide for one night a year they are allowed to open up their marriage. Dominic initiates this idea as he thinks they are in a sexual rut and it might help. Daphne however has major reservations but comes around to the idea. They create a rule guide to follow, a few of the rules being it can't be the same person each year (to avoid an affair), can't be someone the other knows, no questions asked about the night, and they can't discuss it with their mutual friends. Your initial thought might be similar to mine of "let's get some popcorn for the sh*t show that is about to commence." I mean what could go wrong with this plan, haha oh boy. BUT in all seriousness, I ended up really enjoying this story! It goes beyond just the sex to show how a little confidence can completely change your life as it did for both characters. I loved the growth Daphne had and was rooting for her all the way while her life evolved many times for different reasons. Dominic ended up being such a dud but that dude gave me red flags within a few pages so not surprised by that! Thank you to The Dial Press and NetGalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. Pub Day is August 1st!

I enjoyed most how we get to see Daphne gain confidence and grow not only into her sexuality but into herself. There was a line in there about how everyone has a fitness routine that stuck out to me, and seeing her begin to love her body and herself was so heartening.

This was a fascinating exploration of trust and betrayal, honesty and communication, and how people grow. I quite enjoyed!

This book was decidedly heartbreaking and painfully realistic — but oh so funny and charming along the way. Going in, I found myself worried this would be just a British take on on <i>After I Do</i> by Taylor Jenkins Reid, but while they did share similar premises, I was pleased to find this was very different. I really enjoyed this, especially following Daphne's journey of self-discovery and taking ownership of her own sexuality, helped along by the titular Freedom Clause. By the end, I detested Dominic, but I really appreciated the realistic portrayal of how his internalized toxic masculinity and subsequent insecurities played out. Definitely recommend this — and absolutely making Daphne's salad recipe for dinner this week.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARC!

4.5/5
This book explores the ways we lose ourselves in a relationship and how we settle for less or become comfortable with putting our partners needs ahead of our own. This couple chooses to allow the other to have one night of sexual freedom a year in order to keep things alive.
I think this book is important because many women unfortunately wind up making themselves small in order to make more room for men in their lives, but at what cost?

I would highly recommend this book to others.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity read and review this ARC.

This turned out to be such a fun read and I really enjoyed the fresh take on this concept of opening up a marriage.

The beginning felt a tiiiny bit rushed to me and I would have liked to see a little more of Daphne and Dominic before they agree on The Freedom Clause, but once I got to about 30% I didn't want to put it down.

The book was structured a lot different than I am used too but honestly found it very refreshing. I thought the recipes mixed with personal experience pieces were brilliant and would purchase Daphne's cookbook in a heartbeat. I will never forget the <i>i-can't-believe-he-came-in-my-hair-salad</i> and will be adding it to my recipe stash asap.

Many thank yous to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Dial Press Trade Paperback for sharing this digital review copy with me.