Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Dial Press for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.
3.5 stars
The bad: Dominic. Selfish, dishonest, cheater. He got worse as the story progressed.
The good: Daphne. As one character describes her, she is unstoppable. It's so great to see a character's growth, in her case both personally and professionally. You find yourself cheering her on and the ending is very satisfying. The addition of her recipes and the funny, snarky comments included in each added so much depth to the book. The premise of the one-night-stand (the "Freedom Clause") turned into a little too much....yuck...for me. I'm not here to judge, if that's your thing then good for you, but it was really off-putting the further into the book I got. Especially when Dominic starts to break the rules. I liked the author's writing style, though, and would definitely read future books of hers.

Thank you NetGalley, Hannah Sloane and Random House for the Arc of The Freedom Clause. This is my personal review.
Daphne and Dominic met and fell hard for each other and decided to marry right after they graduated from college. Fast forward five years and they both feel the spark has gone out of their marriage. They come up with a plan that one day a year they can be with another person. But it can be only one night and only once, so it does not turn into an affair.
As I was reading, I tried and tried to wrap my head around how they came to the decision they made on how to improve their marriage.
I read it but just could not connect or accept that one night a year will fix what is wrong in their marriage.

A mostly enjoyable and thoughtful beach read, with an engaging main character whom I wouldn't mind knowing in real life, but the male protagonist seemed merely to serve as a foil to her, which didn't serve the novel well. The premise is intriguing and mostly well plotted, but certain ideas were communicated in a ham-fisted way, and the the resolution to several plot threads was just too tidy.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Random House for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC. This book is the story of Daphne and Domenic. They meet in college, marry young and 5 years later feel that the spark has gone out of their relationship. So they enact the "Freedom Clause". Once a year, they can have sex with someone else- no questions asked. However, there are a few rules. It is only one person a year, ( to rule out affairs), no one they know ( so strangers only)and they cannot talk about it to each other or to friends.Right there, I was asking myself- are they serious?Anyway , they embark on this experiment. The book chronicles the next 5 years. In addition to the ongoing freedom clause, there are several other subplots. Daphne likes to cook, and she starts to blog recipes related to her life and freedom clause adventures. The "rules" state they can't talk about it to anyone they know, but she does the blog anonymously so feels it is ok, until someone wants to publish the recipes as a book. There is also major dysfunctional family drama for both Domenic and Daphne. There is also major shift for Daphne, as she becomes more self aware and independent. She really begins to speak up for herself , both in the bedroom , at work and at home. I really wanted to like this book, but it was a hard read. The main characters were not very likeable, and the idea of one night stands with strangers as a cure all a bit too strange for my taste. There is a large cast of "supporting characters", but none of them are all that fleshed out. They are just there.So all in all, an interesting premise, but one that ultimately fell flat for me.

THE FREEDOM CLAUSE sounded like a fun romp of a novel (and it was!), but it was so much more than that. Daphne and Dominic met when they were 18, got married at 21, and by 25, their sex life dried up. Daphne reluctantly agrees to her husband's bold idea to spice up their marriage, and the pair drafts up a freedom clause. Essentially, they can each sleep with one stranger for one night each year for the next five years. It must be with a different person each year to avoid affairs, it can't be a mutual friend, they must use protection, and they can't tell anybody else about their agreement.

Naturally, complications ensue, but the book went far beyond their unique agreement. We learn about Dominic's fruitless dreams to be a novelist and Daphne's complicated relationship to her family. I particularly enjoyed watching her confidence grow throughout the years. I wasn't sure how the story would end up, but I was very satisfied by the ending.

I devoured this book in 24 hours.

The Freedom Clause by Hannah Sloane is about a married couple who decides to open their marriage one night a year when they’re able to have sex with someone else. Not a violation of their marriage vows, but an addendum. A Freedom Clause. It’s supposed to bring them closer together, keep them from resenting each other and their lackluster sex life, and put strict guardrails in place to keep it from backfiring. Except it does.
Against the Freedom Clause from the very beginning, Daphne agrees to go along with it only because it’s what Dominic wants. Over the course of the story, she comes into her power, learning about her sexuality, what pleases her, and how to ask for it. Her newfound confidence extends way beyond the bedroom and transforms her.

The book was hilarious and I loved the recipes that are shared as part of the substack Daphne writes to process her feelings. She was such a loveable character, and I enjoyed watching her grow into her best self, learning to let go of what didn’t serve her and walk into the future she was creating.

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.