The Freedom Clause: A Novel

Hannah Sloane

Jul 2023 · Sold by Dial Press

About this eBook

What happens if you find your true love too soon? Could one night off a year save your marriage—or destroy it? In this bold and sexy debut, a young couple discovers that a little freedom has surprising consequences.

“A delicious novel . . . Nora Ephron fans will delight in this debut.”—Amanda Eyre Ward, New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters

Dominic and Daphne met in their first week of college, and they’ve been happily married for three years. They love each other deeply but perhaps have become too comfortable, and their sex life isn’t what anyone would call thrilling. So, on New Year’s Day, Dominic blurts out a suggestion before it’s fully worked out in his mind: what if they open up their marriage?

Daphne reluctantly agrees—with conditions. They can sleep with one other person, one night a year, and the agreement has a five-year expiration date. It’s not a total free-for-all on their vows, but an amendment. They call it the Freedom Clause.

It isn’t long before Daphne and Dominic find themselves—and their marriage—altered in unexpected ways. Embracing the spirit of the Clause, Daphne pushes herself to be more assertive in asking for what she wants. She begins chronicling her journey of self-discovery in an anonymous newsletter, sharing recipes inspired by her conquests, and soon realizes that one night off a year isn’t a small change . . . it’s a seismic one.

Eventually, Daphne and Dominic are reconsidering everything—each other, their relationship, and themselves. Can they survive the Freedom Clause? Do they even want to?

Ratings and reviews

Daphne and Dominic met in college and married young. At twenty-five, domesticity has settled in. Dominic feels that sex has left their marriage and, in an attempt to revive it, suggests a Freedom Pact: one night once a year to have relations with a stranger, no talking to anyone about it, no affairs, and a different partner each time for five years. Daphne reluctantly agrees to it. The results are enormous for both of them. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

About the author

Hannah Sloane was born and raised in England. She read history at the University of Bristol. She moved to New York in her twenties and she lives in Brooklyn with her partner, Sam. The Freedom Clause is her debut novel.