The Freedom Clause by Hannah Sloane is a contemporary romance with a twist. I probably should have paid more attention to the blurb before picking this up, and I almost quit when I realized the plot was about adultery. I am generally not a fan of books where people are cheating on their spouses, since I’ve already lived through that, and I don’t need fictional reminders.
However, this seemed to blur the lines a bit with our main characters, Daphne and Dominic agreeing to “The Freedom Clause.” Each year, for the next five years, they each get one night off and can have sex with a stranger.
So. I hated this idea. And I hated Dominic from the beginning, and more and more as the novel went on. What I did enjoy was seeing Daphne grow, mature, and evolve into a better version of herself. It’s ironic that the freedom clause was Dominic’s idea, and while Daphne blossomed into this amazing version of herself, he grew more and more unlikeable.
The novel explores many themes that I did enjoy, once I got over the fact that Daphne’s husband basically forced her into agreeing to the freedom clause because they weren’t having enough sex. Ugh. Some of the themes are sexual (women knowing and asking for what they want in bed), some of them are not (following your heart over money, self-care).
Overall, I felt the author really made the story very one-sided with Daphne growing and evolving, and Dominic in an ever-downward spiral. That’s not to say he didn’t deserve it, but it seems somewhat unbalanced.
I wish we could have had Daphne’s story without the baggage of adultery and Dominic’s character.
Also, I loved the whole writing / cookbook aspect, even if the recipes are not for anything I’d ever cook.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advance copy in exchange for sharing my opinions. All opinions in this review are my own.