Skin Contact

by Elisa Faison

A newly open marriage brings discovery, excitement, and upheaval to a young couple, and to the friends and lovers in their orbit.

Thirty years old and reeling from her mother’s recent death, Frances feels as if she’s lost her sense of purpose, her joy. Her husband, Ben, will do anything to help her. So when she suggests that they open their marriage, he’s willing—and maybe even a little intrigued. 

They invite a young woman into their bedroom, create a joint dating profile, and go on dates with other exploring couples, with mixed but often exciting results. Over the next five years, they explore their sexualities, navigating through jealousy, betrayal, desire, and obsession—and the friends and lovers in their circle find themselves asking new questions about their own lives and relationships. 

When Ben finds himself falling in love with another woman, just as Frances realizes she’s ready to settle down and have a baby, they’re forced to confront the consequences of their experiment. 

With warmth, humor, and sharp insight, Elisa Faison explores marriage’s many forms and possibilities—and announces herself as an exciting new voice in fiction.

Genres: Fiction, Adult, Literary Fiction, Queer, Contemporary

Kindle Edition

Expected publication June 23, 2026

Reviews

[nicole]

There’s still time to not publish this😬

[Eileen Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐

this book was unlike ANYTHING i’ve ever read!! istg it felt like i was reading about real people!!! it follows a married couple, Frances and Ben who decide to open their marriage👀 their journey is raw and messy af. it's full of all the ups and downs of them trying to make it work but also trying to figure out wtf they want and who they are as adults(mostly the fmc tho😅) ngl, i was spiraling SO many times because this book did NOT lack drama🤣 my heart was in my throat wondering how it was gonna end!!! after finishing it... i want more!! this author's writing is kinda addictive and i will definitely be checking out her future books🤭🙌🏻

[Ely Ehly]

Elisa Faison’s skin contact is an Impressively intimate and visceral debut exploring a couples decision to introduce polyamory into their marriage. Throughout the novel, Frances and Ben’s relationship felt so tangible to me that at times I felt as if I was gossiping with a friend rather than reading a book. The prose and characterizations were inviting and descriptive.

For the majority of my reading experience, I could not determine if Faison was advocating for or cautioning against polyamory. This was a component of the book I greatly appreciate, because it felt as if the impact of the open marriage on Frances, Ben, and their relationships was fully explored. Some plot lines felt ambitious and intriguing, but left me either wanting more or less. Notably I was left wanting more between Annie & Lily’s relationship as well as Izzy’s feeling for Frances.

Overall, Elisa Faison’s debut was intriguing and fascinating, leaving me excited to see what she does next.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing, NetGalley, and the author for the ARC.

[Vmndetta ᛑᛗᛛ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry, but I kinda didn't like the writing. From the start, the book feels a bit unfocused, like it keeps circling around feelings and small moments about 'open marriage' instead of really digging into the main problem. The story promises big emotional conflicts, but a lot of the time it feels distracted.

The first three chapters also really threw me off. Chapter one uses I, chapter two uses we, and chapter three suddenly switches to third person. I honestly don't know what the point of that was, especially since they're still the same characters. It felt unnecessary and confusing, not meaningful.

I also felt like the way the characters speak is kind of weird. It's like they just say whatever pops into their heads with no filter. It comes off childish, and it kept pulling me out of the story instead of pulling me in. Overall, the idea is interesting, but the execution didn't work for me.

[Patty Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could barely put this book down once I started it. I've read novels about open marriages before and I must say that this is the one that has hooked me the most!

That being said, there were a couple of chapters that dealt with the people surrounding Ben and Frances that to me just felt like filler and were a bit confusing when it came to connecting to the story.

But, do not skip this one, this story is worth it!

Thank you to Cardinal and the author for providing a free copy of this book through NetGalley.

[Remi]

honestly, i'm super curious about open marriages

*thank you to Cardinal for the ARC*

[Jillian Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the surface, it’s about open marriage, but for me, it hit more as a story about grief. It’s raw, intimate, and kind of sexy, following a woman figuring out her mom’s death, her marriage, her desires, and who she is now.

The writing is honest, sometimes uncomfortably so, and while the shifting perspectives threw me off a bit, it still drew me in. Thoughtful and open, it’s more than it seems, though I wish it lingered a little longer in spots.

Thanks to Grand Central and NetGalley for the ARC.

[Drea Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Skin Contact by Elisa Faison is an intimate and thought-provoking novel that explores grief, identity, and the shifting boundaries of modern relationships. After the sudden death of her mother, Frances feels unmoored from the life she once knew. At thirty-two, she becomes acutely aware of time, aging, and the haunting legacy of her great aunt—whose mysterious death decades earlier lingers in the background of her thoughts.

In an attempt to reclaim a sense of vitality and control, Frances suggests opening her marriage to her husband, Ben. What begins as an experiment in freedom and self-discovery gradually evolves into something far more complicated. Over the course of two years, the couple navigates jealousy, desire, emotional vulnerability, and the evolving definitions of love and commitment.

One of the novel’s greatest strengths is its willingness to examine uncomfortable truths about relationships. The characters are flawed and deeply human, making decisions that are messy, complicated, and sometimes painful. When Ben finds himself falling in love with another woman at the same time Frances begins reconsidering what she truly wants, particularly the possibility of starting a family, the emotional stakes become impossible to ignore.

Faison approaches themes of sexuality, autonomy, and partnership with nuance and sensitivity. Rather than sensationalizing the open marriage dynamic, the story thoughtfully explores the psychological and emotional consequences of redefining intimacy.

Overall, Skin Contact is a reflective, character-driven novel about grief, transformation, and the risks that come with trying to rediscover oneself. Readers who enjoy complex relationship dramas and introspective literary fiction will find plenty to contemplate here.

[Roman Clodia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can definitely see why there's buzz about this book as it's pretty bold in its exploration of the opening up of a loving marriage and the consequent experience of polyamory. However, for me, the literary qualities weren't really there: the writing is serviceable and a bit soggy, and didn't offer the richness, sharpness and density of prose that would have caught my attention more, and I felt like the characterisation was a bit mechanical. Frances is given more emotional space than Ben, but the implication that her underlying grief at her mother's death was the driving force behind their marital experimentation felt a bit pat and unnuanced.

I can see there's a bit of an authorial quandary, too, about how to describe sex scenes: too 'erotic' and the book tips into porn; but withholding or glossing over them means the book doesn't actually go to the heart of its topic and I felt that to be the case at times here.

I can see that the book itself is trying out ways to tell its story: the floating commentary from Frances and Ben's friends, for example, are a sort of Greek chorus that offer up a gamut of views on their decisions. And I appreciated, too, that the tone of the book remains unjudgmental.

In summary, then, this is definitely worth reading: for this reader, though, while I found the content fascinating, the mode of telling and writing style perhaps didn't involve me to the extent I would have liked. All the same, I like the way this book embraces rounded sexualities and thinks about modes of being beyond the bourgeois and traditional.

Many thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC via NetGalley

[Briana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Cardinal for the eARC of Skin Contact by Elisa Faison in exchange for an honest review. I hate to rate a book I received as an ARC so low, but I am super ambivalent about it. I understand where the author was going with this, but it was just kind of middle-of-the-road for me. To put it simply, a couple has decided to open their marriage before settling down and having kids. I don't know if my concept of age is just stunted, but I felt like they were way too young to be feeling like this in their marriage. They are in their early-30s, it's not like they're in their 40s or 50s. I get it, though, your 30s are a weird time because you're not quite the young adult anymore, but you're also still in the early stages of adulthood. I feel that as I'm also in my early-30s... maybe it's because I'm unmarried right now. I just don't see it for this couple. There are some fun moments, and this book is a smooth read for the most part. What frustrated me the most was that I'd settle into a point of view, and then it would switch to another random character. Anyway, this just didn't work for me, but I thought it was funny, raw, and kind of endearing. I didn't hate the husband, which I usually tend to do when it comes to stories about open marriages or polyamory. The couple reminded me of Ethan and Harper from season two of The White Lotus. While this isn't for me, I would recommend it to others.

[ct lydon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm, I have thoughts on this. It felt like we had a lot of things happening at once, folks. I was looking for this book to not be the "we have opened our marriage and now we have a bunch of issues." That feels kind of over done at this point, it would have been nice to see how opening their marriage caused more positive feelings versus conflict. Felt a little cliche.

Sometimes there were random chapters that felt like fillers, and I could truly not tell you who those people were. It took like a solid five minutes to go back in my mind to be like, "oh, yeah! that person was mentioned once 100 pages ago."

It was a solid book, interesting topic and I felt it kept my attention. A little all over the place at times.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC copy!

[Ryan Brandenburg · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of this book piqued my interest, but unfortunately, the writing and format didn’t work for me.

The central narrative revolved around Frances and Ben’s relationship, which was intriguing. It delves into Frances’ grief following her mother’s death and how it impacts her romantic relationship with her husband. However, once I would become settled into their storyline, the author would abruptly introduce snippets of other characters’ narratives, causing me to lose interest.

Overall, the writing felt disjointed, which might be intentional given the story’s chaotic nature. The alternating storylines eventually converge at the end, but by that point, I didn’t really care anymore.

Thank you to NetGalley the publisher, Cardinal, for the advance copy of this book that releases on June 23, 2026. I wish it had been a better fit for me!

[Pamela Jo Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

After France’s mother dies, she approaches husband Ben with the idea of on Open Marriage. Certainly a unique way to deal with grief, for sure. As they delve into these relationships and connections together and separately, the focus slowly returns to the relationship between Frances and Ben, and how they move forward, or not, after an experiment that maybe wasn’t supposed to be freeing and enlightening and fun, but could be destructive and foolhardy.

Thank you to the authors, publishers and Goodreads for giving me the opportunity to read and review 😊 Thank you for the Advanced Readers Copy and trusting me with your words! 💕Disclaimer - I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway

[Stephanie (aka WW) · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars) This book was compellingly readable, and I felt like the subject of open marriage/polyamory was handled in a very realistic and novel way. The alternative POVs threw me a little, especially since they skipped in time as well as in person. They added flavor to what would otherwise have been a rather one-note story, however, so in that respect, they were appreciated. There is a moderate degree of spice to the story – not surprising with the focus on sex – but it was tastefully done.

Much thanks to NetGalley and Cardinal publishing for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Ava F · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC copy March 2026: Every couple years, a trendy new novel about open marriage drops and “Skin Contact” is the one for 2026. While I was initially drawn in, this book quickly fell flat. Every other chapter or so focuses on a character outside of the main couple, each less relevant than the last. Several of the chapters were originally published as short stories, and they read like it: they feel completely disconnected from the main narrative. Overall, I found this book to be ambitious but ultimately disappointing.

[Ellen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so addicting that I read it in one sitting. It explores a couple who recently opened their marriage and how it affects their relationship and the friendships around them. The character we meet along the way are fascinating. This book is relatable and realistic and shows the good and the bad comes from their decision. I felt like I was right there watching it all unfold. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[JC · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a market full of novels with protagonists you're meant to hate, Skin Contact offers characters that, while they may hurt each other, are trying. Trying to love each other and themselves at the same time and ultimately trying to create a life that works for them that challenges both them and the reader. This novel is compassionate, hungry, brutally honest, tender, heartbreaking and endearing all at the same time.

[_abookforeverysituation_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is low-key giving west end girl by Lily Allen summer at times. I really enjoyed this book, it felt messy and real. I especially love Frances and Bens relationship and how raw it is portrayed. With the amount of narrative changes I did at times feel a bit lost and wish it would have focused more on Frances and Ben.

[charliefrancesca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. I loved but also hated some of the characters because they were so PAINFULLY human. The different pov’s and the interconnecting stories were beautiful and perfect. Absolutely loved it

[Bourbon_bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this piqued my interest but all the side quest exploration of other characters causes the overall book to fall flat and did a disservice to the main characters/main storyline.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

[Joanna Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

proof that fiction can be both wildly entertaining and super smart.