A midlife coming of age story set in Croatia right after it becomes a new country. Vlaho and Ivona meet and fall madly in love and marry but when they experience infertility it breaks up their marriage. Yet, they never stop loving each other. Vlaho remarries and has children and Ivona remains in his life. Ivona is in midlife and at a crossroads about who to be with and where to live and what to do for work. She is taking care of her aging father and trying to save his dream of turning their property into a boutique hotel but they don’t have the money and may need to sell the land. With that enters her life another man who may change the direction of her life. Well written characters, beautiful setting and great writing especially for a debut. I was captivated reading and caught up in the story wondering what would happen with Vlaho and Ivona.. Beautiful depiction of life in a newly emerged country and a woman emerging from her past and designing in her own life.

Character driven books, especially ones about love and loss are not for everyone. Endless descriptions of remorse, sadness, longing, this is everything that I like in a book, especially if it's written well.

Slanting Towards the Sea is just that, which takes place in Croatia, a country I must visit. Ivona and Vlaho, a couple meant to be together, but also torn apart by a devastating outcome, which sets them on a path towards finding happiness.
Ivona, now 38, hasn't done anything in her life that truly makes her happy. She cares for ailing father, works in a stationary store, despite having a degree in biology, finds love with the amiable Asier.

What happens next, is Lidija Hilje's beautiful book of regrets, solitude, and finding oneself. Hilje's writing will pull you in - the descriptions of everyday life in Croatia is expansive and melancholic. Vlaho and Ivona find love in quiet moments with other people when you least expect it, and while you're rooting for Ivona, some of the choices she makes are not the best. But, you will see how weak, and yet strong she is throughout the pages.

I loved this book, and if you love long chapters of contemplation and truth, this is a great book for you.

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of Lidija Hilje’s debut novel, SLANTING TOWARDS THE SEA, from Simon & Schuster and wow wow WOW. This novel cracked me open in the best way.

I love when books explore the relationship between people and land and all the ways that our shared histories collide with each other. Ivona and Vlaho’s love story feels alive. I felt like I knew them. I felt like I was them. The characters were fully fleshed out people who felt well within reach for me as the reader. Their lives, desires, and flaws felt tangible and real. Set amid the beautiful and hypnotizing Croatian coastline (a destination that was already on my must-see list but now even more so!), we watch as these two lovers grow up alongside their tempestuous, rebellious nation that brings them so much grief and hope and love. Just like humans do with each other all the time.

Our hearts break by the things that we do and don’t do or say or give to each other. Whether it’s our relationship with our parents, siblings, friends, teachers, or spouses, we’re all trying to figure out which ties to cut and which to fortify, hoping desperately that, in the end, we’ll get it right.

SLANTING reminds us that sometimes we don’t. And isn’t that just how life goes sometimes?

I found my heart swelling with emotion and palpable grief as I watched Ivona navigate life after love has all but totally abandoned her. And then, because the universe has a way of mocking us with hope… a glimpse at a possibility of renewal. But is it possible? Is it wise? Are things even more complicated now? Are second chances really real?

Should they be?

This is a book that will stay with me for a very long time and I am so glad to have been able to have had a chance to be an early reader for this incredible novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ivona’s life was once full of promise. But Croatia, her home country, did not prove to be a good place for her career and her marriage ended in divorce. Ten years later, she is still deeply in love with her former husband although he is remarried to a friend of hers. While she cares for her aged father and deals with a failed family business, she also attempts to find her way to a happier future. This is an interesting story with flawed, realistic three-dimensional characters and a plot full of surprises.

Such a beautifully written book. I was completely swept away, loved the characters, and was so invested in the story. Highly recommend this book to everyone!

A debut guaranteed to sweep you off your feet as well as the want to explore travel opportunities to the beautiful country of Croatia. Which in itself is a main character in what I know will be the most talked about novel of the summer… Slanting Toward The Sea.

“The thing about feeling too much is that sometimes you have to force yourself to feel less. That in order to preserve your heart, you have to close it off, deliberately deny it its main function, and reduce it to a mere pump.”

Our main character is Ivona… the chapters shift time periods where you get to witness Ivona fall for the love of her life Vlaho and what leads them to fall apart. Years have gone by Ivona is single and back at home taking care of her father. Vlaho is remarried with children and Ivona is very close to the family. Though her feelings for Vlaho have never changed and she is still in love with him. You will want to read just one more chapter each night to see how this all came to be and what the future for these two look like.

“I don't mind these small tokens of growing older. They give a sense that there's some life behind me.
Enough smiles to etch themselves onto my face. Enough worries to streak my hair.”

Lidija Hilje has wrote a book full of pause worthy sentences strewn together that will make you want to tab, highlight and remember for a lifetime. The descriptions of scenic landscapes, charming towns and vibrant Croatia culture is rich and appealing. The characters are flawed and authentic. The love pours off the page no matter whose relationship is being shared. Slanting Toward the Sea has made it to a top read of 2025 for me and I can’t wait for more readers to relish in it this summer.

“I guess pretending you haven't lost something is easier than facing the loss head on.”

Thank you Simon and Schuster 📖

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Set against the evocative backdrop of Croatia, Slanting Towards the Sea is a richly layered literary work, both poignant and beautifully rendered. At its core, the novel tells the story of a man and a woman who meet in their youth, fall in love, marry, and eventually separate—yet never truly stop loving each other. But the narrative stretches beyond romance, delving into the shifting political and economic landscape of post-war Croatia, which shapes and often restricts the choices available to Ivona, the story’s narrator. Ultimately, the novel explores the tension between free will and circumstance, and the complexities of love—its strength, its limitations, and its endurance.

The prose is sensuous and immersive, vividly conjuring the essence of coastal Croatia. Readers can almost taste the salty air, feel the embrace of olive trees, and hear the wind rustling through the landscape. The sea, with all its metaphorical weight, is ever-present—a tribute to the author’s deep affection for her homeland.

When the novel opens, Ivona is nearing 40 and living with her ailing father, the sole caregiver after a stroke left him dependent. She’s trying, against daunting odds, to salvage his dream of turning their land into a hotel, a dream increasingly out of reach. Their relationship is complicated—strained but layered with quiet affection.

Through flashbacks, we witness Ivona’s passionate early romance with Vlaho. They share a life together, marked by moments of fragility as Ivona navigates limited career options under the country’s restrictive systems. Their marriage eventually dissolves after a devastating diagnosis and the emergence of a painful secret. Vlaho moves on, remarries, and becomes a father, while Ivona stays close—remaining a friend to him and his wife, even becoming godmother to their child.

Years later, when Ivona begins seeing someone new, the fragile dynamic among the trio begins to shift. As emotions resurface and truths come to light, both Ivona and Vlaho are faced with pivotal decisions. The novel traces a path through deception, heartbreak, and forgiveness, capturing the deeply human longing for connection and belonging

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

What a gorgeous debut novel from Lidija Hilje! It's a quiet sort of book that takes place in a beautiful coastal Croatia, a location we don't often see in fiction here in the United States. I actually started doing research on vacations in Croatia because I want to experience the beautiful coastline and olive groves and to learn more of the country's rich history.

The book follows Ivona, a women in her late 30s who, after divorcing her college sweetheart Vlaho a decade earlier, has returned home to care for her ailing father. The book goes back and forth between her meeting Vlaho and her early life with him to the current day where Vlaho is remarried. Though Ivona remains single, she is oddly very close with Vlaho and his wife and as a reader, you'll likely be curious about how this came to be, especially as she still seems to be in love with him. The story delves into themes of love, personal growth, and the intricate dynamics of human connections.

I really enjoyed the way the story unfolded in a quiet even-paced way. Though I didn't always agree with the decisions Ivona made, Hilje writes her to be a sympathetic character that you can't help but empathize with.

I will give a major trigger warning for infertility. I rarely get triggered, but this was a lot for me, though all very necessary to the story.

Overall, an incredible debut novel that I hope gets the attention it deserves!

A book filled with countless emotional dimensions, I empathize deeply with the characters in this story, especially our female protagonist. The sorrow, helplessness, courage, love, and the internal conflict when faced with difficult choices... The prose is beautiful and captivating, and the way Lidija Hilje guides the narrative and portrays the characters' psychology is truly masterful. It's hard to believe this is her debut novel. Read and experience this story through the author's exceptional writing prowess.
I sincerely thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I never like reading a sequel to a book but I hope desperately for a second book featuring Ivona. She is flawed, she is complicated, she isn’t necessarily someone I would want to be friends with, but she is struggling with many things women struggle with and is completely relatable. The descriptive scenes draw you in to beautiful enchanting locations which in a way become characters as well. The fact that this is the author’s first book AND she wrote it in English is incredible. I can’t wait to read the author again, even if it’s not about Ivona.

A mesmerizing debut novel that is a beautifully written love story of family and homeland. Set in Croatia soon after the country gained independence, Ivona is a college student where she meets, falls in love with and ultimately marries Vhalos. When devastating news is delivered to Ivona, she struggles with her love for Vhalos but ultimately sets him free and returns to the family home to care for her ailing and difficult father and to assume responsibility for the family’s failing business. When a new man enters Ivona’s life, she must face decisions that require her to deal with the losses, grief and left behind dreams of her past. Mesmerizing in its descriptions of the characters as well as the beauty of Croatia, this story is powerful, emotional and hopeful. I hope readers will find this debut as exquisite as I did.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster and Lidija Hilje for the opportunity to be an early reader for this beautiful story. Publication date: July 8

Oh my Gosh, I’m almost too gutted to write this review of the gorgeous Slanting Towards the Sea, an exquisite love story, a triangle of sorts, that simply swept me away. In Ivona, Hilje has created a character so complex, so deep, so beautifully written, that we can’t not root for her. We relate so much to her issues, her inner struggles, and her miss-steps, resonating perhaps with the mistakes we can’t help but make as human beings. Ivona is at once so complex, stubborn— resentful at times—so imperfect and yet so relatable and lovable that I wanted to envelop her in a hug. From my reading chair in California, she took me to a seaside town in Croatia with language at once lyrical and powerful. A transcendent and deeply moving book. I advise having tissues nearby.

Set against the coastal beauty of Croatia, Slanting Towards the Sea tells a melancholic love story that ebbs and flows, mesmerizingly so, and in line with the sea of its evocative title. Ivona and Vlaho meet young, they are married but then divorced whilst continuing to hold something together that neither of them is courageous enough to call love.

Lidija Hilje draws her readers so close to her first-person protagonist Ivona, that we feel her woes, we suffer her emotions and we empathise her "Overthinking. Overfeeling. Overreacting." In this particular scene, like every other moment of the novel, the heat of the Croatian day, the pebbles, the sand, "the sea burb[ling] softly between the rocks" and all its beautiful, sensory details are brought to life with Hilje's magnificent use of imagery and emotive vocabulary. Ivona's life is clearly as mottled as the Adriatic Sea and its history. She shares with the reader her tragedies, broken relationships and family demands, but eventually we also see a central core of resilience in Ivona, that pushes her to stay strong and persevere in spite of the barriers hindering her getting what she truly wants, as we see to some extent in later chapters.

Really though, this novel has so much to explore, perhaps too much to include in this review; mother-daughter relationships, duty towards parents in sickness, family heritage, infertility, identity, and much more. Hilje's writing offers interior thoughts of a vulnerable daughter who is torn by cultural imposition and Croatian traditions, that lead her to make decisions to please a mother-in-law, her mother, her father, and even Vlaho, her ex-husband himself, ultimately resulting in her separating from him. 

Ivona seems drawn to self-sabotage her happiness, by breaking away from Vlaho, who she sees as the love of her life, whilst continuing to obsess and yearn for him. For example, Ivona divorces Vlaho, encourages his marriage to her friend Marina, tries to find love with another man Asier, yet obsesses about how her actions may impact Vlaho's second marriage and his life. This fits with the ebbing and flowing of the metaphorical sea. The literal Adriatic Sea of the novel is what Ivona considers central to drawing the two of them together, regardless of their shifting circumstances, in much the same way as her country and family holds onto her.

Interestingly, I found the relationship between Ivona and Marina, her  student friend with whom she learned Italian in the past, to be a powerful one. In the narrative, every time Ivona speaks of Marina, describes her actions or interacts with her, it is with unchecked kindness and thoughtfulness towards how Marina may be feeling in response to Ivona's actions. Marina fits with ease, empathy and understanding into what could be described as a fatally flawed relationship between Ivona and Vlaho. In effect, Marina is used by Ivona as a body replacement in the relationship Ivona chose to leave, but conversely Marina is respected and valued by Ivona, which for me makes Marina a likable presence in the novel. On a similar note, for some reason, Marina welcomes the presence of Vlaho's ex-wife Ivona in their family set-up and up to a point, the trio works. Until it doesn't, and then the sadness imbued by mistaken actions turns their 'family of three' towards tragedy. 

Wow to Lidija's incredible scenic descriptions of her Croatian setting, not to mention the way she has embedded language and idioms, insights to history and cultural traditions, the food and dishes of such a beautiful, vibrant setting into her writing. 

This debut novel is spectacular, rich with discussion points and hauntingly beautiful.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Simon and Schuster Publishing in the US and Daunt Publishing in the UK for allowing me to read and review Lidija Hilje's wonderful first novel.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback!

I picked this up on a whim when sorting through my eARCs and i was instantly drawn in. Lidija Hilje's prose is beautiful, slightly tinged with sadness and evocative of the place. I have never been to Croatia, but the ways in which she described the coast and its people made me feel as if I was there. Watching Ivona make decisions (good and bad), learn and come into herself was a wonderful experience. This is a book that will live in my brain for a long time after. Highly looking forward to reading another book from this author.

Gorgeous scenery mixed with a complicated, emotionally resonate love triangle, Lidija Hilje is a new author to watch in the literary genre!

These characters felt so real and so human. It felt like I was reading someone’s actual life story. The cover and title drew me in and I’m very glad they did. Amazing book!

Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the early galley of this book.

As soon as I saw that it is set in Croatia I knew I wanted to read it (amazing cover also contributed in this decision).
The story sucked me in from the first page. We learn right away that Ivona is having a hard time in her life and divorce with her husband carried some sort of secret. Of course I wanted to know what happened and what will happen next.
I think Ivona as a character was very complex and many would find her unlikable and that's a shame. Author did an amazing job describing Balkan culture and history and how it shaped our characters, and I can only hope that readers will be able to not only connect with Ivona but actually step into her life and understand her.
The writing is beautiful, there is something special about lawyers writing novels, they have a unique way with words and sentences. I always wanted to visit Croatia and this book only ignited this desire.
I hope readers find this book at the perfect time of their lives and love it as much as I did.

This was lovely, lyrical, and rich—a wonderful debut that realistically captured a horribly complex relational dilemma. I look forward to reading more from Hilje.

Slanting Towards the Sea is a poignant story of love, loss, and self-discovery set against the breathtaking Croatian coastline. Ivona's journey, marked by regret and resilience, feels deeply human as she navigates complex relationships with her past, her ex-husband, and a new connection. The novel masterfully captures the weight of missed chances and the healing power of love, making it a heartfelt and memorable read.

I stayed up waaaay too late finishing Slanting Toward the Sea.

My favorite type of books are ones that examine what happens when good people face tough situations and there are no easy answers. Ivona and Vlaho’s love story should have been simple and straightforward, but family expectations and living in a complicated country cause them to veer off course. This story toggles back and forth between the start of their relationship and present day. At several points along the way, I was sure I knew where the story was headed, but I was surprised again and again. This is an achingly beautiful debut that examines what happens when you grasp great love and then it slips through your fingers.

I’d be remiss in not adding how much I enjoyed learning about Croatia, which I knew embarrassingly little about beforehand. It’s a complicated country, and Ivona has complicated feelings about it, which added such a unique element to the story.