Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an ARC.

I adored this book. Simple but impactful. Their story will stay with me for a long time!

I had high hopes for this book based on the description but I did not finish. The author gave us no reason to empathize with the main character who seemed perpetually stuck in her malaise.

LOVED this! I was so lost in this, I couldn’t put it down and absolutely needed to know how it ended!

An impossible love story set in the beautiful country of Croatia. This debut novel was wonderfully written with interesting characters and had love, loss, heartache, and grief woven into the book. A love triangle and friendships between Ivona, Valho, and Marina made for an intriguing plot. The main character, Ivona must struggle to find meaning in her life after so many devastating losses and questions her life choices and where they have lead her. Can Ivona find love again or is she destined for her one true former love, Valho?

I LOVED this book. Well written, beautiful-she does such a great job with the setting especially. I could picture Croatia. I loved all the culture about Croatia she included, as well. I didn't understand the main character's actions sometimes, but I was rooting for her. This is a quiet book, but one I will be thinking about for awhile.

I had a bit of a rocky start with Slanting Toward the Sea. It’s a quiet, melancholy book, and it really took the right mood for me to appreciate its beauty.

Slanting Toward the Sea is a story of heartbreak and recovery, but not only in the realm of romantic love. Ivona’s life is marked by disappointments, including the split with her husband Vlaho, lack of career opportunities, strained family relationships, and unfulfilled dreams.

Author Lidija Hilje paints a vivid portrait of Croatia, exploring its beauty and challenges. She captured the nuance of a homeland that can be nurturing and beloved while also confining and disappointing.

I really enjoyed Slanting Toward the Sea and Hilje’s ability to balance beauty and sorrow. I’m so glad that it’s getting a lot of attention, and I will be very interested in what Hilje writes next!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC for review.

This novel is a love letter to the self, a gentle but steady reminder that our lives are meant to be lived for ourselves, not measured by someone else’s expectations.
Set against a war-torn Croatia, struggling to rebuild, Ivona’s story explores the many shapes of love: romantic, familial, and the trickiest of all, self-love. How do we honor them all equally? Should we? When does that quiet shift happen, from trying to please our parents, to being a good partner, and if we are lucky, a parent? And in the middle of all that giving, where do our own dreams get to breathe?
I kept wishing Ivona could see what was already there, that she was whole, worthy, and enough exactly as she was. Relatable, yes, but also frustrating, because her loneliness and isolation from what should have been a supportive family or true friends worthy of her love cut just as deep as the compromises themselves. There were moments that were triggering, because how often do we do the same? Living under the weight of expectations that were never truly ours, or holding on to people who do not deserve so much of our heart.
As a mother, it made me want to write a letter for my daughter to open one day, when she begins to question her place in the world or the paths she has chosen, or the ones chosen for her. I would tell her to turn down the noise of other people’s expectations. Protect the quiet truth of her own heart. Follow the pull inside her, because it is the map to her truest life.

4.5⭐️

Thank you @simonbooks & @simon.audio @lidijahilje for the finished copy and audiobook! ♡

·..·˙✧˖°⋆⊹ A heart wrenching, twisted love story that moved me ⊹⋆..·˙✧˖°·∘
↳ a love letter to Croatia
↳ poetic language where each word matters
↳ flawed characters that I related to

What would possess you to remain in your ex’s life after he’d moved on, remarried and had kids?

I am so impressed with the writing in particular as this author’s debut novel in English. I can’t write this well in my native tongue.

At the beginning I felt the FMC was toxic and I really didn’t like her, but as the book goes on I started to empathize with her.. like I could have been her?!

There’s also a love story subplot, including a couple open door scenes. Behind walls of loss and layers of past trauma, there is some non communication, but somehow I understood why.

Please check TW if sensitive as I think stating them is a spoiler for the plot.

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||။‌‌‌‌‌|• 🎧 I enjoyed the audio although I wondered why choice was made to have the narrator sound American, as in the book she does have accent when speaking English.

Published July 8

4.5 rounded up

First off, Croatia moved WAY up my travel bucket list while reading this book!

Ivona and Vlaho, divorced for ten years now, have a good relationship, with Vlaho's wife Marina being the glue that holds them together. Their dynamic is stable, with Ivona even being the godmother of Vlaho and Marina's daughter. But when a love interest captures Ivona's heart, it proves to be destabilizing for them all.

I found myself so annoyed or angry with the characters at various points, for not trying harder, for being selfish, and for knowingly ruining each other's relationships. It was a really emotionally engaging read and after finishing I still feel that these characters were just so frustratingly human.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

“It wasn't until years later that I saw her words for what they really meant. If people want to love you, they do, no matter how flawed you are. But if they aren't inclined to love you, nothing you say or do, no amount of your own goodness, can make them change their mind.”

Summary
The story follows Ivona, who returns home to care for her ailing father after a divorce from her first love, Vlaho. The novel delves into the complexities of their past relationship, the impact of a devastating secret, and the challenges of moving forward while still grappling with lingering feelings.

I ended up giving this one 3.5 stars, due to the hype, my expectations were just too high. I think the melodrama and the meandering kept it from being a five star read (I realize I am in the minority on this).

Have you read this one? What would be some comparable titles ?
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When you open this book, you find yourself living in the pages. From page one, the reader is transported to Croatia, with all of its beauty, especially the coastline and the sea. I have never been...and it's not at the top of my list. The author's writing is stellar...bringing it all to life in the most mesmerizing of ways.

Ivona and Vlaho fell in love in their first year of college, and from that day on, were never apart. They married, and lived a happy life, immersed in each other, until something happens that forces Ivana to leave him. (It is not that he cheated...nothing like that...but if you want to know, you need to read the book).

Vlaho remarries and has two children with his new wife, who incidentally, was a friend of Ivona beforehand. Ivona remains in their lives...friendly with them and even godmother to their little girl. Inside, Ivona is complicated and unhappy. She pines for her late mother for whom she could not reconcile her resentment. She cares forher housebound father, a previously powerful man who was disabled from a stroke, and although she had potential to do so many things, she works in a stationery shop. Her financial need to sell a family property and olive grove allows her to meet a new man, who she wants to love but cannot quite. The fact is that Ivona is still in love with Vlaho and he with her. Ivona and Vlaho both have to make impossible choices.

What I loved about this book was that the characters are real people, living real lives. Their behavior is flawed, just like that of real people. I can see some readers disliking Ivona, but I loved her, because in ways, she reminds me of myself. The book explores the bonds of family, friendship and romantic relationships, while not sugar coating how difficult these relationships can be.

This is the author's debut novel, written in her second language, English. (And what extraordinary prose)! Move it to the top of your TBR! Trigger warning for infertility. Excellent book club pick! And.... what a gorgeous cover...


Thank you to #Netgalley for the TBR.

#Slantingtowardsthesea #debutnovel #Croatia #Simonbooks #lidijahilje #family #friends #fiction #infertility #marriage #strokevictims #bookclubrec #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks

This is a debut novel from a Croatian author about a woman nearing 40 whose life has derailed in unexpected ways. Once married and deeply in love and with a promising career ahead of her, she is now divorced, living at home and caring for her sick father, and the third wheel to her ex-husband’s new family—it’s complicated. While a bit more twisty and angsty than I tend to prefer, these elements kept the pages turning quickly. I really enjoyed the Croatian setting—I don’t think I’ve ever read a story set in Croatia and the location is quite important. A distinct story with broad appeal.

In Slanting Toward the Sea the reader is transported to Croatia and into the lives of Vlaho and Ivona, a divorced couple who are still present in each others lives. Ivona reflects on their love story and how it crumbled while coping with a difficult dynamic in present day.

Vivid and emotional. Those are the two words that keep popping into my mind when I reflect on what exactly to say about it. This is the story of Vlaho and Ivona, deeply, almost obsessively in love, and the pain that ultimately separated them even though the emotional connection never fully disappeared. There are a lot of complicated relationships depicted in this story - Ivona & Vlaho, Ivona and her family, Ivona and a new man who is involved in purchasing her family’s beloved property, Ivona and her friend who marries her ex-husband, the friendship they manage to maintain for awhile. The emptions of all the characters are vivid and deep, but I honestly didn’t love a few of the most important people because of the choices they made. I guess this can just mean that they were realistically flawed.

The Croatian setting is gorgeously rendered, almost making me want to visit. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book set in Croatia so I loved learning more about that country.

I look forward to seeing more from this author in the future! She very much has a talent for diving deeply into her characters’ motivations and creating an immersive experience.

Slanting Towards the Sea completely surprised me with how much I loved it.

It's much more character-driven than I prefer but there was something about the complexity of these characters and how realistic they were. I didn't want to stop listening. The audiobook was fantastic and I was transported to Croatia and the beauty of this book. Highly highly recommend!

If you know me, you know my sweet spot for the Croatian Adriatic coast. I grew up with summers swimming in the sea from morning until night. It’s my favorite place in the world and in just a couple weeks we head back for my kids’ first trip!

As widely as I read it’s rare to find a book by a Croatian author let alone a story that takes place on the Adriatic Sea. As soon as I heard about SLANTING TOWARD THE SEA I knew it was a must.

LOVED:
* A complicated and deeply emotional love story
* Setting couldn’t be more idyllic
* Story broken up into 5 parts offering multiple perspectives
* Stunning prose that had me baffled this was a debut,especially as English is not Lidija’s native language
* Quiet, even paced, character driven

👏 Bravo @lidijahilje - This one is sure to be a favorite read for many this year!

Everything about this book was gorgeous—the story, the writing, the characters, all incredible! And what a treat to read this book while sailing through Croatia!

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced digital copy!*

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster for the gifted book!

This one had so much working for it:

- Gorgeous Cover
- Beautiful Prose
- Deep Characters & Growth

I just always struggle with a cheating plot and even when circumstances are a little murky, it still takes away from my enjoyment of the book.

That's not to say the writing itself wasn't beautiful, it was just a content struggle for me.

I hope many enjoy, though!

Do you ever read a book hoping for a particular ending, but then it ends a different way - and you realize that was the perfect ending?
That's how I felt about 'Slanting Towards the Sea" by Lidija Hilje.
This is the story of the love affair between Ivona and Vhalo - who meet in college, fall in love, and marry.
But a few years later, Ivona divorces Vhalo, who she still loves. All because she believes she cannot give him what he truly wants in life.
When he remarries, Ivona is quickly befriended by his new wife and continues to be part of Vhalo's life. Then she meets a new man and wonders if she will finally be able to move on.
This story is set along the beautiful Croatian coastline and the setting serves as a major character in the story. More than 50 years ago, my mother took me to the incredible town of Dubrovnik and so the setting was very clear and dear to me.
4 stars!

Spanning twenty years and one life-altering summer in Croatia, Slanting Towards the Sea is at once an unforgettable love story and a powerful exploration of what it means to come of age in a country younger than oneself.