I’m not sure I’ve ever read such a deeply realized protagonist. From the start, Ivona felt as real to me as a best friend of 20 years. More real maybe, in some magical and spectacular way, because of the authors exceptional talents. A story about once-in-a-lifetime love, how our parents shape the adults we become, and the fallout from bad decisions. Every line of this book has been painted with delicate, considered strokes and it has touched me deeply. Perfect for fans of My Brilliant Friend and Writers and Lovers. I find it hard to believe this is the authors debut. So looking forward to her next book.

This is a luscious book. The scenery and settings in Croatia are immersive, and the characters are well drawn and relatable. There's so much emotion in the complexity of the choices this protagonist is facing and the author does such a wonderful job exploring these and bringing the reader along on the heroine's journey. I read it all in one gulp.

Thank you to Simon Books and NetGalley for the early copy of this book!

4.5 stars rounded up

It’s a gorgeous portrait of first love, family, and rediscovering your identity after loss and heartbreak. Set in Croatia, it follows Ivona as she grapples with caring for her aging father, family debt, and the continued fallout from her divorce from Vlaho, who is remarried and now has two children. It also flashes back 20 years to the beginning of Ivona and Vlaho’s whirlwind love story, as they come of age in a newly democratic country.

In the present, Ivona is cautiously friends with Vlaho and his new wife, Marina, but her burgeoning relationship with a new man forces her to choose between a new life and her first love, whom she still deeply and secretly loves.

A love story is at the heart of this book, but I would say it’s more literary than romance. It’s also character-driven yet somehow fast-paced, so I was able to lose myself in the story, even in the middle of a reading slump.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book set in Croatia, so I was happy to learn more about this country and its tenuous recent history.

Overall, it was a gripping, emotional story that I think will resonate with readers. I would note however, that infertility is a central theme of this book.

SLANTING TOWARDS THE SEA is a layered, emotionally charged story that explores the magnetic pull of first love and the aching stillness that follows heartbreak.

Spanning twenty years and anchored by one life-changing summer on the Croatian coast, the novel follows Ivona, who long ago divorced the love of her life, Vlaho. Yet despite their marriage ending, she remains tethered to him through friendship, family ties, and unresolved longing even as he remarries and builds a new life. When someone new enters Ivona’s world, the balance between past and future shifts once more.

I couldn’t look away from this mesmerizing debut. Lidija Hilje delicately unpacks the complexities of identity, desire, and the lives we imagine for ourselves. It’s a haunting, lyrical journey through memory, hope, and the quiet spaces in between.

📚 READ THIS IF YOU:
🌊 Want to be transported to a vivid Croatian seaside setting
🖋 Are in awe of lyrical prose written in an author’s second language
💔 Gravitate toward nuanced stories of love, loss, and emotional entanglement

RATING: 5/5
PUB DATE: July 8, 2025

Such a breathtaking look at the paradox between life and love. I cannot even begin to count the number of times I held my breath and counted my own heartbeats as time and again the words on the page gave me pause to consider how simple yet complex life can be. How it is a struggle for some to occupy themselves and not feel the need to apologize for taking up space, to learn to accept their strengths as well as their flaws. To give themselves permission to comfortably be where they are in life and that it is okay and even admirable to want more and to claim their joy. Simply put, this was joy and heartache beautifully balanced.

A beautifully written story about regrets and grieving the loss of the future you’d planned for. Ivona lives an unfulfilled life. She’s lost everything she always wanted and struggles to find a new path for herself, having no idea what this path could look like. Her lack of self-confidence keeps her stuck in the past, yearning for the ex-husband she let go of years ago, hesitant to make any decisions that will displease others. Her journey will help give her a new perspective about her past choices and the push she finally needs to move on and start over.

I loved how the story showed the beauty of Croatia but also the challenges of living and working there with the bureaucracy and the need for connections to get anything done. I could relate to Ivona’s struggles of letting go of the plans she had for her life, of staying stuck in what-could-have-been, of questioning every decision she ever made. Her journey of self-discovery is slow and built on small actions, of letting go of guilt and having more compassion for her younger self. And though by the end she takes a huge step into a new life, I was left feeling like she still has more self-reflection left to do, like this isn’t the end of her story, which makes the book even more relatable and human. No matter how old we are, we’re always learning and growing, changing and evolving, just like Ivona.

Lidija Hilje's debut novel is a tribute to longstanding love and to her homeland Croatia, the feelings for both a mirror to each other. She explores how you can love a country and its culture while feeling disdain and disappointment for its politics. Likewise, the tragic love story of Ivona and Vlaho presents two people who love each other but disdain their actions.
Hilje strings out details of past and present like pearls on a necklace. The gorgeous, heartfelt writing describes love, longing, and romance while weaving in Croatian history and culture. Her layered storytelling offers characters with both breadth and depth. Over the course of the novel we watch disaster happen, wanting to warn Ivona against her own actions, but she must learn her lessons in her own time. Ivona makes choices of self-sacrifice and familial duty before learning to be true to herself. Hilje is unafraid to present an honest, somewhat unlikable, protagonist who becomes more likable as she matures into a woman who takes responsibility for her choices and agency for her life.
Thank you to Lidija Hilje, Simon and Schuster, and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

A classic slow burn (in more ways than one!) - it took me a while to get into, but once I did I was hooked. Will recommend to anyone seeking an atmospheric, character-driven, evocative story.

Slanting Towards the Sea is beautifully written, there were so many times I had to stop and stare into space, appreciating or contemplating a beautiful phrase or gut-wrenching truth before continuing on. The characters felt incredibly real. So much so that I felt like I was there, with them, in Croatia. Because of this, the story can never really end, and some part of me will forever be slanting towards the sea. I can’t wait to get a physical copy because I know that this will be a favorite on my shelf, to be read again and again.

4.75 ⭐️

Lidija Hilje’s debut SLANTING TOWARDS THE SEA is remarkable! It is a quiet novel inside Ivona’s struggle with moving on from her divorce from Vlaho. After their divorce, she has remained close to him, his new wife Marina, and their two children. She’s even godmother to the younger daughter!

➕ The Croatian setting and culture were phenomenal. The cultural piece plays a huge role in the story, as I’m not sure the plot of this novel could have been executed in the United States. While it’s difficult to issue a blanket statement, I’d venture to say that family opinion is more tantamount in Croatia. It is always interesting to armchair travel, and this one does not disappoint because it feels like the reader lives there.
➕ What a unique story and thought-provoking premise! If you liked LEAVING by Roxana Robinson, definitely check this one out!

➖ This is more of a caveat. This debut is a quiet novel, and the reader remains in the main character’s head for the novel. It could be too “much” for some readers. I really liked this element, but I know it might not work for some readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

It publishes July 8, 2025.

What a gorgeous book. I love everything about Slanting Towards the Sea. The love triangle, or square, set along the Adriatic in Croatia is just stunning. I related to Ivona and her big feelings and her lifetime love for Vlaho so well, her struggles resonated deeply. This is a tale of love, of landscape, of home and homesickness, of nostalgia, and I’m smitten. So many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Shuster for providing the opportunity to read this amazing eArc in exchange for my honest review. 4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Grateful to #NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

Beautiful, moving, and incredibly poignant, this novel is told from the perspective of Ivona, whose life has not turned out the way she expected. She is living with her father following her divorce and his stroke, struggling to move on.

I loved this novel. The prose is stunning and Ivona felt so real and relatable to me.

4.75/5 stars

“Slanting Towards the Sea” by Lidija Hilje is a powerful and emotional novel that takes place in stunningly beautiful Croatia. It’s a complicated and moving lifelong love story between a man and woman whose relationship doesn’t last but never really ends. Even as they both move on with their lives they remain intertwined because of their deep love and connection. This amazing and atmospheric debut told through flashbacks has us sharing their journey of life, portions of which we have all faced or will be facing, lost dreams, grief, aging and forgiveness.
The writing is immersive and the book exceptional. I highly recommend, and I am looking forward to reading many more novels by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What a wonderful book! I was immediately engrossed in this story, and by the end I felt like I knew this protagonist so well. It's very exciting to encounter a new writer who has such a great storytelling style. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance reader's copy of this novel.

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.’

Ughhhh. Why is it so easy to review books I loathe, but impossible for the ones that shake me and leave marks? I never feel like I can do them justice. **Sighsss** ~ Idk, but here's my thoughts anyway...

Our FMC, Ivona, provides a full present-day view of her life, while also weaving in the history of her upbringing, familial relationships and how she came to meet Vlaho and fell in love. Fast and furious and hard. The both of them. The once in a lifetime kind. A love so powerful and consuming, it's daunting. Imagining how existing before was even possible... well, it's absurd & illogical. Because this love IS life.

"His face was incandescent, as though it were lit from the inside. The room was otherwise dim and filled with cigarette smoke, and of course people don’t glow, but that’s how he looked to me. There was something in his eyes that offered itself to me. It was so immediate, so intense, it felt almost like voyeurism."

But a love that big is likely to bring you to your knees eventually. And Slanting Towards the Sea is no exception; there are no punches pulled here.

What was incandescent was this book. So much so, I came away feeling like I'd seen the dazzling beauty and wonder of Croatia first-hand. I breathed in the salt of the sea and the olives in the grove. Hilje takes you on a journey and it is by way of the scenic route. It's positively enchanting. And that's just the landscape.

I was absolutely wrought with emotion. High's and low's, reflection, regret, heartache, the list goes on.... And oh! The yearning and the longing! Just wow. So very potent and tangible... It. Was. Dizzying. And I felt it all.... like I was cut wide open and abandoned.

That's how you know you're in the company of serious talent.

Before tucking in, know that this is a sorrowful story, which may not be for everyone, but it is also formidable in its pull and its hold. I read all of it yesterday afternoon.

Just a striking debut.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this arc in exchange for review.

Pub: 7.8.2025.

Slanting Towards the Sea is a beautifully written, emotionally layered novel that quietly swept me away. At its heart is the tender, complicated love story between Vlaho and Ivona—a relationship that doesn’t last, but never fully disappears. As they each move on—Ivona finding love with another man, Vlaho remarrying—their lives remain gently intertwined. The story explores how people navigate love, loss, memory, and the delicate balancing act of maintaining connection through change.

But this novel stretches far beyond a love story. It touches on the depths of aging, friendship, identity, and the quiet, everyday moments that shape who we are. Hilje writes with a soft yet powerful voice, full of reflection and emotional honesty. One line that stayed with me: “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.”

This is the kind of book that lingers—poetic, thoughtful, and deeply human.

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.