Release Date: September 3rd 2013
Published By: Strange Chemistry
Pages: 272
Goodreads: Add it to your reading list

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Synopsis: Looking back, I wonder if I had an inkling that my life was about to go from ordinary to extraordinary.

When sixteen-year-old Lillie Hart meets the gorgeous and mysterious Tom Windsor-Smith for the first time, it’s like fireworks — for her, anyway. Tom looks as if he would be more interested in watching paint dry; as if he is bored by her and by her small Nebraskan town in general.

But as Lillie begins to break down the walls of his seemingly impenetrable exterior, she starts to suspect that he holds the answers to her reoccurring nightmares and to the impossible memories which keep bubbling to the surface of her mind — memories of the two of them, together and in love.

When she at last learns the truth about their connection, Lillie discovers that Tom has been hiding an earth-shattering secret; a secret that is bigger — and much more terrifying and beautiful — than the both of them. She also discovers that once you finally understand that the world is round, there is no way to make it flat again.

An epic and deeply original sci-fi romance, taking inspiration from Albert Einstein’s theories and the world-bending wonder of true love itself.

Review:

’ll admit that I don’t like sci-fi very much, and I certainly don’t have a great understanding of science or physics, other than general knowledge, or what I have learnt from watching The Big Bang Theory. But a YA romance book that incorporated the theories of Albert Einstein? I had to read that!

When the World was Flat (And We Were in Love) - aka WTWWF - is amazingly different and original - And I loved it!

Lillie Hart lives in the small town of Green Grove, where there is only two degrees of separation between everyone and everything, and everyone knows everybody else’s business. Everyone knows Lillie’s mum is somewhat alternative, everyone knows one of her best friend Sylv likes boys (a lot), and her other best friend Jo’s dad is sick – but no one knows that Lillie is constantly having terrifying nightmares where she has to relive her own death countless times. And no one knows the mysterious new boy in town, Tom Windsor-Smith, either.

From the moment Lillie sees Tom, she feels an instant connection to him - although it is clear that he does not feel any association or affect towards Lillie, in fact, he seems like a bit of a jerk. And as Lillie gets to know Tom, she cannot fight the feeling that she has some hidden memories of him; that she knows Tom from somewhere else, and more alarmingly, that he may even hold the key to her reoccurring nightmares. Unearthing Tom’s secrets will change the shape of Lillie’s world forever.

WTWWF hooked me from the very first chapter and had me captivated until the very last page. I cannot pin-point exactly what fascinated me, but Ingrid’s writing style is charismatic and refreshing and the story is intriguing from the very beginning. WTWWF is Ingrid’s debut YA book - and I have to say, I can’t wait until her next one! Her writing is enchanting, her stories are appealing and she shows great promise of bring some true originality to YA.

There is variety of personality types or personal circumstances within the story, and all of the characters show the honesty, confusion, wit, self-doubt, self-importance, vagueness, heartache, secrecy or uncertainty that is required for each them.

The relationships between the variety of characters is also extremely well written – including the 3-way best friend relationship between 3 very different personalities, the relationship between teenagers and their parents and dreaded connection and interactions with the school bitch. But most importantly, the interactions between Lillie and Tom are honest and relatable – there was lots of the awkwardness and self-doubt that occurs for teenagers (well anyone really) of being around the boy that they like. Added to this was the confusion that Lillie feels by Tom’s distance and mixed signals – as well as the constant feeling that she knows him from somewhere, or that he is keeping something from her.

WTWWF is a wonderful combination of mystery, confusion, love and science. You will get drawn into this amazing world, your perceptions will change and you will be captivated all the way to the amazing conclusion.

One of the things I took from WTWWF is that every decision you make is possibly more important than you could ever imagine. I don’t know what would have happened if I chose to read another book instead of this one, but I know that I am happy with the world it took me to.

Giveaway

Have you all seen that Ingrid Jonach dropped by Book Nerd Reviews on her Around the World in 80 Days Blog Tour for When the World was Flat (and we were in love)? If you missed it, you can visit here to check out our Q&A with Ingrid and enter the competition for two awesome prize packages (open internationally).

We are very excited to be a part of this blog tour, so that means we should celebrate right? Of course it does! Below is my review of When the World was Flat (and we were in love) and another (yes, another!) giveaway! This giveaway is open for Australian people only (sorry international friends) - and remember, this wonderful book is not available in Australian stores, so best of luck to everyone!

Thank you to the wonderful people at Strange Chemistry for providing a copy of this amazing book for our giveaway, and of course Ingrid for stopping at Book Nerd Reviews on her way around the world :)

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