Review: When the World was Flat (And We Were in Love) by Ingrid Jonach

Published by: Strange Chemistry
Release date: 3rd September 2013
Series: n/a
I got it from: Netgalley
Goodreads summary:
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.

My review:
The title of this book alone drew me in. It's a brilliant title, and it fits the book well, because it is a bit brilliant. I have to say, there are faults. Quite major ones in places if I'm being honest. I didn't love the book all the way through, but when I got to the end, it somehow made up for all that. 

The worst fault is the science. The theories used in the book may have stemmed from Einstein, but the way they've been twisted to make the story is kind of whacked-out. There's no getting around it, there are sections where you think 'what the hell?', sections where it's just plain confusing, and sections where you might snort in disgust. But then there are the parts that enable it to recover from all that. It's a mixed bag, but I'd still say it's worth a read. 

Lillie is mostly a good character. Tom, I'm undecided on. I usually fall hard for the love interest, but something about Tom made me keep my distance. I found the beginning of the book very readable - before the science, and Tom, get involved. Lillie's friends, and her mum, are all good, well-rounded characters, and the spark of intrigue from Lillie's dreams keeps it interesting. Then things get messed up for a little while. Keep reading though. I loved the ending. I really wasn't sure how it was going to go, right up to the end, which is impressive, and the way it did go, felt totally right. 

Jonach's writing (minus the bad science) is high quality. The dialogue is really good, the relationships between the characters work well, and it's descriptive enough that you get a good feel for everything, though it doesn't draw you right in like some books do.