Scan barcode
fiwwa's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Intermediate Thermodynamics is what my fake scenario in my head looks like every night. The sparks and swoon-worthy romance between Esther and Jonathan is sooo much better than the Melody and Jeremy in Remedial Rocket Science. To be honest, things going on in this book is way more rocket science than in the first book, I still haven't figured out why it's called Intermediate Thermodynamics actually.
This book makes me soo happy and there are many things I love about this book: the characters, the characterization, the conversation, the plot. The overall of this book is what I hope my future life will be (well maybe not all, but most of them), both work-life and love life.
Let me start with the one and only heroine, Esther Abbott. The aerospace engineer. THE ROCKET SCIENTIST. The girl who doesn't have a good taste in coffee, always speaks bluntly, hard to fall in love, and not a big fan of expressing her emotions. The last four characteristics mentioned are who I am now, the first and second will become me as well in 10 years... or less, I hope. Esther actually cares a lot about everyone around her, even to the ones she shouldn't care about like her Mom who always asks her for money honestly what is it with the Moms in this series, they always have problems and secretly cares about the next-door neighbor who always bumped into her accidentally. Though she kinda surrounded by sucks people, there are still a lot of them who doesn't suck at all like Jinny, Yemi, her brother, the knitting group, and Sally Ride (it's a cat but omg I love that Esther named her cat the first American woman in space).
That neighbor, apparently, is secretly a dream man. Well, maybe except the fact that he doesn't know the basic rules of the laundry room and always forgets his laundry (or maybe he doesn't, he just wants to meet his friendly neighbor). Jonathan Brinkerhoff, a film school graduate student who only has flannels in his closet and wearing beanie like his head is something forbidden to see with a cute glasses on his face to show the 'cute writer' type. I like the character development in Jonathan especially in his writing, from the love story of the girl he knows years ago with no personality to the girl next door that he wishes a chance with. Oh, and he wrote her a screenplay. I repeat, HE WROTE HER A SCREENPLAY TO CONFESS HIS FEELING.Dear God, can I please experience this as the person in the story not the person who wrote it <///3
Now moving on to the character's chemistry, I feel like this book can be considered enemies-to-lovers since Esther hates Jonathan at first with no specific reason except the laundry and smoking problem. The connection between them develops in a... raw and real way, if that makes sense. It's realistic because they can't just suddenly talk and become lovers, lot of things happened in between. Starting with the mutual agreement, when they start seeing each other more often than just bumping into each other, drinking coffee while reviewing Jonathan's script in a way Esther's mind would see it and how Jonathan accepts all her honest reviews, watching outer space action movies to help him with the script, the party (more Remedial Rocket Science characters here!), and... the after party. The tension escalated quickly after that, some parts even makes me tear up, Jonathan really knows what he's saying.
One of my favorite scene is when they started talking about the love because of the romance script Jonathan was writing, how Esther wasn't a big believer of love and commitment but Jonathan on the other hand was looking for it. And every scene where they just sit around discussing the script, it reminds me of the lyrics "Dumb conversations, we lose track of time. Have I told you lately I'm grateful you're mine?" except that they're not each other's just yet. I don't know what's in the new coffee maker that Esther bought, but it surely makes their conversation even more sweeter and sometimes I just wanna scream knowing I probably won't ever experience it.
This book makes me soo happy and there are many things I love about this book: the characters, the characterization, the conversation, the plot. The overall of this book is what I hope my future life will be (well maybe not all, but most of them), both work-life and love life.
Let me start with the one and only heroine, Esther Abbott. The aerospace engineer. THE ROCKET SCIENTIST. The girl who doesn't have a good taste in coffee, always speaks bluntly, hard to fall in love, and not a big fan of expressing her emotions. The last four characteristics mentioned are who I am now, the first and second will become me as well in 10 years... or less, I hope. Esther actually cares a lot about everyone around her, even to the ones she shouldn't care about like her Mom who always asks her for money honestly what is it with the Moms in this series, they always have problems and secretly cares about the next-door neighbor who always bumped into her accidentally. Though she kinda surrounded by sucks people, there are still a lot of them who doesn't suck at all like Jinny, Yemi, her brother, the knitting group, and Sally Ride (it's a cat but omg I love that Esther named her cat the first American woman in space).
That neighbor, apparently, is secretly a dream man. Well, maybe except the fact that he doesn't know the basic rules of the laundry room and always forgets his laundry (or maybe he doesn't, he just wants to meet his friendly neighbor). Jonathan Brinkerhoff, a film school graduate student who only has flannels in his closet and wearing beanie like his head is something forbidden to see with a cute glasses on his face to show the 'cute writer' type. I like the character development in Jonathan especially in his writing, from the love story of the girl he knows years ago with no personality to the girl next door that he wishes a chance with. Oh, and he wrote her a screenplay. I repeat, HE WROTE HER A SCREENPLAY TO CONFESS HIS FEELING.
Now moving on to the character's chemistry, I feel like this book can be considered enemies-to-lovers since Esther hates Jonathan at first with no specific reason except the laundry and smoking problem. The connection between them develops in a... raw and real way, if that makes sense. It's realistic because they can't just suddenly talk and become lovers, lot of things happened in between. Starting with the mutual agreement, when they start seeing each other more often than just bumping into each other, drinking coffee while reviewing Jonathan's script in a way Esther's mind would see it and how Jonathan accepts all her honest reviews, watching outer space action movies to help him with the script, the party (more Remedial Rocket Science characters here!), and... the after party. The tension escalated quickly after that, some parts even makes me tear up, Jonathan really knows what he's saying.
One of my favorite scene is when they started talking about the love because of the romance script Jonathan was writing, how Esther wasn't a big believer of love and commitment but Jonathan on the other hand was looking for it. And every scene where they just sit around discussing the script, it reminds me of the lyrics "Dumb conversations, we lose track of time. Have I told you lately I'm grateful you're mine?" except that they're not each other's just yet. I don't know what's in the new coffee maker that Esther bought, but it surely makes their conversation even more sweeter and sometimes I just wanna scream knowing I probably won't ever experience it.
She looked down at her hands. “I just think all that sappy, hand-holding, love song stuff isn’t for me.”
Jonathan shook his head, gazing across the alley at the building next door. “That stuff’s all performative. That’s not love. Love is madness. It’s a compulsion. It’s passion and torment and exhilaration and fear.”
“You make it sound awful,” Esther said, shuddering. “Like skydiving or something.”
“It is. But it’s also incredible.”
And when I said Jonathan knows his words, he knows. I think Esther made him a much better writer and he starts bringing her to life like the story he was writing after he discovers every pages he hasn't read before. To end the review, here's Jonathan with his words that makes me (again) screaming inside.
“I love all your broken pieces. I love everything about you. I even love the way you argue with me. I love how opinionated you are, and that you act like you’re not afraid of anything when on the inside you’re afraid of everything. I love the frowny face you make when you’re bossing me around. I love how much you care about your friends, and the way you try to take care of them. I love you, Esther Abbott, every bonkers bit of you, and I want to take care of you the way you take care of everyone else.”
– Jonathan Brinkerhoff
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Minor: Sexual content
More...