It’s good enough for what it is: a rom-com.
Definitely chick-lit, Remedial Rock Science has a Pride and Prejudice touch to it, like the rich, handsome man (who’s nice but cheats on girlfriends, rather than proud), and a poorer love interest (who is prejudiced against the rich, though doesn’t begrudge them their money).
It’s not literature, but I did stay up to finish it and enjoyed seeing the protagonists end up together, which was expected considering the genre.
Rocket science is no problem. Falling in love, on the other hand…
It’s a frilly, quick read that’s good if you want something light but hits cliche rom-com plot points:
- Handsome boy meets geeky (but attractive, though she doesn’t know it) girl
- Boy/girl don’t know if they’ll meet again
- Boy/girl meet again
- Boy/girl don’t know the other is interested
- Boy/girl realizes other is interested
- Boy/girl admit love
- ❤️ 💕
It’s cute, and it’s enjoyable for what it is. I love how rich, handsome boy Jermey loves geeky, pretty Melody for who she is, and doesn’t try to mold her into something his richer, flashier world would want her to be. There was backstory to the both of them, including tragedy, that I thought was a good, human touch. I would’ve liked to see more depth to these elements, but also recognize that’s not what the genre calls for, and that’s fine. Interesting love triangles/squares going on that added a slight twist to rom-com tropes. Also enjoyable was the lack of woman-woman jealousy: Jermey’s ex-girlfriend wasn’t jealous of his new one, and vice versa, and all managed to be friendly.
Favorite quotes from Remedial Rock Science:
Wherever you go, you always take yourself with you.
Her feelings for Jeremy were like Schrodinger’s Crush. As long as she didn’t open the box, their relationship existed in a state of quantum superposition: both possible and impossible at the same time. She was too much of a wimp to find out whether the cat was alive or dead.
Reading Between the Dunes 