In My Mailbox on Monday

Alright, so this won't be my typical "In My Mailbox".  Those usually come on Saturdays or Sundays.  I realize that I posted the books I got just two days ago, but I have a surprise!  Last week I discovered the wonders of Powell's Books.  

After going through the YA clearance books (and there were a TON of them), I chose some books that I've been wanting priced $1.99 or less, added them to the cart only to realize that for just 22 books plus shipping, my total would be around $45.  It's crazy that shipping cost only $3.99, considering the box weighed 18 lbs.

Anyways, what I'm getting at is that on a good day I can get from 6-10 bargain books from Amazon for the same price.  So what if they're new?  I opened my Powell's box to find 22 used books in perfect condition.  The only thing wrong with one book was that the cover was just a little worn in the corner.  That's it.

books shown:  

- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares

- A Bend in the Road and Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

- Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

- The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

- Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

- Bliss by Lauren Myracle

- The Pretty One by Cheryl Klam

- Skinny by Ibi Kaslik

- Blue is for Nightmares series by Laurie Faria Stolarz

- Take Me There by Susane Colasanti

- Far from Xanadu by Julie Anne Peters

- Love, Ghosts, and Facial Hair by Steven Herrick

- My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

- Born Blue by Han Nolan

- Jailbait by Leslea Newman

I also got one other book in the mail today (that I won a while ago) but I'm saving that for this weekend's IMM.  I promise, now I'm absolutely done buying books for a while.  I need to read a LOT of the ones I have, so until I get a good amount of those out of the way, a book buying ban is in order.

Wish me luck!

In My Mailbox #14

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme held by The Story Siren!

Hey guys!  My posting may slow down quite a bit due to my boyfriend's three month visit starting Tuesday, so I just wanted to let you know that I'll try to get on whenever I can.  I don't know how often I'll be reading, since I'll only have the time to when he's taking his English course.  This is also why I'm trying not to order any more books at the moment, but you know how that'll work out.  I'm sure I'll still be doing smaller IMMs.

Anyways, here's what I got from Amazon this week!

-Masquerade by Melissa de la Cruz

-Revelations by Melissa de la Cruz
-The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa de la Cruz

-Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz
-Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender
-The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells
-Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
-Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs
-Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
-Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Won/ Gifted

-City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
(gifted)

-Bad Taste in Boys by Carrie Harris
(won from O'Dell @ Book Twirps)


As always, thank you so much for stopping by!  Leave the link to your IMM post or vlog in the comments below so I can see what books and goodies you got this week!

Follow Friday #2

Follow Friday is a weekly blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.


This weeks question:

How has your reading habits changed since you were a teen? or If you are still a teen what new genres are you in love with currently?

My answer:

I'm going to say that when I turned 13 or so, I was really into vampire books.  This is when Twilight just came out.  I read about werewolves, ghosts, and faeries as well, so I guess you can say I was really into paranormal.  I didn't have a mind of my own when it came to choosing books.  I mainly read what my friends were reading at the time.  When I was a freshman in high school, I began to read Francesca Lia Block, who writes a mix of poetry and realistic fantasy.  I still found myself near that paranormal/fantasy section quite a bit, though.  In junior year I started to step into the bookstores on my own and discovered David Levithan, which brought me to Nick & Norah, Naomi & Ely, and Boy Meets Boy.  The Perks of Being a Wallflower became my favorite book that year, as well.  My love of books really blossomed when I discovered the joys of book blogging.  As of right now, I'm really enjoying contemporary romance, but I've been dipping my toes into a little of everything.  While I don't stray far from YA, you can catch me reading the occasional adult book once in a while.

Alright, guys, sorry for the life story.  Lol!
If you want, leave the link to your FF so I can check your answers!

Review: Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Title: Perfect Chemistry
Author: Simone Elkeles

Publisher:  Walker Books for Young Readers

Age Group: Young Adult

Category: Contemporary Romance

Release date: December 23rd, 2008
Pages:  360 (Paperback)

Rating: 5 of 5

Source: Bought

Goodreads Summary: 
When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of her senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created "perfect" life is about to unravel before her eyes.  She's forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for- her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect.  Alex is a bad boy and he knows it.  So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it.  But soon Alex realizes that Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.  

My Thoughts:  
Originally, this book wasn't on my list, although Elkeles' book, Leaving Paradise, was. Perfect Chemistry was the best on-a-whim-purchase I've ever made.  I'm a total girl, which means I'm a sucker for romance.  If given the option, I'll pick romance over just about anything.  I didn't realize that this book also does exactly what I love in any book- it changes point of views.  The story was very easy to get into and it kept me interested to the point where I didn't want to put it down and I was constantly tweeting and telling my boyfriend about it.

Brittany seems like the ever so popular rich girl, but deep down she's harboring a lot of emotions.  She hates feeling out of control and she has to be the perfect child, since her sister can't be.  Her mother has breakdowns, her dad's always at work, and she constantly feels the pressure- not only from her family, but at school as well.  On the outside, she has the ideal life.  Expensive clothes, new car, perfect boyfriend, huge house.  Sometimes the outside is the only thing people want to see.

And then there's Alex Fuentes.  He lives on the poor side of town.  That's all people want to see, as well.  His exterior is tough and he feels that he has to be in order to protect his family- to protect them from what happened to his father 11 years ago.  When he's paired up with Brittany, the goody-goody, he and his friends make a bet that he may regret accepting.  Eventually, outside of school, Brittany and Alex begin to let their guards down and realize that they're not as different from each other as they thought.  In fact, what they thought was the feeling of hatred for each other was flipped completely upside down.

Admittedly, the book made me cry twice (for the first time ever, I believe).  Perfect Chemistry was the type of book that made want to read it over and over again, just to get more of Alex Fuentes.  ¡Muy caliente!  Oh, did I mention that I loved the use of Spanish in the book?  I've never been proficient in the language, but it felt great to read the words and actually know what they were talking about.  Although the next books in the series are about Alex's brothers and the women they fall in love with, I'm really looking forward to reading those, because this one definitely made it onto my list of favorites.

Teaser Tuesdays: The Near Witch

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. 

Last week I received The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab in the mail.  Although I should be getting ready for my boyfriend's visit in a week, I can't put this book off any longer.  Hopefully I'll get it read between all the cleaning I'll be doing.  I just finished Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles (which was...well, perfect) and a review will be up sometime today.

If you didn't know by now, I share two teasers, not two sentences.

My first teaser comes from page 179
-Three people once knew where the witch was buried.  That much I know.

The second comes from page 85
-"They say only hunters and witches live out this far."
Cole tenses almost imperceptibly beside me.  "And which are you?" he asks, flashing a thin attempt at a smile.

I'm pretty excited to find out the story behind The Near Witch.
Have you read this yet?  Do you plan to? 

If you have any teasers you'd like to share, go ahead and link them below!  

In My Mailbox #13

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren

This week has been pretty slow book-wise.  I'm slightly thankful I didn't get a handful of books because I have so many to read already and such little time to do so.  That being said, quality over quantity, right?  I got two really awesome books this week, which makes me so, so excited to be able to read them.  Don't worry, next week I'll probably have another huge IMM, who knows.  Maybe an IMM vlog?  Hmmm...

-The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab (SIGNED!)
(won from Gail)

-White Cat by Holly Black
(won from Riley)

Thanks for stopping by!
Please leave the link to your IMM in the comments so I can take a peek!  :)