March Series of the Month: Across The Universe Trilogy

Hey, y'all! So, I planned to read a little more than I did this month, but I got through a total of 4 books, so I averaged about a book per week, so that's not bad! Anyway, I'm not going to talk about the other book I read this month- I'll save it for a post where I talk about any of the standalone books I've read. In the meantime, though, you can always check out my Goodreads account by clicking HERE. You can see what books I've been reading and get a sneak peek of my reviews before my blog posts go up. You can also friend me on there, if you'd like!

Warning: I'm going to talk about spoilers in this post. I'll probably get into spoilers later in each book's review, but I'll try to make a note of it when I'm about to spoil something.

Across The Universe

First off, let's just all take a moment to appreciate this gorgeous cover. This may be my favorite cover of any book ever, and I don't even like pink. It's that pretty. 

Across The Universe is told from the POVs of our two main characters, Amy and Elder. The book opens in the year 2036. Seventeen-year-old Amy and her parents are among the 100 people who are going on a mission to this new planet that has been discovered, which supposedly is able to sustain human life. However, they aren't going to be passengers on this spaceship. They are going to be cryogenically frozen for the 300 year trek to the new planet. When the ship reaches the new planet, they are going to be un-frozen and will explore this new planet. Both of Amy's parents are essential to the trip- her father is a high ranking military officer, and her mother is an important scientist. Amy is not essential to the trip, but decides to go along with them.

We're then introduced to Elder. It's now approximately 50 years before the ship is set to land on the new planet, named Centauri-Earth by the ship-borns. At sixteen, Elder is the future leader of the ship and apprentice to Eldest. Elder is frustrated with his training, and begins to get into things Eldest doesn't want him to find. It's then that Elder discovers all of the cryogenically frozen people. Previously, he didn't even know they were on the ship. 

Shortly after this, someone opens Amy's chamber, causing her to wake up long before she was supposed to. The doctor is unable to re-freeze her, so she has to adjust to a completely new life on the spaceship Godspeed. However, soon after Amy wakes up, other frozen people begin to be pulled from their chambers. Amy and Elder have to team up to discover who is trying to kill all of these people.

Before I jump into the spoilery section of my review, I just want to give my overall opinion about the book. When I first finished it, I honestly wasn't sure how I felt about it. On one hand, I really enjoyed the book and loved the world, but on the other, I thought it was mostly predictable and felt like I was just on the surface of all of the events rather than immersed in them. Eventually, I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads. 

OK, now onto the spoilery part of this. If you haven't read Across The Universe, STOP READING THIS. Go read the book, and then come back and read my opinions about Across The Universe.

I'm going to be focusing most of this on how I feel about what happened, rather than detailing the plot. Detailing the plot seems a bit pointless, since everyone reading this SHOULD be people who have read the book, and therefore know what has happened.

OK, so is it just me, or was it painfully obvious by about 30 pages in (or maybe less, I'm just guesstimating) that Orion was the "dead" Elder/Eldest? It got to the point that I thought Beth Revis was trying to make it painfully obvious, and maybe she was. But if so, why? And even the other "big" plot twist, the fact that Elder was the one who woke up Amy, wasn't that shocking. I guess this book just didn't surprise me much.

On the other hand, the world that Beth Revis has created is just so great. I found myself constantly thinking about Brave New World, and how they took Soma to be content, like how the Feeders are constantly on Phydus. And the way that, rather than having children constantly, they have the season, is so disturbingly interesting. Also, the sane people, the ones who are immune to Phydus, are considered to be the crazy ones who are locked up in the hospital. I just really enjoyed how it was very dystopian, but also very sci-fi and mystery at the same time. 

And clearly, the most heart-wrenching moment was when Harley, one of the most enjoyable characters in the book, decides to commit suicide. That was just so insanely sad. But honestly, I was also extremely sad when they froze Orion. I can understand why Amy hates him so much, and why what he did was so terrible, but at the same time, even though I figured out early-on who he really was, I couldn't help but like the guy. He genuinely thought that he was doing the right thing for the ship- for his people- even when it wasn't his responsibility anymore. And of all the people on the ship, he was the most insatiably curious; the free thinker. He wasn't going to take what he was told at face-value, and I can appreciate that.

I also really enjoyed how Elder and Amy learned about each other's different lifestyles- how Elder believes the season is natural; how Amy is perplexed by the mono-ethnicity of the spaceship. This world-building is both great and detrimental. Like most first books in a series or trilogy, this book focuses pretty heavily upon world-building. There are some exciting moments, but most of the book is discovery- nothing that's going to get your heart racing. However, it's really interesting to be introduced to a world from not only the eyes of someone who has been a part of that world his whole life, but also from the eyes of Amy, who is being introduced to the world right along with you. This is, in my opinion, the biggest advantage to having the two different POVs. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book despite the faults I found within it! 

A Million Suns

Once again, I'm going to have a spoiler-free (unless you haven't read Across The Universe!) section, and then dive into the spoilery bits.

A Million Suns picks up at about 3 months after Amy woke up. Elder has taken control of the ship and has taken the feeders off of Phydus, much to the distress of Doc. But then, several intense and crazy things begin to happen on the ship. People begin mysteriously dying and there's unrest among the feeders. Orion, although he's cryogenically frozen, has left videos for Amy, hinting at more and more secrets about the ship that only he knows. Overall, the book is just a lot more action-packed and crazy than Across The Universe.

Before I jump into the spoilers, I'll talk a bit about what I thought of the book. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads but overall, I'd have to say that it's really a 4.5 for sure. It kept me guessing much more than Across The Universe did, and I just really enjoyed the way all the storylines wove together.

Spoiler section! WOW. I don't even know where to start with this book. 

I'm not sure how others feel about Orion's trail of clues left for Amy, but I really enjoyed that part of the book. I always enjoy trying to decipher a clue alongside the characters in the book. This whole thing solidified how much I like Orion as a character, and not only gave a great backstory to his character and solidified his reasoning behind what he did, but also made me feel a little less guilty for counting him among my favorite characters in the series. He gave Amy hints and allowed her to figure them out herself and come to her own conclusions. He showed her the truth, which is more than can be said of several of the other characters in the book.

And some of the realizations, just WOW. All of these secrets about the ship were so interesting and profound. For me, the biggest probably wasn't the realization that they weren't moving, or even that they'd been in the same place since the Plague Eldest, but that they were already to Centauri-Earth! When Elder was out in space and saw Centauri-Earth literally right in front of his face, I think I physically gasped from surprise. Plus the fact that the cryo-level can detach from the ship. Just... whoa.

Adding to the surprise, let's just talk about the villain of the book... DOC. What? I didn't see that coming at all. I found it pretty easy to pick out the villain in both the first and third books, but I was guessing for quite a while. The fact that everyone was killed by Phydus patches should've been a sign, but since a lot were stolen, I never thought to consider Doc. 

And then you add on yet another layer that because everyone can now think for themselves, there's a huge revolt going on, especially after people start dying. And if that's not enough conflict, Luthor is still trying to attack Amy. I'm not complaining about all of these separate storylines- I love it. The layers upon layers make this book so intricate and beautiful. 

I also really appreciated how Amy and Elder's relationship was handled in this book. Neither of them knew where they were at for most of Across The Universe, and A Million Suns takes advantage of that. Even though I was rooting for them and I knew there was no way they wouldn't end up together, I appreciated that Amy wasn't going to decide to be with him just because he was her only choice.

In case you couldn't tell, I liked this book more than Across The Universe. Honestly, A Million Suns is my favorite book in the series. It's action-packed and surprising, and I love that.

Shades of Earth

First off, let's all rage over the most frustrating cover change in the history of EVER. The first two books are SO PRETTY. And then this one comes out and it's the most generic, boring thing. Yes, I think it matches with the book well, and I think it demonstrates the large shift that happens between the books, and I know it wouldn't really make sense for this book to have a spacey cover, but it's so upsetting and depressing. They could've come up with some way to at least keep some similarities rather than just totally re-doing this cover and making the paperback covers match it. I mean...

ALL THE RAGE

You will never be able to convince me that the paperback covers aren't the most depressing cover change on the planet. Except maybe the recent Harry Potter cover change that makes me actually physically sick.

Anyway, onto the actual book. As before, this first paragraph will not spoil anything for you if you've already read the first two books in the trilogy. If you haven't read the first two books in the trilogy, what are you doing here?! I told you to go away paragraphs ago! But, if you're that intent on spoiling yourself, be my guest.

The book opens with Amy and Elder finally taking their people down to Centauri-Earth. Once there, they un-freeze the frozens... and begin to get attacked. Whatever life forms they were warned about by the little satellite probes are now attacking them, and they realize just how unsafe this new planet is. Upon becoming unfrozen, Amy's dad quickly takes control of the situation, and tries to tell Elder what to do as well, even though Elder isn't putting up with it. But they all realize soon after arriving that some of their people have begun dying off, and they don't know who- or what- is doing it.

Before the spoilers, here's how I feel about Shades of Earth... I'm not quite sure. I gave it a 4 on Goodreads, but I haven't decided whether or not I liked it better than Across The Universe. More detailed explanation in the spoilery section. However, the important thing to me is that I liked it, and I thought it ended the series well.

I don't know what it is with me and discovering the villain only like 30 pages in, but immediately when Amy noticed something weird about Chris's eyes, I knew something was up. I wasn't quite sure what, but he was definitely really shady. Always at the right place at the wrong time.

Even though the plot of this book was really great, and the new characters were great, and the new world was built great, I missed being in the spaceship. I loved that little world on the ship, and I didn't really want the plot to take us away from there, because space is clearly more fun than a second earth. I guess that's kinda parallel to how many of the shipborns felt, leaving their only homes behind. 

Beth Revis was really, really intent on killing off all the characters, wasn't she? Any shipborn that Amy interacted with enough for us to know their name, they died. Any named earth-born, they died as well. Basically any named human was killed. The worst for me was definitely Orion. He didn't even get to see Centauri-Earth. However, when we all thought Elder had died from hitting the space station, I was definitely the saddest at his death. Elder was my favorite character throughout the series, and I was really sad.

The whole realization that humans had actually colonized Centauri-Earth back before even the Plague Eldest and that they had developed Phydus was really surprising. It was a really cool plot twist that I wasn't expecting. Even more interesting was the hybrids who were living on Centauri-Earth. I wish we could've learned even more about them by the end of the book.

Speaking of the end... that ending, man. Amy is injected and becomes a hybrid, and literally everyone dies. She goes back to live with the hybrids, and then... the last chapter. ELDER IS ALIVE. Biggest relief ever. Amy can finally truly be home now that she has Elder.

My one complaint... how on Centauri-Earth did Amy's dad not realize that he had an extra soldier immediately?! Colonel Martin was completely on top of everything constantly (although occasionally confused). I know he found out about Chris sooner than anyone else, but how did he not notice immediately that Chris wasn't one of the frozens? Or even that hmmm... I came with 9, so who is this 10th person?

I still can't decide whether I liked Across The Universe or Shades of Earth better. I like the world and the plot of Across The Universe, but I felt like Shades of Earth was such a nice little bowtie on the series, and I loved the way the characters had grown by the time they reached this book.

Overall Series Opinion:

I really, really enjoyed this series. Although in general, none of the books were huge standouts, overall they created a really great trilogy. The way that the secrets continued through all the books was so great. They were still solving Across The Universe mysteries in Shades of Earth, which shows how incredibly thought out this series was. Overall, I think this trilogy is probably going to become one of my all-time favorites.

So, that's it for this post! I hope y'all enjoyed my opinions about the Across The Universe Trilogy. Have you read it? What did you think of it? If you like my posts, it'd be awesome if you'd follow/subscribe, since it lets me know you're enjoying my posts! Thanks, y'all!

Hey Y'all!

So, I was preparing for today by working on a chapter of The Secret Lightning Scar, and then when I looked at my calendar, I realized that today is the 5th Saturday of the month! I had finished the chapter, but I wasn't super happy with it, so I decided that I'll work on it over the next week and I'll post it next Saturday rather than posting chapters on back-to-back Saturdays. In the meantime, I'll have a new post on Monday! It'll be my March book post, which I'm really excited about (and you should be too, because it's going to be awesome!). I'd put it out today, but I haven't finished my last book yet! So, I'm going to go work on that, and I'll see you on Monday!

Project 10 Pan: Update #2

Hey, y'all! I was going to wait a bit longer to do an update on Project 10 Pan, but it's been going so well that I decided to go ahead and post an update! If you want to check out the previous posts, you can click one of the links below:

Original Project 10 Pan Post
Update Post #1

I talked about this a bit in my last update, I'm going to start another Project 10 Pan not too long after I finish this one. My plan is that once I finish my Project 10 Pan, I'm going to go to Ulta, purchase the makeup products I've been consistently wanting for the past few months, and then go back on P10P. Hopefully, this will help me spend money only on things I truly want to purchase rather than just impulse buying. I'll also probably write a post about what I end up purchasing at Ulta when I go!

Beside each product that I've completely finished, I'll put "complete" and for the ones I've hit pan on, I'll put "panned." Also, for the products that are completely gone, I'll say whether or not I'll repurchase. For each item, I'll have the picture from last update, and then a current one. For products which were completed last update, they'll just have a single picture, without any info. Products which were panned last update which have not yet been completed will be labelled "Still panned" rather than simply "panned" to denote a difference.

Let's get into the updating!

Project 10 Pan

#1) e.l.f. Lip Exfoliator- COMPLETE

#2) L'Oreal True Match Super Blendable Makeup

A new picture won't do any good for this, because you can't tell how much is left. I've been using this as my foundation, but I've been using it very lightly. Slowly but surely, we're getting there!
Amount of product left: Even less than before, and I've definitely used more between Updates 1&2 than between the original and update 1.
Opinion about the product: I still like it, and when I put it on it looks good, but when I go out in the natural light, my face looks like a totally different color than my neck! Yay, terrible dorm lighting!

#3) L'Oreal True Match Super Blendable Powder- STILL PANNED

Before

After

Once I hit pan, I stopped using it so prominently and focused on the liquid foundation. So not much has been done to this in the last month.

Amount of product left: A fair amount. Not a ton, but it's certainly still usable.
Opinion about the product: I really like it when I first put it on, but if I don't set it with the right powder, it doesn't look so great after a few hours.

#4) e.l.f. Translucent Mattifying Powder- COMPLETE

#5) e.l.f. Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara

Before

After

I've used quite a bit of this, since I use it practically every day. I'm surprised it's not gone yet, but it's REALLY close!

Amount of product left: Literally like 5 more uses. I think.
Opinion about the product: I still like it. I'm just ready to be able to throw one of these away.

#6) e.l.f. Eye Shadow Refills- Peach Fizz, Driftwood- PANNED

Before

After

I got to quite a bit of the pan on Driftwood! And I actually just hit pan on Peach Fizz this morning!

Amount of product left: Maybe 3/4 of each one, even though I already hit pan on one.
Opinion about the product: They're OK. I'll kinda be glad to be rid of them.

#7) e.l.f. Cover Everything Concealer- STILL PANNED

Before

After

The pan has gotten a bit bigger, but not a significant change.

Amount of product left: Still quite a bit.
Opinion about the product: The texture isn't my favorite, and it's a bit dark for me, but it works.

#8) e.l.f. Eyelid Primer- COMPLETE

I'm calling this one. I can't see inside it to see if anything is left, but I can't get anything else out of it, so I'm calling it complete!

Amount of product left: Nothing I can get out!
Opinion about the product: I like it, but sometimes it's a bit too light. Which is a shocker since nothing is ever too light on me.
Will I repurchase? Maybe. It's only a dollar, but I'm not sure I really need it.

#9) e.l.f. Contouring Blush & Bronzer

Before

After

I've still been using this almost every day, but I just can't seem to make any progress. I'm so ready to be done with it!

Amount of product left: Quite a bit
Opinion about the product: The more I use it, the more I think it's more of a coral pink, which I'm not such a fan of for blush. I'll be glad to be done with this.

#10) L'Oreal Magic Anti-Redness Correcting Primer- COMPLETE!

This was getting difficult to get product from, and finally, the pump just stopped putting anything out. So, this is complete!

Amount of product left: None!
Opinion about the product: I don't mind it, but I like some other primers better.
Will I repurchase? Nah. At least, not now. Maybe if my acne starts flaring up again.

So, there's my update for my Project 10 Pan! I'll probably post another update in a few weeks, depending upon how quickly this moves along. Hopefully, the remaining products get panned in the next few weeks and I can end this Project 10 Pan and get on to the next one!

If you like my posts, please follow/subscribe/comment, because it lets me know that you're enjoying the things I'm posting. I love hearing feedback! Thanks for reading, y'all!

30 Day Divergent Challenge

Hey, y'all! As y'all already know, I typically choose my challenges based off whatever I'm obsessing over. Although I'm a bit past the obsession stage with this one, the movie came out yesterday, so it's time to get excited again!

Also, there is at least 1 repeat question, so I'm going to replace it... And I've read all the books so if you haven't, I'm going to give you a *SPOILER ALERT* because I will be talking about some spoilery stuff in here and I'd hate to spoil anyone the way I was spoiled while reading the books.

Speaking of the books, I did a book discussion/ review about them a few weeks back, which you can see by clicking HERE.

I spent way too much time devouring the books a couple weeks ago, so let's get down to business and spend even more time talking about them!

1) Your Faction
I actually took a quiz and I would be Divergent! But I was mostly Erudite and Dauntless. I'd probably choose Erudite, though. And then on the recent Buzzfeed quiz, I got Erudite. So I'm just going to claim it as my own.

2) Favorite Character
Hmmm... probably Tobias/ Four. I also really like Uriah. But Tobias is probably my favorite.

3) Least Favorite Character

Ooh... I could be obvious and say something like Jeanine or Peter, but I won't. Of our main people, I'll choose Christina. She's a great friend to Tris, but after a while, she becomes a little pointless. I wish that she had died instead of Uriah. I loved Uriah.

4) Favorite Shipping
Uh... Tris and Tobias. That should be obvious.

5) Least-Favorite Shipping
Christina and Uriah. I liked her and Will together, and I was really upset when he died. They made sense. Uriah and Christina? NAH.

Christina + Will 5EVER!

6) Favorite Friendship
Tris and Uriah! I wish I was Tris and had Uriah as a guy friend. He's super cool. Can you tell I love Uriah? Don't even get me started on the fact that they left Uriah out of the ENTIRE FIRST MOVIE. I understand that he isn't so important to the plot until #2 but if he never shows up in the movies, I'm going to be very upset.

7) Least Favorite Friendship
When Nita and Tobias were friends in Allegiant. Just NO. I never trusted or liked her, and it made me so mad when Tris tried to warn Tobias about Nita and he accused her of just being jealous.

8) Favorite Symbol
It's a tie between Erudite, Dauntless, and Amity, which are also the factions that I think are the most like me!

9) Dream cast for Tris

I thought someone like AnnaSophia Robb would be good. She's blonde, and pretty short. I don't dislike Shailene Woodley for the role, but I;m not sure how they thought that fit the description of Tris.

10) Dream cast for Tobias

Alex Pettyfer! We couldn't get him for Jace (The Mortal Instruments) , so it would've been really nice to get him for Tobias. I think he fits Tobias really well... better than Theo James for sure!

11) Favorite quote

12) Favorite faction
As they're portrayed in the series, or to live in? Because clearly, if we're talking about live in, Erudite... since I said that was the one that I consider to be my faction. However, as it's portrayed in the series, I'd have to say Dauntless... I mean, it's the most prevalent in the series...

13) Least favorite faction
As portrayed in the series, definitely Erudite. That's obvious, right? But as far as which one I'd hate to live in, definitely Abnegation. No, thanks!

14) Best death
Jeanine, I guess! Although neither I or Tris wanted her to die when she did, they still ended up getting what they needed without her, so it wasn't too bad.

15) Favorite simulation
Not sure if this is talking about stuff like the fear landscape and the test or more specific like the dog in the test and Tris's bird fear. But I'm just going to go with the test because I think it's really interesting how it's constructed to actually judge personality.

16) Favorite Tris-Four moment
Honestly, the ferris wheel. I love that moment. It's so great.

17) A character that you thought was unnecessary for this series
Sadly, honestly, I think Will was mostly pointless. And I really liked Will, so I hate that he had such little purpose in the series.

18) Favorite fight/ battle scene
I actually really liked all of the training fights!

19) Character you are most like
I'd have to go with Will. He's a mix of Dauntless and Erudite, which is what I feel like I am.

20) A scene that made you cry
3 words.
Tris. Death. Scene.

21) A scene that made you laugh
Honestly, at this point I can't think of anything that actually made me laugh...

22) Favorite villain
I hate them all, but if I have to choose, I might as well go with the attractive one!

23) Most suspenseful moment
Probably the Tris death scene again. Because I knew it was coming (that was the spoiler I saw), I was just sitting in anticipation, wondering how she really died.

24) Favorite moment in Divergent
Can I choose the whole thing?! It's my absolute favorite book in the series!

25) Favorite moment in Insurgent
Probably when they escape from Erudite headquarters and Peter does something good for a change.

26) Favorite moment in Allegiant
Maybe the 2 1/2 years later? Just to know that in the end, everyone left was doing well? Or the moment when Tobias's mom decided to change?

27) A scene that surprised you
I think the only one that really caught me off-guard was when Uriah was killed (well, he didn't die then, but he was as good as dead). One second he's just smiling and waving at Tris, the next he's getting barreled over. It's just so sudden and unexpected.

28) A character you would die for
Tobias. I don't think any of the other characters are worth it. Except maybe Uriah. Or Will. I'm still really bitter about their deaths.

29) A song that reminds you of this series
Honestly, I can't think of anything... Maybe Roar by Katy Perry? It kinda makes me think of the scene where Tris goes on the zipline over the city.

30) Something you wished went differently
Uhhh, I don't know, maybe TRIS, URIAH, AND WILL DYING?!
Yeah, just that.

So, there's my 30 day Divergent challenge! Do you like the Divergent trilogy? Have you seen the movie yet? Let me know in the comments! If you like my posts, I'd love it if you'd follow/subscribe, as it lets me know you're enjoying what I'm posting! See y'all soon!

Falling In Reverse- The Drug in Me Is You

Hey, y'all!

So, you've probably realized I was missing last week (as was addressed in a post on Saturday) and then didn't post Tuesday. I'm not gone! As I said in my last post, I didn't have internet at the place we were staying over spring break (which is ridiculous, because hotels have free wifi, but this CONDO didn't). Then, I got back from break and was playing catch-up. My homework piled up big-time, and I actually fell asleep with my laptop laying on my stomach last night. BUT, I was finally able to finish this up and get it posted. There will still be a new post Saturday, per usual!

ANYWAY... It's time for me to talk about another CD on my shelf! As always, I put my iTunes on shuffle, and the CD containing the first song that played is the one I'll be talking about!

Release Date: July 26, 2011

Genre: Post-Hardcore, Alternative

Track Listing

1. Raised by Wolves
2. Tragic Magic
3. The Drug in Me Is You
4. I'm Not A Vampire
5. Good Girls, Bad Guys
6. Pick Up The Phone
7. Don't Mess With Ouija Boards
8. Sink or Swim
9. Caught Like a Fly
10. Goodbye Graceful
11. The Westerner

Falling In Reverse lineup on this CD:
Ronnie Radke- lead vocals
Jacky Vincent- lead guitar
Derek Jones- rhythm guitar
Nason Schoeffler- bass guitar
Scott Gee- drums, percussion

About Falling In Reverse: 
When Ronnie Radke was arrested in 2008, he was kicked out of Escape the Fate, the band he was singing for at the time. Falling In Reverse was actually formed while he was in prison, and they even began putting out music while he was still in prison. When he was released from prison in December 2010, the band began recording their debut CD, The Drug in Me Is You. Their sophomore release, Fashionably Late, was released in June 2013.

My Opinion about Falling In Reverse:
I have really mixed feelings about this band. First off, I don't like Ronnie Radke as a person. I think he's a complete jerk who needs to grow up and pull himself together. As far as their music, I'm very torn. Half of their music is stuff I really enjoy and think is really great. The other half is so bad it's good- guilty pleasure music. I'm very confused how that music could come from the same person.

About the CD:  

As I said earlier, this CD was recorded almost immediately after Ronnie was released from prison. The sound on this CD is fairly consistent (especially when compared to their second CD) and it is the post-hardcore sound which I consider to be the Falling In Reverse "sound". Guitar solos, which are some of Falling In Reverse's best moments, are all over the place in this CD, and it improves it significantly.

IMHO: 
This is my favorite Falling In Reverse CD. I like the consistent sound much better than their completely disjointed sophomore release featuring everything from post-hardcore, to rap, to country. Although this CD still has some songs that are so bad they're good, but overall, I enjoy it.

As always, I'm going to give each song a rating out of 10 and then give a brief explanation of why it got that rating. 


Raised by Wolves- 9.5/10. It's a really strong opener. Really catchy and a great mix of clean and unclean vocals!
Tragic Magic- 8.5/10. One of many songs where Ronnie is writing about himself and being arrogant, but I really like the breakdown in the second half of the song.
The Drug in Me Is You- 9.5/10. I completely love the guitar in this song. The chorus and verses are really different, but both really great. And I love the bass in the verses. It's great.
I'm Not A Vampire- 10/10. My favorite song on the CD. I think it's really fun. It has some of the silly Ronnie lyrics, but they make me laugh rather than roll my eyes (Hi, my name is Ronnie, I'm an addict/ Daddy should've never raised me on Black Sabbath... I just love it!). And the guitar and bass parts are great.

Good Girls, Bad Guys- 9/10. I'm so mixed on this song. I really love the music but the lyrics are abysmal. (Just wanna kiss your lips/ the ones between your hips; sexy, please text me/ I'm ready for you... REALLY?). I hate the lyrics but it's just so catchy that I can't hate it or that great guitar solo. But it loses points for those terrible lyrics.
Pick Up The Phone- 9.5/10. Once again with these bass parts that I love. I also really like vocals on this one. Yes, for once, Ronnie Radke is one of the main reasons I like a song. Shocking.
Don't Mess With Ouija Boards- 8.5/10. I'm not sure what it is about the unclean vocals in this song... but I just don't like them. Usually I'm a pretty big fan of Falling In Reverse's use of unclean vocals, but the unclean vocals for the first half of this song aren't my favorite. I like the breakdown in the middle, though! I guess they're just a bit too heavy-handed. But otherwise I like the song!
Sink or Swim- 8.5/10. I thought the unclean vocals were a little heavy-handed in this one as well, but otherwise, it's a really interesting, and pretty eclectic song.
Caught Like a Fly- 9/10. I love the carnival-like sound. It's really cool and unique! And for once I really enjoy Ronnie being kinda angsty.
Goodbye Graceful- 8/10. This is the least played song on the CD. I think I just overlook it a lot because overall, all the songs on this CD are great, and this one's just kinda average.
The Westerner- 9/10. Oh look, another one all about Ronnie! But really like this one. Like Sink or Swim, this one is kinda eclectic. It transitions through several markedly different sections, each of which is really great.

Favorite Songs: I'm Not A Vampire, The Drug in Me Is You, Raised By Wolves, and Pick Up The Phone

Least Favorite Songs: Goodbye Graceful- it just gets lost in the mix.

Video! 

I'm Not A Vampire music video

The Drug In Me is You music video

Rating: 9/10. The average is about a 9, and I think that's accurate. It's good but not absolutely spectacular.

Hope you liked my newest "The CDs on my Shelf" post! Have any questions? What did you think of Falling In Reverse? Let me know in the comments. If you like my posts, I'd really appreciate if you'd subscribe/follow, because it lets me know y'all are liking them! Hope you enjoyed! Comment, comment, comment! I love feedback! Thanks for reading!

30 Day America's Next Top Model Challenge

Hey, y'all! It's time for another One Day Tumblr Challenge! So lately I've been re-watching a lot of America's Next Top Model, so I decided that I would do a 30 day America's Next Top Model challenge!

Enjoy!

Day 1- Favorite Cycle 1 contestant

I really liked Elyse because she had a brain! I also liked Adrienne and Shannon, but Elyse was definitely my favorite.

Day 2- Favorite Cycle 2 Contestant

Honestly, I haven't seen cycle 2, but Shandi seems kinda cool.

Day 3- Favorite Cycle 3 Contestant

There wasn't really a girl this cycle whose personality I enjoyed, but I really loved Amanda's look, especially after the makeover.

Day 4- Favorite Cycle 4 Contestant

This season wasn't one of my favorites, but Kahlen was really down to earth and nice. I liked Naima as well, but I thought Kahlen was much stronger throughout the competition.

Day 5- Favorite Cycle 5 Contestant

Kim was definitely my favorite contestant in season 5. She was really edgy and unique and cool. She was also really funny, and I was so glad she stayed around for as long as she did. I thought her look was really cool, and I'm sad that now, she's let her hair grow out and has a more feminine look, which makes me just a little sad, because I really liked her look during the show. But I also really liked both Nicole and Lisa as well.

Day 6- Favorite Cycle 6 Contestant

Cycle 6 is another cycle I haven't seen much of. I think I've only seen 2 episodes. However, I do remember liking Joanie. So I'll go with her.

Day 7- Favorite Cycle 7 Contestant

CariDee was just great! She was fun and kooky and hilarious, and she was actually really nice. I also really liked the twins (Michelle especially) and Megg. And I really didn't hate Melrose as much as everyone else does. But I'm very glad that CariDee was the winner.

Day 8- Favorite Cycle 8 Contestant

I really like Jael. She was a lot of fun, and I was really sad when I found out that her family recently went to the Dr. Phil show to try to help her quit her meth addiction. Her face has been totally ruined and she looks like she's in her 60s. I really hope she starts to turn her life around, because it's really sad right now. I also really liked Sarah and Brittany this cycle. 

Day 9- Favorite Cycle 9 Contestant

Jenah was really edgy, and I liked that about her. I do wish that they'd left her as a redhead, becaust although the blonde works for her sometimes, she looks totally washed out sometimes. I also liked Chantal and Heather this season. 

Day 10- Favorite Cycle 10 Contestant

Up until this point, all the girls are ones I liked, but not totally loved... but Lauren is one of my favorite people to ever be on this show. She's just so hilariously awkward and I love that she was so punk rock and edgy. Do you see a pattern here? Awkward and edgy are my favorite. I also really liked Anya from this season, because she was just so talented. I wish she'd won over Whitney...

Day 11- Favorite Cycle 11 Contestant

Analeigh is another one who I really love. I was sad that she didn't win, even though I did really like McKell. She was just really sweet and down to earth (oh hey, another thing I seem to like in contestants). I also really liked Marjorie.

Day 12- Favorite Cycle 12 Contestant 

I mean, does anyone dislike Allison? She's just so quirky and a GREAT model, and was super nice and didn't get into the drama. I mean, that's the total package of what I enjoy in a girl on Top Model. I also really liked Celia and Fo.

Day 13- Favorite Cycle 13 Contestant

After the makeover, Erin had such a cool look, and I know some people didn't like her because of how incredibly competitive she could be, but I really appreciated that, and I think she was a really good model.

Day 14- Favorite Cycle 14 Contestant

First off, this picture is one of the absolute best ever, ever, EVER on ANTM. Raina was such a good model and I was so upset that she didn't win. She's one of my absolute favorite models to be on the show. I also really loved her makeover. SUCH a transformation. She makes a great brunette. Plus, she was just such a nice person too.

Day 15- Favorite Cycle 15 Contestant

Liz, I guess? I wasn't a huge fan of most of the girls this cycle. I kinda liked Jane and Chelsey and Chris and Lexie as well, but there wasn't anyone I just absolutely loved.

Day 16- Favorite Cycle 16 Contestant

Surprisingly enough, my 3 favorites were the top 3 this cycle! But Brittani was definitely my favorite. I feel like a lot of looks work on her. She had the jaw length black hair after her makeover, and has also had this supershort hair, as well as long brown hair again, and all of them really work for her (though I have to say, this might be my favorite). Of all of the girls, she was definitely the strongest model. I also really liked Molly and Hannah.

Day 17- Favorite Cycle 17 ‘All Star’ Contestant

ALLISON! I was SO mad when she lost AGAIN! It was so incredibly infuriating, because she's such a great model and somehow has been snubbed twice. At least I know I'm not the only person who hates that she lost so many times. A lot of people boycotted this show after Allison lost a second time.

Day 18- Favorite Cycle 18 contestant

There were several girls I really loved this cycle, but I think Sophie stands above the rest. I also liked Laura and Azmarie, but that was mostly for their looks. I really liked Sophie's personality though. She was really nice, and fun and quirky and I was really excited that she won.

Day 19- Favorite winner

I have to go with Sophie again! I really like her! Also, did I mention that she lived with Emma Watson for a while and is close friends with her? LOVE SOPHIE!

Day 20- Least Favorite winner

I have 2...

Whitney totally did not deserve the win. Her modelling through the competition was just average and she was thisclose to getting eliminated several times. Anya was much more deserving- she was strong the whole way through. Plus, Whitney was so fake and not a nice person.

Cycle 20 disappointed me so much. It was obvious for quite a while that Jourdan was going to win. While I do think that she was probably the best model of the cycle, I couldn't stand her. She caused so much drama, wasn't very nice... and just came off as so dumb. I'm still a bit annoyed that Cory didn't win. He was the only decent person left near the end.

Day 21- Favorite Judge

I miss Nigel and Mr. Jay SO MUCH! They were so great, and I'm really sad they're gone. Nigel was just such a staple of the judging panel and I totally don't get why they let him go. He was great. 

Day 22- Least Favorite Judge

Ugh. Janice Dickenson. Everyone hates on Kelly Cutrone, and while I'm not her biggest fan, I think she at least gives the girls equal opportunities to impress her and has actual good criticism. Janice was just terrible! She hated all of the plus-sized girls because they were plus-sized and because that's what the industry typically thinks of plus-sized girls. She disliked all of the girls who were not typical models and she played favorites rather than judging week to week. Although Tyra isn't always my favorite person, I do think that she believes in all the girls she chooses and thinks that they can break into the modelling industry, and I think she actually wants to change things. Janice is the exact opposite, and I'm so glad she didn't stick around for long. 

Day 23- Favorite plus sized model

I didn't especially like any of the plus-sized models... not because they were plus-sized, but just because I didn't like them as people. I liked Toccara from cycle 3 and Kasia from cycle 16, but I went with Kortnie from cycle 12 because she was silly and entertaining.

Day 24- Best makeover

I have several, so I'll just put them here...

Day 25- Worst Makeover

They said the long hair made her look old, but the short hair aged her SO MUCH.

Look, it's the fifth Beatle!

Day 26- contestant you loved/ favorite
Like I said earlier, my favorites were Allison Harvard, Lauren Utter, Raina Hein, Sophie Sumner, Analeigh Tipton, and Jenah Doucette. I feel like I'm forgetting some, but those are really the important ones.

Day 27- Contestant You Hated/ least favorite
Here are my top handful...

Alasia- cycle 14

Ebony- cycle 9

Hannah- cycle 11

Jourdan- cycle 20

Kimberly- cycle 10

Monique- cycle 7

Sandra- cycle 12

Victoria- cycle 19

Day 28- Someone You Wanted To Be On All Stars But Wasn’t
Raina, Lauren, and Analeigh were probably the ones I most wanted to see again besides Allison.

Day 29- Least Favorite Cycle

The girls on this cycle were OK, but I didn't have a distinct favorite and only Ann was a standout.

Day 30- Favorite Cycle

I dunno, I guess I just really liked the looks they were given, and liked the girls overall. 

So, there's my 30 day America's Next Top Model challenge! Do you like ANTM? Who are your favorite and least favorite girls? Let me know in the comments! If you like my posts, I'd love if you'd follow/subscribe, as it lets me know you're enjoying what I'm posting! See y'all soon!