Reputation; Taylor Swift

Reputation always rank high on any of my album rankings for Taylor Swift. It holds personal meaning for me and it was the first album I ever listened to from her. Although I was aware of Swift from 1989, I didn't really listen to her music until Reputation. Although it was incredibly hard, I've ranked the songs from her album by MY personal preference and how the meaning behind them impacted me. This is not by which song is "the best" or which is "more lyrically better". This is from me.

15. Endgame feat Ed Sheeran and Future.

I can repeat the entire post-chorus and verse 3 off the top of the my head (I hit you like bang, we tried to forget it but we just couldn't). This song wasn't horrible or terrible. I just preferred the others. 

14. Look What You Made Me Do

This is the perfect comeback song and in fact, the first song I heard in passing. It was a bit too repetitive for my taste but its the perfect song to scream and be angry with. Its a song about revenge and the music video is beautifully shot and ICONIC.

13. ...Ready For It?

Whenever I want to listen to this album, because it is the first song, I overplay it many times. I've had countless moments where I press play, get through this song, but have to pause it because I've had to do something else. I still enjoy this song but I have overplayed it many times.

12. So It Goes

This is the song I listen to the least. I was going back through the songs, humming through them and I don't really listen to So It Goes enough to actually know the lyrics off the top of my head, except for the chorus. So its not that I don't like this song, its that its terribly underrated that I haven't listened to it a lot.

11. New Years Day

If I were to hum any song from this album, I would hum this one. Its a song that embodies calmness and its a great song to slow dance to. I prefer songs that you can sing along to, with more pop beats, which is why I'm a reputation girlie, not a folklore girlie (although I love folklore!). New Years Day can be too slow for my liking sometimes but its not a bad song and I know its criminal to rate it this low.

10. I Did Something Bad

This is Reputation to its core. Swift talks about the public perception of her and throws away every rulebook in this song. If you need something to scream, this is the song for you. Although reputation isn't just about revenge and angry, you can't get any more reputation than this song.

9. Dress

THE BRIDGE IN THIS SONG IS EVERYTHING!! It depicts Joe and Taylor's relationship and their introduction to each other. It's a fun one to sing on tour (not that I went) and the vocals!!

8. This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

This song is about the media spinning and twisted all her words, especially about how she brought friends with her on stage on her 1989 tour. Its a fun one to sing and I hum it sometimes, even when I'm not aware I'm doing it. It gets stuck in your head.

7. Don't Blame Me

This song enters the "legendary" and "iconic" titles of Taylor Swift. It is not in the Top 6 because it has gotten overplayed on platforms such as Tiktok but the vocals in this are INSANE. Period.

6. Gorgeous

If I don't know what song to play, I play this one. Gorgeous is such a vibey and happy song and the LYRICS. (Ocean blue eyes, looking in mine, I feel like I might, sink and drown and die)

5. Getaway Car

The goddamn bridge in this one. That's all I have to say. THE BRIDGE. Also I still want a music video for this. (We were jet-set, Bonnie and Clyde (Oh-oh), Until I switched to the other side, to the other side, It's no surprise I turned you in (Oh-oh), 'Cause us traitors never win)

4. Dancing With Our Hands Tied

This is the very first song I ever listened to by Taylor Swift and it wasn't because the shopping centre had decided to blast it or because it was number 1 on radios. I was on an airplane and I wanted to close my eyes but I wanted to listen to music. I didn't really know any artists but I remembered Taylor Swift. So I searched her name up and it came up with her most recent album during the time and I pressed a random song which happened to be this one. The lyricism in this one is amazing!

3. Delicate

This is track 5 on the album and follows Swift pattern of putting vulnerable songs on Track 5. Its an incredibly delicate song. The first tracks were more upbeat and angry but you hit this song and it starts to become scary that someone loves you and wants to be with you, despite your reputation. It also one of the most catchiest chorus's ever. 

2. King Of My Heart

Top 2! THE BRIDGE ON THIS ONE AGAIN! I'm convinced Miss Swift writes the best bridges. Why this is on the top 2 requires no explanation. It just is.

1. Call It What You Want

Favourite song off the record and I didn't even need to think. I can nearly rattle of the lyrics, word by word for the majority of the song. 

4 Book Recommendations to add to your TBR!!

 "A reader lives a thousand lives before he die... 

The man who never reads lives only one" - George R.R. Martin

Minor Spoilers may be found but nothing revealing:

4 book recommendations that you should definitely check out, in no particular order:

1. Inheritance Games Trilogy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes:

(#1 Inheritance Games, #2 Hawthorne Legacy, #3 The Final Gambit)

This is a massive MUST READ!! It is a mystery that is meticulous, exciting and well written out. The books can be understood as a standalone, with each book having its own core mystery although the series itself interconnects. It is written beautifully. When each book ended, the ending made sense but when the next book came along, that also made sense too. It was such a good series that it is definitely worth the read!! A love triangle is also found in this book between heiress, Avery, older brother, Grayson and younger brother, Jameson. I am firmly Team Grayson, although Team Jameson wasn't too bad... Inheritance Games is a well written and interconnecting mystery series that you need to read!

Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why -- or even who Tobias Hawthorne is.
To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man's touch -- and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a conwoman, and he's determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather's last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.

2. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard:

(#1 Red Queen, #2 Glass Sword, #3 Kings Cage, #4 War Storm. #5 Broken Throne is a collection of short stories but is necessary to understand the conclusion)

This is among the first ever YA series I read and still remains among my favourites. I can not repeat this enough but for those who like to read the ending before the beginning (no shame, I am included in that group of people), I would advise against it. There is a heartbreaking twist in it that I assure you, you will NOT see coming and it is better to experience the full shock of it. Another love triangle can be found here between Mare, Cal and Maven. Red Queen is a fantasy-dystopian series that really pushes the boundaries of the imagination. Incredibly invested in it and well worth the read!

This is a world divided by blood—red or silver.
The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.
That is until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.
Fearful of Mare's potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.
But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance—Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart.

3. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

(#1 Shatter Me, #1.5 Destroy Me, #2 Unravel Me, #2.5 Fracture Me, #3 Ignite Me, #4 Restore Me, #4.5 Shadow Me, #5 Defy Me, #5.5 Reveal Me, #6 Imagine Me, #6.5 Believe Me. #1.5, #2.5, #4.5 #5.5, #6.5 are all shorter novels, NOT written in Juliette's POV and are significantly shorter than the novels. Although I believe they are necessary, you do not need to read them to follow the story)

You really think I wouldn't put this series in? I must admit, this is not my favourite. I did not love this series as most people suggest. I will say that the relationships found in this book are unlike any found in the real world. Another love triangle (this is a mere coincidence, believe it or not, I don't entirely like love triangles) is found between Juliette, Warner and Adam. It is another fantasy-dystopian series and it is perfect for those who enjoy long series, with many books in the Shatter Me-world. 

I have a curse
I have a gift
I am a monster
I'm more than human
My touch is lethal
My touch is power
I am their weapon
I will fight back
Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.
The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war—and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.
Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

4. The Selection Series by Kiera Cass

(#1 The Selection, #2 The Elite, #3 The One. #4 The Heir and #4 The Crown follow the story of America's daughter)

The Selection Series is a dystopian-romance series focused around America (the main character, not the country). Perfect for those in a reading slump as it is easy to read! A love triangle is also found (again, a coincidence) between America, Maxon and Aspen. The love triangle takes a larger part of the book as the series is romance-focused, unlike the others, which is fantasy-focused. The romance is a plot whereas in the other series, they are more of a sub-plot. Worth the read and if you enjoy it, it is worth reading Eadlyn's story (America's daughter) as she follows a similar path to her mothers. 

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.
But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.
Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.