Hostage Taker by Stefanie Pintoff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Eve Rossi is a hostage negotiator for the FBI who is currently on hiatus after tragedy hits home. She is suddenly summoned back into action, and in order to be successful, she re-enlists the help of her team (called the Vidocq Unit). Mace, Garcia, Haddox, and Eli work with her to figure out who this Hostage Taker is and save innocent lives.

I loved the characters in this book. They are all ex-cons who have been recruited by the FBI to use their skills to catch other bad guys. There was plenty of action and twists, and I never could figure out who the Hostage Taker was until the very end. I can't wait for the next installment!

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In This Together: My Story by Ann Romney
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ann Romney was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1998. This is her story about her reaction to finding out she had the disease and what she is doing to deal with it.

I thought the story was interesting to read, if anything just to learn about someone's experiences with MS. Romney wrote in a very easy-to-read manner, but it was very repetitive. It almost seemed like she wrote each chapter in isolation because she would repeat so much.

Time to find more books about people with MS--I'm curious to find out how other people are combating their symptoms, especially those in a more debilitating stage of MS.

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Better: How I Let Go of Control, Held On to Hope, and Found Joy in My Darkest Hour by Amy Robach
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I honestly have never heard of Amy Robach and didn't know anything about her story. However, I love memoirs and was interested in finding out about this woman's journey to overcome breast cancer.

I was drawn in immediately--the story moved quickly and her writing style was easy to read. Some parts seemed repetitive, and some parts seemed cheesy, but I thought it was a worthy story to experience. It definitely gave me better insight into the lives of people battling cancer.

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I just finished reading the illustrated version and it was amazing! I have read this book twice before, but the last time was probably 12 or 13 years ago? I also watched the movie, but only once or twice and not since it came out. I did not consider myself a fan of Harry Potter, although I have read most of the books and thought they were good.

Anyway--the story itself is great, and timeless! I thought I would find it childish, or that the story would seem old to me since I know it pretty well. I ended up reading through it quickly, as I was completely captivated by the story once again. The illustrations made it even better, and I found myself wishing over and over again that the rest of the series were already available with illustrations. I'm not sure I'll be able to wait for them to be released yearly :)

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