Roman Dusk: A Novel of the Count Saint-Germain by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (historical fiction 2006)

I couldn't get halfway through this book in a vampire series.  It's set in Heliogabalus' Rome in the early 200s.  Every scene is a paragraph too long, every aspect of Roman life is explained a little too much.  The dreaded "letter from someone offstage" shows up too many times, and each is drawn out. A sex scene is just creepy and dumb.

Roma by Steven Saylor (historical fiction 2007)

Finally got around to this, and it is enjoyable except for minor quibbles that I always have with Saylor.  Now and again, he will add that one extra sentence that awkwardly explains what just happened.  It gets in the way.  With that said, this is a seriously fun book and the author is successful in presenting legends and myths from the founding of the city as action that happened to real people.

Robert the Bruce King of the Scots by Michael Penman (nonfiction 2014)

I think this book would be best for someone already familiar with period, someone who wants lots of detailed analysis of sources and Bruce's movements.  For me, it bristled with too many unfamiliar names and places so that I couldn't sustain it.

Tabula Rasa by Ruth Downie (historical fiction mystery 2014)

The third book in the Gaius Ruso mystery series is awesome.  My own enjoyment of these novels has been enhanced by my recent class about Hadrian's Wall and the people and things around it, but I think anyone would like this book.  The humor isn't overdone and the mystery is a tricky one.  I'm excited that the end of the book suggests that Gaius and Tilla are going to Rome.  Downie is so good at describing Britannia that I'm dying to read her version of the Eternal City.

The Summer Queen (a novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine) by Elizabeth Chadwick (historical fiction 2013)

The first in a trilogy, Chadwick gets quite imaginative.  Her characterization of Alienor is a little different from what I've read before, and welcome.

The Ides of April (2013) and Enemies at Home by Lindsey Davis (historical mystery 2014)

The Ides of April is a historical mystery masterpiece in my opinion.  It was incredibly interesting and intricate, and I had no idea what was going on.

The second book in Davis' Flavia Albia series, Enemies at Home, contains lots of obviously well-researched details about all kinds of people in the city of Rome during the time of Domitian.  The main character has to interview and interact with several different folks - slaves, upper middle class matrons, vigiles, and an aedile - to solve a double murder.  The descriptions of the city itself are also lots of fun.  While it is good entertainment, there are a few clunky spots, but enjoyable overall.