The Greeks: an Illustrated History by Diane Harris Cline (nonfiction 2016)

The pictures are great, and the text delivers light exciting history. It's a companion to the PBS Series The Greeks.

The Devils of Cardona by Matthew Carr (historical fiction 2016)

Excellent exciting mystery, adventurous and sexy.  This novel is set in Spain during the Inquisition, and I loved it.  Wonderful characters ranged from the King of Spain, Henry of Navarre, and peasants.

God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe 570-1215 by David Levering Lewis (nonfiction 2008)

Lovely to read about a period I don't know well, and Mr. Lewis makes it easy to gather all the threads.  Really moved my understanding of the post-Roman period in Europe forward.

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (fiction 2012)

I'm late to the party. SO good, this story of a Neapolitan friendship.  Go get it.

Vita Brevis, a Gaius Ruso mystery by Ruth Downie (historical mystery, 2016)

I love this series - read it from the beginning.  Lovely details about the Eternal City, wonderful characters, new turns in Ruso's relationship with his Britannian wife Tilla.  Fun stuff.

Graveyard of the Hesperides, a Flavia Albia novel by Lindsey Davis (historical fiction 2016)

Another hit in the series.  I love this female detective in the City of Rome.  The characters are always varied and so well-researched, you feel like it's a real time and place.  I recommend starting at the beginning, and you'll be hooked.

Charcoal Joe, an Easy Rawlins Mystery by Walter Mosely (fiction 2016)

I would highly recommend the entire series, although some offerings are better than others.  This offering is one of them, so good it had me from Ch. 1.  Suspense, sex, action, death, beauty.  Mosely is such a fine mystery writer.

Saladin by John Man (nonfiction 2016)

I have read a lot about the Crusades, fiction and nonfiction, mostly from a European perspective.  This book gave me a lot more nuanced information to think about, and a great portrait of the man in question.  He was certainly unique.

The Devils of Cardona by Matthew Carr (historical fiction 2016)

16th c. Spain, the Inquisition, murders, adventure.  This book is awesome fun and suspense.

Only in Naples by Katherine Wilson (nonfiction 2016)

I picked this up because I love Napoli.  It's sort of cute and fun here and there.  It struck me that the preoccupations of a privileged woman from the east coast who goes on to marry into a privileged family in southern Italy make up the whole book.

The Bible Doesn't Say that by Dr. Joel M. Hoffman (nonfiction 2016)

A fairly enlightening book is made less convincing by the mistakes made when choosing a format.  Several of the chapters should have been grouped together, cut out, or consigned to a footnote.

Jesus before The Gospels by Bart D. Ehrman (nonfiction 2016)

Ehrman breaks down the differences and similarities in The Gospels in light of memory research, trying to get at who Jesus was and how early Christians thought of him. Exciting and insightful, though might have used another round of editing.

Daughter of Albion by Ilka Tampke (historical fiction 2015)

I enjoyed this bit of fluffy historical fiction about an abandoned girl in the time just before much of Britain became a Roman province.  She's got a dog, a couple of boyfriends, and a mission.  I would be into a sequel.

History and Presence by Robert A. Orsi (nonfiction 2016)

Beautiful and emotional book by a Catholic thinker about the presence of the gods in modern life. 

All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation by Rebecca Traister (nonfiction 2016)

Exciting and insightful, although it took me a couple chapters to warm to it.  I learned a lot and smiled again and again.

Setting the World on Fire: The Brief, Astonishing Life of St. Catherine of Siena by Shelley Emling (nonfiction 2016)

Interesting look at a woman who had a lot of influence on Italian affairs, even in the 14th century.  Emling is able to characterize her as a woman of her times and out of time.

Elizabeth - Renaissance Prince by Lisa Hilton (nonfiction 2015)

First rate, illuminating arguments.  It can be tough to come up with something new about old Liz.  Hilton analyzes her statecraft in the light of the newly forming Renaissance ideals about princehood.

Warriors of the Storm by Bernard Cromwell (historical fiction 2016)

Continuing the story of Uhtred of Bebbanburg, I find that Cromwell does not lose steam like some other series writers.  He is able to craft an exciting yarn without getting stuck in explaining what happened before.  The book stands alone and as part of the series quite well.

Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar by Tom Holland (nonfiction 2015)

As a "sequel" to Rubicon, this one fails.  I didn't learn much of anything new about all those wild and crazy Julio-Claudians, and the writing was oddly choppy throughout.

Elizabeth I and Her Circle by Susan Doran (nonfiction 2015)

Doran writes about the relationships between Elizabeth and some family members, courtiers, and others, which turns out to be a pretty effective method to analyze her reign. 

The Many Faces of Christ by Philip Jenkins (nonfiction 2015)

'The Thousand-Year Story of the Survival and Influence of the Lost Gospels' is full of wonderful surprises and immediately added 20 titles to my pages-long reading list.  Jenkins includes nearly the entire world in this discussion of the texts of Christianity.

Murder in Megara by Mary Reed and Eric Mayer (historical mystery 2015)

The 11th book in the John, the Lord Chamberlain mysteries follows John and his family to Megara in exile.  I have enjoyed other books in this series, but for some reason this one lacked energy. 

Brothers in Blood by Simon Scarrow (historical fiction 2014)

A new entry in the Roman Legion series, starring our lads Cato and Macro, it's a quick fun read that involves a mystery of sorts as well as a gripping siege scene.  Expect to learn a little something about the life of the legions on the frontiers of Britannia during Claudius' reign, but don't expect to be super historically accurate. 

Dictator by Robert Harris (historical fiction 2016)

The last in a trilogy about the life of Cicero, as told by his secretary Tiro, who is freed in this volume.  The trilogy is absolutely wonderful, a must-read for historical fiction lovers, especially as it encompasses a time of such upheaval in history.  Amazing description of Caesar's assassination.

The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood (fiction 2015)

Atwood puts another futuristic dystopian world together masterfully.  Her novels are never predictable but always recognizably part of the human experience.  Wonderful.

Cleopatra's Shadows by Emily Holleman (historical fiction 2015)

Exceptionally good historical novel about Berenice and Arsinoe, Cleopatra's sisters.  Of course we know nothing about these individuals' childhoods, but Holleman does a fantastic job of taking us to Alexandria and the world the royal ladies must have lived in.  Suspenseful, beautiful and sad.

The Master Yeshua: the Undiscovered Gospel of Joseph by Joyce Luck (historical fiction 2014)

Told from the point of view of a non-existent nephew of Yeshua, or Jesus, this book gets a lot of historical details right.  It attempts to tell the story as the Ebionites believed.  That group, among others, was declared heretical in the early church when they decided to go with Paul's version. 

While the narrative is mostly a delight, the author's voice breaks through the narrator's many times, which can be jarring.  The reader certainly gets the impression that the author is a good and sincere person, but might rather enjoy the POV of the fictional narrator uninterrupted.

Confronting the Classics by Mary Beard (nonfiction 2013)

Aside from some problematic remarks about rape, this might be the best collection of book reviews ever.  Beard's encyclopedic knowledge of the ancient world is at its best.  As I've read many of the books she critiques, it's very enjoyable.