Fascinating books. The first violates so many writing standards it is amazing.
Although I do enjoy reading medieval mysteries (the Knights Templar series by Michael Jecks, and the Matthew Bartholomew series by Susanna Gregory), I'm not a fan of reading novels about historic figures. I prefer reading non-fiction history books that cite bibliographies and sources. One of the worst writers of historical novels is Philippa Gregory. I've never read her books, but have seen TV series based on her writings. She has a tendency to rely on gossip.