I don't really know much about the hundred years war, but decided to revisit it after our trip to France. It's crazy to know that (besides some of the character stuff and internal thoughts and other artistic license-y things) the plot of the book actually happened. I'm not sure how great it works as an actual novel--some of the characterization is lacking, and sometimes the events seem a little too convenient--but I'm enjoying this as a vehicle of learning this history.

I don't really know much about the hundred years war, but decided to revisit it after our trip to France. It's crazy to know that (besides some of the character stuff and internal thoughts and other artistic license-y things) the plot of the book actually happened. I'm not sure how great it works as an actual novel--some of the characterization is lacking, and sometimes the events seem a little too convenient--but I'm enjoying this as a vehicle of learning this history.

I liked this, but it wasn't as intriguing as the first one. Maybe because it wasn't as exciting, the writing also seemed a bit more stilted than the first one. Some of the modern asides seemed a little outdated too (like the weird aside about colonialism), but generally I did like the weird fourth wall breaks.
The biggest problem is that it's kind of hard to really connect with the characters - only a few stick out to me. Really almost none of the characters are likable - that's not a bad thing in itself, since it is fun to watch them. There's just a lot of names and only a few have memorable character traits so it's a little difficult to keep track of who is who. And unfortunately, the women characters aren't that fleshed out at all, and there's fewer of them in this book. But it's still fun to see all the plotting and scheming. It is a pretty quick read too. I wish the title didn't spoil the plot though!
I'm sure I'll pick the next one up, but I'm not exactly in a hurry to run out and get it.