Well, this was a lot of bloody, gory, emotional fun. Maybe I don’t mean fun. But despite this not being what I normally read, I really enjoyed Winter Pilgrims, a historical adventure about two ordinary people surviving in England during the War of the Roses, a civil war that raged from 1455 – 1487.

The book starts in 1460 when our main characters, a nun and a monk, are run out of their respective cloisters for angering a blood thirsty lord. This two pair have to make their way in a violent world filled with death, disease, and destruction. The book doesn’t skimp on the dirt and grime in this time period, or the lack of sanitation. Urine is used to clean wounds, and despite urine not actually being sterile, was probably better than most wanter at the time.

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