Fallen Land by Taylor Brown

To call this book sweet would seem strange to many after reading it but there are moments of sweetness that fight their way to the surface of this brutal story of survival in the Civil War South. Callum has fallen in with the wrong people who are taking advantage of the war beaten survivors. Among those poor victims is Ava, who is living alone and an easy target. Callum rescues her and they run off taking with them a prize horse. Trying to survive on the road during the war is anything but easy and Ava is pregnant as well but the two manage to forage and stay safe. Their pursuers are hot on their trail but they still manage to find good people who help them. Brutal but balanced, theirs is a relationship born in desperation forged in love.