Forsaken Dreams

I had to pick this book up, since it has such a gorgeous cover.;) And, I have read a couple of MaryLu Tyndall's other books and found them to be rich with character details and historical tidbits.
Forsaken Dreams is the story of a group (namely Southerners) of people who band together after the Civil War to form a new community in Brazil. This book details their trip by ship to reach the New South.
At the center of the story is Eliza Crawford, a young widow who has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Having married a Northerner before the war, she is ostracized by both her family and her in-laws. Having earned her keep after her husbands death by working as a nurse on the battlefield, she plans to apply her nursing skills in Brazil.
Just when Eliza feels she has a chance at love, her past is thrown back in her face and she must figure out where the Lord would have her.
I understand that people react differently after being through a tragedy/war, but I thought that this story was a bit over done for people to treat Eliza so horribly when 1) she married before the war and 2) she worked on the Confederate battle field as a nurse.
I did like the details about what a voyage to Brazil would be like in those days. I didn't realize so many American's moved out of the states after the war to form new colonies.
I also liked that MaryLu Tyndall has solid secondary characters, who have a story of their own to tell, since it breaths more life into the tale.