Jo Pennington dealt with snide remarks as long as she could remember. Adopted by the Penningtons as a newborn, there were nasty insinuations about her parentage as long as she could remember, eased by her loving adoptive parents, but they hurt all the same.
Enter Lt. Wynne Melfort and their engagement in her first season, and his subsequent crying off and it just gets worse for her.
Jo dedicates her life to her family and her aid to women and orphans, and searching for more information on her birth mother, until she get sketch of herself along with a letter requesting her help with a patient.
Things get strange and she perseveres with the aid of Wynne and the doctor to achieve both goals, only to find they are still in love, and the reasons for their failed relationship are discussed and laid to rest for their own HEA.
Woven with hope, despair, love, envy jealously and cruelty, Ms.Goldrick covers a range of human emotions and gives the couple the strength to rise above them. It is a wonderful read evoking hope despite obstacles.
I requested and received an ARC from Netgalley to peruse.

I received this book from net galley and publisher for an honest review. Thank you!!

This novel was a delightful read involving mystery, romance, and forgiveness. Sometimes, your first love remains your only love, as with Lady Josephine Pennington. She was jilted by Lieutenant Wynne Melfort days before they were to be married. Jo was completely devastated. Who would want to marry someone who was not a true Pennington and does not know who her birth parents are. 16 years later, Captain Wynne Melfort, discovers something that could lead to Jo's birth parents and feels duty bound to do so. He did not take into account the feelings he still had for her and deeply regretted how he ended their engagement. Both still thought of the other and kept tabs on them. Jo started as timid girl who became a woman with her own mind. She is afraid to let her heart be broken again by Wynne and pushes him off when he tries to explain to her his reasons for ending their engagement. Still, the heart wants what the heart wants. The mystery behind Jo's past brings them together, but someone wants to keep the truth hidden. As they travel in the Highlands, the truths are revealed, but will both being willing to accept it and rekindle the love they had?