Highland Obligation by Lori Ann Bailey is the fifth book in the Highland Pride series. I haven’t picked up the other books of this series, but I don’t think I missed anything in this book by not doing so. I have been on a historical romance binge and this one sounded interesting, so I decided to pick it up.

Bailey does a good job building out the story for the main characters. Neither wants to be in the situation they are in, but they don’t really have a choice. Isobel was an interesting character. She is determined to do whatever she has to in order to protect her family. I found her to be a bit stubborn and she definitely didn’t have any trust in Grant to do what needed to be done. At the same time, Grant finds himself married to the woman he blames for the death of his friend and he isn’t willing to give her an ounce of trust. I’ll admit that I found that plot to be a little frustrating because his blame didn’t really hold up and no matter what, Grant kept coming back to the blame he had for Isobel.

As Grant and Isobel build their relationship, the only thing that is missing is communication. They are absolutely attracted to each other and they grow to care for each other along the way…unexpectedly. I liked how Bailey built this out over the course of the book. As both Grant and Isobel work to stop the man who could destroy Isobel and her family, they eventually find themselves in a place they never thought they’d be, in love.

Overall, I enjoyed this one and will be checking out the other books of the series. While this one had a few things that didn’t work for me, overall it was a solid story with great character development. Check it out if you’re looking for a strong heroine and opinionated hero.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.