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Ruthless Rivals #3.5
Desert Island Duke
Surviving on a tropical island will be hard.
Living with him will be impossible. . .
Shipwrecked on a tropical isle, Caroline 'Caro' Montgomery is furious to discover that her sole fellow castaway is her brother’s infuriating best friend, Maximillian Cavendish, the fourteenth duke of Hayworth.
Max might be the most handsome man she’s ever met, but he’s teased her ever since they were children. So when Max claims to have lost his memory, Caro seizes the opportunity for revenge—and informs him he’s a lowly stable hand.
As they work together to survive, attraction flares hot between them. But should Caro reveal her deception? And what will happen if Max finally remembers he’s a duke?
Living with him will be impossible. . .
Shipwrecked on a tropical isle, Caroline 'Caro' Montgomery is furious to discover that her sole fellow castaway is her brother’s infuriating best friend, Maximillian Cavendish, the fourteenth duke of Hayworth.
Max might be the most handsome man she’s ever met, but he’s teased her ever since they were children. So when Max claims to have lost his memory, Caro seizes the opportunity for revenge—and informs him he’s a lowly stable hand.
As they work together to survive, attraction flares hot between them. But should Caro reveal her deception? And what will happen if Max finally remembers he’s a duke?
133 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 19, 2023
36 people are currently reading
608 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
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May 21, 2023*There's a print physical edition to buy!*
I'M OBSESSED WITH THIS COVER
The tone of colors, the tropical-ness, LOVE
The cruelty to not offer this in paperback (I thought I was being generous not REQUIRING oil paintings as swag with every purchase and I'm still getting hit with the no hard copy).
*If you can't tell, covers I Love have become more rare than standard for me lately
I'M OBSESSED WITH THIS COVER
The tone of colors, the tropical-ness, LOVE
The cruelty to not offer this in paperback (I thought I was being generous not REQUIRING oil paintings as swag with every purchase and I'm still getting hit with the no hard copy).
*If you can't tell, covers I Love have become more rare than standard for me lately
November 6, 2024
2.5 stars, rounded down because it broke my streak of good/great books
A novella that went straight to fluff and stayed there. The writing was so cheerful and breezy that Caro and Max might as well have been on a picnic in Hyde Park instead of shipwrecked on a deserted island. How fortunate that Caro’s family was shipwrecked on another island within waving distance. Otherwise, a sense of isolation and despair might have crept into the narrative. How fortunate that fresh water and mangoes and bananas and coconuts were readily available. Otherwise a sense of deprivation and despondency might have crept into the narrative. How fortunate that Caro and Max had known each other since they were children and that, in fact, Max had decided to court her. Otherwise a sense of trepidation and hesitancy might have crept into the narrative.
So forget character development. Forget relationship development. All that was left was shedding clothes and gettin’ jiggy with it.
A novella that went straight to fluff and stayed there. The writing was so cheerful and breezy that Caro and Max might as well have been on a picnic in Hyde Park instead of shipwrecked on a deserted island. How fortunate that Caro’s family was shipwrecked on another island within waving distance. Otherwise, a sense of isolation and despair might have crept into the narrative. How fortunate that fresh water and mangoes and bananas and coconuts were readily available. Otherwise a sense of deprivation and despondency might have crept into the narrative. How fortunate that Caro and Max had known each other since they were children and that, in fact, Max had decided to court her. Otherwise a sense of trepidation and hesitancy might have crept into the narrative.
So forget character development. Forget relationship development. All that was left was shedding clothes and gettin’ jiggy with it.
April 30, 2024
So fun!!!
May 20, 2023
Desert Island Duke is a historical romance novella part of the Ruthless Rivals series. This follows Caroline “Caro” Montgomery and her brother’s infuriating best friend, Maximillian Cavendish. He’s a Duke she’s always crushed on, but he’s teased her relentlessly since they were children. So when they end up shipwrecked on a tropical isle together and he says he forgot his memory, she tells him he’s a lowly stable hand!
Her father is one of England’s best known butterfly experts, and along with her family, she ventures on many expeditions around the world looking to spot them. It is on one of these trips that their ship wrecks and Caro and Max end up on a separate isle than the rest of her family. This was cute and fun! A quick novella with all the forced proximity between the couple since they’re shipwrecked together and both are already interested in the other when the story picks up. It’s fast-moving, filled with lots of mangoes, and surviving—and falling—for one another along the way. The cover for this one is gorgeous as well!
Her father is one of England’s best known butterfly experts, and along with her family, she ventures on many expeditions around the world looking to spot them. It is on one of these trips that their ship wrecks and Caro and Max end up on a separate isle than the rest of her family. This was cute and fun! A quick novella with all the forced proximity between the couple since they’re shipwrecked together and both are already interested in the other when the story picks up. It’s fast-moving, filled with lots of mangoes, and surviving—and falling—for one another along the way. The cover for this one is gorgeous as well!
June 25, 2023
Delightful and really fun. I love anything Kate Bateman writes, and this wonderful novella is no exception. It is too short, and I was left wanting to see what happens when they return to London, but it is a great way to pass a summer afternoon.
Being shipwrecked is no fun, but Caroline “Caro” Montgomery is bound and determined to exact her revenge on her brother's best friend, Maximillian "Max" Cavendish, Duke of Hayworth, who has made her life a misery forever. After the ship they are traveling on runs aground during a storm they both wash up on the same strand of beach and Max has no recent memories, Caro just can't help herself and has a little fun with him. Caro has been infatuated with Max forever, but he, quite frankly, has been a jerk toward her. He left England and served in the war coming back a changed man determined to win Caro. Now stranded on a deserted island he has his chance.
Being shipwrecked is no fun, but Caroline “Caro” Montgomery is bound and determined to exact her revenge on her brother's best friend, Maximillian "Max" Cavendish, Duke of Hayworth, who has made her life a misery forever. After the ship they are traveling on runs aground during a storm they both wash up on the same strand of beach and Max has no recent memories, Caro just can't help herself and has a little fun with him. Caro has been infatuated with Max forever, but he, quite frankly, has been a jerk toward her. He left England and served in the war coming back a changed man determined to win Caro. Now stranded on a deserted island he has his chance.
June 19, 2023
I love this Kate Bateman series and really enjoyed this fun + sweet little gem — a happily-ever-after 128 page novella, #3.5 in the Ruthless Rivals series.☀️🌊
This features a forced proximity trope about our hero and heroine being ship wrecked together on a deserted island.🏝️ She’s the sister of his best friend (a Montgomery), and he’s the Duke that she’s always crushed on. And surprise.. he’s always crushed on her too.. only now they’re forced together on this tropical island, alone, with only their wits to survive. Of course, you can only guess how this will turn out! 👩🏼❤️💋👨🏻💍 ❥ 4 stars — Pub. 5/19/23
This features a forced proximity trope about our hero and heroine being ship wrecked together on a deserted island.🏝️ She’s the sister of his best friend (a Montgomery), and he’s the Duke that she’s always crushed on. And surprise.. he’s always crushed on her too.. only now they’re forced together on this tropical island, alone, with only their wits to survive. Of course, you can only guess how this will turn out! 👩🏼❤️💋👨🏻💍 ❥ 4 stars — Pub. 5/19/23
May 25, 2023
Kate Bateman is phenomenal. I absolutely love her writing and her stories. This novella is the perfect addiction to the series! I loved how it was brother's best friend. I loved how they were ship wrecked on an island together. And I loved how it was Christmas. The banter, the spice, the characters, the writing was perfection! I don't think I could recommend this series enough!
May 22, 2023
Review to follow.
January 19, 2026
When Caroline "Caro" Montgomery discovers she and her brother's bff Maximiliian Cavendish, Duke of Hayworth, are trapped on a deserted island after a shipwreck, she tells him he's a penniless groom when he presents with amnesia. Except the pompous duke turns out to be charming and capable and kind!! OH NO.
1. What a nice little novella. I will admit to minor frustration because it is a case of "they've wanted each other ALL ALONG and it is only THESE CIRCUMSTANCES that will allow them to FUCKING COMMUNICATE", of course. These styles of romance just don't suit me, I guess!.
2. Poor Max, terrified of the big tarantula!
3. While they didn't have sex in the pond that sources their drinking water, they definitely got horny in it, so!
1. What a nice little novella. I will admit to minor frustration because it is a case of "they've wanted each other ALL ALONG and it is only THESE CIRCUMSTANCES that will allow them to FUCKING COMMUNICATE", of course. These styles of romance just don't suit me, I guess!.
2. Poor Max, terrified of the big tarantula!
3. While they didn't have sex in the pond that sources their drinking water, they definitely got horny in it, so!
August 31, 2023
3.75✨ A shipwrecked, stranded-on-a-desert-island HISTORICAL ROMANCE? This was fun, fun, fun. What an underrated trope in a romantic sub genre you’d least expect it to be in.
There wasn’t much of a plot to speak of, but with the story being only ~120 pages, and with the sheer novelty of the trope + sub genre combo, it honestly didn’t really need one. I can totally see this reworked as a longer novel though.
Go for it if you’re looking for something quick and cute!
There wasn’t much of a plot to speak of, but with the story being only ~120 pages, and with the sheer novelty of the trope + sub genre combo, it honestly didn’t really need one. I can totally see this reworked as a longer novel though.
Go for it if you’re looking for something quick and cute!
December 16, 2023
4 stars
Nawwwww! I really enjoyed this historical romance novella.
Caro is furious to find herself shipwrecked on a deserted island with her brother’s infuriating friend, Max the duke… who seems to have lost his memory.
Fun, sweet and sexy. He falls first, they’re both very competent and also very hot for each other (despite Caro finding Max so infuriating). Really enjoyable read.
Nawwwww! I really enjoyed this historical romance novella.
Caro is furious to find herself shipwrecked on a deserted island with her brother’s infuriating friend, Max the duke… who seems to have lost his memory.
Fun, sweet and sexy. He falls first, they’re both very competent and also very hot for each other (despite Caro finding Max so infuriating). Really enjoyable read.
June 10, 2023
If Gilligans island was remade as a Historical Romance, this would definitely be an episode !
This fun novella is jammed a lot into a small package and was a real treat to read!
From pairing up with your brother’s, best friend, two enemies to lovers to force, proximity, and one makeshift bed - this book had all the troops you want for fun island getaway romance!
They were a perfect pairing, and I loved how this perfect situation finally makes it possible for them to come together.
Another great Romance from the amazing Kate Bateman!
This fun novella is jammed a lot into a small package and was a real treat to read!
From pairing up with your brother’s, best friend, two enemies to lovers to force, proximity, and one makeshift bed - this book had all the troops you want for fun island getaway romance!
They were a perfect pairing, and I loved how this perfect situation finally makes it possible for them to come together.
Another great Romance from the amazing Kate Bateman!
January 26, 2026
This was such a light and fun read!! I do wish that the characters had a little more depth especially Max because we barely got his perspective and he seemed more like a cardboard cutout than an actual person… But other than that this was so good! Kate Bateman’s writing is always such a delight!
May 8, 2024
2.5 stars
My reading experience with this involved a lot of turning a blind eye to every sexual thing the hero and heroine did because, despite not having access to any hygiene products after being shipwrecked into a tropical island, they did those things anyway. Ignorance is bliss!
That's not why I didn't like this though. The romance wasn't very convincing. Initially, I found it difficult to believe they were attracted to each other, when they've always perceived each other as an annoying acquaintance since their youth. And then suddenly there were all these yearning, lusting, and feelings? It just didn't add up.
Anyway, I understand why some aspects were not fully fleshed out; this is a novella after all.
Ruthless Rivals
#2 A Daring Pursuit — 3.5 stars
#3 A Wicked Game — 3.75 stars
#3.5 Desert Island Duke — 2.5 stars
My reading experience with this involved a lot of turning a blind eye to every sexual thing the hero and heroine did because, despite not having access to any hygiene products after being shipwrecked into a tropical island, they did those things anyway. Ignorance is bliss!
That's not why I didn't like this though. The romance wasn't very convincing. Initially, I found it difficult to believe they were attracted to each other, when they've always perceived each other as an annoying acquaintance since their youth. And then suddenly there were all these yearning, lusting, and feelings? It just didn't add up.
Anyway, I understand why some aspects were not fully fleshed out; this is a novella after all.
Ruthless Rivals
#2 A Daring Pursuit — 3.5 stars
#3 A Wicked Game — 3.75 stars
#3.5 Desert Island Duke — 2.5 stars
December 2, 2025
On this island, he wouldn't be the smug superior friend of her brother, the high-and-mighty Duke of Hayworth. And she wouldn't be his best friend's little sister. They could start again, as equals. As simply Caro and Max.
3.75 stars
This was a sweet and steamy, low-angst novella by Kate. Max and Caro have both secretly admired each other but struggled to move past their relationship built on mutual teasing and familiarity. When they're stranded together on a tropical island, they are both forced to confront their attraction and admit their feelings for each other. Their romance was a long time coming but effortlessly passionate🖤
Tropes: frenemies-to-lovers, stranded together, charming hero, independent heroine, forced proximity, amnesia, hurt/comfort, low angst, mutual pining, tropical Christmas, steamy🔥
June 28, 2023
Loved this but I wish it had been just a tad longer. I knew almost from the start that our Duke was faking his amnesia and that the years long rivalry between these characters was just a mask for affections that neither party was ready to show. Great story, I can't wait to read about the twins!
December 31, 2023
Shipwrecked together Caro (Caroline) and Max (Maximilian) have to work together to survive until rescue comes. Max happens to be a duke and Caro's brother's (William) best friend. He has always admired Caro. Caro has also always admired Max, but has also thought he was too arrogant and perfect. When Caro first wakes him up at the beach, he is momentarily confused. Caro tells him he is a groom, but does he truly have amnesia?
This was a cute read of two people who loved each other, but it was not until they were stuck together that they were able to address how they felt.
This was a cute read of two people who loved each other, but it was not until they were stuck together that they were able to address how they felt.
August 1, 2023
Caro’s antics in deceiving Maximillian when they were both shipwrecked on an island were hilarious to say the least. I loved their attraction to one another, they were childhood friends but always teased each other. This has a lot of forced proximity. Pirate/desert island themes. Such a fun read.
Also the cover is gorgeous!
Also the cover is gorgeous!
September 15, 2023
This was so much fun! I wish it would've been longer because I wanted more of Caro and Max's back story. I think that would've made them getting together more satisfying. Still, I just love Bateman's writing and the premise of these two being stranded on a desert island was so entertaining. If you're looking for a quick palate cleanser, I'd recommend picking it up.
May 25, 2023
Desert Island Duke is a historical romance novella part of the Ruthless Rivals series. It follows Caroline Montgomery and her brother’s infuriating best friend, Maximillian Cavendish, when they get shipwrecked on a tropical isle together. I loved their banter and the forced proximity was delightful!
May 22, 2023
i will, without fail, read literally anything kate bateman publishes and this book was obviously no exception and was so iconic!
shipwrecked?! alone on a tropical island?! wish it was me lmao
shipwrecked?! alone on a tropical island?! wish it was me lmao
August 3, 2023
This was a fun novella
Check the live stream link below
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Check the live stream link below
https://www.youtube.com/live/h4AGpw7a...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 5, 2023
This was super cute and fun.
February 25, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Was there chemistry?
🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋
Was the spice any good?
🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
Was there chemistry?
🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋
Was the spice any good?
🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
May 23, 2023
This is a delightful novella and delivered everything I love and expect from Kate Bateman.
September 23, 2023
fun novella with a complete romance story which is always an added bonus with a novella - love this series a lot
May 23, 2023
This was such a fun novella! Loved Max and Caro.
May 31, 2023
This was so fun! I loved caro and max. Even though this is so short, I felt like I really got to know them and root for them.
Currently reading
May 19, 2023Hooray! It’s Release Day for Desert Island Duke - my steamy, sandy, shipwrecked novella! I hope you enjoy this next adventure for my Ruthless Rivals!
Available in both e-book and print at all major retailers. https://books2read.com/DesertIslandDuke
Available in both e-book and print at all major retailers. https://books2read.com/DesertIslandDuke
May 21, 2023
"Of all the people in the world I could have wished to be shipwrecked with, I'd always and forever choose you."
I’ve read Desert Island Duke some time ago, still as a part of Duke in a Box: Twelve Steamy Historical Holiday Novellas anthology (that I have yet to finish… maybe one day), and as it just got a standalone release, I decided to write a short review for its individual page.
Judging by my notes and recollection, it was definitely one of the best stories in the anthology.
The setting was particularly interesting, and it sort of gave a fresh flavour to the ‘forced proximity’ trope. I enjoyed all the descriptions of the island Caro and Max found themselves stranded on, how they overcome some of the difficulties of being shipwrecked, and bravely survived a tropical storm (boy, that storm .
What’s more, they had tons of chemistry doing all of that; this was definitely the thing I liked the most – the spark between them. I even really enjoyed the whole Max being in the end, it was kinda cute.
It was fun and lighthearted (despite plot circumstances) novella, and as summer is quickly approaching – this one would be a pretty nice read for those warm evenings outside.
4,5/5 stars
Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews