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The Calculated Risk #1
The Actuary
If you hid in plain sight, would he find you?
No.
Because he isn’t looking.
When Emma sees a face from her past at a friend’s wedding, she runs. It worked once before and besides, how would he find her?
But this time, he does. He always knew her location. He just stopped caring.
Rohan Andreyev is an actuary. Some actuaries sit in an office and calculate risk. Others hunt down the risk and eliminate it for a fee. It’s the sinister side of loss adjusting. It’s the part he likes most.
Emma is the risk he didn't eliminate and when she stumbles across him by chance, it’s an invitation to right the wrong.
Emma is sucked into a life she once escaped, driven there by poverty and desperation. But the real threat isn’t just to her safety now. There’s something much more valuable at stake this time.
Readers say, “This was impossible to put down.”
Lose yourself in a small English town teeming with dubious risk takers and an Irishman you’ll never forget.
No.
Because he isn’t looking.
When Emma sees a face from her past at a friend’s wedding, she runs. It worked once before and besides, how would he find her?
But this time, he does. He always knew her location. He just stopped caring.
Rohan Andreyev is an actuary. Some actuaries sit in an office and calculate risk. Others hunt down the risk and eliminate it for a fee. It’s the sinister side of loss adjusting. It’s the part he likes most.
Emma is the risk he didn't eliminate and when she stumbles across him by chance, it’s an invitation to right the wrong.
Emma is sucked into a life she once escaped, driven there by poverty and desperation. But the real threat isn’t just to her safety now. There’s something much more valuable at stake this time.
Readers say, “This was impossible to put down.”
Lose yourself in a small English town teeming with dubious risk takers and an Irishman you’ll never forget.
585 pages, ebook
First published July 10, 2015
About the author
K.T. Bowes
39 books66 followersMarried and bringing up four children during her twenties and thirties, K T Bowes reserved her storytelling for them.
She emigrated to New Zealand in 2006 with her family on a one way ticket. They arrived with just one suitcase each. The international bestselling Hana Du Rose Mysteries began shortly afterwards, hammered out on an old laptop used for Skyping family back home.
Since then, she has published more than twenty five books ranging from women's literature through teen series, to a fantasy trilogy.
The author has given interviews to That's Life Magazine and the BBC during her writing career. Each of her first in series novels are free to readers on all digital platforms.
K T Bowes has a passion for folk art and renovating wooden furniture. Her work as an archivist often appears within story lines. After two significant falls, she gave up horse riding but often has a guest horse or two in the paddock. She lives above the city of Hamilton, close to the Waikato River and the Hakarimata Ranges. Many of her novels are based in New Zealand, but some transport the reader back to England and the Midlands where she grew up.
She emigrated to New Zealand in 2006 with her family on a one way ticket. They arrived with just one suitcase each. The international bestselling Hana Du Rose Mysteries began shortly afterwards, hammered out on an old laptop used for Skyping family back home.
Since then, she has published more than twenty five books ranging from women's literature through teen series, to a fantasy trilogy.
The author has given interviews to That's Life Magazine and the BBC during her writing career. Each of her first in series novels are free to readers on all digital platforms.
K T Bowes has a passion for folk art and renovating wooden furniture. Her work as an archivist often appears within story lines. After two significant falls, she gave up horse riding but often has a guest horse or two in the paddock. She lives above the city of Hamilton, close to the Waikato River and the Hakarimata Ranges. Many of her novels are based in New Zealand, but some transport the reader back to England and the Midlands where she grew up.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
February 2, 2026
Before I begin, my sincerest apologies to K. T. Bowes. She said she reads all reviews, but I hope she will not read this one.
To all my coworkers: you’re welcome for reading this so you don’t have to. In fact, I am begging you not to read this. I will never get these 10 hours of my life back. Without further preamble, here’s everything that happened, because this might just be the worst book I’ve ever read:
The book opens with the main character, Emma, at her best friend’s wedding. The best friend is blind and has a guide dog, who is apparently untrained and runs off. Emma chases after the dog, tripping and falling into the arms of a hot stranger. Except it’s not a stranger, it’s Rohan, the titular actuary and the love of her life who she married six years ago before he went off to fight in Afghanistan (a war that, according to Emma, Rohan “ditched her for,” as they “did not need him”). While in his arms, the front buttons of her dress “just wouldn’t stay closed” despite her best efforts, requiring Rohan do them for her. This is page 5.
Naturally, Emma and her young son Nicky (who is also in attendance at the wedding) run away to hide from Rohan. Naturally, Rohan wants to see his wife who he hasn’t seen in 6 years, so he asks the bride and groom for her address and shows up at her door. We, the readers, learn that the father of Emma’s son is a man named Anton, who made Emma promise to stay away from Rohan. We also learn that Anton and Rohan are brothers, so Emma’s kid looks like Rohan and he believes the kid is his. Then, the big shocker for me: not only are Rohan and Anton brothers, they are both Emma’s STEPBROTHERS. She is married to one of her stepbrothers and has a son with the other ._ .
Rohan insists Emma and her son move in with him because he’s rich and she lives in a dilapidated neighborhood. Rohan tells Emma that Anton is dead, and her response is “that must be why he hasn’t texted me back in months” ?? Feigning reluctance to the move, they go and immediately enroll her son into the local school. All the while, Emma is planning to leave in a few days, rendering this bureaucratic switch a mere plot point to allow Rohan to see the birth certificate of her son. Upon learning that the child is his brother’s, not his, he is shocked and angry, but Emma says “I’m not ready to talk about it yet” and he says “ok” and that’s it.
Emma and Rohan traipse around the town to go shopping, with Emma’s head constantly on a swivel for Rohan’s mom (her stepmom), who she is terrified of. She notices a man following them, who they swiftly capture and hold at knifepoint. Turns out, he was paid to follow Rohan, as the “dangerous” nature of his job means that “someone always loses out.” Rohan tells the man that “his disguise was as subtle as a fart in an astronaut suit” (direct quote). Side bar on Rohan’s job - he came back from Afghanistan after two years (4 years back from present day), worked as an accountant, then just “decided” to be an actuary. There is no mention of the exams he took, but he must have completed the designation in maximum three years. Which is logistically impossible given the exam windows, but I digress.
After Emma literally twists the assailant’s balls until he gives up his boss, Emma and Rohan go have a lovely lunch. She expresses her fear of his mother, telling Rohan to his face “I had hoped she was dead.” He says “that’s rude,” and they carry on. We the readers also learn that Anton was very openly gay, which is why his mother exiled him, also begging the question of why he banged his stepsister.
Also, Rohan has a girlfriend (Felicity, different from his wife Emma) and she’s the literal woat, harassing 6 year old Nicky at the school where she works. Nicky starts asking Emma about who his dad is (because he looks a lot like Rohan) and Emma tells her son “aren’t I enough for you anymore?” Super wild that she’s emotionally manipulating her 6 year old son. Then Nicky goes behind her back and asks Rohan to be his dad, of course triggering Emma’s flight response once again. Only then is it revealed that Nicky actually IS Rohan’s son, but Rohan’s mom locked Emma up 6 years ago and tried to force her to get an abortion. Anton helped her escape and wrote his own name on Nicky’s birth certificate to make things easier. Also, Rohan’s mom killed both Rohan’s dad and Emma’s dad.
Emma has been seeing a man lurking in the garden at night, so naturally when a random man shows up at Rohan’s door while she’s home alone, she welcomes him in with open arms for coffee. Christopher is “nice” and “charming,” so of course she meets him for dinner and drinks the next night without telling Rohan where she is and without having a phone. She goes with Christopher to a nightclub after, where, upon coming back from the bathroom, she overhears two men telling him to hand her over. She escapes and runs barefoot back to Rohan’s house in the freezing cold.
Emma is constantly telling everyone how dirty her heart is and how she doesn’t deserve a single ounce of kindness or assistance. But when anyone tries to talk to her about literally anything, she shuts them down. When Rohan tries to tell her that he still loves her and that he never stopped, her verbatim response is “shut up!” Rohan then leaves for a super dangerous work trip that he’s not sure he’ll survive (side eye), and Emma is mad because “he still hasn’t told her the truth or waited for her to unburden hers.” 1. The truth that she is demanding to know is how he got his prosthetic leg, and 2. he has asked literally countless times what her truth is so stfu about him not waiting, plus it’s literally a work trip so he has to go?
Rohan has been gone for 3 weeks and Emma is angry with him for not contacting her, even though her phone has no money on it to call or text anyone, a fact she opted not to divulge to Rohan before he left. She gets super bored so she drives around and finds a cool house in the woods. Naturally, she goes back to said house alone every single day to try to learn more about its history (from outside the gates via binoculars and a camera). One day, there’s a crowd of people there for an auction, so she sneaks in with an old lady who used to live there. The woman’s romance parallels Emma’s, imparting wisdom as deep as a puddle by saying “you can’t right all the wrongs” (breaking news: local woman discovers living with the consequences of her actions). This old lady also happens to be Rohan’s mom’s neighbor, and we learn that his mom has been christened “The Black Widow” for killing an old man every single month.
Ignoring Rohan’s warnings about walking around alone, Emma takes a gander down the road. She is, of course, promptly kidnapped by none other than Christopher, the man she went on the date with. He is in cahoots with two other men, who waited to kidnap her until after Rohan had “retrieved the risk.” Side bar - said risks have to do with the wrong information getting out to the wrong people, which would mean backlash such as financial or reputational damage. This information is often stored on a hard drive, so Rohan’s job is to retrieve a hard drive. I’m so glad he took 9 math exams to know how to retrieve a hard drive.
We quickly learn that Christopher is also being held hostage by these two guys, so he tries gaining Emma’s trust back while they’re locked in the same room overnight. Of course he does this by asking, “do I look like a sex predator?” Then, Christopher reveals that he’s been working for Anton and has been paid to watch over her for years, so now 5 minutes later Emma sees her kidnapper as her guardian angel. And then they make out. The next day, after a bunch of guns are waved around by the kidnappers, Christopher reveals that he actually IS the bad guy *gasp* and Emma feels fooled again, even though he literally tried to kidnap her twice.
Rohan shows up to save her - hooray! Emma decides to thank Rohan by sneaking away while he and Christopher are bickering about how Christopher went out with Emma (and how hot she looked when he did). Emma is promptly captured AGAIN and carried to ANOTHER car. This time, it’s Rohan’s friend from the wedding on page 1. Hooray! He gives her a coat and removes her handcuffs, asking her to wait in the car until the danger passes. She decides to thank him by not doing that because she’s too worried that Christopher will hurt Rohan with a screwdriver (Rohan has a gun btw). She’s convinced Rohan hates her and wouldn’t care if she died, and even though he’s literally mid-battle with more cronies on the way, she just needs to know why he treated her like he didn’t care when he first arrived to save her. So she sneaks BACK inside the pitch black house full of enemies with guns, somehow taking out two with a wooden board before another friend shows up. He tells her to be quiet for their earpiece coordination and she proclaims, “you aren’t the boss of me!” Another enemy hears her and almost kills her, causing the friend to kill the enemy and promptly knock Emma unconscious because she’s “a liability” (finally, one smart character!)
She wakes up from the drug angry at Rohan as they make their way home, so obviously they make out in the shower. Then he says he’s moving out and they’re getting divorced, and her first question is whether he “had an affair with the Chinese lady,” who was the boss of all the enemies and appeared for exactly one sentence while Emma was attacking enemies with the wooden board. They have the worst fight scene in the history of media (including her bandaging his wound) and also we learn that Christopher is dead. A doctor shows up to sew Rohan’s wound, and it’s the same doctor who tried to give Emma the abortion 6 years ago when her stepmom trapped her.
More fighting with Rohan and self pity. Then we learn that Rohan’s mom has been arrested for murdering old men, and it’s revealed she also murdered Rohan’s little sister who has not been mentioned until now. Rohan defends his mom while Emma says she’ll take the stand against her. She leaves to stay with her friend (Nicky’s friend’s mom), wakes up in the middle of the night, and sees Christopher (who is very much alive). She meets him in the friend’s garden and he professes his love to her (they went on exactly one date). Then he leaves forever.
Another man is lingering outside Rohan’s house when Emma gets there (alone). Naturally, she gets in his car. It turns out, that random house in the woods she kept visiting? Anton had bought it for her. The solicitor who drove her there reads Anton’s will, revealing that Emma now also owns a theater company. (Anton was lowkey loaded but still let Emma live in poverty for 5 years.) When she’s alone in the house, Christopher comes back (again) and says he murdered her former boss who was creepy to her. She gets on his motorcycle and he drives her back to Rohan before leaving forever (for real this time. Except he stole a set of keys to her new house).
She promptly starts fighting Rohan, saying he left her to find out about his leg on her own and “that’s not love.” He says “I’m sorry” then they have sex twice on the couch. Rohan broke up with Felicity (the girlfriend) and got a restraining order against her because she’s been harassing Emma and also working with the stepmom. Emma tries to prove to Rohan that his mom poisoned her dad and also his dad and also all of them when they were kids. He says “if Anton was such a hero, why didn’t you fall in love with him?” (Anton is the gay brother if you did not recall.)
Emma and Rohan go to the doctor’s office because his prosthetic leg got damaged during the kidnapping scene. Emma is sweating bullets and literally strips in the office with the doctor in the room, then throws up. She is pregnant. She still wants to leave Rohan even though she loves him and he loves her and she’s carrying his baby. Then she changes her mind and they are a family.
The final event of the book is Nicky’s school’s reenactment of the nativity. The author deems it a worthy endeavor to mention that the child dressed as a chicken farted, then farted again, then an assistant came on stage “to ensure the chicken laid the egg in the appropriate bathroom” (direct quote - if I had to read that then so do you). Also one kid’s pants kept falling down and another peed on stage.
Felicity traps Emma in the bathroom and reveals that she hired the private investigator that Rohan held at knifepoint. Emma says “how can you claim to love Rohan when you don’t even trust him?” which is rich. Then Felicity attacks Emma, leaving Emma in the hospital and Felicity in jail. Flash forward like two days and Emma, Rohan, and Nicky have entirely moved into the new house Emma got from Anton. They are playing in the snow and having so much fun. The big cliffhanger is that Emma says she still doesn’t trust Rohan.
And scene.
Some thoughts: first and foremost, Emma is insufferable. I want to be a girls’ girl and support her but I cannot. Also, Rohan is 25 and Emma is 22 (they got married when they were 19 and 16), so frontal lobes are very much not developed and it shows. Also the fact that Nicky is at the age where his peers are still not potty trained but he is also incredibly emotionally intelligent and mature is a whiplash-inducing juxtaposition that makes no sense. The age where you begin to see your parents as people rather than as heroes isn’t until at least 16, so even though none of this book felt real, I think Nicky was the character that took me out of the story the most. I read the blurb for the next book, I think Christopher comes back again (surprise) and it’s a love triangle situation, but you’d have to pay me to keep going with the series. If you did not know, this is in fact a five book series.
Huge shoutout to Zachary for bringing this book to work book swap. I absolutely HAD to read this for the bit, and I’m so glad I did. I’m also so glad I don’t have to waste any more of my precious time reading this, and I can spend more of my time talking to people about it LOL.
To all my coworkers: you’re welcome for reading this so you don’t have to. In fact, I am begging you not to read this. I will never get these 10 hours of my life back. Without further preamble, here’s everything that happened, because this might just be the worst book I’ve ever read:
The book opens with the main character, Emma, at her best friend’s wedding. The best friend is blind and has a guide dog, who is apparently untrained and runs off. Emma chases after the dog, tripping and falling into the arms of a hot stranger. Except it’s not a stranger, it’s Rohan, the titular actuary and the love of her life who she married six years ago before he went off to fight in Afghanistan (a war that, according to Emma, Rohan “ditched her for,” as they “did not need him”). While in his arms, the front buttons of her dress “just wouldn’t stay closed” despite her best efforts, requiring Rohan do them for her. This is page 5.
Naturally, Emma and her young son Nicky (who is also in attendance at the wedding) run away to hide from Rohan. Naturally, Rohan wants to see his wife who he hasn’t seen in 6 years, so he asks the bride and groom for her address and shows up at her door. We, the readers, learn that the father of Emma’s son is a man named Anton, who made Emma promise to stay away from Rohan. We also learn that Anton and Rohan are brothers, so Emma’s kid looks like Rohan and he believes the kid is his. Then, the big shocker for me: not only are Rohan and Anton brothers, they are both Emma’s STEPBROTHERS. She is married to one of her stepbrothers and has a son with the other ._ .
Rohan insists Emma and her son move in with him because he’s rich and she lives in a dilapidated neighborhood. Rohan tells Emma that Anton is dead, and her response is “that must be why he hasn’t texted me back in months” ?? Feigning reluctance to the move, they go and immediately enroll her son into the local school. All the while, Emma is planning to leave in a few days, rendering this bureaucratic switch a mere plot point to allow Rohan to see the birth certificate of her son. Upon learning that the child is his brother’s, not his, he is shocked and angry, but Emma says “I’m not ready to talk about it yet” and he says “ok” and that’s it.
Emma and Rohan traipse around the town to go shopping, with Emma’s head constantly on a swivel for Rohan’s mom (her stepmom), who she is terrified of. She notices a man following them, who they swiftly capture and hold at knifepoint. Turns out, he was paid to follow Rohan, as the “dangerous” nature of his job means that “someone always loses out.” Rohan tells the man that “his disguise was as subtle as a fart in an astronaut suit” (direct quote). Side bar on Rohan’s job - he came back from Afghanistan after two years (4 years back from present day), worked as an accountant, then just “decided” to be an actuary. There is no mention of the exams he took, but he must have completed the designation in maximum three years. Which is logistically impossible given the exam windows, but I digress.
After Emma literally twists the assailant’s balls until he gives up his boss, Emma and Rohan go have a lovely lunch. She expresses her fear of his mother, telling Rohan to his face “I had hoped she was dead.” He says “that’s rude,” and they carry on. We the readers also learn that Anton was very openly gay, which is why his mother exiled him, also begging the question of why he banged his stepsister.
Also, Rohan has a girlfriend (Felicity, different from his wife Emma) and she’s the literal woat, harassing 6 year old Nicky at the school where she works. Nicky starts asking Emma about who his dad is (because he looks a lot like Rohan) and Emma tells her son “aren’t I enough for you anymore?” Super wild that she’s emotionally manipulating her 6 year old son. Then Nicky goes behind her back and asks Rohan to be his dad, of course triggering Emma’s flight response once again. Only then is it revealed that Nicky actually IS Rohan’s son, but Rohan’s mom locked Emma up 6 years ago and tried to force her to get an abortion. Anton helped her escape and wrote his own name on Nicky’s birth certificate to make things easier. Also, Rohan’s mom killed both Rohan’s dad and Emma’s dad.
Emma has been seeing a man lurking in the garden at night, so naturally when a random man shows up at Rohan’s door while she’s home alone, she welcomes him in with open arms for coffee. Christopher is “nice” and “charming,” so of course she meets him for dinner and drinks the next night without telling Rohan where she is and without having a phone. She goes with Christopher to a nightclub after, where, upon coming back from the bathroom, she overhears two men telling him to hand her over. She escapes and runs barefoot back to Rohan’s house in the freezing cold.
Emma is constantly telling everyone how dirty her heart is and how she doesn’t deserve a single ounce of kindness or assistance. But when anyone tries to talk to her about literally anything, she shuts them down. When Rohan tries to tell her that he still loves her and that he never stopped, her verbatim response is “shut up!” Rohan then leaves for a super dangerous work trip that he’s not sure he’ll survive (side eye), and Emma is mad because “he still hasn’t told her the truth or waited for her to unburden hers.” 1. The truth that she is demanding to know is how he got his prosthetic leg, and 2. he has asked literally countless times what her truth is so stfu about him not waiting, plus it’s literally a work trip so he has to go?
Rohan has been gone for 3 weeks and Emma is angry with him for not contacting her, even though her phone has no money on it to call or text anyone, a fact she opted not to divulge to Rohan before he left. She gets super bored so she drives around and finds a cool house in the woods. Naturally, she goes back to said house alone every single day to try to learn more about its history (from outside the gates via binoculars and a camera). One day, there’s a crowd of people there for an auction, so she sneaks in with an old lady who used to live there. The woman’s romance parallels Emma’s, imparting wisdom as deep as a puddle by saying “you can’t right all the wrongs” (breaking news: local woman discovers living with the consequences of her actions). This old lady also happens to be Rohan’s mom’s neighbor, and we learn that his mom has been christened “The Black Widow” for killing an old man every single month.
Ignoring Rohan’s warnings about walking around alone, Emma takes a gander down the road. She is, of course, promptly kidnapped by none other than Christopher, the man she went on the date with. He is in cahoots with two other men, who waited to kidnap her until after Rohan had “retrieved the risk.” Side bar - said risks have to do with the wrong information getting out to the wrong people, which would mean backlash such as financial or reputational damage. This information is often stored on a hard drive, so Rohan’s job is to retrieve a hard drive. I’m so glad he took 9 math exams to know how to retrieve a hard drive.
We quickly learn that Christopher is also being held hostage by these two guys, so he tries gaining Emma’s trust back while they’re locked in the same room overnight. Of course he does this by asking, “do I look like a sex predator?” Then, Christopher reveals that he’s been working for Anton and has been paid to watch over her for years, so now 5 minutes later Emma sees her kidnapper as her guardian angel. And then they make out. The next day, after a bunch of guns are waved around by the kidnappers, Christopher reveals that he actually IS the bad guy *gasp* and Emma feels fooled again, even though he literally tried to kidnap her twice.
Rohan shows up to save her - hooray! Emma decides to thank Rohan by sneaking away while he and Christopher are bickering about how Christopher went out with Emma (and how hot she looked when he did). Emma is promptly captured AGAIN and carried to ANOTHER car. This time, it’s Rohan’s friend from the wedding on page 1. Hooray! He gives her a coat and removes her handcuffs, asking her to wait in the car until the danger passes. She decides to thank him by not doing that because she’s too worried that Christopher will hurt Rohan with a screwdriver (Rohan has a gun btw). She’s convinced Rohan hates her and wouldn’t care if she died, and even though he’s literally mid-battle with more cronies on the way, she just needs to know why he treated her like he didn’t care when he first arrived to save her. So she sneaks BACK inside the pitch black house full of enemies with guns, somehow taking out two with a wooden board before another friend shows up. He tells her to be quiet for their earpiece coordination and she proclaims, “you aren’t the boss of me!” Another enemy hears her and almost kills her, causing the friend to kill the enemy and promptly knock Emma unconscious because she’s “a liability” (finally, one smart character!)
She wakes up from the drug angry at Rohan as they make their way home, so obviously they make out in the shower. Then he says he’s moving out and they’re getting divorced, and her first question is whether he “had an affair with the Chinese lady,” who was the boss of all the enemies and appeared for exactly one sentence while Emma was attacking enemies with the wooden board. They have the worst fight scene in the history of media (including her bandaging his wound) and also we learn that Christopher is dead. A doctor shows up to sew Rohan’s wound, and it’s the same doctor who tried to give Emma the abortion 6 years ago when her stepmom trapped her.
More fighting with Rohan and self pity. Then we learn that Rohan’s mom has been arrested for murdering old men, and it’s revealed she also murdered Rohan’s little sister who has not been mentioned until now. Rohan defends his mom while Emma says she’ll take the stand against her. She leaves to stay with her friend (Nicky’s friend’s mom), wakes up in the middle of the night, and sees Christopher (who is very much alive). She meets him in the friend’s garden and he professes his love to her (they went on exactly one date). Then he leaves forever.
Another man is lingering outside Rohan’s house when Emma gets there (alone). Naturally, she gets in his car. It turns out, that random house in the woods she kept visiting? Anton had bought it for her. The solicitor who drove her there reads Anton’s will, revealing that Emma now also owns a theater company. (Anton was lowkey loaded but still let Emma live in poverty for 5 years.) When she’s alone in the house, Christopher comes back (again) and says he murdered her former boss who was creepy to her. She gets on his motorcycle and he drives her back to Rohan before leaving forever (for real this time. Except he stole a set of keys to her new house).
She promptly starts fighting Rohan, saying he left her to find out about his leg on her own and “that’s not love.” He says “I’m sorry” then they have sex twice on the couch. Rohan broke up with Felicity (the girlfriend) and got a restraining order against her because she’s been harassing Emma and also working with the stepmom. Emma tries to prove to Rohan that his mom poisoned her dad and also his dad and also all of them when they were kids. He says “if Anton was such a hero, why didn’t you fall in love with him?” (Anton is the gay brother if you did not recall.)
Emma and Rohan go to the doctor’s office because his prosthetic leg got damaged during the kidnapping scene. Emma is sweating bullets and literally strips in the office with the doctor in the room, then throws up. She is pregnant. She still wants to leave Rohan even though she loves him and he loves her and she’s carrying his baby. Then she changes her mind and they are a family.
The final event of the book is Nicky’s school’s reenactment of the nativity. The author deems it a worthy endeavor to mention that the child dressed as a chicken farted, then farted again, then an assistant came on stage “to ensure the chicken laid the egg in the appropriate bathroom” (direct quote - if I had to read that then so do you). Also one kid’s pants kept falling down and another peed on stage.
Felicity traps Emma in the bathroom and reveals that she hired the private investigator that Rohan held at knifepoint. Emma says “how can you claim to love Rohan when you don’t even trust him?” which is rich. Then Felicity attacks Emma, leaving Emma in the hospital and Felicity in jail. Flash forward like two days and Emma, Rohan, and Nicky have entirely moved into the new house Emma got from Anton. They are playing in the snow and having so much fun. The big cliffhanger is that Emma says she still doesn’t trust Rohan.
And scene.
Some thoughts: first and foremost, Emma is insufferable. I want to be a girls’ girl and support her but I cannot. Also, Rohan is 25 and Emma is 22 (they got married when they were 19 and 16), so frontal lobes are very much not developed and it shows. Also the fact that Nicky is at the age where his peers are still not potty trained but he is also incredibly emotionally intelligent and mature is a whiplash-inducing juxtaposition that makes no sense. The age where you begin to see your parents as people rather than as heroes isn’t until at least 16, so even though none of this book felt real, I think Nicky was the character that took me out of the story the most. I read the blurb for the next book, I think Christopher comes back again (surprise) and it’s a love triangle situation, but you’d have to pay me to keep going with the series. If you did not know, this is in fact a five book series.
Huge shoutout to Zachary for bringing this book to work book swap. I absolutely HAD to read this for the bit, and I’m so glad I did. I’m also so glad I don’t have to waste any more of my precious time reading this, and I can spend more of my time talking to people about it LOL.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2017
This book was amazing. I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read the rest of the series. I feel bad for Emma, since she has a son, and has to raise him on hardly anything. I don't like when Rohan shows up out of the blue, but it may have been a good thing. I like that she finds love with Rohan.
July 30, 2017
I like the characters, Rohan, Emma, Anton, Christopher, and little Nicky. There are some great scenes about their relationships and trials.
But overall, this book is a mess. Too many layers that are all disjointed, too much that pops up while something else is going on. Predictably, the ending is vague about the Actuary, because he's "addicted to danger." Ridiculous in light of all he lost and seems desperate to get back, his wife and son.
Emma seems somewhat unsteady, going up and down the roller coaster of her emotions, without talking to Rohan about what's happening to her, her doubts.
I liked it enough to finish reading, but this is really a 2 star with the way it's written, with 3 star characters. I was kind.
But overall, this book is a mess. Too many layers that are all disjointed, too much that pops up while something else is going on. Predictably, the ending is vague about the Actuary, because he's "addicted to danger." Ridiculous in light of all he lost and seems desperate to get back, his wife and son.
Emma seems somewhat unsteady, going up and down the roller coaster of her emotions, without talking to Rohan about what's happening to her, her doubts.
I liked it enough to finish reading, but this is really a 2 star with the way it's written, with 3 star characters. I was kind.
June 28, 2021
DNF @ 8%
When Rohan’s work as an actuary spills over into his life, I imagine his life becomes James Bond-esque. When MY work as an actuar(ial student) spills over into my life, it just means more overtime.
Sorry folks, I really meant to finish this to the bitter end to find out how the author managed to make actuarial work exciting (like how CSI is to forensic work), but it’s just so badly written and life is too short to waste it on bad books.
When Rohan’s work as an actuary spills over into his life, I imagine his life becomes James Bond-esque. When MY work as an actuar(ial student) spills over into my life, it just means more overtime.
Sorry folks, I really meant to finish this to the bitter end to find out how the author managed to make actuarial work exciting (like how CSI is to forensic work), but it’s just so badly written and life is too short to waste it on bad books.
October 30, 2018
The Actuary: From Russia with love book 1) by K.T. Bowes
Emma runs into the father of her child at a wedding and yet he does not know he is the father. She has lived in poverty for 6 years trying to raise her son alone. When Rohan goes after her, he knows she is hiding more than she is saying. Rohan is known as the actuary, for the work he does. It is dangerous work and it puts them all at risk. Emma has no choice but to live with Rohan after losing her job. Can she keep her secret or has Rohan worked it out? Can she keep her son safe from Rohan’s evil mother? While this book was intriguing, it was a mess. I had a problem with the 6 year old Nicky. One moment he came across as a 3 year old and the next as though he was 16. Rohan was this undercover agent, known as an actuary that gets back stolen data etc. He seems to have so many resources available to him and yet he could not work out that his mother played him, his brother set his life in motion, the girl he grew up with and married, ran from him, all while she hid his child. Then we had Emma who just really came across as a confused woman. There was just so much going on in this book that I felt like it lost focus on the actual story. So for me personally it was an okay read, that had potential but really needed an editor.
Reviewed for Hot books and Sassy Girls book blog
Amazon 25 October 2018
Goodreads 25 October 2018 2Stars
Emma runs into the father of her child at a wedding and yet he does not know he is the father. She has lived in poverty for 6 years trying to raise her son alone. When Rohan goes after her, he knows she is hiding more than she is saying. Rohan is known as the actuary, for the work he does. It is dangerous work and it puts them all at risk. Emma has no choice but to live with Rohan after losing her job. Can she keep her secret or has Rohan worked it out? Can she keep her son safe from Rohan’s evil mother? While this book was intriguing, it was a mess. I had a problem with the 6 year old Nicky. One moment he came across as a 3 year old and the next as though he was 16. Rohan was this undercover agent, known as an actuary that gets back stolen data etc. He seems to have so many resources available to him and yet he could not work out that his mother played him, his brother set his life in motion, the girl he grew up with and married, ran from him, all while she hid his child. Then we had Emma who just really came across as a confused woman. There was just so much going on in this book that I felt like it lost focus on the actual story. So for me personally it was an okay read, that had potential but really needed an editor.
Reviewed for Hot books and Sassy Girls book blog
Amazon 25 October 2018
Goodreads 25 October 2018 2Stars
October 8, 2015
James Bond meets soap opera. It just works!
It’s taken me a while to write this as I had to think long and hard about it. The author K.T. Bowes gifted me a copy for an honest review.
Let me start by saying this is not the genre I normally read. I’d classify this as a romance/action novel. The Actuary took me a while to get into, but can I state this was nothing to do with the writing or the character development, both of which are excellent. I especially loved Nicky, the young son of Emma and...well, I’ll let you figure that out. I found myself smiling every time he talked.
The beginning of the book is very dark, and tells a tale of a single mother living in abject poverty on a horrific council estate in Lincoln. The author has really done her research here, and I empathised with Emma. I actually loved the roguish neighbours who looked out for her.
This all changes when Rohan, the Actuary, re-enters her life after years apart. Their relationship is complex; so much so I found myself wanting to scream at them and reach into the pages and shake them at times. K.T. does an amazing job of showing not telling, and so much is left to our own imaginations, with questions constantly popping up in my mind as to what was actually going on. She is a master at this, and expertly ties up all the loose ends before the conclusion of the book.
The other main character is Christopher, a mysterious and handsome Irishman. Emma is torn between two men who could potentially ruin her life. She is a wonderful mother, and keeps her son’s best interests at the front of her mind, so the plot is constantly twisting and turning.
The ‘bad guys’ in the book are truly unlikeable. The author writes them perfectly; from the psycho girlfriend, to the mad mother-in-law.
Behind it all is the story behind the Actuary himself; an eliminator of risk. The risks turn out to be of higher stakes than you might imagine.
This book is an enjoyable read, and once I got into it, I found myself unable to put it down. Like I said, it’s not my genre, but I will read the next one. A solid five stars.
It’s taken me a while to write this as I had to think long and hard about it. The author K.T. Bowes gifted me a copy for an honest review.
Let me start by saying this is not the genre I normally read. I’d classify this as a romance/action novel. The Actuary took me a while to get into, but can I state this was nothing to do with the writing or the character development, both of which are excellent. I especially loved Nicky, the young son of Emma and...well, I’ll let you figure that out. I found myself smiling every time he talked.
The beginning of the book is very dark, and tells a tale of a single mother living in abject poverty on a horrific council estate in Lincoln. The author has really done her research here, and I empathised with Emma. I actually loved the roguish neighbours who looked out for her.
This all changes when Rohan, the Actuary, re-enters her life after years apart. Their relationship is complex; so much so I found myself wanting to scream at them and reach into the pages and shake them at times. K.T. does an amazing job of showing not telling, and so much is left to our own imaginations, with questions constantly popping up in my mind as to what was actually going on. She is a master at this, and expertly ties up all the loose ends before the conclusion of the book.
The other main character is Christopher, a mysterious and handsome Irishman. Emma is torn between two men who could potentially ruin her life. She is a wonderful mother, and keeps her son’s best interests at the front of her mind, so the plot is constantly twisting and turning.
The ‘bad guys’ in the book are truly unlikeable. The author writes them perfectly; from the psycho girlfriend, to the mad mother-in-law.
Behind it all is the story behind the Actuary himself; an eliminator of risk. The risks turn out to be of higher stakes than you might imagine.
This book is an enjoyable read, and once I got into it, I found myself unable to put it down. Like I said, it’s not my genre, but I will read the next one. A solid five stars.
December 28, 2017
Annoying
First time I have read anything by this author, perhaps it's the writing style but I found it so frustrating and drawn out. A six year old would not speak like that or have knowledge of drugs, if she was any sort of parent she would have protected her son from crime, prostitution and drugs. A guide dog what is working would not behave badly and drag its handler away. The storyline was ok at first but the mother and girlfriend of her husband were just irritating. The characters were just so thin, the dialogue just awful. Have to be honest I got halfway through the book and had to stop because it was just dragging and gave me a headache.
Why did her husband who claimed to love her take up with another woman and refuse to divorce his wife "married for life" yet propose marriage to another woman then introduce his wife to his fiancee as his step sister? Why did his friend Christopher make a pass at his wife after knowing her two minutes claiming her husband said his sister was staying with him.
Don't waste your time or money. The story doesn't flow it's just one irritation after another.
First time I have read anything by this author, perhaps it's the writing style but I found it so frustrating and drawn out. A six year old would not speak like that or have knowledge of drugs, if she was any sort of parent she would have protected her son from crime, prostitution and drugs. A guide dog what is working would not behave badly and drag its handler away. The storyline was ok at first but the mother and girlfriend of her husband were just irritating. The characters were just so thin, the dialogue just awful. Have to be honest I got halfway through the book and had to stop because it was just dragging and gave me a headache.
Why did her husband who claimed to love her take up with another woman and refuse to divorce his wife "married for life" yet propose marriage to another woman then introduce his wife to his fiancee as his step sister? Why did his friend Christopher make a pass at his wife after knowing her two minutes claiming her husband said his sister was staying with him.
Don't waste your time or money. The story doesn't flow it's just one irritation after another.
July 11, 2015
For anyone who thought an actuary was just an accountant...wait 'til you meet Rohan. He takes risk management consulting to a whole new level.
I loved Emma in this book. Her strength is incredible. She's a single mother living in the kind of area most would be terrified to set foot in, yet she survives...but just barely. The sleazy boss from hell, junkies squatting in her house and destroying her meagre furniture and she still struggles to put food on the table for herself and her son. Yet she's not a superwoman - she's always on the edge of panic that she can't hold everything together and her chaotic life will fly apart.
Then Rohan strides back into her life. He's her big, dark secret...but also the brightest part of her past. And he has secrets of his own...ones that could destroy Emma or get her killed. The relationship between these two - and everyone who comes between them - crackles with electricity, in the way a storm does before striking indiscriminately.
Brilliant suspense...with a sharp shot of romance. Five stars.
I loved Emma in this book. Her strength is incredible. She's a single mother living in the kind of area most would be terrified to set foot in, yet she survives...but just barely. The sleazy boss from hell, junkies squatting in her house and destroying her meagre furniture and she still struggles to put food on the table for herself and her son. Yet she's not a superwoman - she's always on the edge of panic that she can't hold everything together and her chaotic life will fly apart.
Then Rohan strides back into her life. He's her big, dark secret...but also the brightest part of her past. And he has secrets of his own...ones that could destroy Emma or get her killed. The relationship between these two - and everyone who comes between them - crackles with electricity, in the way a storm does before striking indiscriminately.
Brilliant suspense...with a sharp shot of romance. Five stars.
July 23, 2018
Good plot
The book would have been half as long if the lead character had exhibited any sense whatsoever. Her irrational running and refusing to move forward is so irritating. The plot is excellent and maybe others will enjoy her incompetence more.
The book would have been half as long if the lead character had exhibited any sense whatsoever. Her irrational running and refusing to move forward is so irritating. The plot is excellent and maybe others will enjoy her incompetence more.
Want to Read
February 24, 2018💝 FREE on Amazon today (2/24/2018)! 💝
September 30, 2017
The description of The Actuary by K.T. Bowes is more intriguing than most of the book. The book starts strong, but it then gets bogged down in detail. I was expecting a story line more like the movie, The Accountant, but The Actuary reads more like a soap opera with international espionage thrown in the mix. And like a soap opera, it is addicting.
Filled with unlikable characters. The only redeeming character is Anton, and he is dead from the start of the book! Nicky the six year old sometimes talks as if he is 3, sometimes like he is a 16-year-old thug, and sometimes like a 40-year-old man. Emma, for all her complaining about the evil Alanya, likes to use the threat of physical violence to settle problems. Emma is supposedly college educated, but frequently her speech (and her son’s) is like a Cockney East Ender—and one who didn’t finish school at that. She pines for Rohan but desires male attention so much that she goes on a date with a stranger, Christopher. The mysterious Harley Man, who seems to have regular interaction with 6 year-old Nicky, is a bit creepy. Emma isn’t as careful a parent as she thinks since she has no clue her son is regularly speaking to strangers. Rohan proclaims his love of Emma but strings along Felicity in a little-too-chummy “friendship”. Christopher pursues Emma even though he knows she is secretly married to Rohan. These seriously flawed characters are perfect for a soap opera style drama.
The secondary characters are the most interesting in the story. From the abused Mel, to the angelic Allaine, to the neighborhood enforcer, Fat Brian these characters are interesting and make Emma a little more human and introspective. Felicity and Alanya are stereotypical evil female adversaries. Alanya is such a stereotype that she is even the “evil stepmother” to Emma’s “Cinderella”.
In terms of the plot, it was a long- winded story; I felt it would benefit from more editing to tighten up the story. The meandering and random additions made the book feel unfocused at times. For example, the addition of the auction scene was cute, but irrelevant to the overall plot. It added little to nothing to the story.
There are some basic mistakes that I found mildly irritating. The story takes place in the UK, but the author has the main character using US colloquialisms such as “I’ll take the fifth”, using baseball bat in one scene and a cricket bat in another, and inquiring about Social Security benefits instead of using the phrase National Insurance (however, those terms may have now both be in use). The first scene takes place at a fancy wedding, where Emma is wearing a lovely dress. However, in the rest of the book, she is described as owning nothing (not even basic furniture) and dressing in rags. The Russian actuary’s name, Rohan, has Irish and Indian origins, but I found no online references to the name having a Russian tie/use.
This romantic thriller has a convoluted plot, and a lot of angst given the stated age of the characters. It is as if, the characters who married at 16 and 19 years of age are still in a young-adult-style relationship seven years later. The use of characters not having time to talk and avoiding addressing the underlying issue was used to create romantic angst.
I was really disappointed in the heroine/narrator’s fade out as the story culmination comes to its height. It is an easy end for an author, but very dissatisfying for this reader.
I loved that the author made Rohan’s situation realistic. He came back from war with a lost limb and suffering nightmares. The author respectfully treated the topic of the vet’s lost leg, and made the character into a handsome hero whose disability didn’t define him. To me, this was a highlight of the book.
Another highlight of the book is the author’s respectful treatment of women trying to get out of abusive relationships and start a new life for their family. A variety of socio-economic levels are found at the school Nicky eventually attends. The development of strong female friendships was a highlight of the book (even though it was not integral to the overall plot).
Overall, The Actuary by K.T. Bowles was an okay read for me. I felt compelled to finish the story even though I didn’t find the characters or the plot engaging.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review which was done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official: www.nerdgirlofficial.com
Filled with unlikable characters. The only redeeming character is Anton, and he is dead from the start of the book! Nicky the six year old sometimes talks as if he is 3, sometimes like he is a 16-year-old thug, and sometimes like a 40-year-old man. Emma, for all her complaining about the evil Alanya, likes to use the threat of physical violence to settle problems. Emma is supposedly college educated, but frequently her speech (and her son’s) is like a Cockney East Ender—and one who didn’t finish school at that. She pines for Rohan but desires male attention so much that she goes on a date with a stranger, Christopher. The mysterious Harley Man, who seems to have regular interaction with 6 year-old Nicky, is a bit creepy. Emma isn’t as careful a parent as she thinks since she has no clue her son is regularly speaking to strangers. Rohan proclaims his love of Emma but strings along Felicity in a little-too-chummy “friendship”. Christopher pursues Emma even though he knows she is secretly married to Rohan. These seriously flawed characters are perfect for a soap opera style drama.
The secondary characters are the most interesting in the story. From the abused Mel, to the angelic Allaine, to the neighborhood enforcer, Fat Brian these characters are interesting and make Emma a little more human and introspective. Felicity and Alanya are stereotypical evil female adversaries. Alanya is such a stereotype that she is even the “evil stepmother” to Emma’s “Cinderella”.
In terms of the plot, it was a long- winded story; I felt it would benefit from more editing to tighten up the story. The meandering and random additions made the book feel unfocused at times. For example, the addition of the auction scene was cute, but irrelevant to the overall plot. It added little to nothing to the story.
There are some basic mistakes that I found mildly irritating. The story takes place in the UK, but the author has the main character using US colloquialisms such as “I’ll take the fifth”, using baseball bat in one scene and a cricket bat in another, and inquiring about Social Security benefits instead of using the phrase National Insurance (however, those terms may have now both be in use). The first scene takes place at a fancy wedding, where Emma is wearing a lovely dress. However, in the rest of the book, she is described as owning nothing (not even basic furniture) and dressing in rags. The Russian actuary’s name, Rohan, has Irish and Indian origins, but I found no online references to the name having a Russian tie/use.
This romantic thriller has a convoluted plot, and a lot of angst given the stated age of the characters. It is as if, the characters who married at 16 and 19 years of age are still in a young-adult-style relationship seven years later. The use of characters not having time to talk and avoiding addressing the underlying issue was used to create romantic angst.
I was really disappointed in the heroine/narrator’s fade out as the story culmination comes to its height. It is an easy end for an author, but very dissatisfying for this reader.
I loved that the author made Rohan’s situation realistic. He came back from war with a lost limb and suffering nightmares. The author respectfully treated the topic of the vet’s lost leg, and made the character into a handsome hero whose disability didn’t define him. To me, this was a highlight of the book.
Another highlight of the book is the author’s respectful treatment of women trying to get out of abusive relationships and start a new life for their family. A variety of socio-economic levels are found at the school Nicky eventually attends. The development of strong female friendships was a highlight of the book (even though it was not integral to the overall plot).
Overall, The Actuary by K.T. Bowles was an okay read for me. I felt compelled to finish the story even though I didn’t find the characters or the plot engaging.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review which was done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official: www.nerdgirlofficial.com
July 26, 2017
Entertaining and gripping story. I wasn't actually sure what type of story I would be getting into, and to be honest I thought it might be a little like the recent movie "The Accountant". While a little true, and who knows what story came first, that is not the focus of this story.
You get to walk through, some in flash back and some in everyday life, the story of Emma's life. At times, it was a bit jarring to follow b/c big reveals would happen in a flashback that you weren't expecting. But, after acclimating to the style of writing, I began to expect/pick up on the transition and follow more smoothly.
To me this is a well thought through world, and the many aspects that come together to traverse such disparaging different lifestyles and livelihoods was amazing. There are many phrases or terms used to help remind the reader that the story is set in Europe, specifically somewhere in Great Britain I believe. I have seen a few reviews that are disparaging in the fact that they couldn't follow what was happening, or that language used was confusing....but if you pay attention, you'll understand that it's b/c it's in a different part of the world. (again speaking as an American audience member) So, yes sometimes hard to understand, but with enough context you understand that "football" is what we in America call soccer. That's not a bad thing for the author, just means the reader must be more on point in what they are living in reading the story!
The only tiresome thing for me at times, was the absolute stubbornness of of Emma. Probably of Rohan as well, but the story is told through her eyes mostly, and she does some silly things vs. just talking. At the same time, I can also emphasize with some choices and see that many women would do the same. The mystery and intrigue throughout is great, and I could hardly put the book down to make lunch and come back to it.
Definitely a great read, and I can't wait to get the next book in the series and see what happens. A great new author to my "collection" of authors to follow!
You get to walk through, some in flash back and some in everyday life, the story of Emma's life. At times, it was a bit jarring to follow b/c big reveals would happen in a flashback that you weren't expecting. But, after acclimating to the style of writing, I began to expect/pick up on the transition and follow more smoothly.
To me this is a well thought through world, and the many aspects that come together to traverse such disparaging different lifestyles and livelihoods was amazing. There are many phrases or terms used to help remind the reader that the story is set in Europe, specifically somewhere in Great Britain I believe. I have seen a few reviews that are disparaging in the fact that they couldn't follow what was happening, or that language used was confusing....but if you pay attention, you'll understand that it's b/c it's in a different part of the world. (again speaking as an American audience member) So, yes sometimes hard to understand, but with enough context you understand that "football" is what we in America call soccer. That's not a bad thing for the author, just means the reader must be more on point in what they are living in reading the story!
The only tiresome thing for me at times, was the absolute stubbornness of of Emma. Probably of Rohan as well, but the story is told through her eyes mostly, and she does some silly things vs. just talking. At the same time, I can also emphasize with some choices and see that many women would do the same. The mystery and intrigue throughout is great, and I could hardly put the book down to make lunch and come back to it.
Definitely a great read, and I can't wait to get the next book in the series and see what happens. A great new author to my "collection" of authors to follow!
February 24, 2018
When Emma runs into the one person she never thought she would see again. She hurriedly leaves her friends wedding to make her escape.
Rohan Andreyev left Emma as a young 16 year old bride for the war. He did not know she was pregnant. Now, seven years later. He is known as the Actuary. He is more than just a number cruncher, he has a team of people who retrieve stolen and sensitive items and information for extremely good pay.
When Rohan's mother discovered Emma was pregnant, she locked her in a room and was making arrangements for Emma's illegal abortion. She managed to escape her mother-in-law by means of Anton, her brother-in-law.
Although this is listed as a Rural British mystery, it is really a very well written Romantic Suspense story. This is a slow pace story, but I found it to be an entertaining read with nicely developed characters, and several twist thrown in to keep you guessing who, or just how many bad guys there are in the story.
Rohan Andreyev left Emma as a young 16 year old bride for the war. He did not know she was pregnant. Now, seven years later. He is known as the Actuary. He is more than just a number cruncher, he has a team of people who retrieve stolen and sensitive items and information for extremely good pay.
When Rohan's mother discovered Emma was pregnant, she locked her in a room and was making arrangements for Emma's illegal abortion. She managed to escape her mother-in-law by means of Anton, her brother-in-law.
Although this is listed as a Rural British mystery, it is really a very well written Romantic Suspense story. This is a slow pace story, but I found it to be an entertaining read with nicely developed characters, and several twist thrown in to keep you guessing who, or just how many bad guys there are in the story.
November 7, 2020
Could have been great
Sorry about the headline, but that is my overall impression of an overly long novel that left me wanting. I was disappointed with the handling of the protagonist's character. A primary in the story that I felt should have been presented as stronger, sadly comes off as whining and childish. This character who should have had a powerful impact was instead likened to an immature schoolgirl.
I hate to abandon a book once I have committed to reading, but I must say I kinda wish I had quit after the first 7 or 8 chapters. Evidently there is at least one follow-up novel, but I won't be reading it.
Sorry about the headline, but that is my overall impression of an overly long novel that left me wanting. I was disappointed with the handling of the protagonist's character. A primary in the story that I felt should have been presented as stronger, sadly comes off as whining and childish. This character who should have had a powerful impact was instead likened to an immature schoolgirl.
I hate to abandon a book once I have committed to reading, but I must say I kinda wish I had quit after the first 7 or 8 chapters. Evidently there is at least one follow-up novel, but I won't be reading it.
October 10, 2018
Interesting
The love an sorrow in this book is touching. The author wrote little Nicky so fantastically. That kid was smart funny loving he made this book. The story itself was good. The banter back an forth between Actuary and Hack was hysterical. I cant put my finger on it but parts of the story drug and I dont want to ruin the book for other readers so I am not going to comment on the other issue I had with the story. It could be because I am from USA an the book was written from an author from a UK author.
The love an sorrow in this book is touching. The author wrote little Nicky so fantastically. That kid was smart funny loving he made this book. The story itself was good. The banter back an forth between Actuary and Hack was hysterical. I cant put my finger on it but parts of the story drug and I dont want to ruin the book for other readers so I am not going to comment on the other issue I had with the story. It could be because I am from USA an the book was written from an author from a UK author.
February 9, 2020
Emma is a single mother with a precocious son, Nicky. She fled from a maniacal stepmother after finding she's pregnant at 16. Her new husband, Rohan, is a dedicated soldier & doesn't know about the baby when he leaves for Afghanistan. Emma struggles to support herself and Nicky.
Great characters and plot - Emma's angst is overwhelming. Hard to put down and the twists & unexpected turns, makes one want to read in one setting.
Great characters and plot - Emma's angst is overwhelming. Hard to put down and the twists & unexpected turns, makes one want to read in one setting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 17, 2021
Very bumpy. Too much not explained in the first 200 pages. Characters did not grow. Nicky (6) was Emma's go to for support. Who does that to a 6 year old??? The poverty was exhausting and overdone, having to be mentioned at every turn (ie: "She pulled her threadbare sweater around her shoulders"). Didn't want to finish it, moved one. Although I gave it more then the water test of 50 pages, I couldn't get through it.
December 4, 2017
Emma has had a difficult life and struggles to provide for her son. She reconnects with her husband, The Actuary, but still struggles against seemingly insurmountable odds. K.T. Bowes is a talented writer and story teller. This is the second series by her that I have read and I am not disappointed. I will definitely continue reading this series and highly recommend it to others to read.
April 2, 2018
I enjoyed the humor in this book but I did have two problems with it. First, the sex scenes could have had more detail. Second, the main male character was suppose to be a strong, male Russian yet he often had tears well up in his eyes. He comes across as a bit wimpy. I'm glad that I just borrowed this book and did not actually buy it.
March 18, 2017
I really really REALLY wanted this book to be better than it was. The premise was interesting, and it even started out well, but the characters were just so darn frustrating! This book had a lot of promise, but the characters ruined it for me. Nicky ended up being my favorite character, and even his character wasn't believable as a six year old. Emma was too saintly and her constant perfection was annoying. Rohan (stupid name) was too flawed, so much so that I was surprised Emma kept giving him more chances. When you are a single mother, your child should come first, not your vagina. That was part of her being too perfect, she was just too willing to forgive Rohan for constantly treating her like shit. He's hot one minute and cold the next. With his behavior towards her, and Nicky getting too attached to Rohan (not to mention the crazy girlfriend and murderess stepmother), Emma should have immediately packed her shit and ran for the hills to protect her son. But she didn't. If the writer had dealt with this part of the story-line a little better, it would have been a lot less frustrating.
May 21, 2017
Liked the mystery, intriguing romance. This was hard to put down. Look forward to reading more of this author.
I have requested the second book that is free in her Logan series. On a fixed income so I can't afford to buy, or I would get the rest of the series.
I have requested the second book that is free in her Logan series. On a fixed income so I can't afford to buy, or I would get the rest of the series.
July 10, 2017
Perhaps not a not overly original story line but with enough satisfying twists and very well assembled. Bowes builds characters that we can begin to care about, leading us into the later books in this series.
December 1, 2017
K T Bowes
The Actuary, in a word, fantastic. Rich plot, rich characters and a really fantastic read. I could not put this book down and was sorry to read the end, but knowing the next book was available
The Actuary, in a word, fantastic. Rich plot, rich characters and a really fantastic read. I could not put this book down and was sorry to read the end, but knowing the next book was available
June 7, 2020
A Good Read That Pulls You In
Not far into the book, I found myself invested in the main characters. Ms. Bowes is a good story teller who creates unique, diverse characters. I found myself looking forward to each opportunity I had to continue the journey with them.
Not far into the book, I found myself invested in the main characters. Ms. Bowes is a good story teller who creates unique, diverse characters. I found myself looking forward to each opportunity I had to continue the journey with them.
September 21, 2021
Long but good
The characters were each powerful in their own Wright. The children same comic relief at times. The adults were intense and lost in their own life. The problems would have been much less intense if they communicated with each other.
The characters were each powerful in their own Wright. The children same comic relief at times. The adults were intense and lost in their own life. The problems would have been much less intense if they communicated with each other.
December 17, 2021
Couldn’t put it down…
Ms Bowes created such wonderful characters and situations so well that I couldn’t put this book down. In fact, I went and bought the other 3 books to see how the rest of the story went.
Ms Bowes created such wonderful characters and situations so well that I couldn’t put this book down. In fact, I went and bought the other 3 books to see how the rest of the story went.
June 24, 2017
From lost then rediscovered love, motherhood, insanity, poverty, riches, mysterious protectors, and espionage, The Actuary has it all. Although a little drawn out, I would still highly recommend it.
August 23, 2017
Another book that wasn't what I was expecting. From the little I read, it appears that this one is not going to be a clean book, so I put it down.
May 15, 2018
Action, romance, drama, passion! Nicky is quite a character, Emily is a wreck, and Rohan appears a bit clueless at times. A sensitive, heartbreaking, and heartwarming at the same time.
August 4, 2018
A little bit of everything
A little mysterious, a little suspenseful, a little funny and a little romantic. A good story to while away some time with.
A little mysterious, a little suspenseful, a little funny and a little romantic. A good story to while away some time with.
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