A book that starts on a sad note to go crescendo and to finally have our faith into the humanity restored.
You get attached to each character and accept them despite their faults and actions, you cannot wait to reach the end to see how life can affect any of them and change them for a better version of themselves.

A page turner !

Susan, the main character, is a prickly woman in her mid forties. ( Of course, we come to learn that she is a product of her upbringing). She has her life well ordered, with a job that suits her and a flat in London. Her world is turned upside-down when her Mum dies, leaving her brother a lifetime interest in the family home. Susan, having just found out she is pregnant, must set this injustice right. In order to do this, she must start to rely on, and accept help from other people, something she has never done before. She learns a lot about herself and what she is capable of.
This book has been recommended for fans of 'Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine' and there are similarities. I do think people who enjoyed that book, will like this one also..
Overall, an enjoyable read.

*Many thanks to Netgalley for a copy to review.*

At the beginning, this book reminded me very much of "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine", but went on to be very much it's own story. I really enjoyed it and would recommend to others. It was well-written, entertaining, with quirky characters who all had their own issues to deal with so felt real. I will look forward to reading more by Sarah Haywood in future.

Okay, I think if you are a fan of things like ‘You Had Me At Hello.’, ‘The Keeper of Lost Things’ or ‘Little Paris Bookshop’, , those softer light reads then this would be your sort of thing too so give it a read, it’s the sort you’d pack on a holiday or a day trip.

The Cactus is a fantastic light-ish read about Susan Green. Susan likes her job, her routines and her life for one. Her life is thrown into turmoil after her mother dies.
Her mother's will unexpectedly allows her ne'r do well brother Ed to live in the family home for as long as he chooses. This is really no good, as Susan has banked on using her half of the house to buy a bigger place. In fact, she needs to buy a bigger place.
Susan enters into a battle of wills with Ed. Flashbacks show us that Ed has never been nice to Susan. Ever. That their late mother always favoured Ed, who has not made anything of his life. Ed has only one redeeming quality: an engaging best friend called Rob.
Susan may be a prickly character but you completely understand her protective shell when you see what she has had to deal with. You long for her to find love and happiness. The opposite is true for Ed, who you hope to disappear under a rock.

I loved this book. It made me cry and laugh and really fall in love with the characters.
Susan likes her own company and doesn’t easily let anyone in, however there’s one problem - she’s pregnant. Her mum has just died and this story follows her as she rediscovers herself and her relationships. She’s been feuding with her brother for many years and the death of their mother makes this even worse. And then there’s the matter of the baby’s father to consider.
This story is a really heartwarming journey through Susan’s pregnancy and I really enjoyed it and couldn’t put it down.

I’m on a mission to read as many books as possible with “quirky” characters and when Richard & Judy announced The Cactus as part of their Autumn Book Club choices it seemed perfect timing to start this book.

Firstly, I absolutely HATE it when books are compared to other books/characters etc and when the Sunday Times said “‘The Cactus will be compared to Gail Honeyman’s 2017 hit, the appealingly eccentric Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine” I try to take it with a pinch of salt and read it with an open mind. Just because both of the main characters are quirky, independent, individual women it doesn’t necessarily mean the book should be compared, but I must admit I did see lots of similarities so if you enjoyed Eleanor, I am pretty confident The Cactus will appeal too.

So, on to the book; it took me a while to warm to Susan, our main character. A fiercely independent, middle aged single woman who is in control of every teeny, tiny aspect of her life until her mother dies unexpectedly. Having to deal with her mothers Last Will and final wishes, face up to her brother Edward with whom she has a very bitter and hostile relationship, Susan has to cope with some harrowing home truths whilst re-examining into her childhood and past.

I didn’t really feel much sympathy or empathy for Susan initially, but at one point in the book EVERYTHING changed for me, I shed a little tear and started rooting and cheering for this lovely, quirky and misunderstood character.

Overall I thought The Cactus was a charming, heartwarming and feelgood story and thoroughly recommend it.

I loved it. I found that I could relate to Susan in so many ways. I was sorry for the book to end. It was like coming home to your family for a lovely long hug.

What a great debut novel from Sarah Haywood. The main character Susan swings between teeth clenchingly rude and irritating to someone who is very vulnerable and sad. The blurb said it was similar to Eleanor Oliphamt is completely Fine but I found Susan a very different character, someone who had built a hard shell to protect her from the disappointments of her upbringing. A very good read.

Its a funny book with a central character who immediately draws you in. It reminded me of Don Tillman in the Rosie Project, as you can see her faced with challenges that show you that she can be both hilarious and annoying! A great story and fantastic for a debut.

I found this book hard going and a very slow read. It was the first book that I have read recently that I had no trouble putting down. Several other reveiws give accurate descriptions of the theme and story and I agree with the story as related by them.

Susan is a difficult person to warm to but I was glad that I stuck to the end of the book and got an insight into how her life and relationships developed

Many people wrongly assume the cacti's spikes serve only to ward off predators...

Susan Green is the cactus, a spiky, brittle, dry kind of woman, in her 40s and not known for her laid-back attitude in the office:
"I've noticed that the quantity of beverages consumed during the working day greatly exceeds the number necessary to keep a person properly hydrated."

With her elderly mother and feckless brother safely at a distance in Birmingham, Susan enjoys a staid life in London in her immaculate flat, even having a relationship "of convenience for us both... delivered the benefits of an intimate association but at no emotional cost." The fruits of this passionate affair are about to flower.

When Susan's mother suddenly dies and the house she expected to sell jointly with brother Edward is willed to him alone, the prickles start flexing.

With 'boyfriend' Richard hovering around in the background, a newly single mum neighbour keen to chat, and Edward's friend Rob noseying about in her business, Susan can't avoid human contact, however much she tries. She's always subscribed to the mantra that "if you have sole charge of your own destiny, no one can let you down."

The reader receives regular glimpses of Susan and Edward's childhoods, and how they dealt with their family life differently. We also know that while we are seeing the story through Susan's eyes, that's probably not how we ourselves are judging the other characters. Susan is an unreliable narrator, but rather adorably so. If I met her in real life, she's probably not come across as warmly as she does on the page.

I loved her. Very much in the Eleanor Oliphant vein, but a creation of her own, Susan Green is a defensive succulent, with strong roots and apparently invulnerable, but dig deeper and you can see the mortal side of her.

This is funny throughout, you do laugh at Susan, but you aren't laughing in a cruel way - we can see that Susan needs to take off her spiky lenses and judge the world anew. Not everything is the way she makes out. Or everyone.

It was a lovely journey with Susan, seeing the character arc over the whole story, as her whole life prepares for change.

With family secrets, romance, comedy, even a court case and hospital scene - it squeezes a lot in, and comfortably.

Wonderful creation, Susan. I could have read about her for days. Would make a wonderful film too - and a great starring role for a female in her 40s, for a change.

With thanks to Netgalley for the sample reading copy.

Great read! Susan is a true cactus - prickly on the outside to protect her inner self! I found myself laughing out loud several times. I'll look out for future work by Sarah Haywood!

I would like to thank John Murray Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Cactus’ by Sarah Haywood in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Susan is in her mid-forties, works in a Government office in London and is so prickly she’s often difficult to get along with. She always does what she thinks is correct, is stuck in her ways and has no desire to change her life even though she’s pregnant. When her mother dies Susan learns that her feckless brother Edward is the chief beneficiary in their mother’s Will with a life interest in the house that Susan thought was going to be sold and the proceeds divided between them. As Susan prepares to take Edward to court to gain what she believes is her rightful inheritance, she becomes aware of a secret her mother kept from her that changes everything.

‘The Cactus’ is a wonderful and beautifully-written story and congratulations to Sarah Haywood for writing it. I loved the character of Susan and her dry sense of humour. Her friends Rob and Kate added to the depth of the story and the enjoyment derived from reading it. The story was emotional, at times I was smiling, at others laughing out loud, and I went through every pain with Susan during the birth. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this amazing book which had me captivated from start to finish.

I loved this book almost from the beginning and the more I found out about Susan Green the more I liked her. Susan ,a single woman who seems to have life just as she wants it , appears to be the cactus of the title - prickly outside to hide a vulnerable interior. This is the story of how she finds that letting people into her life ,not hiding all emotions and relaxing her “rules” ends up with her being happier than she has been in a long time.It is also a story of coming to terms with the unexpected both in the present and the past. There are some real laugh out loud moments as well as a few heart in the mouth ones .

Anybody who loved Eleanor Oliphant will ADORE this book! I absolutely loved it and was hooked from the beginning. Although Susan, the main character, does not have the same history as Eleanor and obviously has a very different personality, there are several similarities which means that Susan is an interesting, likeable person.

She embarks on a very difficult personal journey and the story centres on her life and her family. I don't want to say too much in case I give anything away, but this is highly recommended!

I was so happy to discover another book from the same genre and hope the author writes many more.

I really enjoyed this book, very reminiscent of Eleanor Oliphant and The Rosie Project. You struggle to understand why the character is the way she is but the story takes you through her history in a wonderful way. Certainly pulls at the heartstrings.

I adored this book. I laughed out loud so many times. I actually found Susan a really likeable character despite her prickly nature and it was lovely to see her develop from a loner to friendships, love and motherhood. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased review.

This is definitely the type of novel you want to curl up to read, preferably in front of a big fire with a hot mug of chocolate. It really does fill you with that kind of feeling, laying bare the stark and monotonous life of the main character, Susan.

I know many will compare this book to Elinor Oliphant and, although I understand why, I completely disagree. Susan is independent, strong and brittle with a complex family and a very detached life. Over the course of The Cactus she opens like a waterlilly, which is a journey you are a part of and feel included all of the way.

Beautifully written, a warm and comforting read. Very highly recommended!

Absolutely adored this book. A fast paced, hilarious tale with an amazing leading character. This book will not fail to have you sniggering away - if not laughing out loud - on your commute. Fantastic.