Review: The Cactus

Title: The Cactus by Sarah Haywood
Pages: 371
Rating: 4 stars

I recommended this for Contemporary fiction, and Romance readers.

It is never too late to bloom…


I knew I was going to love this book before I even began reading it. It was recommended for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and I loved Eleanor. So using that logic, I instantly fell in love with a book I had not even started. Luckily, this book was not a disappointment. Susan was Eleanor all over again, but this time with a baby bump and an annoying brother. I loved her with every turn of the page although I have to admit that that she may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Just like Eleanor, Susan has a snobby looking-down- on- other- people kind of attitude brought about by watching rather interacting with other human beings. At 45, Susan is single and totally independent. She has no kids, and doesn’t want to get married. She however has a mutually satisfying arrangement with a man called Richard. To other people, her life may seem lonely but Susan is content with her predictable life which mostly has her all alone. Things change though, when she becomes pregnant and her mother dies.

The Cactus is a story of a woman whose life is unexpectedly changed. Not all changes are bad though, and by the time the book concludes, Susan is a different woman from who she was a year back. The ending, perfect as it was, felt out of place in this book. For one, it felt rushed and it also did not make sense at all.

Spoilers->How does Susan accept to move in with someone she had not even dated? Rob was a total stranger in all the ways that matter. Just because she knew his whole life story does not mean it was logical to move in with him. This was sooo inconsistent with Susan’s character it was laughable.

Nevertheless, this was an awesome book and I highly recommended it.