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Alien Corn
Fight as she might against her feelings for Rafael Rodriguez, Lorna had to admit them in the end. But the two of them were separated by barriers of nationality, language, and two completely different backgrounds. Lorna was in the position of having to accept an alien way of life for herself, or give up the man who had become so dear to her. Should she back out while there was still time, or could there be a future for them together?
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1954
About the author
Rachel Lindsay
67 books64 followersRachel Lindsay is the pen name of an author who also published as Roberta Leigh, Janey Scott, and Rozella Lake. See the "Roberta Leigh" entry for full biographical information.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 24, 2026
I recently bought an entire grocery bag of old Harlequins for $65 and when I pulled this one out of it, I laughed my ass off at the title. Then I looked it up and felt bad because apparently it's a reference to a John Keats poem and we love a well-read queen. ALIEN CORN, despite the amusing title, is actually a fascinating study of how culture shocks might affect a relationship, and it goes in far greater depth than some of these other globe-trotting romances from the time period do. To a point where the arguments between the H and the h sometimes feel exhaustingly real, like you're talking bestie through her latest tear-filled threat to leave her mediocre fuckboy boyfriend-- again.
Lorna works at a hotel but ends up going to Portugal to help take care of her pregnant Portuguese friend, Amalia, who is at the hotel on business. After putting in her notice, she goes to Estoril, Portugal, which is apparently one of the wealthiest places in the country. Amalia's husband, Manoel, is cousin to Rafael, the patriarch of the Rodriguez estate, and he doesn't take too kindly to Lorna's flighty English ways. (Narrator: but the man was a liar, and his peen was hard.) Even though this is under 200 pages, there were so many plot points that it felt a lot longer, from estranged family members to jewel thieves to deadly pregnancies to "oh my god, are you cheating on me because you're Portuguese?" Absolute. Cinema.
Despite the complexity of the relationship, ALIEN CORN definitely feels dated in a lot of ways. The hero threatens to strangle and spank the heroine. Cheating and sleeping around is also explained away as touchstone of Portuguese culture, and the other woman, Inez, is constantly mocking and chastising Lorna for not being submissive or virginal enough, because she's "English." Rafael's mother is also a hardcore boy mom and there's a rather disturbing (but hilarious) confrontation scene towards the end where she says that Lorna isn't worthy of her son after proposes and admits that, yes, she's jealous of the women in his life because SHE birthed him (yikes on bikes).
If you can find a copy of this, it's a decent read. And its dated elements are more hilarious than they are blatantly offensive, mostly because of how earnest they are. Like, who can can beat misspelling the Algarve as the "Algrave," or proposing Ovaltine as a cure for sunstroke? I also liked the portrayal of pre-EU Portugal and learned, for the first time, that they used the "escudo" before the euro. Also, the ending was genuinely romantic and had me swooning in spite of my better sense.
3.5 stars
Lorna works at a hotel but ends up going to Portugal to help take care of her pregnant Portuguese friend, Amalia, who is at the hotel on business. After putting in her notice, she goes to Estoril, Portugal, which is apparently one of the wealthiest places in the country. Amalia's husband, Manoel, is cousin to Rafael, the patriarch of the Rodriguez estate, and he doesn't take too kindly to Lorna's flighty English ways. (Narrator: but the man was a liar, and his peen was hard.) Even though this is under 200 pages, there were so many plot points that it felt a lot longer, from estranged family members to jewel thieves to deadly pregnancies to "oh my god, are you cheating on me because you're Portuguese?" Absolute. Cinema.
Despite the complexity of the relationship, ALIEN CORN definitely feels dated in a lot of ways. The hero threatens to strangle and spank the heroine. Cheating and sleeping around is also explained away as touchstone of Portuguese culture, and the other woman, Inez, is constantly mocking and chastising Lorna for not being submissive or virginal enough, because she's "English." Rafael's mother is also a hardcore boy mom and there's a rather disturbing (but hilarious) confrontation scene towards the end where she says that Lorna isn't worthy of her son after proposes and admits that, yes, she's jealous of the women in his life because SHE birthed him (yikes on bikes).
If you can find a copy of this, it's a decent read. And its dated elements are more hilarious than they are blatantly offensive, mostly because of how earnest they are. Like, who can can beat misspelling the Algarve as the "Algrave," or proposing Ovaltine as a cure for sunstroke? I also liked the portrayal of pre-EU Portugal and learned, for the first time, that they used the "escudo" before the euro. Also, the ending was genuinely romantic and had me swooning in spite of my better sense.
3.5 stars
February 5, 2022
Very surprising book. The h falls in love with a Portuguese H and is expected to get used to living in a very conservative setting with a future mother-in-law who loathes her, an OW whose predatory and malicious behavior she is supposeed to tolerate for the rest of her life because the OW is an old friend of the family, and a society where blatant infidelity is widespread and tolerated. The likelihood of the H remaining faithful seems quite low despite the H's protestations and occasionally grudging reassurances. The h reaches her breaking point when the h has to go and retrieve her BF's husband from his mistress at a casino when the BF goes into labor and is on the verge of dying. When she gets there, she sees her husband with the OW.
After not receiving satisfactory answers from the H (he says that he was there entertaining clients and the OW just happened to be there, which I believe, but it really wasn't the point -- the H should have recognized how fed up the h was with anything that even hinted of unfaithfulness, and instead he's prickly and defensive), and more clashes with the OW and future MIL, the h returns to England and gets her life back slowly, although she's still pining for the H. After a few months*, he turns up, and here's where it gets surprising -- he has left his family in Portugal and has moved to England to be with her. He's transferred his business headquarters from Lisbon to London. They'll stay there for the forseeable future, until their love is cemented by years of happiness and nothing can come between them. (Although if I were the h I would only visit for my MIL's funeral.) I was really stunned it ended up that way -- I was sure she'd end up going back to live in an intolerable environment because she was so in love with the H that he was all that was important.
*I actually understand why he didn't get in touch with her during those months. They had talked everything to death, and he needed to prove his love through actions.
To answer the really important question, the phrase "alien corn" comes from Keats' "Ode to Nightingale" means someone who is alone in a foreign land or alien surroundings. I had to look that up.
After not receiving satisfactory answers from the H (he says that he was there entertaining clients and the OW just happened to be there, which I believe, but it really wasn't the point -- the H should have recognized how fed up the h was with anything that even hinted of unfaithfulness, and instead he's prickly and defensive), and more clashes with the OW and future MIL, the h returns to England and gets her life back slowly, although she's still pining for the H. After a few months*, he turns up, and here's where it gets surprising -- he has left his family in Portugal and has moved to England to be with her. He's transferred his business headquarters from Lisbon to London. They'll stay there for the forseeable future, until their love is cemented by years of happiness and nothing can come between them. (Although if I were the h I would only visit for my MIL's funeral.) I was really stunned it ended up that way -- I was sure she'd end up going back to live in an intolerable environment because she was so in love with the H that he was all that was important.
*I actually understand why he didn't get in touch with her during those months. They had talked everything to death, and he needed to prove his love through actions.
To answer the really important question, the phrase "alien corn" comes from Keats' "Ode to Nightingale" means someone who is alone in a foreign land or alien surroundings. I had to look that up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2013
2 1/2 Stars ~ While working at a London hotel, Lorna runs into a friend she'd lost touch with. Amalia, newly pregnant, invites Lorna to come and stay with her and her husband in Portugal until the baby is born. Arriving Portugal, Lorna is taken with the beauty of the country but alarmed at the backward customs regarding married women. The Portuguese wife is expected to remain in the home, while it is perfectly acceptable for the husband to go out, and even to have affairs. Amalia is stricken when her husband follows custom. Raphael is the head of the family, and everyone, except for his mother, seems to be in awe of him. He defends his country's customs and demands that Lorna not interfere in his cousin's marriage. When he takes an interest in Lorna, she finds herself falling in love with him, and much to her surprise he tells her that he loves her too and proposes. Raphael's mother disapproves of the engagement and sets out to undermine their bond. With the help of a woman who had expected to marry Raphael, they cleverly seed her with doubts on her ability to be happy with the restrictive lifestyle she is marrying into.
This story was originally published in 1954. While it is written from the heroine's POV, we do see how frustrated Raphael becomes each time Lorna doubts the strength of their love. Lorna isn't normally a silly woman, however her tendency to waffle made me want to shake her. I was rather surprised with the end resolution which made their HEA very satisfying.
This story was originally published in 1954. While it is written from the heroine's POV, we do see how frustrated Raphael becomes each time Lorna doubts the strength of their love. Lorna isn't normally a silly woman, however her tendency to waffle made me want to shake her. I was rather surprised with the end resolution which made their HEA very satisfying.
March 17, 2015
I was given this book in a goody bag at a writers workshop. The mother of a fellow writer had boxes of these old books in her garage and she was kind enough to share them with us. I found the title a little 'corny' to say the least, but recently sat down and read it cover to cover. And speaking of the cover ... The copy I have is very different from the one shown here. On my cover the heroine is wearing a contemporary (for the time) dress and is sitting in a wicker chair holding a sketch book. The hero is nowhere in sight.
The book was originally published in 1968 and then put into Harlequin's line in 1973. I'd never read a Harlequin that old and was both curious and intrigued by the story as well as the format.
This little book kept my attention and what I discovered was a well-written story. It was set at a time when the heroine called her hero,'darling,' the hero frequently lit up a cigarette, and all the women wore dresses. Oh, how times have changed!
The other major difference in this romance novel was the extent of the passion on the page. I was caught up in the attraction between this unlikely pair. They shared a few steamy kisses and nothing more, but honestly, I wasn't at all disappointed. The plot kept my interest. What a great concept! It was so enjoyable stepping back in time. This book felt more like a historical romance to me even though it's less than fifty years old.
So glad I read it...
The book was originally published in 1968 and then put into Harlequin's line in 1973. I'd never read a Harlequin that old and was both curious and intrigued by the story as well as the format.
This little book kept my attention and what I discovered was a well-written story. It was set at a time when the heroine called her hero,'darling,' the hero frequently lit up a cigarette, and all the women wore dresses. Oh, how times have changed!
The other major difference in this romance novel was the extent of the passion on the page. I was caught up in the attraction between this unlikely pair. They shared a few steamy kisses and nothing more, but honestly, I wasn't at all disappointed. The plot kept my interest. What a great concept! It was so enjoyable stepping back in time. This book felt more like a historical romance to me even though it's less than fifty years old.
So glad I read it...
August 2, 2026
4.4 stars, rounded up to 5
Alien Corn was a little more than a 4-star read for me. Its themes, Rafael’s relentless arrogance and the compromise he eventually makes were all deeply appealing. In romances like this, the heroine often capitulates while the hero changes very little. Here, Rafael ultimately makes a sacrifice I never expected from a man so certain that his culture and beliefs were right.
Lorna travels to Portugal to support her pregnant friend Amalia. Amalia is Portuguese but grew up in England, where she befriended Lorna, and has developed more modern and liberal views than those depicted in her homeland.
The book presents Portuguese society as allowing women reasonable freedom before marriage but expecting them to surrender their social lives afterwards. A married woman remains at home raising children while her husband socialises freely and takes mistresses. Wives are excluded from this world and therefore don’t have to witness their husbands openly appearing with other women.
I don’t know how accurately this reflects Portuguese culture when the book was written, although I can believe that such attitudes existed.
Amalia is now living in Portugal with a husband who repeatedly cheats on her. They’re trying to save their marriage, particularly because she’s pregnant, but she feels trapped by her confined life. Her husband rarely spends time with her and continues living independently while she remains at home.
She begs Lorna to stay until the baby is born and keep her company.
They’re living in the home of Amalia’s husband’s cousin, Rafael, who is head of the family. Rafael is domineering, autocratic and deeply traditional. He rules everyone with an iron hand, tolerates no opposition and inspires considerable fear.
Rafael is away on business when Lorna arrives. He returns unexpectedly and finds her drawing in the garden.
Lorna already knows his reputation. She finds him handsome and charming but expects her modern attitudes to clash with his patriarchal beliefs. Rafael nevertheless seeks her company, speaks to her at length and later shows her around Portugal, even though she might have preferred to avoid him.
Their conflict repeatedly centres on Amalia’s marriage. Whenever Lorna criticises the way Amalia’s husband treats her, Rafael angrily tells her she has no right to speak to his cousin that way.
Lorna feels humiliated because his response appears rooted in the belief that a woman has no right to challenge a man. Rafael later insists that nobody should interfere in another couple’s marriage and that, as head of the family, it’s his responsibility to intervene if necessary.
The problem is that his standards are thoroughly patriarchal. He sees little wrong with his cousin’s behaviour and therefore has no intention of protecting Amalia from it. He doesn't even like her offering support and sympathy to Amalia to begin with and tells her she has to stop being a bad influence.
Rafael sometimes takes Lorna out to show her the country. During these outings, she sees his friends and relatives, including Amalia’s husband, openly socialising with their mistresses as though it’s entirely normal.
Rafael refuses to hear her objections. He accuses her of looking for arguments and says this is simply how life works there.
SPOILERS
Despite their clashes, Lorna and Rafael fall passionately in love. They confess their feelings relatively early, around the middle of the book, and he proposes.
However, their love doesn’t resolve their fundamental differences.
Rafael repeatedly says their marriage will be different because they love each other. Yet he condones his cousin’s cheating and refuses to criticise the wider culture that enables it. Lorna can’t understand how their marriage can remain different when Rafael sees nothing wrong with everyone else behaving that way.
She fears that once their honeymoon period ends, she’ll be treated like every other wife she has observed. Rafael may begin living his own life while expecting her to remain quietly at home.
She also worries that every disagreement will lead to anger because Rafael resents her speaking against his beliefs. Eventually, she may surrender simply because she loves him too much to endure constant conflict.
Her central fear is losing herself within the marriage.
Although Lorna accepts his proposal, her doubts remain. Whenever she tries to discuss them, Rafael becomes impatient. He insists that she should trust him and accept that their marriage will be different.
However, he never explains what “different” means. He doesn’t paint any convincing picture of their future or even directly reassure her that he’ll remain faithful. He merely becomes offended that she lacks faith in him and refuses to continue the discussion.
From this description, it may sound as though they repeat the same argument endlessly. In practice, the book examines their conflict through varied situations, allowing Lorna’s distrust to develop naturally without becoming dull.
There is also Ines, the ideal Portuguese woman Rafael’s mother wants him to marry.
His mother continually invites Ines to the house. She knows Rafael loves Lorna but becomes increasingly resentful and hostile because she believes an English woman will never make him happy. She insists that their cultural differences will eventually destroy the marriage and wants him to choose Ines instead.
Ines is equally confident that the engagement won’t last. She repeatedly sneers at Lorna and tells her that once the relationship fails, Rafael will turn to her.
All of this feeds Lorna’s very genuine fears. Ines isn’t merely inventing impossible problems. The future she predicts seems entirely plausible because Rafael expects Lorna to trust him while refusing to reconsider any of the beliefs threatening their happiness.
He offers lip service about love making everything different, but Lorna has no evidence that he won’t eventually expect her to tolerate the same life as every other wife around them.
Rafael later leaves for Africa on business. By then, Amalia has given birth and is in hospital, leaving Lorna alone in the house with his mother.
His mother uses the opportunity to intensify her attacks. She continually reminds Lorna why the marriage will fail until Lorna begins seriously doubting whether she and Rafael can ever be happy.
His mother genuinely believes they’re incompatible, but she’s also a bitter, jealous woman who wants to control her son. She has been provoking Rafael as much as Lorna. Once he leaves, Lorna receives the full force of her resentment.
Eventually, Lorna can’t take any more. She decides the marriage will make them both unhappy and leaves immediately for England.
She doesn’t write Rafael a letter because she believes there’s nothing left to explain. He already knows every issue between them and has refused to address any of them. She tells his mother she’s leaving and that the woman can give Rafael whatever explanation she chooses.
I wasn’t entirely happy with Lorna’s departure. I would have preferred Rafael himself to do something that finally defeated her. Leaving because his mother drove her away made Lorna appear beaten by someone she shouldn’t have allowed to win.
Back in England, Lorna tries to rebuild her life while secretly hoping Rafael will contact her. He never calls or writes.
Even Amalia rarely writes because she’s supposedly occupied with her baby. I thought this was rather rich. Lorna abandoned her own life for months to support Amalia through a difficult pregnancy and troubled marriage, yet Amalia can barely contact her when she knows her friend is heartbroken. I found that deeply selfish.
Three months pass.
An old flame who previously wanted to marry Lorna returns and persistently proposes. He points out that Rafael hasn’t come looking for her and claims he can make her love him eventually.
He has been a good friend, and Lorna briefly wonders whether she should accept. She knows she’ll never stop loving Rafael, but perhaps she could have a normal, stable marriage with someone else.
She still can’t bring herself to agree.
Then Lorna’s aunt throws her a birthday party, and Rafael unexpectedly arrives.
Lorna is so shocked that she ignores him throughout the evening. I found this childish. Whatever her anger over his silence, she could have behaved more maturely and retained more of my respect.
Rafael is socially confident enough to introduce himself and speak to the other guests without her help. He remains after everyone else leaves and insists they must talk.
Lorna confronts him over his 3 months of silence and asks how long he has been in England. When he admits he has already been there for a week, she’s even more hurt that he didn’t contact her.
Rafael says he stayed silent because there was nothing left for them to discuss. They already knew the problem between them, and further conversations wouldn’t solve it.
He has spent his week in England looking for a house.
He has now found one comparable to his home in Portugal because he has decided to live in England.
In Rafael’s mind, their engagement never ended. Lorna may have left him, but he never accepted that they were finished. He simply realised that if she couldn’t make her home with him in Portugal, he would have to make his home with her in England.
He has spent the intervening months reorganising his business and preparing to move.
I loved this.
Rafael doesn’t arrive with empty declarations or ask Lorna to surrender her fears. He has calmly and pragmatically changed the entire structure of his life because he believes they belong together and can’t remain apart.
This is a major compromise from a man as proud, fiery and culturally certain as Rafael. He doesn’t abandon his strength or become a different character, but he finally does exactly what Lorna needs.
He says they can remain in England for as long as she wants. Perhaps, after years together have made their bond completely secure, they may eventually return to Portugal—but only when she’s ready.
I found that wonderful.
Lorna suffered during his 3 months of silence, but I didn’t resent it because she walked out under the influence of his unpleasant mother and didn’t even leave him a letter. She deserved some consequences for that decision.
I also loved Rafael’s absolute certainty. He never gave up on them or indulged in emotional theatrics. He identified the obstacle, moved his business and found them a home.
Hopefully, living in England will also soften his patriarchal beliefs. If they eventually return to Portugal, perhaps those changed attitudes will be sufficiently embedded that he’ll better understand Lorna’s objections to the society around them rather than dismissing her concerns as interference. (I also love that his selfish mother got her comeuppance and drove her own son away while trying to drive away the woman he loved. Ha! Long may she wallow in her loneliness.)
The book stays continuously interesting and well paced except the beginning, which I skimmed until Lorna met Rafael. From that point, I couldn’t put the book down.
Although they declare their love earlier than I usually prefer, the romantic tension doesn’t disappear. Their love creates further conflict because it raises the question of whether passion can overcome genuinely incompatible beliefs and ways of life.
There is also sustained angst through Ines, Rafael’s mother, Amalia’s marriage and Lorna’s fear that she’ll eventually disappear into the role expected of Rafael’s wife.
At the same time, there is plenty of romance. Rafael continually seeks Lorna’s company, takes her out and shows her his country. He is remarkably open about wanting her and emotionally wears his heart on his sleeve, although Lorna can’t recognise it clearly because her fears and feelings distort her view of him.
I loved the passion between them, Rafael’s domineering strength and his certainty about his love. Most importantly, I loved that the ending required him to compromise rather than asking Lorna to surrender.
I initially considered giving Alien Corn 4 stars, but that feels too lukewarm for such a passionate and compulsive book. My precise rating would be 4.4 stars, but I’m rounding it up to 5.
I would happily read it again, more slowly next time, to enjoy the romance and conflict properly.
Alien Corn was a little more than a 4-star read for me. Its themes, Rafael’s relentless arrogance and the compromise he eventually makes were all deeply appealing. In romances like this, the heroine often capitulates while the hero changes very little. Here, Rafael ultimately makes a sacrifice I never expected from a man so certain that his culture and beliefs were right.
Lorna travels to Portugal to support her pregnant friend Amalia. Amalia is Portuguese but grew up in England, where she befriended Lorna, and has developed more modern and liberal views than those depicted in her homeland.
The book presents Portuguese society as allowing women reasonable freedom before marriage but expecting them to surrender their social lives afterwards. A married woman remains at home raising children while her husband socialises freely and takes mistresses. Wives are excluded from this world and therefore don’t have to witness their husbands openly appearing with other women.
I don’t know how accurately this reflects Portuguese culture when the book was written, although I can believe that such attitudes existed.
Amalia is now living in Portugal with a husband who repeatedly cheats on her. They’re trying to save their marriage, particularly because she’s pregnant, but she feels trapped by her confined life. Her husband rarely spends time with her and continues living independently while she remains at home.
She begs Lorna to stay until the baby is born and keep her company.
They’re living in the home of Amalia’s husband’s cousin, Rafael, who is head of the family. Rafael is domineering, autocratic and deeply traditional. He rules everyone with an iron hand, tolerates no opposition and inspires considerable fear.
Rafael is away on business when Lorna arrives. He returns unexpectedly and finds her drawing in the garden.
Lorna already knows his reputation. She finds him handsome and charming but expects her modern attitudes to clash with his patriarchal beliefs. Rafael nevertheless seeks her company, speaks to her at length and later shows her around Portugal, even though she might have preferred to avoid him.
Their conflict repeatedly centres on Amalia’s marriage. Whenever Lorna criticises the way Amalia’s husband treats her, Rafael angrily tells her she has no right to speak to his cousin that way.
Lorna feels humiliated because his response appears rooted in the belief that a woman has no right to challenge a man. Rafael later insists that nobody should interfere in another couple’s marriage and that, as head of the family, it’s his responsibility to intervene if necessary.
The problem is that his standards are thoroughly patriarchal. He sees little wrong with his cousin’s behaviour and therefore has no intention of protecting Amalia from it. He doesn't even like her offering support and sympathy to Amalia to begin with and tells her she has to stop being a bad influence.
Rafael sometimes takes Lorna out to show her the country. During these outings, she sees his friends and relatives, including Amalia’s husband, openly socialising with their mistresses as though it’s entirely normal.
Rafael refuses to hear her objections. He accuses her of looking for arguments and says this is simply how life works there.
SPOILERS
Despite their clashes, Lorna and Rafael fall passionately in love. They confess their feelings relatively early, around the middle of the book, and he proposes.
However, their love doesn’t resolve their fundamental differences.
Rafael repeatedly says their marriage will be different because they love each other. Yet he condones his cousin’s cheating and refuses to criticise the wider culture that enables it. Lorna can’t understand how their marriage can remain different when Rafael sees nothing wrong with everyone else behaving that way.
She fears that once their honeymoon period ends, she’ll be treated like every other wife she has observed. Rafael may begin living his own life while expecting her to remain quietly at home.
She also worries that every disagreement will lead to anger because Rafael resents her speaking against his beliefs. Eventually, she may surrender simply because she loves him too much to endure constant conflict.
Her central fear is losing herself within the marriage.
Although Lorna accepts his proposal, her doubts remain. Whenever she tries to discuss them, Rafael becomes impatient. He insists that she should trust him and accept that their marriage will be different.
However, he never explains what “different” means. He doesn’t paint any convincing picture of their future or even directly reassure her that he’ll remain faithful. He merely becomes offended that she lacks faith in him and refuses to continue the discussion.
From this description, it may sound as though they repeat the same argument endlessly. In practice, the book examines their conflict through varied situations, allowing Lorna’s distrust to develop naturally without becoming dull.
There is also Ines, the ideal Portuguese woman Rafael’s mother wants him to marry.
His mother continually invites Ines to the house. She knows Rafael loves Lorna but becomes increasingly resentful and hostile because she believes an English woman will never make him happy. She insists that their cultural differences will eventually destroy the marriage and wants him to choose Ines instead.
Ines is equally confident that the engagement won’t last. She repeatedly sneers at Lorna and tells her that once the relationship fails, Rafael will turn to her.
All of this feeds Lorna’s very genuine fears. Ines isn’t merely inventing impossible problems. The future she predicts seems entirely plausible because Rafael expects Lorna to trust him while refusing to reconsider any of the beliefs threatening their happiness.
He offers lip service about love making everything different, but Lorna has no evidence that he won’t eventually expect her to tolerate the same life as every other wife around them.
Rafael later leaves for Africa on business. By then, Amalia has given birth and is in hospital, leaving Lorna alone in the house with his mother.
His mother uses the opportunity to intensify her attacks. She continually reminds Lorna why the marriage will fail until Lorna begins seriously doubting whether she and Rafael can ever be happy.
His mother genuinely believes they’re incompatible, but she’s also a bitter, jealous woman who wants to control her son. She has been provoking Rafael as much as Lorna. Once he leaves, Lorna receives the full force of her resentment.
Eventually, Lorna can’t take any more. She decides the marriage will make them both unhappy and leaves immediately for England.
She doesn’t write Rafael a letter because she believes there’s nothing left to explain. He already knows every issue between them and has refused to address any of them. She tells his mother she’s leaving and that the woman can give Rafael whatever explanation she chooses.
I wasn’t entirely happy with Lorna’s departure. I would have preferred Rafael himself to do something that finally defeated her. Leaving because his mother drove her away made Lorna appear beaten by someone she shouldn’t have allowed to win.
Back in England, Lorna tries to rebuild her life while secretly hoping Rafael will contact her. He never calls or writes.
Even Amalia rarely writes because she’s supposedly occupied with her baby. I thought this was rather rich. Lorna abandoned her own life for months to support Amalia through a difficult pregnancy and troubled marriage, yet Amalia can barely contact her when she knows her friend is heartbroken. I found that deeply selfish.
Three months pass.
An old flame who previously wanted to marry Lorna returns and persistently proposes. He points out that Rafael hasn’t come looking for her and claims he can make her love him eventually.
He has been a good friend, and Lorna briefly wonders whether she should accept. She knows she’ll never stop loving Rafael, but perhaps she could have a normal, stable marriage with someone else.
She still can’t bring herself to agree.
Then Lorna’s aunt throws her a birthday party, and Rafael unexpectedly arrives.
Lorna is so shocked that she ignores him throughout the evening. I found this childish. Whatever her anger over his silence, she could have behaved more maturely and retained more of my respect.
Rafael is socially confident enough to introduce himself and speak to the other guests without her help. He remains after everyone else leaves and insists they must talk.
Lorna confronts him over his 3 months of silence and asks how long he has been in England. When he admits he has already been there for a week, she’s even more hurt that he didn’t contact her.
Rafael says he stayed silent because there was nothing left for them to discuss. They already knew the problem between them, and further conversations wouldn’t solve it.
He has spent his week in England looking for a house.
He has now found one comparable to his home in Portugal because he has decided to live in England.
In Rafael’s mind, their engagement never ended. Lorna may have left him, but he never accepted that they were finished. He simply realised that if she couldn’t make her home with him in Portugal, he would have to make his home with her in England.
He has spent the intervening months reorganising his business and preparing to move.
I loved this.
Rafael doesn’t arrive with empty declarations or ask Lorna to surrender her fears. He has calmly and pragmatically changed the entire structure of his life because he believes they belong together and can’t remain apart.
This is a major compromise from a man as proud, fiery and culturally certain as Rafael. He doesn’t abandon his strength or become a different character, but he finally does exactly what Lorna needs.
He says they can remain in England for as long as she wants. Perhaps, after years together have made their bond completely secure, they may eventually return to Portugal—but only when she’s ready.
I found that wonderful.
Lorna suffered during his 3 months of silence, but I didn’t resent it because she walked out under the influence of his unpleasant mother and didn’t even leave him a letter. She deserved some consequences for that decision.
I also loved Rafael’s absolute certainty. He never gave up on them or indulged in emotional theatrics. He identified the obstacle, moved his business and found them a home.
Hopefully, living in England will also soften his patriarchal beliefs. If they eventually return to Portugal, perhaps those changed attitudes will be sufficiently embedded that he’ll better understand Lorna’s objections to the society around them rather than dismissing her concerns as interference. (I also love that his selfish mother got her comeuppance and drove her own son away while trying to drive away the woman he loved. Ha! Long may she wallow in her loneliness.)
The book stays continuously interesting and well paced except the beginning, which I skimmed until Lorna met Rafael. From that point, I couldn’t put the book down.
Although they declare their love earlier than I usually prefer, the romantic tension doesn’t disappear. Their love creates further conflict because it raises the question of whether passion can overcome genuinely incompatible beliefs and ways of life.
There is also sustained angst through Ines, Rafael’s mother, Amalia’s marriage and Lorna’s fear that she’ll eventually disappear into the role expected of Rafael’s wife.
At the same time, there is plenty of romance. Rafael continually seeks Lorna’s company, takes her out and shows her his country. He is remarkably open about wanting her and emotionally wears his heart on his sleeve, although Lorna can’t recognise it clearly because her fears and feelings distort her view of him.
I loved the passion between them, Rafael’s domineering strength and his certainty about his love. Most importantly, I loved that the ending required him to compromise rather than asking Lorna to surrender.
I initially considered giving Alien Corn 4 stars, but that feels too lukewarm for such a passionate and compulsive book. My precise rating would be 4.4 stars, but I’m rounding it up to 5.
I would happily read it again, more slowly next time, to enjoy the romance and conflict properly.
April 14, 2021
This HP has so many twists and turns that it keeps you reading.
The way they speak and they think, it is as if you’re reading a 19th century book.
And the ending, what the H does for the h, is mega romantic.
The way they speak and they think, it is as if you’re reading a 19th century book.
And the ending, what the H does for the h, is mega romantic.
October 9, 2017
Vintage Harlequin can be so melodramatic and this was one of them. I had to read this one in fits and starts because the heroine, while being a smart gal, was a silly widget with her Portuguese hero.
May 8, 2020
😳 Batshit crazy...from the WTF title to the dithering ninny of a heroine. This one was a bit of a trainwreck.
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October 3, 2025That title tho
pback-to-read
August 23, 2022Fight as she might against her feelings for Rafael Rodriguez, Lorna had to admit them in the end. But the two of them were separated by barriers of nationality, language, and two completely different backgrounds. Lorna was in the position of having to accept an alien way of life for herself, or give up the man who had become so dear to her. Should she back out while there was still time, or could there be a future for them together?
Read
April 9, 2018Fight as she might against her feelings for Rafael Rodriguez, Lorna had to admit them in the end.
But the two of them were separated by barriers of nationality, language, and two completely different backgrounds. Lorna was in the position of having to accept an alien way of life for herself, or give up the man who had become so dear to her.
Should she back out while there was still time, or could there be a future for them together?
But the two of them were separated by barriers of nationality, language, and two completely different backgrounds. Lorna was in the position of having to accept an alien way of life for herself, or give up the man who had become so dear to her.
Should she back out while there was still time, or could there be a future for them together?
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