Destination Wedding, a prequel to One Tough Cookie, follows Karina Cortés as she grapples with her past, the concept of committed relationships, and the meaning of friendship during a destination wedding weekend in Puerto Rico.
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A Latina Fleabag committed to her carefree single life meets the sexy new mechanic determined to break through her defenses, in this humorous and heartfelt foodie women’s fiction set at a cookie company.
All cookies are made with love—even if twenty-seven-year-old Karina Cortés doesn’t believe in the concept. For her, a simple life with no attachments is a good life. And her life is indeed good—even with her biggest accomplishment being passing the GED exam. Karina is able to secure an incredible and well-paying job at Singular Cookies, Inc., a small family-owned cookie manufacturing plant in Fort Pierce, Florida. And although the founders of the company treat her like family, Karina insists she doesn’t need or want one. Not after her mother chose a man over her own daughter, pushing the young Karina to move out and make it on her own.
And she couldn’t be happier with her single life, unlike her friends, whose lives revolve around men.
Work and play collide when she meets the company’s hot new mechanic, Ian Feliciano, who stirs up feelings she tends to avoid. Karina knows she shouldn’t date him, but she’s strong; she’ll never turn pathetic like her friends or, especially, her mom. And with a looming plant inspection and trying to break-up the CEO’s new romance, Karina has enough to distract herself.
As the inspection draws near and Karina battles her heart, she’ll have to decide whether to continue holding on to deeply ingrained beliefs that keep everyone at bay, or learn that love is not as dangerous as she fears, an in the end, it is our history—our singular recipe—that shapes how we live.
“A simply riveting, fun and funny read from first page to last, ‘One Tough Cookie’ is all the more impressive when considering that it is author Delise Torres' debut as a novelist.”
"ONE TOUGH COOKIE is a snappy debut filled with complex characters and the struggles of a growing business. The cookie-factory setting heats up with plenty of romance and a brazen heroine, who isn’t afraid of her sexuality. There’s a little Karina in all of us."
"Sharp and voicey, ONE TOUGH COOKIE is a fast read, making you crave cookies as it delves into Karina's world at a cookie plant. Karina is snarky and sassy, a unique heroine searching for what she really wants. A charming debut!"
“Original, witty and entertaining with strong romcom vibes, ONE TOUGH COOKIE explores what happens when we let the hard external layer protecting us crumble just a little.”
Delise Torres grew up in Puerto Rico, watching telenovelas and re-enacting scenes with her Barbies. Once she outgrew her dolls, she turned to daydreaming, and it wasn’t until her late thirties when she finally put her own stories to paper, and her passion for writing was born.
She has a PhD in Food Science and former work experience as a quality assurance manager in the food industry. When not writing, you can find her trying to time-manage her life, singing, reading, and streaming shows and movies. She lives in Germany with her daughter and German husband. One Tough Cookie is her first novel.
Karina Cortés grapples with her past, the concept of committed relationships, and the meaning of friendship during a destination wedding weekend in Puerto Rico.