Slice of Cherry (Portero #2) (e-book) by Dia Reeves

Fancy and Kit Cordelle are the daughters of the Bonesaw Killer and are ostracized by their town because of their serial killer dad.  But the girls have inherited their dad's love of murder though they try to suppress it.  Until Fancy opens a door into another world, that is.  With a place to hide the bodies, the girls begin giving into their desires though they try to only hurt those who hurt others.  But once the Turner boys, whose dad was the Bonesaw Killer's last victim, take an interest in the Cordelle sisters things begin to change.  And Fancy does not like change...

Kit settled against the building opposite the side door of the dress shop, her cap pulled low over her eyes so that her poison mouth was the most visible part of her, the same shade of red as the brick in her fist. (e-book)

Well, this was....er...different.  For me, anyway.  I don't usually read horror since I like to sleep at night but I was drawn to this book, initially, because of the super amazing cover.  And then I read the description and thought well, okay, I'll give it a shot.  Then I download it onto the Nook and got scared.  What was I thinking?  I thought.  I'll wait. But I peeked at the beginning and decide to read the first chapter, then a chapter after that.  And wouldn't you know it?  I read the whole thing.  But only during the day.  I'm serious about sleeping.  And it was a good thing I did.  Because this is some disturbing stuff.  Girls who like to murder people, yeah.  Disturbing.  But strangely compelling too.  I honestly could not figure out where this story was headed especially with the introduction of the two guys.  And so I kept reading because I was invested in Fancy and Kit and could not tell where this was going and where they were going to end up.

There is a whole fantasy element to the story that is rare in a horror novel. At the first appearance of the monsters, I was surprised (I haven't read Bleeding Violet which is set in the same town), but once I went with the whole concept, it blended horror and fantasy perfectly.  The town is interesting with the way they have developed coping mechanisms for the appearance of real life monsters and their reaction to the girls' "solving" of their problems is different.  It defies expectations which is something that can be said for the whole book.

Fancy and Kit do not invite sympathy.  At all.  But the character growth in both of them is done with such style. And the love interest part of the story was very mysterious.  I really couldn't figure out what angle the Turner boys were coming from until it was spelled out for me.  I liked that.  I hate guessing the ending before the story is over. 

Despite the fact that I liked it and that I'm praising it, I must say that this book isn't for everyone.  It has some really gory elements and is disturbing.  The fantasy elements might be off-putting for straight horror fans and the horror elements might be too much for fantasy fans.  But if you can put up with fairly graphic scenes of murder and mayhem, then I suggest you read it.  Just don't read it before bed.


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