Review: What It Took To Realize & Voodoo (Daughters Of The Ocean, #1) by Mercedes Guy

Title: What It Took To Realize &Voodoo
Author: Mercedes Guy
Published: Dec. 5, 2014
Pages: 241
Genre: paranormal/fantasy/ lgb
Review: ebook

What It Took To Realize

Morgan never really fit in at school. Besides her abnormalities due to the fact that she was half-human half-mermaid, she was the school's biggest outcast. Her number one tormenter being the head cheerleader and a pixie. Other than being a mermaid who lives with her water-nymph guardian and trying to keep it a secret in a school of mortals and mythical creatures, she lead a pretty uneventful life. That is until Leroy, the school's hot new quarterback and vampire, asks her out on a date. Suddenly life is becoming more complicated and all the new events in her life raise up old questions like: Who are her parents? Where did she really come from? What's up with the nightmares? And why is the new girl, Emmaline, being so friendly?

Voodoo
She is immediately drawn to Morgan the moment she sees her reflection in the review mirror of her Volkswagen Beetle. "Voodoo" by Alexz Johnson was playing over her radio, and if not for Ginger's whining, it would have been a movie-made moment. Emmaline doesn't think much of it the first time "Voodoo" begins to take control of her stereo, but when she begins to hear the song every time Morgan is around, she knows it's no mistake. Pretty soon she learns her and Morgan are destined; that she is destined to save Morgan, but how or from what she has no idea. How is she going to save Morgan if she doesn't know what she's up against? As she gets closer to Morgan will she be able to control the desires to be with her?

I received this book to give an honest review. 

I really don't even know how to write this review. I have been sitting here for the last fifteen minutes trying to get my head around on how to write it just right.

When I read the blurb I was like this is really up my alley as it is paranormal and of course it deals with mermaids so lets see where this goes.

What it takes to realize: For me it was not up to par. We have Morgan who is half-human and half-mermaid who has a guardian because she doesn't know her mother. At school she is picked on by Ginger because I guess she is beautiful even though she doesn't know it. Morgan keeps to herself as she doesn't like to draw attention and have people know what she is. So when Leroy asks Morgan out she is very surprised as she doesn't understand why he would do that. Needless to say after the first date we think all is good until he rapes her. This leads to Emmaline coming into Morgan's life in a way that we learn later on she is to "save" her. Morgan becomes pregnant with a super natural child which Emmaline stands beside Morgan during this tough time. Morgan and Emmaline get close and realize they have feelings for each other more than they expected to.

On to the other part of the story Voodoo:

It was the same story being told but through Emmaline's eyes. We get the same story but some different parts on what she got to see or do that we didn't know about. 

We learn as why she was "thrown" into Morgan's life, but we don't officially get the WHY!! If that makes sense I take it that maybe in book two we will really find out.

We learn why Emmaline and Ginger don't get along and it is something I didn't even think about.

Now the story overall is alright. There were some misspellings through out the book and I just hope that was on the copy I got and not the one that was published.

The story seemed very fast paced for me to the point that I really couldn't get involved in the story or with the characters. They fell flat for me. One thing that bothered me was how Leroy comes out of no where and rapes Morgan, it just didn't seem real in that sense. Her pregnancy felt almost like the scene in Twilight as that is what comes into my head when I read it.

I think this book could be promising if the author slowed down a bit and did not rush the plot. Also I think there could have been more back story to Morgan as we just know that she was on a doorstep.

Mercedes Guy is the young adult author of the fantasy What It Took To Realize & Voodoo, inspired by Alexz Johnson's song "Voodoo". She published her book December 5th, 2014; on December 4th she attended Alexz Johnson's concert in Charlotte and gave her the first "proof" copy!
What It Took To Realize & Voodoo takes place in Folly, SC. After working on the story for about 4 years, she had finally finished it in November, a year before publishing in paperback. Once she began the sequel she wanted more than ever to go down to Folly for herself. So finally in the summer of 2014 she went down, and loved the Charleston charm so much she moved a month later.
Out of the Ocean, the second book to her trilogy Daughter Of The Ocean, is in its final stages and upon completion Mercedes plans to start a Kickstarter Campaign to raise money to get the book professionally edited, and get the cover art as well as some promotional gear made.