Jason & Kyra by Dana Davidson

An overly long romance book, this one has mature content and will please many a reader of those “heartache-but I’ll love you forever” kind of novels. It wasn’t to my taste, but then, I’m not a fan of romance. Sickenly unrealistic, Jason & Kyra go to a really good high school in Detroit and live in relative splendor. He’s the super-jock that doesn’t indulge in chemicals and she’s the shy smart girl who surprisingly gets his attention. Girl gets boy, girl loses boy, you know the drill. The only thing that struck me as fairly compelling in this wordy tome were the scenes between the two of them. Their dialog in those sections seemed natural, and their feelings relatable. The book is sorely in need of an editor, bulging at over 300 pages. There is also a switched “narrative voice” (a modern trend) but it is deeply inconsistent. One chapter is Jason’s. The next starts as Kyra, then goes back to Jason. Along the way, there are paragraphs and sentences where the point of view swings wildly to other students and even, on one occasion, a passerby. It’s too much. The constant emphasis on Kyra’s love of R&B music doesn’t seem to have a point other than to make sure we understand she doesn’t listen to Rap. Okay, after the first time, I got it. R&B sets the mood – but five mentions later of the same thing put me in a coma. That’s not the only thing in this book that seems unmotivated. Jason’s father starts out as hardworking, distant and stern. It is later revealed that he is a physically abusive drunk. It doesn’t fit with how he is presented, it doesn’t fit with his successful career or the girlfriend we never meet, it just seems to be a device to push the lovebirds together. It was one of many things I could have done without. This was a first novel by Ms. Davidson. Hopefully her next will be more polished.