A Major Love Themes
by Kay Shanee
Underneath its plot, Kay Shanee's novel is really asking whether love can survive distance, betrayal, and old wounds. Major and Dynastie's six-year split, his memoir, her guarded condo, co-parenting with Rahkia, Dontrell's stalking, and Freya's trauma all test second chances, accountability, forgiveness, and the line between privacy and public image.
On this page you'll find each major theme explored with concrete moments: unresolved love, betrayal, independence versus commitment, hidden truths, blended family, and grief and therapy. You'll also see recurring symbols like the memoir and documentary, Major's paintings and 'Maj' alias, names carrying legacy, and the condo and home that mark safety, loss, and starting over.
Major Themes in A Major Love
Unresolved love and second chances
Major and Dynastie's six-year separation is fueled by love that never died. Major uses the memoir to reconnect, Dynastie resists and then agrees, and their reconciliation moves through trust, grief, therapy, marriage, and family.
- Major admits he stopped communicating with Dynastie because he was not brave enough to tell her another woman was carrying his child, and now wants to get her back by asking her to co-write his memoir.
- Dynastie reflects that thoughts of Major still creep into her mind at least once a day, and later tells Zena that Major has always been in her head.
- Major tells Dynastie he has been loving her from afar and wants to love her up close and out loud; they reconcile, and he proposes during therapy.
Betrayal, accountability, and forgiveness
The story repeatedly tests whether love can survive harm. Major's ghosting and pregnancy with Rahkia, Dontrell's revenge and stalking, and Jordan's violence all force characters to take blame, apologize, and decide what forgiveness can mean.
- Major takes blame, apologizes for his choices and handling their outcome; Lovie says she forgives him but he hurt her to her core and she does not know if she can trust him.
- Rahkia reveals Major begged her to get an abortion while crying and apologizing to someone else; Major later apologizes, saying he should not have named Maja after another woman or used her to fill a void, and she says she forgives him.
- Dontrell is found guilty of all charges and sentenced to thirteen years; Dynastie admits guilt over unknowingly being intimate with Dontrell, and Major reassures her she was a victim, not his enemy.
Independence, dreams, and commitment
Characters weigh personal space and dreams against romantic commitment. Dynastie protects her condo and the life she built in Onyx City, while Major initially stays away because he does not want his wants to override her goals.
- Dynastie tells Jordan she loves her condo and likes having her own space, and privately decides she has no intention of moving in with him.
- Major explains he did not ask Lovie to come home because he did not want what he wanted to be placed above her goals and dreams, shaped by watching his mother sacrifice her dreams.
- Major asks Dynastie to move back home from Onyx City because everyone she loves is there, while Dynastie hesitates because she enjoys the life she built in Onyx City.
Privacy, public image, and hidden truths
The book contrasts public exposure with private pain. Major calls the documentary intrusive but still tells his story, Dynastie asks to keep their relationship quiet, and secrets and eavesdropping create conflict.
- Major describes himself as private and calls the documentary intrusive, yet decides to release a memoir and documentary revealing his personal history.
- Dynastie asks to keep the relationship private so she does not end up on the blogs as Major's new arm candy, while Major says they can let blogs speculate.
- Major eavesdrops on Dynastie's therapy call, hears 'our baby,' and later admits it; Lovie calls it a violation of her privacy.
- Dynastie tells Jordan she cannot share job details because she signed a contract agreeing not to share them.
Family, parenthood, and blended family
Family is built through co-parenting, bonus parents, extended family loyalty, and shared loss. Maja, Rahkia, Major, Dynastie, and their parents all reshape what family means after the past.
- Maja asks whether Dynastie will marry Major and have a baby, then tells Dynastie she will be her bonus mom; later Maja declares 'Yay, I get to have two mommies!' and Rahkia says the more people who love and guide her, the better.
- Major and Rahkia co-parent well, and Dynastie urges Major to introduce her to Rahkia before she meets Maja out of respect.
- Major's parents learn about their grandson Love Major Lloyd, and tension with Mr. and Mrs. Love is resolved.
Trauma, grief, and therapy
Trauma surfaces through therapy and disclosure, especially the loss of Dynastie and Major's son and Freya's assault by Dontrell. Healing is not automatic; it requires saying hard things and revisiting the past.
- Dynastie reveals she went into labor at twenty-six weeks; their son could not be saved, and she named him Love Major Lloyd; she and Major cry together and later spend hours at his gravesite.
- Freya gives Major permission to include Dontrell's attempted rape of her in his memoir and documentary because she thinks it is important to tell the whole story.
- Dr. Simone tells Dynastie the past should be left where it is, suggests the joint session, and Major begins therapy with her.
Symbols and Motifs
The memoir and documentary project
It represents legacy, public confession, and Major's attempt to tell his whole truth. It also becomes the practical reason Dynastie returns and the public mirror of their private reconciliation.
- Major announces his next fight will be his last and says he wants a memoir and documentary to tell his life story and help somebody.
- Brax suggests a documentary; Major calls it intrusive, but after a sleepless night he decides to do both and asks Brax and Jrue to help.
- Dynastie initially refuses to co-write the memoir because she cannot be around Major, then later agrees and requests a contract with specific details by the end of the day.
- One year later, Major's memoir is a New York Times bestseller and his documentary has won awards; he and Dynastie prepare for a private screening.
Major's paintings and art studio
The paintings, hidden behind a sheet or sold under the alias 'Maj,' symbolize Major's private devotion and vulnerability. They show the love and family life he has kept out of public view.
- Major tells Brax and Jrue he wants to take painting more seriously.
- Dynastie tours the house and discovers an art studio with paintings of Maja, Major, and hidden paintings of herself behind a sheet.
- Major shows Lovie his studio of paintings of her and his alias 'Maj,' then shows her the private basement boxing gym.
Names as love and legacy
Names carry hidden love, paternity, and legacy in the story. Maja's middle name, the son named Love Major Lloyd, and Major's art alias 'Maj' all tie identity to love and memory.
- Rahkia reveals Major named Maja after Dynastie; Maja later tells her mother, 'Daddy's girlfriend has the same name as my middle name.'
- Dynastie names their son Love Major Lloyd and tells Major at the gravesite.
- Major sells paintings under the alias 'Maj.'
Dynastie's condo and Major's home
Dynastie's condo represents independence and self-protection, while its violation by Jordan and Dontrell forces a painful starting over. Major's bedroom and closet, by contrast, represent the commitment and shared home he wants with her.
- Dynastie tells Jordan she loves her condo and likes having her own space, and privately decides she has no intention of moving in with him.
- Jordan and Dontrell trash Dynastie's condo; she finds her small safe, says 'I have to start all over,' and plans to salvage, repair, and sell.
- Major moves Dynastie's luggage into his bedroom and closet, says half the closet and drawers are reserved for her, and asks her to move back home.