Jordan Jensen has come to St. Nacho’s to start fresh and begin to atone for his past. He immediately gets a job at the local gym even though he is upfront and honest with the owner about his past.

Ken Ashton is back in St. Nacho’s recovering from severe injuries he sustained at the hands of a drunk driver, an accident that took his passenger’s life. He comes to the gym to do his physical therapy and Izzie, the gym owner, has decided that he needs Jordan’s massage to help him heal. But Jordan isn’t so sure Ken will want his help. He himself had made the mistake of drinking and driving and a child’s life was lost as a result. Surprisingly, Ken doesn’t react the way Jordan expects and they find themselves in a bind of another kind. Can the two convince one another they’re meant to be, or will they be too absorbed in their own problems to realize their solution can be found in each other’s arms?

Z.A. Maxfield has fast become one of my favorite authors and with this one she has moved to the top of the list. I have loved everything she has done, but the truthfulness of her words shines through in this story. There is no “you are the one for always” in her books and she is realistic in that her characters understand that while the love they feel may be all consuming now, that doesn’t mean that it’s forever.

Jordan Jensen wasn’t a very sympathetic character in St. Nacho’s, but that’s all changed in Physical Therapy, the second book in the St. Nacho’s series. Jordan is on the mend from his addictions and is trying to make up for his past mistakes. Ken Ashton is a new character but one that we won’t soon forget. His tragedy cut a promising baseball career short. His body, always strong and fit, betrays him with its debilitation. He is angry and closeted and struggling to meet not only his own expectations of himself, but those of the people around him as well.

While on the surface this may seem like a simple story, it is really much deeper in meaning. The title itself is misleading. Not only does it relate to the very real physical therapy that Ken is going through on his road to healing but to the very physical healing that occurs when the two men come together. It is also about how their physicality heals them each emotionally and thereby improves their spirits and physical well being. Both men are in need of major healing from the blows that have been dealt to them and it is only through each other that they both begin to heal. This was one book that I couldn’t put down and if Ms. Maxfield keeps this up she’ll have a long and successful career!

Reviewed by: Hayley