Stray

Rowe Ranch, Book 1

By: DJ Krimmer

Narrated by: Maxine Mitchell, Sean Masters

A Steamy Small-Town Romance with a Grumpy Cowboy, Found Family, and Heartbreak

"She’s a firestorm in scrubs, and I’m about to get burned."

Ozzy
Taking a job as a private nurse on a family ranch in Virginia was supposed to be a temporary fix—a way to disappear, lay low, and keep my past where it belongs. My patient? A grumpy old man with one foot in the grave and a foul mouth to match my own. Easy enough. His family? A whole different story. Jackson Rowe is a problem I don’t need. A rugged cowboy with a sharp stare, a sharper tongue, and a body carved by hard work and bad decisions. He’s watching me too closely, peeling back my layers with nothing but silence and those storm-cloud eyes. He wants to know my secrets. But trust isn’t something I give, and getting close to me comes with consequences.

Jackson
My father is dying, and my family is barely holding it together. The last thing we need is a sarcastic, guarded-as-hell nurse stirring up trouble. But Ozzy Davenport isn’t just trouble—she’s a goddamn hurricane in eight inch heels. She pushes, I push back, and somehow, that friction turns into something neither of us saw coming. She acts like she’s untouchable, like she’s already halfway out the door. But I see her. I see the fight in her, the fire. And I know one thing for sure—whatever she’s running from is catching up. And this time, I won’t let her run alone.

©2025 DJ Krimmer (P)2025 Blue Nose Publishing, DJ Krimmer

Stray by DJ skimmer

The Audio was good just felt it was dragged out. It was not terrible just longer than needed Yo be .

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Soul-shattering and sacred. A duet masterpiece.

Chapter 27 destroyed me—in the best, most necessary way.

DJ Krimmer doesn’t just write a dark romance. She excavates. Stray is one of the most emotionally intense, psychologically devastating, and spiritually redemptive audiobooks I’ve ever experienced. It tore me open and stitched me back together with blood-soaked thread and whispered vows.

The story cuts deep—raw trauma meets reluctant healing, told with the kind of honesty that makes you flinch. The pacing is breathless, but it never sacrifices depth. Every scar, every echo of grief and guilt, is earned and etched in.

And the narration? Flawless.
The duet performance brings these characters to life in a way that feels like possession. You’re not just listening—you are them. Their breath, their growls, their grief. The intimacy mic work is unreal, and when Chapter 27 hit? I was gone. Shattered. Gasping. Then… whole.

If you crave:
• Healing through darkness
• Ferocity with tenderness
• Characters that are jagged and worthy
• And a narration so immersive it feels transcendent

Then Stray is a must. This is more than a story—it’s a reckoning.

This one will Stay with you. Always.

The slow burn.
Her trauma.
His care.
Her consent.
Their healing.
The journey that Jackson and Ozzy go on together is absolutely heartbreaking and breathtaking at the same time. This book is not easy to listen to. From the horrific trauma that Ozzy has endured to witnessing the Rowe family watch their patriarch wither away from cancer, it's a deeply emotional experience. The way Ozzy finds healing in the Rowe family and in caring for Morris, and the way Jackson is careful with her... make it such a beautiful relationship to watch grow, both between her and Jackson and with the entire Rowe family.

D.J. Krimmer has a true gift. I have said it once and I will say it a thousand times: the way she writes real, relatable love stories is remarkable. Even if you cannot personally relate to what these characters are going through, you cannot help but be completely drawn in and fall in love with them.
*Potential spoiler* The scene at the barn with Jackson and Morris in his final meeting with his horse was devastating. It felt as if I had lost a member of my own family. I had read the book when it first came out, so I knew what was going to happen, but nothing could have prepared me for the performance that Sean Masters gave. He absolutely blew me away and was the perfect Jackson. The way he captured the tough, broody rancher and the devastated son who has to watch his father basically die in front of his eyes, along with the consent and care he shows for Ozzy, was incredible. It’s his best performance to date.

Maxine Mitchell, well, we call her the Queen for a reason. Her performance perfectly embodied everything Ozzy was; fragile, fierce and real. Maxine tackled this traumatized character with such pain, yet in a beautiful way that brought out so many emotions.

I have loved every single book I have read by D.J. Krimmer. Every one has had a big impact on my heart. Every character she writes has both inspired and healed parts of me at the same time.
This audiobook is not only one of my favorites this year, it is absolutely one of my favorites ever.

Broken, but Beautifully Healed

DJ Krimmer is a mastermind. This is a spin-off series from the Hel's Ink series and it does not disappoint at all. Ozzy, who was mentioned briefly in Derek's book, is the FMC who is a nurse with severe C-PTSD who comes to care for the Rowe's dying father. Jackson is second oldest under Derek. He's mildly grumpy, but so understanding and a character I could personally relate to having to deal with guilt and parental loss. You don't have to read Hel's Ink prior to this series, but it definitely adds to the experience, plus this whole world is just so good!


There is major trauma with the C-PTSD, it's graphic, but it adds an understanding of where Ozzy came from. There is also loss and combined grief done in such a beautiful way. Get your tissues ready!!!

Don't worry about too much heaviness though, there is good banter and happiness to make beautiful emotional blend.

Definitely check trigger warnings with this one, it's dark, but so worth the read.

A few quotes I loved from this book:
""Horny soap opera with livestock"

"Forever isn't a promise anymore, it's a beginning."

100/10 highly recommend! ❤️

Ozzy and Jackson’s story is… “so much more.” 🖤

Stray is book one in the Rowe Ranch series, and I’m obsessed. This was such an emotionally beautiful book. I adored Ozzy and Jackson's love story. It’s funny, sweet, dark, and beautiful, all within one story. Read the TW's because there are several dark scenes that may be disturbing. These are the moments that made Ozzy who she became… a beautiful survivor, and in turn, made Jackson the man she needed him to be.

Performed in duet by Maxine Mitchell and Sean Masters, they didn’t just voice Ozzy and Jackson, they BECAME Ozzy and Jackson. All the feelings and emotions bled into their performances, quickly making this one of my favorite audiobooks.

DJ Krimmer has once again created a story that will stay with me long after I've consumed the last words.