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Red Starr #3

Igniting Passion

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USA Today best-selling author Kennedy Layne continues the Red Starr series with a highly explosive hostage rescue mission that will leave you riveted until the very end....

Risking everything...

Aaron "Stick" Scott spent 12 years of his life protecting his country. He diffused well over 1,500 bombs during the course of his military career, expecting each one to be his last. Luck had a huge part in his survival, but it was fate that had a laugh at his expense by having a woman shatter his heart.

Playing it safe...

Simone Laurent's career as a cultural attaché wasn't exciting by any means, but she did love promoting the culture of her homeland. What she hadn't anticipated was getting caught up in political war where her life would be at risk. Her situation goes from bad to worse when the man she left behind is the only one who can save her.

Igniting passion...

Stick's hostage rescue mission becomes sidetracked when he's ordered to protect the one woman who couldn't handle his job. Seeing her in the light of day brings back memories they'd both rather soon forget, but it's the long evenings together that light a fuse neither one can ignore. Will their reignited passion survive the highly explosive danger that's coming their way?

Red Starr HRT is a paramilitary hostage rescue team that was originally formed years ago by two retired marine master sergeants. Upon the death of Catori Starr's husband, Brendan "Red" O'Neill, she took a much-needed hiatus to deal with her guilt and all-consuming grief. Two years later Starr is clawing her way back and ready to lead a fresh team of five cherry-picked former Force Recon marines. Red Starr HRT takes cases the FBI and other agencies won't touch, from domestic assignments bordering on the gray edges to missions abroad against savage terrorist regimes. Follow along as Kennedy Layne conveys each of their stories as they work together on high risk rescues that lead them down perilous paths of passion, intrigue, and suspense....

Audible Audio

First published May 19, 2015

28 people are currently reading
177 people want to read

About the author

Kennedy Layne

235 books664 followers
Kennedy Layne is a USA Today bestselling author. She draws inspiration for her romantic thrillers in part from her not-so-secret second life as a wife of a retired Marine Master Sergeant. He doubles as her critique partner, beta reader, and military consultant. Kennedy also has a deep love for cozy mysteries, thrillers, and basically any book that can keep her guessing until the very end. They live in the Midwest with their menagerie of pets. The loyal dogs and mischievous cats appreciate her writing days as much as she does, usually curled up in front of the fireplace.

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5 stars
139 (50%)
4 stars
94 (34%)
3 stars
35 (12%)
2 stars
7 (2%)
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1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
Profile Image for Kim.
475 reviews11 followers
May 20, 2015
I don't know but after the last one I was expecting this one to be even better but it wasn't and that was mostly because I hated Simone and Stick was just kinda blah. I didn't think I could dislike a heroine in this series more than Charlotte but I was proven wrong with Simone. Just like with Doc I felt like Stick deserved better and she didn't deserve another chance. Her reasons for walking out were pathetic and extremely selfish to me, for her to blame him for not chasing after her was ridiculous. She claims he didn't fight for them when he let her go well to me her even walking away at that time sure wasn't doing much to fight for them either. I just couldn't stand her especially when she decided to demand to start things again, she was just annoying the whole book.

So I skimmed everything to do with them after a while of that mess just to keep up with the status of the ongoing mission. The mission part seemed a little slower paced in this one as well but it was the best part of the book for me since I really didn't care for these two at all. Hopefully the next one will be with another fresh couple because these with past relationships just aren't working for me so far. I will keep reading to get to the end of the mission but it would be nice to enjoy the romance part of it like I did in the second book.
Profile Image for Debra Johnson.
11k reviews181 followers
July 15, 2025
Finished Reading January 23, 2017

Igniting Passion (Red Starr #3) by Kennedy Layne
An Action/Adventure Suspense Adult Romance
A few editing errors. Flows well. Plenty of action. I enjoyed it very much. Ms. Layne didn't overdo the technical talk on this one and that is a major plus for me.
I already have the next book in this series. I am looking forward to the next step in their mission.

Purchased from Amazon July 28, 2016
Profile Image for Meiwilli.
1,647 reviews5 followers
August 14, 2016
Well, this doesn't ignite any passion for me. It was rather disappointing because I expected an all out action assault in finding the girls that had been kidnapped but that never materialized. Instead we are dragged through this soapy-sappy tale of stick and Charlotte which didn't hold a lot a promise. What I expected this series to be and what it has turned out to be, is anything but exciting and adventurous. Instead, it concentrates more on the life of these five lethal men in nonlethal actions. Not to say, that I haven't found some parts of the book interesting, but I was hoping for a series full of paramilitary action, adventure and suspense. On to the next non-action romance...
Profile Image for Kristin Ellis.
36 reviews
April 2, 2016
I really disliked Simone. I found her incredibly annoying. I had to force myself to finish reading this book because I simply did not care whether she and Stick worked things out. Truly, I kind of wished he would dump her ass once and for all, and go find someone likable.
Profile Image for Jo-Ann Fitzgerald.
753 reviews2 followers
December 31, 2017
This is the 3rd book of the series. This builds upon the other two books in the series regarding the overall story and the bonding that is happening with the current team.

This story is centered on the team's bomb tech (our hero) and a mission which he is requested to protect a female (our heroine). What's different is that the hero and heroine used to be engaged before the heroine can't handle the hero's job any longer. As with anyone in the military when you walk to to go on a mission you might not come back home and she couldn't do the wait any longer.

However, when the mission forces them to put aside their past baggage in order to catch the bad guys, they start to understand the other more. As they have both gained years of experience, they find themselves caring for the other and understanding what happened within their relationship. As with most relationships, they fail because both parties are at fault in some way. However, do they care enough to try again? Will they actually get through the mission and find out who was the person behind the leaked information or will they fail and get them and the victims all killed?

This was more suspenseful than the others and kept you guessing. You are still getting to know each team member through each book which is good. It was a good idea to look at unusual occupations rather than the same ones as some writers intend to do. I found this to be an enjoyable read.
Profile Image for Meghan.
3,423 reviews8 followers
January 5, 2025
Sneaky decisions

Aaron/Stick and Simone. A second chance romance under less than ideal circumstances. They were planning a wedding when she walked out and now three years later they are forced together over the Red Star mission and all the old issues come up for closure. Their feelings haven’t changed and they have to address that while also figuring out who is trying to kill Simone, who all is working against Red Star, and how to rescue the kidnapped girls aka their actual mission. I did not see the plot twist of who was being paid by the “they” and I am still u sure what side all the different players are on. The team dynamic continues to get stronger and Trigger was my MVP for the book. I am excited to see more stories and am torn if I am more excited for Starr, Gunny or Trigger!
7,775 reviews50 followers
August 24, 2021
Simone always complaining of wanting to rehash the past *got old. The story didn’t.flow, with this continuing interruption with her. One missed the detail of how the mission was going and getting the girls out.
Profile Image for Beth.
2,919 reviews27 followers
February 19, 2017
I think this is my favorite of the series so far. Two strong main characters and an interesting suspense plot line.
Profile Image for Kathryn.
2,924 reviews89 followers
May 30, 2015
I like Kennedy Layne. She's an author that I will always buy. This story seemed like a bridge story from one to the other. I don't know that she's done that to me before. It was a bit slower than expected, with the exception of the explosive devices within the story. There is a lot of backstory for Stick & Simone that I did appreciate. I felt we got a lot of information on them, what lead to their initial breakup, and how they've grown. That is ultimate KL... one of the reasons I read her, in fact. The title does ring true to the story... passion that is slow to burn to it's hottest heat... then ignites. Can't say it's my favorite of her stories, but it won't stop me from reading her again and again.
Profile Image for Paula Collins.
85 reviews
July 26, 2015
Kennedy does not disappoint her readers. There are some interesting twists in this story and I love when the hero works through the hurt and realizes that love is there and can heal. I also like how that stories in this series end, so you are looking forward to the next book. Stick is a character that I wanted to back and support when first reading about his background and I am glad that he reconnected with Simone and realized that together they are stronger.
Profile Image for Shelley.
57 reviews
May 22, 2015
Igniting Passion

As always Kennedy sucks you into the story and gives you a thrill ride of adventure, intrigue, and love. I will admit to needing tissues more than once during this story. At one point it was 3 am and I told myself that I was going to sleep at the end of the chapter. When I reached the end of that particular chapter I cursed Kennedy and resigned myself to seeing the sunrise. I love her!!!
Profile Image for Michele bookloverforever.
8,336 reviews39 followers
June 12, 2015
another lost love rekindled amidst bombs, sabotage, attempted murder at least the team has reached Nigeria..but some delays in getting necessary Intel. wouldn't want to be the board of directors for that corporation once this mission is finished. Americans were killed when those young girls were taken by t h e drug Lord. and one of those killed was the sister of one of the rescue team ..that makes the rescue personal.
223 reviews1 follower
June 30, 2015
BRILLIANT! I'm a bit cross with Kennedy however ... I'm in turmoil over all these hot MC's!

Aaron "Stick" Scott has his time and my God is he one sexy specimen! Simone is his ex, the love of his life and they are reunited after 3 years, but not how they'd expect!

The bomb disposal specialist had beads of sweat forming on my brow!

Another well writing, descriptive instalment as the team gets closer to what mission they have been employed to carry out.

DIESEL -- you still rock boy!
Profile Image for Toi.
4,271 reviews
June 5, 2015
Love It

Love the Red Starr series - I love how Aaron (Stick) and Simone come back together and realize that they still love each other - can't wait to see if the girls are found and set free and to find out if they find out whose behind the bad things (leaks of info) on this mission.
405 reviews
March 2, 2016
Action packed

Whoa! Talk about action!! This series would-be a great movie....Brad Pitt.. Mmm...well you get my drift. More action than sex but with so much action there wasnt time! Cant wait to get into the next book....times a wasting and they've got things to do and I have a series to read!!! See you next book!!!!
Profile Image for Trish-Sunshine Reads.
499 reviews
June 7, 2015
Breathtaking

Wow! This was an emotional book for me. Both loved each other in that past. They still do but not sure about making it work. The emotions put into Stick and Simone's story really got to me. Waiting anxiously on the next Red Starr book.
Profile Image for Bonnie.
978 reviews
May 28, 2015
Love Kennedy Layne's books, and this was no exception. There were times, though, when I wanted to strangle Simone, but Stick carried the day. There was great sex, intrigue, and intense suspense. What more could you ask for?
Profile Image for Marilyn Reed graff.
52 reviews
July 31, 2015
4 stars

This one was good but the second one was still my favorite. I had a hard time connecting to Simone but she is still a lucky lady!! This has been a good, fun, exciting series.
1,246 reviews10 followers
September 24, 2015
Story continues

Okay I will admit I struggled to read this one but once I got really started it had me hooked. This is Sticks story and the return of a lost love. Stick trays to fight it. The mission continues from book 2.
110 reviews2 followers
October 5, 2015
Hungry for book 4

Can't hardly wait for the next instalment.. I am hooked on this series. Kennedy Layne knows how to please,pleasure,entice and leave you wanting more. Here style of writing is easy to follow and leaves you salivating for more. Well done.
Profile Image for Carolyn.
1,798 reviews7 followers
May 19, 2015
I think this is my favorite!
728 reviews1 follower
July 30, 2015
Igniting Passion

Gave it a five star rating. Great story. Interesting development of Stick story. Can't wait to read the next in the series.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews

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