A stoic force to be reckoned with.The steady rock on which England is destined to lean.Everyone’s reliable mate, at the ready to defend when called upon.To the world, Vance Morley is the next great keeper for the Rogue Football Club, biding his time at the academy. The definition of tall, dark and handsome, his quiet confidence and mysterious persona only draw the public in. He’s their mighty … He’s their mighty anchor, both on and off the pitch.
But when it comes to the one woman he claims to love, he conveniently vanishes at the exact moment I need him. The first time I saw Vance, he was a ten-year-old standing on his lawn across the street. The first time he kissed me, we were sixteen and sitting on the very shores we grew up on. We crashed into each other like waves in a storm, fated to destroy everything in our paths. Including each other.
The first time Vance saw our son, by serendipitous accident, my little boy had already lived the first year of his life. And instantly, the man who chose football over me wants to have it all. There is no way I can trust his declarations of love and fatherhood, especially when I’m set to marry another man.
We’re a new game, one to occupy him until the world stage beckons. But the more I try to tell myself he’s not the one, the more Vance’s efforts to win us back increase.
How can I guard my heart against seeing my son with his father?
Can Vance really sacrifice his dreams in the name of love and family?
Is there a way that everyone else’s safe harbor can finally become mine too?
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The Mighty Anchor by Carrie Aarons is the third and final book in the Rogue Academy series, and Carrie again shows us a great story!!
This is the story of Vance who we have meet in the previous books and is best friends with the heroes of the previous books and if you have read those books you can remember that always Vance act a bit different like he was having a secret, and in this book we know all about it.
We meet Lara, who is a girl who meet Vance when they were young and start a relationship that he hides for everyone so he can focus on his football career, but there is a moment when they broke up for real because Lara is tired of always been in a second place, so when he never looks out for her and she find herself pregnant she doesnt look out for Vance to tell him about the pregnancy so he never know about that baby.
So know in the present Vance find himself visiting his family in his hometown and suddenly outside the story he sees Lara with a beautiful boy that is almost 2 years old. So this news changes all his perspectives about his plans for the future.
But Vance plans arent going to happen easy because he wants Lara back but she is engaged to another guy. So if you want to know about the whole journey about Vance and his little new family you need to read this book as soon as is live, because is a great story!
This story is a great secret baby, second chance romance that if you have enjoy the previous books you will enjoy this one too! and also you can see what happen with the other couples!! So is the perfect ending for this series!!
The Mighty Anchor is the third and final novel in the Rogue Academy series by Carrie Aarons. It follows Vance, the silent, grouchy one of the trifecta from Rogue Academy.
In Kingston’s book we found out about the recent shock in Vance’s life. He found out he has a son. This new information certainly puts Vance’s life into perspective. Hes still stuck at Rogue, while Jude and Kingston have moved up. What changes to his life does he want or need to make?
We also meet Lara Logan – Vance’s former (secret) flame. Lara is a strong woman who has found herself having moved on from Vance when they broke up. She met a new man and has a comfortable life. But is comfortable what she really wants forever?
Lara and Vance have explosive chemistry! They have a lot to work through, but can they come out on top together? I loved this series and these characters! Another wonderful job, Carrie Aarons!
The Mighty Anchor is the third and final installment in the Rogue Academy series. This is a complete standalone, so don’t let the fact that it’s book three in a series deter you from starting here. Although once you finish, there’s a very good chance that you’ll be going back to read the other books in this series. They are brilliantly written with complex story-lines that will keep you furiously flipping the pages from start to finish.
Vance and Lara’s story is one that is packed with all the feels; love, abandonment, guilt, consequences and hope. As teenagers, Lara thought that she had it all until the day Vance leaves her to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a football star. She is completely heartbroken and to top that off, soon discovers that she is pregnant and left to raise the baby alone.
When Vance comes back to town to visit his family, he has a run-in with Lara with a toddler in tow. One that looks like the spitting image of him. He is immediately enamored with the little one and begins spending time with them both. But then the inner turmoil begins and he struggles with the dreams he thought he had versus the life he could have here with his family. There is just one problem though. She is engaged to another man.
The Mighty Anchor was a fantastic addition to this football-themed sports romance. Filled with scorching hot chemistry and steam for days, Vance and Lara’s sweet second chance romance was an addictive read that kept me fully engaged from page to page. This book is everything we have come to love and expect in a Carrie Aaron’s book. I can’t recommend it enough.
Ah, this second chance romance ticked all my boxes! Carrie Aarons’s series about three best friends who have dreamt all their lives to make the jump from the Rogue Academy to the Rogue FC has turned out to be one of my favorites this year. Each one of the novels has that great mix of angst, wit, heart, and heat, and Aarons has maintained the same level of quality throughout. Vance and Lara’s story was a great read, with both main characters needing to make amends for choices they made a couple of years ago, only realizing later on how those mistakes have come back to haunt them. Another well-conceived aspect of the story has to do with whether Vance is going to stay on and try to be patient while waiting to be called in to become part of the Rogue FC squad or if he going to have to make a move in order to get some actual playing time on the field rather than wasting his talent away at the academy. It was also fun seeing Jude Davies and Aria Lloyd and Kingston Phillips and Poppy Raymond, and that epilogue was like the perfect exclamation point to close out the series. The Mighty Anchor gets five stars.
Vance and Lara and little Mason, . Lara his her pregnancy from Vance because of his love for the game. What did didn’t know was that she was much more important to Vance than the game and throw in Mason and operation win Lara back begins. Vance and Lara were childhood sweethearts but she always felt like the mistress to his love of the game. When he found out that Lara his her pregnancy for two years he felt betrayed and hurt. Adding salt to the wound was that someone else had stepped in. Vance made it his mission to win her back and to try and be the best dad he can be to Mason. Everything was going well but Lara still had her doubts and was being stubborn. But then she came to her senses and fought for her little family. It was amazing seeing the entire gang and seeing what they are up to. These guys are brothers for life and their spouses are now the best of friends.
In The Mighty Anchor we get Lara and Vance’s story. I’ll be totally real with ya… these two might have been my favorite in the entire series! I didn’t expect to love them so hard but what do ya do? You love what ya love!! Vance was soooooo relatable for me!! I happen to struggle with the same afflictions as Vance, social anxiety and being introverted. I really appreciate the spotlight Carrie Aaron’s put on those issues. So many people think this is a problem that people fake or exaggerate. The struggle is real though. Giving Vance a lovely counterpart in the story really worked for him. I think it was necessary for him. After all, Lara was a loving and just sweet partner.
This isn’t an easy story though. Vance definitely has some issues he need to address and rethink his goals in life. He’s missed out on years of life, on really living, because he made the wrong choice and put the wrong thing first. Carrie Aarons writes so descriptivly. The story was executed and developed in a way that I wasn’t sure who to agree or side with. I feel like Aarons shows us time and time again that she can write any genre and do it justice. They’re sweet, romances that are somehow relatable, every single time!! Also, just to mention, I love getting to visit with the characters from the first two books.
I received an ARC of this book with the hope that I would leave an Unbiased Opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… my opinions.
The Mighty Anchor
Rogue Academy book 3
(can be read as a standalone)
Carrie Aarons
Amazing!! Amazing!! Amazing!! I really love and enjoyed The Mighty Anchor!! This is a fast paced second chance sports romance filled with love, fun, very entertaining, and ever so beautifully written!
“To me, you’re not the anchor you pride yourself on being. You’re my hurricane, the storm that blows through and decimates my entire landscape. You cast me as the villain, the bird who didn’t tell you about your son. But to me, you’re to blame. You abandoned me long before I decided to get even. Neither of us is right, but stop making me the evil one here.”
The Mighty Anchor is the third and last book in the ‘Rogue Academy’ series by Carrie Aarons. It’s Vance’s turn to be in the hot seat and meet his match, and meet it he did in Lara. Vance is a top class footballer with the world at his feet. He’s hot property and all the girls want him. Lara is no exception. Except, she’s not just one of the girls.
They had a secret, one that only they knew, or did until Vance stopped giving Lara his time. Now, a few years later, and Vance is back in his hometown and sees Lara again, but she has a child with her.
Is the baby his? Vance needs to know and he wants Lara back in his life. Will he get what he wants?
Lara has a new guy, will she leave him to go back to Vance.
Love has to find it’s way in this last book, but it won’t be easy.
Not that I didn’t love the first two books is the Rogue Academy series, but I have been waiting for Vance’s book, just knowing it was going to own me heart and soul!
After the heartbreaking end to their relationship years earlier and Lara having Vance’s baby without his knowledge, the secret is out and he’s back to take his rightful place! He’d chosen his passion for football over his love for her before, so could she trust him now? Then there’s the fact that she’s engaged to someone else!
The push and pull…loving, but afraid to go all in, secrets, lies, and unfulfilled dreams. Sometimes when dreams go unanswered, there’s a reason…priorities change, dreams change, you just need to listen to your heart and follow your path. Vance and Lara’s paths do some crazy curves, but luckily they were meant to cross and connect. Could not have loved their story more!
Vance Morley is Rogue Football Club’s next great keeper, he is a steady force, with a quiet confidence both on and off the field. However, when it comes to the woman he loves, let’s just say he doesn’t handle that with the same confidence he does a match. Lara Logan has loved Vance Morley since she first laid eyes on him at ten years old. Their tumultuous relationship took a turn when Vance decided it was too much and walked away a few years ago.
Now Vance is back, and the secret that Lara had kept, is no longer a secret. The son that Vance knew nothing about is now the only thing he can think about. He is determined that the three of them will be a family, however Lara is engaged to someone else. The more time that Vance spends with their son, the harder it is for Lara to deny the feelings that have never fully gone away. She took a backseat to Vance’s career once, will she do it again? Or will Vance choose Lara and their son over his career?
The third installment in the Rogue Academy Series, and quite possibly, the best book in the series. I loved the previous two stories, but Vance has always intrigued me. I couldn’t put this book down, I had to know what was going to happen next. Was Vance going to give it all up, was Lara going to let herself love Vance? So many questions that kept me turning the pages late into the night! Carrie Aarons has such a way with writing, she draws you in from the very beginning and you can’t help but fall in love with the characters! I loved that we got to see Jude and Kingston and the camaraderie between the three boys. Absolutely amazing end to the Rogue Academy Series!!
I really love second chance reads and when you add a really cute kid Thats just a plus. Lara and Vance are great characters and I did enjoy their story although it did take me time to get invested in it. This hasn’t been my favorite series by this author and usually I’m head over heels for whatever she writes. If second chance is your go to genre give this one a read , you could totally fall in love
3.5 stars
I really love second chance reads and when you add a really cute kid Thats just a plus. Lara and Vance are great characters and I did enjoy their story although it did take me time to get invested in it. This hasn’t been my favorite series by this author and usually I’m head over heels for whatever she writes. If second chance is your go to genre give this one a read , you could totally fall in love.
*Review by Michelle
The Mighty Anchor is the third and I believe final book in the Rogue Academy series by the talented, Carrie Aarons. You can read it as a standalone but I do recommend reading the series since they are all fun, sexy, and emotional. Vance is the last of the three horsemen on campus and without the love of his life. It was his turn to make his move.
Twelve years ago Vance fell for the girl across the street. Six years ago he kissed her. Two years ago he walked away. A few weeks ago he saw her again and she wasn’t alone. She was holding a toddler who looked just him. And now, he was in his hometown to meet his son and to prove to Lara that he wasn’t walking away this time. He wanted his family together. Even if she was engaged to another man. He knew from the moment they saw each other on that street that it wasn’t over. Hell, he never wanted it to be but he thought it was better for them to be apart. Not anymore.
Lara had her reasons for not telling Vance about their son. Not one person knew the truth, not even Louis, her fiancé. The man who her son Mason knew as Daddy. He was a good man. She didn’t want to hurt him. She liked their life together. It was stable. It was predictable. It was the complete opposite of what life would be like with Vance. Who knew when he walked away to be with his true love. The football field. Being a keeper was in his blood. At the same time, he made her feel alive. Made her shiver. Made her swoon when he played with their son. She had so much to think about. She didn’t want to make the same mistakes as her parents. Marrying to settle. She wanted to go all in but is that best for her son?
Oh, I knew this was going to be good after the bomb that hit at the end of The Lion Heart. Vance was the anchor of the team, his friends, and his family. He was loyal to a fault and I am so happy that he got his story. I love that he knew he was an arse when he walked away two years ago. He truly had no idea what Lara had been going through. He wished he did. And Lara, she was so confused and hurt.
Overall…it’s a great ending to an amazing series! I just loved this little family of friends. Their stories. Their beginnings and their HEAs.
Quotes:
“You can’t just waltz back into my life, say every romantic thing you’ve ever read in a book, and expect me to go weak at the knees,” I whisper, but my feet won’t move.
“How come I always have to play bad cop?”
“Because I like it when you’re bad,” Vance says in my ear as he passes me on his way to the tree.
“How are you handling all of this?” I haven’t checked in with her in a while.
Lara blinks. “I’m fine.”
“When a woman says she’s fine, she’s about ten seconds away from murdering a bloke.” I chuckle.
She rolls her eyes. “That’s a thing men say to make us sound crazy.”
This was the third and final book in the Rogue Academy Series, and I’m sad to see these footballers go. Their stories have been so much fun!
Vance and Lara’s story is filled with bumps in the road. They have so much emotion that unfortunately things become harder than they need to be sometimes. I really enjoyed watching their second chance at love.
When Vance’s loyalty is tested with his beloved football club at the same time he finds out he has a son with the only girl he’s ever loved, things get immediately complicated for him. I loved watching how he reacted to everything thrown his way especially when it came to his relationship with his son. Second chance romances get me every time and I really liked how Vance and Lara navigated their feelings and the obstacles that were thrown in their way.
Yes, this is the third book in the series but it can be read as a standalone. I recommend reading the first two books though because they are dang good too. I can’t wait to see what this author releases next!
Grateful to have received a complimentary ARC copy to honestly review.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher/author to review for Stephanie’s Book Reports.
A stoic force to be reckoned with. The steady rock on which England is to lean. Everyone’s reliable mate, at the ready to defend when called upon. To the world, Vance Morley is the next great keeper for the Rogue Football Club, biding his time at the academy. The definition of tall, dark and handsome, his quiet confidence and mysterious persona only draw the public in. He’s their mighty anchor both on and pitch. But when it comes to the one woman he claims to love, he conveniently vanishes at the exact moment I need him. The first time I saw Vance, he was a ten year old standing on his law across the street. The first time he kissed me, we were sixteen and sitting on the very shores we grew up on. We crashed into each other like waves in a storm, fated to destroy everything in our paths. Including each other. The first time Vance saw our son, by serendipitous accident, my little boy had already lived the first year of his life. And instantly, the man who chose football over me wants to have it all. There is no way I can trust his declarations of love and fatherhood, especially when I’m set to marry another man. We are a new game, one to occupy him until the world stage beckons. But the more I try to tell myself he’s not the one, the more Vance’s efforts to win us back increase. HOw can I guard my heart agaist seeing my sone with is father? Can Vance really sacrifice his dreams in the name of love and family? Is there a way that everyone else’s safe harbor can finally become mine too?
If you have read the previous book sin this series you met Van in those books Now your getting is story. Lara is the girl he meet when they were young and they fast became good friend, first isses, and first time parents together. However Lance doesn’t know that his son exists. Now that he does he wants to be envolved and keep all the promises he is making to Lara. This is the problem though. She knows how he is about keeping his promises. This is a secret baby romance with a side of second chances and I thought it was cute. it wasn’t one that I couldn’t not put down but I still like it. It just took me a while to read it.
This is the 3rd and I am sad to say, final book in this amazing series. This is Vance and Lara’s story, and when he chose his football career over her, she kept their baby a secret. This is a beautifully written tale which is emotional, fun, steamy, and a wonderful and entertaining, 2nd chance romance, which I highly recommend for all readers.
I loved this story! I had to read it in one sitting because it was just that good! what a great way to portray a goalkeeper struggles!
With every single addition to this series, Carrie Aarons has only gotten better and better. The reader got a glimpse of Vance in the previous books but does not get to fall in love with him until this one. Left behind while his two best friends have moved up the Football ranks leaves Vance at a cross roads. But it is not until he reunites with the one that he walked away from that he finally understands that sometimes life does not always go the way we planned. When Lara’s secret is revealed Vance needs to figure out his priorities. Is Football still the be all end all? Or is true love and family the thing that needs to become front and center. With beautifully written characters and a storyline that had me sighing with delight this was a wonderful read. Literally saved the best for last!!
Another spectacular Rogue Series book! How could you not fall in love with Vance and Lara childhood sweethearts story? Lara is left heartbroken, alone and pregnant. Vance is broody, stubborn, focused on himself and unaware he’s going to be a father. Once he discovers he’s a dad he comes to life and realizes he can have it all. The journey to find each other is worth it!!
If your looking for a second-chance romance with not too much drama and a secret baby, this is perfect for you. I can’t say that Lara was my favorite person. I can’t really get over the fact that because he broke her heart she didn’t feel he deserved to know he was a father. I swear if he never saw them in the street she would have never told him. It kind of turned me off. I also couldn’t get over the fact that Vance was not mad enough about it.
I wrote this review based on an advance reading copy that the publisher sent me.