Footloose [Mass Market Paperback]

Leanne Banks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006

Even on a tropical getaway, a girl's got to watch out for the sharks . . .

Think working for a leading international shoe company sounds like a dream job? Not if you're Amelia Parker, an overworked, downtrodden temp working for Bellagio, Inc.'s grande dame, Lillian Bellagio. But things are looking up for Amelia. She's just been given the assignment of accompanying Ms. Bellagio to her estate in the Keys. Trading pumps for flip-flops and a cell phone for a conch shell -- could be worse, right?

Especially when life on the island includes her very own mysteryy man -- one Jack "The Shark" O'Connell, dashing venture capitalist. He dares Amelia to use this time to do something wild: drink a hurricane, go skinny-dipping . . . have an affair with a dangerously attractive man. But Jack may have ulterior motives for his attentions, and Amelia will have to decide . . . should she kick Prince Charming to the curb, or step into that glass slipper?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Prolific author Banks (Feet First, Underfoot) opens her latest comic romance with a stock situation: good girl Amelia Parker, a dedicated employee of the Bellagio shoe company in Atlanta, gets dumped by her longtime fiancé and has to re-evaluate her life. From that point, however, the story rockets into fresh territory. Temporarily assigned to assist Bellagio's matriarch in Key West, Fla., Amelia makes a list of changes to make and experiences to pursue—getting a new car, investing, traveling, changing her hair color. When she runs into mystery man Jack O'Connell at a bar, he's not only willing to help achieve her goals but adds new ones, starting with "swimming in the nude." Unbeknownst to Amelia, Jack is "a shark by trade" with an agenda regarding Bellagio—along with more than a few personal and professional secrets—but finds himself sidetracked by his appealing mark. Their relationship proceeds with a playful vitality that keeps the pages turning, and the story provides just enough twists to balance frequent sex scenes. Witty dialogue and romantic suspense propel this latest series entry, but some readers may be turned off by the book's positive, Jimmy Buffett–style attitude toward heavy drinking. Then again, what's a Keys escape for if not a few too many hurricanes? (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Banks returns to the world of Bellagio Shoes in this third stand-alone romance sharing characters with Feet First (2005) and Underfoot (2006). Amelia Parker, the superefficient temp at Bellagio, finally agrees to stay after she breaks up with her childhood sweetheart for the third and final time. On assignment in the Florida Keys as assistant to Lillian Bellagio, the grande dame of the company, she meets Jack O'Connell while sitting in a Tiki bar thinking up her life's to-do list. He comes up with several suggestions, most involving nudity, and they embark on a summer fling. Unbeknownst to Amelia, Jack, an illegitimate son of Lillian's late husband, is a venture capitalist who has bought into Bellagio. Back in Atlanta, Amelia is given a sizable promotion and finds Jack working at the company, which causes no end of complications. Hot lovemaking scenes and a couple made for each other make for great entertainment as Banks, once again, delivers a terrific feel-good romance. Diana Tixier Herald
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: HQN Books (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373771282
• ISBN-13: 978-0373771288
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #571,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Leanne Banks is a national #1 best-selling author with over fifty romance novels to her credit. Leanne was born and raised in the wonderful town of Roanoke, Virginia. Growing up in "the star city of the south" had a huge impact on her outlook and her writing. Her B.S. in Psychology only qualifies her to treat fictional characters and she began writing when her two children were very young. Leanne believes in the transforming power of love, so writing romance novels comes naturally to her. Her muse is a 4.5 lb Pomeranian who is happy to snooze beside Leanne while Leanne creates. Leanne loves travel and trips to the beach, but what's most important to her is family. Leanne's home on the web is www.leannebanks.com To get the most up-to-date scoop on Leanne, visit her on facebook http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/leanne.banks

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 3rd book of series -- shoes, beaches and some hurricanes, January 7, 2007

By 

cb (Minot, ND) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Footloose (Mass Market Paperback)

Footloose by Leanne Banks is fabulous read. This is the third novel in the Bellagio Series that tells the story of amazing assistant Amelia Parker. Amelia excapes to the Florida Keys to help of the grande dame of Bellagio Inc. While making a 'to do list' she meets Jack. Lots of twists and turns with a great love story. Check out the entire Bellagio Series: Feet First (1), Underfoot (2) Footloose (3).

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome end of a fantastic trilogy, September 7, 2006

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Footloose (Mass Market Paperback)

Expecting her fiance Will to set a wedding date, Bellagio temp Amelia instead finds herself dumped. She has spent her life since adolescence being everything Will wanted - sedate, organized, and nurturing, so it is a huge blow when he dumps her for a wild gal. She is sent to the Florida Keys to act as a temporary assistant to crusty matriarch Lillian Bellagio, and manages to make a huge impression on the brusque diva, as well as the wealthy and mysterious corporate raider Jack, who romances her. Little does she know he is collecting info about Bellagio, as he contemplates a takeover of the shoe empire once ruled by his birth father.

When she returns to Atlanta, she is surprised to find Jack installed as a new board member, who has exercised his right to oversee daily operation in the company, and soon realizes that his seduction was planned all along to get information on the company. Jack is treated as an outsider, and loathed by CEO Marc Waterson. As much as Amelia wants to ignore him, her attraction is deep, and the two continue a clandestine affair. Despite their obvious attraction for each other and his assistance in making Will squirm at a family wedding, Amelia's reluctance to tell anyone about them makes Jack feel like a bastard all over again.

With the requisite humor and sensuality inherent in all of Bank's novels to date, "Footloose" makes a fabulous bookend to a fantastic trilogy, and makes Banks a must-read novelist.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Really 3 1/2 stars, October 30, 2006

By 

Janet (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Footloose (Mass Market Paperback)

This was the weak link in the trilogy. I didn't sense the chemistry between Jack and Amelia while they were in the Keys. Jack was not that likeable and Amelia was flat. Brooke was an irritating distraction and then she was dropped. The book was much better once the setting moved back to Atlanta. Making Marc the bad guy bothered me, though, as we had gotten to love him in book 1. Jack got more depth to his character, and I started to empathize with him. I was looking forward to a wonderfully exciting and highly romantic ending, however. The ending seemed rushed and the revelation of Jack being a Bellagio was thrown in as almost an aside with loose ends tied up too quickly. I missed the very romantic discovery that they loved each other and then the great proposal that has been evident in other Banks' books. The emotional tug-at-your heart was missing. Books 1 and 2 were great, though.