Amelia Goes West

by JoAnna Illingworth

1845 isn’t ready for Amelia Vine.

High school is ending and Amelia cannot take one more second of people telling her to cherish every moment and be excited for the future when her future is anything but certain. Needing a change of scenery, Amelia hatches a plan to steal her best friend’s time traveling umbrella. She’s expecting the same adventure her best friend had - castles and gowns and falling in love with an enigmatic Lord. Instead, she lands in the dusty, unfriendly Wild West where she runs into trouble with a gang of outlaws, is harshly judged by the entire town and becomes entangled with a handsome cowboy. Forced into pioneer life, including a healthy dose of death around every corner, Amelia discovers she’s capable of more than she ever imagined.

A companion to The Black Umbrella, Amelia Goes West is a time travel coming of age packed with laugh out loud humor, breathtaking adventure and big, swoony love.

Genres: Time Travel

276 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 19, 2023

About the author

Featuring a mix of adult and young adult, JoAnna Illingworth’s books are character driven, fun, engaging reads. Her fast-paced storytelling, smart, funny characters, and swoony love interests keep readers hooked from start to finish.

Follow her on Instagram @glamorousjo and TikTok @glamjo

Visit JoAnna’s website at joannaillingworth.com for signed copies and news on upcoming releases and appearances.

JoAnna lives in Nashville’s suburbia with her husband and two boys.

Reviews

[Rachel Moenning · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was like Joanna’s first, the Black Umbrella, but with even higher highs and lower lows! I laughed. I cried. (No literally, I CRIED TEARS.) Lots of big swoony feelings, too. I love the character of Amelia Vine because she is so dynamic and so different from Brolly. I kept thinking to myself “Where was this book when I was 15?! I would’ve loved it!” But then I remembered that 15-year-old-me is still… me. And she loved this book start to finish.

[Meredith Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully Sequel!

Enjoyed the Black Umbrella sequel immensely. Such a creative continuation of this fun story that’s full of positive messages. Bravo!

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book - it was so fun to read with twists and turns around every corner and a voice that was lively and engaging. It's the perfect beach read, or book to curl up with during a lazy Saturday when you're looking for an escape.

Amelia Goes West is about a modern day high school student (Amelia) who manages to land herself in the wild west. Through a wild turn of events she finds herself on the Oregon Trail with a hot cowboy and a group of strangers turned friends. While there Amelia finds love, but she also learns quite a bit about herself, which gives her the confidence she needs to move onto the next phase of her life.

And while it's technically a sequel (and I LOVED The Black Umbrella too) it does work just fine as a standalone.

[Anjali Kamaleson · Rating 5 out of 5]

sweet

This is such a sweet story. Amelia is such a lovable, hilarious character, and I found her to be very relatable. I read this one immediately after the first book in the series, “the Black Umbrella,” and while that book is good, I love this one much more. The author did an excellent job describing the hardships of early America and the dangers of going west, but also the beautiful friendships made along the way. I would definitely recommend giving this book a read!

[Bridget Heuton · Rating 5 out of 5]

So thankful I finally got my long snowed in weekend to read this book! I laughed, I cried, I swooned, my adrenaline rushed, and I got to re-experience the general glowy feeling of young love and coming of age. I highly recommend this sequel to The Black Umbrella to all young and not-yet-middle aged adults alike!!

[Sarah Goethem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illingworth is the QUEEN of humour and big, swoony love. With characters that leap off the page, and an old Wild West setting with cowboys and shoot-outs and a dangerous trip down the Oregon trail, Amelia Goes West is every bit as enticing as The Black Umbrella.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! What a delightful follow up
To The Black Umbrella. Joanna Illingworth has mastered slow-burn time travel romance, and I am here for it. As soon as she writes a third, I’ll be first in line to read it!

[Brandi Manes · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun! I was laughing and simultaneously on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what was going to happen. This book is delightful and a perfect follow up to The Black Umbrella.

[Sarah Jane Pounds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book so much. Amelia’s wit and humor was a delight and don’t get me started on SAM 😍❤️‍🔥
Highly recommend for teens looking for romance and time travel!

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars ❤️

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually think I liked the second better than the first, which says a lot because I really liked the first. Amelia is just so feisty you can’t help but love her!

[B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need JoAnna to please continue writing more of this series. I am obsessed with these characters and these time travel stories.
She knew just how to 'lasso in' the reader with this one. 🤠 Har Har.

[Brenda Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sequel was so much better than the original.

[Joanna Rasmussen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read both this book, Amelia Goes West, and the companion book, The Black Umbrella. If you read my review of The Black Umbrella, you will know how much I absolutely loved that book. But I think I love Amelia Goes West even more!

This book is so much fun and has a handsome cowboy that you can't help but love.

The main Character in this book, Amelia, is the best friend of the main character in the previous book, The Black Umbrella. Amelia is a sassy outspoken, 18 year old who's at the end of her senior year and she's having a hard time with the uncertainty of her future.

So the night of Prom, she steals her friend's magic umbrella that will let her travel through time and go on an adventure. She thought she would end up in France in the 19th century exploring castles, wearing beautiful gowns, and falling in love just like her friend did in the previous book. But instead she finds herself thrown through time landing in the wild west in 1845. She quickly runs into trouble with a group of outlaws who end up stealing her magic time traveling umbrella. Now these outlaws are extremely dangerous. And the handsome cowboy Sam swoops in to keep her safe. After several weeks of living in the small town and learning how to live without modern amenities and pitching in with a lot of hard work, Amelia agrees to trave out west on the Oregon trail with the hope that she will be able to get her umbrella back from the Outlaws. Or if she can't get the umbrella back, start a new life out farther west with the friends she has made and her hot, hunky cowboy.

The relationship between Amelia and Sam is so entertaining. The banter back and forth is perfection. The way their love story develops is so believable and genuine.

I felt a whole range of emotions when reading this book. It made me laugh, swoon, and even tear up at parts.

The writing was so well done. I was completely immersed in the story, and really had a hard time putting the book down. It was just so good!

I highly recommend reading Amelia Goes West if you're looking for book that's full of adventure, humor, and true love.

[Saskia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was easy and fun to read.

[Sarai Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another sweet, swoony, easy to read book by Joanna. It's an adorable time-travel love story that I couldn't put down! Hope there's more to come in this series!