World War II (Annie Groves) Books in Order

The novels grouped here as the World War II series are linked by setting and theme rather than by a single family. Each book stands alone but returns to Liverpool and its surroundings during the war, focusing on women whose ordinary lives are reshaped by air raids, separation and unexpected love.

Goodnight Sweetheart (also published as A Mother's Blessing) introduces Molly Dearden, a young woman who has always lived in the shadow of her capable older sister June. After their mother's death, Molly clings to the security of their tiny home in the Edge Hill district, never imagining that war will force her to grow up fast. As the threat from Hitler grows she joins the Women's Voluntary Service, finds work she believes in and meets a young sailor, Eddie, who seems to offer a future beyond her street.

In Some Sunny Day the focus shifts to Rosie, who has been raised in Liverpool's close knit Italian community and treated as part of the Grenelli family. When Italy becomes an enemy of Britain, suspicion splits the neighbourhood and Rosie is left unsure who she can trust. A devastating raid sends her to live with relatives in Edge Hill, where a family secret comes to light and pushes her toward life as a Land Girl and a relationship that many would call forbidden.

The Grafton Girls takes its name from a Liverpool dance hall where young women and American GIs meet under glittering lights while the war rumbles in the background. Diane Wilson leaves Cambridge and a broken heart for war work as a teleprint operator at Derby House, sharing lodgings with the sharp tongued Myra Stone. On the factory floor Ruthie endures dangerous conditions to support her widowed mother, helped along by her exuberant friend Jess Hunt. Their paths cross at the Grafton, where friendships, rivalries and romances all come to a head.

In As Time Goes By Annie Groves returns to the city and to the Grafton ballroom. Sam Grey joins the Auxiliary Territorial Service and is frustrated to be stuck in office work when she longs to prove her courage. Her fiery temper lands her in conflict with a strict superior and draws her toward Johnny, a charismatic bomb disposal expert who attracts admiration wherever he goes. Meanwhile Sally works shifts in a factory by day and sings at the Grafton by night, trying to keep her children safe while her husband is a prisoner of war.

Across these books certain locations and secondary characters reappear, giving a sense of a shared world, but each story can be read on its own. Together they paint a picture of wartime Liverpool that includes both the fear of sirens and shattered streets and the escape of music, dancing and late night talks. Readers who enjoy emotionally honest, grounded tales of love and friendship forged in difficult times will find this sequence a rewarding starting point.