Rosie Archer has 10 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 4 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4★ across 1 ratings. The most-rated is The Bluebird Girls.
The Bluebird Girls
Summary
Hampshire, 1939, and three young women are about to get the break of a lifetime. Rainey Bird, Ivy Sparrow and Bea Herron all love to sing. For Rainey, music has been a solace during the upheaval of starting a new life with her mother, away from her abusive dad. Bea finds a confidence when she sings that she cannot get from anything else. Ivy sees it as her best chance of making a life away from Gosport and a dead-end job. The three of them sing in a choir run by the strict but kind Mrs Wilkes. The choir provides a couple of hours of stardust each week, away from school and work and family worries. When war breaks out, though, dreams must be put on hold. It seems that local pantomimes and charity shows are as far as the girls will be able to go, despite Mrs Wilkes' faith in their talent. That is, until a mysterious stranger arrives with a proposition that just might change their lives....
©2019 Rosie Archer (P)2019 Quercus Editions Limited
The Gunpowder and Glory Girls
Summary
The war is drawing to a close, but the munitions girls are still hard at work in the factory. Gladys, who's been promoted to overseer, has been feeling lonely lately. Her daughter has moved away, and a lot of her friends have left Gosport, too. Then an act of kindness towards Goldie, a homeless teenager, provides Gladys with a new friend and lodger. But Goldie has run away from her dangerous family - a group of local gangsters and black-market smugglers, including a particular thug, a pimp, who is determined to make the girl his. Can Gladys keep both of them safe while dealing with her own unexpected pregnancy?
©2016 Rosie Archer (P)2016 W F Howes Ltd
We'll Meet Again
Summary
The sequel to The Bluebird Girls, following the fortunes of singers Rainey Bird, Ivy Sparrow and Bea Herron as they do their best to keep up morale at home and abroad, entertaining troops in the dark days of WW2.
©2019 Rosie Archer (P)2019 Quercus Editions Limited
The Factory Girls
Summary
It's 1944, after D-day. Doodlebugs are the latest threat to war-battered Southern England. Local crook Samuel Golden is still finding ways to exploit people's hardship for his own gain. Heroine Em, whom we first met in The Munitions Girls, finds herself caught up in one such scheme while having to deal with her daughter's unexpected pregnancy. Female friendship, wartime drama, mothers and daughters and finding a good man in the end - it's all there in this sparkling new saga from Rosie Archer.
©2016 Rosie Archer (P)2016 WF Howes Ltd
The Forces' Sweethearts
Summary
Gripping, emotional Second World War saga for fans of Annie Groves, Shirley Dickson and Soraya Lane. 1943, and The Bluebird Girls are at the top of their game. They are touring with ENSA, visiting army bases across the world in order to boost the morale of the brave boys fighting in the desert and the jungle. The hours are long and the travelling uncomfortable, but Bea, Rainey and Ivy wouldn't be anywhere else for the world. Then tragedy strikes the group and their little show business family. Their manager, Blackie, and Rainey's mother, Jo, find themselves with heavy new responsibilities, and the change in circumstances causes the girls themselves to reconsider their lives. For years, singing onstage has been their only dream, and they have made so many sacrifices to get where they are. But now other possibilities - relationships, babies - are on the horizon. Could this be the end for The Bluebird Girls?
©2020 Rosie Archer (P)2020 Quercus Editions Limited
The Munitions Girls
Summary
1943, Hampshire. Pixie Saunders is 19 and employed in the local armaments factory. Not for the first time, her mother has run off with a dodgy-looking bloke, leaving Pixie to pay the rent and fend for herself. Pixie, along with her best friend, Rita; Em, the factory overseer; and the rest of the girls are making the most of the war while trying to stay alive. The work is dangerous and the hours long, but in the evenings they take off their overalls and go to the pub or, better still, go dancing. Pixie meets American serviceman Cal and falls in love. But then Cal rejoins his ship. When Pixie falls pregnant, her life changes dramatically. Alone and unable to work, she has to rely on the kindness of friends to help her survive. Happiness seems like a thing of the past. Little does she know that there are plenty of surprises waiting for her - good ones at that. Love may be closer than she thinks.
©2015 June Hampson (P)2015 WF Howes Ltd
Victory for the Bluebird Girls
Summary
The heartwarming final chapter in the Bluebird Girls series. As war finally draws to a close and the lights come back on across Europe, what will victory and peacetime bring for the South Coast's favourite singing trio? In their rise to fame over the course of the war, Bea Herron, Ivy Sparrow and Rainey Bird have faced down bombs and looked tragedy in the eye. They have also found love, created their own families and had careers that they never thought possible. With peace finally on the horizon, what will the new world hold for them?
©2020 Rosie Archer (P)2020 Quercus Editions Limited
The Picture House Girls
Summary
A warm and heartfelt WW2 saga of hope, love and female friendship, and how women pull together through good times and bad. Perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Nadine Dorries. In 1940s Hampshire the war is settling into its stride, bringing dark days for many. Eighteen-year-old Connie Baxter works as an usherette at the Criterion Picture House in Gosport. Here she meets Vera, a cleaner at the cinema, and her niece, Babs, who sells ice creams and dreams of being in the spotlight. As the war rages on, the women get to know each other and become firm friends, uniting against the wandering hands of the Criterion's creepy manager. But when Connie falls for the charming Tommo Smith, her friendships are tested. When Tommo tells her that he's a dancing instructor at a local club her eyes light up. Connie is desperate for him to teach her to dance like her idol, Ginger Rogers. Yet Babs is suspicious and convinced that Tommo is too good to be true. As Connie struggles with the harsh realities of war and the turbulence of romance, she comes to realise that life isn't always like the pictures.
©2021 Rosie Archer (P)2021 Quercus Editions Limited
The Ferry Girls
Summary
A young German girl finds friendship, camaraderie and even love while working on Gosport's ferries in the height of World War Two - but will her new friends desert her if her nationality comes to light? For fans of Daisy Styles and Nadine Dorries.
Vee Smith is 22 when she starts work on Gosport's ferries, taking a job left vacant by the men gone off to war. She soon makes friends with the other women workers, and together they enjoy nights out dancing in Gosport - keeping their spirits up despite the hard work, rationing and heavy bombing.
Vee even feels herself falling for Sam, the skipper of the ferry and her unhappily married boss. But Vee has a secret: her real name is Violetta Schmidt, and she is half German. If her true nationality is discovered, she and her mother could find themselves interned as enemy aliens - if their German-hating neighbours or, worse, Eddie, the man Vee ran away from after he got her false papers, don't hurt them first.
Will Vee be able to keep her secret safe and find some peace with Sam and her friends, even in the midst of war?
©2017 Rosie Archer (P)2017 WF Howes Ltd
The Girls from the Local
Summary
Gosport, Hampshire, 1943, and even in the middle of war the local pub provides a warm welcome, thanks to its trio of barmaids. A heartwarming saga for fans of Sheila Newberry and Daisy Styles. Ruby has been living and working at the Point of No Return pub since her parents were killed by a bomb. She loves the bustle of the pub; it helps take her mind off worrying about her fiance, Joe, away fighting in France. The only thing Ruby doesn't like about the Point is Sylvie. This singing siren may have a beautiful voice, but she's out for all she can get, including Joe. Finally there's Marge, a true party girl. She's a great friend to Ruby and makes sure they have fun, going out to dances and flirting with all and sundry, but she's not as fond of her other role as a mother to two young children. The three of them face many obstacles to fulfilling their dreams, but the bonds of friendship and camaraderie that hold the Point together will keep them going through the darkest of times.
©2017 Rosie Archer (P)2017 WF Howes Ltd