200,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿 

Overnight NZ-wide delivery | 📍 Visit our Auckland bookstore • Open 7 days, 8:30am–5pm

10 Gifts for Someone Who Loves World War II Stories

This list is perfect for anyone looking to gift a reader fascinated by World War II stories. It features a range of historical fiction and stories that bring the era to life. Whether they enjoy romance, crime, or deeply researched historical tales, these books offer a exploration of the wartime experience.

Give the whole list

Every in-stock gift on this list, delivered overnight across NZ

$26595
Elsewhere:
$33693
1
The End and the Beginning
On Sale
15% off

The End and the Beginning

ByK. J. Holdom

At the start of the war, eight-year-old Max Bernot lives with his sister and parents in Lauterbach, Saarland, a narrow strip of territory between the French and German defence lines. His German father, Anton, and his French mother, Marguerite, do their best to shield Max and his sister, Anna, from Nazi violence. However, in late 1944, their beloved godfather is executed in their garden by the SS, and Max, now thirteen, is conscripted into the Volkssturm. Less than a month later, Max flees a Hitler Youth camp in Bavaria with his best friend, Hans. His mission: to return home and tell his mother the truth about his godfather’s murder. As he escapes, he sends postcards to his family that trace his fraught journey across a country in its...

$2800
Elsewhere:
$3999
Paperback
In Stock
Ships tomorrow
View details
2
The Piano Teacher of Montparnasse
New Release

The Piano Teacher of Montparnasse

ByHeather Morris

In 1942, the Nazis came for a Jewish family living in Montparnasse, occupied Paris. In the chaos of their arrest, the eleven-year-old daughter fled to the only person she trusted: her piano teacher... The author of the international bestseller, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, returns with a masterful new novel that captures the astonishing bravery of ordinary people in extraordinary times. Inspired by real events and people, The Piano Teacher of Montparnasse tells the story of piano teacher and French Resistance operative, Andrée Levallois, and the young girl she risks everything for. With the authorities closing in, Andrée and the girl are caught in a desperate race to stay alive. Soon, they are separated, and so starts Andrée's fight for survival. She is determined to return and honour her...

$3199
Elsewhere:
$3799
Paperback
In Stock
Ships tomorrow
View details
3
The Girl with the Suitcase

The Girl with the Suitcase

ByLesley Pearse

The enthralling new novel from the 10-million-copy, No. 1 bestselling author. London 1941 When Mary meets a glamorous stranger named Elizabeth, she realises their lives couldn't be more different. But when an air raid forces them to take shelter underground, Mary's life is set to change forever. After waking up in hospital, injured but alive, the nurse mistakes her for Elizabeth and hands over her suitcase with Elizabeth's money and tickets to Ireland inside. This is Mary's chance to escape the hardship of her life and start afresh. The Girl with the Suitcase poses the question: What could go wrong?

$3099
Elsewhere:
$3800
Paperback
In Stock
Ships tomorrow
View details
4
All the Diamonds in Paris

All the Diamonds in Paris

ByKristin Harmel

Kristin Harmel is firmly in the top echelon of WW2 storytellers - HEATHER MORRIS A master storyteller - SANTA MONTEFIORE The best at sweeping historical drama - KELLY HARMS A dazzling diamond of a novel - HAZEL GAYNOR * Paris, 1942: Anabel Martinet is a jewel thief, descended from a family that has spent centuries stealing from the unkind and giving to the deserving. Never has that mattered more than now, in the midst of the Nazi Occupation, and despite the enormous risks, Anabel begins stealing from Germans and collaborators and channelling money to the French Resistance. But when she takes a pair of valuable bracelets from a high-ranking Nazi officer, she finds herself - and her two young daughters - in the line of fire from the...

$2999
Elsewhere:
$3799
Paperback
In Stock
Ships tomorrow
View details
5
The Songbirds of Florence

The Songbirds of Florence

ByOlivia Spooner

A sweeping, captivating WWII story of enduring love and extraordinary bravery from the No. 1 bestselling author of The Girl from London. In 1942, a group of young women arrive in Cairo, Egypt. The Tuis, named after the beautiful New Zealand songbird, are the first women from their country to serve overseas. They are to provide respite and a touch of home to weary soldiers returning from the front line. Vivacious and outgoing, Addy joins the Tuis for the adventure. Margot is quiet and withdrawn, grieving the young husband she lost to the war. Despite their differences, the girls become fast friends. When the Tuis are relocated to Italy to set up clubs in grand venues in Florence, Bari and Rome, Addy and Margot are enchanted by the...

$2599
Elsewhere:
$2799
Paperback
In Stock
Ships tomorrow
View details
6
The Rose Code
On Sale
23% off

The Rose Code

ByKate Quinn

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn is a historical novel set during World War II, focusing on three women who work as codebreakers at Bletchley Park. Their friendship is tested by secrecy, war, and betrayal, leading to dramatic consequences years later as they reunite to solve a final mystery.

$1700
Elsewhere:
$2500
Paperback
In Stock
Ships tomorrow
View details
7
Dying Days
Signed Copy
On Sale
12% off

Dying Days

ByAnthony Byrt

Award-winning writer delivers a pulse-pounding espionage thriller. Missing soldiers, MI6 secrets and European partisans collide in a deadly game where the lines between lies and reality are fast disintegrating. In the dying days of the Second World War, a new conflict is about to ignite. May, 1945: After fighting to liberate Europe from the Nazis, Tito's Yugoslav Army and Allied forces have come to a tense standoff in the city of Trieste. Every day, locals with fascist and Nazi ties are disappearing, arrested by Yugoslav soldiers. Meanwhile, the Allies watch on, reluctant to become mired in yet another conflict. But when rumours circulate that New Zealand soldiers are among the missing, the stakes begin to rise. A British MI6 agent and a New Zealand intelligence officer must uncover...

$2800
Elsewhere:
$3699
Paperback
In Stock
Ships tomorrow
View details
8
Flashpoint
New Release

Flashpoint

ByWilbur Smith and David Churchill

AN IMPOSSIBLE MISSION. A QUEST FOR THE TRUTH. ONLY SHE HAS WHAT IT TAKES 1943, America: SOE's Saffron Courtney is back in New York, but even as she recovers from her mission to Washington, events on the other side of the Atlantic are making her return to England inevitable. The War Office need someone to extract an asset - a Jewish scientist, George Ezra, a man vital to the war effort - from his hideaway on the besieged island of Leros. But first there is a debt to settle, and the mob do not wait - even for a decorated war hero... 1946, Kenya: Back in her beloved homeland, and reunited with her lover-now-husband Gerhard von Meerbach, Saffron thinks that she might finally have found the peace that...

$3599
Elsewhere:
$4500
Hardback
In Stock
Ships tomorrow
View details
9
The War Pianist
On Sale
26% off

The War Pianist

ByMandy Robotham

The War Pianist by Mandy Robotham is a captivating historical fiction novel that delves into the world of secret communications during World War II. Set against the backdrop of war-torn Europe, the story follows two pianists who use their musical talents to convey crucial messages for the Allies. As they navigate dangerous paths of espionage, their lives become intertwined in a delicate dance of intrigue and survival.

$1700
Elsewhere:
$2499
Paperback
In Stock
Ships tomorrow
View details
10
The Secret Messenger

The Secret Messenger

ByMandy Robotham

In The Secret Messenger by Mandy Robotham, the story interweaves past and present as a woman uncovers her grandmother's daring role as a secret messenger in Nazi-occupied Venice during World War II. As she delves into the past, long-buried family secrets and courageous acts of resistance come to light, revealing the strength and bravery of those who risked everything for freedom.

$2100
Elsewhere:
$2299
Paperback
In Stock
Ships tomorrow
View details