Sara Glickman, a young Jewish girl growing up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the early nineteen hundreds, discovers she has a gift - an ability to make matches and help people find their soulmates. Only there are Jewish men in the neighborhood who do this for a living, and they are none to pleased when they find out Sara has been getting in the way of their business. Decades later, Sara’s granddaughter, Abby, is a divorce attorney who’s firm represents clients that are among the rich and famous. When Abby’s Grandma Sara dies, Abby realizes she too may possess the same gift as Sara, and is left conflicted between her job in facilitating divorces and her ability to fight for love.

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this beautiful book in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely LOVED this book - everything about it. I loved Sara’s strength and determination to help others find love. I loved the special relationship between Abby and her Grandma Sara, and how it guides her even after her grandma’s gone. I loved the premise of this book and how it taught me something new, specifically that matchmaking was relied upon back in the day, and that it was a predominantly man’s job.

Perhaps what I loved most about this book was that it’s uplifting, hopeful, and centered around two super strong female characters whose sole purposes in life is to facilitate love matches.

(OK - I also loved that the Grandma’s name was Sara because I too had a great Grandma Sara)

Have I told you enough things I loved about this book? This one, as the title suggests, is a gift. Read it - you will love it as much as I did!

Set in New York City, The Matchmaker’s Gift shares the imagined story of a Jewish grandmother and granddaughter who share gifts of matchmaking.

Thanks #NetGalley @StMartinsPress for a complimentary e ARC of #TheMatchmakersGift upon my request. All opinions are my own.

In 1910, young Sara demonstrates a skill in matchmaking. This troubles the older, devout men in the Jewish community because she is a threat to their traditions and livelihood. Sara fights for recognition and her right to make matches. In 1994, Sara’s granddaughter (Abby) inherits Sara’s journals that document every match she made, and Abby questions her own purpose and gifts.

Overall, this is an uplit story about a woman’s perseverance to use her gifts and how it conflicts with the Jewish culture and tradition of matchmaking. Abby adores her grandmother and wonders if she has some of her grandmother’s abilities in matchmaking.

In this dual timeline story, I learned about the matchmaking tradition in the Jewish culture. I didn’t know much about the profession of matchmaking before reading this story, but I think if someone had asked me about it, I would assume that women handled the matchmaking. However, it was informative to read that it was traditionally a man’s profession. Evidently, it was a lucrative business and the men were significantly threatened by Sara and her success.

I loved Sara in the 1910 timeline. For a while she conducts matchmaking under the radar. Eventually. she becomes bolder and embraces matchmaking as her gift and her right. Sara is persistent and pursues her gift despite threats from the men. It’s women like Sara who have set an example of chasing your dreams even if the dream happens to be in a male dominated field.

Thoughtful themes include grandmother/granddaughter relationship, power of family, self-discovery, inherited gifts, determination, risk-taking, women in male-dominated fields,

With a side of magic and romance (more magical realism than I usually prefer), I’m recommending this heartwarming story for readers who enjoy the mentioned themes, for readers who love reading about strong women breaking new ground, for those wanting to read more about the Jewish matchmaking tradition, and for book clubs.

The Matchmaker’s Gift weaves together the story of Sarah, a matchmaker with a magical gift of seeing soulmates and her granddaughter, a divorce lawyer. I loved learning about many of the Jewish foods and customs, particularly during Sarah’s younger days. I also loved all of the mini love stories for each of the matches Sarah puts together. However, I didn’t leave the book super touched, and it was very slow moving. It was a warm hug from a friend on a lazy day kind of book.

A bit of love, a bit of magic, two wonderfully relatable characters and there you have it: a novel that will make you all warm and fuzzy from beginning to end. Plus, I do love a good dual timeline and alternating points of view, especially when one of these is narrated through old journal entries. Elements related to Jewish culture are also cleverly weaved through the story, making it even more enchanting.

The Matchmaker's Gift is a cute story about Sara, who comes to the US when she is 10 years old. On the ship to America she makes her first match. Sara has a "gift" where she sees things and knows things between two people. In 1910, all matchmakers were men and they are not happy that Sara is making matches. Sara passes in 1994 and Sara's granddaughter, Abby, is struggling with Sara's death and some other things going on in her life. As Abby reads her grandmother's notebooks, she realizes she may have the same gift her grandmother had. If you have never read any of Lynda Cohen Loigman's book, this is a good one to start with and you just may find yourself wanting to read the other books.

This quaint dual timeline story was such a cozy book that I sat down and the next thing I knew the day was gone and I was done with the book. It’s love of tradition and the relationships were presented so perfectly I fell in love with it all. This is my first by this author and I really enjoyed the way she managed to merge two completely different timelines between chapters without feeling like it was a weird broken story. I also couldn’t fulfill this review without mentioning the absolutely stunning cover of this book.

Thank you ti NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sara Glikman and her family are Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York City in 1910 and settled on the Lower East Side. Sara discovers at an early age that she has a magical talent for matchmaking. She can determine which people are meant for one another - who is their bashert. Matchmaking was a male-only profession during this time and as she gets older, Sara must keep her making of these perfect matches a secret. This sweet book also takes place in 1994. In the second timeline, Sara has passed away and Abby, a divorce lawyer, is mourning the loss of her beloved grandmother. While reading Sara's journals left to her, Abby learns more about all the things her grandmother had accomplished. She also realizes that she may also have the same gift. And this might not be compatible with her career and her cutthroat boss.

I enjoyed Lynda Cohen Loigman's first two novels (The Two-Family House and The Wartime Sisters) and now The Matchmaker's Gift is my new favorite. There is so much about this book that I loved. The two main characters are smart, independent and strong. Both timelines are equally enjoyable. And based on my personal family ties to the Lower East Side, I felt as if Loigman looked into my ancestral history while writing this. One of Sara's first matches was for the daughter of "The Pickle King of New York" who owned Raskins Pickles. Well, my late Uncle Izzy owned the famous Guss' Pickles, which grew from a pushcart to a storefront, and we all felt we were part of pickle royalty. The street names read like a familiar road map of my childhood and the book included Lewis Street where my father grew up (it's a street that was mostly eliminated by the building of a housing project.) I appreciated the Yiddish sprinkled throughout and the many endearing words of wisdom. You don't have to be Jewish to appreciate this heartwarming story. The pursuit of love is universal, and the bonds of family timeless. Don't miss this lovely book dusted with a little magic.

Thank you St. Martins Press for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This novel focuses on Sara Glikman, a young Jewish girl who has recently arrived in New York and has a remarkable gift. The ability to find people’s soulmates. Unfortunately, not everyone sees Sara’s talents for what they are and instead see her as a threat to their traditions and way of life.

With a dual timeline, the story jumps to Sara’s granddaughter, Abby, a successful lawyer who has to grapple with her grandmothers death. After Abby receives Sara’s notebooks she learns her grandmother spent years secretly matchmaking and pushing the envelope of the Jewish traditions set in front of her. Yearning to understand more about her grandmother and why she left her the notebooks, Abby sets out on a path that leads her to discover much more.

This is a beautiful story filled with so much warmth and love! Etched deep with traditions and values it is a wonderful ode to Jewish culture. Powerful, charming and a little bit magical, this book will leave you captivated!

The Matchmaker’s Gift by Linda Cohen Loigman

Jewish Grandma Sara is much loved and revered. Has she passed down the gift of matchmaking to her granddaughter Abby? This saccharine story is all about Sara and Abby, their mutual love and individual plights to deal with this gift.

Young immigrant Sara must handle rabbinical egos as a female matchmaker. The rabbis’ livelihoods are threatened. And Abby, a New York City attorney, faces the dilemma between work and accepting her gift. As the decades pass, each one still feels the need to hide this gift.

Various characters without much development come and go as matches are made. Fast forward to engagements being broken or saved due to these ladies.

A wordy tale, this is a gentle, sweet story reminiscent of the Mitford series. With no bad language and only a kiss or two, I’ll rate it three stars and thank#StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for this ARC.

I love this author and I was so excited to read “The Matchmaker’s Gift”. I did not disappoint!

The book is told in 2 time periods. First, we meet Sara. In 1910, as a little girl she discovers she is a matchmaker who perfectly pairs people. The men in her community are not happy about her job and she must hide her gift for years, before eventually fighting for the right to make matches. In the present Sara’s granddaughter Abby is a divorce lawyer at a big NYC firm. Sara passes away and leaves her matchmaking journals to Abby who must figure out why they were meant for her.

Loignan is a master of historical fiction and this book was another example of that. I loved the cast of characters in both the past and the present. New York City in the 1900s comes alive and so does the Jewish community and traditions.

A lovely dual time line story. It's 1994 and Abby is devastated when her much loved grandmother Sara dies. Sara, who came to the US as a child, was a matchmaker and Abby is a divorce attorney. A divorce attorney who doesn't think all of her clients really want to split or for that matter, marry. A chance encounter with an ophthalmologist at Sara's funeral proves life changing for many but there's more to Sara's story than Abby knew. This moves back and forth between Sara as a teen and young woman on the Lower East Side as she helped couples and her family and the present as Abby uncovers the extent of Sara's influence. Unusually for a dual time line, both are compelling and interesting. No spoilers from me but know that this has a few twists (good ones) and it's got a big heart. Yes it's a tad implausible (the streak of light and so on) but give up and give in to it- it's charming and will make you smile. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

What a great story and history of Jewish families. The history of the family was very intriguing and made reading it very enjoyable.

I loved this story. This is not your average love story and the way the author switches between characters really pulls in the modern reader.

What a delightful read that you will not be able to put down. Sara starts her matchmaking at a very young age. She runs afoul of the more traditional Jewish matchmakers, but sticks to her priorities of love between two people. Loigman mixes in real life matches based on her prodigious research. The novel flips between Sara's timeline to more present day with her granddaughter Abby. The plot explores Sara's novel path to matchmaking along with Abby's cyncism. Yet, while flipping between the different time fraames, Loigman presents a thoroughly entertaining, totally captivating read. While I did enjoy an advanced copy for review, all opinions are expressly my own.

Sara made her first love match at 10 years old and helped countless couples fall in love well into her 90s. When her granddaughter, Abby, is gifted her secret journals and records it makes the divorce attorney have second thoughts about the legitimacy of matchmaking and true love. Sometimes all it takes is a little nudge to set us in the right direction.

This book weaves together past and present (present in the book is 1994) and the stories of grandmother and granddaughter beautifully. I enjoyed Sara's chapters more than Abby's but both were easy to read. The story blended together well and it felt like the reader got to discover things right alongside Abby, with some added details thanks to Sara's POV. This was a good book but it felt a bit slow and lacked a big emotional pull that I think could have been woven in. The only time I felt emotional with the characters was during Sara's college years and that was still minimal.

ALL THE STARS!!! Seriously pick this book up and read it. Sara and Abby’s stories will warm your heart. I loved learning about the Jewish matchmaking history and traditions.

It also makes me wish my grandmother had journals, even if she wasn’t a matchmaker.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable novel based on real people who were matchmakers. Sara sees a golden thread between two people, and knows they are soulmates. She passes on her journals to her granddaughter.

This book has several one-line quotes that add sweet touches to the story.

Special family gifts of matchmaking in two different timelines.

What I liked was the bond that Abby and her grandmother Sara shared at bringing couples together. It happened in random circumstances as well which made the gift more intriguing.

Both ladies saw their own difficulties with their gift. Sara struggled being recognized as a matchmaker because she was a single woman. That job was for married Jewish men in that era. Abby being in the profession of a divorce lawyer made some of the "finding love" go against her job duties and mean boss.

This was a lovely book since it was about love, but was even better getting to hear multiple love stories.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

What a wonderful story. I could not put it down. With this historical fiction novel, there are two timelines: Sara Glikman’s, which begins on the ship to New York City in 1910, and her granddaughter Abby’s life in 1994 in that same city. Sara shows a gift for matchmaking, which is called a shadchanit in Jewish culture. But the old male counterparts spy on her and put pressure on her because she’s “taking business away from them.” Abby is a divorce attorney who enjoyed her grandmother’s stories about matchmaking but really didn’t believe them. Until the same gift reveals itself to her.

First off, let me say, and I wish more books would do this, when the Yiddish language is written, the author then gives a translation, which is very helpful. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read books where another language is used and the reader is left to guess what was said. So props to Cohen Loigman for doing that. And secondly, I enjoyed learning about the Jewish culture in New York City during the early part of the last century. I know very little about it and enjoyed learning about different experiences and beliefs.

Abby reads her grandmother’s journal entries for various matches through the years, and then the reader is taken back in time to find out more of the story from Sara’s point of view. Sara was a feminist because she didn’t believe only married men could be matchmakers. She knew she had the gift, and when she became old enough and brave enough, started making matches out in the open after years of doing it on the sly. The old men are up in arms and there’s sort of a trial in front of local rabbis, who decide that Sara can be a matchmaker after all.

Abby’s life as a divorce attorney is complicated by the fact that one high-profile and high-paying client wants to divorce her husband, but Abby sees the two together and knows there’s still love there. So she goes behind her boss’ back and helps the woman. There’s also a second client, also high-profile and high-paying, who wants a pre-nuptial agreement put together. But Abby realizes that she’s found the man’s love match and sets about getting the two on the right path. Naturally, her boss finds out and fires her.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book is that while there was romance for the secondary characters, the “romances” of Sara and Abby aren’t a big deal and they aren’t treated with a heavy hand. Indeed, this a “clean” book with no sex scenes in it. I’m not saying I’m a prude, but too often I’ve read good historical fiction and there’s a random sex scene for no other reason I can figure other than titillation. The Matchmaker’s Gift focuses on the love matches of others rather than the principals. I think after reading this book that I’m a believer of matchmakers, as old-fashioned as it seems. We all have to believe in a little magic now and then.

4.5 love match stars

This book is a gift! I loved the two timelines equally and the main characters.

Sara Glikman has a special gift, from the time she was ten, she has been able to see a spark between two people who are soulmates and meant to be together. For years she hid her gift because the men in her community who are paid to be matchmakers were threatened by her success (and her gender and the fact that she was single).

Set in New York, this book seamlessly travels back and forth in time giving us the story of Sara and her granddaughter Abby. Sara thinks Abby has inherited her gift, but it takes a journey of discovery for Abby to value and appreciate her talent. It is especially challenging as Abby is a divorce attorney.

Sara did not have an easy time with things; she made her matches secretly until she needed the money for her family. The male matchmakers bullied her, especially when she made some high-powered matches. They even took her to a special Jewish court to get her to stop.

Abby has inherited Sara’s journals now that she has died, and she finally understands the full life that her grandmother lived and the amazing matchmaking work that she did. Abby finally reconciles her work life with the knowledge of her skills and finished this one feeling that all was well in her world!

I definitely recommend this one and I think it would be particularly good as a book club book.