I so enjoyed this book. A sweet story about a Jewish woman’s gift as a matchmaker and her granddaughter’s gift too. I enjoyed the back and forth of the two women.

Thank you #NetGalley, #StMartin’sPress and #LyndaCohenLoigman for the advance readers copy for my honest review.

An author I follow on Instagram recommended this book and I was lucky enough to get it from NetGalley. I would probably actually give it close to a 4.5. It was well written and charming. I learned a lot about the Jewish practice of matchmaking which I was not familiar with before. The book goes back and forth from the 1900s to the early 2000s with each chapter alternating between characters. I like the back and forth and that it is a pattern. This helped my brain distinguish between the time period and character. Overall a wonderful, heartfelt story about love and family!

I received an ARC of The Matchmaker's Gift from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book has so many things that I love!

1. Dual timelines. We see Sara coming across the ocean to America. In her journey, she must fight against the male matchmakers to find her place. She holds onto her faith that there is true love. Then there's Abby, Sara's granddaughter, a divorce attorney—jaded from her parents' divorce. When Abby inherits Sara's records of matches, Abby must decide who she is and what she believes.

2. A different place. We get to see New York through both Sara's and Abby's eyes. I've never been to New York, so these descriptions made me feel like I was there. I can imagine if you've been to New York, it will turn your mind to nostalgic memories.

3. Jewish culture. I love to learn about other people and cultures. The Jewish culture is fascinating to me because of their history. Sara and Abby live their religion and it's not preachy, but we also see the sense of how their belief works in their lives. It's beautiful.

4. A woman finding herself. Both Sara and Abby have different journeys as they come to understand themselves. This is so universal, I think everyone can enjoy watching someone else on their path.

I adored how the story wove together. This is truly a feel good read with romantic elements.

I highly recommend it!

The Matchmaker's Gift
Author, Lynda Cohen Loigman
Pub date: 9.20.22

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this e- arc!

Told in dual timelines at the turn of the century and in the 90's, The Matchmaker's Gift weaves readers through Sara Glikman's journals beginning in 1910 when Sara was just a young girl growing up in New York's Lower East Side amidst a devout Jewish immigrant culture. After her beloved grandmother passes away, Abby inherits her grandmother's handwritten journals that are detailed recordings of all of Sara's matches. Sara was an extremely talented matchmaker, who matched couples solely for love, despite the dangerous threat of the traditional Jewish male matchmakers who did everything in their power to hold Sara back from her calling. So much so, that Sara matched in secret for more than a decade before she took matters into her own hands and demanded that she be recognized and respected by her peers.

Abby, a successful divorce attorney, while reading of her grandmother's matches and life experiences, now begins to question her life choices as she represents Manhattan's wealthiest clients and works for a woman who has no moral compass. And while reading her grandmother's journals, also begins to question why her grandmother wanted her to learn of her matchmaking past so intimately. Until she learns that her grandmother promised a stranger that Abby would make her a match, the only match that Sara was unsuccessful in making. Now Abby is beginning to see her world differently- clearly and exactly how it should have always been.

Written with a deep appreciation for the Jewish culture, family, and traditions, a passion for falling in love and matching soulmates, and with charming and entertaining magical realism, The Matchmaker's Gift is a beautiful story of second chances, hope, and love. Filled with history, romance, and even a little mystery, this new novel will be sure to be a favorite of many this September!

4.5 stars!

What a truly lovely story that connected two women, a grandmother, Sara, and her granddaughter, Abby. It is not only a relationship that is loving and sweet, but these two ladies share a special git, that of being matchmaker's.

Sara, herself suffers because in her era, only devout older men were given the job of matchmaking, and while Sara hid her talent, she eventually decides because of family needs, to become a matchmaker. Sara is so very successful and writes of her matches in journals that after her death, Abby finds.

Abby herself, is a divorce attorney with a boss who is full of herself and overbearing. Abby has the gift, the same as Sara, but she keeps on pushing it back, until she starts to recognize that this gift was special, one that could and does help the clients she sees, enraging her boss. Can she fight the feeling that her career can be managed with her knowledge of the couples who come before her.

This delightful story tells the readers about the age old custom practiced by devout Jews and some other cultures of matching a man and a woman. The story switches back and forth between Sara and Abby's struggles to be recognized as women who can and do achieve what life has given them.

It gave me a look into the practice of match making and with the stories that involved such skill made for an enjoyable read and one that provided the concept that for everyone there is a soulmate.

Thank you to Lynda Cohen Loigman, and Netgalley for a copy of this charming story.

I loved this book from the very beginning. I enjoyed the perspectives between Grandmother Sara and Granddaughter Abby, and learning about each of their lives. I loved the whimsical notes in this book. It was a sweet and feel-good read.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest feedback. Would recommend!

Two fantastic storylines united by the ties of family. I loved this novel and am so very glad Lynda Cohen Loigman wrote it.

Sara Glikman is a child in the early part of the 1900s. She makes marriage matches in secret and the best part is the matches are ones of love. The problem is that matchmaking is dominated by a group of men and once they realize that Sara is making matches they wanted her stopped immediately.

Sara's granddaughter, Abby, is a divorce attorney driven to help others after the messy divorce of her parents. She is unaware of her grandmother's matchmaking other than the stories Sara told her here and there. After Sara passes away, Abby is left with her grandmother's journals. It is through these journals Abby learns more about her grandmother and all of the matchmaking she did.

As Abby learns more about her grandmother, her own views of love begin to change. She begins to see that perhaps love is real and two people can be happy if they marry for the right reasons.

This story was absolutely wonderful. I have loved Ms. Loigman's other books and was so excited to see she had published another story. What a treat this book was with two very touching stories that reminds the reader that love is real and special and that there is someone for everyone.

I voluntarily accepted a copy of this book from St. Martin's Press. All views are simply my honest opinion.

“Even as a child in 1910, Sara Glikman knows her gift: she is a maker of matches and a seeker of soulmates. But among the pushcart-crowded streets of New York’s Lower East Side, Sara’s vocation is dominated by devout older men—men who see a talented female matchmaker as a dangerous threat to their traditions and livelihood. After making matches in secret for more than a decade, Sara must fight to take her rightful place among her peers, and to demand the recognition she deserves.”

This book was a delight. I enjoyed the two timelines. I enjoyed learning about some real Jewish traditions. I enjoyed the thread of magic. It was all just enough, and not too much.

Even the cover is appealing.

The only thing I didn’t love, was that Jessica didn’t benefit from Sara’s gift. I love a good Redemption Story and was disappointed that she didn’t get stabbed with Cupid’s Arrow.

7.5/10

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this charming ARC.

The Matchmaker’s Gift is a story of a headstrong young woman as she matchmakes her way through NYC beginning in 1910 as an immigrant, and her equally headstrong granddaughter, who is making her own way in NYC in 1994. I love the familial tie in this book and how the grandmother’s past helps influence her granddaughter’s future. The stories of matchmaking throughout the years make this one hard to put down. It is a perfect mix of historical fiction and life in the late 20th century.

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC of this great book and the opportunity to provide my unbiased review.

I received an electronic ARC from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley.
Charming story told in two timelines. Readers meet Sara and her granddaughter, Abby. Abby's story is told in 1994, and Sara shares her life story from the age of ten until her death in 1994. Cohen Loigman offers a story built on romance in the real worlds they live in. Sara is a matchmaker and makes her first match when she finds her sister's mate on the ship as they travel to New York City. Abby is a divorce lawyer who made her career decision at twelve after watching her parents' less than fair divorce. Readers see the love that radiates in memories between these two generations. They also see how each woman makes choices for their lives. There is a mystical element as Sara sees visible signs of matches between mates. She is a strong character who fights for what she wants to be despite pressure and persecution from others in this field. In contrast, we meet Abby when she is deep in grief from Sara's death. She works in a cut throat environment for a high pressure divorce lawyer. Yet, readers see her tenders side and her struggle to decide who she wants to be and what she wants to fight for. Almost by accident, she begins repairing and then making matches in direct conflict with her law firm. The resolution is not a happily ever after but a more realistic look at how love plays out in reality.

This is such a heartwarming and lovely novel. I love books that can be categorized in multiple genres. This one is primarily magical realism and historical fiction. I also love that this book has dual timelines. If you love matchmaking, love, and a hint of magic then this book is for you. I can’t wait to read more books by this author. Thank you so much to Net Galley, the publisher, and author for providing this book for my review.

The matchmakers gift was lovely! This story takes place in New York City for a grandmother and her granddaughter. I loved how it was filled with love and brave, determined women. Perfect for a book club because there is so much to discuss!

The Matchmaker’s Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman is a wonderful and entertaining read. I couldn’t put this book down and read it in two days and highly recommend it. It flips back from the present to the past life of Sara Glikman as a young girl who is a gifted matchmaker who has to do her matchmaking secretly because only men are allowed to do it at the time and goes to court to fight for her rights to do her job as a matchmaker and provide for her family. She marries and has her own family and becomes a grandmother and hopes to pass her gift onto her granddaughter before she passes away at the age of 90 years old. I fell in love with this book and I feel each reader will also when they read this delightful book. Bravo Linda🙋‍♀️🇨🇦🥰👏💐👏💐

Every now and then you come across a book that keeps you up until you finish it. This is that book! Historical fiction at it's best; based on a true moment in history.
Sara was one of many Jews who came to America in the early 1900s. She landed in New York as a teenager. On the boat crossing the Atlantic, Sara realized she had a special gift- that of a matchmaker. She grew up in New York in a poor neighborhood. She experienced much resistance from Jewish men in the community who did matchmaking as a profession, common at that time. Sara's father encouraged her to get an education, the only way out of poverty.
Abby is Sara's granddaughter. What a special relationship they had! Abby is an attorney, a divorce attorney. Her grandmother dies and leaves a void in her life, but her words stay with her every day. Is she in the right profession? She feels like she is working to tear couples apart, not putting them together, not focusing on love. Abby goes rogue considering the feelings of others and matching it with her gift. Will Abby find love of her own?
This is a wonderful book. I could not put it down. I learned about the Jewish matchmakers as a profession during that time in history. At the end of the book, the author explains the traditions of this group during this time in history.
*I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book will be published on September 20, 2022. Don't miss this one!

From a young age, Sara knew she had the gift of matchmaking. A single woman matchmaking was frowned upon, so Sara matched in secret for years before finally having to fight for her place. Now Sara has passed and left behind her granddaughter Abby. Abby is a divorce attorney and worked with the incredibly wealthy. When she starts to see things in some of her clients, Abby can’t help but do some matchmaking of her own. It doesn’t exactly work well with her current career though…

This was such a heartwarming novel that pairs best with snuggling up on the couch with a cozy blanket and cup of tea (or glass of wine depending on the hour!) I loved that it jumped between two different time periods and showed how matchmaking was viewed in 1910 and current day. It just made me so happy every time Sara or Abby connected people and they were a successful match. I also really enjoyed the back story of Abby’s childhood and her parents divorce. I flew through this book and thoroughly enjoyed it! Now Abby, where ya at? I could use your help!

Many historical novels are heavy and dark, so it’s a pleasure to come across a book that leaves you with a smile! The Matchmaker’s Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman is a charming dual-timeline novel about Sara, an immigrant girl in the early 20th century who can “see” a person’s soulmate, and Abby, her granddaughter in 1994 who is just learning about her family’s gift.

Sara lives on the Lower East Side of New York and is immersed in the Jewish culture of her family, including trying to avoid angering the devout men who are the official matchmakers of the neighborhood and don’t want a young girl usurping on their territory. She is both spunky and dutiful, finding subtle ways to bring true loves together while improving the lives of her family members. However, her gift also comes with a downside - how can she be sure of her own soulmate?

Her granddaughter is struggling with her demanding job as a divorce attorney when she inherits Sara’s journals that detail the matches made throughout the decades. As Abby delves deeper into her grandmother’s mysterious gift, she wonders what her true inheritance really is and how she can fulfill her own destiny.

I just loved this book and the fun cast of characters drawn from real-life history, including the Pickle King of New York! I learned so much about Jewish culture and the history of Manhattan in a compulsively readable way. When an author can make you care about both timelines equally, you know they’ve done an amazing job!

If all you know about matchmakers is from “Hello, Dolly”, be prepared for a more realistic look at the role they played in the Jewish culture, especially in NYC in the early 20th century. The author, however, puts her own spin on the process when beams of light point to successful unions.
A fun read. Thanks to #NetGalkey and #TheMatchmakersGift for advanced digital copy.

The Matchmaker's Gift is a beautifully written novel about two women from different generations who have the gift of matching soulmates. Sara and her granddaughter, Abby are captivating characters. The book was a charming store of love and growth and the human spirit. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

The first word that comes to mind when thinking of Lynda Loigman's latest book, The Matchmaker's Gift, is delightful. Told in two timelines, from Sara, in the early 1900s, and then her granddaughter, Abby, in 1994 - this book was fantastic and captivating from start to finish - and just might be Loigman's best yet! With so much heart, Jewish representation, a bit of pickles, and the tiniest dash of magical realism - both Sara and Abby will take their place in your heart and it will be hard to bid them farewell!

Thank you to St. Martins Press for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Told in alternating chapters, this novel tells the story of Sara, a 10 year old immigrant in 1910, who discovers she has the gift of matchmaking. It also follows her granddaughter Abby’s life as a divorce lawyer who finds her grandmother’s journals of matchmaking and learns more about Sara’s life through them. I loved this book set in New York City in dual timelines with bits of magic and tales of love. Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the early release. Available 9/20.