Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to receive an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion during a review. All thoughts are my own!


This was SUCH A SWEET STORY. I loved it. I was skeptical at first since historical fiction and I- while I can admit it’s a beautiful genre- do not mesh well. I typically leave feeling down, saddened by something “too real” or too close for comfort. Add in the fact the character had a passing of a favorite relative during a time when the pandemic has taken much from me - I was fairly cautious. But this wasn’t what I expected. I read somewhere that this was going to be a great “book club book” and I agree- I am so excited to discuss this one day with a group when it’s out on the market. The alternating pov/timeline is easily read and mapped out well, the characters are so fun and I thought the history was a different pace from what I’m experienced with. I loved it and I’m excited for more from this author for sure. Well done!

You are going to love this book! And maybe by the end you will believe in soulmates. It’s a beautiful storyline bouncing through the timelines of a grandmother and granddaughter. A story of love and in the belief of soulmates as well as a peek into beautiful cultural traditions. It’s been hard to put down! Highly recommend you pick it up when it releases in September. You will not regret it.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for this advanced readers copy.

This book is about Sara and her granddaughter Abby. Every other chapter alternatives POV with most of Sara's chapters taking place in the early 1900s. Sara has a gift where she can see a love match between two people. She starts making matches but is threatened and bullied by the local shadchanim, Jewish Matchmakers. Her story is wonderful and has great resolution.

Abby's chapters take place in 1994. She is a divorce attorney for high profile people. Sara believes Abby has the same Matchmaker's Gift and helps lead her to her calling even after she passes away.

It was so nice to read a book set in the Jewish community without it really being about the Jewish community. I loved how all the stories lines resolved and there was wonderful overlap between characters!

First, thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for allowing me to read this ARC. All opinions are my own. Told through a dual timeline, this story looks at matchmaking skills of Sara and her granddaughter, Abbey. Sara’s story begins in 1910 and gives much insight into the Jewish tradition of matchmaking. Sara is not the typical matchmaker and her story is so interesting. After Sara’s death, in 1994, Abbey inherits her grandmother’s journals. Abbey works as a divorce attorney…so different than her grandmother. And therein lies the problem. Abbey finds herself having to chose between her career and her ability to make matches. I enjoyed reading the book and give it a solid 4 star read.

The Matchmaker's Gift by Lynda Cohen

5 out of 5
Historical Fiction 320 pages
No Spoilers Review

I decided to venture outside my comfort zone and try something new with this title. It's my first title by Lynda Cohen, and her first two books were really well received so I decided why not read it?

The book did not disappoint.

I felt that there were two very strong stories being told, and I found myself cheering the two main characters on as they overcame the obstacles put in their paths. By the time I was done reading, I found myself actually feeling proud of them for their accomplishments.

Things I liked:
How the narrative switched back and forth between the two stories. I felt this was really well done and the switches were very well executed/timed.
The main characters - the talent, the spirit and the perseverance!
The historical and jewish culture aspects.
The pace was perfect. I could have read the entire book in one sitting if time permitted.
The way I felt after finishing the book. This story will stay long with me and might even be a reread in the future!

Things I didn’t like:
I try to identify at least one thing I didn't like in each book, but I just don't have anything negative to say about this one.

This was a terrific read, and one that I'll remember and cherish for years. I highly recommend this book - it won't disappoint you!

Absolutely loved this book! My fave of 2022 so far. Loigman weaves a story that needs to read, rich characters that reveal deep cultural history and immerse the reader into a world they want to be a part of. A bit mystical, an engaging historical, and at its heart a love story.

This was a light, fun read. I enjoyed the dual timeline, the peppering of Yiddish, the immigrant story, feminist themes and Sara was an interesting, compelling character. I wished the relationship between Sara and her husband and child would have been fleshed out more. I get that those were not the main stories but they were glossed over so quickly that it left a big hole in the book for me. Even though I enjoyed the magical aspects of the book, there were other moments meant to be realistic which were just not believable. A quick read and enjoyable as a romantic comedy. 3.5

The Matchmaker's Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman is the story of Sara, a young Jewish girl, who on immigrating to the US in the early 1900s, makes her first match between a young man and woman who go on to marry happily. She continues to make matches quietly, arranging for people to meet without them knowing she's doing it because the male matchmakers of the time feel that she is stealing their livelihood. She fights for her beliefs in her abilities and makes matches for most of her life. Her story is juxtaposed with that of her granddaughter, Abby who also has that ability in spite of the fact she is a divorce lawyer and is helping people to tear apart their unions. With Sara's death, Abby must take a look at her life and decide what it is she actually wants, to create or destroy happiness.

Thank you to the author, St. Martins Press and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This novel drew me in from the start and kept me going until I turned the last page. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

The Matchmaker’s Gift is an ambitious historical/women’s fiction novel. It follows the life of a Jewish matchmaker and her granddaughter, includes dual timelines, multiple perspectives, elements of magic, and more. It touches on themes from feminism to poverty to racism and domestic violence.

Central to the novel is the tension between modernism and traditions, immigrants and assimilation, and willingness (or inability) to change. Though it was slow in the beginning and dialogue-heavy in sections, the layers of tension and relationships between characters kept me engaged..: finishing the novel in about 24 hours.

One of the things I loved most about this novel is it’s inclusion of all types of love. It wasn’t just romantic, it also included parental, sibling, community, friendship, and a little bit of existentialism. The grandmother repeatedly says, “If you can’t decide what you want to fight for, love is as good a cause as any.”

While some might consider it a light read, for others I think there might be some triggers that make it a bit heavier (mention- not description- of domestic abuse, heartbreak, death, divorce, etc.)

Overall I enjoyed this read. Thank you to Net Galley, the author, and publisher for this electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book goes back and forth between two perspectives: Sara (1910-1990) and her granddaughter, Abby (1994-1995). This was a heartwarming story about Sara and her controversial matchmaking gift and Abby realizing her similar gifts after her grandmother passed away. Abby finds her gift while reading Sara’s journals. I love this story, and I especially loved the relationship Abby had with her grandmother. I also liked how this is a love story but not about the main character finding love. I think it’s a refreshing take on love.

I was gifted an advanced reader copy from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley to read and review voluntarily and honestly.

This is a story told in 2 timelines. Sara lives in the early 1900s, and her grandaughter Abby is more current. Sara is not just any matchmaker -she can literally see the soul connection between people who are meant to be together. Ironically, her grandaughter is a divorce attorney.

Sara dies, and leaves her journals to Abby, who tries to figure out what they mean, and what her grandmothers past was like.

This was cute and charming and I really enjoyed it. It was exactly what I expected it to be.

3.5 stars rounded down to 3- only because there was no wow - no ooomph..

I do want to thank the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.

In The Matchmaker’s Gift, Lynda Cohen Loigman delivers a dual-timeline tale that combines humor and romance with a sprinkling of magic. Meticulously researched, the novel effortlessly moves back and forth in time—artfully capturing the male-dominated world of the Lower East Side in the early 1900s and the less restrictive 1990s—as two generations of women share and come to accept their gift of matchmaking. Filled with beautifully drawn characters, The Matchmaker’s Gift is charming and heartwarming; a feel-good read that has arrived at just the right time. I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Matchmaker’s Gift, by Lynda Cohen Loigman, tells the story of a grandmother and granddaughter who share a special ability.

I’ve really enjoyed Lynda Cohen Loigman’s other novels, The Wartime Sisters and The Two-Family House. The Two-Family House is a warm, complicated, character-driven family story that hinges on a wild coincidence. I loved the book and recommend it, but readers really do have to just roll with one unrealistic event. Here in The Matchmaker’s Gift, there’s a magical realism element instead, with the character-driven family novel, which somehow makes it all easier to accept. Sara, and her granddaughter Abby, can both see a special golden light connecting true love.

There are two storylines in this novel. One is a historical story of Sara Glikman, a new immigrant to New York City with a supernatural gift for matchmaking. Sometimes these pairings are romance-novel perfection, like getting her sad sister to borrow a handkerchief from her future brother-in-law, and starting their long and happy marriage. But sometimes it’s comical, when she notices that the heirs of two rival deli are soulmates, or stressful, like discovering her boyfriend is very much meant for someone else. Sara’s storyline blends her supernatural power with the struggles of the family restarting their life in a new country.

Matchmaking is the usual way to meet a spouse in the Glikmans’ Jewish community, but unfortunately for Sara, the existing matchmakers aren’t too pleased with some else taking their job and their profits. I guess my picture of a Jewish matchmaker was the neighborhood yenta, with many single nieces and nephews to introduce to other single nephews and nieces from other good families, like some of the scenes in Last Summer at The Golden Hotel. Instead, these are old-school, old-country matchmakers, mostly men. This blend of Sara’s magical abilities, plus the customs and struggles of her Jewish New York life makes such a great story. There are so many historical meet-cutes, thanks to Sara.

The second storyline is about Sara’s granddaughter, Abby. It’s not quite modern-day, the Manhattan divorce lawyer storyline really feels like a half-remembered 80s movie. After her grandmother’s death, Abby begins to read her grandmother’s old journals and finds notes and comments about the couples Sara brought together. As she reads (and grieves for her grandmother, in realistic and moving scenes), Abby begins to notice the same kind of golden light, with similar unintended consequences in her own life. As a busy divorce lawyer, it’s particularly stressful to see clearly who really should be together.

I don’t always love dual timeline novels because they can be jumpy, but in this case, I felt like I was reading two very solid, compelling novels. They’re two wildly different stories, one about bringing the old-country customs to New York, and one eighties romcom, tied together by family.

There’s an exploration into the not-perfect matches in both timelines. I think most of us have a perfectly nice ex or two — someone who was a good person, but just not quite right. The novel explores a few different relationships between good people who genuinely like each other, but who just aren’t meant to be. I found this touching and realistic.

And this paragraph is a mild spoiler, because this part comes pretty far along in the story, but I don’t think it destroys any tension to share it. Later in life, Sara’s special observation also highlights women in unsafe marriages. Again, there’s a magical realism here with the practical realities of getting women to safety, and again, we see the connections of the community. This continues to add depth and complexity to our characters.

Overall, I enjoyed this book so much. It was an incredibly fast read for me because I just couldn’t wait to see what kind of true love and/or disasters their golden light would bring about next! And I also wanted to read slowly to have more time with Sara and Abby.

What a gem of a novel! Sara Glikman has an unusual gift. She can see soul mates. Starting with a match she made for her sister in 1910, she helps people in her Lower East Side neighborhood when she sees their match. While the men who are the matchmakers in her neighborhood protest, she presents some of her matches as coincidences, to avoid the wrath of the older male matchmakers. In 1994, we are introduced to Abby, Sara's lawyer granddaughter. After watching her mother struggle during her divorce, Abby decided to become a divorce lawyer to try to help people not suffer in the same way her mother had. However, Abby discovers, now that her grandmother has passed away, that she has inherited the gift from her grandmother. As Abby learns more about her grandmother's work over the year through her grandmother's journals, Abby learns that this gift is special and sometimes we cannot fight our destiny.

Genre: Historical Fiction/Women’s Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub. Date: Sept. 20, 2022

This novel is women's fiction written in the form of historical fiction. I suspected as much after reading the blurb. I’m not usually a fan of women’s fiction, but the Lower East Side of Manhattan is the setting of one of the protagonists in the story. My home was in that neighborhood decades ago, in a subsidized apartment not far from the district's gritty alleys and tenement-style apartments, which in the 1970s, were filled with the neighborhood's Jewish, Italian and Chinese heritage. I read the book out of nostalgia.

In this dual timeline novel, the author weaves together the tale of a child, Sara, in 1910 who is blessed with the gift of making marriage matches but only for those in true love. This gift remained with her until she passed away in her golden years. She explains to her granddaughter, Abby, that when she has found two soul mates, she simply knows, sees, and feels it. In this story, there is a lot of sweet-natured magical realism. Her granddaughter refuses to believe in such nonsense until she recognizes that she, too, possesses the ability.

Loigman brings feminism into the novel long before it was even a word. When Sara was in her twenties, devout older men who do not believe a matchmaker should be female take Sara to a religious court in an attempt to stop her matchmaking. Without giving spoilers, I will share the decision was not very believable. I loved reading about my old hangouts but this book while charming was too predictable for me to truly enjoy.

The Matchmaker's Gift is a beautiful story interweaving two generations with a delicate balance of cause and affect. Grandmother and granddaughter share a gift of matchmaking. Sara navigates the male dominant Jewish matchmakers of the early twentieth century while Abby struggles to understand the gift passed to her from her grandmother. This book is a reminder to learn from the past because some of the lessons can make our future so much easier.
I voluntarily received a copy of the book from Netgalley.

This book is something special and is utterly charming and magical. I especially loved the chapters from Sara's point of view in the 1910s and 1920s. She was such a breath of fresh air, she warmed my heart to no end and was way ahead of her time. The writing is captivating and Lynda Cohen Loigman is a consummate storyteller. This story was wondrously romantic and swept me away to another time and place. I loved the characters and appreciated learning about the Jewish culture and traditions. The two timelines flowed seamlessly together...the same, but different. As much as I loved Sara it made me laugh that her granddaughter, Abby was just like her as I take after my grandmother in so many ways. This novel is such a wonderful take on the custom of matchmaking, with a sprinkle of enchantment throughout. I would be remiss if I did not mention that fabulous cover and how it perfectly fits the wonderful story inside, it is gorgeous!

Judge this book by its cover - both are amazing! THE MATCHMAKER’S GIFT by Lynda Cohen Loigman was a stand out read not only for 2022 but for the past few years. I’ve been a big supporter of Loigman since she wrote her debut novel, The Two-Family House (which everyone should read). That novel showed an excellence in writing style and the ability to tell a story from multiple perspectives. While THE MATCHMAKER’S GIFT had a much different feel than others due to the magical component, there were lots of similarities from her other novels. All her novels feature strong characters balancing the weight of family responsibilities with tugs to help others recognize their full potential. All her novels have family relationships that are impacted by secrets and the weight of expectations. All of them contain an emphasis on the connections of Jewish communities and the passion of their traditions. And all of them are worth reading.

As mentioned, THE MATCHMAKER’S GIFT contains a magical element tied to Sara’s ability to see matches between people even if she is unable to act on them officially because she is not of age, not married, and not a man. She is pulled by the possibility of helping her family as well as helping people she cares about to get connected to the right people which angers that community of men that make livings off matchmaking. You get invested quickly in Sara’s character as you follow her circumstances starting in 1910. And then you meet her granddaughter Abby who is navigating being a successful divorce attorney in the 1990s. The story draws you in and keeps you there for decades. I really feel like this read was special and hope book clubs take a minute to discuss it. I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

3.25/5 stars

The book follows Sara, a Jewish matchmaker, from the 1920s to the 1990s and her granddaughter Abby, the soon-to-be matchmaker who’s currently a divorce lawyer in the 1990s. The timelines eventually come together and were very well connected. Although, it was fiction, the author really did justice to the history of Jewish matchmaking and bringing in Jewish culture. We witness Sara’s journey to being recognized as woman Jewish matchmaker and Abby’s journey to believing in love again. I felt less connected to Abby’s story due to the simplicity in comparison to Sara’s story. I wanted more depth.

Overall, it’s a beautiful heartfelt story. I would definitely recommend to those interested in a light-hearted sweet romance/coming of age and interested in learning about Jewish matchmaking and Jewish culture.


Thanks to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First, I want to say that I absolutely adore this book cover! It is so appropriate for this story. There are many symbols on the cover that relate to the story and the magic dust scattered is very appropriate.

I like to expand my knowledge of different cultures and religions and this book definitely increased my understanding of Jewish customs, although it was done in the normal course of the story and is not forced upon the reader. Tradition plays a huge part in the story and it can be what brings people together or splits them apart.

This story is told in a dual timeline, mainly the lives of a grandmother and her granddaughter, and it is worth noting that the grandmother paved the road for a much brighter future for her granddaughter and all other woman by standing up for herself and fighting for equality.

I generally do not like dual timeline stories, but that was not the case with this book! A dual time line was absolutely the way for this story to be told. I was drawn into the book from the first chapter and my interest was held until the end. It is a book that I wanted to race through to find out what happens and also at the same time, I did not want it to end.

The author created wonderful, life-like, memorable characters and a fantastic, original plot. I truly enjoyed this book so very much.

I want to thank St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for giving me the pleasure of reading the advance reader copy, with no obligation to write a review. My review is written freely as a hobby, and is totally my own opinion, not influenced by receiving the ARC.