The Matchmaker's Gift was a heartwarming story of a grandmother and granddaughter and their keen talent of matchmaking. The story is told throughout multiple periods in time yet about a community who is resisting their extraordinary ability to make love matches between two people. I absolutely loved this books and have been recommending to anyone who loves a little magical realism.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

This was my first story by this author and I chose it for the premise. So glad I did as this story grabbed me in the first few chapters and immersed me in the Jewish life in New York from long ago. Sara and Abby were such wonderful characters their dual stories so interesting. There’s humor, sadness, love, family traditions, career choices, and women standing up for what they truly believe.

Oh, if only there was someone that could find the perfect someone for you. Love and life would be so much easier. :) That said this book toke match making on this beautiful magical adventure. Match making has been going on for centuries, today we have computer programmers that spit out possible matches for you. I found this book both entertaining and informational about Jewish matchmaking. I loved the fact that Sara was a women doing the matching, competing with man that for centuries have done. She had to fight for her place and prove her worth.

Sara Glikman has the gift of match making and seeker of soulmates. However, Sara's vocation is dominated by devout older man and believe Sara is a threat to their tradition and livelihood. Sara has to fight for her rightful place, in the mean time she continues to make matches in secret. When she passes away she leaves all her match making journals to her granddaughter.

Once Abby starts reading the journals, her life and what she thinks she should be is not who she was meant to be. Can you she follow the dreams of who she is, keep her job and her life style she has become accustomed to?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the gifted copy of this book for my honest review.

I really enjoy books with two story lines. I like seeing the connections made throughout. This one did not disappoint.

Sara Glikman has a secret gift- making matches. And it needs to remain a secret, as the elders of the church are not okay with a woman taking over their role, or their money. But she can see the strings that connect souls and cannot ignore the pull to bring people together. Keeping a journal in secret, she catalogs all the couples she helped bring together.

The other story line follows Sara’s granddaughter, a successful divorce lawyer. She is disenchanted with love. When grandma Sara dies and leaves her journals for Abby, she is confused about the reasoning behind it. As she digs into these journals she begins to learn so much about her grandmother and in turn about herself and the gifts that were bestowed upon her family.

I loved the premise of this book and enjoyed the ride. It was fascinating learning a bit about Jewish Matchmakers and the story line moved along very nicely. And of course there's a nice romance mixed in. You just feel good by the time you finish this book and miss the characters as soon as the book closes.

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

I really enjoyed reading this dual timeline book: one taking place in the early 1900s, the other in 1994. It was a sweet, heart warming story with almost a fairytale quality to it.

👍
+ The two main characters were probably the biggest highlight for me. Two very strong women who eventually find the strength within themselves to stand up for themselves. I loved reading about their journey.
+ A matchmaker grandmother, a divorce lawyer granddaughter, one totally believes in love and its power, while the other lost faith in it long ago; I quite enjoyed the juxtaposition between their characters and chosen careers.
+ Especially the grandmother was awesome. As well as her overall outlook at life as she grew older. I loved her relationship with the granddaughter, and how she shared her pearls of wisdom with her, without being too overbearing.
+ The setting was so well done. Starting in the 1910s, reading about a Jewish community in New York, I felt like I learned a lot about the history, the traditions, the food.. I also really appreciated the extensive author’s note at the end to understand even more about the inspiration.
+ I really enjoyed the way the matches found each other. How fate and matchmaker worked together to make it happen, and especially the little coincidences that brought them together.
+

👎
- At times the story felt a little slow or repetitive, especially since we would hear about one story from one timeline and then hear it in more detail in the other.
- I’ve always been against the idea of “the one”. This book really reinforces that, so I kind of struggled with that.
- At times this feels a bit contrived. As an example, the matchmaker happens to start seeing same sex matches only in 90s, as if there wouldn’t be any gay matches before.

Overall rating: 3.8⭐

Thank you so much to St Martin's Press for both the eARC on NetGalley AND sending a package of the finished copy with a pickle kit!

While the book was interesting to me because I am aware of the matchmakers in Jewish history, I felt that the actual story was rather slow. Also, the characters were simplistic and that made the book less dynamic for me.

his is a delightful historical novel told in the dual timelines of Sara, who lives on the Lower East Side of New York in 1910, and her granddaughter Abby in 1994. Sara has a gift for matchmaking, but faces resistance from the traditional matchmakers within the Jewish community. Abby is a divorce attorney who reluctantly discovers that she shares her grandmother’s gift.

I absolutely loved learning about the Jewish and immigrant cultural of the Lower East Side of New York during the early 1900s. It reminded me of my visit to the @thetenementmuseum many years ago. I did not realize that most matchmakers were men, I had been too influenced by Yenta in Fiddler on the Roof. While both Sara and Abby faced challenges in this novel, it was a much more lighthearted story than many historical novels and I really appreciated that. I also found it so interesting that the author was got her inspiration from an old New York Times article about a local Jewish Matchmaker.

This is a charming story about finding love that comes out September 20th.

And that cover!! So pretty. 😍

Sara Cohen knew at a young age she had a gift, not just for matching people, but for recognizing true soul mates. Despite heavy opposition she worked her magic for years in the early 1900's connecting couples within her Jewish community. But, will she ever find her own true love and can she help her community when tragedy strikes?

Decades later, her granddaughter, Abby, has been soured on love through her parent's divorce and sets out to be the divorce lawyer her mother needed. When her beloved grandmother passes away she leaves Abby her notebooks. As Abby reads the notebooks she's reminded of her grandma's many stories of matching couples and begins to experience some job dissatisfaction when special couples enter her life.

Told in alternating viewpoints between Abby's life and the corresponding stories to the notes Abby reads in the notebooks this is a heartwarming story of intuition, women's power, what makes a good partner and (mostly) happily ever after's.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This book covers two time periods - Sara in 1910 and Abby, her granddaughter, in the current time.

Even as a young girl, Sara is a natural matchmaker - a shadchanit in Yiddish. She "sees" people who belong together. But, in an era where Jewish marriages are arranged by married, male, professional matchmakers, she has a problem. They feel she is taking their business away! She must fight to get the recognition she deserves.

At Sara's death, her journals are left to her granddaughter, Abby. As the product of a broken home, Abby has become a divorce lawyer to help ensure women get their due. Does she have her grandmother's talent? How does that conflict with her profession? Can Abby's fond memories of her grandmother help her navigate life?

Do these women really have the ability to "see" perfect pairings or are they just mixing in? Is this a gift or a curse?

I adore a good time jump book and this did not disappoint.

The mix of historical fiction and contemporary fiction was the perfect mix for those that are hesitant to jump straight into historical novels.

I love the Jewish history as well as the threads of grief woven into the story.

I am very interested in reading the authors previous books.

I really enjoyed The Matchmaker’s Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman! I try to pick historical fiction books where I can learn about something new to me and this fit the bill! While I had heard of the traditional Jewish matchmaking process I did not know much about it at all, but now I know a little more! Sara is a young girl in the early 1900’s who seems to have a knack for finding love connections, but the matchmaking job was mainly reserved for men or at least married women, not a young, single girl! Through a dual timeline story we learn about Sara’s experience in her lifetime and how it has impacted her granddaughter Abby’s life in the 1990’s. Abby is a divorce attorney in New York City who had a very special relationship with her grandmother! Did Abby inherit the gift? How can she reconcile that with helping people divorce? I thought the characters were very likable and I loved reading about the matchmaking stories from Sara’s life!

This is the second book I’ve read by Lynda Cohen Loigman - The Wartime Sisters was also very enjoyable!

I love this author and this book! I wanted more in the past but that's usually the case with all dual-timeline novels. I'm not saying the modern day story wasn't interesting or well done because it was, and it all tied in beautifully. I just love that NY city immigrant historical fiction so much more.

Lydia Cohen Loigman has won me over, I will continue to read everything she writes!

I highly recommend

This book was so great to read from page one until the very end. I enjoyed both POVs equally and loved how they entertained and mirrored one another. This book felt like reading a modern(ish) fairytale with bits of magic interspersed throughout.

Review will be posted on 10/25/22

It's the 1920s and Sara Glickman lives in New York City. Times are tough, but Sara has something that sets her apart. She has a gift. Sara is a matchmaker and can find your soulmate in a rather magical way. This is definitely one way Sara could help keep her family afloat, but the older men and "official" matchmakers are threatened by her very existence. A single woman as a matchmaker? Cue the horror! The Jewish community won't let her practice her talents, which puts Sara in a predicament. Fast forward to 1994, Sara's granddaughter, Abby, is a divorce attorney. Her grandmother, Sara, has passed on and left her some journals. As Abby reads them, she realizes that she too may have inherited this magical gift of finding soulmates. This is a problem as Abby is a practicing divorce attorney, the very opposite of what she should be doing. As she tries to use some of her talents at work, you could imagine this puts her in a tough spot with her boss. What will Sara and Abby do? Follow their hearts against all odds or continue to tow the line? Lynda Cohen Loigman's The Matchmaker's Gift is a charming historical read that warmed my heart.

I really enjoyed the character of Sara from the beginning of The Matchmaker's Gift. I thought Loigman did a great job with the historical details and bringing the bustling streets of 1920s Lower East Side to life. Learning how the Jewish community operated then, and learning more about their traditions was extremely interesting. Sara's difficulty in entering the matchmaking community reminded me a bit of a plot line in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel when Rose encounters the same difficulty. I adore that TV show, so this connection was a delight. I also liked how a lot of what Sara is going though, her granddaughter, Abby, goes through the same type of thing many years later.

Abby is a divorce attorney in The Matchmaker's Gift, but after reading her grandmother's journals, she realizes she has the same gift. This clearly puts her in a tough spot. Also, she is very unhappy with her job, her boss is rude and demanding, so I was hoping Abby could find her way out of it. The Matchmaker's Gift is a dual timeline novel and while I liked Abby overall, I found myself gravitating towards Sara's plot line a bit more.

Overall, Loigman does a great job bringing these two women's stories together and readers who appreciate stories about families will enjoy this novel for sure. Sometime you just need a heartwarming and charming read that transports you to a different time and place and this is it! The touch of magical realism was done well, so because of that, The Matchmaker's Gift is a wonderful book to read this fall.

Are you a fan of Loigman? Have you read her other novels? Is this book on your TBR list? Let me know in the comments below.

A charming tale told in dual timelines and centered around Jewish matchmaking with a touch of magical realism thrown into the mix. Sarah, a Jewish immigrant living in the 1920’s on New York’s Lower East Side, has a talent for telling when two people are soulmates. She offers her services for free, challenging the male elders in her community who charge for this service. Then it’s fast forward to New York in the 1990’s and the perspective of Abby, an ambitious divorce lawyer, who seems to have inherited her grandmother’s matchmaker gene, making her work with warring spouses that much more challenging. This heart-warming tale is a nice blend of history, romance, and family ties, with female characters that are well-written and relatable and two strong women at its core who you’ll root for and embrace even with all their foibles. Perfect for those days when you want to curl up in front of a roaring fire and get lost in a treasure of a novel.
My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so much so I will read it again and gift it to my two daughters. What a 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. The stories weave through the historical perspective of matchmaker ‘shadchanit’ Sara Glikman from the early 1900’s in NYC, to her granddaughter Abby as a successful Manhattan divorce attorney who inherits grandma's journals. This book and a bowl of matzo ball soup is just about as comforting as it gets!!!

The Matchmaker's Gift was a multi-generational story about Abby and her grandmother Sara, but included much to love about family, good friends, Yiddish sayings and a God-given gift. I loved this book, the warmth of the family flowed out! Sara has a gift of finding soulmates for people, even without trying. When the Jewish matchmakers see that she has made a match, they want her to stop. I loved this book and will go on to read anything that Lynda Cohen Loigman has written.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC. I highly recommend it!

Thank you to #NetGalley for this book.

I've loved this author's previous books and this was no exception.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, make me a match (Fiddler On The Roof song).

This book started in 1910 when Sara was 10 on her way with her family to New York via ship. Ironically, my grandmother was born in 1900 too but not on the same ship probably. LOL. Sara saw a burst or glint of light between her older sister Hindel and a man on the ship. There started her matchmaking skills. She had this gift that was undeniable. The male shadchen were not happy that not only was she only 16 when she started, but she was unmarried (which was unusual back in the 1900s), and taking away from their business of getting paid.

This alternates forward to 1994 when Sara dies and Amy, one of her granddaughters, who's a divorce lawyer (natch), gets her journals and finds out how she got her start. She starts to see what her grandmother sees between some of her clients who want a divorce or almost married. She gets into trouble with her bitchy boss but it all turns out well in the end of course.

I loved Grandma Sara and her witticisms and she reminded me of my grandmother, may she rest in peace, with her love and devotion.

Cannot wait to see future books from this author.

I loved this book! Abby is a divorce attorney, representing high profile clients in their divorce and prenup proceedings, and not entirely happy with her job. When her grandmother Sara dies, Abby inherits Sara's journals, and soon realizes that she may have also inherited her grandmother's gift for matchmaking.
Reading Sara's journals along with Abby, and watching the parallel between Sara's fight for her career and Abby's struggle to decide if she's chosen the right career, kept me turning pages late into the night.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book! This is a refreshing and light historical fiction novel set in New York.

I loved both Abby and Sara’s stories and felt engaged in both timelines. I really enjoyed reading about some of the matches in Sara’s earlier years. It was fun to learn in the epilogue that some of the characters were inspired by events the author had read about while doing research for this book (including the Pickle King, who was one of my favorite characters!).

I thought this was a beautifully told story and really appreciated how the author weaved the two timelines together. This book is filled with lots of great characters and I highly recommend it, especially if you’re wanting a historical fiction book that’s not so heavy.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.