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.

The narrator of the audiobook was perfect! I loved her multiple voices and her pacing. Definitely added to the enjoyment of this book!

The Matchmaker is magical romantic novel with dual POVs. But, I found Sara’s story to be the most enchanting! She has a unique gift to find a person’s true soulmate.

“The light you saw between your sister and her husband was not a trick of the sun. You have been blessed with eyes that can see the light of soulmates reaching for each other.” - Rabbi Sheinkopf to Sara

In the early 1900’s in New York, matchmakers were all men, the shadchanim none of whom understood her natural gift. When Sara was a small child, the matchmakers thought she was stealing their business, because how can a child who does not understand romantic feelings make a romantic match? Sara endures quite bit of harassment from matchmakers.

“What the shadchanim could never understand was that for Sara, a match was not something to be made. Either love existed or it did not.”

Many years later, Sara sees her granddaughter potentially shares that same ability for true matchmaking even if Abby has trouble seeing it in herself. After her grandmother’s death, Abby finds herself conflicted. Continue working as a divorce attorney or accept the calling that her grandmother saw in her? Abby’s journey is not easy. She turns to journals and news clippings that her grandmother Sara saved to show her that love is the way. The amount of love I felt while reading this book is phenomenal. It’s a beautiful, passionate story showing that soulmates and happily ever afters do exist. ♥️

“I see what I see, and I know what I know.” - Sara

This is a great audiobook with two fantastic narrators that portray the dual timeline. I liked both timelines and how the woman work to change fixed mindsets and fight for what they know is right. Sara's story unfolds as we alternate between Abby, her grandaughter's present day story. This is an uplifting story and just enjoyable overall. I plan to find some of this author's backlist books, I really enjoyed it!

Sara Glikman is a young woman with an incredible gift- she is a matchmaker. Not just any kind though, she makes true love matches because she is able to see things about people that no one else can. Fast forward 80 years to her granddaughter, Abby. Abby is a divorce lawyer working in NYC with a very famous and successful firm. When Sara dies, she leaves a few mysterious journals to Abby which leaves her with more questions than answers. What do they mean? Why did her grandmother give these to her?

This is a cute story about love, forgiveness and finding your true self. “If you don’t know what to fight for, love is as good a cause as any.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ARC!

A Matchmakers Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman.
This fun story is a dual timeline between a grandmother, Sara and her grandaughter, Abby.
Sara has a gift. She's from a poor family on New York’s Lower East Side. She had to hide her gift as much as possible because the Jewish men who were matchmakers for money were furious that Sara would even attempt to be a matchmaker and interfere on their livelihood. From the time of her first match, Sara kept journals and newspaper clippings of her matchmaking.
In 1994, Sara sadly has past away and her granddaughter, Abby, is heartbroken. Sara left Abby all her journals and as Abby reads them she feels even closer to the grandmother that she loved. Sara had hinted that Abby had the gift of matchmaking.
Abby’s timeline is set in Manhattan two generations later where she is a divorce attorney
These women have the special gift of matchmaking that could include bits of
genuine intuition and a little magical realism. What Abby sees is a vision of a “strand of light between two people “. Things get a little complicated, but Abby’s inherited gift tells her that one of their biggest clients really shouldn’t get divorce. What?
A very sweet story.
I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator.
This is also a story of Jewish tradition, family, of women of two generations trying to pursue their careers and a little 'magic' always helps.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advanced audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is such a wonderfully cute book. The story goes back and forth between Abby and her grandmother, Sarah. Both women are strong in their own right. Sarah is a matchmaker in a time when the job was reserved for married men. Yet, she does what she believes in, even to the point of appearing in religious (Jewish) court. Abby works for a ruthless divorce attorney and fights for clients to find or keep true love. Such a sweet book makes me want to believe in divine matchmakers and soul mates.

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.

The narrator kept the book entertained and the flow made it easy to know which timeline was being told.

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 Audiobook for my honest review.

4 stars

This is a charming, nicely paced historical fiction novel centering on a grandmother, a granddaughter, and the magical connection they both share.

Abby, the m.c., takes the modern timeline as the granddaughter of Sara, whose earlier timeline sets the scene for the family structure, the profession, and the connections between these central characters. When the novel begins, Abby has just learned of her grandmother's passing, so, as these things sometimes go, this initiates an important time of self-reflection and discovery about who her grandmother really was. Fortunately for both Abby and readers, Sara is a fascinating woman, and the earlier parts of her life - told through her perspective - are some of the most captivating moments in the book. She reviews her family's financial struggles, her academic pursuits, and especially her very early discovery that she may just have an unexpected skill: the titular matchmaker's gift. Every contemporary in Sara's life - and truly everyone who remembers her to Abby - LOVES her. It's not hard to see why.

Of course, Abby is no exception to this widely held sentiment. As she begins to learn more about her grandmother, she also discovers much more about herself and ends up - in a more creative way - wondering just how much she may follow in those matchmaking footsteps.

The characters are compelling, the details are endearing, and this is a nicely paced - if a bit saccharine - example of historical fiction. It's quite charming and deserves the buzz it's receiving. Readers who are able to access the audio version should so as to enjoy how much this narrator brings to the text.

If you love heartwarming stories full of hope, this one is for you. This historical fiction contains a multigenerational narrative following Sara and her granddaughter Abby, both with a knack for matchmaking and bringing love into the lives of the people who surround them. The story is beautiful and filled with loveable characters. I highly recommend The Matchmaker's Gift.

The Matchmaker’s Gift
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Genre: Historical Fiction
Format: Audiobook
Date Published: 9/20/22
Author: Lynda Cohen Loigman
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Narrators: Eva Kaminsky; Gabra Zackman
GR: 4.44

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Even as a child in 1910, Sara Glikman knows her gift: she is a maker of matches and a seeker of soulmates. 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. Two generations later, Sara’s granddaughter, Abby, is a successful Manhattan divorce attorney, representing the city’s wealthiest clients. When her beloved Grandma Sara dies, Abby inherits her collection of handwritten journals recording the details of Sara’s matches. Why did Abby’s grandmother leave this library to her and what did she hope Abby would discover within its pages? Is Abby willing to sacrifice the career she’s worked so hard for in order to keep her grandmother’s mysterious promise to a stranger?

My Thoughts: I have just recently started reading historical fiction and love any book with a dose of magic. The narrators are just amazing, they give the characters life and connect you with the characters. The story is narrated in a dual timeline, which I loved. The story starts as a slower burn, but picks up towards the middle of the book and becomes faster paced. Loigman typically incorporates the Jewish culture into her books and she does it so well that if feels authentic and real. This story is grief, love, culture with tradition, both old and new, and just oozes coziness. The exploration of the characters feels connecting, you feel as if you are on this journey with them, I easily connected to them. This book flows with coziness and just makes your heart warm up. The characters are fleshed out and developed well with depth, a touch of whimsical, emotion, culture, and creatively written. The author’s writing style was complex, heartfelt, endearing, and just brilliant. This is the first novel I have read by this author, but now I will be reviewing her backlist to add to my TBR.

I really enjoyed the author‘s previous book The Wartime Sisters and eagerly awaited this one. I didn’t really read much of the blurb or maybe I did when I requested it from NetGalley but I pretty well went in blind.

Told from two points of view with the current story taking place in 1994, which I really appreciated the lack of electronics and the internet. As young lawyer Abby has a great career ahead of her, but grieving the loss of her grandmother, Sara, comes with distractions.

The past story begins back in 1910 for a young Sara as her gift of a matchmaker starts to develop. What follows through the years is her life where is avoids this gift and then embraces it to the chagrin of those deemed 'professional' matchmakers. Her gift is illustrated along with her relationship with family, friends and those obstacles in the way.

I enjoyed the story very much, though I wouldn’t call it a Rom/Com but rather a lighter womans fiction as these two women discover themselves on their individual journey that is not always easy.

Again I was treated to an enjoyable and entertaining read by this author, it was captivating, entertaining and a pleasure to read.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press for the digital arc and also to McMillan Audio for the audiobook. This was a wonderful combo read for me.

This book was so much fun! I absolutely loved getting a peek into the matchmaking aspect of Jewish culture. I had no idea that this was so important, but it was fascinating to learn about. I also really enjoyed Sara and Abby - they both had so much personality, and it was fun watching them both learn how to use their talent for matchmaking.

A beautifully written story about finding your place in the world and learning to stand up for yourself. Sara was a naturally gifted matchmaker whose right to work was being challenged by those who had gone before her. Her granddaughter, 90 years later, is finding she might be in the wrong line of work, and she might have the same gift. I loved both the characters so much and how their stories were shared. Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction, strong women, and happy ever afters.

At 10 years old, Sara Glikman discovers that she has a gift. When she sees soulmates, a light appears connecting them. She begins her life as a matchmaker. She has to work secretly at first, but over time she becomes responsible for dozens of successful matches.

Sara's granddaughter, Abby, also discovers her calling at a young age. She is a divorce attorney. After her parents go through a messy divorce, she wants to be an advocate to ensure one partner is not taken advantage of. After her grandmother's death, she begins to realize that she has some of her grandmother in her after all. She starts viewing her clients differently. Perhaps she inherited some of her grandmother's gift.

This is a very heartwarming story. Love, goodness, faith. It is all about those things. This book took me not only to NYC in the Gilded Age, but it also took me deep into Jewish culture. I especially loved Sara's chapters.

I listened to the audiobook. There are two narrators, which is great since there are two POVs. I am not familiar with the narrators (Eva Kaminsky and Gabra Zackman), so I do not know who narrated Sara and who narrated Abby. Overall, the pacing was good and I liked the tone of their voices. However, the person who narrated Abby's chapters would take a breath and make a sound at the end of sentences/paragraphs. It was very, very distracting.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars. This was such a pleasant surprise-- I really really enjoys this one. Told through alternating perspectives between Sarah (1910) and her granddaughter, Abby, (1994), this book explores Jewish matchmaking. Both Abby and Sarah were likable female protagonists, and I found that I was equally interested in both perspectives (this definitely doesn't always happen). This book would be a winner for many readers, especially those interested in historical fiction, stories about families, finding love/matchmaking, and personal discovery.

It’s an interesting concept to think that people out there may be able to see the person who is made for us. It’s even more interesting to let ourselves believe that there is one specific person for us. Then, even more to believe people out there may be behind making these relationships happen. A very interesting concept and it made for a cute tale.

🌀Synopsis
As a child Sara knows she has a gift. She can see people who belong together and she has an ability to bring them together for a lifetime of happiness. Times are different though and she has to hide her gift for awhile until she is finally able to reveal it and use it to help her family make money.

She passes this gift on to her granddaughter, Abby, who is a divorce lawyer. There are people coming for divorces and prenuptial agreements and Abby can sense whether they are wrong or right for each other. She isn’t positive of her gift though and is also trying to obey her bosses wishes. She finally sees what her grandmother had for years and decides to make a match of her own. Her dream career goes up in flames but it’s nothing compared to the gift that she’s found.

I really loved this book. I was a little thrown off by the back and forth through time storytelling mode initially. I find that it throws off the flow of the book. While it's a convention that works well in films, I think in books it is often just as good or better to just have the character read the journals or letters or whatever. I am already reading, so the format of what I'm reading doesn't matter that much.

That said, I did enjoy the chapters from the past once I was into the story. I would happily read another book about this main character lawyering and setting people up along the way. Probably a 4.5 since I did tear up a bit when we got to the bits about WW2 refugees and Sarah's later use of her gift, but because of 5he format of 5he storytelling, I don't think I can give it a full 5 🌟.

Lynda Cohen Loigman earned my admiration and appreciation with her book The Two-Family House. I also enjoyed The Wartime Sisters. I was so excited when I received an advance copy of the audiobook of The Matchmaker's Gift.

This is a dual point of view story told from two different time lines. The early 1900's is Sara Glickman's story. She is a young Jewish girl who arrives in American with her family. She is only ten years old when she finds a romantic match for her older sister. Not long after the two wed and start a family. Is this special talent a gift or a curse? Sara continues to quietly make matches despite the anger from the devout, tradition-following older men who felt their livelihoods were in jeopardy. She is careful not to publicly make these matches but has the paths cross of the individuals and they have no idea that Sara had any hand in it.

1994, New York City, Sara's granddaughter, Abby, is a divorce attorney who was scarred by her parent's divorce and how her mother was treated in the divorce. Sara passes away and Abby of course is devastated with the loss of her beloved grandmother. Abby receives a box that Sara left with her with notebooks. After further investigation, Abby discovers that the notebooks contain the details of Sara's matchmaking through the past decades.

Abby, suddenly starts to realize that several of her clients from her law firm, should not either be getting married or getting divorced. And I will leave the reader to find out what happens.

Loigman has written a lovely heartwarming book that is woven with magical realism. It was great to see Jewish representation in the main characters and many of the supporting characters.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Thank you to NetGalley and A MacMillion Audio Productions from St Martin's Press for the advance copy in exchange for my honest thoughts. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

Sara has a gift for finding soulmates and makes her way in the world as a matchmaker. Two generations later, her granddaughter, Abby, inherits her journals. Abby, a divorce attorney, suddenly begins seeing her clients’ relationships in a new light. Told in alternating timelines between the two women, we see both of them learn about love and discover who they’re meant to be.

Would definitely recommend for anyone who wants a reminder of what love is, or anyone who loves alternating timelines.

Character growth: I loved Sara’s growing tenacity and belief in her own value. Similarly, Abby’s wounds from her parents’ divorce begin to heal, and she becomes less jaded about relationships. We also see Abby in deep grief over the loss of her grandmother, and there are many bittersweet moments that will be familiar for those who have lost a loved one.

Narration: I listened to the Audiobook, and the narrator did a pretty good job.

Note: Sara and Abby are Jewish, as are many in this book. Much of the book is steeped in the Jewish faith and Jewish American culture, but told in such a way that non-Jewish people can understand. I imagine that some of the lessons would be more profound for a follower.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced reader copy of the audiobook.

I read an advance copy of this in early May (‘22) and quickly into my reading, I discovered that this one was special - it turned out to be one of my favorite reads of the year and one I hoped to listen to in the future. I was recently fortunate enough to receive an advance audiobook (early September ‘22), and I listened to it in full, because this lovely story pulled me in yet again. The narration is fantastic and reminiscent.

Sarah’s is a voice I remember well, from my own childhood. I was born in NJ in the 70’s and spent my summers with my own grandmother, who often invited her friends over. I remember these other grandmas; some with numbers tattooed on their arms, telling me stories, showing me photos of their families, and trying to teach me how to cook certain dishes that became my lifelong comfort food.

Each and every sentence of this novel was a joy to read.
I laughed, I cried, I smiled, I loved.
I lost myself to this with each gorgeous page.

This was a rare book, a true gem, and one I’m so very thrilled to have read.The Matchmaker’s Gift is one of the best books I’ve had the privilege and pleasure of reading this year and has my strongest recommendation.