The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman

This is a sweet story which follows narrator Augusta “Goldie” Stern from girlhood through retirement. Augusta’s father is a chemist who runs a drug store, but it’s Aunt Esther who enchants Goldie. Esther seems to cure any ailment with herbs from her kitchen and magic words.

Many neighbors come knocking at the Stern’s door asking for Esther. They beg for help. Esther goes to the kitchen and fixes an elixir that can fix any problem it seems. Young Augusta is interested in Irving Rivkin, a delivery boy for the drug store. Can Aunt Esther move this romance along?

Goldie, now a retired pharmacist, reunites with Irving 60+ years later and their infatuation is rekindled. The reader is taken through the clarification of many years of misunderstanding between Augusta and Irving. Elixirs are once again stirred up in the kitchen and you can be assured of a predictable ending.

*The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern* is a heartwarming story that captivated me from the first page. I didn’t want to leave the world of this beautiful tale, filled with humor, heart, and hope, all wrapped up in the charming, late-in-life love between Augusta Stern and Irving Rivkin. These two unforgettable characters, with their rich histories and undeniable chemistry, stayed with me long after I finished reading.

I adored Augusta in both timelines of the story—whether as the sharp-witted, slightly acerbic 80-year-old retiree in present-day Florida, or as the curious, grieving teenager navigating life in 1920s Brooklyn after losing her mother. Augusta’s desire to live a full life in an era that offered little space for women’s ambitions made her a character I rooted for. Her journey—from a conflicted young woman torn between her father’s pharmacy and her Aunt Esther's unconventional remedies, to a reflective woman seeking closure in her later years—was one of profound depth and discovery.

As much as I loved Augusta, Irving Rivkin, her love interest, became my favorite. His sweetness, thoughtfulness, and determination to overcome the poverty of his upbringing made him impossible not to love. The sacrifices he made were heartbreaking, and his presence—both in the past and in Augusta’s present—was the grounding force of the story. Their reunion after sixty years apart raised so many unresolved questions and emotions, and watching them work through their shared history was deeply rewarding.

I challenge you not to fall in love with Augusta Stern and Irving Rivkin and the wonderful cast of characters in this story. Uplifting, charming, and life-affirming, *The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern* left me filled with hope and joy and gave me some of the happiest moments I’ve ever experienced between the pages of a book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of the book.

This is a sweet story of a young women who was deeply hurt by her first and only love more than sixty years ago but she is given a second chance in her golden years. There is a dual time line that alternates between the young and the older Augusta and it worked very well as the story unfolded. The love Elixir of Augusta Stern was a delightful easy read.

What a captivating tale. I was eagerly anticipating this book because I adored the authors previous book, The Matchmakers Gift.
This is a well woven dual timeline tale with a. Touch of magical realism. The reader meets Augusta Stern in 1987 as she reluctantly retires to a Florida senior community. When she crosses paths with a man from her past, the story travels back to 1920’s Brooklyn. The perspective alternated seamlessly between the two time periods in a way that enhanced the story.
Young Augusta is intelligent and determined to follow her father’s footsteps in running the family pharmacy. When her great Aunt comes to live with the family, Augusta is fascinated with her aunts holistic practices. Retiree Augusta has lived for her work and has carried heartache with her for decades.
I was drawn to the characters in this book, not only Augusta, but her Aunt Esther, her sister, her father, her first love and her friends. Augusta is the type of heroine I admire most in books. I
For me this quote from the closing chapter says it all:
“She believed that the world still held a bit of magic for those who were patient and wise enough to wait.”

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for the free e-book in exchange for my honest review.

Augusta Stern has been on her own most of her life doing what she loves: being a pharmacist. On her 80th birthday she is forced to retire and heads down to Florida where she is adrift trying to find her way. On one of her first visits to the pool, her happy place, she bumps into Irving, an old flame from her neighborhood where she grew up. Is this a second chance at love for these 2?

This story alternates between 2 timelines, Brooklyn, NY in the 1920s and Florida present day (1980's). The alternating timelines were well done and really help the reader better understand the characters and their motivations. This is such a sweet story about the relationships that impact and shape our lives! Highly recommend.

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman
Narrated by Gabra Zackman

At almost eighty years old, Augusta Stern is an amazing woman. The daughter of a pharmacist, learning the trade long before she could even go to school to get her pharmacy degree, this work is in her blood. She can let people think that she was so devoted to her career that she didn't have time for a husband and children, she can even tell herself that if she so desires, but the truth is very different. Augusta still nurses a broken heart and resentment over something that happened over sixty years ago, when she thought her relationship with her father's delivery boy, Irving Rivkin, was the real thing.

Augusta harbors a lifelong guilt concerning Irving but also concerning her Great Aunt Esther. As a very unconventional healer, Esther had to hide her healing potions, powders, and healing successes from Augusta's father because he very much disapproved of unconventional medicine. But Augusta admired what she saw her great aunt doing for others and for a while she was hoping to become both a pharmacist and a healer like Great Aunt Esther. But Augusta becomes closed off to all that Great Aunt Esther taught her when things go very wrong.

There is so much love in Augusta's life, along with guilt and resentment. Still, she is a strong woman and forges (in more ways than one) her way through life to come to the time that she's locating to a very spry and active retirement community that her niece thought she'd like. Imagine bathing suited Augusta's horror when she has a meet "not so cute" run in with Irving at the retirement community pool. There is so much that is funny in this story, growing old is not for sissies, but these not so young folks aren't finished living, growing, changing and forgiving. The story is touching and I greatly enjoyed hearing the author narrate her own afterword at the end of the book. I had both the ebook and audiobook on hand so I was able to experience the story via both editions. I've listened to Gabra Zackman narrate several audiobooks and once again she does a great job with this story.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for this ARC.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

I thoroughly enjoyed Lynda Cohen Loigman's previous novels and this is no exception.

This story follows Augusta in the 1920s in Brooklyn, NY and the 1980s in a retirement community in Florida. As a young woman, she follows her father into the profession of pharmacy at a time when women were expected to be housewives and mothers. This time period is also the era of Prohibition when alcohol was not permitted. However, bootleggers thrived and pharmacists could sell alcohol by prescription.

Against her better judgment, Augusta falls in love with Irving, a delivery boy in her father's store. Just as she expects him to propose, he marries the daughter of the local mob boss and moves to Chicago.

The scene shifts to Florida and Augusta discovers that her old boyfriend is a resident in the same community. What will happen now?

It’s never too late for love. This is such a sweet story of Augusta Stern, a newly retired pharmacist who is turning 80. After retiring to a retirement village in Florida she met again her childhood best friend and love, Irving Rivkin.

In a dual timeline story of Augusta’s life, it follows her upbringing in her dad’s pharmacy and the tutelage of her great aunt and the other ways to treat people, and her life in her retirement village with her 80th birthday quickly approaching.

This is a story of love, heartbreak, second chances, family, and friendship.

#netgalley
@netgalley
#bookofthemonth
@bookofthemonth
#readmorebooks
#readmorebooksbywomen
#readersofinstagram
#bookstagram
#bookstagrammer
#bookish
#mybookishlife
#wearebookish
#lovereading
#alwaysreading
#readinggoals
#2024reads
#audiobook
#goodreads

Augusta Stern is 80ish, a retired pharmacist who moves into a retirement community. She is shocked and dismayed to find that the love of her life is also living there. The book has dual timelines that move back and forth from present time to the past. The dual timelines are very obvious and I had no trouble switching back and forth. Augusta and Irving courted when they were younger until he abruptly married another woman. There is much backstory of Augusta working with her father in the pharmacy that he owned. She learned from him about medications but from her aunt, she learned the "old ways." This is a romance written in the format of boy meets girl, girl meets boy--something happens and they are parted only to reunite later in life. This book will make a nice change for the older adult as it will bring reminders of their generation. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the complimentary digital ARC.This review is my own thought and words.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Oct. 8, 2024
Lynda Cohen-Loigman’s dual-timeline novel, “The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern” is modern, sharp and hilarious. Fans of Alice Hoffman’s “Practical Magic” will flock to Loigman’s Augusta, and the medicine she mixes (both scientific and otherwise).
During the 1920s, Augusta Stern is a teenager growing up in Brooklyn, who wants nothing more than to follow in the career path of the father she idolizes. As a pharmacist, Augusta has watched her father heal through the magic of science. But after the death of her mother, from an illness her father has no cure for, Augusta begins to see the healing powers of a very different kind of treatment.
Sixty years later, Augusta is preparing for her eightieth birthday party, as she tries to settle into life at her new retirement community in Florida. Trying to find a place to fit in, she runs into the one man who she thought she loved, and who shattered her heart beyond repair. Is it too late in life to make amends and to rekindle something that she thought was lost long ago?
“Augusta” is told in two timelines, both in the 1920s and in the 1980s, narrated by the protagonist. Each chapter alternates, so Augusta is both a teenager and an elderly woman, revealing the story of her life. There are so many facets to Loigman’s story. It is not just a romantic story about an aging woman who meets her long-lost love and it is not just the story of a young girl who suffers the tragic loss of her mother, although it is both of these. Its deep feminist roots will resound with every reader who has had to make a choice, especially one that goes against the ones society expects for you. It also speaks to the current medical system and how it fails women of every generation. “Augusta” is one thing on the surface, and so many others deep down and I was emotionally invested from the first page.
Particular kudos to the author for making the protagonist an elderly woman. Not only was Augusta the antithesis of the “modern narrator”, being at least sixty years older and Jewish, but she was spunky, brave and true, and I admired her from the start.
“Augusta” is going to make big, big waves, and I can’t wait to see more from Cohen-Loigman (maybe I’ll read some of her previous novels while I’m at it).

Told in a dual timeline, 1920's Brooklyn and 1980's Florida, The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern is a gem.

After losing her love as a young woman, Augusta goes on to have a satisfying career.. When she is forced to retire at almost 80, although her paperwork say almost 70, she relocates to Florida. A swimmer all her life, Augusta takes a dip in her new retirement community pool and sees her long ago boyfriend, Irving Rifkin.

As the book progresses we see the deepening of affection as Augusta and Irving interact and remember those long ago times., Each chapter gives us more and more detail about long ago issues and current thoughts. Reading the two timelines gave such insight into Augusta and Irving's lives. Who they were as children on the cusp of adulthood and as elderly adults looking toward then end of their days.

After learning the truth about those times so long ago, can their struggle with each other be put to rest or will they continue to harbor bad feelings towards each other?

I've never read any books by this author until now. This was a great read and although I'm not usually a fan of dual timelines, this one worked marvelously.

3.5 stars

This was a second chance story that spanned 60 years which centered around a feisty 80 year-old woman, Augusta Stern.

Told in dual times from the point of view of both Augusta and Irving, her friend and co-worker. Beginning in the 1920s when they were teens and spanning to current day. The start of this book was great, there was the mystery of Augusta, why she was hiding her age and ultimately her move to a retirement home in Florida. It was intriguing as to what took place with her great aunt Esther and Irving.

I love the author’s previous two books and whether my expectations were elevated with this one I found it had a slower pace and at times it dragged, especially in the middle. The ending was good, I appreciated the closure and what transpired all those years ago. I loved great aunt Esther and felt her character really gave the story some spark as well as her friend Shirley. But as for the main characters, I couldn’t really connect with them.

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern is a story of secrets, friendship and the lengths people will go to protect those they love. Look for it on book shelves Oct 8th.

My thanks to St. Martin Press for a digital arc in exchange for a honest review.

4 Stars

What would you do if your job forced you to retire? This happened to Augusta who moves from New York to an active senior community in Florida. She expects to meet new people in her community, but she does not expect to be reunited with Irving her first love.

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern is a charming and heartwarming second chance romance. The story presents a structured dual time line based in the 1920s and the 1980s. I enjoyed the characters progression from teenagers to elders.

Lynda Cohen Loigman deliver a beautiful story that brought a lot of emotions and featured well developed characters.

Thank you St- Martin’s Press, Netgalley, and Lynda Cohen Loigman for an advance reading copy of this book.

I love this author so much, her book The Two-Family House and The Matchmaker's Gift were both winners for me and The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern was just as enjoyable, if not more so. This story has two timelines 1920s Brooklyn and 1980s Florida so both timelines are historical fiction.

There are a lot of characters in this book and many appear in both timelines. I loved reading about Augustus' younger years, how she became who she is as a person and how she became a pharmacist which was very rare for women in the 1920s. This book has themes of feminism without it punching you in the face and without Augusta losing her wit and charm. Although I enjoyed the earlier timeline, which is normal for me, I love the style of riding in both timelines. The story captivated me and the characters charmed their way into my heart. The plot sucked me in and never let me go.

I love the way the author was able to weave both timelines as well as multiple genres seamlessly. The book has a bit of mystery and magical realism, it's historical fiction with a touch of romance but Augusta and her charms are the star of this book. It was so refreshing to have an older woman as a lead especially one as smart as Augusta. If she were a real person I'd love to have a coffee with her and become friends. All. The. Stars.

This story was captivating story that weaves together elements of romance, magic, and self-discovery in a way that is both enchanting and thought-provoking.I was enraptured from page 1.

A beautiful story and one I recommend.

Thank you netgalley and publisher.All thoughts and opinions are my own and isn't influenced by anyone else

Augusta begrudgingly retires from her career as a pharmacist and moves to Florida. There she runs into her first love, Irving, and thinks back on her youth in Brooklyn in the 1920's. She almost married Irving, but he moved to Chicago with another girls' family and married her. Told in dual timelines by Augusta in her late teens in Brooklyn and as she's about to turn eighty in Florida, this family drama tackles themes of medicine and remedies, first love, and loyalty.

I really loved Loigman's previous book The Matchmaker's Gift, as did my book club. I liked this one just as much. It has similar vibes but is a completely different story, which is exactly what I was hoping for. I loved everything about it except for it's terrible cover and completely bluh title. Her team should do better because Loigman is a wonderful writer.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this ARC.

Although it is revealed immediately that Augusta Stern is an octogenarian, there is nothing downbeat about her or this novel. There is a heart-rending misunderstanding at its centre. But Augusta, whose story is told in alternating chapters set in a Florida retirement community in 1987 and a New York City Jewish community in the early 1920s, is no weeping old-school heroine. That is also immediately evident. First, and very unusually for a woman of her time and Jewish heritage, she is a respected pharmacist, and an unmarried career woman who took over and successfully ran her father’s pharmacy in an increasingly rough part of town. When things got too rough, she took up a position in a hospital pharmacy. And, as further evidence of her unbowed nature, she is only retiring as the story begins because her director discovered the alteration in her records—she is not nearly 70, as they indicate, but pressing on 80!

After that, the story takes up in the luxe retirement community of Rallentando, where Augusta’s adored niece Jackie has found her a condo with a pool. Her daily laps are very important to her, and have been since her adolescence. She is very fit, but that is not her main motivation for the swimming regimen. Augusta, very unusually for her, passively let Jackie take care of the details of retirement living. She is unhappily resigned to leaving a life she loved just because of her age and aloneness.

All that changes when, on her very first morning heading to the pool, she hears someone yell her childhood nickname, Goldie, bestowed on her by her great aunt Esther. Her aunt took care of the family and ran her own sideline of homeopathic healing, often clashing with her father and his firm believe in science. Initially hating the nickname, she became attached to it because Irving Rivkin, her father’s ragged, starving delivery boy, told her that it suited her because she shone in everything. And here was Irving, her former best friend. A painful estrangement had put 62 years between them. The sight of him literally in her own backyard again makes her angry and sad, but , most important, ‘alive’ once again, if only fuelled by revenge.

As the story reveals more of their history, and carefully untangles the at times almost unbelievable reasons for their separation, other characters are introduced, some of whom Augusta had deliberately forgotten. One of the chief protagonists in the mystery that made her Augusta and not Goldie, by choice, and destroyed her relationship with Irving, also turns up at Rallentando. By a series of background circumstances, Esther’s spirit the ‘magical’ folk knowledge that Augusta had also rejected long ago reenter her life. All the new developments come to a head in the 80th birthday dinner that Jackie, on her first visit, arranges.

There are many hilarious moments in this story, despite the many sad ones. It is hard to watch the series of small and compiling misjudgements and miscommunications that set the main characters in directions that, while ostensibly positive, lead them far from their heart’s desire. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, despite its sometimes predictable turns. I especially liked its portrayal of the spry and lively octogenarians, though it has to be said that all of them were helped along by the money that allowed them the comforts of a Florida retirement. The author beautifully captures the New York Jewish culture during prohibition, and the roles and expectations of girls and women that Augusta, and others like her, faced throughout their lives, even while defying them.

Augusta Stern (almost 80 years old) is finally retiring and moving to Florida. When she arrives at her new home, she discovers that an old flame is living in the same community, and she is NOT happy about it. In alternating chapters set in 1990s Florida and 1920s & 30s New York City, we learn the whole story of Augusta's life and why she is so angry with Irving. Can he win her trust and repair the damage he did back in the day?

What a wonderfully sweet, sad, funny, and sometimes surprising story! It reminds me a bit of Elizabeth Strout's books (Olive Kitteridge, etc) or Clare Pooley's books (Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting, etc). The characters are well written and I was rooting for them. The humor is sometimes laugh out loud funny, but sometimes I was on the verge of tears. Yes, the ending is somewhat predictable, but I didn't care. In addition to the main storyline about Augusta and Irving, there is a wonderful tale of Augusta's relationship with her father and her Aunt Esther. There is so much here to tug at your heartstrings without getting too sappy or overly melodramatic. I loved it!!

All the stars for this second chance love story with a feisty 80 year old protagonist! I loved Augusta and the cast of characters in her retirement village. I was equally interested in the historical timeline that took place during the Prohibition period. Great characters and a great story. Highly recommend.
Thank you Netgalley for the review copy.

August finally retires from her pharmacy career and is nearly 80 when she moves to Florida. She is reunited with her old flame, Irving and she begins to question her life. Is it too late for love as an octogenarian? Interesting characters and a hear-warming story.