A sweet and compelling read about love, loss, regret, and second chances.

Augusta and Irving were in love until Irving leaves without any explanation. Six decades later, Augusta is stunned and upset to find Irving is a resident at the senior community she just moved to. Can they risk their hearts once more and get to the bottom of what went so wrong 62 years ago?

Chapters alternate back and forth from the “present” (1980s) and the 1920s when August and Irving first meet. A sense of mystery and magic permeates the novel and I was captivated by Augusta’s and Irving’s story. Heartwarming without being maudlin, it was a lot of fun to read about people finding new friendship and love in their 80s!

Thank you very much to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an opportunity to read a copy.

5 stars

I was very excited to receive a widget of this book. Lynda Cohen Loigman has been a favorite of mine ever since I read her first novel, “The Two-Family House,” in 2016. It was that book along with Kristin Hannah’s “Nightingale” that prompted me to dive into the wonderful world of historical fiction. I have now read all of Ms. Loigman’s novels, and all four have earned 5 stars from me.

This book has a dual timeline—the early 1920s set in Brooklyn, NY and 1987 set in a senior living community in Florida. I’m not always a fan of dual timelines, but this one worked well. I love books with elderly characters, especially when the protagonist is an oldster. Augusta is 80 years old in the 1987 timeline. Augusta grew up with a pharmacist father and great aunt Esther who was a healer. Augusta was very interested in both traditional medicine and Esther’s potions and studied both. After a disastrous misfire with the latter early on, she dropped the holistic side of things and went on to a successful career as a pharmacist. She was pushed out for “old age” in 1987. Boo on that, I say.

There are plenty of characters to love—Augusta, of course, and her old beau Irving who disappointed her back in Brooklyn, Esther, Jackie, and Shirley to name a few. Some good laughs are sprinkled along the way along with touches of magical realism. There is mystery (what the hell happened with Irving?), there is the power of friendship, the pining of long-lost love, the beauty of second chances, the blessing of family (blood or not), and the staying power of true love. The tale is told in a beautifully lyrical fashion and captivated me from beginning to end. Lastly, this book was very different from most of the books I have read, which made me love it even more!

Whenever I see “fantasy” or “magic realism” (fancy way of saying fantasy) in a book blurb, I usually run. So normally I would have skipped this one. But it is written by Ms. Loigman who has yet to let me down. So I grabbed it and was rewards in spades. Thanks, Ms. Loigman. I recommend “The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern” to all readers with a heart, even if you think you don’t like any “magic realism” invading your books.

I would like to thank Ms. Rivka Holler of St. Martin’s Press, Net Galley, and Ms. Lynda Loigman for the ARC. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

This was a love story unlike any that I have read before. Augusta Stern is probably the first main character that I have ever read about in her eighties. The book does have a dual timeline so we learn about Augusta in 1987, but also about her life growing up in the 1920s. There was so much to enjoy.

The background of what Augusta's life was like growing up Jewish in New York City during the 1920s was really interesting. Seeing how she handled the loss of her mother as well as the struggle to become a pharmacist when women were still expected to just marry and have babies. The best part though was her relationship with her Aunt Esther and the magic/mystery surrounding her. The reader also learns about Irving and what his life entailed. However, hands down, the best part of the book was Augusta and Irving's life in their Florida retirement village. This was a fantastic novel about second chances with a dash of magic. This was a great read and I look forward to reading more by this author.

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

I went back and forth on my opinion of this book. It’s probably between 3 and 4 stars for me. I have enjoyed her prior books a bit more than I enjoyed this one. I do think the author did an amazing job going back and forth between the two story times. Both were compelling whereas often I find one story a waste of time!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early release, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A lovely dual timeline tale of second chances involving delightful Augusta Stern, 80, in a Florida retirement home. Endearing!

The premise of the book is it’s never too late for new beginnings. Even when you are 80 years old. The story was told in 2 different time periods but it was very easy to follow and each section helped explain the next. I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it.

I have read other books by this author and have always enjoyed them. The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern is no different- very enjoyable. . The main character, Augusta, has recently retired and moved to a retirement community in Florida. Once there she finds she knows two men from her days in Brooklyn, one she was once in love with. The novel alternates between 1987 in Florida and 1922 Brooklyn. One learns of Augusta early days, living above her father’s pharmacy and how she wants to follow in her father’s footsteps. She learned what now would be considered holistic medicine from an elderly aunt that came to live with them. Augusta and Irving both worked at her father’s store and had a relationship that was suddenly over when Irving left for Chicago. Augusta never knew why and she never really got over the relationship. The mystery is finally revealed at the end of the story. There are some very humorous parts in this novel. A very quick and fun read.

Lynda Cohen Loigman has written another moving lovely read.Ive read each of her previous novels and loved and recommended each of them.Augusta and Irving the dual timeline the antics at the Florida retirement community stole my heart. Will be recommending her latest novel to all my friends.#netgalley #st.Martins

This is my first novel by Lynda Cohen Loigman, but it won't be my last. It reminded me of the old joke about the Jewish funeral service where an old lady in the back keeps calling out, "Give him chicken soup!". Finally, the Rabbi says, " This man is dead. Chicken soup won't help" and the old lady responds: "It wouldn't hurt."

There are magical properties to chicken soup in this book, with or without the addition of "Kreplach", meat filled dumplings. Augusta Stern, about to turn 80, is retired from her job as a hospital pharmacist when her real age is discovered. With the help of her niece Jackie, she moves to a retirement community in Florida. There she re-connects with the one-time love of her life, Irving.

The story continues in alternating chapters of 1987 and the 1920's. You might not expect it, but this story is a mystery. Why did Augusta, then known as Goldie, and Irving wait for 62 years to meet again? What happened? All will be revealed before the ending. Meanwhile, you will meet the Great Aunt Esther who comes to live with the Stern family after Mrs. Stern's death., she, of the miraculous chicken soup cures.

In the Brownsville of the 20's, there is prohibition and a Jewish Mafia. There are close sisters, Augusta and Bess, and their heartbroken Pharmacy owner father. In the Florida retirement community, there is another friend from Goldie's past. There is also prejudice against women. They, when healers, are called witches while men are either doctors or pharmacists.

This is both a historical novel and a love story. And when was the last time you read about romance between " old-olds"? Funny and charming, I so enjoyed this book. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for an ARC copy to read and review.

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman is a beautifully crafted novel.
I really enjoyed reading this book! It is beautiful written, I was invested in the story within the first chapters.
The story was incredibly laid out and hooked me from the beginning.
Loigman weaves a story that needs read, rich characters that reveal deep cultural history and immerse the reader into a world they want to be a part of.
I loved every single page of this book.

Thank You NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman is a delightful second chance love story for Augusta and Irving brings the couple full circle from their earliest days during prohibition to their second chance meeting at age 80 in a retirement center. The story is extremely well written and contrasts the roles that pharmacists played against an old school apothecary through their elixirs during the 1920s as pharmacist want to be Augusta learns. Irving’s lessons pinpoint the darker side of the era. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Highly recommend.

Hands down my favorite book I’ve read in a long time. I genuinely could not put it down. I loved the dual timelines equally and the growth and arc of Augusta and Irving were both completely believable. The questions of what happened in the past kept me reading for hours on end. All in all this book was a beautiful and engrossing love story that felt tender, light, and impactful.

Full disclosure...this being the first time I've read this author, I had some reservations about the setting. Being an older woman myself, as intriguing as it was to have older folks as the main characters, the fact that they lived in a retirement community in Florida was concerning. I mean, the jokes write themselves, right? Although some can be truly funny, too many are demeaning and cruel. No worries...this author nailed it with warmth and humor that had me laughing out loud.

I was fascinated with the 1920s Brooklyn thread of the story. Not only the Jewish and Eastern European cultures of their neighborhood but also the changes brought by Prohibition, specifically the racketeering. I was unaware that doctors could write prescriptions for alcohol to be filled at pharmacies or the criminality that arose from it. The misogyny that Augusta faced when she went to Fordham's Pharmacy College was infuriating as was the ageism she faced working in hospital pharmacies. To me, what her Great-Aunt Esther faced was far worse. She was highly intelligent and a gifted healer from a long line of women healers but was labeled a witch by ignorant men and a fraud by medical men. Using herbal remedies, she helped so many women with problems that were real but had been dismissed by doctors. Was it magic or Esther's innate diagnostic skills coupled with a deep understanding of botanical properties?

This story is beautifully written with heartbreaking prose interspersed with laugh-out-loud situations in the retirement community. I dearly loved Irving, who at 82 still adores Augusta as he did when they were young. Even after they lost touch, Irving learned to love books because he remembered how important reading was to her. He took up swimming because she enjoyed it, never thinking he might see her again. This book will make you feel that it's never too late for love, a good chicken soup can work wonders, and there might still be a bit of magic in this world if only you have the courage to look for it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this love story decades in the making.
Readers meet Augusta as she is turning 80, retiring, and moving to a senior living community in Florida. Here she runs into Irving, her love interest from her youth. Augusta was in love with Irving and was hoping to marry him, but one night Irving disappeared and married another girl from their neighborhood.
The narration of the novel alternates between building the relationship between Augusta and Irving as teens and their reunion as octogenarians. Readers slowly learn the details of that early heartbreak as they see the present connection rekindle.
Young Augusta and Irving were coming of age in the 1920s, during the era of prohibition. This adds a hint of historical fiction to the narrative.
Readers who enjoy a little romance, a little history, and enjoyable characters will like this novel.

As a big fan of the author’s previous books, I was delighted to get the opportunity to read an advance copy of her latest book. This was a fun read in both of the time periods in the book. I’m not a big fan of magic and there wasn’t too much of it in the book,, so I was able to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the story. The depiction of life in a Florida retirement community was spot on. I love seeing how this population reverts to their high school behavior. I would recommend this book as a light, entertaining read.

I loved Lynda Cohen Loigman's last novel, The Matchmaker's Gift, so when I saw she had a new book being published, I did not waste any time picking it up! The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern is such a wonderful story! I really enjoyed reading a book where the protagonist is older. Augusta (Goldie) Stern is almost 80. I liked her immediately. She is intelligent, strong, and driven.

This is a story that brings truth to the fact that the decisions we make throughout life seriously alter its course. It has a bit of a mystery thrown in and is such a heartwarming story.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed above are my own.

Despite a love elixir having failed twice after the heady potion was consumed twice by the wrong person, this love story picks up sixty years later from where it left off. Beginning in 1920s Brooklyn New York, Augusta Stern’s mother died from diabetes, an illness that remained incurable. Great Aunt Esther comes to live with Augusta, her father who is a pharmacist, and her older sister Bess. Great Aunt Esther, peculiar and old-fashioned, known as a self-proclaimed apothecary of her village in Russia, restores order to the home and cooks aromatic dinners adding herbs that enhance each dish. Augusta soon observes as Great Aunt Esther blends herbs and spices from her wooden apothecary case in an ancient brass mortar and pestle. In Esther’s mysterious way of concocting elixirs, she hums and sways, and sings a tune Augusta doesn’t recognize. With all kinds of herbs, leaves, and seeds, Esther mixes magical and healing elixirs for those in the neighborhood who have become afflicted. Esther teaches Augusta about these elixirs which eventually provide her with a second chance at romance sixty years later.

Lynda Cohen Loigman’s story is a delightful, lyrical, and magical tale that explores grief and its various effects on individuals. Sage life advice is sprinkled throughout with secrets that keep you engaged. This is a story about a budding romance that transcends time, reflecting on the past and present, where joy and sorrow mingle. A curious and hopeful story about the magic that sweetens a bitter heart, soothes a temper and calms a fever.

“The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern” is a dual-timeline magical realism book by Lynda Cohen Loigman. There were huge parts of this book I really enjoyed - the dual timeline (1920s NYC and 1980s Florida). The topic of traditional medicine vs folk medicine. The walls that Augusta broke to follow in her father’s footsteps. The obvious love that a number of characters had for each other - from sisterly love, to friendship love, to devotion and everything in between. I liked the idea of the reuniting of Augusta and Irving and them getting both closure and an understanding of what happened all those years ago. However, one of my least favorite tropes is the miscommunication one - and, sadly, this book was full of moments where I really wanted to shake either character and say “just talk to each other!” However, this book was engaging and I was cheering on the two main characters to get their acts figured out, become friends or at least tolerate each other in their golden years.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

Wow! After reading The Matchmaker's Gift and enjoying it thoroughly, I was excited to receive a copy of The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern. I started it immediately after downloading it to kindle, and I'm so glad I did. This did not disappoint.

Once again, Loigman successfully combined culture, research, and an enchanting fiction tale into one book. Augusta Stern moved to Florida upon retirement, and is visited by characters of her past. The story flipped between the 1920s and the 1980s, with elements from each time period connected to the other. The reader learns about Augusta's past working with her pharmacist father, as well as with her great aunt, a healer. I was mesmerized by the passages describing the herbs and magical elements employed by her great aunt, along with the medical and scientific pharmaceutical options of the early twentieth century. Throw in a 'missed connections' past love story, and it all comes together in an intriguing manner.

I definitely recommend this to fans of historical fiction, romance, and magical realism. 5 stars!

I loved this book! It was captivating, and I couldn't put it down. It told of family, warmth, and healing in a way that was touching but not saccharine. It referenced Jewish culture in a way that was accessible and inviting but not exclusionsive. I love every book but this author and can't wait to read her next!