The Matchmaker's Gift is such a quirky hybrid of so many different genres and topics: period drama, domestic fiction, historical fiction, Judaism and the Holocaust, grief and loss, the supernatural, and romance just to name a few. Lynda Cohen Loigman has done an amazingly cohesive job of alternating chapters, generations and narrators between the story of 20th century grandmother Sara Auerbach nee Glikman, and that of her 21st century granddaughter Abby, a young divorce attorney discovering a surprisingly rare talent that the two of them share. Sara's story begins with her matchmaking career, at the age of 10 as her family voyages away from the perils of WWII to America, and Abby's story takes place in NYC in 1994 involving high net worth clientele and rom-commy highjinks. I loved Abby and Sara's sweet relationship, and the timeless advice and words of wisdom sprinkled throughout this beguiling story, often both in Yiddish and English:

A trope live brengt a mol a yam trein
A drop of love sometimes brings an ocean of tears

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐆𝐢𝐟𝐭 has a little something of everything: historical fiction, Jewish representation, strong women, magical realism, and of course romance.

Sara, in 1910, knew from the age of ten that she had the gift of making matches. She must fight to earn the respect and right to work as a matchmaker in her community. Going against tradition and standing up against devout old men, Sara will change the course for many.

Abby, Sara’s granddaughter, in 1994, is working as a successful divorce attorney in Manhattan. When Sara passes, Abby inherits Sara’s journals that list all her matches. Abby begins to realize she may have the gift as well, and it begins to cause chaos in her life. But the further she digs into Sara’s journals, the more wonders she finds, and the more she realizes what she wants for her life as well.


I loved these characters! Lynda Cohen Loigman is a wonderful storyteller; she balanced humor with grief and romance with the magical matchmaking just right. I look forward to reading more from her soon.

Thank you @stmartinspress for this beautiful copy and @macmillan.audio for the gifted audiobook.



🥒 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠’𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫.” 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐬? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐧?

5/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for the Arc! I absolutely adored this book. The storyline switches between Abby, a divorce attorney, and her grandmother( younger years). Abby’s grandmother, Sara has a special ability to match soulmates. Will Abby inherit it as well? The story alternates between Abby and Sara in the past. One of my favorite books this year.

In the modern day, Abby is a divorce lawyer. And she's very good at it. Until, with the death of her beloved grandmother Sara, she realises that maybe her true calling is uniting people, not divorcing them.

In the past, Sara has just moved to New York and discovers that she has a natural gift for matchmaking. As a young, unmarried female, Sara is prohibited from becoming a professional matchmaker: this is reserved for shadchanims (Jewish matchmakers).

I'm a big fan of dual timelines, especially when they overlap and mirror each other as well as this one does. It is such a warm comfort read and each of the story arcs complements the other so well.

I really enjoyed reading about the Jewish traditions of matchmaking - I found it really interesting. Reading about Sara's natural ability to identify soul-mates was very charming as opposed to the more practical and theoretical means of matchmaking that were popular at the time.

I also liked the way this multi - generational story fitted together and we saw how life unfolded for both Abby in the present day, and for Sara as a young girl. Seeing how these women each came to terms with their gift across the generations was very intriguing.

All in all, an easy to read, comforting book that explores love in all its forms. Thank you to the publisher, the author, Netgalley and the blog tour organisers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Sometimes funny, sometimes poignant and always captivating, this novel easily became one of my favorites of the year.

Told from two perspectives, readers will first fall in love with Sara Glikman, an old-country firecracker fighting to forge her reputation as a matchmaker on New York’s Lower East Side. The historical 1920s setting leaps off the page with the charming rabble of millions of Jewish strivers.

No need to bat around “Fiddler” callbacks though. Soon we meet Abby, a thoroughly burnt out modern go-getter of her own time and place. Grandma Sara’s gifts were for the matching of soulmates: Abby is a divorce lawyer.

That type of laugh out loud juxtaposition alone was enough to hook me into this truly original novel of strong women, strong family ties and an indelible sense of cultural history.

When she discovers her late Bubbe’s old matchmaking ephemera, a window facing a new direction opens for Abby. Might something more than litigation lay in her DNA?

Though Sara has passed on the lessons of her life are only just beginning, and they are a joy to learn.

3.5 light fun stars, rounded up to 4
The Matchmaker’s Gift is a historical fiction romance. Of the two timelines, I liked the older Jewish one better, where the grandmother, Sara, just immigrated to New York City and ran into problems with Orthodox male Jewish matchmakers. The modern character, Abby, was more artificial as a divorce lawyer with a stereotypical mean boss. As with most romances, the plot line is a bit predictable, but the characters are interesting and the writing and plot development solid. The author did her research. She cites matchmaking articles from old editions of The New York Times in her acknowledgements.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“The heart is big enough to hold both grief and love.”

I read Loigman’s debut novel, The Two-Family House, followed by The Wartime Sisters, and I loved them both, so when Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press invited me to read and review The Matchmaker’s Gift, I leapt. Once again, Loigman has me at hello. This outstanding historical novel is for sale now, and you should get it and read it.

The story is told from the point of view of two protagonists, a woman and her grandmother; they were close, but Sara the grandmother has died, so her story is told in the past, beginning in 1910, when she arrives in the U.S. as a child, along with her family. Abby is her granddaughter; her story begins in 1994. Their stories are told alternately, but both are in the third person omniscient and told in a linear time frame, so I am free to lean back, relax, and get lost in their stories, without any confusion or doubling back to check things.

Sara was a matchmaker, although she initially had to be very careful, because Jewish tradition dictated that matchmakers be married men, and she was still just a girl. But she was gifted with visions of a sort, and could tell who belonged together. And so she was forced to create matches “in secret, pairing people together like a rogue puppeteer.” She never missed. And upon her passing, she leaves a cryptic message indicating that upon her death, Abby will inherit her special talent.

Abby is nonplussed by this, and even as she grieves her beloved grandmother’s death, she is confused as to what she should do. She’s a divorce lawyer, for heaven’s sake! Is she to toss her education and become a modern day yenta? She hasn’t even found a man for herself yet, let alone for others.

It’s always a joy to find a story that diverges from the well-worn path, and novels involving Jewish matchmakers—or any others, for that matter—are thin on the ground. But that is only a small part of this novel’s appeal. I love Sara and Abby; I almost feel they are my friends. I feel their sorrows and admire their courage and integrity. When either of them meets with unfair opposition, I want to smack their detractor with my cane.

But there’s something extra that’s infused into Loigman’s stories, an intangible but unmissable warmth. Nobody can teach anyone this. I can count on one hand the number of authors that can write heartwarming stories that don’t follow formulas or insult the reader’s intelligence. Loigman is one, and this makes her golden.

When I was halfway finished reading this glorious novel, I saw that an audio galley was available. I was a bit cautious, because I had already developed a firm sense of how these women sounded in my head, and I was afraid I might not like the narrators’ interpretations, but my concern was unfounded. I had a road trip ahead of me, and I listened to the next forty percent as I drove, and there wasn’t a single moment that I didn’t love. Narrators Eva Kaminsky and Gabra Zackman do a lovely job, and I have never had such a seamless transition from the digital galley, to the audio, and back again.

Highly recommended, and bound to be one of the year’s best loved books.

A wonderful story about a grandmother and granddaughter who share an insight. Told in split time limes at both the beginning and at the end of the 20th century, it’s all about matchmaking.
I’ve read many books about Jewish culture and was delighted to dive into the matchmaking world.
Abby and Sara were mesmerizing characters. I loved the early 20th century time frame the best. Abby’s comment about match.com made me chortle.
We all want to find that special someone and reading this book was truly a gift.

This is a beautiful story about love, struggles and family. There are two narrators in this book. Sara, who has emigrated to the US with her family after WWII and her granddaughter Addy, a successful divorce attorney. We begin with Sara at age 10. She finds a husband for her sister on the ship. Everyone is amazed, but they don’t know about her talent for finding true love matches is an unusual way. Fearing trouble, her family hides her talent. It happens several times during the next few years, all hidden and no one knows that she is making matches. It is unheard of during that time for a young unmarried woman to be doing this. The local male matchmakers are very suspicious of her, but they cannot prove anything. Fast forward to Addy’s story. She is mourning the death of her grandmother. She doesn’t believe in marriage and was attracted to her career because of the way her father treated her mother when they divorced. She has good instincts for people and can’t resist helping them. This does not go over well with her boss. Will Addy follow her instincts or keep on the path her boss has set for her? A delightful read!

Also reviewed at B&N under 1IrishEyes430 and Kobo under IrishEyes430

What a lovely surprise this book was!! Immediately, I was immersed in this story and enjoyed the entire ride. You know the feeling you get when you start a book and think, “Oh, I’m going to love this??” It’s exactly what happened to me! This is told in dual timelines, which made me nervous. Fortunately, this one had me invested in both timelines, and I enjoyed them both! I have to admit, I did love Sara’s timeline a little bit more. Jewish match-making? Yes, let’s get into it!! I was so intrigued by it all when I was watching Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (great show)!

Speaking of Sara, she was such an amazing character. Sara’s timeline is in the past- 1910. She’s Abby’s grandmother and we get to learn about her path from a child. She’s got a gift to recognize soulmates and starts matchmaking. Her family is threatened by those that make matches for a living. She starts to do so in secret for years. We get to learn about those matches and her own life. It was such a beautiful story and I was quickly obsessed with Sara and her quick wit.

Many things in Sara’s past were heartbreaking. I was crying for a character I didn’t even know well. The writing in this book is just beautiful and captivating. It was really hard to put down. You keep turning the pages because you need to know what happens. You are rooting for Sara so hard from beginning to end.

Abby is the current timeline in 1994. She’s struggling after her grandmother has just passed away. We get to learn more about their bond with flashbacks of Abby’s past. She’s also had a tough life but she’s made a great life for herself, or so she thought. She starts to learn more about her grandmother’s past and starts to unravel her own life. Abby starts to realize that maybe the great life she’s living isn’t so great after all. She’s lonely and her boss is terrible. I loved her journey from the beginning to the end.

I loved seeing the flashbacks of Abby and Sara. They had such a beautiful relationship that will warm your heart. A grandmother dropping her life in Florida to come to be with her daughter and granddaughters, she’s a gem. I had a really close relationship with my grandpa, who also lived in Florida. It brought back a lot of sweet memories.

I did think some things tie up a little too pretty. It’s okay though because this is fiction and it’s what makes such an emotional story feel so good. There are heartbreaking and intense moments but this story left me with such a smile on my face. It was magical and light heartened in the end.

Overall, I loved this book! I highly recommend this book if you are looking for an immersive story that won’t let you go. I am still thinking about it today! I had such a hard time writing this review because I don’t know if I can correctly express myself. I’m saying this- read this book!! It’s beautiful, full of love and light!

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an e-arc to review.

“There’s a lid for every pot.”

Jewish Historical fiction isn’t my go to when I read for fun. Far too many are holocaust based and with my family’s history it’s too painful. However when this book was available on NetGalley with Jewish representation and a spark of the divine or magic I was drawn in.

I LOVED this book. The people felt so real to me. I enjoyed the dual timelines showing me religious old world Jewish immigrants and present day Reform Judaism. The book does a great job breaking down the whys of certain jewish practices, I hadn’t known the why for a couple, it was just a comforting learned behavior. The characters were warm and given depth by allowing us to see their insecurities. I have so many notes saying oh, my Jewish camp friends will like this, wow this reminds me of the high holidays or my traditions growing up. Thank you to Lynda for giving me the comfort of a Jewish book that sparks joy. This book is out now so you could wrap yourself in its comfort by Rosh Hashanah. Thank you to St. Martins Press & NetGalley for the gifted copies. My review is an honest account of how I feel about the book.

The Matchmaker’s Gift was such a feel good read. Historical fiction with some magic. Don’t get me wrong, it had some tough themes (divorce, DV, misogyny), but the relationship between Abby and her grandma Sara is so special, and I really enjoyed the way the author shaped the dual narratives and brought them together. She clearly did a ton of research on matchmaking in the Jewish community of NYC in the early 1900s. She really creates a great sense of time and place and the challenges unique to that period. And my only nit to pick with this book is I don’t think the same care was paid with the 1994/Abby narrative, because a few errors made jumped out: Evelyn’s age is wrong, born in 1933 but is somehow 63 in 1994; Abby uses a MetroCard instead of a token on the subway in 1994, but MetroCards only started being introduced in 1994 and weren’t a system wide thing until 1997. I read an eARC so perhaps these were fixed in the final edit. Ultimately it didn’t detract from the overall experience of the book.

You are going to love this book. And believe in soulmates. It bounces back and forth between grandmother, Sara, and granddaughter, Abby. Both are matchmakers which is an inherited gift. Abby doesn't realize she has the gift until she is older, but once she does, the fun begins. Since Abby's timeline is set in the 90's, it's a refreshing change from our over-tech world. I hope you will enjoy this book as much as I did. I received an ARC from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, which this is.

This one has a bit of everything I enjoy in a book. It is historical fiction meshed with magical realism, has dual timelines, and has strong female characters all beautifully interwoven and told flawlessly. It's a generational story filled with Jewish matchmaking, the quest for true love, and familial bond with characters that you'll grow attached to by the last page.

My only gripe with it is I didn't connect with the later timeline as quickly as I would have liked, but it thankfully got me eventually. Oh and those shadchanmin's can go kick rocks.

4.5/5⭐️

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. ARC provided by St Martin's Press.

1910: Sara Glikman found out she was a matchmaker when she was ten years old and found a match for her older sister. She soon learns that in New York City, the matchmakers are all older men, and they don’t want any competition from a young girl. In fact, they forbid her to practice matchmaking, so for years, Sara practiced in secret, matching couples and making love matches.

1994: Sara’s granddaughter, Abby, is a successful divorce attorney in New York City, and when her beloved grandmother dies, Abby inherits boxes of journals documenting all of Sara’s matchmaking. Abby finds more questions than answers in the boxes and now she must decide if she’s fated for more than helping others dissolve love matches.

This was truly a lovely story that connected two women, a grandmother and granddaughter. It is not only a relationship that is loving and sweet, but these two ladies share a special gift, that of being matchmakers. This is one of those dual timeline books where I enjoyed both timelines equally. I was fascinated with Sara, and how she used her matchmaking gift, but I was equally fascinated with Abby as she struggles to figure out what she really wants to do in life. I especially enjoyed learning about the Jewish matchmaking traditions in the early 20th century. I also learned a lot about Jewish customs, culture, and immigrant experience in New York City. The culture just seemed so real and gave me a glimpse into a world I have never been invited into before. At the end I just wanted more of this author, more books, more pages, and more of the characters in this book!
This was such an enjoyable story and I would recommend it to anyone.

The Matchmaker's Gift is a cup of hot chocolate by a crackling fire under a throw blanket kind of cozy. It may seem cheesy, but this book will melt the coldest of hearts and make you happy.

Sara is the kind of grandmother we all want. She's loving and attentive, wants to share her past with you, and when all else fails, she'll bake you some yummy treats! Amy is a bit of a hard nut to crack because she hated how her mother was treated when her father filed for divorce. But she knows what she wants and works hard to get it.

This is a dual timeline story, switching between Sara's narrative starting in 1910 and Abby's in 1994. But it is easy to know whose narrative you are getting as each chapter is labeled with a year (or year range in a few instances) and the narrator's name. I say narrator, but the story is told in the third person.

I will admit one thing here-I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this book when I received my copy from NetGalley. Why? Because the cover gives off such fantastical vibes. And I have been in a weird place with my reading lately. But I am glad that I went for it and read this book. Why? Because it is a beautiful reminder of life and love!

Lynda Cohen Lodgman has created a wonderful story about the role of the Jewish matchmaker, a shadtanch, in two different time periods in New York. Sara and her family has recently arrived by boat from Europe. Her grandparents, parents, a sister and three brothers, share a one bedroom apartment in a tenement area of New York. One of my favorite parts of the book is the author’s descriptions of everyday life in her neighborhood. Sara has her first matchmaking experience happens as a ten-year-old, and the male matchmakers DO NOT like it. The second time period takes place in the 1990’s as Sara’s granddaughter Abby is a young lawyer who is practicing in a firm that specializes in divorces. She is also mourning the recent death of Sara. I appreciate the amount of research that Loigman did and the list of books and newspaper articles that she shared in the author notes. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

The matchmakers gift
📚𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀📚
5/5 🌟

This novel have my undivided attention from page one - it brings together two themes I am endlessly curious about: the Jewish immigrant experience and matchmaking (anyone else obsessed with 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓???)

A dual timeline follows gifted matchmaker Sara from her immigration to New York City at age 10 and throughout her life, and her granddaughter, Abby, a family law attorney in1994. The two had a close and loving relationship, but Abby only learns about Sara’s particular “gift” - and the troubles and triumphs it brought - after Sara’s death.

Likeable, well-developed characters inhabit this novel of two women who find their purpose in helping others find their 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒕, using their gift of being able to see “soulmate connections.”
I was quickly immersed in the finely-weaved storyline without any plot holes, the all-around sweet nature of the story, and the peek into New York City in the early 20th century.

There aren’t a lot of books out there that are purely happy, but this one manages it, complete with a couple of nice twists and truly interesting historical events folded in. The charming cover is sprinkled with symbols that adorably make sense after reading - it was fun to go back and recognize what all of them represent!

I hope you’ll add this wonderful book to your list.

I adored @lyndacohenloigman ‘s 2016 novel 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒘𝒐-𝑭𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆, so was thrilled and grateful to obtain an advance reader’s copy from @netgalley and @stmartinspress.

#biblliophile #bookreviews #bookstagrammer #thematchmakersgift#lyndacohenloigman
#netgalley#stmartinspress#whatshouldireadnext #greatread#historicalfiction#jewishimmigration

Abby’s grandmother, Sara would regale her with stories of her matchmaking days of her youth. Abby was quite the skeptic and didn’t quite believe her grandmother’s tales. After Sara dies and Abby inherits her journals, including details off her matches and wedding announcements cut from local papers, she starts to believe and sets out to make some ghost matches of her own.

The Matchmaker’s Gift is a magical, uplifting and inspiring historical fiction novel told in dual timelines, starting in the 1910’s and 1994. It wasn’t completely what I expected from the title, but it hooked me after just a few chapters. I highly recommend this heartwarming, happy book. It’s a must-read in my opinion!

The Matchmaker's Gift
by: Lynda Cohen Loigman
St. Martin's Press
release date: 9/20/22

Love is abundant in New York in The Matchmaker's Gift, in both the past and present. If the process of meeting and matching with one's soulmate was helped along by Sara in the early 1900's and then her granddaughter Abby in the nineties, I think that's magically romantic. The power of family ties and Abby's inheritance of her grandmother's journals blended in Loigman's lovely story of two generations of matchmaking.

Layered with aspects of Jewish culture, thoughts about what really matters in our life calling, and the beauty of finding true love, this book is so gratifying. For anyone who believes in the power of love and family tradition, I recommend letting this gorgeous book warmly sweep you away.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the advance reader's copy and opportunity to provide my unbiased review.
#TheMatchmakersGift #NetGalley #StMartinsPress #LyndaChoenLoigman