Lolly never wondered "what if" until the day her aunt Gert gives her the three magic lemon drops- she was too busy keeping the family diner running and looking after her sister Daphne and her father. Now. though, she's got the chance to see what her life would have been like if she'd moved to the UK and opened her own restaurant, as she imagined as a 12 year old. Moving countries doesn't make restaurant life any easier and what about her friends? Then she takes the leap to spend one more day with her mother who was killed crossing the street years before. And finally, love- what would her life have been like if she'd married Rory, who she's loved since she was a teen. This moves back and forth and sort of sideways in time to tell Lolly's story. What happens if you change the scenario- what changes for your family? Lolly's lucky to have a good friend who made a big change in her own life and is willing to hear Lolly's story with an open mind (and heart). No spoilers from me about how this ends but it wasn't entirely what I expected. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read with fine storytelling.

If you had a choice to go back in time to change your life, would you? The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie explores the question of, "what if I had done A instead of B?" I loved this story and if you like magical realism don't miss this book. It is heartwarming with great characters, a great setting, and delivers in every way.

While the ending of The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie was fairly predictable, I didn't even care because I enjoyed the ride so much along the way. Maybe I'm a sucker for a sassy "geriatric" character or I love a character who actually does something to change their life, but The Magic of Lemon Drop pie was an enjoyable read that I would happily recommend to a friend.

The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden is a wonderful read filled with bits of wisdom, magical realism, and a touch of self-help in regards to looking at this world filled with disappointment in a different light that may help one to enjoy it better.

The story shifts between two different timelines; present day and what might have happened if Lolly had taken a different path. To be able to see the what ifs and then choose the one you like best does sound like a wonderful thing to be able to do when life has gotten to such a point that you are stuck and don’t know what to do.

But as Lolly and the reader find out, maybe the path you're on is the right one.

While reading I did shed some tears for the loss of family members and by the end of the book I realized while my life is not exactly where I want it to be, I have a lot to be thankful for and I can find ways to follow my bliss.

The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie is a heartwarming story of lost love and what could have been.

If given the possibility to go back in time and see how different your life would have been had you chosen a different path, would you do it? This is the amazing opportunity Lolly has been given. Traveling back and forth between now and what could have been, Lolly is able to confront three regrets from her life. Seeing what could have been and what she would have given up, Lolly sees that changing her past choices would not have made her any happier.

I enjoyed this book very much and I am so proud of myself for paying attention to the clues and figuring out the ending. I loved the opportunity to see what could have happened. I felt just as disappointed as Lolly when faced with the alternate life choices and seeing what she had to give up making these choices.

Letting go of what is broken, in order to move forward, is difficult. If only we had some magic lemon drops to help us move forward. Aunt Gert offers us some very wise advice “always look for the light in your life, seek it out no matter what.... You must be honest. Pay attention. Seek joy.”

Thank you to Net Galley and Berkley Publishing Group for my eArc and to Uplit Reads and Rachel Linden for my finished copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A story about what ifs. Lolly receives a gift from her Great Aunt Gert that allows her to examine her life choices in alternate realities. I was not a fan of this twist.

Well written and descriptive with strong characters, the premise of this one I just couldn't get past. I would have preferred this not have the time travel? element. Which is the whole point of the book.

This book was such a joy to read. I loved it. Lolly feels trapped in her life working at her family owned diner, taking care of her father and sister and basically being the glue that holds it all together. As her thirty-third birthday approaches she feels like she needs to make some changes but where to start. A gift of three magic lemon drops from her great aunt may hold all the answers to Lolly's questions. What if she can go back and take a different path in life, change past regrets and live a life she had to sacrifice, with the man she thought of as her soulmate.

While the novel has two basic timelines, present day and then a past timeline that progresses towards the present day. We uncover Lolly's past, her deepest desires and choices that bring us to her current life. The lemon drops provide us an inside look of the what if's, what would have happened if Lolly got to make different choices and followed her own goals. I loved the characters, I thought Lolly was a perfectly drawn and complex protagonist. While there were many interwoven storylines it was done well, easy for the reader to follow and all came together brilliantly at the end.

And of course I'll be trying the Lemon Drop Pie recipe at the end... maybe find a little magic of my own?

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher, Berkeley Publishing Group for an opportunity to read and review honestly an advanced digital copy.

If you’re one of those readers who added your name to a list when I reviewed The Dead Romantics, you might want to watch for The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie. This is one that will make you examine your own life. Did you make the right decisions? Do you have regrets?

It’s been ten years since Lolly Blanchard’s mother died. In that time, she took over her mother’s role at the family diner, bakes the lemon meringue pies there, raised her younger sister, and gave up her dreams. It’s only when her sister, Daphne, brings her diary from years ago that Lolly remembers she had to list her life goals for a class when she was thirteen. In looking over that list, she knows she didn’t fulfill any of her dreams in the last twenty years. But, Lolly doesn’t have time for nostalgia or regrets. She has a diner to keep afloat, and it gets harder every year. She and her father struggle with that while Daphne finishes college. Lolly’s best friend, Eve, had a breakdown before living her dream of raising goats and making cheese. It’s Lolly’s great-aunt Gert who sees through Lolly’s facade of strength and determination.

At eighty-eight, Dr. Gertrude Lund is a retired profession of religion and mythology, a world traveler. She has one gift to offer Lolly, three lemon drops. But, Lolly has to be careful. Those lemon drops are special. They offer her the chance to experience her dreams, her regrets. Does she really want to know what her life would have been like if she’d gone a different direction? What if she had opened her dream restaurant in England? What if she could spend one more day with her mother? What if she hadn’t broken up with the boy she loved, Rory Shaw? For one day, Lolly can know what would have happened.

Gert has some advice for Lolly when she decides what she wants to do with those lemon drops. “Be honest. Pay attention. Seek joy.” Gert tells Lolly her heart will remind her to seek her bliss. What truly makes her happy?

The author’s short bio at the end of the book says she writes about “strong women facing big challenges, food, travel, and second chances at love”. Here’s a question for anyone who chooses to read The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie. If given the chance to find out what your life would look like if other things had happened, would you take it? The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie will make you wonder.

This book was exactly what I needed!! Second chances with a dash of magical realism really set this story apart from everything I have been reading. I adored Lolly and really connected with her character! The struggles she dealt with throughout the story were so relatable and I found her outlook on life to be much like my own lately. Definitely shed some tears reading this one, but the ending made me have all the warm fuzzies!! Definitely recommend this book and it might just be my favorite for the month!!

Four and a half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒
The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden is a heartwarming tale of one woman’s journey to discover what her present life would be like if she were able to change her past.

Lolly Blanchard is stuck in a rut. As the manager of her family’s restaurant and the primary pie maker, she’s content with her life, until she finds a list she wrote when she was a child with her life goals and she realizes she hadn’t done any of the items on the list. What if’s plague her. What if she had moved to England to open up her own restaurant? What if her mother hadn’t died ten years ago? And What if she hadn’t left the love of her life?

Her great aunt then gives her a gift of three lemon drops along with instructions to take one at night and wish for the life she wants and she will have one day in the life she’s always dreamed of. What will happen when Lolly sees the lives she could have had?

I enjoyed this book very much. I like the premise of Lolly being able to have a peek at different lives. Lolly is a wonderful character, she is driven to help her family at all costs, and I like her dedication to her family and the business. She has a wonderful relationship with her little sister, who is much younger. While her dedication to her family is admirable, the cost to her own well-being is high, and that’s what this book is about.

The focus of the book is on Lolly, her journey, and also the journey of her family. There is a romance in the book but it’s very secondary to the rest of the story. I thought the lemon drops were a good way to have Lolly reflect on her decisions, and how they affected her present, and her family. The magical realism was light enough, that I was able to believe in the lemon drops.

Also, there is a recipe for Lemon Drop Pie, so that’s a fun little bonus. I highly recommend The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie to anyone who enjoys women's fiction. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Some books touch your heart more than others. Lolly is a character that you want to root for and I am so thankful for the character of Aunt Gert who was her wise sensei who helped her on her journey to follow her bliss. This book is so powerful and emotional and just so good. I read along with the audio book that was narrated by Rachel Linden and it was beautifully done and kept me rooting for Lolly and Rory through the whole book.

I will be buying a copy of this book because it was so good I need to be able to reread it. Thank you to Netgalley, Berkeley and Rachel Linden for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my review.

With her 33rd birthday approaching, Lolly found an old journal which served as a reminder of all the dreams she didn’t achieve. Wallowing in her failure, her aunt offered her three magical lemon drops, three opportunities to live a day in a life where she had made different choices. Will these peeks at the lives-that-could-have-been help Lolly figure out her future?

As I read this book, I wish I had an aunt who gave me some magical candies because these sweets were game changers. When you are in a certain kind of funk, it’s easy to look at the past through a particular lens and imagine how much better things could have been. Lolly was living a life full of regrets, and these “trips” to those days in her alternate lives were eye opening for her. She returned to her current life with insight which ultimately helped her move forward. I am a sap for that sort of thing, and I thought Linden did a beautiful job with the execution.

Alternating through past, present, and the alternate timeline kept me chomping at the bit to get the full picture. I will admit to being furious when I learned the full truth about Lolly’s breakup. It was worse than I originally thought, and OH! My heart ached! But, you know what? Linden made up for my pain tenfold with the direction she took this tale.

I asked myself, how am I NOT supposed to fall in love with a story about leaving your regrets behind and following your bliss? Opposed to other readers, I really didn’t see that ending coming. It was phenomenal, in my opinion, and you all know I was in tears due to the abundance of joy I was feeling.

Overall: A touching and heartwarming story of love, loss, family, second chances, and finding what makes you happy. It was a wonderful and magical journey that I was happy to be a part of.

This book was as sweet as the title and cover suggests! After the sudden and unexpected passing of her mother, Lolly Blanchard quickly grows up and takes on the responsibilities of her mother in their family business, The Eatery and in her personal life. In doing so, Lolly abandons all that she imagined for herself and her future, including the love of her life, Rory Shaw. Years later, Lolly uncovers a childhood journey with a list of a few goals she had for her future I’ve, only to realize that she was a few weeks away from her 33rd birthday and had yet to accomplish any. Lolly goes to her eccentric Aunt Gert with her worries and is given a chance to visit different versions of her life through the help of magic lemon drops. Along the way, Lolly learns who she truly is, what her true desires are and how she can move forward in her life despite it turning out differently than once expected. During this book, I laughed a lot and cried a little too. I loved Lolly and am so happy she finally found her bliss!

I would gladly give Great Aunt Gert 5 stars all on her own. Unfortunately, this isn't her story and I found myself not really caring. At all. Maybe if it had been written like one of my old beloved Choose Your Own Adventure books so I could skip over the nonsense..... which was a lot for me.... besides Gert.

i really wanted to enjoy this book, but it did not work for me personally. i should have known better, but you live and learn. so thanks so much, netgalley for the chance to read this early!!

A delightful story of second chances. This book covered so many phases of life. Grief, loss, love, second chances, hope, and much more! It was a predictable read but still a good story!

I LOVED this book. I loved the "diner" storyline, the theme of country music, the descriptions of food, and the Seattle backdrop. I loved the characters, especially Aunt Gert! I loved how this book constantly kept me guessing as to what might happen next. If you love unique novels with "foodie" settings, you'll love this one! I'm going to read all of Rachel's other books now!

Thank you, Netgalley, for my arc.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for a gifted copy of The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden. All opinions are my own.

5 🌟
I absolutely loved this book. Lolly gave up her dreams to stay home, help in the family diner business, and help raise her younger sister. She loves her family and the diner but she often wonders "what if?". When her childhood notebook reappears with future goals listed inside Lolly doesn't feel she has met any of her goals. Her great aunt produces three lemons drops and tells Lolly she has the opportunity to see what her like would have been like if she chose a different path. Would you want to see a path not taken?

The story alternates between the past and the present. The past lets the reader see how Lolly got to where she is in the present. This is a book about family, friends, and faithfulness to a promise.

I have a Netgalley copy of this one and would love to have a physical copy. There were so many times when I wanted to highlight wise quotes that really make you think. I am looking forward to reading more from Rachel Linden.

Romance
Women's Fiction
Release Date: August 2, 2022

I read about 5% of this book and did not find it interesting nor did I enjoy the characters. I feel as if I have read a book very similar to this before and I could not bring myself to read something so similar again.

Thank you for the opportunity.

Thank you Berkley for the gifted copy.

OMG I absolutely LOVED this book!!! Besides the super cute cover that I'm obsessed with, the plot was right up my alley. It was a tad predictable towards the end, but so what. It actually didn't pan out exactly like I expected (just with the end result I expected and was hoping for). It reminded me of Freaky Friday, but I liked how Lolly got 3 of the magic candies to live 3 of her days, because who can only choose 1? I also liked how she used experiences from all three of the days to figure out what she wanted - and that the final candy got destroyed in the wash so she was forced to actually live her life using the lessons she learned, but in doing so, ended up with what she wanted.

Now I need a book about Eve and her goats!