What a magical heartwarming novel. I was transported to another time and loved getting to know Augusta in the 1920's and the 1980's. I fell in love with the writing. It hooks you right away and the ride is wonderful. I'm a big fan of the author and her ability to weave wonderful stories.

A character driven novel that has two timelines (1920's and 1987) about the life of 80 yr old Augusta Stern. I would say misunderstandings and mysteries are ribboned into the novel. I've seen it marketed as a magical realism book (which I love) but I wouldn't classify this as that. I would say it's more light embellished type of fantasy (aka medicine wise) but it's definitely more of a lit fiction book than any other.

Short synopsis is: a young woman who is hurt by her only love 60 yrs ago and given a second chance at 80. I would say you could even have some popular tropes describing this one: second chance romance, miscommunication and curmudgeon characters. But while I LOVED The Matchamker's Gift by the same author, this was just a like. Which there is nothing wrong with that; perhaps it is me, maybe I have been reading just too many character lit fiction books lately for arcs.

On a separate note, that audio narrator was amazing.

3.5 for the story
5/5 for that narrator in the audio version (I was lucky to be gifted both!)

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman was a wonderful story set partly during Prohibition and partly in the 1980s. I thoroughly enjoyed the character of Augusta! The story alternates between the 1920s, when Augusta was young and living in New York, and the 1980s, when she was in her eighties and retired in Florida. Augusta’s father owns a pharmacy, while Augusta’s aunt, who lives with the family, practices some alternative medical treatments that she learned while growing up in Russia. Augusta desires to follow in her father’s footsteps but is also curious about her aunt’s methods, which eventually leads her to make a decision that impacts her future. Once she’s retired as a pharmacist, she moves to Florida and finds familiar faces living at the same retirement home, leading her to confront her past and maybe finally find the love she’s been missing.
I enjoyed the setting of this book, in part because I haven’t read too many books set during Prohibition, so this was unique. I also liked reading about Aunt Esther and her remedies for different illnesses. The two timelines kept the story flowing, and I loved seeing Augusta in her younger and older years. And the love story just tied it all together. I highly recommend this book!

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Cindy Burnett's Thoughts From a Page Early Reads Program for the advanced copy of this book!

“A woman of science like her father, an old world healer like her aunt. She believed in medicine and in miracles. She believed in family and in love.”

In this atmospheric story of second chances, Loigman’s signature style is on full display. How she transports readers to another time and weaves in a hint of magic is exactly what I loved about her 2022 novel The Matchmaker’s Gift.

In the 1920s Augusta Stern grows up in her family’s Brooklyn, New York pharmacy guided by her father, a beloved member of the community. After her mother passes, a great aunt comes into the Sterns’ lives with very different and unconventional methods of healing.

We jump ahead to the late 1980s and Augusta has retired to a Florida condo complex where she crosses paths with Irving Rivkin, the pharmacy delivery boy from the old neighborhood. Decades of hurt and miscommunication suddenly come back to the surface leading all the characters to question the heartbreak and the magic in their own lives.

The settings of the New York pharmacy and the southern retirement community were delightful additions to a lovely story, certain to be a big hit with readers everywhere.

Many thanks to St Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and Net Galley for the early copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was super sweet and funny. Some of the storyline I didn’t see coming and it made for a surprisingly entertaining read. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

THE LOVE ELIXIR OF AUGUSTA STERN by Lynda Cohen Loigman is an easy 5⭐️ read for me on two levels.

First, when was the last time you read a romance novel where the love interests are septuagenarians and octogenarians? That alone should get your attention. How encouraging that the author portrays senior citizens as vibrant, thriving beings still capable of living life to its fullest. Bravo! Augusta Stern is a trailblazer; pursuing a science based career and running a business at a time when women were doing neither. She is determined, successful, and ahead of her time. Her story is the ultimate second chance romance with dual timelines in the 1920s and 1987. Augusta (Goldie) and Irving fell in love as teenagers and were destined to be together until life got in the way. Is love still possible when they reunite (many) decades later?

The second reason this book earned all the stars is because it brought me back to the Brooklyn of my youth. Though I am not Jewish, I was raised in a neighborhood populated by Italian and Jewish immigrants. I grew up surrounded by the traditions, celebrations, and culture of both these joyous groups and my childhood was richer as a result. I recall my mother taking me to the druggist at Rite Drugs on 65th Street for him to diagnose, treat, and minister to bug bites, strange rashes, and minor illnesses. That was the first stop before seeing a doctor. Medicine, in the easily recognizable blue and white paper bag, was often brought to our door by the teenage delivery boy who arrived on his bicycle. Ms. Cohen Loigman has perfectly captured a time when my neighborhood was the entire world and we relied on and trusted local shopkeepers like family. I love it when an author gets things right and she most certainly did. Her impeccable research shines through the entire book.

I loved this book. It spoke to my heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

“A kind word can fix a person’s spirit. A cruel one can break a person’s heart. Wicked words have caused wars, and honest words have made peace. Why shouldn’t they be able to heal?”

I love a good octogenarian story and this one with its deep backstory and heartfelt reunions was a true joy to read. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment from life’s heartbreaking experiences to the dramatic revelations and everything in between.

The dual timelines worked really well and as it flashed back from the late 1970s to 1922 what hit me so hard was that a diagnosis of Type I Diabetes was fatal before insulin. It made me, yet again, appreciate the advances in modern medicine.

I did a combo of digital and audio, both are excellent option so if you’re looking for a sweet second chance romance with a little magical realism thrown in, look no further!

Rating: 4/5⭐️
Pub day: October 8

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the arc and Macmillan Audio for the alc via Netgalley.

This was a heartwarming second chance romance story! I enjoyed the dual timeline, especially since the second one was in the 1980s rather than modern day. It was enjoyable to read about South Florida during that time, and I also appreciated Augusta's perspective as a female pharmacist, and the biases she had to overcome. The family relationships and touch of magical realism were other aspects that I liked.

Overall, I didn't love this story quite as much as Matchmaker's Gift, but it was still a worthwhile read that I will recommend!

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

This is a beautiful story about young love, balancing home and career as a woman, and second chances. Agustus grew up in the 1920's working in her father's pharmacy and knew right away that she wanted to be a pharmacist especially after her mother died and her Aunt Esther moved in. Her aunt was gifted in healing with food and herbs in ways her father's medicines couldn't. Irving worked as a delivery boy in the pharmacy and they became very close until one day he suddenly moved away and married into a known organized crime family leaving Agustus with a broken heart. She worked for years and years doing what she loved until she was forced to retire and her niece suggested she move to a retirement community in Florida. Low and behold who lives in this community but Irving AND her friend Nathaniel from the old days!

I loved, loved these characters and their story of love, regret, lack of communication (probably not uncommon in those days), family and the battle of career vs family for women. Highly recommend this one!

After being forced into retirement at almost 80, August finally gives in to moving to a retirement home. what she doesn’t expect, is to run into Irving Rivkin from her childhood on her first day there. In her teen years, she lived in Brooklyn with her father, sister, and great aunt, and helped her father run Stern pharmacy as she prepared to go to pharmacy college herself. Her aunt Esther had a different take on medicine, and while her father didn’t love it, Augusta began to learn her technique from both of them. Irving was the delivery boy, and their relationship blossomed quickly until he suddenly just left. Augusta was heartbroken and confused as to why Irving did what he did. Can he manage to mend the past hurt in their older age?

First of all, if you don’t know Lynda Loigman, you are missing out! She will be at @ThunderRoadBooks in Spring Lake with me on October 7th, and I highly recommend you join us! That said, there is always a small amount of fear when picking up a book by an author you love, especially if you have built a friendship with them! I am here to tell you that fear was unfounded! I ADORED this book! Lynda’s books always contain just a tiny amount of magical realism. I mean, I guess it’s not totally magical realism here, there are certainly people that believe in the power of holistic medicine, but it felt slightly magic-y to me! Augusta was one of the most interesting, insightful, and sometimes quirky characters I have ever read, and I loved her relationship with Irving during her childhood, and the tense relationship of adulthood. I don’t want to give too much away but I think as readers we all know the feeling of reading the right book at the right time, and I definitely felt that way about this one. after losing my favorite person, I felt so hard for Augusta and the loss of her mother, and the way she described the way she felt just hit so close to home for me. If you haven’t picked this one up yet, I highly recommend it, and if you missed adding it to your @bookofthemonth box last month, great news-October starts soon and you can add it on this month!

Thank you @stmartinspress and @lloigman for my gifted copy of this book!

Such a beautifully written story about it's never too late to find love. It also reflects on how misconceptions and miscommunication can impact one's life's direction. I enjoyed the focus on seniors still being vital, the reflection back to when they were younger to tell the back story, and the growth of the characters that it's never too late to change. The recognition of what mattered then no longer matters as a life will lived puts that into perspective. Just an enjoyable love story with a sprinkle of magic tossed in. Many thanks to @netgalley #st.martinspress #lyndacohenlogmna #theloveelixirofaugustastern for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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.

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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.