This book was, plain and simple, a gift.

It was a wonderful story of resilience, second chances at love, mistakes, and finding peace with those mistakes.

Anytime I read a book where the main character is much older than I am, I always worry I won't be able to connect or resonate with the character and their struggles and goals, since I haven't reached where they are in life yet. With this book, however, all I could think of was how important it was to never give up and to always remember that as long as you're alive, it's never too late. To make new friends, find new love, to be happy. It's never too late. Live your life. And you can start over again at any time.

This book was beautiful and heart wrenching and touching and hopeful and I love every character.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this title!

I LOVED this book. I have been a Loigman fan since I read the Two-Family House, and this book was NO exception. Augusta Stern's story is told in alternating timelines, going back and forth between the 1920s and 1980s. I made some predictions about how things may fit together but Loigman remains at the top of my list of great storytellers.

Oh how I loved this book. I was literally on a vacation in Spain and still made time to finish this in 3 days. The dual story line kept me intrigued; though by the end I loved both timelines so much it hurt to switch between.

Augusta Stern's story is told in alternating timelines--the 1920s in Brooklyn and 1987 in Florida. Her mother has died, and teenager Augusta is working part-time in her father's pharmacy, looking forward to becoming a pharmacist herself. Little by little, as she furthers her education, her father allows her to work on more of the true pharmaceutical duties. But now that her great-aunt has come to live with them, she also finds herself intrigued by Esther's abilities to help customers find cures for their ailments when traditional medicine is not working, Esther creates compounds and potions in a special mortar with mysterious engraved characters, not to mention her homemade chicken soup with its own special powers. Along the way, Augusta falls in love with the store's delivery boy, Irving, but their romance is never fulfilled, and Irving moves away.

Augusta ultimately takes over her father's pharmacy, then works at a hospital until almost age 80, when she reluctantly retires and moves to a senior community in Florida. Unexpectedly reunited with Irving, she is surprised to discover he has changed quite a bit in the intervening years. Can Augusta and Irving pick up where they left off many decades ago, and does either really want to do so?

I particularly enjoyed the chapters set in the early time period, especially the juxtaposition between traditional and nontraditional medicine. Augusta, Irving, and Esther are memorable, if not particularly engaging, characters. I didn't find the relationship between Augusta and Irving especially convincing in the later chapters, but it is an interesting story. My favorite Loigman novel is The Matchmaker's Gift, one of my favorite reads of 2022.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

This was a lovely trip back and forth through time. The characterizations were done well, the story timed beautifully. I really enjoyed this book and feel comfortable recommending it to anyone, but especially to my friends "of a certain age".

St. Martin's Press eARC
I love this author's books, so I was so excited to get to read this one early. The first thing that drew me in was having a main character in her late seventies. I love books with older protagonists. I also liked the formatting here. Each chapter alternates between the present 1987 and back to the 1920s of Augusta's childhood. I think this added some mystery and drama into the story because it hooked me in and I had to keep reading to see how all of the different plot elements would tie together. In the past timeline, I liked how the author chose to have such a deeply layered character in Augusta's aunt and her ways. This also juxtaposed so nicely with the relationship she had with her pharmacist father. I liked the drama in the present timeline because of running into childhood friends and seeing how different things went than was expected. Loigman does such a great job at creating richly detailed characters with interesting plots that really get the reader invested in their day to day lives. I can't wait to see what she does next.

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman is such a lovely book. I loved her last book The Matchmaker's Gift and I might even like this one more. Augusta Stern has recently, and not very willingly, has retired to Florida. There she runs into the love of her life, who was her missed opportunity. I really appreciated older characters who are smart, funny, have great personalities, and romantic lives. The bits of magical realism also always works beautifully in Loigman's r books. I've already recommended this book to several people and will keep doing so..

What a great story told in dual timelines and dual settings: the 1920’s in Brooklyn and 1987 in Southern Florida. Augusta Stern was a Jewish girl in Brooklyn who lost her mother at the age of 14. Her father was a pharmacist and she worked in his store growing up. She always knew she wanted to become a pharmacist like him. We meet her Aunt Esther who believes in alternative treatments using various herbs. This also intrigues Augusta. We also meet Irving, the love of her life. He makes appearances in Brooklyn and in the retirement community in Florida, The stage is set for the past and present to come together and for traditional medicine and alternative medicine to intertwine.
The chapters flow smoothly as they alternate between the 1920’s and 1987. The magic of herbal healing (and chicken soup) versus traditional pharmaceuticals leads the reader to question what really heals us.
Finally, we find out what happened to the love between Augusta and Irving and why she remained single as she is about to celebrate her 80th birthday.
Having lived in a retirement community in Florida in the same area as the one in the book, I enjoyed the setting and the interactions of the characters, It all felt very familiar.
The book is historical. It also has romance, magic, and women in non traditional roles. Lynda Cohen Loigman never disappoints and I have read all of her books. Like the others, this one grabbed me from the beginning and held me captive.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this fabulous ARC.

"You can't give up something that brings you joy just because it is difficult."
What a wonderful, magical, touching story that is told via dual timelines about second chances no matter how old one is.
I loved Augusta Stern and I especially adored her mysterious Aunt Esther who taught about life and living during the 1920's when things were not easy.
The life lessons are never forgotten even as Augusta herself ages and finds herself in a senior retirement community.
Will Augusta find her niche here? Can she be happy?

The characters are people I would love to know and now I do!
I highly recommend that everyone should get to meet these folks.

Thank you to @Netgalley and to @St, Martin's Press for this ARC and allowing me to read and provide my own review.

Augusta Stern lost her mother to diabetes a year before insulin was used to treat it. She was 14. Her great aunt Esther, an apothecary, moved in to help. Augusta grew up in her father's pharmacy and grew to see uses in both types of medicine. Irvine Rivkin is the delivery boy for the pharmacy. This is their story. A great great!

What a great story of second chances, forgiveness and old-wives herbal medicine. This story takes us through six decades of living with lost love and misunderstanding. It also is a history of pharmaceuticals compared to magical healing passed down from the old country. I loved this novel.

I absolutely loved the previous three novels by Ms. Cohen Loigman however that unfortunately is not the case for this particular book. I truly appreciate the opportunity to read the ARC and I wish I had a better review. The story is slow moving and the past/present switch is not working. The entire book could have been summed up in the first 3-4 chapters and then allowed the story to progress from there. The characters are flat with no substance. I did like the humor of "senior" Irving, but "senior" Augusta was just angry the entire story. Without spoilers I'll just say sometimes in life you have to decide to move on from your past and should a second chance present either take it or again let go.

I don't know what happened with this book...again I gave each of the prior books 5 stars. Looking forward to the next 5 star read by Ms. Cohen Loigman. Not giving up.

I really liked seeing Augusta in both timelines. I liked the look back on her past that helps you learn more about who she is and where she comes from. I liked how she learned different things from her Aunt. We get to see her relationship with Irving blossom.
This story is one that gives you hope.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

When we meet Augusta Stern she forced into retiring from her position as a hospital pharmacist and is moving into a senior-living community in Florida. Much to her surprise, though, Augusta runs into Irving Rivkin, someone from her past, and it's immediately clear that things did not end on a good note. Interspersed with these chapters, we get a glimpse of Augusta as a young girl growing up in New York City in the 1920s, working in her father's pharmacy, coping with the loss of her mother, and learning strange new ways to help people through the non-traditional remedies her great aunt secretly prepares in the kitchen. Despite her close relationship with Irving, it's clear that Augusta is not a typical girl and wants to pursue a degree to become a pharmacist like her father, though she is equally drawn to her aunt's mysterious potions. As the novel unfolds in this dual timeline we see what became of Augusta in the intervening years, why she endured heartbreak at such an early age, and how she finds peace in her later years as well. This is a touching story about love, and hope and second chances.

4.5 - This was a delightful read! The characters were likable, and the story was heartwarming. This is a novel about family and friends, love and loss, and the power of the assumptions we make about others and our relationships. It’s a tale of sacrifice, forgiveness, the power of women who support each other, the history of how women were (and still are) overlooked in the medical field both as patients and as practitioners, how stars can align or misalign, the power of new beginnings, and a little magic.

I highly recommend this novel! Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Lynda Cohen Louganis for this free ARC digital copy.

First let me say I love the cover design. Augusta Stern, retired finally at the age of 80, moves to a retirement community in Florida. She is stunned to discover the love of her life, Irving Rifkin also lives there. The last time she saw him was 62 years ago when instead of marrying her he fled to Chicago marrying another woman. Living above their pharmacy as a teenager in the 1920’s, August would like nothing better than to follow in her dads footsteps and become a pharmacist. When her mother dies her great aunt Esther moves in and teaches her another way of dispensing medicine using herbs and even a little magic. The story goes back and forth from past to present until we have a fuller picture of Augusta and Irving’s life. The past is written beautifully and I feel like I’m living in New York as it was back then. I had a little trouble with the present chapters as the adults more often than not acted more juvenile than when they were actually younger. All in all a good solid read.

When Irving makes reservations at the nicest restaurant in town to celebrate Augusta’s high school graduation she is sure he is going to propose. But he doesn’t. Instead he marries another and leaves town soon after. Devastated, Augusta vows to never fall in love again and instead devotes her life to her work. Forced to retire as she nears eighty years of age, Augusta moves to a retirement village in Florida. And one of the first people she meets there is Irving Ripken. The love she felt for Irving as a teen has grown into hate and she’s determined to keep her distance and not get hurt again. But fate intervenes and with a little help from her niece, Jackie, and Aunt Esther’s special elixir Augusta discovers second chances are possible and love is just as sweet the second time around. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for giving me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. 4.5 stars rounded to 5.

What a wonderful story of love, loss and miscommunication. I enjoyed that this was a romance between older characters as the story flips between the 1920s and 1980s. The characters were well written and the idea of how tough it has always been for women to choose between career and love resonated with me. I also enjoyed the juxtaposition of modern medicine and a holistic natural approach. I really enjoyed this book and appreciate the opportunity to have read it. I will for sure suggest this one!

This is a fast and satisfying novel. The characters are well drawn and pleasant to be with. Most of all, I appreciated the way Augusta's story is revealed in chapters alternating between her young life and her older life, showing why she has certain perceptions and why she made the decisions that she made. As I read it, I kept thinking of people I wanted to give it to, both at the library and in my friend group!

This is a magical book! It isn't about magic per se, but it IS about an 80 year old never-married, feisty, independent woman named Augusta. She became a pharmacist like her father and she also learned natural remedies from her Aunt Esther. I call the story magical because there's a love story, and a mystery, and lots of emotion... all equally relevant. For me, this is a magical combination.

I love how the author alternated the story between Augusta as a young woman and August at 80. This is a novel with a story beautifully told. I appreciated hearing some of the story from Irving's point of view.

Also important to me was the thread of how healing doesn't always happen via Western medicine, and how medicine from Nature's herbs and ingredients can be equally (and sometimes more) powerful.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher, for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.