A tender and heartwarming tale of how love overcomes decades of regret, resentment, and loss. The story is illustrated in a dual timeframe set sixty years apart. We meet our titled character - Augusta Stern - when she was a teen - in the early to mid 1920s. Then, when Augusta retires at age 79 (in 1987) and moves to Florida, we learn how her life unfolded and the critical events that impacted her decisions.

The plot lines are thought-provoking (gender and age discrimination, poverty, coping with the loss of a parent at an early age) and relevant. If you are a fan of Lynda Cohen Loigman’s earlier works (The Two-Family House, The Wartime Sisters, and The Matchmaker's Gift), this newest offering will not disappoint! If you are new to Loigman’s writings, get ready to enjoy a special escape with a story that is as comforting as a cup of homemade chicken noodle soup on a cold Winter day. She beautifully writes about close family relationships and cherished cultural traditions.

This was a five star read for me and will be at the top of my recommendation list. Thank you St. Martin's Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This warm hug of a book is like a steaming bowl of chicken soup for your cold dead heart.

There’s nothing I love so much as a second-chance romance (unless it’s a second-chance-romance with a dash of magical realism), and this one delivers in spades. The book alternates between two timelines, Augusta’s childhood in the 1920s, and the 1980s, as Augusta is about to turn 80. When Augusta is forced to retire from her career as a pharmacist, she follows her niece’s advice and makes the move from Brooklyn to a South Florida retirement community, as one does. To her unpleasant surprise, she finds Irvin Rifkin living at Rallentando Springs. Irving - her first love. Irving - the boy who broke her heart. Irving - the boy she hoped never to see again. But here he is.

As a girl, Augusta plans to follow in the footsteps of her father, the trusted owner of the local pharmacy and the neighborhood expert on every ailment. But when Augusta’s mother dies and Great Aunt Esther moves in, August is drawn to Esther’s unconventional healing remedies ranging from homemade chicken soup to a variety of powders and potions. Caught between her father and aunt and the worlds of science and magic, Augusta attempts one of her aunt’s strongest elixirs with disastrous consequences and turns her back on the world of enchantment. But not forever.

This is a book about the magic of second chances and the fact that it’s never too late to find love. When past misunderstandings are cleared up and egos can be put aside, it is truly a thing of beauty. I loved Augusta Stern and I know you will too. This book was one of my favorites of the year and a book that will stay with me for a long time to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the Advanced Reader Copy. All opinions are my own.

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern is a historical fiction novel with some romance elements. Augusta is the main character, though we do get some POV chapters that focus on her Aunt Esther and Irvin (the beau). I liked this story, it had a little bit of everything - romance, mystery, and a little bit of 1920s mobsters. I think the ending was a little rushed for me and some of the dialogue kind of suffered for it.

Each chapter is told between the present day (late 1980s) and the past (the 1920s). In the past, the focus is on Augusta in her formative teenage years and how after her mother passed away, her Aunt Esther comes to live with her family. It starts off with Augusta being pretty singularly focused on following in her father's footsteps and becoming a pharmacist. But her Aunt Esther is also a pharmacist of a sort, only she focuses on herbs instead of pills. As Augusta learns more, the story also builds what life was like in the 1920s and Augusta's love story with Irvin. The present-day storyline is more focused on Augusta trying to determine her feelings 60 years later and coping with the sudden loss of her life's work.

I thought this was a lovely slice of life novel. I loved the oral history of passing herbal remedies through Augusta's family. It was heartbreaking, but very real that both Aunt Esther and Augusta faced prejudice for being women and treating medical ailments. Aunt Esther, at one point, says in her home village there was a man who did the same thing she did, only he was an apothecary, and she was a witch. That sentiment is repeated in several subtle ways throughout the book. I loved that Augusta accomplishes what she wants in life, and it never truly seems like a sacrifice that she worked for a living.

This is a lovely book, and I can't recommend it enough.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️From St. Martin's Press: On the cusp of turning eighty, newly retired pharmacist Augusta Stern is adrift. When she relocates to Rallentando Springs—an active senior community in southern Florida—she unexpectedly crosses paths with Irving Rivkin, the delivery boy from her father’s old pharmacy—and the man who broke her heart sixty years earlier.

As a teenager growing up in 1920’s Brooklyn, Augusta’s role model was her father, Solomon Stern. When Augusta’s mother dies and Great Aunt Esther moves in, Augusta can’t help but be drawn to Esther’s curious methods. As a healer herself, Esther offers Solomon’s customers her own advice—unconventional remedies ranging from homemade chicken soup to a mysterious array of powders and potions.

As Augusta prepares for pharmacy college, she is torn between loyalty to her father and fascination with her great aunt, all while navigating a budding but complicated relationship with Irving. Desperate for clarity, she impulsively uses Esther’s most potent elixir with disastrous consequences. Disillusioned and alone, Augusta vows to reject Esther’s enchantments forever.

Sixty years later, confronted with Irving, Augusta is still haunted by the mistakes of her past. What happened all those years ago and how did her plan go so spectacularly wrong? Did Irving ever truly love her or was he simply playing a part? And can Augusta reclaim the magic of her youth before it’s too late?
**********************
My review: I loved the two timelines in the book. 1920's Augusta was curious, determined and family oriented. 1980's Augusta was sassy, a little insecure and still determined.
I was anxious to see how the storylines would come together and how Aunt Esther's healing remedies ended up affecting Augusta and Irving. The look into 1920's Jewish family life was amazing...there was a little bit of everything in Augusta's neighborhood. And 60 years later the microcosm of the retirement village also has a bit of everything, and everyone. How does looking back at the past affect decisions you make in the present? And what if past decisions were manipulated? Augusta has a lot on her plate in both time periods and they both kept me interested and reading. Highly recommend!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for my review.

BRILLIANT!!! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my goodness, I never imagined I'd love this book as much as I do!!! It's a delightful, heartwarming and beautifully written historical fiction with a perfect touch of magical realism and romance. Featuring both a tender first love and a beautiful second chance, it reminds us that it's never too late for new beginnings. The Love Exilir of Augusta Stern is a poignant tale of family, loss, and sacrifice, woven with themes of mistakes, and the power of forgiveness-yet, above all, it is a story about love.

The narrative unfolds between dual timelines, following Augusta Stern as a teenager growing up in 1920s Brooklyn, New York, and sixty years later as she settles into a retirement community in Rallentando Springs, Florida, in the 1980s. I often struggle with dual timelines, as I tend to be more interested in one over the other. However, that wasn't the case with this story. I could not put it down-I was completely captivated with Augusta and had to know how the two timelines would ultimately come together. As soon as I finished the last page, I found myself already missing Augusta.

This was my first book by Lynda Cohen Loigman, and I'm already a huge fan. I can't wait to dive into her previous works. Do yourself a favor and pick up this book-it's an absolute must-read!! I will defintely be purchasing the physical copy to add to my personal collection. I wholeheartedly recommend it and it deserves infinite stars! It's easily one of the best historical fiction novels I have ever read!!💫💫💫💫💫💜💜💜💜💜

4/5 ⭐️
This book was so cute and cozy and brought me so much joy. This was my second book by this author, and I love her style of dual narrations with the past and present where the past feels like a close look at the Jewish neighborhoods of 1920s New York. But the best part is that it is predominantly grounded in reality, yet has this one possibly magical detail. I really enjoyed watching these characters get a second chance at love, especially when there was a 60 year gap between. And I loved this look at new medicine vs folk medicine and neither are perfect fail-safes.
My only complaints was that these are very active 80 year olds and I think the handful of chapters from Irving’s POV was unnecessary.
Overall, this was a very cute, feel-good story that I think is perfect for any fans of historical and period dramas, and are romantics at heart.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

“Sometimes, no matter the powders or words, a person’s time on this earth must end. There is no magic any of us have that can make someone live forever.”

If you are looking for a heartwarming story with an octogenarian protagonist, look no further! In this dual time line narrative, we follow Augusta Stern in her new life in a retirement community in Florida in her late 70’s and her youth in Brooklyn where her father was a pharmacist and her great aunt was a healer. I loved both time lines equally which is not always the case for me. I fell in love with Augusta and Irving as they reconciled with their pasts and whether or not they could have a future.

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
Octogenarian MC’s
Curmudgeon stories
Slight magical realism
Jewish representation
Second chance romance
The Matchmaker’s Gift

Thank you St Martins Press for a gifted digital ARC through NetGalley.

It's an interesting dual timeline read, covering the teenage years and the retirement era of a single pharmacist in NYC, who relocates to Florida at 80. There she encounters her childhood sweetheart for whom she has always carried a torch. As her stories unfold, we learn of her family, how she learned ffom both her father, a pharmacist, and her great-aunt, an apothecary/homeopath who both treated their Bronx neighbors in the 1920's. Somehow, it didn't really grab me, though.

4.8 stars rounded up to 5
You will not be disappointed if you've read Loigman's The Matchmaker's Gift, this author delivers history, romance and charm in one fell swoop! Do not miss this one. Characters who live an active living community will make you laugh, cry and always inspire you. Life is not done for these aging, comical and wise individuals.
Told in back and forth chapters, you will get to know these characters and become a part of their families. A beautiful story of living a worthwhile life.
Perhaps because I am closer to these characters ages (and not their 20 year old selves), I immensely enjoyed their adventures and sensibilities. Love at any age is wonderful, but as it ages with time, matures with experience, and becomes oh so realistic, it is funny and amazing. Thanks for letting us share this with you, Ms Loigman.
Thank you to #NetGalley and #StMartin'sPress for this early copy for my honest review. #LyndaCohenLoigman you’re an author to follow!

This book was so cute! Second chance romance but make it old people 🥰 loved the dual time line and uncovering Irving and Augusta’s relationship, heartbreak, and love story unfold piece by piece. Sometimes I felt like the stories got repetitive at times but over all super cute.

Having lied about her age for years in order to continue working, Augusta is forced to retire and makes her way to a retirement complex in Florida only to be confronted by a man who worked for her father and that she lived. Alternating between past and present, Augusta’s story is revealed and her current story brings love.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy of The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman

Augusta Stern may be the at the center of author Lynda Cohen Loigman's totally readable and enchanting The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern, but a host of additional characters add up to a delight on every page---Irving Rivkin, Aunt Esther, and niece Jackie just to name a few of the people who enter and change Augusta's life.

As a teen, Augusta had a desire to become a pharmacist due to the hours spent at her father's pharmacy in the 1920s. From dusting shelves to filling prescriptions, Augusta was a natural in her drive to help others in pain. When her Aunt Esther arrives at her house to stay following the death of her mother, the mysterious powers of Aunt Esther's chicken soup as a remedy for a myriad of issues adds to Augusta's intuitive keenness in aiding others. As a student of Aunt Esther's concoctions, Augusta learns that healing is a delicate process and certainly not assured. She will eventually take over the pharmacy and later work at a hospital.

Augusta's niece, Jackie, has found the ideal Florida retirement community for Augusta; but in no time the complication of a former love in her life leads Augusta to handle a number of situations she never anticipated.

The fun, the problem-solving and the revelations from the past all combine to create a novel that the reader will not forget. Do not miss this wonderful imagining of how powerful love in all its forms can be!

I was so pleased to be invited to read the latest historical fiction from Lynda Cohen Loigman. I have enjoyed her previous books and expected no less from her newest.

Told on two timelines mainly from the point of view of Augusta Stern, we move back and forth from the 1920s when she was a young girl coming of age, to the 1980s when she is an elderly woman forced into retirement.
Augusta grew up in an apartment over the pharmacy that her father owned. Losing her mother to diabetes at a young age shortly before insulin treatment existed fueled her passion for pharmacology. When Great Aunt Esther moves in to help the family, Augusta develops an interest in natural cures. Esther had been known as a witch in her old village. Maybe there is some magic in the way she can sometimes cure what doctors can't.

Decades later when Augusta is pushed out of her job, she reluctantly settles in a Florida retirement community. Could it be magic or fate that the man who broke her heart 62 years ago is also a resident?

This was an enchanting story. The historical accuracy of the days when whisky required a doctor's prescription and diabetes was a death sentence lent a touch of realism.
I loved Esther and her middle-of-the-night kitchen witch escapades that Augusta's father eventually made peace with although he disapproved.

I would recommend it to any fan of historical fiction or anyone looking for a light-hearted, quick and easy read.

This is a second chance love story, which is my favorite trope. However, it is 62 years later. We have a timeline in the 1920s and a timeline in the 1980s. So in the 20s, Augusta's dad is a pharmacist and she wants to follow in his footsteps. Irving becomes a delivery boy at the pharmacy. They are of course attracted to each other but then he just up and marries another girl and moves away. What the heck?! So now we are at a retirement community in the 80s and Augusta discovers Irving is also living there. The man that broke her heart. She is not going to fall for him again but what happens when the truth from so long ago comes out? It was a charming story and I liked not having current day technology in the book. The chapters are short so it was a quick read.

-Was this what it felt like to be with someone who knew you? Who knew both the best and bleakest parts of your past? Was this what it meant to have someone support you, to have a companion who pushed you to be better and braver than you ever thought you could be?

THE LOVE ELIXIR OF AUGUSTA STERN by Lynda Cohen Loigman

What I thought was going to be a cozy, lighthearted read turned out to be so much more!

When a story utilizes a dual timeline, I often prefer the past/flashback scenes. Here, I loved both equally. Augusta’s life in 1920s Brooklyn was so vivid, heartbreaking and complicated. Sixty-ish years later, 1987, Augusta’s runs into her old boyfriend in her new retirement community and the zany hijinks ensue.

There were a few scenes that tugged at my little black heart. I hardly ever highlight or annotate books, but I did this time. I loved the inclusion of apothecary medicine and homeopathic remedies. It’s also refreshing to read a story with older characters. I had a good laugh at the name of the retirement community; Rallentando is so cheeky and well, perfect.

In conclusion, this is another wonderfully written, heartfelt, magical and memorable book by Lynda Cohen Loigman. Highly recommend!


Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️

Pub Date: October 8, 2025

**ARC courtesy of Netgalley & StMartinsPress - thank you!

I don’t know what elixir Lynda Cohen Loigman conjured up to create The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern but whatever it was, it certainly worked! This story of romance, love lost, and magical potions just took my breath away. The story was rich, the writing was sumptuous, and the characters came alive. Loigman painted a beautiful and tender story of romance, hope, and second chances with this book.

Synopsis: At eighty, Augusta Stern moves to a senior community and reconnects with Irving, who broke her heart decades ago. Reflecting on her youth in 1920s Brooklyn, where she was torn between her father’s pharmacy and her aunt’s unconventional remedies, Augusta is haunted by a past mistake. Now, she must confront her regrets and seek closure before it’s too late.

Pro Tip: Be sure to have a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup ready when reading because you’ll be craving it!

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern is a sweet, cozy story about love and timing with a sprinkle of magic thrown in. After a long career as a pharmacist in Brooklyn, Augusta Stern retires to Florida. Once there, she reunites with her long-lost boyfriend Irving Rifkin, who broke her heart when he left her to marry another woman 60 years earlier.

The story is told in two parts, switching back and forth between 1920s Brooklyn Augusta and 1987 Florida Augusta. Bit by bit we get the whole story of what happened between Augusta and Irving and we see if even octogenarians have a shot at a second-chance romance.

I enjoyed this book. It's not too heavy on drama or tragedy - it's a nice, cozy read that's well-written and satisfying.

This book has a dual timeline—the early 1920s set in Brooklyn, NY and 1987 set in a senior living community in Florida. In the 1920's we read about young Augusta Stern, living with her sister Bess, her Great Aunt Esther, and her father Solomon who was a pharmacist. Yet it's Esther who captures Augusta's heart and mind. Esther isa "healer" who uses herbal potions, words and advice to those who come to her with their ailments. Going forward, in 1987 Augusta retires at the age of 80 to a senior living complex in Florida. It is there that she surprisingly meets Irving Rivkin who worked as a delivery boy for her father's pharmacy 62 years earlier. As a couple Irving broke her heart when he married another girl, but Augusta remained single throughout her life. Meeting Irving brings back memories, as we read the chapters set in the 20's and then back to 1987. This novel as a fantasy or "magic realism" was a wonderful, heartwarming story. As for love elixirs, do they work? For me reading this book was a joy as I happen to live in one of these communities in Florida!! My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When Augusta is about to turn 80 she agrees to finally retire from her lifelong role of being a pharmacist. She moves to a retirement village in Florida and realizes that Irving, the only man she has ever been in love with, and who broke her heart 60 years ago, lives in the same village. Now, seeing Irving daily brings Augusta’s memories of her teens to the surface (and the reader learns about them in the dual timeline), when she lost her mother, when her magical great aunt moved in, and when Irving began working for her father. Slowly Augusta begins to revive her friendship with Irving and as she does so, and as she gets to know the elderly Irving, she learns that what she thought she knew about him 60 years ago, and the reason he left, may not be true.

This was an addictive joyful read. I loved both the flashbacks to Augusta and Irving’s past as well as the slow burn of their new revived friendship. Augusta’s strong character was refreshing and I appreciated the Jewish elements that were scattered throughout. As a bonus for me, there was also a small dash of magical realism and alchemy. This novel gives you both a youthful coming of age romance and a late in life second chance romance - it’s such a wonderful read.

4.25 stars

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC to review

A dual timeline--which I like.

Augusta Stern, teenager, 1920s Brooklyn. Augusta's mother has died from diabetes--too early for insulin to help. Her great aunt Esther moves in to help her father. A relic from the old country, Esther makes chicken soup and potions with various herbs, using a mortar and pestle, and chants a particular verse while mixing the ingredients--counter to the pills and formulas dispenced by her late niece's husband, Solomon Stern [the pharmacist]. Some called Esther a witch--and disrespected her because she was a woman [although she was revered by her women clients].

Fast forward to 1987 when Augusta, now 80 and a newly-retired pharmacist, moves to a retirement community in Rallentando Springs, Florida. She unexpectedly crosses paths with Irving Rivkin, the delivery boy at her father's pharmacy, and the love of her teenage life.

The timeline moves slowly forward to Florida and the narrative goes back and forth--filling in the blanks. What happened to Augusta and Irving? Why did he all of a sudden end up marrying someone else and moving to Chicago? And so on.

What did i like? Not that much. I knew where this was headed [points off for a neat and tidy and predictable ending]. I was bored, Although a fast read, I was not engaged, It was simplistic and pedestrian, IMHO. I could have walked away at any time but I do admit the very beginning captured my attention--soon enough, however, I lost interest.

Two phrases elicted a chuckle:
'"...he held up a towel like some kind of geriatic matador."
"Vera's lashes were like windsheld wipers doing double time in a downpour."

What did iI learn? In the 1920s, arsenic was used to help one's complexion.

IN THE DISTINCT MINORITY of readers.