This is the most charming, most wholesome book I have read in a very long time. This book is pure magic and I am still thinking about it weeks after finishing it up. Lynda Cohen Loigman did an amazing job navigating the timelines and the complexity of the characters in this book. This book is so well written, it just sucks you right in. I felt ALL of the emotions reading this book, and I cannot recommend it enough! Everyone should experience the magic that is The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern!

What a surprise is the best of ways! Is this a sappy romance where that I would never admit to enjoying? Yes Is this an engaging historical anthropology lesson of Brooklyn, NY in the 1920s and 30s? Also, yes. Is this an engaging story of friendship, family, loss, acceptance, patience and living a full life? Yes Yes Yes.
Maybe because my eyes are still watering or maybe it really is a well written book, but this story stole my heart. It's fluffier than my usual reading and I loved every page of it. There's something enjoyable about this story for a wide range of audiences. I appreciated the depth of the characters especially in their senior years. Lying about your age at 80 so you can work longer as a pharmacist?! How cool is that.

I absolutely LOVED this book. Set in two different time periods, the 1920s and the 1980s, we see Augusta’s life unfold as a teen and young woman and then again at her 80th birthday. I loved Aunt Esther’s story and her natural healing potions The book shows how we assume things happen, or don’t happen, due to circumstances we have no idea about or control over. What a fabulous cast of characters! Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC

::Sigh:: This was such a wonderful book. It had all the things. Magic, romance, elderly people bickering in hilarious fashion. What’s not to love? My favorite part was the message of how important your life is at any age. That it’s never too late for anything. 18 or 80, you are worth it. My heart is full. I loved it!

This. Book. Augusta is going to stay with me for a long, long time and Lynda Cohen Loigman is absolutely an auto-buy author for me. Thank you so much to Net Galley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for the ARC.

Pull a barstool up to the soda counter and crack this one open the first chance you get. You’ll be instantly transported to the streets of a 1920s Lower East Side pharmacy. Widower Solomon Stern slings prescriptions and wisdom to his community; he plays the roles of both a doctor and a counselor and must carefully straddle lines in Prohibition-era New York City.

Augusta is eager to follow in his footsteps despite being let down by medicine when she lost her mother to diabetes only months before insulin treatments were made available. But when Augusta’s Aunt Esther moves in and begins treating Solomon’s customers with more “alternative” (dare she say — magical? — methods), Augusta is torn in two directions as she tries to determine her life’s path. All the while, romance is abloom between Augusta and Irving, the pharmacy’s delivery boy. Soon, though, he finds himself tied up in trouble that may rip him from the solace he’s found with the Stern family.

We go back and forth between the 1920s pharmacy and Augusta’s retirement to a Florida community where she is forced to reckon with her past. She must decide whether healing is a strategic, medical process or an ancient, magical one. Or, just maybe, a bit of both?

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I have read previous books by this author so I knew I was in for an enjoyable story and I was not disappointed. This book focuses on Augusta and Irving during the 1920’s as young teenagers with a doomed love affair and their unexpected meeting in Florida in the 1980’s at a retirement community. I always enjoy dual timelines so this story had some historical background of New York City in the 1920’s involving poverty, crime and the underground world and also the sense of belonging to a community. I don’t want to give more detail , but this story had a bit of everything, romance, history, women in the medical field and women practicing their own medical practices to help the community. This book was an enjoyable, light, engaging story, I would highly recommend it , I enjoyed all the characters in this book.

A timeless tale of love, regret, and the enchanting possibilities of second chances. The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern is a beautifully crafted story that reminds us it’s never too late to find clarity and magic in our lives. It’s a testament to the enduring power of love and the importance of reconciling with our past.

The novel's historical backdrop of 1920’s Brooklyn is vividly brought to life, enriching the narrative with authentic details and a sense of nostalgia. Augusta’s internal struggle between her father’s conventional wisdom and her great aunt’s mystical healing practices adds depth to her character and the story.

The rekindling of Augusta’s connection with Irving in their later years is tenderly portrayed, offering a touching exploration of love, regret, and the possibility of redemption. The mystery of the past and the unraveling of old secrets keep readers engaged, while the themes of forgiveness and second chances resonate deeply.

I loved this one! im seriously so sad I finished it because I didn’t want it to end. The dual timeline was done perfect and the characters were all amazing. The love between Irving and Goldie was the sweetest, most tender love. It’s heartbreaking but at the same time so beautiful. I will definitely be recommending this one to all my friends!

Was greatly looking for to this, but unfortunately was a miss for me.
Sounded charming, but too saccharine. I lost interest.

With thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this e-ARC.

THE LOVE ELIXIR OF AUGUSTA STERN by Lynda Cohen Loigman

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC ebook to read.

Like chicken soup for the soul with a bit of magic and a dash of heartbreak along with laughter and a dose of romance sprinkled with hope. I really enjoyed this light and nostalgic read of, The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern. A predictable story but entertaining.

Augusta Stern becomes a pharmacist and takes over her father’s pharmacy. Augusta’s Aunt Esther is a huge influence in her life and encourages her to dabble in herbal remedies too. Augusta Stern reluctantly retires in 1987 at the age of eighty years old and relocates to a retirement community, Rallentando Springs, in Boca Raton, Florida. Augusta bumps into an old friend, Irving Rivkin, from her hometown of Brooklyn, who was her father’s delivery boy at the pharmacy, as well as, her boyfriend. It triggers painful memories of their courtship when Irving abruptly abandoned her. The story is told in flashbacks of her youth in Brooklyn and current year 1987.

Will Augusta finally get the answers she deserves of why Irving abandoned her all those years ago? Did Irving ever truly love her or was he simply playing the part? Is it possible to recapture the lost magic of youth?

When Augusta Stern is pushed into retirement at age eighty she feels cheated, she still has a lot of good years left. Her niece Jackie, helps her to relocate from New York to Florida into a deluxe senior living community. Upon arrival, Augusta discovers there are two people living in the community with strong emotional ties to her past. This is a book about second chances with a strong theme of it never being to late to find happiness. It's a feel good story, told in two time lines. I would recommend it for someone looking for a light, breezy read, wholesome and not too complicated. The characters are from another era, easily relatable and very sweet.
Thank you to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Augusta, who is on the cusp of her 80th birthday, moves into an active senior community in southern Florida where she sees two people from her childhood, one of whom was the love of her life. Sadly, he dumped her and married someone else, without any explanation.

From there, the chapters switch back and forth between the 1920s and 1987. (I'm happy to say it worked with The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern and I liked both timelines equally!) I loved the magical realism, too.

My only complaint is that so many of Augusta's reactions felt teenager-ish to me. I hope that by the time I'm 79, I'll be at least a wee bit more mature than she!

Having said that, I delighted in the humor, heart, and hope I found in The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern and I recommend it!

Many thanks to both #StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern. The expected publication date is October 8, 2024.

#HumorHeartHope

Oh, I’m saddened to say that this book fell flat for me. It has many elements that I typically devour; A feisty, soon-to-be octogenarian, told from a past/present POV, and magical realism. There was truly no magical realism. Many of the behaviors of Augusta were cringe-worthy and unbelievable that a woman of that age would act in such ways.

This was a fun cute book with some mystery and misunderstanding. I liked the back and forth between past and present, it allowed the book to flow very well. I am excited to talk about this book with other readers.

This book was very enjoyable, and I see why everyone was giving it high reviews. I loved Augusta and her story. The ending was perfect!
I will definitely recommend it to others!

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern is a beautiful historical fiction romance. The story moves between Brooklyn in the past when Augusta was growing up and the retirement community of Rallentando Springs in Florida in the present. I found the story delightful all the way through. Augusta grew up helping her pharmacist father in their store and learning from her great-aunt Esther, a healer. The stories melding the scientific and the naturalistic approaches to health were enjoyable to read. Following her father's footsteps, Augusta becomes a pharmacist, a job she enjoys immensely until she is forced to retire at age 80. In Rallentando Springs, Augusta runs into the man who left her without an explanation and broke her heart 60 years earlier. It was so nice to see how the author wove the story between the two timelines. The story slowly reveals the events of the past while we get to know Augusta and Irving and the people and families that surrounded their lives in the past and the present. Both timelines were equally interesting to me and I found Augusta to be an interesting and complex main character. The story is beautifully written and one I will be recommending.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader copy.

I love dual times in books so this worked well for me. I also really liked Lynda Cohen Loigmen`s other books. The love story was sweet. I loved all the characters so much. No matter how old you are you still have life to live.

This is a sweet story about second chances. I really enjoyed the magical realism aspect. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Augusta is turning 80, newly retired and living in a Florida retirement community when she is faced with the man she loved as a youth. The novel alternates between present day and her youth. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Lynda Cohen Loigman has done it again!

This is truly a book about 2nd chances on love and friendship! Reminds us that open communication is often the best way to prevent years of hurt, misunderstanding and often years of love, happiness and joy.

Augusta's story is told through flashbacks throughout the book. Augusta is now 80, forced into retirement as a pharmacist. Her love for healing started many years prior working as a teen alongside her father. She witnessed the power of medicine and the importance of privacy. Her aunt Esther shares her ways of healing too, which makes Augusta an absolute delight!

Pre-order your copy today as this book is set to be released later this year! In the meantime, go back and pick up her 3 previous titles, all different and all magical in their own way!