This is a lovely book about love, forgiveness, medicine and mysticism. The characters were endearing and I enjoyed the alternating time periods between the 1920s and 1980s. Although a bit predictable, this book was engaging and easy to read.

Lynda’s books are such a pleasure to read. Great story with great characters and unputdownable. This was no different. I loved this new one and it was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024. I was pulled in from the very first page and now I’m sad it’s over. You do not want to miss this one!

I really enjoyed how this book weaved two timelines together in a very seamless way - nothing was confusing or didn't add up between the stories from the 1920s and the 1980s. I also liked the comparative storyline of medicine from a scientific/pharmaceutical versus holistic standpoint. This book had other great aspects, like family and lost/found love (I absolutely enjoyed Augusta getting to reconnect with Irving), friendship, and a dash of mystery and magic.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Advanced Book Review! Thank you @stmartinspress for sending this book for review. Opinions are my own.

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern isn’t out until October, but when I received an advanced copy, I picked it up, and it was exactly the right time.

I loved this book. The Jewish representation, the magical realism, the dual timelines of 1920s Brooklyn and 1980s Florida – all of it. At its heart, it is not only a second-chance romance, but a tribute to the people of your past and the lessons they leave behind.

As a teenager in the 1920’s, Augusta prepares for pharmacy college just like her role model, her father. When she loses her mother, her great-aunt Esther moves in, bringing her unconventional healing remedies ranging from homemade chicken soup to a mysterious array of powders and potions. I loved the stories of the people Aunt Esther helped. Trying to blend methods of her father and her aunt, Augusta searches for a way to save more people, like she wishes she could have saved her mother.

When Augusta turns eighty she retires to Florida where she gets a second chance with the love of her life, and calls upon the teachings of her long-gone loved ones to help guide her.

I highly recommend picking up this beautiful book when it’s published on October 8.

Entertaining story. It’s nice to read about eighty year ole people for a change. In this book they suffer as much angst as they did when the were teenagers.

This was one of the best books I have read for a while. This was Augusta's story, switching between her eighties and her growing up years. She was one of the few women in her time to attend college and earn a degree in pharmacy. While she devoted her life to her career, she always regretted missing out on love and her own family. There's so many layers to this story, you will have to trust me when I say do NOT miss this book. I thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read it. Definitely recommend!!

"The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern" is a feel-good novel with a feisty 80-year old protagonist, Augusta Stern. Augusta has been able to continue working by lying about her age, but when she is finally found out, the jig is up and she must retire. She moves to Florida to a community with a swimming pool, and reunites, accidentally, with an old love interest who broke her heart years ago. The story is about second (and final) chances, and the ways we are hurt and healed by love. Recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. #TheLoveElixir ofAugustaStern

I so appreciate the opportunity to read this book that turns so many assumptions on their head. The author does a great job of showing that just because we get older, we still have romantic thoughts and are able to use our skills. It was nice to read a romance that focused on seniors in a realistic and lovely way. It also showcased strong women in non-traditional roles, on both sides of the law while still allowing for magic. The story with its two timelines is well-written, though I would have liked the action to have moved a bit faster, especially the Nathaniel aspect. However, it all came together in a familiar and satisfying way. A lovely book for anyone who enjoys romance with a side of intrigue.

Augusta Stern and the cast of characters who surround her will make you laugh, make you cry (a little), and ultimately, remind you of the power of words and finding your way.

This book was so beautiful and gave me all the feels. So many life lessons stuffed into such a wonderful story. I loved the dual timeline and being able to delve deeper into past happenings. And the romance was so sweet!

Augusta Stern has been lying for many years and now she has been found out. When the new administrator at the hospital where she works figures out that she is actually a full decade older than her paperwork states, Augusta is asked to retire. Her niece Jackie finds her a retirement community in Florida and Jackie thinks she will like escaping New York winters. When Augusta goes to swim on her first day at Rallentando Springs, she finds that the past is catching up with her in more unexpected ways. Sixty years ago, Augusta fell in love with Irving, a boy who worked at her father's pharmacy and now she discovers that he lives at Rallentando Springs too. As the memories come flooding back, of being a teen in love in the 1920s, the love of healing that she learned from her Great Aunt Esther, and the pain of Irving's abrupt departure from her live, Augusta has to figure out if the mistakes in the past will color her future. A moving heartfelt novel of finding, losing, and finding romantic love and finding yourself along the way.

The jig is finally up for Augusta Stern. The pharmacy where she works has discovered that she's lied about her age and as her 80th birthday approaches, she's finally forced into retirement. Her niece Jackie convinces her to leave her lifelong home in New York City for the sunnier climate in Florida. Once Augusta arrives at her new home in a retirement village, she's stunned to find several of her old acquaintances from Brooklyn are also living there. Worst of all, one of them is Irving Rivkin, the man who broke her heart 60 years ago. Augusta and Irving both spent their time after school working in Augusta's father's pharmacy. The two began dating and as high school graduation approached, Augusta had been certain that Irving was going to propose. She was heartbroken when word reached her that he had moved away and married someone else. So now, after 60 years, she's in no mood to get reacquainted with Irving.

The story moves back and forth in time between the 1920s, when Augusta was in love with Irving and her great aunt Esther moved in, and the 1980s, when Augusta and Irving discover they are living in the same retirement community. Aunt Esther was from "the old country" and was very skilled at making potions and treatments for various ailments. Word of her skill soon reached the neighborhood and even though Augusta's pharmacist father objected, Esther was soon a sought=after healer. Augusta was determined to learn from both the scientific world of her father and the folklore passed down from Aunt Esther. As the past and present collide, will Augusta have to rely on Esther's elixirs to find out the truth about Irving's affections?

The story was very engaging and I was interested to find out what had happened all those years ago to make Irving leave so abruptly. The somewhat magical powers of Aunt Esther (in medicine as well as cooking) made her a mysterious character. The intrigues at the retirement village were also amusing! A very fun read!

This book was an interesting read. The flashbacks combined with the present day kept me engaged. I liked the growth of the main character, Augusta.

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley. The title alone was enough to make me want to read this book, but the book itself is perfection about Augusta Stern, an 80-year-old who has lied about her age to keep working as long as possible since the rest of her life didn't work out as planned. The characters in this book are delightful and well-created. The story kept me reading and made it hard to walk away.

I loved this story. It was fun and unexpected. I loved the life and loves of Augusta. 80 year old Goldie has her share of heartache and is still living for what is to come.

Charming little story which switches back and forth as the main character Augusta retires to Florida at 80 and her youth/first love in Brooklyn in 1920s. It was a quick read, but a little drawn out and longer than it needed to be..

This dual-timeline story follows Goldie through her teen years in 1920s New York City, along with a supporting cast of characters who later all show up at the same senior living facility in 1980s Florida. While there is a love story, it's not the main focus of the story. Sacrifice, friendship, grief, healing, and herbal wisdom are central themes, along with a little history about the mafia, pharamaceuticals, and the role of women during this era. There are many twists and turns, and several mysteries that continue to unfold while you're still trying to figure out the previous one, but the author does an excellent job of honoring the reader's patience and revealing the answers a bit at a time, until everything is revealed...and it isn't what you'd guess. My favorite character was Aunt Esther, who shapes Goldie into the woman she becomes. I look forward to seeing what comes next from this author!

Second book to hit my heart from Lynda Cohns Loigman! What a fun twist on a romance, a little bit old school charm and second chances. Two timelines, Augusta and her lovable buddy and that soup. Heartstrings and laughter.

Thank you Netgalley for an early peek!

Oh what a fun book! Perfect beach read. 80 year old pharmacist Augusta Stern is quite the character. The book captured me right from the beginning. You are never too old for true love.

Thank you #NetGalley, #St.Martin’sPress, #LyndaCohenLoigman and #TheLoveElixirofAugustaStern for the advance copy for my honest review.

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern is a dual timeline novel with the first timeline taking place in 1987, with the soon-to-be eighty-year-old Augusta retiring from her job as a pharmacist and moving to Florida. The second timeline takes place in the 1920s as Augusta, nicknamed Goldie then, is growing up. Her mother died when she was 12 and her great-aunt Esther comes to live with the family, bringing amazing cooking and herbalist skills with her, skills she teaches to Augusta. The author skillfully weaves this tale back and forth between the two timelines of Augusta as an older woman and in her youth with all the angst and longing coming to life. This is an amazing story of strong women, second chances, the power of forgiveness, and the magic of family. I absolutely loved it and highly recommend it - as well as all of Lynda Cohen Loigman's books!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.