What do you think?
Rate this book
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern
ŷ Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Historical Fiction (2024)It's never too late for new beginnings.
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, 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, 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?
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, 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, 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?
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 8, 2024
1,173 people are currently reading
52.3k people want to read
About the author
Lynda Cohen Loigman
4books2,008followersLynda Cohen Loigman grew up in Longmeadow, MA. She received a B.A. in English and American Literature from Harvard College and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. Her debut novel, The Two-Family House, was a USA Today bestseller and a nominee for the ŷ 2016 Choice Awards in Historical Fiction. Her second novel, The Wartime Sisters, was selected as a Woman's World Book Club pick and a Best Book of 2019 by Real Simple Magazine. The Matchmaker’s Gift, her third novel, will be published by St. Martin’s Press in September of 2022.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,890 reviews
September 18, 2024
My Reviews Can Also Be Found On:
“Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety.� - Antony and Cleopatra, by William Shakespeare
I love this author so much, her book and were both winners for me and The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern was just as enjoyable, if not more so. This story has two timelines 1920s Brooklyn and 1980s Florida so both timelines are historical fiction.
There are a lot of characters in this book and many appear in both timelines. I loved reading about Augustus' younger years, how she became who she is as a person and how she became a pharmacist which was very rare for women in the 1920s. This book has themes of feminism without it punching you in the face and without Augusta losing her wit and charm. Although I enjoyed the earlier timeline, which is normal for me, I love the style of riding in both timelines. The story captivated me and the characters charmed their way into my heart. The plot sucked me in and never let me go.
I love the way the author was able to weave both timelines as well as multiple genres seamlessly. The book has a bit of mystery and magical realism, it's historical fiction with a touch of romance but Augusta and her charms are the star of this book. It was so refreshing to have an older woman as a lead especially one as smart as Augusta. If she were a real person I'd love to have a coffee with her and become friends. All. The. Stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
“Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety.� - Antony and Cleopatra, by William Shakespeare
I love this author so much, her book and were both winners for me and The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern was just as enjoyable, if not more so. This story has two timelines 1920s Brooklyn and 1980s Florida so both timelines are historical fiction.
There are a lot of characters in this book and many appear in both timelines. I loved reading about Augustus' younger years, how she became who she is as a person and how she became a pharmacist which was very rare for women in the 1920s. This book has themes of feminism without it punching you in the face and without Augusta losing her wit and charm. Although I enjoyed the earlier timeline, which is normal for me, I love the style of riding in both timelines. The story captivated me and the characters charmed their way into my heart. The plot sucked me in and never let me go.
I love the way the author was able to weave both timelines as well as multiple genres seamlessly. The book has a bit of mystery and magical realism, it's historical fiction with a touch of romance but Augusta and her charms are the star of this book. It was so refreshing to have an older woman as a lead especially one as smart as Augusta. If she were a real person I'd love to have a coffee with her and become friends. All. The. Stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
October 19, 2024
In a Nutshell: A dual-timeline narrative promising historical fiction, romance, and magical realism. The first is exceptional, the second is annoying, and the third is almost non-existent. It is not a bad book, but it is also not a very convincing book, at least in the contemporary timeline. That said, it is easy to see why a majority of readers are gushing over this tale. Mine is a slightly outlier review.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Plot Preview:
PSA: The ŷ blurb reveals too much.
Bookish Yays:
🌿 The setting of 1920s Brooklyn, with its lifestyle and atmosphere captured wonderfully. The plot highlights the Prohibition era, the gangs, the importance of pharmacists and the role of a traditional pharmacy, and close neighbourly bonds and friendships.
🌿 Esther � the best character of the book in terms of depth, complexity, and sensibility. She has a sense of mystery about her, which further adds to her charm.
🌿 The focus on girls in STEM in the historical timeline, and the challenges and discrimination faced by them. Gender roles come out brilliantly in this timeline.
🌿 The biased view against traditional healing as against allopathic and pharmaceutical knowledge. Coming from a country where traditional healing is at least as valued as allopathy, I found this arc amusing at times. Those who look down on natural remedies don’t know what they are missing.
🌿 The author's note, which really took me by surprise. I didn’t expect any actual people to be the basis of this plot, but they are!
Bookish Mixed Bags:
💊 Historical Augusta is a brilliant young girl who knows what she wants in life and isn’t afraid to chart the path not taken. Contemporary Augusta is rude and judgemental, though she is still intelligent and an achiever. The judgemental part, I could have done without.
💊 The historical timeline is way better in terms of plot, characters, as well as common sense. The contemporary timeline has no common sense, barely any plot, and immature characters. (Which is quite ironic considering the average character age in this timeline. More on this below.) The contemporary timeline drags the overall book down.
💊 The title tells us well in advance that the “love elixir� was prepared/used for/by Augusta Stern, but the mention of the elixir in Augusta’s context comes up only in the last quarter of the book. So the title is quite attractive but it also works as a semi-spoiler. That said, there are some sweet moments towards the end thanks to the titular potion.
💊 We see a couple of tiny glimpses of Jewish beliefs mostly thanks to Esther, but on the whole, there is hardly any Jewish feel to the plot despite the characters being predominantly of that faith. This could have been handled much better, especially in the historical timeline where the atmosphere was more true to life.
Bookish Nays:
💉 In Hindi, there’s an idiom: “budhaape mein doosra bachpana�, which roughly translates to: in old age, people live a second childhood by reverting to childish behaviour. Every main character in the 1987 timeline proves this adage. The issue isn’t with having a second-chance romance while in the eighties. But to see eighty-year-olds act like lovesick teenagers is annoying! Romance for the eighties age group cannot be written the same way as romance for characters in, say, their thirties or their fifties; the priorities of life are so different at each stage. But this book is so standard about the romance that the characters read like they were in their early twenties. After a while, I felt like I was reading a YA love triangle. (Yeah, love triangle! SMH!)
💉 On a related note: Would I really want to reunite with a man, even if he was the love of my teenage years, if he recognises me after 62 years saying “I’d know that *tuchus* anywhere!� Ugh!
💉 Moreover, the age depiction in the contemporary timeline is unrealistic. There is absolutely nothing to indicate that these were eighty-year-olds. I'm not saying that the characters should have been portrayed as senile or physically weak, but at least have some indicator of their age, either through their behaviour or through some physical ailments and aches. How is every single senior citizen in the book not just healthy but also thriving with peak physical fitness?
💉 There is no logical reason as to why “contemporary� is 1987, except that the historical timeline needed the Prohibition era, and the only way to ensure characters from that time were alive was to set the other timeline in 1987. There is absolutely nothing in this timeline to create the 80s atmosphere. No pop culture references, no 80s clothes or hairstyle hints,� Except for the obvious lack of digital tech, the timeline is generic.
💉 The miscommunication trope is overused in both timelines, but especially in the 1987 timeline.
💉 Augusta has had a long and fulfilling career and a loving relationship with the rest of her family, yet her companions consider her life incomplete because she had "no one to share her life with." Sheesh! Can we get rid of this antiquated idea?
🎧 The Audiobook Experience:
The audiobook, clocking at 9 hrs 40 min, is narrated by Gabra Zackman. Her voice didn’t particularly suit either timeline because she sounded too old for teen Augusta and too young for geriatric Augusta. But she deserves credit for keeping the two voices subtly different, helping us to keep the two timelines distinct. I also loved the way she expressed emotions realistically. Her overall performance was praiseworthy.
Plus points to the audio version for including the author’s note.
All in all, the historical timeline had more than enough meat to carry the novel successfully, but the juvenile behaviour in the 1987 timeline spoiled all the fun.
Do note that there’s barely any magical realism in the book. To be clear, the publishers have marked this only as historical fiction and women’s fiction. But several ŷ reviewers have tagged this book under ‘Magical Realism�, which is incorrect. There is a minor thread of something inexplicable, but no magic as such. Merely using herbal remedies and chanting some prayers doesn’t indicate magical realism.
Recommended to those who enjoy a powerful historical narrative and dual timelines and don’t mind second-chance romances and geriatric characters acting like lovelorn hormonal teens.
3 stars, entirely for the historical timeline.
My thanks to Macmillan Audio for providing the ALC, and St. Martin's Press for providing the DRC of “The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern� via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
|| || || || ||
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Plot Preview:
1987. Soon to turn eighty, Augusta Stern is forced to retire from her job as a hospital pharmacist. Single and unsure about what to do next, she joins an active retirement community in Florida. The last thing she expects here is to bump into Irving Rivkin, who worked in her father’s pharmacy as a delivery boy and had broken her heart sixty years ago. Augusta is determined not to allow Irving a second chance.
1920s. Brooklyn. Augusta Stern is determined to become a pharmacist some day and assist her father in his pharmacy. After her mother passes away, Great Aunt Esther moves into her nephew’s home to help. An iconoclast healer, Esther soon wins over some of the neighbours with her unconventional healing methods, much to the chagrin of her nephew and the fascination of Augusta. Now torn between pharmacy and alternate healing, Augusta has to decide if there is indeed any validity to Esther’s remedies. At the same time, she is also navigating a potential relationship with young Irving, which isn't as smooth as they thought it would be.
The story comes to us in the third person perspective of Augusta from the two timelines, with some random interludes from Irving and other characters.
PSA: The ŷ blurb reveals too much.
Bookish Yays:
🌿 The setting of 1920s Brooklyn, with its lifestyle and atmosphere captured wonderfully. The plot highlights the Prohibition era, the gangs, the importance of pharmacists and the role of a traditional pharmacy, and close neighbourly bonds and friendships.
🌿 Esther � the best character of the book in terms of depth, complexity, and sensibility. She has a sense of mystery about her, which further adds to her charm.
🌿 The focus on girls in STEM in the historical timeline, and the challenges and discrimination faced by them. Gender roles come out brilliantly in this timeline.
🌿 The biased view against traditional healing as against allopathic and pharmaceutical knowledge. Coming from a country where traditional healing is at least as valued as allopathy, I found this arc amusing at times. Those who look down on natural remedies don’t know what they are missing.
🌿 The author's note, which really took me by surprise. I didn’t expect any actual people to be the basis of this plot, but they are!
Bookish Mixed Bags:
💊 Historical Augusta is a brilliant young girl who knows what she wants in life and isn’t afraid to chart the path not taken. Contemporary Augusta is rude and judgemental, though she is still intelligent and an achiever. The judgemental part, I could have done without.
💊 The historical timeline is way better in terms of plot, characters, as well as common sense. The contemporary timeline has no common sense, barely any plot, and immature characters. (Which is quite ironic considering the average character age in this timeline. More on this below.) The contemporary timeline drags the overall book down.
💊 The title tells us well in advance that the “love elixir� was prepared/used for/by Augusta Stern, but the mention of the elixir in Augusta’s context comes up only in the last quarter of the book. So the title is quite attractive but it also works as a semi-spoiler. That said, there are some sweet moments towards the end thanks to the titular potion.
💊 We see a couple of tiny glimpses of Jewish beliefs mostly thanks to Esther, but on the whole, there is hardly any Jewish feel to the plot despite the characters being predominantly of that faith. This could have been handled much better, especially in the historical timeline where the atmosphere was more true to life.
Bookish Nays:
💉 In Hindi, there’s an idiom: “budhaape mein doosra bachpana�, which roughly translates to: in old age, people live a second childhood by reverting to childish behaviour. Every main character in the 1987 timeline proves this adage. The issue isn’t with having a second-chance romance while in the eighties. But to see eighty-year-olds act like lovesick teenagers is annoying! Romance for the eighties age group cannot be written the same way as romance for characters in, say, their thirties or their fifties; the priorities of life are so different at each stage. But this book is so standard about the romance that the characters read like they were in their early twenties. After a while, I felt like I was reading a YA love triangle. (Yeah, love triangle! SMH!)
💉 On a related note: Would I really want to reunite with a man, even if he was the love of my teenage years, if he recognises me after 62 years saying “I’d know that *tuchus* anywhere!� Ugh!
💉 Moreover, the age depiction in the contemporary timeline is unrealistic. There is absolutely nothing to indicate that these were eighty-year-olds. I'm not saying that the characters should have been portrayed as senile or physically weak, but at least have some indicator of their age, either through their behaviour or through some physical ailments and aches. How is every single senior citizen in the book not just healthy but also thriving with peak physical fitness?
💉 There is no logical reason as to why “contemporary� is 1987, except that the historical timeline needed the Prohibition era, and the only way to ensure characters from that time were alive was to set the other timeline in 1987. There is absolutely nothing in this timeline to create the 80s atmosphere. No pop culture references, no 80s clothes or hairstyle hints,� Except for the obvious lack of digital tech, the timeline is generic.
💉 The miscommunication trope is overused in both timelines, but especially in the 1987 timeline.
💉 Augusta has had a long and fulfilling career and a loving relationship with the rest of her family, yet her companions consider her life incomplete because she had "no one to share her life with." Sheesh! Can we get rid of this antiquated idea?
🎧 The Audiobook Experience:
The audiobook, clocking at 9 hrs 40 min, is narrated by Gabra Zackman. Her voice didn’t particularly suit either timeline because she sounded too old for teen Augusta and too young for geriatric Augusta. But she deserves credit for keeping the two voices subtly different, helping us to keep the two timelines distinct. I also loved the way she expressed emotions realistically. Her overall performance was praiseworthy.
Plus points to the audio version for including the author’s note.
All in all, the historical timeline had more than enough meat to carry the novel successfully, but the juvenile behaviour in the 1987 timeline spoiled all the fun.
Do note that there’s barely any magical realism in the book. To be clear, the publishers have marked this only as historical fiction and women’s fiction. But several ŷ reviewers have tagged this book under ‘Magical Realism�, which is incorrect. There is a minor thread of something inexplicable, but no magic as such. Merely using herbal remedies and chanting some prayers doesn’t indicate magical realism.
Recommended to those who enjoy a powerful historical narrative and dual timelines and don’t mind second-chance romances and geriatric characters acting like lovelorn hormonal teens.
3 stars, entirely for the historical timeline.
My thanks to Macmillan Audio for providing the ALC, and St. Martin's Press for providing the DRC of “The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern� via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
|| || || || ||
November 11, 2024
A love elixir? Does it work? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could make potions for everything that ails us? For love, for peace, for beauty…hmmm sounds a little Hokey Pokey to me.
This is a love story. A Love that was abandoned in 1922 leaving Augusta brokenhearted and devasted for decades. She never married -focused instead on her career as a pharmacist. A big deal for a woman during this time. Now, 60 years later, she is a feisty 80 year old who has relocated to Florida having been forced to retire. And who does she run into? No other except her first love, Irving.
What I enjoyed was the path this character took as a woman. Influenced by her great aunt who was a healer and how she entwined both the natural and the science of medicine into a career as a pharmacist- following in her dad’s footsteps.
What I didn’t like was the melodrama. At 80, I would hope, there would be a little less hysteria and more sensibility rather than love sick and misunderstood teenagers. This didn’t work for me and actually caused the dreaded eye roll.
Overall it was ok but the most it did for me was inspire me to make some chicken soup 💕
3.75⭐️
This is a love story. A Love that was abandoned in 1922 leaving Augusta brokenhearted and devasted for decades. She never married -focused instead on her career as a pharmacist. A big deal for a woman during this time. Now, 60 years later, she is a feisty 80 year old who has relocated to Florida having been forced to retire. And who does she run into? No other except her first love, Irving.
What I enjoyed was the path this character took as a woman. Influenced by her great aunt who was a healer and how she entwined both the natural and the science of medicine into a career as a pharmacist- following in her dad’s footsteps.
What I didn’t like was the melodrama. At 80, I would hope, there would be a little less hysteria and more sensibility rather than love sick and misunderstood teenagers. This didn’t work for me and actually caused the dreaded eye roll.
Overall it was ok but the most it did for me was inspire me to make some chicken soup 💕
3.75⭐️
March 4, 2024
5 stars
I was very excited to receive a widget of this book. Lynda Cohen Loigman has been a favorite of mine ever since I read her first novel, “The Two-Family House,� in 2016. It was that book along with Kristin Hannah’s “Nightingale� that prompted me to dive into the wonderful world of historical fiction. I have now read all of Ms. Loigman’s novels, and all four have earned 5 stars from me.
This book has a dual timeline—the early 1920s set in Brooklyn, NY and 1987 set in a senior living community in Florida. I’m not always a fan of dual timelines, but this one worked well. I love books with elderly characters, especially when the protagonist is an oldster. Augusta is 80 years old in the 1987 timeline. Augusta grew up with a pharmacist father and great aunt Esther who was a healer. Augusta was very interested in both traditional medicine and Esther’s potions and studied both. After a disastrous misfire with the latter early on, she dropped the holistic side of things and went on to a successful career as a pharmacist. She was pushed out for “old age� in 1987. Boo on that, I say.
There are plenty of characters to love—Augusta, of course, and her old beau Irving who disappointed her back in Brooklyn, Esther, Jackie, and Shirley to name a few. Some good laughs are sprinkled along the way along with touches of magical realism. There is mystery (what the hell happened with Irving?), there is the power of friendship, the pining of long-lost love, the beauty of second chances, the blessing of family (blood or not), and the staying power of true love. The tale is told in a beautifully lyrical fashion and captivated me from beginning to end. Lastly, this book was very different from most of the books I have read, which made me love it even more!
Whenever I see “fantasy� or “magic realism� (fancy way of saying fantasy) in a book blurb, I usually run. So normally I would have skipped this one. But it is written by Ms. Loigman who has yet to let me down. So I grabbed it and was rewards in spades. Thanks, Ms. Loigman. I recommend “The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern� to all readers with a heart, even if you think you don’t like any “magic realism� invading your books.
I would like to thank Ms. Rivka Holler of St. Martin’s Press, Net Galley, and Ms. Lynda Loigman for the ARC. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
I was very excited to receive a widget of this book. Lynda Cohen Loigman has been a favorite of mine ever since I read her first novel, “The Two-Family House,� in 2016. It was that book along with Kristin Hannah’s “Nightingale� that prompted me to dive into the wonderful world of historical fiction. I have now read all of Ms. Loigman’s novels, and all four have earned 5 stars from me.
This book has a dual timeline—the early 1920s set in Brooklyn, NY and 1987 set in a senior living community in Florida. I’m not always a fan of dual timelines, but this one worked well. I love books with elderly characters, especially when the protagonist is an oldster. Augusta is 80 years old in the 1987 timeline. Augusta grew up with a pharmacist father and great aunt Esther who was a healer. Augusta was very interested in both traditional medicine and Esther’s potions and studied both. After a disastrous misfire with the latter early on, she dropped the holistic side of things and went on to a successful career as a pharmacist. She was pushed out for “old age� in 1987. Boo on that, I say.
There are plenty of characters to love—Augusta, of course, and her old beau Irving who disappointed her back in Brooklyn, Esther, Jackie, and Shirley to name a few. Some good laughs are sprinkled along the way along with touches of magical realism. There is mystery (what the hell happened with Irving?), there is the power of friendship, the pining of long-lost love, the beauty of second chances, the blessing of family (blood or not), and the staying power of true love. The tale is told in a beautifully lyrical fashion and captivated me from beginning to end. Lastly, this book was very different from most of the books I have read, which made me love it even more!
Whenever I see “fantasy� or “magic realism� (fancy way of saying fantasy) in a book blurb, I usually run. So normally I would have skipped this one. But it is written by Ms. Loigman who has yet to let me down. So I grabbed it and was rewards in spades. Thanks, Ms. Loigman. I recommend “The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern� to all readers with a heart, even if you think you don’t like any “magic realism� invading your books.
I would like to thank Ms. Rivka Holler of St. Martin’s Press, Net Galley, and Ms. Lynda Loigman for the ARC. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
February 5, 2025
Augusta Stern is on the threshold of turning eighty, newly retired, and relocated to Southern Florida. And now she's feeling out-of-s0rts emotionally.
First of all, she's unhappy about being forced to retire. Secondly, she's unsure about living in a senior community far from where she's always lived. But mostly, she's shocked and perplexed at running into Irving Rivkin, who broke her heart sixty years ago...
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern has alternating timelines of 1920s Brooklyn and 1980s Florida that kept me reading.
* In the 1920s timeline, we are introduced to the two important influences in Augusta's early life in Brooklyn, her father and mentor, Solomon, and the magic of her relationship with her Great Aunt Esther. These chapters are my favorite.
* In the 1980s timeline, we learn how Augusta transitions to her new lifestyle in Florida. I did enjoy the depiction of healthy, active, fun, and intelligent over seventy central characters through these chapters. It was a refreshing perspective of this age group.
An immersion read, the audiobook was narrated by Gabra Zackman, who brought life to the many characters. I found both formats equally enjoyable.
I read the debut novel The Two Family House and fell in love with this author’s simple, uncomplicated, and readable storytelling. Loigman writes evocative stories with heart and soul that are well-researched for historical and character authenticity. Her author's note gives the details of why she wrote this story and it adds to the reasons why I will be here for her next novel.
I recommend The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern to readers who enjoy Historical and Women's Fiction with a sprinkle of magic through the pages!
4.5�
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and Lynda Cohen Loigman for a DRC and an ALC through NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
First of all, she's unhappy about being forced to retire. Secondly, she's unsure about living in a senior community far from where she's always lived. But mostly, she's shocked and perplexed at running into Irving Rivkin, who broke her heart sixty years ago...
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern has alternating timelines of 1920s Brooklyn and 1980s Florida that kept me reading.
* In the 1920s timeline, we are introduced to the two important influences in Augusta's early life in Brooklyn, her father and mentor, Solomon, and the magic of her relationship with her Great Aunt Esther. These chapters are my favorite.
* In the 1980s timeline, we learn how Augusta transitions to her new lifestyle in Florida. I did enjoy the depiction of healthy, active, fun, and intelligent over seventy central characters through these chapters. It was a refreshing perspective of this age group.
An immersion read, the audiobook was narrated by Gabra Zackman, who brought life to the many characters. I found both formats equally enjoyable.
I read the debut novel The Two Family House and fell in love with this author’s simple, uncomplicated, and readable storytelling. Loigman writes evocative stories with heart and soul that are well-researched for historical and character authenticity. Her author's note gives the details of why she wrote this story and it adds to the reasons why I will be here for her next novel.
I recommend The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern to readers who enjoy Historical and Women's Fiction with a sprinkle of magic through the pages!
4.5�
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and Lynda Cohen Loigman for a DRC and an ALC through NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
September 17, 2024
1920’s Brooklyn
1980’s Florida
These are the two timelines…we go back and forth to learn the story of Augusta (Goldie) Stern, a pharmacist’s daughter.. we see her grow up and she loses the love of her life …Irving, when he disappears from town and leaves with another young woman and her family just when Augusta and her family thought he was about to propose.
Augusta never married�. she went to pharmacy school and had a long career in the medical field. She worked until just before her 80th birthday.
When it’s close to her 80th birthday� her niece has talked her into moving into a retire community in south Florida, there she meets new friends and some old friends from Brooklyn. Irving, among them!
This is a story about second chances.
A lovely story!
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC!
1980’s Florida
These are the two timelines…we go back and forth to learn the story of Augusta (Goldie) Stern, a pharmacist’s daughter.. we see her grow up and she loses the love of her life …Irving, when he disappears from town and leaves with another young woman and her family just when Augusta and her family thought he was about to propose.
Augusta never married�. she went to pharmacy school and had a long career in the medical field. She worked until just before her 80th birthday.
When it’s close to her 80th birthday� her niece has talked her into moving into a retire community in south Florida, there she meets new friends and some old friends from Brooklyn. Irving, among them!
This is a story about second chances.
A lovely story!
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC!
Read
August 28, 2024Why I Love It
By Christine Zikas
One of the most well-loved romantic tropes is when two characters reconnect with their first love. The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern tells such a story—but it is so much more than that.
Eighty-year-old Augusta, a trained pharmacist, has finally been forced to retire. Beyond the culture shock of moving from New York to Florida, she finds her first love Irving living at the same assisted living facility. We travel back in time to 1920s Brooklyn as Augusta recounts not only her budding relationship with her pharmacist father’s delivery boy, but also her memories of the aunt who raised her. An aunt with special knowledge of herbs and potions and teas, which not only had healing properties, but seemed to conjure magic as well.
I loved this story largely because I loved Augusta, the younger and the elder. She is no-nonsense, smart, insightful, but also curious about the world and wanting to do her very best. She came to life for me as someone I would want for a best friend. I loved spending this time in her worlds—both the practical, scientific pharmaceutical world and the healing world of nature. I found this book comforting to the very last page.
By Christine Zikas
One of the most well-loved romantic tropes is when two characters reconnect with their first love. The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern tells such a story—but it is so much more than that.
Eighty-year-old Augusta, a trained pharmacist, has finally been forced to retire. Beyond the culture shock of moving from New York to Florida, she finds her first love Irving living at the same assisted living facility. We travel back in time to 1920s Brooklyn as Augusta recounts not only her budding relationship with her pharmacist father’s delivery boy, but also her memories of the aunt who raised her. An aunt with special knowledge of herbs and potions and teas, which not only had healing properties, but seemed to conjure magic as well.
I loved this story largely because I loved Augusta, the younger and the elder. She is no-nonsense, smart, insightful, but also curious about the world and wanting to do her very best. She came to life for me as someone I would want for a best friend. I loved spending this time in her worlds—both the practical, scientific pharmaceutical world and the healing world of nature. I found this book comforting to the very last page.
December 1, 2024
I LOVED this book so much!!! Oh my heart!! ❤️Review to come
October 26, 2024
**Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Lynda Cohen Loigman for an ARC of this book!**
🔔 OUTLIER ALERT! 🔔
In 1920's Brooklyn, Solomon Stern is the authority on EVERYTHING pharmaceutical...and his whole neighborhood knows it. The locals come from all around to get his advice, and his daughter Augusta Stern is proud of her father's store and secretly longs to follow in his footsteps...but as a woman, she's not sure what opportunities exist for her. When her mother tragically passes away, however, Great Aunt Esther moves in to help run the household...and Augusta notices that Esther has some special 'remedies' of her own...and everything from chicken noodle soup to special powders is fair game. While Augusta plans for the traditional route to pharmaceutical college, she can't help her fascination with these 'alternative' methods...and with charming delivery boy Irving Rivkin making her heart flutter, she even wonders if Esther might have a potion for HER in that bag of tricks...and would Augusta DARE to use it?
Many years later, in 1980, Augusta is freshly retired from her long career in pharmaceuticals and reflecting on what could possibly be next for her in this new chapter of her life. So you can only IMAGINE her surprise when her new neighbor of sorts at the retirement community is none other than that intriguing man who got away....Irving Rivkin himself. The two reconnect and the banter begins...but Augusta is hesitant. After all, the consequences of the 'clarity serum' she administered so many years ago have never stopped weighing on her...and needless to say, they didn't end up together back then...so how could it possibly happen NOW? When she revisits the past and pieces all bits of this particular puzzle together, will she find out secrets she would prefer REMAINED secret? Or could a special chant that Esther taught her be JUST what she needs to give this romance a TRUE second chance to bloom into something magical?
After missing Lynda Cohen Loigman's last effort, , enthusiastic reviews of that book's effortless blend of romance and magical realism had me chomping at the proverbial bit to read her newest book...ESPECIALLY when it seemed this author's special sauce was to blend these two genres in a smooth and intriguing way. (Toss in just a BIT of a HF feel with the 1920's setting and feel? How could I lose?!)
But if you've ever wondered what it would be like to watch two elderly people who were digging on each other in their younger years but never got together actually GET together in their 80's without maturing emotionally WHATSOEVER...well, this might be the book for you.
(Spoiler alert: it was NOT the book for me! 😔)
First off, calling this book magical realism is misleading, to say the least. Sure, there is TALK of the potential of magic...but only in the sense of Esther's Potions N' Powders and their 'special' qualities...and an incredibly obnoxious 'magical' chant that you will read several times throughout. (And for some reason, it felt more grating each and every time I read it). I'll be honest, for a while I had almost hoped for a true love potion in the story...at least that would have made sense, especially considering the title practically screams 'this is what the book is going to be about!' at you. But what happened instead was almost worse...everything was so unclear, undefined, and muddled that I didn't know if we were supposed to believe anything was magical or not. Was this supposed to be a lesson on the benefits of homeopathic medicines...? A week after finishing this...I'm still just NOT sure.
Putting that aside, this is also a dual timeline historical fiction story...and yet, it felt almost NOTHING like historical fiction to me. I'm not sure why the present day had to be the 80's (other than to make the timeline work) but the author didn't capitalize on this whatsoever. NOTHING in the 'present day' said 80's to me, and even the 20's timeline just didn't give me that FEEL I love from solid historical fiction, where I am swept back in time and feel the era sort of 'surrounding' me as I read. Sure, the events taking place at the time made sense, the author wove in enough detail to set the scene...but something about the dialogue, the byplay, and the plot itself just felt OFF to me. I also feel like a good, solid contrast, both in tone and perspective is so needed in a book like this, as it's hard to think an 80-year old woman would look at the world in much the same way as her 20-year old self...and yet, I never saw an INKLING of that here.
At the center of it all, of course, is the aforementioned geriatric love story...and since this was my least favorite element of the book, having to pore through 300+ pages of it felt interminable. The way these two talked to one another felt like they had never gotten their teenage hormones under control...and it was more than a bit gross to me, if I'm being honest. There's nothing wrong with elderly people falling in love, and I've read some beautiful instances of this in the past, but reading about old men leering at old ladies in their swimwear is really something I can FOREVER live without. 😝 The ENTIRE conflict also revolves around miscommunication, which is one of my least favorite romance tropes, as it is frustrating enough to deal with in 'real life', much less fiction. There is plenty of sappiness, especially towards the end, as we are led to wonder whether or not our leads will FINALLY get together...but I too must have been feeling too much like a teenager by that point: my eye-rolling was out of control. 🙄
And while spooky season is now fully upon us, and cauldrons are a-bubbling...I think in this instance Augusta would have been better off leaving the potions to the TRUE experts: The Sanderson Sisters. 🧹🧹🧹
😏
3 stars
#TheLoveElixirofAugustaStern #smpearlyreader #partner
🔔 OUTLIER ALERT! 🔔
In 1920's Brooklyn, Solomon Stern is the authority on EVERYTHING pharmaceutical...and his whole neighborhood knows it. The locals come from all around to get his advice, and his daughter Augusta Stern is proud of her father's store and secretly longs to follow in his footsteps...but as a woman, she's not sure what opportunities exist for her. When her mother tragically passes away, however, Great Aunt Esther moves in to help run the household...and Augusta notices that Esther has some special 'remedies' of her own...and everything from chicken noodle soup to special powders is fair game. While Augusta plans for the traditional route to pharmaceutical college, she can't help her fascination with these 'alternative' methods...and with charming delivery boy Irving Rivkin making her heart flutter, she even wonders if Esther might have a potion for HER in that bag of tricks...and would Augusta DARE to use it?
Many years later, in 1980, Augusta is freshly retired from her long career in pharmaceuticals and reflecting on what could possibly be next for her in this new chapter of her life. So you can only IMAGINE her surprise when her new neighbor of sorts at the retirement community is none other than that intriguing man who got away....Irving Rivkin himself. The two reconnect and the banter begins...but Augusta is hesitant. After all, the consequences of the 'clarity serum' she administered so many years ago have never stopped weighing on her...and needless to say, they didn't end up together back then...so how could it possibly happen NOW? When she revisits the past and pieces all bits of this particular puzzle together, will she find out secrets she would prefer REMAINED secret? Or could a special chant that Esther taught her be JUST what she needs to give this romance a TRUE second chance to bloom into something magical?
After missing Lynda Cohen Loigman's last effort, , enthusiastic reviews of that book's effortless blend of romance and magical realism had me chomping at the proverbial bit to read her newest book...ESPECIALLY when it seemed this author's special sauce was to blend these two genres in a smooth and intriguing way. (Toss in just a BIT of a HF feel with the 1920's setting and feel? How could I lose?!)
But if you've ever wondered what it would be like to watch two elderly people who were digging on each other in their younger years but never got together actually GET together in their 80's without maturing emotionally WHATSOEVER...well, this might be the book for you.
(Spoiler alert: it was NOT the book for me! 😔)
First off, calling this book magical realism is misleading, to say the least. Sure, there is TALK of the potential of magic...but only in the sense of Esther's Potions N' Powders and their 'special' qualities...and an incredibly obnoxious 'magical' chant that you will read several times throughout. (And for some reason, it felt more grating each and every time I read it). I'll be honest, for a while I had almost hoped for a true love potion in the story...at least that would have made sense, especially considering the title practically screams 'this is what the book is going to be about!' at you. But what happened instead was almost worse...everything was so unclear, undefined, and muddled that I didn't know if we were supposed to believe anything was magical or not. Was this supposed to be a lesson on the benefits of homeopathic medicines...? A week after finishing this...I'm still just NOT sure.
Putting that aside, this is also a dual timeline historical fiction story...and yet, it felt almost NOTHING like historical fiction to me. I'm not sure why the present day had to be the 80's (other than to make the timeline work) but the author didn't capitalize on this whatsoever. NOTHING in the 'present day' said 80's to me, and even the 20's timeline just didn't give me that FEEL I love from solid historical fiction, where I am swept back in time and feel the era sort of 'surrounding' me as I read. Sure, the events taking place at the time made sense, the author wove in enough detail to set the scene...but something about the dialogue, the byplay, and the plot itself just felt OFF to me. I also feel like a good, solid contrast, both in tone and perspective is so needed in a book like this, as it's hard to think an 80-year old woman would look at the world in much the same way as her 20-year old self...and yet, I never saw an INKLING of that here.
At the center of it all, of course, is the aforementioned geriatric love story...and since this was my least favorite element of the book, having to pore through 300+ pages of it felt interminable. The way these two talked to one another felt like they had never gotten their teenage hormones under control...and it was more than a bit gross to me, if I'm being honest. There's nothing wrong with elderly people falling in love, and I've read some beautiful instances of this in the past, but reading about old men leering at old ladies in their swimwear is really something I can FOREVER live without. 😝 The ENTIRE conflict also revolves around miscommunication, which is one of my least favorite romance tropes, as it is frustrating enough to deal with in 'real life', much less fiction. There is plenty of sappiness, especially towards the end, as we are led to wonder whether or not our leads will FINALLY get together...but I too must have been feeling too much like a teenager by that point: my eye-rolling was out of control. 🙄
And while spooky season is now fully upon us, and cauldrons are a-bubbling...I think in this instance Augusta would have been better off leaving the potions to the TRUE experts: The Sanderson Sisters. 🧹🧹🧹
😏
3 stars
#TheLoveElixirofAugustaStern #smpearlyreader #partner
January 11, 2025
To be honest, as I have grown older, along with living with cancer, I have come to appreciate more what it means to be living in this present moment. Simply put…Present moment living.
And, as I am now one year into a new decade, and not quite the decade that Augusta Stern inhabits, I recognize how each day does make a difference. Especially when we appreciate that we are experiencing it, with the people we surround ourselves with � whether they are family, friends or special loved ones, including our beloved pets.
So, it is not uncommon for me to be attracted to stories that introduce characters such as Augusta, as strong…even if it is considered headstrong, independent, fiercely capable and also in her case, recently retired as a pharmacist who heads off to Florida to live in a special retirement community.
But little did she expect to run into the love of her life, Irving who “rejected� her when she was young and impressionable, who also now happens to live in the same community.
At first, I wasn’t sure I liked Augusta. She seemed rather angry and resentful towards having to retire and having to see Irving, especially believing that he didn’t love her in the same way she loved him. She was always so quick to judge him!
Could we as readers be more patient with him, and want to understand what really may have happened between the two all those years ago? And more importantly, would I become more patient with Augusta?
As readers go back and forth through time, they learn the truth of what really happened between these star-crossed lovers. They also learn about the special “healing gifts� that Augusta possesses.
And, surprisingly for me, I did become more understanding towards Augusta. In fact her energy made me feel a sprint of it, too. Enough to come up with different questions�
Will Augusta and Irving be able to find an HEA even at 80 and 82 respectively? Can Augusta ever really retire? Should she?
Sometimes we need stories where we find characters that believe in the power of women and medicine and miracles and moonlight and chicken soup that can heal. And, that have stories with characters that just happen to be 80+ years old.
“…this book is a reminder that age doesn’t change who we are, that second chances are always possible, and that it is never too late to try to recapture the lost magic of our youth.�
Be sure to read the Author’s Note.
And, as I am now one year into a new decade, and not quite the decade that Augusta Stern inhabits, I recognize how each day does make a difference. Especially when we appreciate that we are experiencing it, with the people we surround ourselves with � whether they are family, friends or special loved ones, including our beloved pets.
So, it is not uncommon for me to be attracted to stories that introduce characters such as Augusta, as strong…even if it is considered headstrong, independent, fiercely capable and also in her case, recently retired as a pharmacist who heads off to Florida to live in a special retirement community.
But little did she expect to run into the love of her life, Irving who “rejected� her when she was young and impressionable, who also now happens to live in the same community.
At first, I wasn’t sure I liked Augusta. She seemed rather angry and resentful towards having to retire and having to see Irving, especially believing that he didn’t love her in the same way she loved him. She was always so quick to judge him!
Could we as readers be more patient with him, and want to understand what really may have happened between the two all those years ago? And more importantly, would I become more patient with Augusta?
As readers go back and forth through time, they learn the truth of what really happened between these star-crossed lovers. They also learn about the special “healing gifts� that Augusta possesses.
And, surprisingly for me, I did become more understanding towards Augusta. In fact her energy made me feel a sprint of it, too. Enough to come up with different questions�
Will Augusta and Irving be able to find an HEA even at 80 and 82 respectively? Can Augusta ever really retire? Should she?
Sometimes we need stories where we find characters that believe in the power of women and medicine and miracles and moonlight and chicken soup that can heal. And, that have stories with characters that just happen to be 80+ years old.
“…this book is a reminder that age doesn’t change who we are, that second chances are always possible, and that it is never too late to try to recapture the lost magic of our youth.�
Be sure to read the Author’s Note.
October 4, 2024
Augusta Stern, a pharmacist has been forced to retire just shy of her 80th birthday. Feeling lost, she reluctantly accepts her circumstances and moves from New York to a retirement community in Florida where she encounters a man from her past, Irving Rivkin. And so the dual time line begins: Augusta’s story from her childhood during the 1920’s is flawlessly braided into the present using flashbacks.
The story was captivating and the characters charming. The author created strong female characters in both Augusta and her aunt, Esther while exploring the role of women as healers both using traditional medicine and herbalism in the Jewish tradition. Each character has a solid distinct voice and even their names reflect their personality. Esther means star and that she is.
Excellent witty, sometimes acerbic, dialogue with a dash of apothecarial magic and a whole lot of love makes this a satisfying uplifting read. You’re never too old to learn, forgive, love or fulfill your dreams.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
The story was captivating and the characters charming. The author created strong female characters in both Augusta and her aunt, Esther while exploring the role of women as healers both using traditional medicine and herbalism in the Jewish tradition. Each character has a solid distinct voice and even their names reflect their personality. Esther means star and that she is.
Excellent witty, sometimes acerbic, dialogue with a dash of apothecarial magic and a whole lot of love makes this a satisfying uplifting read. You’re never too old to learn, forgive, love or fulfill your dreams.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
October 17, 2024
I really enjoyed The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern so much! It may well be my favorite book by Lynda Cohen Loigman so far, although I really enjoyed The Two-Family House, The Matchmaker’s Gift and The Wartime Sisters almost as much. In other words, I am a devoted fan of all of her books. The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern was written in a dual timeline. The chapters switched between Brooklyn during the early 1920’s and Florida in 1987. I always enjoy the way Lynda Cohen Loigman incorporates strong female characters into her book. She was able to accomplish that once again in The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern. I listened to the audiobook that was so well narrated by Gabra Zackman.
Augusta Stern was an older woman who was still working full time in 1987 as a pharmacist in a hospital. She enjoyed her work and couldn’t imagine herself not working. After all, Augusta had made her pharmacist career her true purpose in her life. Augusta had never married or had children so work was her passion. When a discrepancy in her age was discovered by the Human Resources Department at the hospital she worked for, Augusta was forced to initiate her own retirement. After all, Augusta was just months away from her eightieth birthday, instead of her seventieth birthday as she had made her employer and coworkers believe. With the help of her niece, Jackie, her older sister Bess’s daughter, Augusta found a two bedroom condominium in Florida in a retirement community called Rallentando Springs to retire in. Augusta made the move to Florida in the beginning of September in 1987, just a few weeks before her eightieth birthday which was on October third. That first morning at Rallentando Springs, Augusta decided to swim laps in her new condominium’s pool since that was something that she had gotten used to doing back in New York. As she made her way through her routine, she heard a voice that she had not heard in sixty something years. There was no mistaking it. The voice belonged to Irving Rivkin, Augusta’s first love. He was calling her Goldie, a childhood nickname that no one called her anymore.
Irving Rivkin had been the delivery boy at her father’s pharmacy. He had vanished from eighteen year old Augusta’s life in a blink of an eye. Augusta had been head over heels in love with him all those years ago. She had hoped that she and Irving would get engaged and marry but to Augusta’s shock and disappointment, Irving married Lois and left to live in Chicago. Augusta was brokenhearted. Now all these years later, Irving Rivkin was the last person Augusta wanted to see and to her dismay, he was living in the same retirement community as her. Was it fate or was she just being tormented once again by the coincidence of living in the same retirement community as Irving Rivkin?
Augusta Stern had grown up in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Her father, Solomon Stern was a pharmacist who owned Stern’s Pharmacy. Both the pharmacy and Solomon Stern had excellent reputations. The family which included Solomon, his wife Irene and their two daughters, Bess and Augusta lived above the store. From early on, both Bess and Augusta helped out at the pharmacy with simple tasks like dusting the shelves and arranging the stock. Augusta always took a more serious interest than her older sister in the prescriptions and the advise her father gave to his customers. When Augusta was only fourteen years old, her mother died from diabetes. Insulin had yet to be discovered and used as a treatment for diabetes. Around this time, Solomon Stern hired Irving Rivkin to deliver orders to the pharmacy’s customers.
Six months after Augusta and Bess lost their beloved mother, their great aunt Esther came to live with the Sterns. Augusta resented her great aunt Esther at first. She and Bess who had always shared a room were forced to separate. Their mother’s sewing room became Bess’s new bedroom and Augusta now shared a bedroom with her aunt. As time progressed, Augusta and Irving developed feelings for one another and fell hopelessly in love. Augusta learned about the unique healing abilities her great aunt Esther possessed and Augusta wanted more than anything to become a pharmacist like her father. She came to love, admire and respect her great aunt Esther. Augusta’s great aunt Esther gave her the nickname of Goldie. It was Augusta’s belief, that she was capable of combining the teachings of her great aunt with the traditional ways of her father to become a successful woman pharmacist that was able to provide cures for many. Before Augusta was able to test her theory, her world fell apart. Irving Rivkin left Brooklyn to marry Lois and her great aunt Esther died.
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern was everything I have come to expect from a book written by Lynda Cohen Loigman. It was captivating from start to finish. I adored the characters of Augusta and her great aunt. Augusta was strong, intelligent, determined and living before her times. It was quite unusual for women to become pharmacists in the 1920’s. She was met by opposition from male customers who did not trust her ability to fill their prescriptions correctly. I admired her father who stood up for Augusta and finally came to respect her and believe in her. The mention of great aunt Esther’s chicken soup and kreplach brought back fond memories of my grandmother’s soup and kreplach. My grandmother, like Esther, didn’t measure or use recipes for most of her cooking. It was always a pinch of this and a little of that. The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern was about second chances, family, ambitions, healers, trust, loss, love and friendship. If you enjoy historical fiction that is mixed with a little romance and magical realism then I highly recommend you read The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern ny Lynda Cohen Loigman.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman through Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
Augusta Stern was an older woman who was still working full time in 1987 as a pharmacist in a hospital. She enjoyed her work and couldn’t imagine herself not working. After all, Augusta had made her pharmacist career her true purpose in her life. Augusta had never married or had children so work was her passion. When a discrepancy in her age was discovered by the Human Resources Department at the hospital she worked for, Augusta was forced to initiate her own retirement. After all, Augusta was just months away from her eightieth birthday, instead of her seventieth birthday as she had made her employer and coworkers believe. With the help of her niece, Jackie, her older sister Bess’s daughter, Augusta found a two bedroom condominium in Florida in a retirement community called Rallentando Springs to retire in. Augusta made the move to Florida in the beginning of September in 1987, just a few weeks before her eightieth birthday which was on October third. That first morning at Rallentando Springs, Augusta decided to swim laps in her new condominium’s pool since that was something that she had gotten used to doing back in New York. As she made her way through her routine, she heard a voice that she had not heard in sixty something years. There was no mistaking it. The voice belonged to Irving Rivkin, Augusta’s first love. He was calling her Goldie, a childhood nickname that no one called her anymore.
Irving Rivkin had been the delivery boy at her father’s pharmacy. He had vanished from eighteen year old Augusta’s life in a blink of an eye. Augusta had been head over heels in love with him all those years ago. She had hoped that she and Irving would get engaged and marry but to Augusta’s shock and disappointment, Irving married Lois and left to live in Chicago. Augusta was brokenhearted. Now all these years later, Irving Rivkin was the last person Augusta wanted to see and to her dismay, he was living in the same retirement community as her. Was it fate or was she just being tormented once again by the coincidence of living in the same retirement community as Irving Rivkin?
Augusta Stern had grown up in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Her father, Solomon Stern was a pharmacist who owned Stern’s Pharmacy. Both the pharmacy and Solomon Stern had excellent reputations. The family which included Solomon, his wife Irene and their two daughters, Bess and Augusta lived above the store. From early on, both Bess and Augusta helped out at the pharmacy with simple tasks like dusting the shelves and arranging the stock. Augusta always took a more serious interest than her older sister in the prescriptions and the advise her father gave to his customers. When Augusta was only fourteen years old, her mother died from diabetes. Insulin had yet to be discovered and used as a treatment for diabetes. Around this time, Solomon Stern hired Irving Rivkin to deliver orders to the pharmacy’s customers.
Six months after Augusta and Bess lost their beloved mother, their great aunt Esther came to live with the Sterns. Augusta resented her great aunt Esther at first. She and Bess who had always shared a room were forced to separate. Their mother’s sewing room became Bess’s new bedroom and Augusta now shared a bedroom with her aunt. As time progressed, Augusta and Irving developed feelings for one another and fell hopelessly in love. Augusta learned about the unique healing abilities her great aunt Esther possessed and Augusta wanted more than anything to become a pharmacist like her father. She came to love, admire and respect her great aunt Esther. Augusta’s great aunt Esther gave her the nickname of Goldie. It was Augusta’s belief, that she was capable of combining the teachings of her great aunt with the traditional ways of her father to become a successful woman pharmacist that was able to provide cures for many. Before Augusta was able to test her theory, her world fell apart. Irving Rivkin left Brooklyn to marry Lois and her great aunt Esther died.
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern was everything I have come to expect from a book written by Lynda Cohen Loigman. It was captivating from start to finish. I adored the characters of Augusta and her great aunt. Augusta was strong, intelligent, determined and living before her times. It was quite unusual for women to become pharmacists in the 1920’s. She was met by opposition from male customers who did not trust her ability to fill their prescriptions correctly. I admired her father who stood up for Augusta and finally came to respect her and believe in her. The mention of great aunt Esther’s chicken soup and kreplach brought back fond memories of my grandmother’s soup and kreplach. My grandmother, like Esther, didn’t measure or use recipes for most of her cooking. It was always a pinch of this and a little of that. The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern was about second chances, family, ambitions, healers, trust, loss, love and friendship. If you enjoy historical fiction that is mixed with a little romance and magical realism then I highly recommend you read The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern ny Lynda Cohen Loigman.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman through Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
October 7, 2024
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern is a charming story that reminds us that it is never too late to have love and magic in our lives.
October 8, 2024
A cutesy, heartwarming, second-chance romance set in the 1920s and 1980s.
I will be honest, the only reason I picked this up is because the cover was gorgeous and I saw a hint of magic realism somewhere in the description. This is a romance-focused book with endearing characters and a completely improbable plotline (everything apart from the magic, that is). I feel like it should have been longer for me to appreciate the relationship between all the characters, but the book does pack a good (sweet?) punch in a small package. I'm not going to analyze this one much, it's fun and refreshing with a side of feminism, and it made me want to make chicken soup. 4 stars, this is for the cozy romance and magical realism readers.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
I will be honest, the only reason I picked this up is because the cover was gorgeous and I saw a hint of magic realism somewhere in the description. This is a romance-focused book with endearing characters and a completely improbable plotline (everything apart from the magic, that is). I feel like it should have been longer for me to appreciate the relationship between all the characters, but the book does pack a good (sweet?) punch in a small package. I'm not going to analyze this one much, it's fun and refreshing with a side of feminism, and it made me want to make chicken soup. 4 stars, this is for the cozy romance and magical realism readers.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
February 5, 2025
I cannot tell you how much I loved and savored this book! It is the first book of 2025 that is going on my Contenders for the Top Ten List. It was heartwarming and beautiful in every way.
The dual timeline traces Augusta from 14-20 in one phase, and as an eighty year old in the other. She is one of the feisty elder women in the book, the other is her Aunt Esther. With the herbs and potions of Aunt Esther, and the pharmaceutical world offered by her father, a young Augusta is caught between, and wonders why some lives, like her mother's could not have been easily saved, with these two powerhouses of love and conflicting expertise in her life. But that is just the background. In this book, we are reliving and retracing her botched love affair with Irving, the man she loved her entire life, and felt tossed away. At eighty, she is forced to retire and lands at a retirement home in Florida, and there is Irving. All the anger and old feelings arise, and there are immediately love triangles, even squares. Hilarity ensues, and ultimately, Augusta, Goldie, learns how to understand what is truly in the heart.
I cannot express how much I loved this. I am a huge purveyor of Jewish historical fiction, and these characters are my people. This is the same author of the Matchmaker's Gift, a book I also treasured. It also reminds me of my new favorite author, Sarah Goodman Confino, who brings Jewish historical fiction to life, in the most funny, beautiful, and heartwarming way. Right now, we all need a little escapism, and let me tell you, this book is just perfect for that.
I have an online book group for this book tomorrow night, and I cannot wait! Loved it to pieces.
The dual timeline traces Augusta from 14-20 in one phase, and as an eighty year old in the other. She is one of the feisty elder women in the book, the other is her Aunt Esther. With the herbs and potions of Aunt Esther, and the pharmaceutical world offered by her father, a young Augusta is caught between, and wonders why some lives, like her mother's could not have been easily saved, with these two powerhouses of love and conflicting expertise in her life. But that is just the background. In this book, we are reliving and retracing her botched love affair with Irving, the man she loved her entire life, and felt tossed away. At eighty, she is forced to retire and lands at a retirement home in Florida, and there is Irving. All the anger and old feelings arise, and there are immediately love triangles, even squares. Hilarity ensues, and ultimately, Augusta, Goldie, learns how to understand what is truly in the heart.
I cannot express how much I loved this. I am a huge purveyor of Jewish historical fiction, and these characters are my people. This is the same author of the Matchmaker's Gift, a book I also treasured. It also reminds me of my new favorite author, Sarah Goodman Confino, who brings Jewish historical fiction to life, in the most funny, beautiful, and heartwarming way. Right now, we all need a little escapism, and let me tell you, this book is just perfect for that.
I have an online book group for this book tomorrow night, and I cannot wait! Loved it to pieces.
January 12, 2025
the setup�
Pharmacist Augusta Stern is about to turn eighty and is forced to retire (she’d fudged her age by ten years). She’s lived in Brooklyn her entire life and has no plan for what’s next so her beloved niece Jackie convinces her to relocate to a vibrant senior community in Rallentando Springs, Florida. On her first day, she has a chance encounter with Irving Rivkin, a man she hasn’t seen in over sixty years. He’s also the man who broke her heart and she’s not in the mood for a reunion or forgiveness.
the heart of the story�
The story unfolds with flashbacks to 1922 Brooklyn where Augusta worked in her father Solomon’s pharmacy. He welcomed her in the shop, teaching her everything and fostering her own plan to become a pharmacist and work by his side. When her mother died, Great Aunt Esther came to live with them, bringing her knowledge of home and herb remedies that were a fascination to Augusta but a point of conflict with Solomon. Irving was the delivery boy for the pharmacy and much more to Augusta until something fractured. Flash forward to 1987 and the Augusta’s clearly not over Irving and he’s very interested in reconnecting.
the narration�
Gabra Zackman did a wonderful job of handling the young and mature voice for Augusta. She’s a talented storyteller who managed those transitions with ease and clarity.
the bottom line�
I learned from the author’s afterward that this story is based on her own relative and that made me appreciate this even more as a woman pharmacist in the 1920s was extraordinary. They say we revert to our childhood natures as we age and Augusta quite often reacted to Irving as if she was a teen. Aunt Esther’s healing remedies bordered on the mystical but I know from my own great grandmother who was renowned for the same thing that it was probably more about their expertise with botanicals. I loved everything about this elaborately layered and unique “coming of age� story.
Posted on
Pharmacist Augusta Stern is about to turn eighty and is forced to retire (she’d fudged her age by ten years). She’s lived in Brooklyn her entire life and has no plan for what’s next so her beloved niece Jackie convinces her to relocate to a vibrant senior community in Rallentando Springs, Florida. On her first day, she has a chance encounter with Irving Rivkin, a man she hasn’t seen in over sixty years. He’s also the man who broke her heart and she’s not in the mood for a reunion or forgiveness.
the heart of the story�
The story unfolds with flashbacks to 1922 Brooklyn where Augusta worked in her father Solomon’s pharmacy. He welcomed her in the shop, teaching her everything and fostering her own plan to become a pharmacist and work by his side. When her mother died, Great Aunt Esther came to live with them, bringing her knowledge of home and herb remedies that were a fascination to Augusta but a point of conflict with Solomon. Irving was the delivery boy for the pharmacy and much more to Augusta until something fractured. Flash forward to 1987 and the Augusta’s clearly not over Irving and he’s very interested in reconnecting.
the narration�
Gabra Zackman did a wonderful job of handling the young and mature voice for Augusta. She’s a talented storyteller who managed those transitions with ease and clarity.
the bottom line�
I learned from the author’s afterward that this story is based on her own relative and that made me appreciate this even more as a woman pharmacist in the 1920s was extraordinary. They say we revert to our childhood natures as we age and Augusta quite often reacted to Irving as if she was a teen. Aunt Esther’s healing remedies bordered on the mystical but I know from my own great grandmother who was renowned for the same thing that it was probably more about their expertise with botanicals. I loved everything about this elaborately layered and unique “coming of age� story.
Posted on
April 2, 2024
Beautiful. It’s the best word I can come up with to describe this book. This gem of a story is set between two timelines, 1920’s Brooklyn and 1980’s Florida. Augusta and her story, catch you by the heart strings and she doesn’t let go until that final page is read.
Jumping back to younger Augusta, we’re quickly thrown into her journey as she navigates the loss of her mother from diabetes. Wanting to help others in the way her own mother was unable to be helped at the time, she decides to follow in her father’s footsteps of becoming a pharmacist. Through all this, we also get the pleasure of meeting Great Aunt Esther. She not only introduces Augusta to the holistic side of medicine but also brings a bit of magic into play as well.
Jumping forward to older Augusta at a retirement home in Florida, the past quite literally runs (or in this case, swims) into the present. Irving was a delivery boy at her father’s drugstore in New York and also her first love. The second chance at love that Irving and Augusta are met with was like a cherry on top of an already beautiful story. But also, I would very much like to move to Rallentando Springs Retirement Center. The scenes in present time were too much fun to read! Where can I send my application and security deposit?
Overall, I think what I found most beautiful about this story was seeing how certain people leave such a lasting mark on your life. Whether they stick around for years to come or they’re just passing through, it’s amazing what type of impression a person can leave and how you decide to carry it.
Make sure to grab a bowl of chicken soup and curl up with this unforgettable story.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an arc of this book. All opinions are my own.
Jumping back to younger Augusta, we’re quickly thrown into her journey as she navigates the loss of her mother from diabetes. Wanting to help others in the way her own mother was unable to be helped at the time, she decides to follow in her father’s footsteps of becoming a pharmacist. Through all this, we also get the pleasure of meeting Great Aunt Esther. She not only introduces Augusta to the holistic side of medicine but also brings a bit of magic into play as well.
Jumping forward to older Augusta at a retirement home in Florida, the past quite literally runs (or in this case, swims) into the present. Irving was a delivery boy at her father’s drugstore in New York and also her first love. The second chance at love that Irving and Augusta are met with was like a cherry on top of an already beautiful story. But also, I would very much like to move to Rallentando Springs Retirement Center. The scenes in present time were too much fun to read! Where can I send my application and security deposit?
Overall, I think what I found most beautiful about this story was seeing how certain people leave such a lasting mark on your life. Whether they stick around for years to come or they’re just passing through, it’s amazing what type of impression a person can leave and how you decide to carry it.
Make sure to grab a bowl of chicken soup and curl up with this unforgettable story.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an arc of this book. All opinions are my own.
November 11, 2024
It's 1987 and Augusta Stern is about to celebrate her 80th birthday. After running her family's pharmacy and working as a pharmacist in several hospitals, Augusta is gently informed that it's time for her to retire. She leaves Brooklyn and moves to a retirement community in Boca Raton, Florida. One of the first people she sees is Irving Rifkin, her first love. When this charming story shifts to 1922, Augusta has recently lost her mother, and her great-aunt Esther has come to help out the family. Teenaged Augusta helps out at her father Solomon's pharmacy. With the skills learned in Russia, Esther uses non-conventional ways of helping people including servings of her chicken soup and other herbal remedies. Augusta and Irving, the pharmacy's delivery boy develop a close friendship that evolves into something more. Through all their years apart, Augusta never understood why Irving broke her heart. Is it too late for forgiveness?
This is Lynda Cohen Loigman'sfourthbook, and I have enjoyed them all. The Matchmaker's Gift was one of my favorites of 2022. And now The Love Elixirof Augusta Stern has captured my heart. I loved Augusta, Irving, and the wonderful Aunt Esther. The novel provides a perfect blend of poignancy and wit.
As a child of Brooklyn who now lives in the Boca area, I find it remarkable how much Loigman'sbooks resonate with me. Be sure to check out this delightful novel.Many thanks to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read it in advance.
Review posted on .
This is Lynda Cohen Loigman'sfourthbook, and I have enjoyed them all. The Matchmaker's Gift was one of my favorites of 2022. And now The Love Elixirof Augusta Stern has captured my heart. I loved Augusta, Irving, and the wonderful Aunt Esther. The novel provides a perfect blend of poignancy and wit.
As a child of Brooklyn who now lives in the Boca area, I find it remarkable how much Loigman'sbooks resonate with me. Be sure to check out this delightful novel.Many thanks to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read it in advance.
Review posted on .
October 8, 2024
Eighty-year-old Augusta Stern is a retired pharmacist. She is now living in a senior community in Florida.
She runs into a man from her past, Irving Rivkin who was a delivery boy for her fathers at his pharmacy in Brooklyn, when they were younger. He broke her heart and you can imagine the shock of seeing him in her community.
When Augusta was younger, and her father Solomon owned the local pharmacy was the go-to place for all ailments. After he mother dies, her Great Aunt Esther moves in and is a healer so Augusta leans remedies from Esther.
As Augusta learns the new ways, something happens and she vows to stay away from elixirs.
After all this time, will old wounds heal? I was fascinated by this story.
Thank you St. Martins Press for this gifted eARC.
She runs into a man from her past, Irving Rivkin who was a delivery boy for her fathers at his pharmacy in Brooklyn, when they were younger. He broke her heart and you can imagine the shock of seeing him in her community.
When Augusta was younger, and her father Solomon owned the local pharmacy was the go-to place for all ailments. After he mother dies, her Great Aunt Esther moves in and is a healer so Augusta leans remedies from Esther.
As Augusta learns the new ways, something happens and she vows to stay away from elixirs.
After all this time, will old wounds heal? I was fascinated by this story.
Thank you St. Martins Press for this gifted eARC.
October 16, 2024
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.
My Canadian Thanksgiving reads have been the highlight of October. In her main protagonist, Augusta Stern, Lynda Cohen Loigman has created one of the most delightful and heartwarming characters. A second chance romance between characters in their eighties? It made me laugh and cry (even long after I closed the book). Just when I felt that I might be tired of dual timelines( this one is 1920's/1980's), I stand corrected and have a book that I am going to recommend that everyone must place on their list!!
Publication Date 08/10/24
ŷ Review 15/10/24
My Canadian Thanksgiving reads have been the highlight of October. In her main protagonist, Augusta Stern, Lynda Cohen Loigman has created one of the most delightful and heartwarming characters. A second chance romance between characters in their eighties? It made me laugh and cry (even long after I closed the book). Just when I felt that I might be tired of dual timelines( this one is 1920's/1980's), I stand corrected and have a book that I am going to recommend that everyone must place on their list!!
Publication Date 08/10/24
ŷ Review 15/10/24
September 21, 2024
After I read The Matchmaker’s Gift earlier this year, I knew absolutely had to read more by Lynda Cohen Loigman. Thus began my journey to receive an arc of her latest book that just so happens to include my surname in the title. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and the author for this highly anticipated arc.
In 1920s Brooklyn, Goldie Stern is working in her father’s pharmacy when her mother tragically dies from diabetes. It is only a few months later that insulin is brought to the market, further magnifying both Goldie’s grief and the importance of modern medicine. While Goldie’s father, Solomon, is strictly about the medicine, his sister, Esther, brings unconventional remedies for the spirit and soul when she moves in. Goldie is at first skeptical, but is eventually drawn to her Aunt Esther’s alternative remedies when she sees them work. After all, where was modern medicine when her mother needed it? There are, however, rules regarding Esther’s elixirs that Goldie unfortunately learns the hard way.
In 1987, Goldie is now Augusta: a feisty, retired pharmacist who never married after having her heart broken sixty years earlier by Irving Rivkin, a delivery boy from her father’s pharmacy who fell head over heels for Augusta before suddenly disappearing with another woman. Augusta, on the cusp of turning 80, moves into a retirement community in South Florida recommended by her niece. When Augusta hears a man call her “Goldie,� she is shocked to find Irving resides at the same retirement community she is settling in to. Two things become immediately clear: Irving is still very much smitten with Augusta and Augusta is still very much angry with Irving. But was a magical elixir really to blame for their heartbreak, or was it perhaps something even darker?
Loigman does a seamless job weaving dual timelines together and delivers another heartwarming story about reclaimed love and magic. Gabra Zackman is a talented narrator and brought Augusta to life in all her wit and charm.
In 1920s Brooklyn, Goldie Stern is working in her father’s pharmacy when her mother tragically dies from diabetes. It is only a few months later that insulin is brought to the market, further magnifying both Goldie’s grief and the importance of modern medicine. While Goldie’s father, Solomon, is strictly about the medicine, his sister, Esther, brings unconventional remedies for the spirit and soul when she moves in. Goldie is at first skeptical, but is eventually drawn to her Aunt Esther’s alternative remedies when she sees them work. After all, where was modern medicine when her mother needed it? There are, however, rules regarding Esther’s elixirs that Goldie unfortunately learns the hard way.
In 1987, Goldie is now Augusta: a feisty, retired pharmacist who never married after having her heart broken sixty years earlier by Irving Rivkin, a delivery boy from her father’s pharmacy who fell head over heels for Augusta before suddenly disappearing with another woman. Augusta, on the cusp of turning 80, moves into a retirement community in South Florida recommended by her niece. When Augusta hears a man call her “Goldie,� she is shocked to find Irving resides at the same retirement community she is settling in to. Two things become immediately clear: Irving is still very much smitten with Augusta and Augusta is still very much angry with Irving. But was a magical elixir really to blame for their heartbreak, or was it perhaps something even darker?
Loigman does a seamless job weaving dual timelines together and delivers another heartwarming story about reclaimed love and magic. Gabra Zackman is a talented narrator and brought Augusta to life in all her wit and charm.
July 25, 2024
3.75
a wholesome slice of life.
this would make an amazing movie.
a wholesome slice of life.
this would make an amazing movie.
October 7, 2024
I aboslutely loved this charming late-in-life second chance love story. Augusta Stern has long worked at the pharmacy, but now that they've realized she's nearly 80, the administration has gently nudged her out the door. Newly retired, she moves into a senior living community, where she promptly runs into Irvin —who broke her heart many, many years before. Irving was her equivalent of "the boy next door," when he worked as the delivery boy for her father's drug store in the 1920s. Their love seemed destined for more until he suddenly disappeared from her life into the arms of another woman. Sixty years later, Irving seems to want to work his way back into Augusta's heart, but she's not sure she can ever forgive him. As the truth of their shared history slowly unfolds, Augusta finds herself turning to recreating the love potion her great aunt Esther concocted many years prior. As it did once before, the elixir can both clarify feelings and lead to unexpected twists.
It was so easy to love all of the characters in this book. The plot delivers satisfying themes of independence, feminism, and having the confidence to stand outside social norms. Augusta chose her professional life over a domestic one at a time when this was well outside of the expectations of women. This is a warm, cozy hug in book form, perfect for its launch in fall. I adored the gruff but wise Ethel and would love to see more of her —perhaps a prequel that focuses on her life as well! Gabra Zackman did an exceptional job on narration, with a wide range of voices that sweep you right in.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and Lynda Cohen Loigman for an advance copy for honest review.
It was so easy to love all of the characters in this book. The plot delivers satisfying themes of independence, feminism, and having the confidence to stand outside social norms. Augusta chose her professional life over a domestic one at a time when this was well outside of the expectations of women. This is a warm, cozy hug in book form, perfect for its launch in fall. I adored the gruff but wise Ethel and would love to see more of her —perhaps a prequel that focuses on her life as well! Gabra Zackman did an exceptional job on narration, with a wide range of voices that sweep you right in.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and Lynda Cohen Loigman for an advance copy for honest review.
February 17, 2025
This was such a delightful book. It just made me smile reading it. Augusta Stern worked in her father’s pharmacy in Brownsville, Brooklyn in the 1920’s, so it was fun reading about Brooklyn and Jewish Culture during that time. She is such an interesting character, incredibly smart, hard working, open to new ideas, and wants to become a pharmacist. She has also fallen in love with Irvin Rivkin and thinks he will likely purpose soon. Something goes terribly wrong and Irvin leaves Brooklyn. Her Aunt Esther has a special influence on her and teaches her some unconventional holistic medical practices that are magical for some people. After, Augusta’s dream of marrying is lost, she decides to be practical and loses a bit of her belief in miraculous events happening ever again. Augusta puts all her time and energy into being a pharmacist at a time when women were not considered able to do that job. She loves her work, and finally at 80 Retires.
The other timeline is in the 1980’s where Augusta listens to her niece and moves to Rallentando Retirement Community and she meets up with Irvin again. This does not make her happy at first. She decides she is too old for love. Still, could it be possible to take a chance again and have some faith in love again? Even though Augusta is about to have her 80th Birthday, does not mean she doesn’t have much life left in her. The scenes here are both delightful and funny.
I loved that Augusta is her own person leading a fairly unconventional life and that she is vibrant and sharp at 80. She was a great character to follow. You just want her to experience all that life has to offer. I definitely loved reading about all the foods Aunt Esther Cooked, especially her Mouth Watering Chicken Soup. I could go for some right now!
Thank you NetGalley, Lynda Cohen Loigman, and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this book. I always leave reviews for books I read.
The other timeline is in the 1980’s where Augusta listens to her niece and moves to Rallentando Retirement Community and she meets up with Irvin again. This does not make her happy at first. She decides she is too old for love. Still, could it be possible to take a chance again and have some faith in love again? Even though Augusta is about to have her 80th Birthday, does not mean she doesn’t have much life left in her. The scenes here are both delightful and funny.
I loved that Augusta is her own person leading a fairly unconventional life and that she is vibrant and sharp at 80. She was a great character to follow. You just want her to experience all that life has to offer. I definitely loved reading about all the foods Aunt Esther Cooked, especially her Mouth Watering Chicken Soup. I could go for some right now!
Thank you NetGalley, Lynda Cohen Loigman, and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this book. I always leave reviews for books I read.
May 17, 2024
Augusta is finally retiring from her position as a pharmacist. She's 80, although her paperwork shows her as ten years younger. Her niece Jackie has found a lovely place for her to retire in Florida, but when she gets there, who does she see but Irv Rivkin, her boyfriend from 60+ years ago? He was the delivery boy in her dad's New York pharmacy until he broke her heart. The story is told in two timelines: the 1920's when Augusta was growing up, and the 1980's when she moves to Florida. Her great aunt lived with them after her mom died, and was very skilled at using herbal medicine, which annoyed Augusta's pharmacist father. The characters really come to life in both time periods, and they have secrets which are eventually revealed. Usually older people are practically invisible, as one character notes, but here they shine, and their stories are amazing in this feel-good read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this advance copy.
November 30, 2024
I have a thing for curmudgeons - and Augusta is that. She's had to turn her back on a number of promising interests and that has been done with self-punishing flare. Yep. She's one of those, the martyr / spartan / sacrifice who offers herself up in order to please the group at large. Father has a pharmacy, and Augusta mans that post for decades, abandoning chances at love (too trivial) and to bring home comestibles for family. To uphold and defend family reputation broadcasting to the world: No Witchy Behavior Here, No Potions Either, Not a Healer, Never Ever. Not at all like interesting Aunt Esther who embodied and eagerly shared all of that at every opportunity (hand over that recipe book!). . . that's all in Brooklyn, New York, where the family grew up and aged out.
Time passes, and Augusta's forced into retirement, and flies as so many others do to Florida at one of those party palaces for the over 60s set, and that's when this book gets very interesting.
As a woman of a certain age, this story amused and entertained me in a big way. Go Augusta, Go!
*A sincere thank you to Lynda Cohen Loigman, St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.*
Time passes, and Augusta's forced into retirement, and flies as so many others do to Florida at one of those party palaces for the over 60s set, and that's when this book gets very interesting.
As a woman of a certain age, this story amused and entertained me in a big way. Go Augusta, Go!
*A sincere thank you to Lynda Cohen Loigman, St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.*
November 24, 2024
4.5 stars.
This book was a delight. I've never encountered a plot line focusing on a female pharmacist during the 1920s, and I was fascinated by the cultural implications of a woman in a tight-knit Jewish neighborhood with aspirations to follow in her father's footsteps. Augusta Stern was a wonderful character, but I was even more intrigued by her great-aunt Esther. It was she who practiced the folk remedies of long-ago. It was she who had the old mortar engraved with prayers and the apothecary chest stuffed with herbs. I could've read a whole book about Esther alone. I feel like she spoke these words to readers across the world:
“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?"
This book has dual timelines, and the one thing that unites the two is the unrequited love between Augusta and Irving. Now in their 80s, they meet again and the mysterious events that separated them in the 1920s are explained. This part was a little predictable but not lacking in sweetness.
This book was a delight. I've never encountered a plot line focusing on a female pharmacist during the 1920s, and I was fascinated by the cultural implications of a woman in a tight-knit Jewish neighborhood with aspirations to follow in her father's footsteps. Augusta Stern was a wonderful character, but I was even more intrigued by her great-aunt Esther. It was she who practiced the folk remedies of long-ago. It was she who had the old mortar engraved with prayers and the apothecary chest stuffed with herbs. I could've read a whole book about Esther alone. I feel like she spoke these words to readers across the world:
“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?"
This book has dual timelines, and the one thing that unites the two is the unrequited love between Augusta and Irving. Now in their 80s, they meet again and the mysterious events that separated them in the 1920s are explained. This part was a little predictable but not lacking in sweetness.
October 11, 2024
I don’t read magical realism often but am so happy I said yes to this incredibly charming tale (+ having the slightest fantasy aspect, perfect for me). Eighty-year-old retired pharmacist Augusta Stern crosses paths with an old love who had broken her heart. But as fate would have, it found a way to bring them together 60 years later. This is such a tender-hearted story told in the past + present about second chance love, new beginnings and found family. This is my first Lynda Cohen Loigman novel.. what a wonderful storyteller! � 5 stars � Pub. 10/8/24
Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.
Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.
April 11, 2024
I always have Lynda Cohen Loigman books preordered! The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern was beautiful. Dual timeline done perfectly. Love and hope and maybe a little bit of magic made this book unputdownable. People tease me because I give a lot of 5 stars, but I read books that bring me joy. Books that make me laugh and cry. I don’t have time for anything less and so I just don’t finish the ones I don’t love! I promise you want to add this one to your list!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
March 18, 2025
A delightful romantic tale that explores the magic and messiness of love through Augusta’s unique apothecary and its potions. When she crafts a love elixir, it unintentionally triggers a series of surprising happenings in her quaint community. As Augusta grapples with the ripple effects of her concoction, she learns that while her intentions with the love elixir were good, real connections and emotions are irreplaceable and essential for meaningful relationships.
The book reminds us that love, trust, and understanding are the foundations of strong bonds, and that sometimes, even the best intentions can lead to unexpected outcomes.
🎧Narrator, Gabra Zackman’s expressive voice masterfully captures the book’s whimsical and heartwarming essence, bringing depth and personality to each character while vividly conveying the emotions of key moments.
Meanwhile, author Lynda Cohen Loigman’s narration adds a unique personal touch, enriching the storytelling with her deep understanding of the characters and plot. Together, their performances make this audiobook a delightful journey.
I throughly enjoyed this charming story and recommend it to anybody who enjoys tales of imperfect connections.
The book reminds us that love, trust, and understanding are the foundations of strong bonds, and that sometimes, even the best intentions can lead to unexpected outcomes.
🎧Narrator, Gabra Zackman’s expressive voice masterfully captures the book’s whimsical and heartwarming essence, bringing depth and personality to each character while vividly conveying the emotions of key moments.
Meanwhile, author Lynda Cohen Loigman’s narration adds a unique personal touch, enriching the storytelling with her deep understanding of the characters and plot. Together, their performances make this audiobook a delightful journey.
I throughly enjoyed this charming story and recommend it to anybody who enjoys tales of imperfect connections.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,890 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.