The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern: A Novel

Truly a wonderful read. In a world that has forgotten the joy of simplicity, this book reminds me of how love triumphs every hardship. Ya just gotta stick it out.

I was not so sure about this book until around the 8th chapter. I was recommended this book by my daughter, whom has always guided me to really good books!But then wow it started getting interesting where you had to figure out what really happened for Irving to marry Lois, about the great aunt, and more things that happened?I admit that the book didn’t end the way I thought but it was a fantastic ending.I do recommend this book, and if you are like myself thinking the book is not that great, don’t give up because it is!

How I loved this novel! The plot of this dual timeline, later-in-life romance story is propulsive, engaging and fun. Master storyteller, Linda Cohen Loigman deftly swings between 1924 prohibition-era Brownsville, Brooklyn and 1987 Boca Raton retirement home. Every character jumps off the page, especially (to me) the lovably hapless Irving Rivkin—Augusta’s would-be love interest, the one that got away 62 years ago—and the tough-loving, magical-soup-making Great Aunt Esther who comes from the old country to live with Augusta’s family when her mother dies. Esther comes to the family with certain healing skills that rival those of Augusta’s pharmacist father, Sol—who has enough headaches trying to manage the demands of Zip Diamond, the notorious and powerful gangster. Best of all is our protagonist, the fiercely independent Augusta Stern. 1920’s Augusta is a smart, opinionated teenager learning the healing arts from both Aunt Esther and her father, trying to heal herself from the loss of her mother, falling for the attentive delivery boy (Irving Rivkin). 1980’s Augusta is a reluctantly retired, young-for-her-age near octogenarian, swimming away her pain in a fetching red maillot, fending off the advances of her old flame (again Irving Rifkin).Loigman’s narrative will make you laugh and cry (that sounds like such a cliché, but it’s true, I did both repeatedly). And I appreciated the warm infusion of Jewish culture and multigenerational family relationships that I love in Loigman’s books.A timely feel-good tale. Highly recommend!

I loved this book so much! It's a heartwarming story set in two time frames between 1920's Brooklyn and Florida in the 1980's. This is a story of first love, family, romance, loss, magic, self discovery and that it's never too late for new beginnings! This book also powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse and the strength of the survivors! It will having you rooting for Augusta and others because the story just wraps around your heart and doesn't let go! It's really for anyone who believes in second chances! If you do believe just like I do, you will fall in love with this story and the characters just as much as I did! I will be thinking about this book for a very long time! 🥰

The author has clearly never seen an 80 year old. Her descriptions of the characters running and bending and racing around are so unbelievable that it’s hard to immerse yourself in the story.

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.

This book filled me with such joy. My heart is full and happy! In a time where mental illness has me down, this book lifted my spirits and touched my soul. I can't wait to read this book again and again!