I loved everything about The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman! It was so unique to have a pharmacist heroine.
This is the âsecond chance romanceâ story of Augusta and Irving in two timelines, as teens in the 1920s and as senior citizens in the 1980's. They fell in love in Brooklyn while Irving worked for Augusta's pharmacist father, but then life circumstances took them in very different directions. They reconnect just before Augusta's 80th birthday when she retires to Florida. (It's clever that the retirement community's name is Rallentando Springs as rallentando is a musical term that means âslowing down.')
The novel is filled with humor and heart, and the character interactions felt genuine. I thoroughly enjoyed both timelines which isn't always the case for dual timeline stories. I appreciated the relationships Augusta has with her aunt Esther and with her niece Jackie. It's interesting that the plot juxtaposes the science of pharmacology and the magical realism of Esther's chicken soup.
This is the first novel I've read by this author and am so looking forward to exploring her backlist.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and the Thoughts From a Page podcast for the egalley of this wonderful novel.
This is the âsecond chance romanceâ story of Augusta and Irving in two timelines, as teens in the 1920s and as senior citizens in the 1980's. They fell in love in Brooklyn while Irving worked for Augusta's pharmacist father, but then life circumstances took them in very different directions. They reconnect just before Augusta's 80th birthday when she retires to Florida. (It's clever that the retirement community's name is Rallentando Springs as rallentando is a musical term that means âslowing down.')
The novel is filled with humor and heart, and the character interactions felt genuine. I thoroughly enjoyed both timelines which isn't always the case for dual timeline stories. I appreciated the relationships Augusta has with her aunt Esther and with her niece Jackie. It's interesting that the plot juxtaposes the science of pharmacology and the magical realism of Esther's chicken soup.
This is the first novel I've read by this author and am so looking forward to exploring her backlist.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and the Thoughts From a Page podcast for the egalley of this wonderful novel.
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman is a love story with a bit of historical fiction, magical realism, and a mafia involvement. The story moves back and forth between Augusta as a teenager and Augusta turning 80. The story of the past is one of healing and of heartbreak. The story of the present is a feel-good love story. This book does not have the strength of The Matchmaker's Secret or The Two Family House, but a sweet story nevertheless.
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2024/11/the-love-elixir-of-augusta-stern.html
Reviewed for NetGalley.
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2024/11/the-love-elixir-of-augusta-stern.html
Reviewed for NetGalley.
