“There were a great many circles linked to each other with blue lines (actions to execute), red lines (risks), broken lines (things that might happen), and black lines (connections that must be taken into account).”

We do lots of random things throughout our daily lives. We get coffee, scroll through Facebook, go to work, prepare dinner. But what if these weren’t coincidences? What if our lives — our every move — were controlled to the last detail? Guy, Eric and Emily are “Coincidence Makers,” the ones who control our moves. The purpose behind this? It varies. They might pair up a couple that will birth the next inventor, or an action that might drive a person to make a world-changing decision. These Coincidence Makers could transform into a number a things — they could be a child’s imaginary friend, a creature, anything. They’re shapeshifters with the power to change the course of people’s destiny. But are they immune to their own devices? Guy is about to find that out.

This is one quirky, unique read. It defies all genres. Is it a mystery? Is it fantasy? Comedy? Literary? A love story? The answer to all these questions is yes. Someone compared this to the movie The Adjustment Bureau, but it’s nothing like that. This is better. It’s more fun, more riveting, and romantic. I love reading oddball novels like this and The Coincidence Makers did not disappoint. I give it five Mocha Crêpe Frappuccinos.

This one was a lot of fun to read. It reminded me a lot of the Matt Damon film <i>The Adjustment Bureau</i> in that the story involves a group of people who aren't quite human that run around shaping the world around them. The Coincidence Makers do exactly as their title suggests- they make coincidences for certain things to happen. It might be setting up the perfect "meet cute" for a couple or preventing a death. The book isn't so much about the actual coincidences, but focuses rather on the lives of the coincidence makers- who they are, what they were doing before taking on this job, and what happens when their personal lives get mixed up in the world of coincidences. Overall, a fun and interesting read.

There are some books that you pick up because of the plot, but then you don't ever put it down because of the romance elements and your wish to see characters happy. The Coincidence Makers was a very nice surprise.

This book is a fast, fun, quirky, and entertaining read.
 This story doesn't fall cleanly into any genre. If you ask me how I'd categorize it, I'd say this book might be fantasy or science fiction. But it also has elements of fate, life, love, mystery, and chance that are reflective of other genres.


What I Liked
:
The Chapter Names. They matched the Coincidence Makers lessons that the main characters were trained on.


The Client Stories. These are the ordinary people who were the recipients of the coincidences, specifically the stories of Alberto Brown and Michael.


The intriguing premise. The "coincidences" in life are really orchestrated by a higher organization. These situations, big or small, are caused Coincident Makers and can change a trajectory for a person.

The fantasy aspect. Coincidence Makers aren't human, they are a different kind of "consciousness" that support humans.  Sometimes Coincidence Makers are given personas by humans - in the form of children or adults as imaginary friends.


The missions. Guy, Emily and Eric were trained together, and are now on missions to create events in the lives of their ‘assignments’ that they orchestrate - such as major life events and love. Every single situation matters, even a spilled drink!


What Could Have Been Better
:
More Background. I didn't even catch on that Guy, Eric, and Emily were not human until 60% into the book. This would have helped me understand the randomness of Guy being an imaginary friend to Michael.


More Context. A lot of the context was vague and didn't set up the story with a good foundation. I had a better understanding of the story from reading the Goodreads reviews (thank you, fellow readers!)... more so than I did from reading this book. I had challenges understanding the plot solely from reading the book. I'm an "average" reader - I need everything explained fully or I won't be able to follow along - I think that many people fall into this category.


Textbook Excerpts. There could have been more relevance to the chapters if there was a stronger tie in between the textbook excerpts and what happened in the chapter.


The Pace. It was a bit slow until 70% into the book where key information is uncovered.


Nevertheless, this is a unique story and the premise will stay in my mind for a long time. I enjoyed it!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Have you ever wonder why it seems that a series of events often takes place in order to bring birth to an incident? I recently read a book about the Great Halifax Explosion of 1917 and that is exactly what happened. A series of events, which occurred in the perfect order, was needed for this deadly disaster to materialize. “The Coincidence Maker” is about these beings whose sole mission is to create coincidences for something to happen without disturbing the free will of humanity. Two people bump into each other and fall in love. Two leaders who randomly meet and bring world peace. No coincidence is too small or too big. Emily, Guy, and Eric have been recruited to join the 75th class of Coincidence Makers. They called themselves “The Three Musketeers”. Guy used to be an imaginary friend and once fell in love with a woman called Cassandra; he never forgot her. Emily is in love with Guy, but cannot reach his heart. Eric… well, Eric is… what is he exactly?

Yoav Blum did an excellent job at incorporating the science of coincidence in the plot. The characters are interesting and the story well routed. Although fantasy is not my preferred genre, I was intrigued by the story outline and I am glad I read the book. Beware that there is a romance aspect in the book which might not appeal to all readers. I was fine with it.

Thank you, Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital ARC of this novel. I intensely enjoyed the chapters about the coincidences. I appreciated how the characters learned throughout the story.

Brilliant premise for the book. For me though, this one didn't quite connect, although I'm sure it will for many others.

The book felt fairly slow out of the gate to me. Each introduction of a new concept or character in this world was accompanied by (in my opinion) A LOT of exposition. Since I bought into the concept from the get go, I would have preferred to dive deeper into the story and to learn more about coincidence-making as the book proceeded, rather than front loading with all of that info. Spreading it out more may have helped with pacing issues in the first 1/3.

However, I do try to read all books to the end, and I'm glad I did so with this one. I felt like the book improved immensely once it got moving and the story narrowed to the love story between two central characters and the central coincidence that Guy is tasked with creating.

Toward the end of the story, the book begins to get more philosophical too (there are big picture bits thrown in the "class textbook notes," but those get bogged down in minutia and exposition.) This is another place where the book shines (because again...killer premise.) When this book finally dispenses with the long explanations of this world we, the reader, are finally able to really begin to enjoy examining it, asking ourselves some truly meaty questions. For example, what is happenstance in our lives and what is choice? Are there such things as "coincidences?" Do we design our own destinies or is fate at play?

There are some beautiful passages about the nature of choices toward the end of the book including this one... "There are two types of people in the world: those who see in every choice the possibility to gain something, and those who see in every choice the concession they need to make." This book will make you pause a moment and ask yourself, "Which type of person am I?"

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Eric, Emily and Guy are friends and Coincidence Makers. They have completed an extensive course to teach them how to gain a deep understanding of cause and effect, how to make people choose one path over another...

My grandmother and my husband's grandmother were roommates in the hospital when our fathers were born. 52 years later the children of those two babies married and had 2 kids of their own...and as I read this book I wondered how this coincidence was accomplished and why...what amazing thing will my children be a part of? This is the joy of this novel. There are so many coincidences all around us, and the idea of things that appear to be random in the moment could have such long-reaching potential.

The novel focuses a lot on Guy, but Emily and Eric's points of view are offered as well. There are also several chapters devoted to exposing the reader to the texts and exams that the Coincidence Maker Course required.

I think the sense of hope and of purpose are two of the most striking themes. There is a purpose to the most difficult circumstances, and this leaves the reader with hope.

Coincidences happen everday. Maybe you think of someone, low and behold you actually run into them. Or, maybe they call. Let's say you met your significant other through a dating site. However, you actually knew each other from high school! Coincidences?
Not according to this thought provoking story. There is an actual agency that have agents that set up these so called coincidences. The reason? Maybe a coincidence will happen and a great medical break through happens. Maybe it's because two people are supposed to meet and fall in love.
You will enjoy this drama.. Unique thought. Takes you to a whole new realm. . 4 Stars

Fantasy is not one of my go-tos, and I am still puzzled why I chose this book to read for review. But I am so glad I did. It held me from page 1 with its juxtaposition of reality vs impossible, and its premise that there are no accidents of fortune, but everything that guides lives is the work of entities behind the scenes who have constructed elaborate scenarios with an end in mind for the "client." Shapeshifters who direct the course of seemingly random events that upend the lives of targeted humans, somewhat like the grim reapers of Showtime’s Dead Like Me. In addition, there is a hierarchy of assignments. Guy, once an imaginary friend, has been upgraded to Coincidence Maker Grade 3. With elements of thriller, romance, and full blown work of imagination, this amazing debut also contains some deep black humor and exquisite writing ("..they simply assumed he was supposed to be there and ignored him, as if he were a little dirt on the windshield that wasn’t important enough to merit washing the whole car."). Not to give anything away, but the novel comes full circle with the most famous example of cause and effect, that of the beating of one butterfly wing in Brazil and the large repercussions it causes.

I first read the description of this book in Fall 2017. I was immediately captured by the uniqueness of the plot and compelling idea it presented. What if things that happen to us, that seem like coincidences, are in fact intentionally done by Coincidence Makers to steer us toward an outcome? This is the premise of this book and seems like an extremely entertaining (future?) movie as well.

This book was incredibly well done. For what would seem an otherwise straight forward plot, was intricately detailed and challenging to put on paper, but Blum has more than succeeded. The Coincidence Makers follows three “secret agents” Eric, Emily and Guy (most prominently Guy) as we are introduced to their way of seeing things. As a Coincidence Maker, Guy is given an envelope with his “mission,” most recently he has received Matchmaking Coincidences, the bringing together of two people in hopes of creating a romantic future together. As Guy interacts with his fellow agents we are given a look into his previous job as an Imaginary Friend and introduced to his love whom he met during his time as an Imaginary Friend. Sprinkled into this love story and agent centered plot are chapters regarding the history and teachings of Coincidence Makers, history such as the “coincidence” of discovering Penicillin.

Blum inventively plants seeds in the reader’s own mind as he causes pause in reflecting on “coincidences” in our own life, coincidences such as losing a job only to find your true passion or the spilling of coffee that causes you a few minutes delay and the fatal car crash you drive by whether than experience firsthand.

*Disclaimer: A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. That was my thought at the end of this book. You have no idea just how interwoven and complex this book is until the very end. However, the whole book is complicated, while it is also so easy to read. Blum was very creative and original with this story and the book became hard to put down the further into it you get.

Do you believe in coincidence? This book may change your view. So enters the coincidence makers, individuals who spend their lives creating coincidences they have been assigned for the humans in the world... and so we begin to see how complicated it may be for one thing to happen that will cause another and another. Do you want to understand the science behind it all? If you can understand it, this book will unveil it for you. Sort of, anyway.

The Coincidece Makers is silly, funny, dramatic, creative, and full of emotion. Well worth it, if you like that kind of thing!

I tried, I really tried. I went around and around and tried again. I put it down, picked it up, started again. But really “you need to minimize the chances of error in all things pertaining to choice.” I rarely give up and put aside a book before I have finished reading all the pages at least once but I made an exception for this book. It is almost clever, it is almost a story, but it definitely was not for me.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a Digital Galley.

There is something about "The Coincidence Makers" by Yaov Blum that made it feel like it was no coincidence that this book made its way into my hands. But then, that's what this book is about.

Guy, Emily and Eric work as 'Coincidence Makers', a group who make sure things that are supposed to happen do: that spilled drink may lead to the love of your life, meeting the artist may make you realize you should be one, being late could save your life - and they are responsible for making it happen.

This book ultimately is about love, its story told so intricately that at the last 20 pages I sat up and paid attention - all the pieces Blum had placed from the book's beginning suddenly came together so expertly it caught me by surprise in a good way.

This book will make you, as it says itself, look behind you and wonder who is helping guide your choices in your destiny and how many pieces it took to get you where you are now.

Well written, lined with originality, positive in a way you don't see many books these days, and has a lot of heart and good intention. For the new year, this is a must-have.

Releasing March 6th. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for early access.

Fabulous book. Thoroughly loved. Highly recommend!

I apologize but I just couldn't get into this book. I'm not posting this anywhere but here.

This is an unusual and original book/premise. Admirable for its language and premise--how coincidence makers [CMs--after their training] orchestrate certain events and outcomes.

The setting: "There is no such thing as chance and every action is carefully executed by highly trained agents. You’ll never looks at coincidences the same way again.... Enter the Coincidence Makers—Guy, Emily, and Eric—three seemingly ordinary people who work for a secret organization devoted to creating and carrying out coincidences.... When an assignment of the highest level is slipped under Guy’s door one night, he knows it will be the most difficult and dangerous coincidence he’s ever had to fulfill. But not even a coincidence maker can see how this assignment is about to change all their lives and teach them the true nature of fate, free will, and the real meaning of love."

For at least almost half of the book, I just wasn't into it. I didn't care about the characters and the plot--well, the making coincidences parts became obvious early on and at some oint the novelty wore off--and became somewhat tiresome.

My interest picked up with the introduction of Alberto Brown; I really enjoyed his story.

Easy enough to read and certainly quirky, but it just wasn't enough.

This was a very interesting and unique book. I will say that I have never read anything like it before.

Just “what if” all those little coincidences were not actually coincidences at all. What if there was someone behind the scenes making them all happen? That is what this book is and so much more. It takes a little commitment to get into it, but once you get there, it is certainly worth the effort.

My thanks to Netgalley and St Martins Press for this advanced readers copy.

Today I finished reading an ARC of the book “The Coincidence Makers”. It is a book with an interesting and unusual storyline. The story revolves around three students who are studying how to be coincidence makers. Things are not controlled by fate , but instead by these coincidence makers who may cause you to have car trouble so you’ll take a cab and meet the love of your live. Part of the story talks a bit about the learning these students must do. I found the story interesting and unique and will recommend this book to friends.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

After working for years as an imaginary friend, Guy receives a transfer to become a coincidence maker. He enjoys this new life of continuous existence, arranging coincidences slipped under his door at night according to the details contained in the envelope. He still meets with Eric and Emily, the two other coincidence makers who trained with him, once a week. When he receives an envelope with a strange question instead of the usual assignments, he knows this will be different from his previous assignments.

This is one of the most unique books I have read, and I mean that as a compliment. Some plot points I was able to guess ahead of time, and some caught me off guard. This is a book that is worth a re-read once you know the ending just so you can see how the story changes with the extra knowledge. I highly recommend this book.