A totally original and fascinating way to look at the way things happen. Did someone make it happen? Are coincidences happenstance or planned? A love story to remember.

I so wanted to love The Coincidence Makers because of it's unusual premise...that there are no coincidences in the world, but there are people out there who make them for us. People who make circumstances combine so that an event seems like a coincidence, but it's really part of a bigger plan. I just had such a hard time remaining interested in the book, I set it aside for every new read that crossed my path and in the end, I just never could get interested enough to pick it up again. Some will love it but for me, I didn't.

This was a totally unique story, unlike any I have read, that makes you re-think what you believe about fate, destiny and coincidence. The beginning was a bit muddled and I almost gave it up at about 25%, but I am glad I kept going. The story keeps you guessing and winds up being a great story about love.

The Coincidence Makers is about exactly what it says, a group of supernatural beings who move around creating coincidences, small and large.

What I liked: I thought I had the end figured out halfway through, and to a point I was correct, but then the last 20 pages happened with an extra fun twist. This isn't a difficult read, it is fun but at the same time well thought out.

What a great book!!!! I thoroughly enjoyed The Coincidence Makers....a lovely, believable concept. I especially enjoyed the discussions of being an imaginary friend. Science Fiction isn't my usual genre but this book hooked me immediately.

How do i even summarize this book properly??
I'm not worried about giving away spoilers so much as puzzled about where to begin. Its a story about the people behind coincidences.. there's a whole agency who deals with making things happen at the right place, time and to the right people. They are responsible for coincidences big and small, from making two people fall in love, to having someone lose their job to be avialable for better opportunity or to organize the death of someone important. In this world agents live amongst normal everyday people and have a full time job of flawlessly coordinating coincidences and events without anyone every suspecting a thing. But this isn't the only strange profession about this book, there are also jobs as an imaginary friend, people who start fetal heartbeats, and I'm sure much more. This story is about 3 friends, Eric, Guy and Emily, who are coincidence makers and the missions they are in charge of. One day Guy receives the toughest assignment of his career and it changes the dynamics of everything in his life and challenges him in ways he never thought possible. Its really so much more than that but thats all i can really say without giving it all away.

To be honest, I did not love this book in the begining. At first it felt like a lot of random information and events with very little story revolving around the characters but I soon came to realize that although the intro was not gripping, it was indeed necessary in order to make sense of the rest of the book. What seemed like a bunch of random and pointless filler information in the begining of the book turned out to be very vital and refelctively great writing in the end.

Halfway through the real story graces us with its prescence and it is one that is wholey unique and breath taking. It is defintely a genre bending novel with no clear construct of what its supposed to be but in the best of ways. I was blown away by the creativity and the thought put into this book. It takes a special type of mind to think in such detailed ways to create such a cool story.

I urge whoever is interested in this book to give it a chance and really dive into the begining with an open mind and patience, even if it doesn't spark your interest at first because the rest of it is well worth it. Its one of those books that very slyly reals you in without you realizing it and concocts a secret story within a story that reveals itself right at the end...and it was brilliant!

An unlikely beautiful and clever story unfolds between the three friends who are "the coincidence makers" and it was enough for my review to go from "meh, its an okay book" to " wow, that was pretty damn amazing".
I would highly recommend giving The Coincidence Maker a read, just be patient. Good things come to those that wait.

This book will not resonate with a lot of people, but when it does it can be life changing. I dare you to read this book and it not change the way you view coincidences happening in your life! The basic principle is time is not linear. I found this book, while it was a little slow at times to be very thought provoking. Remember you see what you want to see in life! I love books that challenge you to open your mind and see life from a different perspective!

The Coincidence Makers by Yoav Blum
I made it 100 pages into this novel before deciding to put it to the side. This book simply didn’t hold my interest. I thought the concept was extremely fascinating after reading the blurb. Unfortunately the characters were not well developed, the dialogue between characters was stagnant and the plot was moving at a glacial pace. Blum’s writing style, and lackluster world building is forcing me to pass on this novel.

What a clever, inventive story! Coincidence Makers do just that - make things happen in sequence to achieve a desired result in people's lives. This is the story of the 3 people who train to become Coincidence Makers at the same time, and some of their missions afterwards. There's a love story in the mix, as well as Imaginary Friends. The school Manual bits are a bit dry, but I really enjoyed the rest of the story, with it's many plot twists, and it's very unexpected ending. This is a fun and thought provoking read. It does make you look at life and the world a bit differently. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc. 4 stars!

I wish I could love you, but I can’t. This seat is taken.

It took a while for me to really get into the story but once I did, what a unique tale. All those coincidences in life, small and large, often pivotal are orchestrated here by the Coincident Makers. Sometimes they are given personas by humans (children, teens, and adults in need) as they call to imaginary friends and always serving them, so much that one in particular begins to feel used. Guy, Emily and Eric learned their skills together, each now on missions to create events in the lives of their ‘marks’ to lead them to love, their purpose in life, great discoveries, anything that human beings need to accomplish everything, all if it under their watchful eyes and planning. Guy learns he must work with Pierre, a ‘black hat’ coincidence maker, la crème de la crème, who is known for creating complicated coincidences with heavy consequences such as death, illness, accidents, and even murder!

Their feelings, opinions don’t count for much, they do what they are ordered to do. Everything matters, even the seemingly inconsequential incidents, a spilled coffee, a flat tire, a flash of inspiration. Guy is full of doubt, Emily has fallen stupidly in love with him but of his heart, ‘this seat is taken’ and there is no room left for her. The one he loves may as well be a phantom for all the control they have in being together. Now, Pierre must create a chain of events in the life of one Alberto Brown and he enlists Guy for the smaller coincidences. Guy isn’t sure he will be of use, why does the talented Pierre need a small time creator like him anyway? What is so special about the future of Alberto? Alberto seems as unique as the makers themselves. The hulking Alberto has a big destiny, but what if everything doesn’t go according to plan?

Love is also a theme here, be it between the coincidence makers, or the human beings they try to bring together and each of them share a common flaw, their blind spot. It’s hard to review this quirky novel without giving everything away. It is strange at times, funny, silly, witty and my thought was- how did the author invent this story? What fun it’d be to pick his brain. This is a story of people anchored and those adrift, another world within our own and great fun to play with such an idea. Why not? The coincidence makers are often just as clueless as the humans they have to move around!

Publication Date: March 6, 2018

St. Martin’s Press

This is definitely a very different story! I enjoyed it.
Can you imagine that there are people that can make coincidences occur to set the rest of the theme for things to happen in someone's life?
This is exactly what happens and it really does give us food for thought as we go thru our days!
Loved the writing of this as well!

This was an inventive and thought provoking read. It had a lot going on, which muddied the plot a bit for me. Really enjoyed the sci fi aspect as well as the quirky crime drama chapters. The love story didn't work for me. It was written too philosophically and lacked depth and emotion. It felt disconnected from the rest of the story. Unexpected ending that provided a surprise element. Over all, a good read but also had its weaknesses. See my full review on Goodreads.

This novel is billed as "genre-bending" and it certainly is! Don't really expect anything resembling realism, but do expect a challenge to think differently (outside of the box for sure) about coincidence and serendipity, fate and free will, and friendship and love. Three people, Guy, Eric, and Emily are secret agents called Coincidence Makers whose job is to create situations where people come together or consider circumstances where they might make a different choice to change their lives. We are never given the reasons how or why these people have been chosen but it is clear it is supposed to be a positive outcome. Terse and witty, this book cannot be labeled as suspense, mystery, or supernatural--although it has elements of each. Also, I enjoyed the surprise ending that I wasn't expecting; prepare for a ride that you will just have to go into blind and appreciate!

I really enjoyed this book. The premise of the book was novel and unique, and contained some really interesting ideas. The book is driven by the plot, rather than the characters or the writing.

The book alternates between characters and points in time, which can be confusing in places, but is ultimately important to how the plot unfolds. Whatever minor annoyance this may cause the reader is ultimately forgiven, once the plot unfolds as it does.

This book kept me engaged until the end. Not in a tense, suspenseful manner, but rather with pleasant curiosity to see what might happen on the next page.

The book ends in a really unexpected manner. It is not nearly as neat and tidy as the ending that you think is coming. It ultimately is a happy ending, though not in the way that you might expect.

This book has such an interesting concept, and was well written. It was a bit dry at times, boring even, the last few chapters were the best part in my opinion. Everything tied together all neat & tidy.

A very clever story about the people who create coincidences. We also learn of other special people like imaginary friends. Such unique perspectives and all tied together is a super interesting and thought provoking way.