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!

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.