temporarily abandoned. Such and interesting concept but nothing is compelling me to finish this one -- I just don't care enough. Will try again another time.

So I've decided that books need to come with labels. One label will be R for books with too many sex scenes. One book will be DNREOS for Do Not Read End On Subway because it will make you cry.

This is one of the latter. Gosh darn it. Everyone really wants to see a young twenty-something year old sobbing into her book on a crowded train at 8AM in the morning; it just makes them feel so comfortable.

Because the ending was perfect. Gorgeous. So lovely. Says so much about our choices in regards to love and it's perfect.

Also, an excellent concept that was well executed. I do think it's sad that the translator's name isn't displayed anywhere except the copyright page though. I wouldn't have even known it was originally published in Hebrew if I wasn't that person who reads copyright pages. ( )

This was a bit of a slow read for me, but interesting and very different and fresh and creative. Provides a lot of food for thought, and I liked the way it all wrapped up at the end. ( )

The premise of this creative novel is that there is no such thing as a "coincidence". Rather, a very specialized team orchestrates every coincidence we see, from two strangers meeting on a train and falling in love, to someone missing their bus and not being there when the bus is in a major crash. The coincidence makers enjoy making people fall in love but are challenged when a serial killer emerges and the team is forced to use their skills to save lives.

The book was engaging and creative, as well as refreshing and funny. However, I think the author could have made the book more of a page-turner and made the characters slightly more engaging. ( )

Someone is reading this review at exactly 4 PM. There’s no way I could know this, but it’s likely that at least one person actually is, and for them, that’s one hell of a coincidence. Yoav Blum takes the concept of coincidence and expands on it exponentially in his new novel, The Coincidence Makers.

When Guy, a former Imaginary Friend, starts his new role as a Coincidence Maker, he revels in his new-found freedom and sense of self. Guy’s preferred type of coincidence making involves matchmaking, likely a result of incessant pining for his lost love, Cassandra. His friends, and fellow co-workers, Emily and Eric, enter and exit his life from day to day, as well as appear in flashbacks as Guy reflects on his past.

The novel doesn’t just focus on Guy and his friends, as it occasionally departs into side characters that will play a role in later events. Short chapters interspersed throughout the novel also provide excerpts from Coincidence Making textbooks. The myriad of flashbacks and explanatory chapters allow Blum to unveil his world slowly and purposefully. While clever, this method of storytelling does hinder investment in the story. It is difficult to spark a connection when you’re thrown right in without much explanation.

Guy, the main character, is impassive to a fault. His motivations are hard to pin down, and his interactions with Emily and Eric seem forced. Emily has more depth to her, and she feels deeply, which is expressed well on the page. Eric comes across as unfocused and irreverent, and subsequently, is the most mysterious character. At times I wished he appeared more often.

The various roles in Blum’s world, including different levels of Coincidence Makers, the highest of which is the “Black Hat,” those “responsible for complex coincidences with extensive repercussions,” are fascinating, but not fully fleshed out. They were too self-contained within Guy’s past, and since Guy is such a dull character, his experience as both an Imaginary Friend and a Coincidence Maker never branch out beyond the mundane.

While the last quarter of the book picks up and the various plot threads start coming together, the novel still felt unfocused. The introduction of new characters more than half-way through the book didn’t help. I never quite connected with Guy and his decisions, and I found myself wanting more.

In The Coincidence Makers, Yoav Blum cleverly re-defines coincidence. In a world where coincidences are purposefully created by a third party, does that still make them coincidences? While I didn’t always appreciate the roundabout way the story was told, it certainly made me think, particularly about fate and free will. Blum has written an incredibly unique novel that not everyone will like, but that most readers will respect nonetheless.

The Coincidence Makers by Yoav Blum will be released by St. Martin’s Press on March 6th, 2018.

Disclaimer: I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this novel from Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for an honest review.
( )