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‘Coincidence’ is Captivating

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‘Coincidence’ is CaptivatingCoincidence by J. W. Ironmonger
Published by Harper Perennial on February 18, 2014
Genres/Lists: Fiction
Pages: 304
Read synopsis on Goodreads
I received this book for free from TLC Book Tours.
Buy the book: Amazon/Audible (this post includes affiliate links) four-stars


When I was 10 my parents drove me to the midnight departure of my school’s Safety Patrol trip to Washington, D.C. As I was chatting with my friends, my Dad started chatting with one of the bus drivers. Turns out, they knew each other from a decade before in Massachusetts. This may not seem so odd except for the fact that we were living in Florida. He’s not the only one who has had this happen, however. Ten years ago I was working at Best Buy in a Boston suburb and ran into a girl I both went to high school with and lived in the same dorm as in Florida. Not to mention the time that I was sitting in 10th grade debate class when a new girl walked in. Again, we were in Florida but were from the same Boston suburb, her Dad worked with my Aunt, and she sat behind my cousin in English class. We’ve been friends ever since.

Were these coincidences? Absolutely. Explainable? Probably. Regardless, all three instances were totally weird. It’s because I’ve had such odd coincidences happen in my life (including a dozen others I’m not mentioning) that I was drawn to Coincidence by J.W. Ironmonger. The basic premise is that the protagonist, Azalea, lives a life dictated by coincidences. But what if they were more than that? What if her life was predetermined? In an effort to find out exactly what she is up against, Azalea seeks out Thomas Post, an expert at explaining the mathematical probabilities of such occurrences. Thomas, however, is completely thrown by Azalea’s life and together they race against the clock to figure out whether Azalea’s life is predetermined or merely inundated with chance circumstances.

Submit your coincidence stories at Dr. Thomas Post’s “The Coincidence Authority” website.

 

Author J.W. IronmongerFollow on Twitter

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Set in both present day London and a 1992 remote African mission, the book will both make the reader think and teach him/her a bit about history. Written in a way that blends factual writing with the lyrical, it has a great flow and will keep the reader turning the pages. I enjoyed the philosophical portions behind why coincidences happen and whether they have any meaning, but I was equally riveted by the characters. Azalea is sharp-witted and firmly rooted in her beliefs, much to the dismay of the ever-practical Thomas. As their relationship unfolds and they seek to explain Azalea’s life, I was captivated by the dynamic between these two seemingly opposite individuals.

If you’ve ever experienced a strange coincidence in life, then you should pick up this book. There’s only a passing reference to religion, allowing the focus to be on chance vs. destiny rather than God vs. free will. Regardless of what you believe or don’t believe, this book will make you question whether things happen randomly or because they are predetermined. As for me, I’m undecided.

Scroll to the bottom of this post for a YouTube clip of the author discussing the book.

Have you encountered any strange coincidences?

Full Tour Information

Tuesday, February 18th: missris
Thursday, February 20th: The 3 R’s: Reading, ‘Riting, and Randomness
Monday, February 24th: A Musing Reviews
Monday, February 24th: Luxury Reading
Tuesday, February 25th: Literary Lindsey
Wednesday, February 26th: Shall Write
Thursday, February 27th: The House of the Seven Tails
Wednesday, March 5th: Olduvai Reads
Thursday, March 6th: Love at First Book
Monday, March 10th: The Book Wheel
Tuesday, March 11th: Doing Dewey
Wednesday, March 12th: BoundbyWords
Thursday, March 13th: A Dream Within a Dream
Monday, March 17th: Anita Loves Books
Tuesday, March 18th: Patricia’s Wisdom
Wednesday, March 19th: The Written Word

Thursday, March 20th: Priscilla and Her Books

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  • I think that’s a good question about coincidences. I’m also glad to see you enjoyed this book. I’ve seen mixed reviews, but I think it sounds like an interesting book!

  • This sounds intriguing! I lived in Boston for a few years as a kid, and it turned out that one of my friends was born in the same hospital as me in Florida, just two weeks after me. It blew my 7-year-old mind.

    • You lived in Boston, too? Where? I was born there, so Allison and I have some Boston connection. I didn’t know you did, too!

      • I lived on Hanscom Air Force base, near Bedford. What about you? It’s crazy that we all have so much in common!

        • I was born in Brockton, but have family still in Framingham. Fun coincidences!

        • The Book Wheel

          That’s so weird! I worked with the military in Boston and knew a few people who worked on Hanscom (I’ve even visited), but not when you were there….

  • Isi

    This is the great question, if things happen randomly or if there’s “something” behind. I sometimes believe one thing, and other times the other, depending on my mood basically 🙂
    This book looks great!

  • HeatherTLC

    Wow, those are certainly some crazy coincidences you experienced. I can see why you’d be drawn to this book!

    Thanks for being on the tour!

    • The Book Wheel

      Thanks for having me!

  • Pingback: J. W. Ironmonger, author of Coincidence, on tour February/March 2014 | TLC Book Tours()

  • Jennine G.

    I’m on the side of everything happens for a reason. I call things a coincidence, but in hindsight I usually see those coincidences are pieces that have fallen into place. Even when not explainable or understandable, I think many things have reason. A bigger purpose, if you will.

  • Rory O’Connor

    How about “meeting” a blogger that knows another blogger in Denver (I online-met Rebecca who said “Hey, do you know Allison?”), who introduced me to you. We’ve both lived in Boston, Florida, and are now in Denver. You’re going to grad school at the same university that I went to grad school at. And we’re both book bloggers. Not extreme as coincidences go, but it is a pretty similar timeline… 🙂

    • The Book Wheel

      Hey, that’s me! And yes, those are multiple coincidences. Good ones, too 🙂

  • Tanya M

    I feel like coincidences happen all the time. I grew up in ohio and moved to NC when I was 17. I went to a small private school with 35 girls per grade. A couple years ago, one of my school mates and volleyball teammates moved with her family 20 minutes away. I thought that was a pretty big coincidence!

    • The Book Wheel

      Weird! One of my friends in Boston moved to the next town over when I lived in NC, too!

  • Jennifer Smeth

    Great review! I’ve heard mixed things about this one so glad you liked it!

  • Here’s one for you:

    Saturday night I had a horrible bout of insomnia, which is unusual for me. Usually I can fall right to sleep, but then I wake up a bunch of times in the night. On Saturday, though, I couldn’t fall asleep at all. I was awake when the clocks moved forward, and I was still awake at 4am when Eric’s alarm went off. I finally fell asleep when Eric got out of bed, and slept until about 8:30am.

    When I finally rolled out of bed at 9, I checked the notifications on my phone. One of the notifications was from someone on FB. When I went to FB, the first thing on my timeline was an update from my mother, complaining about the awful insomnia she suffered the night before. Huh.

    When I talked to her later, I brought up her insomnia and out of curiosity, I asked her what happened and when she finally fell asleep. Turns out she was awake until around 4am when she finally fell asleep. O.O

    • The Book Wheel

      Like mother, like daughter?

  • Eva

    Definitely going to check this one out; sounds intriguing.

    • The Book Wheel

      Please come back and tell us what you think!

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