The Coincidence

De: Felice Stevens

Narrado por: Kale Williams

Nice guys always finish last, and Coby Epstein is sick and tired of being last. After his boyfriend dumps him, Coby vows to take it slow and not jump into another relationship, no matter what his 95-year-old great-aunt says. When Coby sees his ex has moved on, he goes on a series of disastrous first dates and swears off men, determined to be alone. His best friend disagrees and finds the “perfect man” for him online and arranges a date. The only problem? Coby has no idea what she’s done.

Since childhood, Eli Kaplan has been his father’s greatest disappointment, a fact he’s reminded of at every opportunity. For years, he’s struggled with the knowledge that dating women doesn’t work for him. A late-night confession to his brother changes everything and Eli realizes, maybe, just maybe, he can come out, find himself, and find love. Eli takes the plunge and creates a profile on a dating website, not knowing what to expect. One night he chats with an intriguing man, and despite his nervousness, they arrange to meet for coffee. No big deal. They’ll probably never see each other again.

On the day of their first date, nothing could surprise Coby and Eli more than to discover that they live in the same apartment building, on the same floor. In a city of eight million people, coincidences don’t get crazier than that. But as the two men begin to weave their lives together with cautious optimism and hope for a future, they find an even greater thread holding their families together - one born from the ashes of a final solution that couldn’t destroy their ancestors’ courage, leaving scars that remain almost a century later. Past lives torn apart can be pieced together by a future no one could have ever imagined, where love is more than fate or coincidence. It’s meant to be.

©2019 Felice Stevens (P)2019 Felice Stevens

My favorite Felice Stevens book

The Coincidence is Felice Stevens is so well written and drew me in from the first page. I enjoyed how she set up the background story for each MC separately. She introduces readers to their friends, families, and history before bringing them together. As a result, I found myself invested in their happiness and rooting for them. Once they finally meet, under an interesting coincidence, they hit it off quickly. They enjoy each other’s company and humor, in addition to an underlying attraction they feel right away. I appreciated the slow buildup between them. Coby isn’t ready to rush into anything after a series of failed relationships where he jumped in too soon. Eli needs to take things slowly because he hasn’t had a relationship before, and he’s just coming to accept that he is gay. What develops is a beautiful love that is meant to be. A love they realize is fated after discovering an even greater coincidence from their families’ pasts.

The Coincidence made me laugh and smile from the wonderful, snarky banter. I adored Tante Fay and Coby’s mom. It made me ache for Eli, whose parents are more concerned with outside appearances than with their sons’ happiness. And I swooned over these two beautiful souls who are just perfect for each other.

Kale Williams is just fantastic giving voice to these wonderful characters. He does a great job bringing each character to life, varying their voices so listeners can follow dialogue easily. I got so lost in this audiobook that time flew as I listened.

One of the Best Books I've Ever Read

This is one of the best books I've ever read. The story is well written, the characters are likable and it makes you root for them. The narrator does a wonderful job. Highly recommend!

Fantastic

Super touching heartfelt story. There were some very emotional moments but it was really beautifully written and I loved it. Kale did a magnificent job. I adore his voice and narration

Sweet romance!

Love this super sweet romance and how the author wove in his Jewish family history. Narrator did a fantastic job!

Coincidence or Fate.

Cody and Eli are meant to be together, there story was worth listening to.
The author did a wonderful job with their story bringing them to life, and thank you to the narrator for giving them a voice.

I reccomend this book.

Eli & Coby

This was a fantastic narration of a great book! First time gay is one of my favorite tropes so I knew this was going to be a must listen for me. Coby and Eli’s story really hit some of my favorite themes in a book - romance, sexy times, a touch of humor and all the feels. I loved Eli’s shyness as he found himself and who he wanted to be. Eli experienced so many firsts with Coby. I really admired how he stuck to his convictions and feelings when everyone kept tell him to slow down and see what else may be out there. Eli knew what he felt, he knew what he wanted, and he stuck by those feelings. Coby’s romantic heart made me all warm and fuzzy. It was their intertwined history that really drew me into their story, and I felt a definite emotional connection. Their story and family's past connection really resounded with me. This is one my favorite authors because she can always draw me into her stories and the worlds she creates. Kale Williams does an excellent narration in bringing Eli and Coby’s story to life. I couldn’t recommend this audio more!

Love, Love, Love It.

I would recommend this book to any one. I loved the cadence of the narrator and how the subtle changes made it easy to recognize who was talking.

I fell in love with Coby and Eli. Loved their story. It was a slow-burn but definitely worth the wait. It was well written and saw our characters over come their personal struggles while finding each other. It was easy to get caught up in this story and become invested in this couple.

What an emotional and beautiful book!

Felice Stevens always manages to pack her books full of emotion and meaning. Eli and Cody both are complex and vulnerable characters. Both looking for someone to love and battling with their inner demons.
In the background, connecting them, their families history during one of Europe’s darkest moments.

Even better than I thought it would be

I really, REALLY enjoy this book - even more than I thought I would. It contains so much - humor, sadness, bitterness, sweetness, and hotness. I really hadn't expected the humor, I've got to say. It's not a comedy, as it also contains references to the Holocaust, but there's a strangely good balance to it.
Kale Williams did a very good job with the narration - although there were times that I would forget which POV was going on, b/c the narrator voice was the same for both characters, even if their speaking voices weren't. But that was mostly my fault, so no real complaint there.

Perfection

The Coincidence is exactly why I love Felice Stevens so very much! This is a unique and beautiful story about two men who truly deserve happiness and love and their journey finding it together. I immediately fell in love with both Coby and Eli and that only grew as their story went on. And oh what a story it is, it felt real and raw and there were so many layers of emotion. Be prepared to believe in fate!

Kale Williams is one of my favorite narrators and he does an amazing job with this book. He truly brings the characters to life and makes them dynamic and unique, along with delivering an emotional story. Just perfection!