Dr. Finn Cormag has done the impossible by stepping through a doorway and into Beta, the alternate universe that has fascinated him since childhood. Ari is shocked by Finn’s sudden appearance but with each passing day he grows more and more comfortable with Finn. When strange disappearances and reappearances of people in Beta begin occurring, the men are unsure of what to do. Where are they going and what will that mean to Finn and Ari and their new-found life together?

Chris Owen has done it again. Merge picks up after the last scene in Converge. If you haven’t read that one you need do so before reading Merge. This is definitely not a standalone book. While I enjoyed Converge there were a few things that prevented me from giving a higher rating. Those niggling tidbits are nowhere in this delicious story. The idea of alternate universes, or even of being able to see into one from the other, is certainly nothing new, but Mr. Owen has made the different dimensions of Alpha and Beta so delightful with his attention to detail. Minute differences make the familiar strange and fascinating in his worlds.

Finn’s is the main viewpoint in this story. I really felt for him as he has to deal with his new emphatic abilities, and the doubts and fears that assail him by being in a world different from his own. He also has to come to grips with being physically able to touch Ari now and the added worries that crop up because of that. Will Ari want him to touch him? How will Finn cope with being in the same space with the man he loves and has watched since his birth when Ari has only known him a short time and doesn’t return his feelings? Ari, on the other hand, has to come to terms with having a man that he recently met, standing in his bedroom doorway but physically in another dimension, suddenly being in his house for real. I probably enjoyed Ari’s struggle and his reactions to situations that arose more than I did Finn. I think it’s because Ari is still a bit of a mystery to me. While the story involves both of them, it’s mostly from Finn’s viewpoint and insight into Ari’s emotional aura that we learn what Ari is thinking. I would love for the next story to involve more of Ari’s thoughts and feelings so that we can get to know him better. While the mysterious disappearances and reappearances of people were of interest the main story is with Finn and Ari and how they will make this relationship work if it can work at all. The sensual scenes, while hot, were not graphic, but were mainly an appetizer to the main course of Ari and Finn’s blossoming feelings for one another. Merge is one of the best stories I’ve read in a while. If you liked Converge then you are going to love this one.

Reviewed by: Hayley