Loved the concept of this! I do feel like there were maybe too many plot lines happening and the heist threw me for a loop along with the pandemic. But the idea of Claire and Jean never being able to be together was heartbreaking but made me keep reading to see how they would part.

An interesting take with a main character who can enter paintings. Overall, there were moments when the story dragged, then there was an abrupt detour to reference the pandemic these characters had to navigate through and then the ending left you wanting more.

It was an okay magical realism read. Art lovers will be obsessed with the first half of this book.

eARC Netgalley

this book was a really great read! i think the way it flowed, and how people developed. I did enjoy the themes of love, relationships, and science fiction. Everything was great, i highly recommend!!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Like Night at the Museum but if it was a romcom. This was a cute, fun read but I don't really love books that have a covid plotline.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballentine Books for sending me this ARC!

A refreshing debut novel by Morgan Pager. "The Art of Vanishing" is a magical realism novel where two unlikely people fall in love, Jean from a painting by Henri Matisse; Claire a nighttime museum employee with a secret and is able to move between her world and into paintings. The novel is told from a dual point of view, set primarily in an art museum in NYC. They both know that their love affair may not last, but are happier together, even for a moment. Despite this, readers will want to root for Jean and Claire despite the ups and downs. I have not read a novel like Morgan Pager's and the storyline is unique with plot twists that keep you reading. I would recommend the novel to others and I cannot wait to see what is next for the author.

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. The beginning was really magical and I loved that we started off with the painting's POV (it definitely took a full chapter to understand that). However, I quickly lost interest in the characters in plot. It felt like there were lots of little B-plots that weren't thought out fully. Between Claire's ex boyfriend/daughter, the journal, COVID, and the love interest, everything felt rushed and superficial. You also really needed to suspend disbelief for many details which annoyed me a bit.

This is also a personal annoyance but Luna's vocab and mannerisms were definitely not representative of the average 4 year old. As a mom, I noticed but I'm not sure other would so probably not a big deal but if you're going to write about children, please do more research about realistic behaviors of that age group. All it would have taken was adjusting Luna's age to make it more believable .

It was a wonderful debut! Pager's writing is whimsical, with heart and intellect. Art lovers, museum patrons, romance, and even mystery lovers will find something to enjoy in The Art of Vanishing. The research and love that went into crafting this novel is evident and thoroughly enjoyable. At a quick 305 pages, this magical realism debut is sure to please!

I really enjoyed this debut! The art world was fascinating, and I loved the nod to the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia and its unique setup. The COVID twist was interesting and I enjoyed the art heist!

Congrats to this debut author! I applaud the creativity of the storyline and really enjoyed reading about these two characters. The magic and imagination that were a part of this endeavor drew me in and I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next.

I was so thrilled to receive an eARC copy of this book, as I’ve followed the author on Instagram for some time and enjoyed seeing her writing process for this novel take form. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this opportunity!

I loved the magical realism element, the setting of an art museum’s painting subject and its staff member was a refreshing change from most contemporary romance novels. I just left wanting a bit more of everything, the romance in particular. Some of the dialogue felt stilted and I didn’t fully buy into the insta love romance.

Despite critiques, I thought this was a unique and whimsical exploration of a modern day romance, particularly for a debut, and I look forward to reading the author’s future work!

3.5 rounded up to a 4, 100%

Rounded up to 4 because I woke up at 8am and started this book and finished it by 5pm the same day.

This book follows Claire, a new employee at a museum and Jean, a man within one of the portraits that has been hanging in there for years. Claire finds herself able to move through the painting and is thrown into the world within the art on the wall.

I was so drawn into the characters and their stories,though I wish we had a BIT more depth there. But the imagery had me hooked. The idea and concept of having this "what if" kind of magic. What if I just tried to put my hand it? What would happen? They spend a lot of time together over the course of 3 months before they're hit with real life challenges.

Overall I would totally read this book again. Really incredible debut.
I'll post more thoughts closer to release.

As always an adoring loving thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC <3

I wanted this to be more than it was. It's a fluffy romance, rather than a literary/romance crossover. Very interesting premise, just not quite living up to it. I haven't finished it and I'm not sure if I"ll go back to it.

I was so excited to receive an ARC from NetGalley and the publishers for this novel, as I've been following the author's journey of writing The Art of Vanishing on her Instagram account for some time now.

The premise of this novel was really intriguing to me: A young woman is working as a janitor at an art museum, when her love of art and her interest in what lay beyond the frames turns into the adventure of a lifetime. Claire "falls" into the world of the paintings on the wall and falls in love with what (and who) she finds there.

I enjoyed the element of magical realism, as well as the themes Pager explores throughout the novel, including the struggles of single-motherhood, social isolation in its many forms, and the value of art in our lives. I found the pacing early in the story a bit slow, but things picked up when we start learning more about Claire's life outside of the museum. I would have loved a bit more character development, especially where the "work of art" love interest, Jean, was concerned, but overall I found this an enjoyable story and was pleasantly surprised by the ending.

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to Net Galley and Ballantine Books for the free eARC and for the opportunity to read and review this lovely novel!

When Claire gets a job at a museum (the Barnes, maybe?), she develops a crush on one of the subjects of a painting in the gallery she cleans. Jean, the object of her affections, as well as the object of many guides’ monologues, is trapped his a painting by his father, Matisse. He becomes enamored with Claire, until she discovers she can enter into paintings, and this quickly becomes love. Their relationship is challenged by the pandemic and museum’s closure, as well as by Claire’s walls she has built up.

This was such a fun book, peppered as it was with serious moments, like Claire’s struggles as a single-ish mom, making ends meet, and dealing with an absent father to her child. I’m not much of a fantasy reader, but I loved the taste here, and getting to see Pager’s imagination at work, as she created Jean’s world inside his painting, as well as the larger world “behind the scenes” of the paintings. This debut novel - like Claire - crosses boundaries and embraces several genres, and I think it would appeal to readers of many different persuasions.

There’s definitely a message here to continue to embrace childhood wonder and fanciful thoughts as we grow into adulthood. Claire, Jean, and Odette wonder if other people are capable of Claire’s power of entering paintings, and if they don’t do it because they don’t imagine that this could even be possible. So, if you continue to indulge and foster your imagine, the world really could be your oyster!

Pager must’ve done an incredible amount of research in order to flesh out the museum, the paintings, and the scenes inside them. She really brought it all to life (literally and figuratively)! The art aspect was really appealing to me, as well as Pager’s treatment of the pandemic as a mystery to the occupants of the paintings. Another wonderful moment showcasing her imagination.

I thought this novel had a definite “romance” genre aspect (especially with regards to how quickly the relationship formed), but I appreciated that the book didn’t end on a perfect note with everything tied up in a bow. Jean remains in the painting, while Claire remains in the “real world.” Another message, perhaps, that great, transformational relationships or situations don’t have to last forever to be special or meaningful. Amidst the (unfortunately) unrealistic possibility of entering paintings (or maybe that’s just because I don’t have a vivid enough imagination!), this definitely felt like a realistic ending to a story of love. The wistfulness and nostalgia that I was left with when I finished this book was refreshing, and definitely something that could be sat with for a bit.

One thing I learned about myself while reading The Art of Vanishing was that my inclination that I’m not much of a fantasy reader was correct. I was always asking questions about how moving between paintings - floors of the museum, landscapes, countries, time periods, etc. - worked, and was never satisfied enough with the explanations! I can’t tell if this is a total failing on my part, being too analytical, or if Pager might have benefitted from fleshing out this kind of magical world a bit more.

Thank you for the ARC!

This was a lovely, immersive journey with great prose and settings that popped off the page. Unfortunately, I wasn't completely won over by the romance, but this was still a delight.

Pager creates a unique world familiar to anyone who’s gone to an art museum with a magical twist. Claire gets her dream job of working at an art museum - well she’s a janitor which isn’t necessarily the dream but she gets half the museum all to herself every night. While admiring the art each night, she starts to think the paintings may be alive. Jean - the subject of one of the paintings in the museum - is pleasantly surprised to think that Claire might be able to see him, know him. We follow Claire and Jean’s relationship as it grows within the frames of the paintings Claire can jump into.

The novel’s strengths lie in its uniqueness and creativity. The subjects living in the world of the painting feel as familiar as our own. The sense of escape both Claire and Jean feel being together is earnest and familiar. I felt Jean was more well rounded as a character than Claire but I think that’s due to us getting more of Jean’s POV throughout. In that sense, I almost wish the whole story was told from Jean’s POV.

The main thing I had issues with was the pacing, specifically the portion of the book focused on COVID lockdown. I didn’t think we even needed a lockdown to progress the story forward and that the book could have transitioned straight to the mystery journal’s arrival in the museum. It didn’t help that I personally am not interested in reading about COVID times since it feels like we just lived it.

I highly recommend this to anyone who loves magical realism, romance, or art. I adored the ending and I can’t wait to discuss this world with other readers!

I received an advanced ebook copy of this book from Net Galley.

This was such a delightfully and warm story. I have been a fan of Morgan’s bookstagram for many years and her personality shines through in this debut.

The way she writes instantly drew me in with whimsical and lush descriptions of this magical world. Claire and Jean 4ever. I absolutely devoured The Art of Vanishing. Bravo, Morgan!!

Thank you for the ARC!

This had a really interesting premise and the author’s love for art and museums is infused into every page. However, the dialogue seemed a little YA-ish and the romance did not completely win me over.

“The Art of Vanishing” is a stunning debut - immersing the reader in the world of art, intrigue, and romance. I was swept into the world of this story and life at the museum. I will be thinking about the magical realism in this story for many days to come. I loved learning more about art history. Have you ever dreamed of going into a painting? I definitely have. This book brings that idea to life.

I will say that covid is a part of this story. It’s a difficult thing to come across in narrative, because the effects of the pandemic are still so near and real to us. While in some cases this would steer me away from a book, it fit really well into this one and was necessary part to enhance the story.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

The Art of Vanishing is a sparkling debut by Morgan Pager. I found myself utterly captivated by Jean’s world, a space of wonder and magic.

Claire felt so human, moving through her world and his as best as she could. Their love is sweeping and magnetic amidst the most enigmatic of situations. Morgan stunned with this multi-genre story — one of love between characters and for the art of museums as a whole. One of familial love and friendship.

I adored this story and it was perfect as-is, though I could have spent another 200 pages in that museum with them. I can’t wait to visit the museum that inspired their story.

10/10! ♥️

Thank you for my advanced reader copy. I devoured it in two days. A true treat of a book!