I’d been following Morgan Pager at nycbookgirl for years. When I found out she was publishing her first novel, I needed to be first in line. The Art of Vanishing did not disappoint!

I was immediately swept up into the world of Claire and Jean. It was magical, whimsical, and the setting glittered off the pages. I loved the characters and love story that unfolded. The next time I’m at a museum, I’m going to look at the paintings a little closer, as the magic in this novel was tangible— I hope I can jump into a painting too!

I will be recommending The Art of Vanishing to anyone who loves art, museums, or a love story with a twist. I can’t wait to read what Morgan writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an advanced copy of this book!

Romance mixed with magical realism is one of my favorite sub-genres and this book did not disappoint. I had such a lovely time reading this book.

This book was so fun, and was so refreshing after reading some heavier titles recently! I loved the world in Jean's paintings and Claire's museum/real world!

When I first saw this book it was from the author promoting it on Instagram and I was already sold as a consumer. So when this was available on NetGalley, I was so excited. I grew up going to museums and was obsessed with watching Night At The Museum so this sounded perfect. A true representation of the quote “Art is made by the alone for the alone.'' - Luis Barragán. I love how Claire was excited to work nights so she could appreciate the art on her own. I did think it was very well written, but for some reason, it was hard for me to connect with the dialogue that felt rushed. Overall, its originality kept me reading and I enjoyed it.

I've been a fan of Morgan Pager, aka nycbookgirl, for years and was thrilled to be able to read her debut novel, The Art of Vanishing. This was such a unique story full of heart, hope and art. Claire gets a job as a night janitor at an art museum. She is enthralled by the paintings especially a specific Matisse piece that features a young man reading a book. One night on a whim, Claire discovers she can actually step into the paintings and is able to meet Jean, the young man, in person. He introduces her into his world- as well as the world of the other paintings in the museum. Pager through in some twists and turns that I didn't expect. Some worked for me better than others, and my overall feelings of the novel are mixed. For a debut novel, the writing was great but I feel the characterization was lacking a bit. The magical realism aspects also just did not quite work for me, but I think will go over really well with many other readers!

Oh how I loved this book. Just go on this unbelievable love story of Claire and Jean. Wish you could have Claire’s abilities, picture the art in the museum, and enjoy the ride that is this sweet read.

Claire has always wanted to work in an art museum, in any capacity. She finally lands a job on the night shift cleaning crew, and is thrilled to have time alone with the art. One night, she is able to step into a painting and starts a romance with a young man in the picture. Even as someone who doesn't love romance books, I thought this had potential to be something different, with the art and history elements, but unfortunately it didn't stand out in a positive way. The story kind of veered off course towards the end with a few plot twists that felt forced. I did think it was very well written, so might check out this author in the future.

This book has an incredible premise, and an intriguing execution. I sadly did not love it in the way I hoped. I wish there'd been an ending that felt happier, I definitely wish the book hadn't ultimately been set during Covid-19 times in 2020. I would give Morgan Pager another go, however.

i thought that this book was so unique! i’ve always loved imagining what the lives are like for the people in paintings. this book was a great insight to what they would be like! there was just something that was missing. the dialogue was uninspiring and boring. plus what was with the covid side-plot?? was that truly necessary?? the book would have been the same without the covid interlude.

I have been following the author on Instagram for some time and when I saw she had her debut coming out, of course I wanted to support her work! I read what it was about and hesitated as magical realism isn't always something I fully enjoy but I decided to take a chance. I am glad I did as it was a delightful journey with Jean and Claire and the world of museums, arts, painting, dreams and more. The premise was very original, Jean, the son of Matise, is inside the painting in the museum and at night the people in the paintings move around and come to life of sorts. Claire takes a job as a janitor in the museum, realizes what is happening and steps into the painting. A solid debut. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an early release copy in exchange for my honest review. The Art of Vanishing will be available 7/1/25.

“The Art of Vanishing” by Morgan Pager had a magical realism premise that spoke to me immediately. A woman gets a job cleaning in an art museum and is enraptured by its 20th century paintings. She realizes she can see people in the paintings move! As in all magical paintings she finds she can step into them and visit their world. We follow her journey until Covid happens when the paintings wonder why they are suddenly left alone. This plot change felt very abrupt to me as did the romantic parts of the story. Unfortunately, the chemistry between me and this book just didn’t happen. I do think that many others will find this book an entertaining beach read if you enjoy this genre.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Claire and Jean ❤️

I sometimes have a hard time reading/watching stories where one person is immortal and the other is mortal. I am constantly questioning “how are they going to make it work!?”

Morgan Pager pieced it all together beautifully.

The characters were lovable and believable with growth from beginning to end. I enjoyed the setting in an art museum and could visualize the gallery as I was reading. Makes me want to go wander around a museum!

If you liked Night at the Museum, add The Art of Vanishing to your TBR. 🖼️

This book was such an original delight! The beginning was a tad slow but really enjoyed the second half with some unexpected twists!

I loved how original the premise was for this book— seriously such a delight! The romance had me swooning.

the author’s love for art, museums, and love really comes through in pager’s the art of vanishing. the magical realism concept is spot on but i was left wanting more…more honesty between jean & claire, more development on why they fell in love, more likelihood of being caught together, and (much) more development of the story at the end. i felt it ended SO abruptly!
i liked pager’s debut but i didn’t love it. i will continue to support her writing and i look forward to her next book!

thank you to random house publishing group for providing this book for review consideration via netgalley. all opinions are my own.

This book has such a great premise: Claire who works as a late night janitor in a musuem, who is lonely and trying to naviagte the world, all of a sudden sees someone in Henri Matisse's painting looking at her. This person happens to be Jean, Henri's son.
The two just...fall in love. There's no real chemistry here, it just happens.

From here, she has the ability to jump into the paintings, and ends up in World War I France. It has everything: magical realism, historical fiction, ART, finding happiness, love, I could go on.
However, sadly the writing was so generic and immature. I wanted more historical facts, more love sparks, more everything and it lacked all of what it should have been.

I really hope someone takes this premise and turns it into the book we really want.

What an original love story! I treated myself to this ARC yesterday, and I am so glad that I chose this one. Jean and Claire are such dynamic characters, with a love that transcends time and physics. I adored seeing their dates through different paintings, the small snippets into Claire's personal life, and an entirely different look at the COVID-19 lockdown (through the eyes of portraits, no less).

Not going to lie, when I saw a book that was basically Night at the Museum but romance, I was nervously excited. It seemed like almost too much to pull off. But Pager didn't just pull it off, this book exceeded all expectations. It makes me want to go wander around my local art museum and fall in love, even if that love will be rife with heartbreak.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

DNF @ 30%

Usually I enjoy magical realism, but for some reason I really could not suspend disbelief with the magic in this book. I also found it to be overly corny— it seemed like the main characters’ attraction to each other started out of nowhere? Really wanted to like this one, but it’s not for me

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback

I only made it about 1/3 of the way through and gave up. Obviously the premise requires suspension of disbelief but beyond that I didn’t find the characters convincing or interesting. The dialogue didn’t draw me in. As a museum worker I also raised my eyebrows at a standard cleaning person dusting the artwork— that wouldn’t be their job, a conservator or collection manager would be doing that.

In the realm of the imaginary anything is possible and in the Art of Vanishing magical realism allows love to grow across dimensions. Morgan Pager serves us romance, an unusual but endearing intimacy between MCs, and a bit of a whodunit in under 300 pages.

Jean and Claire are star-crossed lovers, who meet in a museum, and learn so much about themselves through their brief and secret-ish love story. Is a love that you know won’t last worth it?

Jean and his siblings’ navigate a life and world with few choices and one of their conversations intrigued me and inspired my own reflections about life in this current moment. “What will you choose? How will you spend …your last night of this thing that feels like freedom?”

So glad I got a chance to preview this wonderful book.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this advanced copy. Pub date: Jul 1