The Art of Vanishing is a standalone romantic fantasy (and debut novel) by Morgan Pager. Released 1st July 2025 by Penguin Random House on their Ballantine imprint, it's 304 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
This is such an appealing premise: the subjects in the paintings at museums have an internal life of their own... and the real-world MC can enter and exit the paintings and interact with the people depicted, moving between frames. There's a sort of "Night at the Museum" vibe sans humor.
Much of the characterizations and setting descriptions are more sketched in than detailed. The plot is definitely not linear and it varies between magical realism/fantasy, romance, and a heist mystery (last 30%) of the book, and jumps between genres so unexpectedly and abruptly that it's whiplash inducing.
The ending is not unexpected (it couldn't -be- otherwise, given the big-reveal twist), but it is somewhat dissatisfying.
Three stars. It's well written (especially for a debut novel), and worth a look for fans of hybrid genre romantasy/mystery.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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