Art Imitating Life tries to be a Contemporary Fantasy combined with a modern Teen Drama. Unfortunately, the Teen Drama aspects overshadow the Fantasy portions making it somewhat shallow and tedious for Fantasy lovers. There are a lot of interesting possibilities that are brought up in the text that are never followed through to their fullest fruition. The parallel universe aspect itself is very interesting and the characters particularly Paige trying to adjust to living in it is fascinating. Paige herself has to learn to tap into some magical skills that she didn’t know that she had. Unfortunately, the good ideas are compromised when the characters are more interested in their love lives rather than saving a kingdom that needs their help. Before they get to Avellithia, Paige, Liam, and Nathaniel repeat endlessly about an email detailing Paige and Sam’s breakup, and we are just dying to get them to Avellithia when they are dying to know who sent the email. Unfortunately, when they get to Avellithia, since they and everyone else has a counterpart including Sam and the University’s power couple, Elliot and Isabelle, we are treated to more of the same drama about romantic relationships. Does she like me in that way? Why did he break up with me? I’m torn between these two guys, what do I do? While there are plenty of fantasies where modern characters of any age go to a fantasy world, the better ones often have the characters leave their petty problems at the door. They often get involved with whatever is going on in that world, maybe become romantically involved with a resident of that world, but the pressure is on to help them succeed and the protagonist to tap into their inner courage, wisdom, and self-sacrificing nature to become a hero. That rarely comes in Art Imitating Life. The characters are self-involved in the beginning and are even more maddeningly self-involved throughout their journey through Avellithia. It’s all repetitive teen romantic drama with knights occasionally thrown in to remind us that it’s a fantasy world that surrounds these annoying love triangles, squares, and dodecahedrons. The fantasy world which is the best part is overshadowed by a plot that could be set anywhere and at any time. Because of how much the romances take over, there are some frustratingly unanswered questions in this book. If Avellithia is real, then how come there is a card game series about it? Where did Nathaniel get the cards, and how come he is the only person who knows about it before they get there? Paige mentions a deeper connection to this world, but it only gets a scant mention before it’s handwaved. There could be so much more connected to this revelation and the existence of Avellithia. In fact, so much more could be done with Avellithia in general. If it were just a fantasy, Art Imitating Life would be a hit. But it’s swallowed by Teen Romance, so instead it’s a miss.