This historical fiction was captivating. It intertwined the lives of people from different time periods to tell a wonderful story. You genuinely cared about the characters and wanted the best for them.

This novel covers several characters stories. Edith (a German art restorer forced to work for the Nazis), Dominic (an American soldier/budding artist protecting the Monument Men appointed by FDR to recover art taken by the Nazi's), Leonardo DaVinci (inventor/artist), and Cecilia (mistress and his artistic subject). In the 1940’s Edith and Dominic work to save many works of art and their paths cross while trying to save DaVinci’s “Lady with an Ermine.” In the 1400’s, DaVinci is painting this famous lady and getting to know the subject. Laura Morelli has written an fascinating story of WWII and her novel reminds us to remember the history of beautiful items in our world and how they should be protected. An extraordinary amount of research and detail was put into this book.

This was a quick read. Though there were four points of view and 4 timelines (the four timelines gradually merged into two), it was easy to follow. I haven't read much about Italian history and had read nothing about the fifteenth century, so those chapters were especially interesting to me. I also enjoyed reading about the efforts to save and restore art in the WWII chapters. I would have been interested to read more about the restoration process, but I do understand why the author didn't go into it more here.

I did find some aspects of the book a bit repetitive, especially in Edith's and Dominic's chapters.

Overall this was an interesting read: a look at 1400's Italy and a different side of WWII.

Not a huge fan of World War II era stories. This one I liked. Wasn't my favorite and I don't know that I would go out of my way to recommend it. Only picked it up because I'm a sucker for dual timelines.

When evil leaders become powerful, as we've seen through history, it can lead to danger that is extremely destructive not only with human lives but also its surroundings with beauty and art. This story follows the portrait of "Lady with an Ermine" created by Leonardo da Vinci in the 1490s in Italy. This is a painting of Cecilia Gallerani, the beautiful mistress of the Duke of Milan when she was 16 years old.

In the late 1930s, the painting was part of a private collection in Poland. Art conservationist Edith Becker, an expert with Italian Renaissance paintings, was reassigned from her museum job to assist Hilter's movement by compiling a dossier of old masters in Polish collections. Her list and assistance helped the Nazis take priceless pieces of art and objects. In the 1940s, Dominic Bonelli, an American soldier was told he had a new job to work with the Monuments Men to get art works back from the Nazis and return it to their owners.

This WWII story is different from others as it's about the valuable pieces of stolen art and objects. The author did an incredible amount of research to create this emotional story told by four narrators which flows seamlessly. It's not necessarily one to read quickly as there is a lot to digest. In the book, Leonardo da Vinci says: "Man will always make war. But it is art and beauty, I think, that will give us something to live for." Once again, the author begs us to question: when will we learn?

My thanks to Laura Morelli, HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to rad this copy.

A great novel with a dual timeline going between 1490s Italy and Germany in WW2. An appearance by the Monument Men was a great tie in. The dual timelines and cast of characters keeps you interested to see how their stories will unfold and twine. I didn't know much about Leonardo's painting so I enjoyed those parts of the novel. It was a different POV to read about WW2 with the focus being on art and those who were tasked with procuring or protecting it during the war.

I enjoyed this book. It is about a painting done by DaVinci in the 1490's and get to know the woman in the picture and her life. Meanwhile flash ahead to 1944 where there is Edith, a top-notch painting restorer working on this painting. We learn of Edith's life and learn more about the woman in the picture having World War II as the backdrop. Well woven story.

I had a hard time with the characters in this book. I really wanted to love it it found them all as well as the plot a bit too surface. That said I loved the combination of Renaissance and WWII historical fiction in one book, and the topic - art theft during WWII.

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

This book was difficult at capturing my attention at first. Once I became acquainted with the characters it seemed to flow more quickly.

I wanted to like this book. The Monuments Men and the Nazi’s stealing of art in general is not much I’ve read about in my WW2 reading history. But the way the author laid the book out was so much work to read through, I completely lost interest by halfway thru.

The book takes the point of view of 4 different characters in, most often, 4 different timelines, which is bad enough. But what made it worse is that each chapter and character POV was typically a scene at a time - usually only a couple pages each. You barely got any part of the story under your belt and you were thrown into someone else’s story. Then when you did a round with a couple other characters in the next chapters and you had to try to remember where you were at with the one you’re once again on now. So. Much. Work. Plus doing this ended up with a lot of repetition on where their mindset was at or what they were feeling which was already talked about, but since it was typically a couple chapters since you saw them last, it had to be revisited which made the book unnecessarily long.

In addition, while interesting in its own right, the POVs and backstories of Cecilia and Leonardo da Vinci really didn’t add anything to the WW2 happenings with the portrait. They could have been their own separate section prior to the WW2 timeline and it would’ve been a lot easier and enjoyable to read. (Also, side note, I have absolutely no clue what the “Night Portrait” in the title is referring to….the portrait was not done at night, stolen at night, another portrait made at night….it’s like it was picked completely arbitrarily?)

Thanks to Netgalley for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this book and while it was my first Laura Morelli book, it won't be my last. The book was well written and I enjoyed the characters. They were easy to follow and the story drew you in.

What a beautiful, clever, insightful story. This was my first time reading anything by Laura Morelli and it certainty won't be my last. I enjoyed the novel immensely and cannot wait to read more of her work. And the cover is breathtaking!

A very nice, well written story. It draws the reader in and keeps them there. It tells about da Vinci and his painting Lady with Ermine. The story alternates between da Vinci creating the painting and the Nazis stealing it. Throw in an American soldier sent to protect those trying to save the art, who then discovers his own love of art, and you've got a book that needs to be read. A lot of thought went into this book. I mean I don't know that for sure but the research is there, the characters are so interesting and real and it makes you want to read more. Definitely recommend The Night Portrait.