Denise

I had been wanting to read this book for a little while now so when I saw it on NetGalley I requested it right away. I am really glad that I requested it because it was filled with great imagery, tension throughout that had my heart beating just a bit faster, complex characters, and great writing.

Readers never learn the name of the heroine of this book. When she is referred to by a name she is called Mrs. de Winter (and that is after she marries Maxim de Winter). It is mentioned that she has an unusual name. After reading the first chapter I thought that I had missed or forgotten her name but then I realized that it hadn't been mentioned. I felt like that really helped set the mysterious tone right from the start. (For the purposes of this review I will refer to the heroine as Mrs. de Winter).

I loved the imagery in this book. Manderley and its surroundings were described so well and so beautifully that I could see it in my mind. Visualizing it in my mind really helped suck me into the story.

I really liked how complex the characters were and how they all grew throughout the book. Mrs. de Winter grows up from being a shy, naive girl because of all she experiences with Maxim at Manderley. I felt horrible for her throughout this book. I didn't like Maxim for the first half of the book but eventually I started to feel sorry for him. Once the truth was revealed he didn't seem as bad. The one character that scared me all throughout had to have been Mrs. Danvers. That woman could be downright terrifying at times.

I felt the book seemed at bit slow in the beginning but it did pick up once Mrs. de Winter came to Manderley. The was a tension that ran throughout this book that really made it hard to put down. It got so bad at times that it felt as though I was holding my breath. You knew the tension had to break at some time and that when it did there would be an explosion.

This is a book that needs to be read more than once. There is so much symbolism in this that I feel that just reading it once isn't enough to really understand everything. I really enjoyed reading this and can definitely see why this is a classic. If you haven't read Rebecca yet I recommend that you do.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read Rebecca.