Book Review #31 ~ Rebecca

Hey Y'all. First off let me apologize for the lack of posts lately... I have been so busy with summer school. :\
Anyways, one of the books that I got a chance to read was:
Rebecca ~ Daphne Du Maurier
True, it was a requirement for our summer reading list, and yes, I acknowledge that in the beginning I thought the book to be incredibly dull. But as I read on, I found that the book was a lot more intriguing than I thought it was. WARNING: the following may reveal some important plot points... but you find out near the beginning anyways. 
The book opens with our main character, a shy girl who is paid to be a companion to an unpleasant woman, Mrs. Van Hopper. They are vacationing in Monte Carlo when they run into Maximillian de Winter, a wealthy man, owner of the famous Manderley Mansion. The young lady (who, by the way, remains nameless throughout the entire novel) and Maxim get to spend their mornings together in Monte Carlo, and inevitably, she finds herself swept off her feet by this much older man with money, possessions, and a complicated past. 
Rather abruptly, the two decide to get married and with that, Maxim takes his bride to live with him in Manderley. The young woman feels quite out of place at her new home; everybody seems to be comparing her to Rebecca, Maxim's first wife, who had drowned not a year ago in the nearby sea. Rebecca was a charming, beautiful woman whom everyone missed dearly, and it was very disconcerting for Mrs. de Winter #2 to see that everywhere she turned there were memories here and there of Rebecca in the mansion. Everything is kept the way that Rebecca used to run it; it feels to her as though she is merely a visitor in Rebecca's home. And to top it all off, Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, despises her. Simply because she is not Rebecca. And so, the Rebecca that seems to haunt the mansion and everyone in it begins to haunt her too. 

I rather enjoyed reading Rebecca. I have to admit that in the very beginning I often rolled my eyes and wondered just how boring this book would get, but as the plot got more and more complicated and situations became twisted, everything got so much more interesting. The book has an eerily beautiful mood to it; almost creepy, but still beautiful. I've got to say, the only thing that bothered me was the fact that the second wife's name is never mentioned in the book. Not once. Mrs. Du Maurier seems to taunt us by describing the name, but she never reveals it. I suppose this is because she wants the name Rebecca to ring out when you finish then novel. Rebecca and only Rebecca... o.o 
I would definitely recommend this novel to people who like a mix of mystery, horror, and romance. This is the novel you want to curl up with by the fireplace on a rainy day. 

P.S. There's a movie in black and white too. If you want to watch that (: