4 Stars!

Paul Pen never ceases to surprise me. The Light of the Fireflies was my first experience, so I had an idea of what I was getting myself in to.

I have to say, the apology at the beginning of the book was a bit off-putting.

The story-line is fantastic. I was engrossed trying to figure out what was happening and where the connection was. I felt sick for Leo having been stuck with such terrible parents. I was slightly confused on Leo's paternity, though. There were references to Aaron not being ready for children, so I first assumed that Andrea was pregnant, but as the story unfolded, you could tell she wasn't. Leo kept displaying mannerisms that Aaron had the squinting, squeezing the leg of his pants, curling his toes, I'm still confused if the intern had gotten pregnant or if Leo was switched with another baby. Victoria makes mention of giving birth to him, so I was missing the relevance.

I would love to read a reboot of this story, as Paul mentions in the apology foreword that he would have written many scenes differently....or, it would be really cool to see this as a Netflix movie.

A special thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Crossing, and Paul Pen for providing me with an ARC.

When you pick a Paul Pen novel, you know you won’t be disappointed, maybe shocked but never disappointed. This is quite different from his other novels that I read already and before this. Yes, this might be his first novel but you can see Paul in every page. One of the negative points I have for this novel is the intro where he kind of apologies for this being the fist novel and that don’t judge him too harsh. It is almost like saying hey this might be a bad novel so beware… that is what drove me away from reading back then and with a better attitude. If you want to have that, I would have added it at the end, I won’t be giving the warning at the beginning hahaha yes, pun intended. Full of twists and turns, the novel goes in 2 time phases, where the initial storie builds up to explain the second story and that will drive into the climax of the story.

In this novel, every detail matters and the author though about it in full. Pay attention and you read it and don’t read the warning.

A very good mystery that starts a bit slow but then moves quite well. It was interesting to find all the intersecting moving pieces and I really appreciated the diagrams in the story. The cast takes a minute to get to know, as it's a little big, but it's not too bad. I enjoyed this one.

This is a creepy book

I didn’t see the ending coming

I would recommend this to a friend

I am looking forward to reading more books from the author

The book was a good read. Started out slow, but then it really got good. Highly recommend. Absolutely loved it.

i really liked Leo as a characters and really felt bad for him, the author was able to create a great novel and great characters. I really enjoyed reading this.

While not my favorite Paul Pen book, this one certainly had an interesting premise. Well-written, as all his books are, and quite interesting. But wow, Leo's parents are jus AWFUL. I spent the whole book wanting to smack both of them, especially his mother. That poor kid. Looking forward to Pen's next book.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. Another great story by Paul Pen. Keep me guessing. Great work.

Excellent psychological thriller! I am new to Mr. Pens books, but not for long. Extremely intense thriller that starts with a bullied 8 year old boy who receives a mysterious note in his backpack warning him to stay away from a certain popular spot that the kids hang out in. This is the same spot where a previous senseless act of violence occurred years ago. The boys parents are no help as they don’t take the note seriously. Told from different points of view and different times, this book was impossible to put down. Flawless interpretation from Spanish, this book was creepy and heartfelt. I highly recommend this excellent book.

EXCERPT: I don't wish to frighten you, but it's impossible to explain any other way. Please do not go to the gas station in Arenas. The American's store. Do not go there on August 14, 2009. I don't want to scare you, but it could be the day of your death. Don't go. I'm sorry, I had to warn you.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: I don’t wish to frighten you, reads the anonymous note introverted and bullied eight-year-old Leo Cruz finds in his backpack. All the sender asks is that he avoid a certain spot on a certain day, or he’ll die. Leo has reason to be afraid. The warning hearkens back to nearly a decade ago—to the same site, where a murder has become local folklore and a favorite campfire tale reinvented year after year by the kids of Arenas, a small Spanish town.

Leo’s parents initially suspect the lonely boy’s cruel classmates. The perfect joke to terrorize an impressionable victim. Unless, as they come to believe, it’s Leo himself who is the author of the warning.

Is Leo being lured to an unavoidable fate? Is someone taking bullying to a dangerous new level? Or is there something else at work in Arenas, a town with intersecting destinies and a century of secrets?

MY THOUGHTS: I am going to start with an excerpt from the author's foreword....'I reread The Warning today and suffer when I discover certain passages that I'd never write in the same way now. I wince at each confusing shift in point of view, I roll my eyes at certain similes and metaphors, and I cringe at characters' intrusive thoughts.'

I feel your pain Paul Pen. I really do, as I did throughout this read. The shifts in not only the point of view, but also the timelines, was confusing. Very confusing. The story doesn't flow at all. It ought to have been creepy and suspenseful - the plot certainly had all the right ingredients - but I felt none of that. In fact, by the time I reached the 40% point, I was skimming, and I continued to do so through to the 90% point where it finally caught my interest.

I felt nothing for any of the characters - they are simply awful and unlikable, except for poor little Leo, bullied both at school and at home, and Linda, the housekeeper.

I would love to see Paul Pen rewrite this book now, knowing what he does now with several more novels to his name. I believe it would be a vastly different book. There is so much potential that could be explored and developed.

😐😐.5

#TheWarning #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: Paul Pen is an Amazon top-3 best-selling Spanish author whose four novels have been translated to English, German, Italian, Russian and Turkish. His book The Light of the Fireflies has sold over 150,000 copies worldwide, while his debut novel El aviso —soon to be published in English for the first time—was adapted to the big screen in 2018. Motion pictures of The Light of the Fireflies and Desert Flowers are also in development, the latter scripted by Pen himself. In his capacity as scriptwriter, Paul Pen is also working on a forthcoming Netflix series.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Amazon Crossing via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Warning by Paul Pen for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system, please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage

Wow. Unputdownable. Creepy and spine tingling. Hard to put down. Pick up this winner of a book but don't blame me if you don't get anything done. Happy reading!

I received this book from Netgalley for review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
This thriller was originally written almost ten years ago, adapted for the big screen in 2018 and now published in English for 2020 release.
The Spanish author set the story in a town called Arenas. The focus of the tale is a nine year old boy named Leo; different, and bullied by his peers. When he discovers a threatening note in his backpack this starts a chain of events that tear the fabric of his family apart and has far-reaching consequences for the community.
He has reason to be afraid, for the town has already suffered losses from multiple crimes at a local store and Leo's destiny seems to be tied to the location. Folktale, ghost stories abound as the community comes to terms with another crime committed and now Leo is in the crosshairs. Will be be saved in time? Or will the things that his family fears, the very thing that is tearing them apart, come to fruition?
This book was at first a little tough to get into for me. But the storylines collided and the journey began for me, into Leo's world. Strong characters and firm plotting make this a great thriller. Lots for book club members to discuss, themes of parenting and family dynamics, intuition and threat levels. I enjoyed this book and am glad to see it was his first novel as I have one of his recent works yet to read. I anticipate reading it as well.

This was my first book by this author so I didn't know what to expect. I was attracted to this story by the description but the story actually turned out very different than I was expecting. It did start out a bit slow but then things started to come together and get interesting. I found myself connecting with Leo and his situation made me feel really sad. Unfortunately I didn't really care for the ending, I felt that the reader deserved a bit more closure. All in all I enjoyed this book and I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Netgalley sent this book to me in a pre-release to write a review for. The summary of the book is what initially drew me in. It was eye-catching in both aesthetics and in the summation. To be honest, it took me a long time to get interested in the book once I started reading, and I usually read books fairly quickly. Don't get me wrong, it had an interesting plotline and really great characters that make you want to keep reading.

This wasn't my cup of tea, but it was definitely worth the read.

Very interesting premise for a book. I enjoyed the story line and the writing was very good. I recommend this book.

I DON'T WISH TO FRIGHTEN YOU....

Eight year old Leo, a uniquely "different" boy who has become the center of all bullying at his school, opens a note in his backpack addressed To The Nine Year Old Boy. Scared, shaking in terror, Leo gives the note to his parents who, by the way, should be nominated for the worst parents in all of literature. They assume that Leo has written the note for attention and add to his torment rather than comprehending the danger.

In the same, small Spanish town, a series of robbery/murders have been occurring for nearly a century. The note suggests that little Leo could possibly be the next to die.

In the introduction, the author, Paul Pen, apologizes for this, his first book, explaining that while we in the US are just now reading The Warning, it was his first work and therefore flawed. (insert laughing here) If The Warning is his most flawed work then I cannot imagine how incredible his subsequent work has to be! The Warning is classical horror at its finest and by "horror" I am referring to the original genre that brought us Frankenstein, The Yellow Wallpaper, Shirley Jackson's work and the first writings of Stephen King. It is the genre that will leave you with an uneasy feeling, have you looking over your shoulder for something which you cannot name. Paul Pen has given us a tale in which you hope for a happily after ending knowing that there cannot be one - can there?


Told in alternate timelines nearly a decade apart, The Warning is the story of  Aaron, Andrea and David who are attempting to cope with the senseless shooting of David. Aaron believes he has found a link from David's shooting to three others in the past. He hopes to stop a fourth one in the future, even if he drives himself insane in the process. Alternately, there is Leo a child who is tormented by bullies and by his own mother relentlessly. Aaron concludes that it is Leo who will be killed. Now he has to convince others and attempt to stop a killing that will happen nine years in the future.

While the book started a tiiiinny bit slow for me, it quickly all came together and rapidly became a book that absolutely floored me, so much so that I read this one in one sitting. It truly is one of the best books of any genre that I have read in ages! Even if you don't think that you like "horror," this is a book that you will not want to miss. It isn't zombie apocalypse horror, it is true, psychological drama at its best.

Paul Pen's books have been made into Netflix movies, including The Warning, and he currently is working on a Netflix series. Currently you can see The Warning on Netflix - but not until you read the book.

Let me begin with the fact that I have read and enjoyed two previous books by this author so when I saw this to request I didn't even hesitate.

I probably should have looked into this one more before requesting. I appreciate that this book is actually his debut novel written many years ago and I'm happy to say that he has since found his footing in the writing world but this debut just didn't work for me at all and I was unable to finish it. Still I remain a fan of his and I appreciate you providing me with an arc.

THE WARNING by Paul Penn is an intriguing thriller that will capture you from the start. I have read alot of Penns books and found this one entertaining as much as his others. Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.