Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I had really high hopes as I was going through this book and thinking it was gonna be a 4-star read. But toward the end, it just got kinda lackluster.

I expected a few more twists and a few more turns that would really wow me, but I did really enjoy the majority of the book. It just didn’t wrap up in a way that would allow for a higher rating.

I will definitely read more books by this author though.

This book reminded me of Memento in the best way possible. Liv Reese cannot remember her memories. I loved the way she would write on herself to send herself a message to try to remember. Trying to follow along and solve the mystery with her was so fun. I really enjoyed this book and am a big Megan Goldin fan.

Stay Awake was a gripping thriller that took off on the first page. Liv wakes up with no memory in a cab with a bloody knife in her pocket. She tries to figure out what happened while the police is trying to figure out who murdered the mystery man. Totally recommend!

This was a tense fast paced novel! I couldn’t read it fast enough, all the twists and turns! This book makes for a good beach read

Whoa, this was a wild ride. I stayed awake right along with Liv, even though if I went to sleep nothing bad would happen.

Liv wakes up to find she has lost two years of her life and is wanted by the police. What happened in the time she does not remember, and what happened to the people who used to be in her life? She embarks on a rather paranoia-induced, frenzied race to figure things out before the police, and whoever else may be after her find her.

I could not put this down and thoroughly enjoyed it.


Thank-you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my advanced reader copy.

Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mystery: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ½, rounded up

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
4 STARS
Stay Awake is a gripping thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish. The plot is refreshingly unique, offering unexpected twists and a deep dive into the complexities of the human psyche. The suspense builds steadily throughout the novel, making it impossible to put down as each chapter unravels more of this bizarre story. While the pacing could be slightly tighter in the middle, this thrilling journey is one you won't want to miss, earning a solid 4-star rating.

I’ve been looking forward to reading Stay Awake, and it totally lived up to the hype. I'm a huge fan of Goldin's writing, and this book was no different. It was an incredibly intense, mind-blowing, and wildly unpredictable experience. Goldin really took me on a wild ride with the main character. Wow. Anyone looking for a good summer thriller, pick this up!

Love an amnesia thriller! This was a really exciting and tense novel, and both Liv and Detective Halliday were great characters. I really enjoyed the amnesia plotline and I couldn't wait to find out what happened next and how Liv was going to navigate the world when she couldn't remember the last two years--or who was trying to kill her.

I value the opportunity I was given to read this in advance, but it has been three years and I still haven't read this. With so many books ahead of me, I cannot return to this title.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin is a well-written, gripping psychological thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish. The story’s premise is intriguing—Liv Reese wakes up in New York City with no memory of the last two years, mysterious messages scrawled on her hands, and a murder investigation closing in on her. The dual timeline adds depth to the mystery, making it even more compelling as the pieces slowly come together. The writing is sharp, the tension is constant, and the twists are executed brilliantly. While the shifting perspectives and timeline jumps can be a bit complex at times, they ultimately add to the suspense and make the book hard to put down. Overall, it’s an intense, fast-paced read that’s perfect for fans of psychological thrillers.

This started off really strong; I was so intrigued by why the protagonist woke up disoriented with cryptic messages written on her hands and arms. However, it became repetitive as the story went on, and I was tempted to DNF multiple times. I enjoyed the reveal at the end but not quite enough to compensate for the lacking middle.

Cue the Twilight Zone music. Liv is a young woman living an everyday life, then......she goes to sleep and loses two years of her life. Great concept but you need to suspend belief before entering the zone as this is about to get weird. Liv wakes up in the back of a cab, no idea how she got there. She gets out of the cab and goes to her apartment door where she finds she no longer lives there but has no idea where she lives now. As we move through the fog of lost memory with Liv, her life takes on some changes that leave her.....and us.....questioning what's going on? A good, not great plot line that takes enough twists, turns and liberties that I kept reading to see where the blood and knife came from. Megan Goldin did a great job of spinning this tale into a thriller with some original consequences.

This story of Liz and her two year memory gap started off really good. It pulled me in and I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. Unfortunately the story died off as it went along and the end was rather anticlimactic. Her books are usually much more thrilling then this one was unfortunately..

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin follows Liz Reese, who wakes up in the back of a cab with no memory of how she got there. Soon she learns that her memory has over a two year gap, and her daily memory resets everytime she falls asleep.

This book started SO strong for me but quickly fell flat. I’ve read several books in the past with main characters who have memory loss and this one felt very repetitive. I was also not invested in the detective storyline and didn’t enjoy the dual POV. I also figured out the twist early on.

Overall though I do enjoy Goldins writing style and look forward to what comes next!

What a ride! Liv wakes up one day only to discover that she's lost all memory of the past two years. She's shocked to discover some shocking things on her person and has no idea how they got there or what they mean. She's thrown into a whirlwind of confusion and tries desperately to find out what happened in her life two years previously.

Liv keeps waking up each day only to find that she's lost all memory of the previous two years, including the day before. So it's like she constantly loses memory of what she just learned. So she finds out all over again that she might've murdered someone but she can't believe that. She discovers again that people she thought she was still in contact with are no longer alive or she's no longer in contact for one reason or another.

The narrator definitely added to the thrill and excitement of what was going on in Liv's life as she tried to discover the truth to her lost two years. The voice inflections were appropriate and the pacing also contributed to the emotional state Liv was going through at various times.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin is a fast-paced, twist-filled thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The premise—about a woman with amnesia who can't remember the last two years of her life and is desperately trying to piece together the truth—was both chilling and compelling. Goldin masterfully builds suspense, dropping clues and misdirections that keep you guessing until the final page. For thriller lovers, this book delivers everything you crave: tension, unexpected twists, and a dark, haunting atmosphere that lingers long after you finish.

This one was just okay! I enjoyed how unique the story was but I felt like more could have been done with it. But I will say the ending had my jaw nearly hitting the ground!

Stay Awake will quite literally have you staying awake to read “just one more chapter” so you can unveil the mystery of what Liv Reese can’t remember.

Stay Awake begins with Liv Reese waking up in a taxi with a bloody knife in her hand and the words “STAY AWAKE” written on her arm. When she’s dropped off at her apartment, the person who answers the door is someone she doesn’t know who says she doesn’t live there. Lost, alone, and confused, Liv wanders around New York, piecing together what’s happening to her with the help of those she meets…who seem to know more about her than she does about herself.

This thriller is full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end. However, I have to say that I was much more invested in Liv’s chapters than the cop perspective, which was also startling to discover the existence of since there was no mention of any perspective other than Liv’s in the synopsis. While this other narrative is aptly used to give clues to the reader, I had a hard time believing in the realism of some of the things the police were doing, and these chapters sucked some of the suspense out of the story.

The beginning of the book and the tension it builds in the first third is remarkable, but the story becomes less unique and interesting the more that is uncovered. Although it was an overall enjoyable ride, the tropes that the story relied on weren’t as intriguing as I would have hoped from the setup, ending up at a 3 out of 5 stars.

I tried to read this after dnfing about two times but I couldn't continue. It was far more predictable than I anticipated.

*Stay Awake* by Megan Goldin has a gripping premise with its central mystery of a woman who wakes up with no memory of the last two years and must piece together the truth. The pacing is fast, and the suspense builds well, making for an engaging read at the start. However, the plot occasionally feels repetitive, and some of the twists are predictable, leaving the story feeling a bit formulaic at times. While the concept is strong, the character development—especially for the protagonist, Liv—feels a bit shallow, which makes it harder to connect with her on a deeper level. Overall, it’s a solid thriller with some tense moments, but it doesn’t quite reach its full potential.