Megan Goldin's Stay Awake is a gripping psychological thriller that keeps you guessing until the final page. The story follows Liv Reese, a woman who wakes up in a New York City cab with no memory of how she got there—and cryptic messages scrawled on her hands. As Liv pieces together the fragments of her life, she realizes she’s being hunted for a crime she can’t remember committing.

Goldin expertly weaves a dual timeline, switching between Liv’s present confusion and her life two years earlier, slowly unraveling the mystery. The fast-paced narrative is filled with twists and red herrings, keeping readers on edge. Liv’s unreliable memory adds a layer of suspense, making it impossible to predict what’s real or who to trust.

With sharp prose and an intricate plot, Stay Awake is perfect for fans of memory-loss thrillers like Before I Go to Sleep. It’s a compelling exploration of paranoia, survival, and the desperate search for truth.

I loved this novel. The suspense and twists made it so hard to put down. You don’t know what to expect next or what’s to come. Megan Goldin definitely has a talent for suspense and thrillers.

I found the audio book just as good as the ebook novel. The narrator does a great job at bringing the story to life.

3.5

I liked this! At times it felt repetitive, and I'm not surprised by the ending. I was wondering where exactly this book was going to go, and it was very intriguing how the author wrote the story.

Thank you for Netgalley for this ARC, and I look forward to reading more from this author!

Gosh, how did this sit in my back-log for so long??? I have enjoyed Megan Goldin's other books, and Stay Awake definitely kept me on my toes. Other reviews are critical of some of the repetitiveness of the story, but as the mc loses the last 2 years of her memory every time she falls asleep, every reawakening is new to her, so it sort of has to be that way. I did guess what she was running from and the whodunnit early on, but it did not take away from my reading experience. I really liked the detectives int he story and feel they would be a great duo to continue perhaps a series but with them as the mc's and main perspective.

Overall a fast-paced thriller with an interesting unreliable narrator and backwards timeline. Glad I opened up my vintage book list and finally tasted this delight.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC... even though I am terribly late.

I really wanted to love this book by Megan Goldin as I loved her previous work, The Night Swim. However, this book was very very very repetitive. I kept thinking I was reading the same chapter over and over again. Nothing happened and it was very slow moving. Was not for me.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin is a solid thriller. It’s told in a back and forth timeline alternating present day with 2 years ago. Liv Reese’s memory wipes itself everyone she falls asleep, so she tries to stay awake. She’s suffered a past trauma, that even though she can’t remember it, still affects her. Two years ago she was the victim of a horrible crime-or was she the killer?? She can’t remember but someone else remembers.

When the truth was revealed, my jaw dropped! I love that!

I listened to this book on audio even though I had a NetGalley copy. One of the narrators must be British because even though they had an American accent they were pronouncing some of the words incorrectly. It was annoying and took me out of the story for a bit. But the chapters were short and the story was propulsive.

If you enjoy a good thriller, pick this up. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for the advanced e-copy of #stayawake.

2.5 stars.
This one was just okay. Do not love amnesia storylines and honestly, even despite that this one had some major plot holes. The points the author stressed about the main character, that she forgets everything when she falls asleep, etc. were stressed so heavily yet I really don't think she fell asleep all that often until the end of the story. Will be interesting what my book club thinks of this one.

I loved this fast paced, unputdownable thriller with multiple points of views and very intriguing plot and characters.

A page-turner that, while a little redundant, was a fun read.

The opener was SO gripping and interested me right away. I never felt bored, though ironically, many details were repeated (and framed like they were new) due to the main character's memory issues. I understand this may have been necessary due to the limits of the character, I do felt like it could've moved ahead with more new detail rather than continuing to over the same info.

I also think the main character almost kept TOO calm most of the time given how terrifying the circumstances were? I also wish we learned more info more quickly - it was all action until some of the major learning moments were all "told" and not "showed." Halliday was an interesting character, but I think there could've been more between her dynamic and Lavelle's.

I also saw the twist with Amy coming from milesssss away. I even guessed the killer by process of elimination which was a little bit of a letdown, and the deeper motive is still unclear. There was a lot that was simply unrealistic/unbelievable for how easily it happened which I won't detail to prevent spoilers, but I wish maybe the framing had been better.

This book, while has a slow start, quickly picks up and when it does you'll be along for a wild ride!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, this book was intense. Megan Goldin’s other books have been kind of hit or miss for me but this was definitely a hit. I don’t think a thriller has freaked me out as much as this one did, the writing on her arms and the memory loss got to me. It’s scary to think that it could happen to anyone. I devoured this book in less than 24 hours, I couldn’t get enough of it. I like how it was told from two points of view, one from our main character Liv and the other from the detective working on her case. Usually I have a preference on which point of view I prefer reading from more but in this case I really enjoyed reading from both of them.

The twists really got me, insert cliche here, but I honestly didn’t see some of them coming. The only reason I docked a star and didn’t give this 5 stars is because the ending felt a little lackluster to me. With the bang that this book started out with and continued for three-quarters I was expecting an epic ending. Still a fantastic thriller that I immensely enjoyed. Megan Goldin is now one of my favorite thriller writers.

5 stars! my first megan goldin book and i’ll be reading more.

one of the most interesting books i’ve read in a long time. added to my all time favorites list.

This was SO GOOD! I loved it from start to finish. It had a unique premise that captivated me from the start. I couldn't put it down and highly recommend it.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital ARC of Megan Goldin's "Stay Awake." Although I received approval to read this novel before its August 9, 2022, release date, I only recently had the opportunity to delve into it. I apologize for the delay in reading the book and submitting a review.

"Stay Awake" records the events in the life of Liv Reese, a complex character who wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea how she got there. She discovers graffiti on her arm, saying, "Stay awake" and "Don't trust anyone." She goes to her apartment and finds out that someone else lives there. When she leaves the apartment and attempts to get her cell phone out of her pocket, she discovers a bloody knife. How did it get there? What is going on? She believes someone is watching her. Are they?

The narrative of "Stay Awake" unfolds through alternating chapters, revealing events occurring in the present and two years ago. As the story progresses, you discover there was a murder, and Liv was accused of the crime. Liv has a form of amnesia and is an unreliable narrator, taking the reader on a journey as she tries to understand why she is accused of murder. The novel is filled with suspense, repetition, and unexpected twists and turns, which exhausted me but also kept me engaged. I found myself questioning how many times a person could realistically have multiple opportunities to kill and try to frame Liv for murder. However, I enjoyed the character of Darcy Halliday, a female NYPD police officer who is depicted as intelligent, level-headed, and independent.

Overall, I found "Stay Awake" to be an enjoyable read. It will likely satisfy readers who enjoy suspense and mystery novels.

This one gripped me and did not let go. I felt the main character's anxiety and confusion with not being able to remember what happened and trying not to fall asleep. I was constantly waiting for new things to be remembered or develop in the story. I did not want to put it down.

Ok, so I’m a little late to the party on reading this book. But boy am I glad I finally did get to it. Megan Goldin has done it again - in a genre that’s saturated with the same old storylines, she comes out with a fresh new perspective that will keep you guessing and second guessing who really committed the murders. The story is told in dual timelines that for some books can get messy and confusing, but for this book transitioned seamlessly and not once did I ever guess where I was in the progression of the story.

As the story builds it becomes more entertaining and engaging. Just as Liv is trying to get her memory back and figure out what’s going on, you get to play detective too. There are two things that really make me like and recommend a book - a new storyline I haven’t read a million versions of and when the ending is a surprise to me. Both were the case in this book.

You will want to Stay Awake for this one!!!

My thanks to Megan Goldin, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Although I still prefer THE NIGHT SWIM, I enjoyed this thriller! The dual timeline and POVS kept me quickly turning the page. I'd recommend going in blind and not reading the publisher's summary before reading.

I enjoyed this but not as much as this authors past work. This is definitely more of a paranoia thriller than anything else

Loved this book! Kept me on my toes, and rooting for Liv the entire time. I also loved Detective Halliday, would love a follow up on future cases from her

Megan Goldin wakes up to find messages written on her hands having no idea what they mean. Unable to recall her life the past two years, and with strangers living in what she thought was her apartment, she has to figure out what the messages mean, and back track to make sense of everything. This fast paced thriller had me staying awake late (pun intended) to finish this fast paced thriller.