I read this book within 24 hours - the short, cliffhanger-ending chapters made it very easy to get sucked in and read huge chunks of the story to find out what happens next. I really enjoyed finding what happened to Liv, and in general found her likeable and the ever-increasing intensity of the situation made me root for her to come out ahead.

However, I disliked the second perspective of the story: following two police officers as they investigate the case. This second POV was third person past tense omniscient, while Liv’s POV was first person present tense. Even flashback chapters were told in first person present tense, so I sometimes had to go back to check the start of the chapter to see when I was being thrown into/who I was hearing from. I also didn’t feel connected to either of the police officer characters, since their chapters were very procedural and dialogue-heavy (any backstory was told in brief conversations).

We often hear new information twice: as Liv discovers it, and then as the police do. It makes the story feel like it constantly backpedals. There are story choices that I also didn’t like (that I can’t/won’t spoil here) that taint the ending and whodunnit for me a bit. Overall I was a bit disappointed as the pacing was breakneck and I was really hoping for a new thriller favorite.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Imagine you wake up in the back of a taxi, late at night - with no idea how you go there and cryptic messages scrawled all over your hands and arms. Nothing makes sense, you have no idea what is going on. This is what happens to Liv Reese, the only thing she seems to be able to make since of is that she needs to STAY AWAKE - since that written all over her hands.

As Liv is beginning to dive into the mystery her life has become, she sees the local news - where she is terrified to see that she is wanted for murder. The only problem is she can't remember what she did last night, actually she can't remember what she did for the last two years. She finds herself attempting to piece together her memory, but nothing is as it seems.

Stay Awake is a wonderful one-of-a-kind (to me) thriller, that really makes you question everything that you know. Megan Goldin did a wonderful job of keeping me guessing the "whodunit" till the very end - although when it was revealed it didn't seem to have that big of a shock factor, the suspense of the reveal just wasn't there for me. Overall, I really did enjoy this book - and if you like a mystery, you will love this book. It was just lacking some answers and reason for me, which is the reason for the four-stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in advance of its release on August 9, 2022 in exchange for my honest review.

Groundhog Day meets Agatha Christie.

Great idea and fast paced, but told in a format that was whiplash back-abd-forth which kept me very confused because I never knew what was happening or what was true or a lie.

If that sounds fun and I reliable narrators are your favorite this is the book for you!

Thank You to NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book. I really enjoyed it! It was a fun and quick read.

This thriller follows Liv Reese across two different timelines. One immediacy following after a mysterious death and the other two years prior. Liv suffers from amnesia and can’t remember the two-years in between making her an unreliable narrator which left me guessing the entire way through and I was not able to guess the twist at the end!

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars and highly recommend!

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and St. Martins Press for an early copy of this book.

This was definitely a fast-paced thriller that engaged me as soon as I started reading. What an interesting concept- a woman who forgets everything that happened to her previously after she falls asleep is a prime suspect in a murder. I enjoyed the dual-timeline, even if it was slightly confusing at first because it intertwined well at the end. I was invested in what Liv would do next, where she would end up, and how things would play out.

There were a few things that I wasn't a fan of. First, the way that Halliday discusses her military experience was odd to me. This is probably because my husband deployed, and we are surrounded by a ton of deployed veterans, but soldiers don't talk how Halliday did. At certain points, she goes in so much detail, and it was clunky and awkward sounding. I felt that most of it could be removed without it impacting the story whatsoever. There were several characters included that I assume were added to increase suspicion about other suspects, but they didn't add much else other than that. Those character inclusions lengthened the book, and I think it could have been edited down a little bit more. Towards the end I was speeding through it, not necessarily because I wanted to know how it ended, but I wanted to be done. How Liv's character and condition were wrapped up at the end was a little too neat for me. As improbable as the plot of the book was, the neat ending was even more improbable.

Overall, it was an enjoyable, quick read. I read a lot of thrillers, and "Stay Awake" brought us a story that I haven't personally experienced before. I appreciate that, as many thrillers follow similar tropes and get worn out fairly quickly. I'm not sure that this one will stick with me long-term, but I don't regret the time spent reading it.

Some thrillers can feel so predictable, but that is not the case with this book. Liv Reese may relive the same day over again, at least waking up thinking so, but the mystery behind this one leaves us guessing and hooked until the very end. Goldin explores the human brain and it's response to psychological trauma in an interesting twist with this one. Fans of Memento or Before I Go to Sleep will love it without feeling like it's been done before because the story and characters it revolves around are just never the same. Goldin weaves this one so intricately. Murder, mystery and a story told from two point of views in differing timelines make this one you'll stay awake to finish.

4.0 Starts Publication August 9th 2022
I really enjoyed Night Swim, so much I lent it out to many of my friends, This book was not exception, A very mysterious, fast paced thriller that takes you into the world of Liv. Liv wakes up with amnesia and the plot takes you all over the place. I read this book in 1 day and it reminded me of what 50 first dates would be like as a horror movie.
Thank you for the ARC and I plan on buying the physical copy and lending this out to my friends again

I really enjoyed this one! A unreliable narrator is something I always enjoy but finally it wasn’t because of alcohol! This had many twists and turns and while I sort of saw the ending coming, I still flew through this!

Like the idea of the book but disliked the layout of the story did not work for me. The back and forth was super distracting. It felt like a 50 first dates meets a killer.

In the vein of SJ Watson's Before I Go to Sleep, Megan Goldin's Stay Awake is an electrifying novel that plays with memory... and murder. Highly recommend this mindblowing read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I love everything Megan Goldin writes and this one is no different. I don't want to give too much away about the book until its pub date, but WOW! Once again she has created the perfect thriller that you just can not put down!! Her characters jump off the page to you, and her writing style is flawless!

I was hooked from the beginning. Such a good mystery and i rushed to finish. Go read this book! you will not be disappointed.

Stay Awake is another thrilling success from talented author Megan Goldin. It’s a little like 50 First Dates except oh so not funny. When we first meet Liv Reese she’s a weird person experiencing weird events. It’s as if the last two years of her life never happened. She wakes up not knowing where she is or how she got there, her apartment is no longer her own, people she knows allude to events she knows nothing about. Why is STAY AWAKE written all over her hands? And a bloody knife – what??

Liv is exhausted and confused and afraid. And author Goldin makes us exhausted and confused and afraid as well as we go with Liv from place to place, event to event, person to person, trying to figure out what has happened to her life and wondering if she could possibly – no, can’t be – could possibly have committed a crime she can’t remember.

Unlike 50 First Dates, Liv has no one to watch over her, to gently bring her up to speed each time she awakens. She had a journal but it’s missing. Just as she seems to make some progress and put things together, exhaustion wins, she falls asleep, and it starts all over again.

Stay Awake is well-plotted and fast paced with clues and red herrings sprinkled throughout. It’s so suspenseful you almost have to put it down ever few pages and catch your breath. The big reveal when we learn the cause of her memory loss is astonishing – but it’s not the end yet. More excitement and danger to come. I was sad and worried for Liv and wished I could give her the answers she so desperately needs.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing an advance copy of Stay Awake via NetGalley for my reading pleasure and honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it without hesitation. Another great book from a favorite author. All opinions are my own.

Book Review 📚

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Publication date August 9th 2022

This was sooooooo good. Like just as good as the Night swim. 🙌
Imagine everytime you wake up, you forget the last 2 years of your life.
DON'T SLEEP, STAY AWAKE
This book had me on the edge of my seat!
I felt scared for Liv, right from the first chapter. She would wake in random places, most she didn't even recognize. That is absolutely terrifying to me!!! This book made my anxiety level at an all time High, and the more I wanted to put It down the more I needed to find out what happened. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️This book's paranoia level made this a top thriller for me this year.
Liv's insomnia/amnesia was so scattered and so all over the place it made the plot unpredictable, which was brilliant.

I highly recommend this book when it releases, it definitely is now one of my top thrillers to recommend ♡

Thank you again @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this early copy I throughly enjoyed ♡

4.5 stars.

A very fast-paced thriller that all takes place within a day (except for some time jumps to provide backstory), with a wild ride of a plot, intriguing characters & an ending I wasn’t at all expecting! Because of a recent busy schedule (always, ugh!), it annoyingly took me 3.5 weeks to read the first half of this book, BUT the second I had free time to read, I finished the entire last half in one night. I just HAD to keep reading to find out what happened!! Megan Goldin did it again - love her books!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me an arc in exchange for my honest review

I really enjoyed this book, the plot was unique and the characters were interesting. This is a plot that could’ve easily become boring and repetitive but it did not.

We follow Liv as she tries to piece together a night and the two years she can’t remember. I really enjoyed following Liv through the past and all of the creepy moments leading up to the reveals.

The only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars was because the ending felt a little lackluster and rushed to me.

I think if you’ve enjoyed Megan Goldin’s books in the past you’d enjoy this!

Megan Golden can do no wrong in my book. "Stay Awake" is a true gem if twist and turns. Megan keeps you guessing again and again, you think you have it all figured out but you don't. I absolutely loved the flaws found in Liv, and found myself wanting her to find a happy ending in this nightmare she was involved in.

In the middle of the night, Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi, and can’t remember how or when she got there. Her last memory is answering the phone in her office at work. After a confusing confrontation with the people who live in what she thinks is still her house, she discovers a bloody knife in her possession, and disposes of it in a nearby trash can. She spends the entire book falling asleep over and over and waking back up 2 years in the future, forgetting everything.

I loved the first 3/4 of this book. It hooks you immediately from the beginning. It was a wild rollercoaster ride of a thriller and there isn’t a single part of this book that I’d call boring.

The unreliable narrator kept me constantly on my toes. I really had to pay attention to the timeline, and while that can get tedious, the writing style and storyline was so compelling I had no trouble at all. At one point, when Liv was on the phone with 911, the lady was telling her to stay awake, just stay awake. I got chills, and it all clicked for me why she was so insistent on staying awake.

The storyline and plot was so so good, but then the ending was so abrupt. It felt rushed and unfinished and was a bit disappointing after the wild rollercoaster ride the author led us on the entire story. I was expecting a real exciting twist from this thriller, and was left disappointed with something that just felt too convenient.

I definitely recommend reading this. It was certainly an awesome read and kept me guessing the entire time. I just wish more time would have been spent perfecting that ending!

Thank you for this ARC that was generously provided by the publisher and author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was insanie! I liked it better than The Night Swim because the pace was so much faster. I can’t Imagine waking up everyday with no memory of what happened the day before.. Almost like 50 first dates! There are a few inconsistencies in the storyline, hopefully that will all be worked out. Thank you Net Galley for the ARC.

First off thank you Net Galley for this ARC Read Now Copy of Stay Awake by Megan Goldin.

I was very excited about this book as I loved the Night Swim. This book kept me engaged and not wanting to put it down. Super quick read, and the perfect mystery/thriller. This book built the back ground of the characters nicely but still held the mystery of what truly happened. I will definitely be recommending this book!

Liv Reese wakes up on a train not remembering how she got there. LIv goes back to her apartment, which she shared with her best friend Amy, to only find out there are strangers living in her apartment. Liv realizes it is 2 years later, and she has no recollection of what has happened these past 2 years, just notes scribbled on her hands that day STAY AWAKE, WAKE UP, DONT OPEN THE DOOR. Liv searches her pockets for any clues and finds all knife wrapped in t-shirt covered in blood. Did she murder someone?, and why can’t she remember anything but 2 years before. This book takes you back and forth between 2 years earlier & present day and tells the story from a couple different character view points.