Stay Awake is a fast-paced thriller that grabs readers from the opening scene and propels them through the narrative. The action alternates between the protagonist's point of view in both the past and the present and the point of view of the detectives trying to piece together the mystery, a device that builds suspense but requires the reader's close attention to the time frame in each chapter.
Liv awakes in a taxi without memory of anything that's happened in the past two years--her last memory is of answering her office phone at the arts magazine Cultura two years previously. She finds herself suspected of murdering her former fiance (whom she doesn't remember) and goes on the run. She soon realizes that she's being hunted not only by the police but by the real killer. Liv's paranoia and terror increase, not helped by the copious amounts of caffeine and anti narcoleptic drugs she consumes daily--every time she wakes from sleep, her memory of the day before is erased and she is thrust back into her world of two years ago. Liv copes by writing messages to herself on her hands and arms to tell herself what has happened the day before. The author handles the complicated plot deftly as the many threads of the narrative begin to weave together. Liv and the ambitious young detective are strong, three-dimensional female characters, and the secondary characters also have authenticity. Although I guessed the identity of the killer quite early on, it didn't detract from the tension of the story--as the suspense built toward the climax, I found myself racing through the final chapters. Stay Awake is an exciting read that deserves the description "thriller!"

This book is the perfect example of why I’d rather read than binge watch tv any day of the week. There’s no possible way that a television show could provoke such feelings of mystery, intrigue, page-turning terror and raw fascination that a book can, especially one this good.

I don’t want to ruin the plot line by giving away too much in my review so I’ll suffice it to say that you’ll be hard pressed to find another psychological thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat like this one. I’m usually a pretty good armchair detective but I, quite honestly, was stumped by this one.

I give this book 5 stars and I will eagerly anticipate Megan Goldin’s next one. I think I’ve found my new favorite author.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this fabulous book. This is my honest review.

Liv Reese had a traumatic experience two years ago. Now every time she falls asleep she wakes up with a rare kind of insomnia and can't remember what happened before falling asleep. This thriller is told from multiple timelines and the points of views of Liv Reese and Detective Darcy Halliday, who along with her partner, Detective Jack Lavelle, is trying to find Liv because a murder has happened and Liv is either a suspect or in danger. I really enjoyed this fast paced thriller. It kept me reading and guessing until the very end. I would also love to see more of Detective Halliday and Detective Lavelle in future books by Megan Goldin.

I really enjoyed this thriller! As a mental
health professional, Ian always concerned when books try to use some far fetched idea of memory loss or other mental health condition. However, I think Stay Awake represented dissociative fugue well with just a little extra exaggeration to make the story a bit more engaging. I loved the concept and thought it was executed well! The NYC setting was fun to read about and our unreliable narrator made us feel like we were in the dark with her, scrambling for scraps of information and hoping desperately that she was not involved in the murder. It was heart pumping and I definitely didn’t see that final twist coming. The only thing I didn’t enjoy too much was the police POV. I don’t think it added much and those chapters dragged in comparison to our main character POV. Overall, very good thriller. 4 stars!

Stay Awake was one of the best books I’ve read in a while! From the beginning, I was hooked! The novel is told from various perspectives, fitting together like puzzle pieces as the story progresses. I will definitely be checking out other books from Megan Goldin

The Memento like premise to this book was gripping, but the execution didn't quite hit it with me.. I didn't love the writing and it got a bit repetitive. It was also kind of predictable. But I still sped read the entire book to see how it would be done.

What an absolutely amazing, gripping book. I was hooked from the first sentence. Loved the duel timelines and pov. I’ll be recommending this book to patrons for some time to come. Solid 5 stars!

4.75 ⭐️ TW: murder, blood

Trope:
🔍 searching for the murder
🔍 memory loss
🔍 time changes
🔍 3rd POV
🔍 Dual POV

I absolutely enjoyed this book so much! I went into this book blind and let me tell you that this book was worth it! Let me say that I was so invested that I wanted to buy the physical copy of this book! Thank you #netgalley and #st.martinspublishinggroup for this ARC


Summary:
Liv woke up at the back of the taxi and realizes she doesn’t know where she is. All she knows is that her name is Liv and that she has a boyfriend named Marco and a friend named Amy. However, she is currently living in the time of two years ago, meaning all she remembers is memories of two years ago. Where had all the memories disappeared….
She heads to her apartment and suddenly she is kicked out and on the news, the murder suspect looks like her, and it is her. She looks at her arm and she sees the scribble: STAY AWAKE
what did that meant to her? and what happened if she didn’t? How is she connected to this murder and where has her memories disappeared to? How much has the time around her changed since two years ago?

Spoilers:
Honestly I wish that Ted had a happy life with Liv. He legit deserved better and I wanted him to be happy. He legit risked his engagement with someone else for Liv and I know he still loved her. He was her ex and did not have to help her but he did and that really hit me hard.
I was also glad for Harry which was the bartender at Nocturnal. He was always there for Liv and never questioned her memory loss and reminded her what she was doing and treated her normally. At the end I was glad that she was able to gain her memories and I wished the ending for Brett was more impactful.
I knew Brett was a red flag and I knew that Marco would cheat on Liv with Amy. I legit sensed that and when I read the scene about them both cheating, I wasn’t surprised. I honestly didn’t think Marco wasn’t a great boyfriend and viewed Liv and someone who was convenient. I was also pissed at the police man who didn’t consider the stalking situation seriously like wtf. She almost died because of him tbh…

Megan Goldin, you are the bomb!! What a phenomenal thriller!! I loved The Escape Room, loved The Night Swim even more, but Stay Awake just became my new favorite. WOW! I absolutely LOVED it!! This book was mind-bending, explosive and extremely captivating. I was completely transfixed with this story from the very first chapter. I couldn't believe it when I received the approval email for this ARC!!

Imagine waking up and not being able to recall the last two years of your life. Or what you did two days ago...or even the night before. Scary, right?! How about not knowing where you are or how you got there? Liv Reese has to endure this confusion and fright anew every time she awakens from sleep. So, when she finds herself in the back of a taxi with a bloody knife and writing all over her hands, she has no idea how she got there or what she has done. All she knows, from the words inked repeatedly all over her hands, is that she needs to "Stay Awake". And all I know is that I had to fight to "Stay Awake" because I just had to finish this today!

Shoot! I could write my own novel just complimenting the brilliance of this book, but I refuse to give any spoilers. This was such an interesting read and very well written. Don't pass on this one!! I promise that you will not be disappointed. Add it to your TBRs now!

THANK YOU to the author, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me to preview this eARC!

Liv Reese keeps waking up with no memories of the past two years of her life. She has writing on her hands and wrists like she used to have when she was a child. This story alternates between Liv’s life from two years ago and the current time, where we learn about her best and roommate Amy, and her boyfriend Marco.
When Liv goes to Cultura magazine where she used to work, the staff and decor has all changed. She sees a news broadcast showing a murder, and learns it is two years into the future.
This story kept me captivated and turning the pages until I finished. The author made sure to add a few red herrings and false directions along the way. I would highly recommend this book to someone looking for a thrill ride.

At no point in this book did I have any idea where it was headed. Just what I want in a psychological thriller! I was guessing until the end. Some parts may have seemed a bit implausible, but hey, not worried about that. Definitely her best yet!

I really enjoyed this book. Unusual psychological conditions that allow for the reader to figure things out alongside characters are a great story-telling device. It reminded me of the movie Memento in that the main character suffers from a short-term memory problem and is involved in a murder. Now I want to rewatch that movie...

My only criticism, and it's minor, is that the timing felt a little off. A lot happens in five weeks and I think it could be made a little more clear what happened to start off the memory issues and it would have made more sense to me if the five-week period could have been a little longer.

Overall rounded up to a 5!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advance copy!

“Stay Awake” is fast paced psychological thriller by Megan Goldin set in NYC. Liv Reese wakes up in a cab not knowing where she is or how she got there and has “stay awake” written on hands. She gets amnesia every time she doses off and is being chased by a killer.
This was an exciting thriller and I had a hard time putting it down. It did require some suspension of disbelief, but it was overall a fun read.

Liv Reese wakes up in the back seat of a cab with no idea of how she got there. As she tries to figure out her whereabouts, she finds a bloodstained knife in her possession and discovers “stay awake” scribbled across her hands.

Meanwhile detective Darcy Halliday is investigating a homicide where the killer wrote—you guess it—“stay awake” across the window of a crime scene. As Liv Reese discovers the news, she is forced to run from a crime she has no recollection of committing.

As for my opinion, I was absolutely immersed in this book! I thought the dual point of view as well as the dual timeline of Liv’s past and present really added to the thriller aspect of the novel. The pacing was also excellent, I was flying through the chapters and never once felt bored. I did find it to be a tad repetitive at times but i guess that just adds on to the whole dissociative amnesia thing. Overall, I enjoyed Stay Awake and would recommend it to anyone that enjoys suspense thrillers.

Thank you to net gallery for the ARC copy.

4.5 stars
Wow, this was a high-paced and well-written thriller! The short chapters had me flying through the book as each chapter left off on a slight cliff-hanger or finished with some new information. I really liked the dual povs and thought the change in povs chapter to chapter was done really well.

This was looking to be a 5 star read for me up until the ending. The ending felt rushed for the amount of build-up and the culprit revelation fell a little flat. I also was left with a sense that all was not wrapped up as well as it could have been. (view spoiler)

Overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it. It was fast-paced and had me second guessing and constantly wondering where the plot would go. This is my first time reading this author's work and it definitely won't be my last.

Thank you to Netgally and St. Martin's Press for sending me an arc of this book.

Megan Goldin has done it again! 3 for 3 on books I could not put down! Started and finished in the same sitting.

This book puts you in the life of Liv who wakes up with no memory of how she got there. I could feel her confused and scared emotions as if I was with her. Twisting and turning through different timelines and perspectives the reader gets to attempt to put together Liv's missing memories. A unique twist on the unreliable narrator.

Perfect for those who enjoy thrillers, murder mysteries, and detective novels.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and netgalley for the advanced copy!

5 incredible, couldn't-put-it-down, thriller-of-the-year stars~!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a digital copy for review!

Another brilliant thriller by Megan Goldin!

I was so excited for this one and was on cloud 9 when I got the chance to read this one before it hits shelves! I couldn't put this down, I was truly INVESTED. I oftentimes find that some of my favorite thrillers are the ones where the narrator is completely and utterly unreliable.

Liv Reese is our main character here - she wakes up startled and confused in a taxi, with absolutely ZERO recognition of why she is there or how she came to be. Upon arriving at her destination - her apartment - she gets booted out into the cold before the cops are called on her. Who are these people living there? Why are they acting like this?

Fast forward a bit, and Liv starts putting two and two together that her memory isn't "all there" and that she consistently writes down "reminders" on her hands of that which she constantly forgets.

Liv finds herself in the middle of a crime that she can't recall if she committed or NOT... and is on the run. Everyone seems to love Liv... Liv couldn't have killed someone, surely? But someone out there knows EXACTLY what happened.

Can she put together the broken pieces before time runs out on the case, and possibly her existence as we know it?

Buckle up, and be sure to add this one to your TBR if it isn't on there already! This may just be thriller of the year for me..!

DNF @ 50% but I did skip to the end to see how it ends.

I guess I must have read a different book to all the other ARC-reviewers because while they’re gushing over how good this is I’m left stunned by how bad Goldin’s writing is. So so so so much word-for-word repetition, so much telling instead of showing and dialog so wooden this book is practically a forest. I liked the Memento-style plot to begin with but I got so tired with how poorly this was written that I just couldn’t stick with it. Hard to believe that this is a traditionally published book that’s presumably been edited rather than some first-attempt shite on Kindle Unlimited.

i found the premise super compelling but when it actually got put into practice it got a bit annoying
the murder mystery was incredibly predictable (except for that q thing which was just weird) and the writing didn’t really draw me in
liv’s thoughts were SO REPETITIVE i was so annoyed by how stupid she was like girl,, why are you running. WHY ARE YOU RUNNING
the detectives i didn’t really care for either and their backstory didn’t make much of an impact for me
all the twists i saw coming a mile away and i just didn’t get a lot of enjoyment out of the book

This is my first Meagan Goldin book and I am impressed!

Stay Awake is told in multiple POVs, multiple timelines, and centers around Liv Reese who suffers from amnesia and I love this theme in books. I love to discover with the protagonist her past and this feeling of anxiety that maybe she is a villain. It was so good.

The whole story is very well written. The pace is fast and the reader is intrigued from the very beginning to the end. I really enjoyed the whole police investigation as well as Liv's struggle to put her past back together and be safe but there is one thing that I would change. I think the perpetrator is poorly developed. I would like to know more about him and his motives.

Overall, I really like this book and will recommend it to everyone who enjoys psychological thrillers.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

My full review will be posted on my Instagram and Goodreads around the publication date.