Thank you to the publishers at St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this e-ARC of Stay Awake!

Megan Goldin’s newest thriller, Stay Awake, is nothing short of a mind f*ck! I literally thought I was losing my mind along with Liv while reading this novel.

Written with a dual POV while alternating between present and past, we meet Liv as she travels back to her apartment late one night. Exhausted and hoping to crash, she presses the doorbell repeatedly to be let in by Amy. But to her confusion, she discovers that another couple lives there. Alone and missing her purse and phone, Liv begins a quest to find answers. Written all over her hands are the clues she’ll need to follow. Why is it Fall? Where is her roommate, Amy? And why does Liv remember nothing after answering her phone at work on a warm summer day?

I really loved this psychological thriller! I was so confused as to what was happening with Liv and so eager to learn more! This is a fast paced read that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat. It also took me until nearly the end of the story to figure out the bad guy, and I loved that the author was able to keep throwing me for loops and keep me guessing.

Stay Awake releases August 9th! Preorder your copy today! You won’t want to miss Megan Goldin’s newest thriller!

This book was not for me. I thought the premise was intriguing, and honestly appreciated the way the storyline jumps around from different viewpoints and times -- I though it was very reflective of the main character's mental state.

That said, there were a few things I really had trouble with. I understand that a book centering on this type of amnesia is going to be repetitive, but often it seemed word-for-word repetitive, which just comes off as lazy -- even if it was intended as a writing tool.

I didn't feel the writing itself was consistent which made it difficult for me to get absorbed in the story. Sometimes the main character woke up and was nothing more than '"disquieted" despite lacking a chunk of memories, other times she woke up terrified that someone was watching her. In the first chapter, she manages to root around for cash to pay her taxi driver, picks up and handles other people's belongings and picture frames, unwraps an object wrapped up in a t-shirt and never notices an amount of writing on her hands which is apparently so heavy that she "looks like a human graffiti board."

The twists and turns and dead ends that don’t seem like them until the end were amazing!! I was setting myself up to expect the worst with the twist at the end not being a good one, but it was great and I was so happy! The little bread crumbs for all the different suspects and the time hopping around made for a great story that I couldn’t put down. What an enjoyable treat while being a brutal murder mystery!

This is my second read from this author and I must say that I am a fan. I will definitely read more of her work. This story has an unreliable protagonist, and I'm fond of this trope. Liv has problems remembering what's happened after waking from sleep, and a lot happened. I found Liv to be likeable even though it is unclear what her role is in the story. There are hints of other questionable characters and it left me guessing who could be the culprit. The ending was good and I would have not guessed what was going to happen. I would recommend this one to friends.

Love this book! Couldn't put it down. Such a captivating, page-turner. I stayed up way too late reading this and simply didn't want the story to end.

Wow!! What a thrill ride! I am a huge fan of Megan Goldin's, and Stay Awake is one of her best. The premise is kind of crazy, but it is so well-written that I didn't mind. From the very first chapter, I couldn't put this book down. I was absolutely riveted.

Our protagonist is Liv Reese. When we meet her, she is waking up in the back of a cab heading for the apartment she shares with her best friend Amy. When she arrives, however, the door is opened by strangers who insist that no one named Amy lives there. Stranded now, with no phone, no keys, and no purse, Liv is completely disoriented. The last thing she remembers before waking in the cab was sitting at her desk on a sunny summer day when she was startled by her desk phone ringing. But now it seems to be fall and she's freezing. As she sits down to consider what to do, she discovers two strange things. One, she has a big wad of cash in her jeans pocket, and two, in the pocket of her cardigan she finds a blood knife wrapped in a T-shirt. What's more, she realizes her hands have words written all over them. Above her knuckles she sees the words STAY AWAKE and the address of a place called Nocturnal.

And so begins a gripping story of suspense. It turns out that Liv has a rare form of amnesia where she forgets everything every time she falls asleep. We soon learn that Liv has lost two years to her amnesia. There's no sign of her best friend or her boyfriend, and her workmates tell her she moved to London two years ago, which she doesn't remember. But the most worrisome development is that a man was murdered and someone wrote a message on the window of his apartment that says STAY AWAKE. Now Liv is left trying to recreate her memories and keep away from the police who think she may have been involved with the murder. It's a non-stop thrill ride from start to finish.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an eGalley in exchange for posting an honest review. I love Megan Goldin and I love Stay Awake!

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for opportunity to read this arc and provide my honest feedback.

Talk about unputdownable! This book was gripping and intriguing right from the start making it hard to put down and do my real life things (chores etc). I enjoyed the characters and storyline. The book wasn’t repetitive and dove right into the story and kept you hooked. Will definitely recommend this to others and look for other books by this author.

While I am a fan of this author for her great writing, unique storylines and ability to tell different kinds of stories (cross genre perhaps), I did not enjoy this book. It was too slow for my taste, most of the plot was happening in the mind of the main protagonist and from that narrow viewpoint. While the mystery and the mysterious case of amnesia was interesting as a concept, I did not enjoy it for reading as it seemed like details had to be repeated multiple times. I never truly engaged with this story. I put it down a couple times and had to make myself come back to it. That is a far cry from how I devoured the author's first and even second novels.
As a movie suspense/thriller for the screen I think I would have engaged with it more, marginally. I will read more by this author but no, I would not recommend this one to a friend looking for a book suggestion.

Great read! This book keeps you guessing with a timeline that is unpredictable. I liked the plot twists in this book. Stay Awake was unpredictable and keeps readers engaged throughout.

This was like memento but so different. Loved that she was trying to stay awake and figure out who killed her friend and boyfriend. Loved the different cops trying to solve the case. I enjoyed that she figuring it out and knew that she was being stalked because of food and milk. I really didn't like her friend was cheating with her boyfriend.

I've enjoyed Megan Goldin's books in the past, so I was excited to read Stay Awake! To describe this book, I'd say it has the same feel as a combination of Memento, 50 First Dates, and Law and Order, which was intriguing. Although it took a few chapters to grab me, I became invested in Liv's story and was curious to see how it would end, though I was hard pressed to care about some of the other characters. Definitely love a good mystery/thriller, and was quite surprised by the time I finished reading.

Though I enjoyed this book for the most part, I do find that I have some loose ends in my mind that I would've liked to tie up (which will possibly be covered by the time it's published)! Overall, entertaining and intriguing, though not one that I'm going to own and reread.

B O O K R E V I E W

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin

G E N R E: Psychological Thriller

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

S Y N O P S I S: Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she’s dropped off at the door of her apartment, a stranger answers - a stranger who now lives in her apartment and forces her out into the cold. She teaches for her phone to call for help, only to discover it’s missing - and in its place is a bloodstained knife. That’s when she sees her hands are covered in black pen, scribbled messages : STAY AWAKE.

M Y T H O U G H T S:
☆ wow wow wow!! Every chapter gets better and better. This is an absolute page turner that has you guessing the entire time!
☆ I loved the unreliable narrator! I loved finding out about Liv’s memories along with her. I became just as obsessed as she was. The unreliable narrator created such a paranoid and distrusting atmosphere for the entirety of the book.
☆ Dual POVS. & Multiple Timelines
☆ Packed with tension, drama, and suspense. This was unputdownable. I absolutely recommend!!

I previously read the Night Swim and this just went to the top of my list for Goldin! I absolutely recommend going in blind! Can’t wait to get my physical copy in August!

I received an ARC of this novel from
St. Martin’s Press, through NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

Interesting read! This book begins with Liv awakening on a bench and then heading to her apartment, only someone else lives in her apartment. There are messages written on her hands and arms directing her to stay awake. Turns out, everytime she falls asleep, she returns to 2 years prior. She has no memory of anything that has happened during the past 2 years.

Somewhere else in the city, a man is murdered and written in blood on the window is "Wake Up". It turns out there is a connection between Liv and this man, Ted, he was her ex-fiance. Turns out she is a suspect in a murder that occured 2 years prior in which her roommate and her boyfriend were murdered. Needless to say, she is now a suspect in the murder of Ted. Liv spends the book searching for information about what happened during the past 2 years and who really murdered Ted. The entire book takes place in a period of 2 days with most of the book occuring on a single day;

Love this book. Not as good as Goldin's prevoius book, The Night Swim, but still a really good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC for review.

A fun, disorienting amnesia thriller with a great concept that's just a bit too crowded to pull it off perfectly.

I love the concept of this book - the main character, Liv, is suffering from a trauma she can't remember, erasing her memory of the past two years every time she falls asleep. Not only can she not remember the past two years, she can't remember that she can't remember the past two years. On top of that, she seems to be entangled in a crime, and potentially at risk of becoming a victim herself.

The mystery is well-plotted. The back and forth between the present timeline and past-catching-up-to-the-present timeline makes for great pacing, as well.

I had a small problem with the characters - there are just SO many. There's too many, especially considering Liv herself isn't really that developed as a character - her memory loss is the feature, not her character development, which is appropriate for this thriller. One detective gets some backstory and a vague side plot, neither of which go anywhere, and both of which feel out of balance and out of place, and add nothing to the main plot. It just bogs down an otherwise fast-paced story.

One other minor point - there is an unnecessary and jarring use of the word g*psy in a negative context by a character who has absolutely no reason to be flinging around slurs, nor was it acknowledged as one.

Overall, this was a quick, fun read with a great concept, that I'd rate 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

This thriller immediately captured my attention! Within the first chapter I knew I was going to devour this book. I went into this blind because I just love Goldin's writing, but I suggest everyone go into this without reading the synopsis. It will really add to the story if you are not entirely sure what to expect!

Similar to The Night Swim, Goldin touches on important topics affecting people today. In the case of Stay Awake, she incorporates a stalker into the story and touches on law enforcement's disregard for stalking cases. I think that's one reason I love her books. By having these connections to the real world, it makes the characters and events seem that much more real.

Overall, this was a great mystery that was enthralling, chilling, and had me on the edge of my seat!

Very enjoyable! Thrilling and a quick read. Kept my attention and kept me guessing. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book. I really enjoyed this book overall. It was very suspenseful. I thought I had the ending figured out halfway through and I was totally wrong!

I wish the performance artist wasn’t named Q, given how present QAnon has been in our society and the destruction that has caused. I wish he went by Z or X or really any other letter.

I highly recommend preordering this book to read as soon as you can!

*mini spoiler ahead* I am left with one lingering question, which is “What was the waiter from the restaurant was calling so much about if he wasn’t actually stalking her?”

Stay awake. Wake up. Don't trust anyone. These are various writings on the hands of Liv because she can't remember from one day to the next. It's a little like Groundhog day. Every time she falls asleep she wakes up at the same time two years ago. The story is repetitive and long. The ending is very disappointing and I didn't think it was worth reading the same things Every chapter to come to a disappointing ending. I would not recommend this book unless you just want to read and have nothing else on hand.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press!

This was awesome! Liv wakes up with STAY AWAKE on her hands in the back of a taxi. She is dropped off at her apartment, but someone already lives there. What is going on?

This was a mesmerizing thriller with so many twists and turns I had to read it in one sitting. Just when I thought I had it figured out, I was surprised again. One of the best thrillers of the year. This book is well worth the hype!

WOW! This was the fastest I have read a book in a long time! What a crazy, messed up ride with this book! Loved it! Thanks for the opportunity to read this!