I didn't care for this book, sadly. I was a big fan of the last novel I ready by Megan Goldin, but I just couldn't get into this one. I found it slightly boring.

This is definitely the best Megan Goldin I’ve read. It was definitely a compulsive read and I couldn’t put it down. The only reason it wasn’t 5 stars is because it was slightly repetitive at times.

Wow. This book was a trip! I was right there trying to solve the mystery with Liv. Who can be trusted?! I loved this mystery and there were a lot of read herrings that kept me guessing. Megan Goldin is quickly becoming one of my "must read" authors and I'm excited for her next one!

I still have to think about this one for a bit. I found that the writing techniques employed to help the reader understand Liv and her amnesia started to annoy me. I started wondering if I fell asleep and was starting this book over again! I really wanted to like it more than I did.

Liv Reese wakes up doesn’t remember what happened hours ago, she can’t find her purse or keys. She discovers that what she thought was her apartment isn’t her apartment anymore. Apparently, two years have passed for which she does not remember. She shows up at the last workplace she remembers only to discover that she no longer worked there. They were surprised but welcomed her back as a writer. She also learns she has a boyfriend Marco.

The story does go back two years to help fill in the blanks. It’s mostly a twisted and it becomes confusing as to who really experienced the trauma and why. I didn’t like the way the story was repeated each time Liv fell asleep and began regaining her memory.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for this advanced reader copy. My review is my unbiased honest opinion.

Liv Reese has severe amnesia- she can’t remember anything from the past two years. To make matters worse, she forgets all of her newly formed memories every time she falls asleep. Liv had been living in London and has only recently returned to New York. In Stay Awake, we follow along as Liv navigates this strange world that is two years beyond her most recent memory.
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Complicated enough yet? Not quite. A murder has been committed in a rental apartment and Liv might be connected. So now, a woman with no memory is trying to navigate life and run from the law. I found this to be an absolutely gripping thriller that was exciting from beginning to end.
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As with most thrillers I read, I did figure out who the killer was fairly early on. However, I wouldn’t say that this was from a trail of breadcrumbs as in other books. I thought the author did a great job with the narration of the novel. We get insights by the main character and the detectives on the case. The reader always knows more than any individual character and I personally love that style.
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Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC!

This is one of the best psychological thrillers I have read in a long time! I loved the entire story and found myself flipping pages as fast as I could. Megan Goldin is becoming one of my go-to authors!

I loved this book! It kept me guessing and I liked the alternating perspectives. Great quick read if you like thrillers.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2023 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2023/01/2023-reading-list-announced-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

I really like this author and thought this book was well paced and well thought out. I will continue reading her given her books are usually really good!

Frightened and confused, Liv Reese doesn’t understand why there are strangers living in her apartment, or where her roommate Amy is. She’s lost her phone and can’t remember where she was earlier that evening, but her childhood habit of writing notes to herself on her hands provides a small clue, a bar called Nocturnal, along with an order to STAY AWAKE.

Liv’s last memory was of living in New York with her roommate Amy, working at Cultura Magazine, and spending time with her boyfriend Marco. Being escorted home by a man who obviously knew her and had done this many times before was unsettling, and she was horrified to learn she was currently living in a dirty basement apartment. When Liv showed up at Cultura the next morning, she didn’t understand where all her co-workers had gone, why people were asking her about London, or what she had actually been doing for the past two years. She catches a segment on the morning news, sees herself entering an apartment building with a stranger, and then learns that she is wanted in connection with a murder that she has no memory of committing.

The suspicion of everyone, especially the police, keeps Liv off balance, and made for interesting reading. Told in alternating time periods, two years earlier and present day, clues are offered that hint at the reason behind Liv’s memory loss. I really liked Darcy Halliday and her approach to the case, utilizing her military training to look more deeply into the murders, resisting the original case file notes. This was a fascinating read, one that pulled me in and kept me guessing.

This book made me do exactly what the title says, stay awake. I devoured this book and it kept me guessing. I really liked the dual timelines as it helped me to try to piece together the pieces. This was my first Megan Goldin book and she did not disappoint!

Another great Goldin book. Grabbed me from the beginning and kept my attention throughout.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin was an excellent thriller!! It kept me on the edge of my seat and I thought the premise was very original. I have read other books by this author but this has been my favorite from her.

From start to finish, "Stay Awake" had my full undivided attention! Liv wakes up to discover she has no recollection of the last 2 years of her life, and she has the words "STAY AWAKE" written on her hands. Why can't see remember and why does she need told to stay awake? What unfolds is a fast-paced whodunit with likable characters, an easy-to-follow storyline, and a well-executed plot.

I absolutely loved this book !
It will keep u wanting to read it to see what happens:)
Can’t wait to read more from this Author

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy of Stay Awake by Megan Goldin. This book was kind of hit and miss for me. I had read Goldins previous book The Night Swim and loved it. The beginning of the book was great. Who is Liv and what did she do - then it got very repetitive to me. Not until I got to the 70% mark did I find any interest again, I nearly gave up. All in all I am going to give it 3 stars. I will give Ms. Goldin another chance.
Thank you again for this advanced copy.

Stay Awake was a fast-paced and thrilling read following a woman who forgets the last two years of her life every time she falls asleep.

After waking up in the back of a taxi with no idea how she got there or where she is, Liz Reese just wants to go home. But when she gets there, she finds two strangers living in her apartment claiming it's theirs. Then she finds a bloodstained knife in her pocket instead of her phone when she tries to call for help. Lost in New York City, nothing is like Liz remembers. As Liz struggles to figure out what happened last night, she sees a report on the local news of a murder with a message scrawled on a window in the victim's blood. The same message that's written all over Liz's hands. But someone knows what Liz did and they're willing to do whatever it takes to make sure she never remembers.

The premise of Stay Awake sounded pretty interesting and after enjoying the author's last two books, The Escape Room and The Night Swim, I was excited to see what the author would do with the story. This book is told from two different points of view, Liz's and Darcy who is one of the detectives investigating the murder. There are also two different time lines in the story with Liz's chapters either taking place in the present or from two years ago from right before her memory loss starts.

Liz's chapters in the present at times felt repetitive but with Liz losing her memory multiple times throughout the story, that made sense. I liked that Liz's reaction to everything was different each time though which helped keep it from feeling like we were getting the exact same thing every time. With Liz's amnesia and because we have both Liz and Darcy's points of view, often times we as the reader knew a lot more about what was going on than Liz does. I liked seeing Liz work out what was happening and how she'd retrace her steps without realizing that's what she was doing.

I don't want to spoil too much of what happens so I'll just say I found the plot to be engaging and I liked the pacing of the story. There was very little down time in this book which I appreciated and I thought the dual POV definitely helped with that. Whenever Liz's chapters would start to slow down or get a little repetitive from her memory loss, we'd switch to Darcy's point of view which would speed things up again.

Overall Stay Awake was a fantastic book and I would highly recommend it if you're looking for a fast-paced read.

Fast and fun psychological thriller.

Liv Reese has a huge gap in her memory. The last thing she remembers is answering the phone at her office over two years ago. Every time she falls asleep and wakes up, she has forgotten everything that happened since. Obviously, this means she wanders around a lot trying to figure out where she lives, where she works, and why everything is so strange. She can't find her phone or her wallet. Her roommate and her boyfriend aren't answering her calls Then, she sees herself on TV as a suspect in a murder. All she has to do is STAY AWAKE in order to try to put the pieces of her fracture memory together and figure out what is going on.

I had sworn to myself that I would not read any more books that had the words "amnesia" or "memory loss" in them. I'm not sure why this beckoned, but it did and I picked it up and was immediately hooked. Sure it was predictable, and this narrator was certainly unreliable, but it was entertaining, and I actually liked most of the characters. Even the flawed protagonist, Liv, wasn't as annoying as so many have been.

I liked the fast pace and the narratives from the point of view of Liv and also of the police who are trying to investigate the murder. The time shifts can be a bit disconcerting and helps get the reader in the frame of mind of the dissociative fugue state that Liz is experiencing. I enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

A great read by this author. I definitely recommend checking this one out!
Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I should probably give this 4.5-5 stars as I loved every minute of this book.
Liv wakes up and doesn’t know where she is. Her last memory is from two years ago. It bits and pieces we learn what’s happened to her and follow her wild race to figure it out! The notes on her hands that say to stay awake and that she forgets things when she sleeps baffle her but she is starved for sleep.
Great story and the back and forth was perfect. Liv is being chased and hunted almost by two separate groups. One will help her and one will kill her. Can you figure out the mystery?