Thank you Netgalley & St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy!

I really enjoyed both of Goldin’s previous books and was excited when my request for this was approved.

Even though I was hooked from the beginning, early on I thought this was going to be a cheap Memento knockoff - I was wrong.

Great pacing, just enough twists and turns, I can honestly say this was a rare thriller where I didn’t see the end coming.

Finished in less than a day. Couldnt put it down. I can now stop neglecting my family

I really enjoyed Goldin's other books (The Night Swim and The Escape Room) so I was really excited to see her new book on Netgalley! Stay Awake follows Liv, who forgets everything over the last two years when she goes to sleep. She wakes up and finds notes written all over her arms and hands that give clues to who she is, but nothing is familiar to her. We find out she suffered a major trauma two years earlier and is dealing with the aftermath. She comes to realize she is wanted in connection with a murder and doesn't know who to trust.
However, because she forgets everything, there is A LOT of repetitiveness in this book.
I did like getting her perspective and that of the detectives on the case. I also liked the dual timelines between the present and two years ago.
But there are just too many unresolved issues in this book. The killer is revealed but Goldin never states WHAT their motive was (if it's what I'm thinking it was, then it's pretty lame). Also, Liv is stalked considerably two years ago. Was that the killer? Why did they do that?
Stay Awake did have me wanting to read "just one more chapter", but I was wanting more at the end.

I liked it, didn't love it. The premise seemed a little derivative, but the author fleshed it out enough to make it believable. The ending felt a little rushed. It took me a while to get through it, which probably led to a lower rating. I would read more from the author. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher St. Martins Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I would give this book 3 1/2 stars. Liv Reese suffered a traumatic experience and as a result whenever she goes to sleep she loses her memory of what happened the last couple of years. She wakes up in an apartment and finds herself with a bloody knife, a dead man and no idea how she got there. It took me a little bit to get into the storyline which has two timelines. There is a bit of repetition to show the reader that when she falls asleep she forgets and I suppose that was necessary to make the storyline seem believable. Other than the repetition - I enjoyed the story - I was really wanting to know what happened to Liv that fateful day and what brought her to the present day where she is suspected of murder. Goldin did an excellent job of building the suspense and although I did guess who the culprit was - I still needed to know how and why.. I loved Goldin's previous two books - Escape Room and The Night Swim. and appreciate the opportunity to read and review this newest book.

This was great plane reading - it sucked me in immediately and kept me entertained. Liv is a woman who wakes up, not remembering how she got where she is - she just recalls answering her office phone on a summer day. Now it’s cold and she’s confused, and she has notes saying stuff like “stay awake” written all over her hands. This happens over and over, because every time she falls asleep, she forgets. Liv’s a great unreliable narrator because she truly can’t remember, but the words on her hands give her clues to follow, so she’s not flying totally blind. The story alternates between Liv’s story over the course if a few days now, Liv’s story two years ago, and the perspective of two homicide detectives working a case alongside Liv trying to piece together her forgotten life. I did enjoy the book, something about the detective sections felt a bit forced - there were times I was getting details I didn’t need to flesh out characters that didn’t feel important to the story, and the way the detectives worked and spoke felt inauthentic. When we were with Liv, I believed what was going on. When we were with the cops, I kept wondering why I needed any details about either one if them and their history and I kept wanting to get back to the real story. I also felt like the culprit was just unsatisfying and the motive was weak. All that aside, I liked Liv and how she managed to hide her memory loss - or embrace it when it benefited her - and I loved the way her story unfolded, switching from past to present and filling in gaps along the way.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced reader copy.

I have thoroughly enjoyed both of Goldin’s other books so I was excited to snag this one. This one has a really fun premise that’s kind of a mix up of Before I Go to Sleep and the Girl on the Train. I got sucked in immediately and wanted to keep reading until I figured it out.

Stay Awake has a lot of the same elements that I’ve liked from Goldin’s previous works. I never quite knew who to trust or what to think, and there were a lot of good red herrings. Liv loses her memory every time she falls asleep, which could have gotten old narratively but Goldin did a good job of balancing it. There are time jumps and different timelines but I was always able to keep it straight.

Some of the dialogue felt a bit stilted/unnatural, and I thought the ending was rushed and missing a bit of rationale. Overall, a quick paced and fun thriller!

I have read all of Megan Goldin’s previous novels and she just keeps getting better. Stay Awake is a wild read from start to finish. It is Memento-esque, in that Liv, the main character, has no memories when she wakes up and only some writing on her hand to rely on. The storyline switches between the present and two years earlier, as well as from the detective’s perspective.

What I liked: Stay Awake had so many twists and turns and the sense of suspense was heightened the entire time. I was intrigued by the story and all the possibilities so I read through it very quickly.

What could be better: I really liked Darcy Halliday, the detective character, and I would have liked more of her story too. Maybe Goldin will write a series with her as a lead character?

I thought it was a good suspense story so I would give Stay Awake four out of 5 stars. I would recommend this book to other readers who like mysteries and thrillers and are looking for something to keep them on the edge of their seats.

*Please note that the ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Stay Awake by Megan Goldin.

It's just a normal evening when Liv wakes in the back of a taxi. But things take an abrupt turn when trying to enter her usual apartment. There are other tenants there, and the apartment is clearly not hers anymore. With every attempt for help, it becomes clear that she has lost a significant amount of memory, and nothing makes sense anymore. What's more, she might be suspected of committing some heinous crimes.

The best way I can describe this book is if 50 First Dates were a suspense movie instead of a romcom. I actually think such a movie exists, starring Guy Pierce. It was very riveting and fun, lots of curves and twists, very richly written. I enjoyed this a lot.

2.5 stars

This is the 3rd book I have read by Megan Goldin, and probably my least favorite of the three. I didn't like Liv Reese the main character. The book reminded me of the movie 50 first dates meets groundhog day, where she wakes up and forgets everything that happened but goes back to a certain time period every time. I didn't like the whole unreliable narrator theme in this particular book.

One of my biggest issues with this book was the fact that because the main character didn't know what was going on every time she got to the point of getting some answer about her situation she would run away and it would make the situation worse. It was just really frustrating. I also feel like they wrapped it up to cleanly without really wrapping everything up, just because the main case was solved that meant that nothing else needed to be. I just don't get it.

This wasn't a book for me and that is ok. I am sure there are people out there who are going to love it.

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

Could not devour this book fast enough! This book was written like an episode of Law & Order and it grabbed me right from the beginning.

This book is different from all of the other things that I’ve read lately and I truly never saw the ending coming. I love how the book oscillated between Liv’s perspective as well as Detective Halliday’s. The situation that Liv was in seems so unrealistic but it sets up the perfect distrusting/confusing/paranoid atmosphere that made this book thrive.

I appreciate St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley letting me have early access to read and review this book. This was my first read of Megan Goldin and I cannot wait to pick up another.

4.5

I have said many times that I am over the amnesia trope, but I love this author so much that I had to read this one.

I have to say, it is reallllly good! The author is fantastic at propelling you through the book- you will be flipping pages so fast, dying to know what happens to Liv.

Liv wakes up in the back of a taxi, with no idea how she got there. She finds a bloody knife in her pocket and her hands are covered in writing that says “stay awake”

She is walking around the city disoriented when she sees on the news that there has been a murder and that “Stay Awake” was written in the victim’s blood at the crime scene 👀

This book was *extremely* compelling; I finished it in under 24 hours. The pacing was excellent, as the reader learns about what has happened to Liv sometimes as she is learning it herself, and in some cases before she realizes. The red herrings were effective but left some plot holes behind. Overall, would recommend for fans of multiple timelines, multiple POVs, and stories that play with memory.

It took me about half of this book to fill get into the tempo of the book because of the timeline and POV jumping. But once I did I couldn’t put the book down. Lots of twist and turns while trying to piece together how the main character was going to make it out alive in this book. Although if I am being honest my favorite character development was the two detectives and if there was another book with the two of them I would gladly be on board. The female detective had a great back story and was a strong lead, I think she was my favorite.

Liv wakes up in the back of a cab with messages written on her arms and no recollection of how she got there. From there, the mystery continues as she tries to figure out why she can’t remember anything.
Darcy Halliday, an interim detective, and Jack Lavelle are investigating a new murder case that occurred on the same night.
This book is a very fast paced thriller with well placed clues. The multiple points of view and timelines are easy to follow. I don’t want to give too much of the plot away and take away from the suspense!
I highly recommend this psychological twisty thriller.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early release ARC.

Thrillers are not my go-to read, but I really enjoyed this book. It was a page turner and I was so eager to find out what happens next.

You wake up, feeling unsettled and without any memory of recent events. You head home, and see summer has gone by and it's already fall. Your apartment door opens: and you're greeted by completely new tenants, strangers --- definitely not your flatmate of many years. What does one do in a situation like this?

INTRIGUING --- Stay Awake embodies every sense of the word.

The story shocked me from the outset. I did not know what to think, or feel only a page into the story. It's that good! My brain, as far as I'm aware, glitched the same time as the main character did a doubletake.

I did not care for the messed up timeline. This may be an allusion to the main character's condition but it got confusing at times.

At first I thought this was the typical mystery. The character wakes up, not remembering anything, because they blacked out. From a recent violent altercation, from an injury, or even from an intense night of clubbing. NO. THIS STORY IS NOT TYPICAL.

Every step of the way is a surprise. Readers will not know what comes next nor what to expect after every scene. The story keeps you wondering in a terrifying but appealing way. This is the first time I've been taken in so much by a story this 2022 so far. Megan Goldin is a master storyteller, which readers, writers and publishers alike must look out for.

You know that renowned, bookworm feeling of elation once you realize the reason behind the title? That happened with me --- twice. The second time, I did not anticipate, brought a plethora of twists and turns with it!

I did not want the novel to end, as the story came to a close at 90% through. There's still so much to resolve! And I did not want to abandon the intense way with which Liv's story hooked me in.

The ending was sudden but fitting to the story. I did not guess the endgame at all until the last few chapters --- which is a mark of a good mystery thriller. However, there were many loose ends which would have been better if tied.

I am so, so, so glad I was granted the chance to traverse this story. I'm sure every other person who reads Stay Awake will feel the same!

Thank you to St. Martins Press, Megan Goldin and Netgalley for the E-Arc of Stay Awake!! Look for this title on August 9, 2022!!

Megan Goldin has created a very fast paced thriller in Stay Awake. She has an unreliable main character and two detectives working a murder case. Stay Awake starts out on a Wednesday very early Wednesday morning when Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no recollection of where she has been/ where she is going. Come to find out Liv Reese works really really hard to stay awake because when she falls asleep she does not remember anything. The story line goes between present day of Liv’a perspective and the perspectives of the detectives working the case. Then goes back to two years ago when Liv was living with her best friend and dating a man named Marco.

I really enjoyed the story and wanted to keep reading. I have a feeling this will be a very popular thriller in August when it is released.

If you’re looking for a book that quite literally grabs you from the first page then boy does this one deliver. I was immediately sucked into this world where Liv wakes up without any memory of getting into the cab she’s found herself in and everyone she knows is suddenly gone. People she has never met before treat her like best friends and a bloody knife happens to be in her pocket. With memory lapses comes confusion which occasionally happened to me while reading but it wasn’t too hard to make sense of it all. This story only takes the course of a day which makes this even more fast paced.

Interesting ideas and a lot of different things happening. You know something is wrong and it leaves you with an eerie feeling. The ending felt a bit rushed in relation to the rest of the book. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down. It’s about a woman who, every time she falls asleep, her memory is gone and reverts back to two years ago. You can definitely sympathize with the lead character…or can you? It kept me guessing at every plot twist and turn. The ending did not disappoint. I’m going to recommend my library purchase copies of this book. I would definitely read other books by this author.