This is my third book by Megan Goldin, and unfortunately, I just don’t think she’s for me. I finished this book but barely. The problem is not the storyline; that I loved and is the only reason I finished this book. I needed to know what happened and why. It’s the writing style that’s the problem for me. So many elements seemed thrown in, and there were little details that were SO wrong that it took me completely out of the story. For example, near the beginning of the story, the main character mentions that she loves to cook, and studied “Cordon Bleu” cooking. I am a classically trained chef and this is not a style of cooking, it’s a cooking school. A person would say they studied classical French cooking. There were several instances like this that really bothered me. This is on top of the style of writing that just felt stilted and awkward in a lot of places. Like I said earlier, maybe she’s just not for me, as I’ve read many reviewers that loved it.
I do appreciate the opportunity to read this early though.

This has got to be my favorite thriller read of all time! That first chapter hooked me and I could not put it down until I finished the book. I really loved the time jump between chapters. It really made it more suspenseful.

After a traumatic event, Liv relieves every day with no memory of the day before. She's lost 2 years of her life and through the chapters, we get to read why and how this happened. I was pleasantly surprised with the ending but in reality it didn't matter who the villain was, since I was happy reading every page. Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

I enjoyed this advanced copy from the publisher.
It was a fast paced gripping plot making me guess what really happened.. . To lead up to the current mysteries. Who is the guilty party? Who do you trust?
4.5☆

A suspenseful thriller telling the story of a young woman with a tragic past and her current life in New York City that throws her yet another curveball as she plunged deep into some very disturbing circumstances.

I really liked this book! Thanks again to #NetGalley for a chance to read and review this ARC! Think 50 First Dates meets murder thriller and this is this book! I instantly loved Liv and wanted to help know her story and find out what happened! Didn't put too much into trying to figure out the killer, let the book take me on the journey. I wasn't shocked at who the killer was but I didn't really KNOW. Great short read! Definitely worth reading and would recommend to a friend... So, friend, check out this book! 😊

Liv Reese wakes disoriented, with no idea where she is or how she got here. The last thing she remembers is answering her phone at work, “This is Liv.” But here she is, sitting in the back of a taxi with a bloodstained knife in her hands. She looks down at her hands and finds messages on them, telling her to “stay awake” and “don’t trust anyone.” After finding her apartment is occupied by strangers, she feels like she’s living someone else’s life as she goes around the city, looking for anything familiar. On the news, she hears of a man that was murdered in the early hours of the morning. On the window to the apartment where the dead man was found, a message can be seen from the street “Wake up!” She’s seen messages like that. On her own hands. What happened last night? And why can’t she remember any of it?

Wow! What a ride! This book hooked me from the very beginning and didn’t let me go until the very last page. Every time Liv fell asleep, I could feel myself tensing, fearful of what she may or may not remember when she wakes up. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book. An excellent psychological thriller that shows how far the mind will go to protect itself from trauma, and the deep-seated will for it to survive.

The biggest thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and Megan Goldin for allowing me to read this ARC, which was provided to me in exchange for my honest review.

Suspense read that kept me guessing through most of the book. Hard to get into at first but once I did, I couldn't stop reading. I needed to figure out the story! Likable main character that keeps you interested in her story.

Stay Awake is one of the greatest psychological thrillers I’ve read this year! Liv Reese is a newly promoted foodie writer at Cultura Magazine in New York. She lives with her cat Shawna and her best friend Amy, an intern for a hospital. These girls are different in their appearance and choice of men, for the most part, but treat each other like sisters. Life for Liv is relatively normal until one night she awakes in the back of a cab with no recollection of how she got there or where she’s going. Her memory serves her no help after a night drinking at a bar called Nocturnal. She returns home to her apartment only to discover a new couple living in the apartment she once called home. A mixture of murder and memory lapses drive Liv to discover what happened the night she cannot recall.
This was the first novel I read by Megan Goldin and I was blown away. I was apprehensive at the debut of the novel because the perspective jumps between Liv’s memories, current life and the perspective of investigator Darcy Halliday. Goldin maintains suspense by separating the perspectives chapter by chapter. This story was so well crafted I missed many of the red herrings! I breezed right through these pages eager to get to the bottom of Liv’s missing memories and where her friends of the past disappeared to. My only complaint that is a minor, yet seemingly important detail revolved around two specific characters. There’s no real answer to who they are, or if they were one in the same person. More importantly, were they just examples of the harsh reality many women and femme persons face in daily life? It’s because of these unfinished loose ends my review fell short of just five stars.
Megan Goldin lured me into a story that I’ll remember for a long time. I look forward to reading more by her. Thank you NetGalley for lending me this ARC!

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin

I wish to thank Net Galley for this compelling psychological thriller.
Stay Wake is an exciting psychological thriller involving a young woman, Liv, with amnesia. Liv has been living in London for the past two years, ever since she was almost murdered. Every time she falls asleep, she forgets everything from the past two years. Consequently, she tries to stay awake drinking highly caffeinated drinks and taking pills. However, since it is impossible to stay awake forever, Liv eventually falls asleep and then doesn’t remember anything that recently happened. To help her with remembering important things, she writes messages on her hand i.e., “Stay awake”, “don’t trust anyone”. Apparently one day when she fell asleep, she may have been involved in a killing. She is being hunted down by the police who have captured her on video, leaving the scene of a crime. She is also being hunted down by an unknown character who may have been involved also in this recent killing.
The chapters alternate between Liv’s account of her actions and the two detectives on the case of this most recent murder. The timeline is set by the hour of the day with flashbacks to two years ago before Liv moved to London.
The author keeps you guessing who is involved in this lastest murder as well as wondering about the when Liv was almost murdered two years prior. Are they related or completely separate incidents?
This is the second novel that I read by Megan Goldin (The Night Swim) and her book The Escape Room is definitely on my TBR list. If you like psychological thrillers that keep you reading past your bedtime, this may be the book for you.

I've never read Goldin's work before but I will be looking for more after this great thriller.

This story starts with an absolutely captivating mystery that had me on the edge of my seat. A fantastic way to start a book for sure. A woman in a taxi has no recollection of anything previous or how she ended up in the cab. She's got writing all over her hand: stay awake! What? What does that mean? She heads to her apartment and fins strangers living there . . . What in the world happened. And then she finds a bloody knife in her pocket . . . Oh God . . .

The story switches to Detective Halliday responding to a murder. I was immediately weary when she came into the story simply because I don't usually like detective books. I gave it a chance and continued reading and I am so glad I did. I quickly found myself really liking Halliday and her coworkers.

The message written in the victim's blood at the crime scene matches one of the messages written on Liv's hands . . . I was completely and utterly consumed by this novel. It was fast-paced with great twists and sudden turns. The two point of views significantly added to the story, moving it along and keeping things fresh and climactic

Liv wakes up in the backseat of a cab, on her doorstep without her keys. She figures Amy, her roommate, will let her in. But after ringing the doorbell, she finds that this is not her apartment like she thought. And that 2 years has passed since she last remembered anything... Amy isn't picking up her phone and her boyfriend Marco is nowhere to be found. Liv struggles to figure out what is happening around her, especially since every time she goes to sleep she forgets everything that has occurred. The only thing she can remember is the phone call she got 2 years ago...

I wanted to love this book, I really did. The beginning really drew me in, it gave me Blake Crouch vibes with the concept of the story. I wanted desperately for Liv to figure out what happened two years prior, and when she did I was like FINALLY!!!

I had no idea who the killer was going to be, I had my speculations that it was the male detective on the case, he was kinda fishy to me at times. When it was Brett, I had to struggle to remember who Brett even was...

I felt like each main character had a backstory, which usually is fine, but this felt like it had too many stories and too many important characters. Maybe it's just me! Clearly this book got a LOT of 4 and 5 star ratings!

One of the main things I disliked was that she desperately wanted to find out what was happening, and she found some people that were important to her before the incident (not that she would remember of course), but every time we got close to her getting information, she would just get extremely overwhelmed and leave. I would understand it happening one time, but I think it happened two or three times and that just got annoying to me really quickly.

I really was over it at the end when she just miraculously got her memory back because she had 1 good nights sleep... alright that could've happened 200 pages ago??

Overall, I was really disappointed in this one, I enjoyed The Night Swim, and while I didn't hate this book, I don't think it will be one I recommend unfortunately...

This book reminded me of Memento in all the best ways. It's a psychological thriller that will keep you turning the pages. I found the ending to be a bit unexpected, though I did guess the killer. There may not have been enough foreshadowing to figure it out directly (at least on the first readthrough). But Megan Goldin is the queen of leaving 1 clue 50 pages in that tells you immediately who did it, so maybe I just missed it! Liv felt tortured and manic throughout as she copes with her trauma and sleep-induced amnesia, all while trying to solve a murder. I loved the switches in time and perspective, as we also got to see how the police's investigation was proceeding. It's the perfect mix of police procedural, serial killer mystery, and intricately plotted thriller that will leave you gasping.

*Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Liv Reese wakes up on a NYC park bench with no memory. There is handwriting covering her hands and arms telling her not to sleep. As she visits her apartment, her boyfriend's apartment, her employer, she finds that two years have passed and she cannot remember a single moment. In addition, there is a murder that she is drawn to, she hides among the onlookers trying to figure out why she is drawn to it. As the police continue to investigate the murder, the evidence builds up against Liv. Could she have committed murder and not remember? You'll have to read the book to find out.

The story line is good, but I found the narrative to be repetitive and not overly engaging. I was able to easily put the book down and go to something else, for a thriller like this, I had hope to not want to put the book down. I enjoyed Night Swim more, but I enjoyed it enough to add her other books to my list.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book!

I don't know what to say except that I could do nothing EXCEPT stay awake while reading this book! The thrills were many, the twists and turns kept me captivated, and I was dying to find out what happened next while simultaneously cursing another night full of nightmares! Spooky and haunting, wonderfully written!

There are so many things that I love about this book. Meagan Goldin’s way with words entices you to stay engaged throughout the story. This story has an unreliable narrator which is a thriller trope that I love. This storyline jumps back and forth between multiple points in time. The author does this so that she can create an air of mystery between a characters past and present. She has a subtle way of telling you that you are wrong about the ending. I love that I did not guess then ending as quickly as I normally do. The development of the two main characters causes the reader to be come fully engaged with their stories.

One critique that I have is the time jumping. While I do not mind having multiple timelines that converge into one throughout the story, it can be hard to keep up with. This story jumped back and forth often and then another mini timeline was added into the mix. Initially, when I started reading the book, the time jumps confused me. It wasn’t until after I finished about 5 chapters that I was able to clearly see the pattern.

This is my second Meagan Goldin book and I am obsessed!

wakes up each day and doesn’t remember a thing. She thinks she is still living in a world from two years ago. She relies on her journal and clues written by herself to get her through the day. When she is assumed guilty of a murder she feels the needs to truly figure out who she truly is and why she is being called guilty. The story switches from two time periods, and I love it! It’s definitely a fast paced thriller.

I loved this book! It was fast paced and kept you guessing. I love a book that ends with justice for the wounded.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin has such a unique plot. Whenever Liv wakes up, her memories of the past two years are completely erased, and she must try to figure out her life each time this occurs. This is even more troublesome due to the fact that one day when she awakes, she is holding a knife covered in blood with no recollection of what happened.

I loved the pacing and plot of Stay Awake, and it was such a treat to pick it up each time I read it. Goldin is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine, and I look forward to her next novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

I have had the opportunity to read and review Megan Goldin’s previous books so I was thrilled when the publisher provided me an e-ARC of Stay Awake. I enjoyed the other two books but Stay Awake is by far my favorite! Megan Goldin is now an auto-buy author for me. This book had great characters and excellent suspense. It was written in a way that keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. I don’t want to leave any spoilers but the ending did a feel a little rushed and there were a couple loose ends. That said it’s still a compulsive 5 star read!

My first 5 star fiction read of the year! This was a super creative, fun thriller. A page turner of a wild ride. Seriously, this is the first time this year that I wanted to stay up late, wake up early, and read every second I could til this book was finished! Although I guessed "the culprit" early on, that did not in any way take away from the excitement and frenetic energy that was this book.

The story begins with a woman (Liv) knocking on the door of an apartment late at night, thinking that it is her own. A strange couple opens the door, and it is clear that it is not Liv's apartment, it doesnt look anything like it and none of her things are there. From there, things get wild as it is clear that Liv has no idea where she is nor does she recognize her life.

The book goes back and forth between present day (amnesia Liv) and 2 years ago, before Liv had amnesia. The book follows side by side as we discover what happened to Liv 2 years ago, but suddenly realize that amnesia Liv could still be in danger today.

This book was amazing at creating life-like characters, and throwing in red herrings. At one point, the "culprit" could have been any one of about 5 different suspects. Liv has writing she finds on her hand to "trust no one" and that is honestly the best advice when reading this book!

I would highly recommend this twisty and fast-paced thriller. With each chapter ending in a cliff-hanger, you won't want to put this one down. I honestly have read so many thrillers at this point that it takes a lot to surprise me, but this one was totally unique and an exciting read.

Special thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.