50 first dates but as a thriller? Uhm yea, sounds so promising. The author of the night swim (loved it) has this new book coming out in August and I snatched it up to read w some gals on here.

This book was so confusing in the beginning: so many characters, multiple POV, time jumping, memories, current happenings. At 36% I thought everything was clicking. I liked how the middle of the book built the story.

But then the last 25% lost me. The ending had me saying “no way” but because I was disappointed. There were so many moments for this book to twist and give us some wtf and it really failed me in the end. Straight up, the ending was way too neat and predictable. 🤔

It was a good thriller…maybe, but only because of the middle. The beginning was 😵‍💫 and the end was 😑.

Night swim still is my fav by this author.

Tysm @stmartinspress @netgalley for this read now ARC. 💖

Stay Awake was my first read from Megan Goldwin. I wouldn’t describe myself as a seasoned thriller reader but I honestly enjoyed this quite a bit. It kept me guessing. The plot was fast paced and really held my attention all throughout the book. The memory loss aspect felt super realistic. I was creeped out during the creepy scenes. My only complaint is that the book was kinda underwhelming. I still give the book 4 stars though, it was overall really good.
This review will be shared on my social media closer to the publication date.

Excellent book!

This is my first book by Megan Goldwin even though I have had several of her books pop up in my "recommended reading" suggestions, So I was very happy to have been given the opportunity to read this one via netgalley.

The book begins with Liv Reese who awakes inside a taxi with no memory of how she got there. The last thing she remembers is looking out her office window. She has a cryptic message written on her fingers saying to, "STAY AWAKE" She has no phone and has a bloody knife on her person. Desperately she tries to remember what happens but as it turns out she loses her memory every time she falls asleep and has to reset. Boom!

This is a amazing plot point and readers will immediately draw comparison to the movie "Memento" It's a worthy comparison but Goldwin does enough to make this book her own. She tries to find clues via friends and boyfriend she can remember and through her apartment and employment. She has clues written all over body. Soon she is the number one suspect in a murder investigation headed by Detectives Darcy Halliday and Jack Lavelle and what follows is a amazing and twisty almost one night read to the end.

PROS: 1. Megan Goldwin nailed the memory loss portion of the book. This had to be difficult to write. I find it almost the same as a time travel thriller in the sense that the author has to keep multiple time and plot points to always be in sync even when they aren't. I have read many books involving time travel that could have been amazing but the author went too hokey with the timelines and just destroyed the book. Obviously this is not a time travel book but I think the plotlines you keep with resetting every time she wakes up to 0 when the world keeps continuing on somewhat similar. Nevertheless, Goldwin hit a grand slam.

2. The pacing was perfect. You had two timelines..... Present and two years in the past which met together. It wasn't overly complicated enhanced the book not took away like some thrillers.

3. The creepy situations were great. Liz had no idea what was going on and who to trust. The dialogue between potential friends/foes was great. Actually the dialogue overall was great and well written.

CONS: Not much but the reason I couldn't leave a total five star was the ending....... And this is just my personal opinion but I felt it was anti climatic. I have to say that I hope nobody reads that to mean I don't recommend the book. I whole heartily recommend this book but I don't think she sticks the landing. I also think the main character Liv Reese needed a tad more depth. But again this has to be hard to create when you reset every time you wake up. I thought the main detective: Darcy Halliday had more depth then the main character and would definitely read another book with her.

In conclusion, a very well written and recommended book.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc of this book. I have read other books by Ms. Goldin and this has been my favorite so far! I loved the amnesia plot and thought it was very well done. The timeline didn't start to make sense to me until pretty far into the book, but so many books have multiple timelines I have learned to just go with it. Liv was a great character even though some of what happened two years ago was so obvious to me I was surprised that she had no clue.
If you're looking for a fun read with a lot going on you l will love it!

Liv Reese wakes up and finds herself with no memory of the last two years of her life. Every time she falls asleep her memory of the previous day is gone. She feels like she's in danger and doesn't know what to do next or who she can trust. She has words she wrote to herself all over her hands and arms so she can remember what happened the day before. Liv feels like she is being followed and realizes someone must have been in her apartment. Someone she is close to is murdered and she is the prime suspect. I found the plot riveting and was fully immersed in the story because I was constantly asking myself what would I do in Liv's shoes. There wasn't a slow moment in this thriller. I would highly recommend this book and wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being my favorite read of 2022.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy for review. I thought this thriller was paced perfectly, which is unusual. The beginning sucks you in right away and it was never slow. The ending was not abrupt. It was quite the enjoyable read—I couldn’t put it down. I really wanted to know what happened. I really appreciated the short chapters. I’m not a big fan of police perspective but this worked for me. The different perspectives and time hopping was easy to follow. While the ending wasn’t overly shocking, it was believable based on how the story progressed. The characters were all somewhat likable. Overall 4.5 stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed the novel "The Escape Room" by author Megan Goldin, and I LOVED her last novel, "The Night Swim." I was on a Zoom webinar with her once for that book and she was a lovely person. That's why I was thrilled to see she has a new novel coming out in 2022.

"Stay Awake" is the story of Liv Reese, an amnesiac, who wakes up in a strange apartment next to a dead man. She has no idea who he is, where she is, or even how it's suddenly cold outside when the last thing she remembers is a hot summer day. Paranoid phrases like "STAY AWAKE" are written all over her hands. Before long, she's the prime suspect in a murder investigation. When a man she doesn't know - but who knows all about her - tries to find her and offers to help, she has no idea whether he can be trusted. She returns to her apartment to find strangers living there; when she goes to her office, she doesn't recognize anyone and they tell her she doesn't work there.

Who can she trust, why does she have no memory of the past 2 years, and why do the police think she murdered multiple people? Goldin reveals all in a fast-paced story with interesting secondary characters. A rookie detective sharing the lead on her first homicide case is a fascinating one - she's a veteran who had a difficult time adjusting back to civilian life after leaving the military. Liv's boyfriend, best friend, a bartender also add to the compelling story.

I do have one nitpicky issue with the plot: a dead body doesn't bleed. If you can ignore that aspect, I highly recommend this novel for any fan of thrillers.

Imagine not being able to remember the past. It's not the first time an author sent us into this terrifying existence that may keep you awake -- if you're reading late at night.

It's about Liv Reese. Most will like her. She has a great job as a senior staff writer for a style magazine, a boyfriend she loves, a roommate she admires and a cat she adores in her NYC apartment. She's considerate and fun. Everything is fine until she starts to notice strange, creepy things happening in her surroundings. She calls the police and instead of helping, they are questioning her memory. Then it's no surprise when she gets attacked.

The book starts out with the detectives searching for clues of a murder two years later. At the same time, Liv is at Washington Square Park when she wakes up on a park bench without any recent past memory. It's 8:35 a.m. and she last remembers it to be spring. Subsequently, the book takes the reader back two years which leads up to the attack and Liv's move to London. She starts to forget things while in London. She returns to NYC and wakes up not knowing where she is. Then she notices a knife with blood wrapped around a white t-shirt and later sees lots of cash in her pockets. Something bad has happened.

The detectives are using every bit of information to track down possible suspects. She is on top of the list. Meanwhile, she has writing on her hands that help her along. She knows from her handwritten notes not to trust anyone including the police. She eventually ends up unannounced with Dr. Brenner, a neurologist who she's seen before. He explains to her that she has a rare form of amnesia which is connected trauma and the lack of sleep. Every time she wakes up, she can't remember her recent past. Her psychiatrist in London said, "Killing her monster, as it were, may be her way to assert control, to breathe the cycle and get her memory back."

Besides gaining knowledge of her memory issues, I learned more than I probably wanted to know about stalkers. I also didn't know much about performance art where the artist is part of the existence - which is tucked away in the story. The story keeps the reader guessing until the end where "tiny details make the difference." As a writer of successful thrillers, the author had to make this one on the mark: believable and interesting. Maybe some pieces were a little out there on the timeline but it's another page turner.

My thanks to Megan Goldin, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy with an expected release date of August 9, 2022.

OMG! What a great read. Written so well, with no confusion when going back & forth in time. Not your average suspense/thriller novel. A must read for 2022.

I have read all of this author's books except for her debut, which I can't find a print copy of, and she's been a favorite since THE ESCAPE ROOM. I had no idea what I was in for with STAY AWAKE other than I was hooked immediately by the first paragraph of the blurb: 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 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬―𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 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 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐞𝐧, 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐢 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧: 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐘 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐊𝐄.

Memory is such a fragile, precious thing. Your mind can play tricks on you, it can hold buried memories, it can fall victim to false memories, but I have never seen a writer tackle this subject with such finesse. This thriller was so complex, so deftly plotted, that I was absolutely obsessed with finishing it. I had no idea what was going on...no theories, no guesses, nothing. It was a tense, wild ride all the way to the very last page.

This one doesn't release until the fall, and I am forever grateful to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me early access. Put August 9, 2022, on your calendar because you don't want to miss this one.

Liv wakes up in a cab with no recollection of how she got there so she heads to her apartment to find out she doesn’t live there and has no phone or credit cards and doesn’t remember anything. She sees writing on her arm that reads “stay awake”. She heads to all the places she remembers but nothing is familiar

We are then introduced to detective Halliday who found a body with a single knife wound and the words “stay awake” written in the victim’s blood on the window. The main suspect is Liv but something about it doesn’t add up. Halliday must piece together to find what really happened

Chapters go between Liv in the present and what happened 2 years ago (which starts to paint a good picture of why things in the present are happening). It also from detective Halliday's view and what's going on with the investigation.

The last part was so thrilling I had to stop to go to bed, but in the end just couldn’t put it I needed to finish it! It was a fantastic read and I cannot wait to share it with others!

Okay but whhhhyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?

(Too many spoilers to review here. It's on Goodreads.) But seriously, the only way I would have been more annoyed is if Detective Halliday were the killer (that is not a spoiler).

Oh man, what a great suspenseful and unreliable narrator novel! Stay Awake is told from two different perspectives, Liv a New Yorker with a terrible memory problem and a pair of NY detectives. This reminded me of the movie Memento and i really enjoyed how the perspectives intertwined seemlessly.

This book is an absolute brilliant masterpiece. Everything about this book was well thought out and beautifully put together in such a way that leaves you wanting to know everything.

Normally broken timelines and thrillers that don’t give the details until the last minute frustrate me. This book is the exception to the case. The way the book is crafted causes the reader to feel as if they’re in Liv Reese’s shoes as she tries to put together what’s going on in her life and exactly what she’s forgotten.

In the end, everything fell into perfect place and wrapped up in such a satisfying manner. I was left with no unanswered questions.

I’ll also add that for most thrillers I read I can create a short list of suspects in this case my suspect list was none existent as I had absolutely no idea who was responsible. Which adds to how much I loved and respected this book.


Everyone NEEDS to buy this book August 9th because it’s a absolute MUST read for 2022.


Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this arc.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review of the book.

I know I'm in the minority here when I say this book didn't totally click for me. So let me start out by outlining the positive.

First, I read Goldin's Night Swim last year and was blown away; it's phenomenal. So it is possible my expectations were ridiculously high for this one. This is a page-turner, and I think it will be popular as a summer beach (or escapist) read. In fact, I can't NOT recommend it. For those looking for a fast-paced who-dun-it, this will fit the bill.

However . . . the plot hinges on a memory loss motif. I'm not usually into those plots (which might be another me-problem). But I got this one anyway based on the amazing experience I had with the author's previous novel. I love it when I read a book I don't think I will love due to some plot device outlined in the blurb only to find the book to be fantastic. I was hoping for that here. Unfortunately, the things that bother me with such plots were still present in this one: the (often necessary) repetition, the too-often convenience of the memory loss and subsequent plot holes or outrageous circumstances, etc. I also, surprisingly, noticed lots of editing issues surrounding the (British? Australian?) author and the book's American setting. I don't recall noticing this at all in Night Swim, but this book constantly evokes British-isms in dialect, idiom, and word choice. I'm guessing some of this will be rectified in final revisions, but it's quit noticeable throughout this text.

Overall, I didn't dislike the book; I just wasn't enthralled by the plot or the writing style. The main character didn't gel with me as a three-dimensional one and the plot was sometimes over the top. I won't stop reading Goldin, though, and am interested in seeing what she does next.

Pulls you in with its unusual circumstances right from the get-go, Stay Awake reads much more like a page-turning thriller than Megan Goldin's previous effort (I consider Night Swim to be a grounded mystery/crime drama), while completely engrossing and overall quite clever, does require a fair amount of suspension of disbelief — the novel might breaks apart under further scrutiny, but overall it's a neat murder mystery puzzle worth unraveling.

With this novel and Night Swim, Megan Goldin proves she's excellent at delivering a police procedural plot with a refreshing twist; this time around by integrating the perspective of a protagonist who's suffering from recurring memory loss. With its multiple point of views and timelines, the story is told in an intentionally complex way, but never dips into unnecessary confusion. Even upon a cursory re-read, I notice planted details that resurface as the plot unfolds. It is in contrast with these instances of intricacy, that make the outliers even more jarring; there are a couple major plot points that don't quite add up in retrospect, ranging from character motivation, logistic, and common sense. I have a similar qualm with Night Swim, where there's a noticeable contrast between details that have been thought through by the author, and ones that remained either overly convenient or implausible.

Overall, aside from some plot holes and gloss-overs, on the first read-through Stay Awake remains a solid page turning experience. With its introduction of a charismatic police duo, I'll be curious to see if this becomes another potential book series starter for Megan Goldin.

What an absolutely deliciously thrilling can’t put down sucks you in kind of book! 5 shining gold stars!!! If you are looking to be absolutely obsessed with a story line and you physically are unable to stop reading because you HAVE TO KNOW - this is the book. Megan Goldin smashed every single check mark you want in a read. Plot? Amazing. Character development? Completely immersed. Pacing? Addictive. I’m still reeling from such an intoxicating read!

Liv Reese has a happy life working for Cultura magazine, living with her best friend Amy and is in love with her boyfriend Marco. She wakes up one day with writing on her hands and arms mostly telling her to stay awake. Fast forward to seeing the same words at a murder and she has a bloody knife wrapped in a shirt. Bonus, it’s two years later from her last memory and she has no idea what is going on. Why can’t she remember? Did she commit a murder? Why does she write not to trust people on her body? WHAT IS GOING ON!


High high high recommendations on this one!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

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

HOLYYYYY SHIT. I'm writing this review on January 8 and already know this book will make my end of year favorites list.

Short Synopsis:
Imagine if Fifty First Dates were a thriller novel involving murder. That's the book. (AND IT IS EVERYTHING).

Thoughts:
When I say I was hooked from the very first page, I mean FIRST PAGE. I absolutely loved the way the story was told. The book follows Liv, who wakes up one day and can't remember where she is or how she got there. Some chapters are written from Liv's first person perspective, while other chapters, told in third person perspective, follow two detectives investigating a homicide case. The story is told from dual timelines and dual perspectives and the chapters interweave masterfully. You quickly learn how these two plot points intersect, which raises more questions and makes you more anxious to get to the end for some answers.

I normally form a lot of theories when I read a thriller book and ~most~ of the time am able to figure out the big plot twists. This book is a rare exception. I had absolutely no clue where this story was going and was on the edge of my seat reading the entire time. I kept trying to piece everything together and had no idea how the author was going to tie everything up and make it make sense. Yet, once you get to the big reveal, it all makes sense and I want to bang my head against the wall from not seeing it sooner.

My one small complaint is I wish we got a little more at the end about why the killer did what he did. As the reader, you can infer why he did all these things, but it would have been nice to see it actually explained on the page in a little more detail.

Big picture:
RUN DON'T WALK to read this book when it releases on August 9th. A brilliant 5 star thriller.

Holy moly this story is a wild ride. Is it perfect? No, sometimes the dialogue feels unnatural and the story is less than 100% believable. Does that matter? Not for one second. I’ve seen films with a similar premise, but this story still felt fresh and unique. More importantly, I felt like I needed to stay awake because I couldn’t get to the end of the book fast enough.

The reader is immediately immersed in Liv Reese’s situation. She’s in a taxi with no cell phone or handbag, and she has no idea how she got here and where she’s going. Liv has messages written on her hands (Stay Awake!) and a bloody knife in her pocket. What a great introduction to a story!

The bulk of the story takes place in one day, a Wednesday. Liv’s current situation is interspersed with her timeline from two years prior, which I read ferociously looking for clues into how she got into this predicament. The current timeline also includes the perspective of Darcy Halliday, a homicide detective working on a case that may or may not involve Liv. Goldin flawlessly presents the important facts and clues. There is absolutely no filler in this story–every page delivers a heart-racing narrative that keeps the reader guessing. I had no idea what was going to happen until the very end, when the pieces fit together perfectly.

Admittedly, I didn’t really like Goldin’s last book, The Night Swim, because the courtroom proceedings seemed drawn out and dull. In Stay Awake, I loved the police procedural storyline and found that it added so much to the overall story by adding information that Liv had no way of knowing. Additionally, both characters’ perspectives kept my interest equally, which is not always the case with a dual storyline/dual perspective novel.

Stay Awake is an adrenaline-fueled thriller that does not disappoint. 5 stars.

I loved reading The Night Swim last year so when I saw that Megan Goldin had a new book coming out I knew I wanted to read it! It was a great book to start out the year. Liv has amnesia so every time she falls asleep she forgets what happened back to the day when her best friend was murdered. I love thrillers with unreliable narrators because it makes it so easy for you to wonder what might really be going on. It kept me turning the pages, and I stayed up past my bedtime to find out what was going on. I also really like that most of the story happens within a day with some flashbacks. I liked the pace of the story so if you’re looking for a popcorn type thriller then this would be a good choice!