Stay Awake by Megan Goldin is a solidly written book. It does require a lot of suspension of disbelief to believe that the lead character Liv, cannot fall asleep without forgetting everything. If you can get over that premise, this book is pretty darn good. The back and forth time frames work well and set the stage for the progression of the story. I did figure out "whodunit" about three quarters of the way through, but nonetheless this was an entertaining story. Pretty good police procedural too on top of a good domestic mystery. Recommend and thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

A great page turner in the covid era... a great escape for an afternoon, a day at the beach, a vacation or plane read to divert ones thoughts from everyday life.

Could not put it down! There were so many twists and turns that I was completely engrossed in this book. There were a few things I figured out before the book revealed them, such as an affair that was taking place and who the killer actually was, but it did not detract from the book once my assumptions were proved true. I loved Halliday and how she was so determined to look past the obvious clues and I thought Liv was a great character as well. I would highly recommend this book!

Captivating

Definitely captivating from the beginning. Nobody seems to be who you think they are. Liv's condition is rare, but interesting. I really did enjoy this read. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book received via NetGalley.

I wrote a review for Stay Awake yesterday and left it until this morning to review. Do you know what? I realized it was so boring it would have put Liv to sleep no matter how much caffeine she ingested. The new review plan is being revised and rethought, but for 2022 and I am going to try to leave the book description to the people who already wrote it quite well and stick to how the book made me feel. Good luck to me!
Imagine waking up in a taxi with no idea how you got there? Especially when you don't recall going out and having too much to drink. The last thing you remember is being in your office and answering the phone. What could have possibly happened between then and now? She doesn't have her purse or phone, but she does have a lot of cash, a bunch of writing on her hands telling her to stay awake, and other assorted messages that make very little sense. Oh, and a bloody knife, just, what did Liv do after work?
If this seems like a disorienting scenario, buckle up because this is only the beginning. Every time Liv falls asleep, she wakes up having no idea where she is and only remembers the last thing she did, answering the phone in her office. We learn through chapters set in the present, and two years ago, that she suffered a severe injury and something horrific happened to her roommate and boyfriend. She doesn't know who to call or what to do and every time she gains a little more knowledge, she falls asleep, losing all of her recently gained information.
Enter Detectives Halliday and LaValle who are searching for a woman who is the number one suspect in a murder investigation. The woman turns out to be Liv and when she sees her picture on TV, the only thing she is sure of is that she wouldn't kill anyone. But can she be trusted when she doesn't remember the victim or what she did last night? When it appears that someone other than the police are desperate to find Liv, I was holding my breath hoping that she wouldn't fall asleep again!
This was such a tension-filled story and honestly, just a nightmare scenario. I loved how the author dropped small tidbits of information along the way. Enough so I started to make predictions about the bad guy, but not enough for me to not have more than one suspect, including Liv. Megan Goldin is three for three with me. Every book has been so different and once again, I stayed up too late finishing this one. For once, that was an incredibly good thing, and when I woke up in the morning, I checked to be sure I had finished this twisty book. 4.5 stars.

I enjoyed Night Swim by this author so I needed to get my hands on this ASAP! I could not put it down and was so invested in how things would play out. Soooo good and highly recommend!

This was a very aptly titled book: Stay Away, Stay Awake, Stay Awake! That's what I had to tell myself last night in order to finish this book because it was that good. I read it almost in one sitting.

I really enjoyed the storyline in regards to how everything was woven together. The multiple timelines and multiple POV"s were certainly a plus and were very nicely done. I loved the banter between the two detectives, would be interested to see another novel with them included!

One very small criticism I would have (very minor) is that the blurb refers to the movie Memento, for those who have seen that movie it kind of let me know how it may turn out. It didn't ruin anything by any means but I just had a good idea of where it was going. But can see wanting to entice people who may have enjoyed the movie.

Every book by this author has been unique and I have really enjoyed them all.

Thanks so much for my advanced copy looking forward to the next book. Separate review will be posted on good reads without the criticism.

Stay Awake begins: "Starbursts blink from streetlights like they're sharing a secret as I wake to find myself slumped in the back of a cab, without any recollection of how I got here or where I'm going."

Aaaaaaaaaannnnnnnd, just like that, I was hooked. Good thing I was in that haze between Christmas and New Year's Eve when time doesn't count, because I was able to dive into this book without feeling the slightest bit of guilt about the things I should be doing. (New Year's Resolution: stop feeling guilt about things I should be doing.)

Anyway, Megan Goldin hits all the right notes for me (if you like old mysteries and new podcasts, definitely check out The Night Swim) as a reader, and I've become *picky* about my thrillers of late.

In this book, Liv Reese has a memory condition where whenever she wakes up, she's forgotten everything that happened in the last two years, after she nearly lost her life in (for lack of better words, and to avoid spoilers) a traumatic event. I have absolutely no idea whether such a condition can really happen, and I'll leave that to the smarter folks. But Goldin more than convinced me, and I was along for every turn of this roller coaster ride.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book. Megan Goldin, please keep them coming.

After reading and enjoying The Night Swim, I was super excited to read Megan Goldin's new release. This book was amazing and with a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. In the vein of the movie Momento, Liv tries to uncover what happened to the dead man she wakes up next too but everytime she falls asleep she looses her memory. It’s a very quick read that keeps the readers on their toes from start to finish 10/10 do recommend!!

I was thrilled when I got an email from St. Martin's press offering this galley (thank you!) and it didn't take me long to pick it up. I absolutely loved Goldin's The Night Swim from a few years ago and was really looking forward to this one.

This was another well-plotted, compulsively readable book. I risked car sickness to get some chapters in!! I liked the dual POV between the amnesiac Liv Reese and the NYPD cops looking into her case. While the ending or twist didn't really surprise me, I liked how it all came together (I really don't love twists that come so far out of left field that they don't make sense).

Eager to read anything that Goldin puts out in the future!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

Another fast paced read from this author that I enjoyed. I didn't intend to read the whole thing in one sitting but it was hard to put down.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for sending me a widget for this book in exchange for an honest review.

Liv finds herself on a park bench in NYC, in the middle of the night with a bloody knife in her pocket. When she goes to her apartment that she shares with her friend Amy, different people are living there. She eventually realizes that the last 2+ years of her life are missing from her memory and she seems to be connected to a murder that just happened.

This was another 5 star read from this author. This was a fast paced novel that I couldn’t put down. I had to find out what was happening! I don’t have a lot to say except it was excellent and I can’t wait for her next one.

I flew through this book in less than 24 hours, so that alone shows that I liked it! This book reminded me of the thriller version of the movie 50 First Dates. It was interesting to hear the story from the protagonist's POV (since she is the the one with the memory problems), but I appreciated the addition of the detective's POV, as well, to help ground things. The timeline was not linear, but the author made it work by using it to draw out the suspense while giving just enough clues to keep things interesting. My only complaint is that things got a bit repetitive, but that's probably nothing compared to how Liv felt. haha. Good book!

Megan Goldin wakes up a previously used plot -- one where the main character wakes, and does not know where she is. She knows who she is, which is different from many of the previous books with memory loss, but she recalls a world from two years ago, and knows nothing of what has happened since then, including why she is in the back of a taxi cab at the moment of her waking. She tries to go home, but finds that other people are living in her house, and she is without a purse or phone or any idea of where to go. When she uses a phone to call them, her best friend and her boyfriend do not answer. The only clues she has are the things that she has written on her own body, including the words "Stay Awake." She is appalled when she discovers that a murder has taken place and those same words are written in the victim's blood on the window where he was murdered. Nothing is as it seems in this thriller, and Liv Reese, our heroine, must figure out what is going on before the police, or someone sinister catches up with her.

I have enjoyed all of Megan Goldin's books that predate Stay Awake and this novel was as good or better than her previous ones. The only negative is that I started to get a little tired of Liv waking up and having to reorient and figure out what was going on. I wanted to shake her and fill her in, but I was along for the ride for each of these moments where she wakes up and has to figure things out. Thankfully, she is a pretty amazing, smart woman, even when her memory keeps on failing her. It is hard to figure out how she will get out of the mess she finds herself in, so this is a tough book to put down until you get to the conclusion.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Stay Awake was gripping and suspenseful up until the very end. This psychological suspense novel delivers!!
Even though story is told in multiple timelines, Goldin’s characters are very well drawn.
I hope this is the start to a long list of exciting reads from this author.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Megan Goldin's Stay Awake is a harrowing psychological thriller that gripped me as a reader. I stayed up half the night just to finish it in one sitting because of the sense of urgency that Goldin creates. Liv wanders around New York City scared and confused as she tries to piece together the last two years of her life while also running. But what (or who) is she running from? Better yet, who is she? And what is she capable of? As anxieties rise and accusations fly everywhere, the truth seems like it's a thousand miles away. Everyone is searching for the truth, but no one seems to agree on what that may be. You may think you know exactly what's going on, but even as the truth sits right in front of your face, Goldin manages to redirect you until you doubt yourself. Goldin's ability to communicate with her readers is incredible. Her well-dropped clues threaded throughout the story will make you wonder how you ever missed it--how you were ever misdirected in such an obvious way. This story may appear to wrap up nicely with a bow, but after you close it, you'll realize how much you still want to know. There are some minor plot holes, but in Goldin's case, it works for her. It makes this chilling story follow you despite your best efforts to accept the answers you've been given and walk away.

The premise of the book is unique. To have one's memory erased and starting a day over and over again at the same point is horrifying. That's exactly what happened to Liv. Liv is unique and her character is easy to love. The plot could have been a little stronger. The reason why liv lost her memory was weak compared to the overall storyline. Overall, it was a great read.

Thank you to Martin's Press and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

When I saw that Megan Goldin had a new book out, I knew I had to add it to my TBR right away! Stay Awake is an amazing thriller that is poised to become the next big bestseller of 2022. The story revolves around Liv Reese, who wakes up one day and realizes she has no idea where she is. She tries to go home, only to find that other people are living there. Her best friend and boyfriend aren't answering their phones. What is going on? Why is nobody where they should be? And is someone trying to kill her?

Here is a chilling excerpt from Chapter 1:

"Soft warm light beckons from the partly open apartment door upstairs. I ache with a crushing longing to go up there and resume my life. The only way to do that is to convince them to let me in.
“I’m so sorry for the mix-up,” I grovel. “It’s been one of those nights! I’ve lost my purse and my phone.” My body shivers in the cold. “Can I at least use your phone to call my boyfriend, Marco, to come and get me? It’s freezing out here.”
The woman gives me a death stare. I could die of hypothermia on the doorstep for all she cares. Her boyfriend is more sympathetic.
I look up at him, my eyes wide and pleading. He hesitates and then pushes open the street door to let me in..."

Overall, Stay Awake is an absolutely amazing, unputdownable thriller. I found myself forgoing sleep and food so that I could finish this book. One highlight of this book is how exciting it is. The action starts on the first page when Liv is trying to figure out why she's in the back of a taxi, and the action doesn't let up until the last page. Another highlight of this book are the amazing twists and reveals. I wasn't expecting the ending at all. Thrillers that are this perfect are hard to find, so don't miss out! If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of thrillers in general, you won't regret checking out this book when it comes out in August!

Is It Possible To Stay Awake Forever?

What would you do if you had to stay awake or not remember the last two years of your life? Imagine waking up in a strange place every time you fall asleep, not knowing where you are, what you have done, or even what year it is. Liv Reese knows what it’s like, but she has to remember by reading the notes she has written on her hands and arms. Her best friend and her boyfriend are the only two people who can help her, and they’re nowhere to be found. There is someone who doesn’t want her to remember, though, and plans to make her forget forever.

It is a terrifying thought that this could actually happen to a person, and as you read you begin to realize the horror you would feel if it happened to you. Some parts of this novel will have you holding your breath as read, other parts are a bit repetitious, but the premise is so meticulously presented that you will not want to stop reading.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of Stay Awake.

Stay Awake is my third Megan Goldin book and I think it’s my favourite! I also LOVED Night Swim and was a big fan of the Escape Room. She just keeps getting better with each book.

In Stay Awake, Liv Reese can’t seem to remember what happened before she woke up in a cab. There are strangers living in her apartment, she doesn't have her phone or wallet and has a bloody knife in her pocket. As it turns out, Liv has been through some pretty awful trauma and every time she falls asleep she wakes with no memory of the last 2 years so she has no idea why she has the knife or what she may have done with it

I was enthralled with Liv and this story from the get-go, right through the very last page. Stay Awake is a slow burn, with a bit more of the story unfolding in each chapter. I throughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend to anyone who likes thrillers/suspense novels, actually I recommend it to anyone who likes a good book. It's going to be a hot summer read!!

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced copy of Stay Awake in exchange for an honest review.