Thank you Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin's Press for the gifted book.

Liv wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea how she got there. And when she goes to her apartment, evidently she doesn't live there anymore. Then she realizes she's missing her phone and in it's place is a bloody knife, and there is writing on her skin that says "stay awake." New York doesn't feel like the city she knows, but she can't place why it feels so off. Then she gets a glimpse at the news reporting a bloody murder where there was a message left at the scene, the same that's on her arms, "stay awake".

I will start off my review by saying one of my least favorite tropes in books is the groundhog day trope. And while this book doesn't exactly follow the premise of that trope, it is close enough that it definitely taints how I feel about it. But once I got past the repetitive nature of this book, the premise is interesting and the twists and turns were enough to keep me engaged from beginning to end. I also appreciated that I did not peg the bad guy correctly and the police officers in the book seemed mostly realistic.

No spoilers
I honestly hated this book. The characters were either flat or annoying. The sypnosis was so so promising but the book didn’t deliver enough for me honestly. There was also a lottttt of unanswered questions that were actually very important for the comprehension of the story and book.
Disappointed.

I had fun with the suspense (and even shared a few cups of coffee with Liv along the way).

My Review: This story had me interested from the first chapter which is always a win. I very quickly became invested in Liv’s story. The chapters flipped through timelines and perspectives very smoothly. Sometimes it’s easy to get lost with this type of approach, but the author did a really good job so the reader was never lost. This type of storyline has definitely been done before; it wasn’t the most original plot, but it was well delivered nonetheless. I would recommend for people who enjoy suspense without it being “keep you up at night” scary.

Keywords: amnesia, caffeine, murder

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my honest review.*

A new twist on amnesia where it was caused by a severe traumatic incident and resets every time Liv wakes up so she is trying to stay awake. While the book could be confusing with the way it jumps between POVs and time lines, it is very well done and feels as if you, the reader, are dealing with the amnesia as well. Who can you trust? The police are after you. Are you the killer? Or is the killer chasing you, too?

Quite a thriller! Very engaging.

After Night Swim and Escape Room, I trust Goldin with all of my crime loving heart to deliver explosive thrillers!! I was right to trust Goldin because she did it again with Stay Awake—an edge of the seat fast paced thriller with dual timeline where our MC wakes up with cryptic writing on her arm. To figure it out and find clues to piece it together, she must Stay Awake. Goldin is good at writing strong, empathetic and sometimes unreliable female MCs. This story’s MC Liv is also one such character. You will be guessing and yelling along with this character till the final turn out!! Highly recommended if you like to read high stakes thrillers and psychological thrillers.

Thank you St.Martin’s Press for the arc via Netgalley

I loved this! It kept me guessing to the very end. I also loved the way it was written with different point of views and time periods!

This book had me hooked from the very beginning!! Waking up in the back of a cab with no memory covered in your own notes written on your body?! WOW! Sure, some moments weren’t always believe and Liz was so infuriating at times but overall this book was one of the most insane psychological thrillers I have ever had the pleasure of reading!! My jaw didn’t totally drop at the twist but it was still incredibly satisfying and if you’re new to thrillers, this one is for sureeeeee a hit!

*Imagine waking up and not recognizing where you are. Your last memory is a sunny day, a phone ringing at work, you picking it up...and that's it. Now it's fall, over two years later, and you have no memory of what has happened in those two years. You've written things like "STAY AWAKE" all over your hands and arms. But you can only stay awake so long before your body gives out on you. That's Liz's reality, She tracks down coworkers and they reference something bad having happened but unsure as to what.

We do go back in time to learn what led up to her last memory two years ago but then...nothing...after Liz picks up the phone at work. All she remembers of the last two years is what has happened since she last woke up. She's all alone, she can't trust anyone. And she knows someone has been watching.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

I've read and loved Megan Goldin's first two books, and she doesn't let up with Stay Awake! I loved the cinematic structure of this book, which alternates between police investigating a homicide, and Liv's experience waking up near that homicide and trying to figure out if she's somehow connected. She can't remember the last two years of her life and only remembers being in her office. When she tries to go to her apartment, someone new lives there! Then she starts getting phone calls from some creepy guy and has writing on her arms telling her not to fall asleep or trust anyone. My brain was going all over the place with the author's red herrings and I couldn't stop turning the pages of this thriller banger. Would especially recommend to fans of Lisa Unger's Under My Skin, which also deals with murder and memory loss.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this story in exchange for an honest review. I could not put this book down. I had to find out why Liv would forget everything after she went to sleep. This book had so many twists and turns and definitely had me biting my nails. I was happy with the ending, was not entirely expecting the outcome even though I had a general idea of where it may lead. Definitely a great writer of twisty turns.

Wow! This was a crazy ride. While it did keep me interested I felt that Meg was the typical character in a psychological thriller. I mean this in that there were so many points in the story where she could have gotten help but ultimately went running. To the point where the reader becomes impatient and frustrated.

But… the story is twisty and turns and beyond bizarre. Overall even with the character redundancy I enjoyed the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for a copy to review.

"There's no such thing as being an observer. Doing nothing is doing something."

What if every time you fell asleep, when you woke up you couldn't remember the last two years of your life? Liv Resse wakes up in the back of a taxi and she can't remember how she got there. When she gets home she discovers someone else now lives in her apartment. Confused and disoriented, Liv finds STAY AWAKE written on the back of her hand. The life Liv remembers seems to have vanished and now she is is stuck trying to figure out the missing pieces.

Stay Awake starts off with a bang and rarely lets up on the gas. Megan Goldin spins a fabulous mystery full of intrigue, suspense and drama. Told from alternating timelines, this had plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing until the very end.

So grab a cup, or 7, of coffee and be prepared to stay awake long into the night to finish this one~

A very solid 3.5/3.75 stars. Thrilling and hard to put down, but the overall reveal was quite underwhelming and I was expecting more from this author.

A woman who loses her memory every time she wakes up is seemingly tied to a murder that occurred - and she doesn’t even realize it.

The premise for this book is so clever and compelling. I was intrigued from the moment I read the description.

I will say, it took me a long time to really dig in and want to finish reading it. That’s hard for me with a thriller because I usually just want to power through them to figure out what’s happening, but the first 35-40% I read sporadically over months - picking it up and reading maybe a handful of pages and then just not being sucked into it. At around 40% of the way through I was finally hooked enough to want to finish it right then and there and unravel this crazy story.

I think the beginning is just a little slow for me, but overall I really enjoyed the book and I would recommend it to others!

This is more of a 3.5 than it is a 3 star. I read this book in basically one sitting so I can definitely vouch for it being entertaining and a page-turner. There was nothing wrong with it but, as someone who reads a lot of mysteries, I guessed everything that was happening fairly early on. That usually doesn’t bother me and honestly I usually don’t have many thoughts about what’s going on and am along for the ride, but I felt this one was a bit too obvious. Still enjoyed it and would recommend if you like mysteries.

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

Liv awakens in a taxi, and has no memory of the past two years. Someone else lives in her apartment, “stay awake” is written on her hands, and she’s in possession of a bloody knife. She soon finds herself on the run for a crime she doesn’t remember committing.

Stay Awake is told using multiple points of view and timelines. The timelines are present day and two years earlier. The POVs are Liv and the detective investigating the murder. Liv is trying to figure out what has happened to her. The detective is trying to solve a case. Both viewpoints are interesting and add to the story.

Stay Awake is a fast-paced thriller with an intriguing plot. Recommended for fans of suspenseful thrillers and crime.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

No Rest for the Wicked


There is a good reason why Megan Goldin is one of my favorite thriller writers. I think that THE ESCAPE ROOM is still one of my all-time-favorites books and one that stands out from the rest, but her latest book is not far behind. It only took a few pages into STAY AWAKE to find myself utterly absorbed by the shattered reality that has become Liv’s life.

I love thrillers that rely strongly on the doubt cast on the main protagonist’s mental state. Liv, a traumatized woman who forgets everything that has happened to her as soon as she falls asleep, is a perfect candidate to star in that category of unreliable narrators. With every plot twist, I admired the author for being able to create such an intricate, multi-layered and challenging novel without ever losing credibility.

Every time I was briefly concerned that a thread would be left hanging or would stretch credibility too far, I was soon reassured by the background detail that made it all perfectly plausible and tied things up nicely in the end. A highlight for me was the authors ablity to show Liv as she wakes up, completely confused and then start trying to go home or to work, only to realize that she has been asleep longer than she thought and that things have changed. Toward the end she tries to stay awake long enough to untangle all the clues of her current circumstances. The only downfall I had with the story is the constant need to be reminded that Liv is forgetful. I enjoyed this very much and will continue to be a fan of Megan Goldin moving forward. 4 STARS in other words this book is totally # All-Nighter Worthy

*rating 4.25*

***a woman who wakes up in a taxi with no memory and a bloodstained knife in her pocket***

Megan’s thrillers always hit! This was a fast paced thriller that was so addicting. It definitely grasped my attention from jump but once I really got into it I could. not. put. it. down. I was thinking of so many different scenarios in my head to try and put the pieces together and still didn’t figure it out.

I love this book! Psychological thrillers are my favorite subgenre and Stay Awake does not disappoint. Liv wakes up, unsure of who she is or what has happened - but she has been accused of murder. As the story unfolds, we learn she is suffering from amnesia brought on by past trauma. All she knows is she has to stay awake, and trust no one.

I can't imagine something like this happening to me - I rely so much on my brain and memory. Goldin does a fantastic job of helping the reader feel the fear of amnesia and we walk right alongside Liv as she tries to figure out what is going on.

This is a book you won't want to put down!