I enjoyed this one but not quite as much as The Night Swim by this author. I did enjoy getting to solve the mystery as we went along and getting to follow the cops and Liz at the same time. I thought it came together nicely in the end. But to me, it was slightly predictable. Will still read more from this author for sure!

I had no problem staying awake to read this. I think I could not have oput it down until finished. It moved very fast, with many twists, so was a great night to spend a whole night.

Thank you NetGalley, the author and St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

Stay Awake is a phenomenal story with amazing characters. Liv, the main character and Darcy the detective… I want more of them.
This was such a mind grabbing, psychological thriller that’ll you will stay awake all night to finish.
One thing I liked the most is the set up of the story and how the main events are in the course of one day.
Looking forward to more from this author.

Overall, this book was a hit for me. It took me a minute to get into the swing of it, and I didn't know if this would be semi sci-fi or if there was a logical reason for Liv's amnesia. But as this went on, i became more invested and began doubting almost every character. This was the kind of thriller where you feel anxious, in a good way, which make this book hard to put down. I did predict the end, but I still enjoyed the twists. I fully recommend this and love Megan Goldin's writing.

I enjoyed this thriller, with elements of murder, memory loss, alternating POVs, and jumps in jumps. I really enjoyed the police officer’s chemistry and story line, and felt connected with the main character, Liv.
I found that the time jumps and alternating POVs were handled well, the short chapters made the story (which took place in a relatively short amount of time) move quickly.
The one negative to the story was Liv leaving safe spaces (like the doctor’s office) multiple times slowed the pace of the memories reveal, and seemed a bit excessive.
I was surprised at the cause of Liv’s memory los, I thought the story was going in a totally different direction. I enjoyed this twist.

WOW. I loved The Night Swim by Goldin but this.. this was something else. It’s been a very long time since I’ve had a thriller make me feel this way. I truly had no idea where it was going, had no clue who the killer was, and couldn’t wait to find out what happened next.

Liv’s amnesia gave me Memento vibes and made for a very interesting but complicated part of the story. I mean complicated in a good way - you’re frustrated in that CMON REMEMBER SO WE CAN WRAP THIS UP which makes the thriller all the more juicy. I loved the two detectives assigned to the case and how they handled the investigation. It was all just done so well.

If you’re looking for a good thriller that’ll knock your socks off, this is the one for you.

🔪VERDICT: 5 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for an ARC!

Books that deal with amnesia, but adding an element of mystery on top of it, really made this book an absolute winner for me.

Learning what exactly happened that caused Liv to not understand why she can't remember anything since her phone rang at her work desk, was a great plot twist in the book. I could feel the stress and anxiety through the pages each time Liv woke up without remembering where she was and why she couldn't remember anything.

What a great book; and won't skip reading any books by this author!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ebook ARC! I LOVED LOVED LOVED Night Swim, so I was very excited for this one, too.

This one definitely kept me on the edge of my seat, but it was a little bit longer than I think was necessary.

I think this is a really interesting premise. This woman keeps waking up and can’t remember anything that’s happened to her in two years. How horrifying that must be.

You have to piece together what has unfolded little bit by little bit as she is able to stay awake and begin to find things, write them down, etc.

Overall this was pretty good!

3.5/5⭐️

I highly recommend the audio for this one. It is narrated by Imogen Church and January Lavoy, two SOLID female narrators who really bring these characters to life.

This does have a detective element lending it to more of a crime thriller, which I love but I know some people don't.

Goldin's descriptions really give you a mental image of the characters in your mind's eye, which I appreciate. Our main protagonist Liv has memory problems, every time she falls asleep she loses 2 years of her life. The premise, paired with the slippery timeline in the narrative and dual points of view make for a fast paced, and jarring (in a good way) reading experience. She uses the messy timeline to purposefully put the reader into the shoes of Liv and misdirect suspicions.

I missed some of the social commentary that came with Goldin's last novel, "The Night Swim." I preferred that one to this. "Stay Awake" seems like her way of writing more of a fun thriller with a little less depth.

The reveal felt lackluster, unfortunately. I didn't understand the motives of one of the characters and I would have like to have gotten more information and had those loose ends tied up.

Overall this kept my attention and took me for a ride. If you enjoyed Christopher Nolan's Memento, this has a similar premise and you might enjoy this as well.

Stay Awake is full frightening scenes. Readers certainly won’t need to be warned to “stay awake”—the story and the writing will make sure of that. Curious if we’ll see Halliday and Lavelle on the pages of another Goldin thriller—the two are so opposite but make a great team.

Reviewed the audiobook which is how I listened to this book which I absolutely loved and could not put down.

I'm the master of unintentionally scheduling myself to read books with similar premises very close together.

This was the second book in August that I read with an unreliable narrator with extreme memory loss. So I went into this one skeptical, since my previous read was not particularly good.

Liv wakes up in the back of a cab with STAY AWAKE scrawled on her hand. She doesn't remember where she came from but she's eager to get home. But when she arrives at her apartment something is off. Her roommate isn't there, and a couple she's never seen have taken over the space.

Every time Liv falls asleep her brain resets, and she awakens having lost the last two years of her life

As she starts unravelling the events of the last few days, she finds clues that she may have witnessed something terrible, and she may be involved in a recent murder. Will she be able to figure out what happened before it's too late?

I love a story with dual timelines, and this one balances it really well. It's completely propulsive. I appreciate that Liv made realistic decisions.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for an arc of this title.

Megan Goldin’s Stay Awake is the story of Liv Reese who wakes up in the back of a taxi. She has no idea how she got there, what she has done, and she has lost two years of her life. I voluntarily read this complimentary copy of this well-written, suspenseful book that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end.

When Liv wakes up in the back of a taxi, she has no idea where she's come from. She asked to be dropped off at her apartment, but when she tries to get in, she finds two people living there, and the entire apartment has changed.

Confused and unable to figure out what's going on, Liv starts to realize that something has happened to her. And it might be connected to a murder.

Jumping back and forth between the past and present, <i>Stay Awake</i> takes you on a wild ride to find out what exactly happened to Liv, and her past may be the key to unlocking her present.

I really enjoyed this book - it was fast moving and has all the makings for a wild right. It was hard to put down and it was easy to feel Liv's fear, both past and present, as she realizes something is deeply wrong with her life.

Definitely a great read that you won't be able to put down.

I've seen some reviews saying that they saw all of the twists and plot elements coming, and maybe I'm clueless, because I just didn't. I continued to be wrecked by this book.

So, so, good!

EXCELLENT BOOK. I don't usually love the unreliable narrator element in a book, but this worked for me. I thought this was an "on the edge of your seat" read, and I loved it.

This book was wild. I didn't love it quite as much as Night Swim, but I really was on edge. It reminded me a lot of that movie where the guy keeps waking up and has to piece things together about his existence solely based on his tattoos...Memento, maybe?

Anway, this author can WRITE. I loved this book and did not see the twists and turns coming!

I haven’t read a psychological thriller that I loved since Verity… UNTIL NOW!

This story follows Liv Reese’s past and present. She thinks she committed a murder but she doesn’t remember.. because she doesn’t remember the past two years of her life.

I loved following along with Liv as the story told her past memories and how her life unfolded to what it is currently. She is an unreliable narrator, but in a good way (I normally find this frustrating but didn’t!)

I’m mildly obsessed with one of the detectives on the case who doesn’t jump to conclusions about any information given to her 🔎

Mark your calendars for 8/9/2022! This was my favorite ARC read yet 🔪

Read if you enjoy:
🔪 unreliable narrators
🔪 who-done-it murder mysteries
🔪 psychological thrillers
🔪 alternating timelines

i’m such a fan of Goldin’s work and this was one of my most anticipated 2022 thrillers… but it completely missed the mark for me 😭

even with the short, quick chapters, i struggled with wanting to pick it back up and it took me way longer than normal to finish a thriller of this length.

i felt like the major twist wasn’t that shocking, and the motive behind it was not revealed/explained at all? and then it just… ended?

every chapter felt the same—and i get why, the MC has major amnesia and memory loss—but whew. the flip flopping POV was choppy and clunky too.. sometimes it was 2 years prior, some times it was present day, sometimes it was present day minus 24 hours… it was hard to get “in the groove.”

overall i just wanted so much more 🥺 but i’ve read all this authors work and LOVEDDDDD both of her books prior to this so expectations were high.

it really was just like BEOFRE I GO TO SLEEP but not as well executed.

thank you St Martins Press for the gifted ARC!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

𝘼 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝘼 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙈𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙣 𝙂𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣’𝙨 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝘼𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮.

I went into this one nervous - I loved The Night Swim, but not so much The Escape Room - thankfully I really enjoyed this one. I was instantly intrigued from page one and the story just kept getting better as I read more.

In Stay Awake, we follow Liz Reese - who wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea how she got there. When she arrives at her home she's met with a stranger who now lives in her apartment. Confused, she tries to pull out her phone to call for help but is met with a bloodstained knife in the place where her phone was. She then discovers that her hands are marked with black ink that leaves a message saying STAY AWAKE.

I love that we get flashbacks. For example, we also follow Liv’s previous life two years ago - where she lives with her best friend and is dating a man. She’s a successful writer for a magazine. However, in the present, she has no idea what’s going on.

I really clicked with this story and found myself flying through it. I really enjoyed the way the story was written and that ending wasn’t something I had predicted. Some detectives are also trying to piece together some recent murders that are happening, and the connection between them and STAY AWAKE had me so intrigued. I didn’t know whether Liz was responsible or not. This was a great thriller I found myself entertained by. I would definitely recommend this to all thriller lovers.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy - all thoughts are my own!