I was so hyped up to read this book I ended up being kind of scared to read it, you guys. Have you ever been so excited for something you feel like you may have talked yourself into it disappointing you? That's what I kind of did with "Stay Awake": For months on end I was so excited to read this book that when it came time to read it (I read my ARCS rather chronologically and I have a system, folks)... I put it off. Then everyone in my house got COVID, so I fell behind in my ARC reading. And then I moved on, telling myself I would make time for "Stay Awake" when I had time for it.

And now I feel awfully dumb, because this book was flipping fantastic! Sure, it does remind me of the fabulous 2000 Christopher Nolan film "Memento" in a lot of ways, but I simply couldn't bring myself to care too much, because from the very first page, I was rolling with this story and how Goldin used the bookend storytelling method in such a unique and effective manner. It's not easy to bookend a story that starts in media res specifically like this one does and echo that beginning with an ending that's much the same but with the plot resolved and the character completely changed. Also, the themes of PTSD, enduring grief, and needing a purpose in life to keep moving on after a great loss echoed in both our protagonist, Liv Reese, and in one of the NYPD detectives in charge of the chase, Detective Halliday. A tenuous psychological insight between Halliday (who used to be in the military and lost fellow troops and friends in Afghanistan and at home) form a solid sympathetic backbone between the unreliable narration of Liv (who, of course, knows not to trust her own brain so we know better too) and the too-pragmatic and masculine brain of Halliday's partner, Detective Lavelle. Detective Lavelle's not a bad cop by any means, but he's a city copy who just doesn't know to look any deeper than the evidence right in front of him, while Halliday can see there are nuances to this case that she can't dismiss.

Memory loss is a horrid, traumatizing thing. I suffer from memory blackouts myself. That's part of what drew me to this book. I don't suffer the same kind of blackouts, but I've lost hours, days, weeks, and once I missed months. The time I missed months I had a nervous breakdown. You panic, not knowing or understanding why, and it simply makes you want to beg to be locked away because you can't be sure of what you did in that missing chunk of time. I actually did beg to be committed. I didn't trust myself. It also makes you paranoid, because you realize that you're vulnerable: people could say things to you or talk you into things or take things from you and you may never remember. So I had a very visceral reaction to Liv's memory blackouts, because I remember that feeling of hopelessness and helplessness. I remember how that feels, to go into a place and have people remember you being there and you not remember. It didn't trigger me, but boy did it make me empathize with Liv and her predicament. If it weren't for [spoiler reasons], I'd have been mentally begging her to just go to the police and tell them to take me to the mental hospital, because it was obvious Liv was just too vulnerable to be alone.
As the plot unfolded in this book, page by page and scene by scene, I was also reminded of "Wrong Place, Wrong Time" by Gillian McAllister, even though that title came out later in the year than "Stay Awake". But both books have that time device plot of the past coming up to meet a predetermined point near the end of the book, and it works so well because it allows just a drip of information of what Liv went through in a pivotal time frame to the entire plot, allowing all the collected information from the rest of the book to coalesce into a clear picture at the exact right time for the rest of the book to press forward into one exhilarating conclusion.

I absolutely loved this book and wish I had read it sooner this year. What an excellent thrill ride!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for granting me access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review, and another thanks is due to St. Martin’s Press for sending me a complimentary finished hardcover copy of the book. Thanks, you guys!

Please note this review is being written as part of a series of backdated ARC reviews that were due earlier in the year but, for one reason or another, I wasn’t able to get to them by the publication date.

File Under: Psychological Thriller/Suspense Thriller/Crime Thriller/Five Star Reads/Thriller

Megan Goldin is a rockstar on the mystery/thriller front! I am LOVING her! She had me questioning every character and their innocence which is what you want to do! I was captivated and the ending was so well done! Good job and can’t wait to read her again!!

This was a quick read for me considering I was super intrigued and wanted to know who commuted the crime! The psychological aspect incorporated into the story was super interesting to me since I’ve heard it happen to people who want to suppress trauma. I enjoyed having to piece together all the clues and figure out what truly happened to Liv!

4.5 stars

Thank you to the publisher for a free E-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Wow this book surprised me in all the best ways, i absolutely loved this book. There was twist and turns as well as the premise was something that i really haven’t read before at all. Additionally there was 3 main povs that we kept flipping between and fast paced chapters. Honestly any fans of thrillers need to read this book was absolutely amazing!

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.