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!

What would you do if every time you fell asleep you woke up with no memory of what happened for the past 2.5 years? Who can you trust? How do you function when the world has left you behind and your whole existence has changed but you can't remember it? This is how it is for Liv Reese who wakes in the back of a taxi with no clue how she got there and messages scribbled in ink all over her hands. One of these- STAY AWAKE was also discovered written in blood at a crime scene where a man was stabbed to death. Did Liv do it? Who is that living in her apartment now and why can't she get ahold of her best friend or boyfriend? Until she figures out how she is involved in this crime the only thing she can do is run, try to stay awake and trust no one. This was a wild ride of a book. I kind of had a sense of where this one might be heading but interesting concept for book and author is plainly gifting at weaving a tale of suspense. This is my 2nd book by Megan Goldin and I'm a fan.

I started listening to this book as a audiobook, but the narrator’s voice was so calm and soothing that I kept falling asleep, forgetting what was happening in the book, and having to listen multiple times. Since I liked the premise of the book and enjoyed the parts that I remembered being read to me, I got a hard copy of the book and started it from the beginning. I enjoyed the book so much, I finished it over the course of two days. The book’s main character has a condition that causes her to forget everything that occurred the last two years if she falls asleep. This time, she wakes up and finds that she is being accused of a murder. The book jumps around quite a bit with the narrator as well as now versus two years ago. Another intriguing read by Megan Goldin.

I always enjoy the books Megan Goldin writes and this was no different. She has a way of creating complex characters and story lines that I don't find in other thriller/mystery novels. There were so many red herrings and I didn't see the final plot twist coming. I really liked how the main character's backstory was slowly sprinkled in throughout the novel.

This was a decent thriller. It was an interesting story about a woman who wakes up one day and no one at her job, in her personal life, etc knows who she is or thinks that she still works there, etc. I enjoyed the book but didn't fully understand all the twists.

It’s the middle of the night in the city that never sleeps. Liv Reese is exhausted. She wants to collapse in her own bed. She takes a cab from Manhattan, crosses the Brooklyn Bridge, staggers out of the car, and buzzes the intercom of her brownstone. Why isn’t her roommate Amy letting her in? A door opens but it’s not Amy.

I step forward, eager to get into the warmth of my apartment and, hopefully soon, the comfort of my bed. As I move across the threshold, the woman slams the door shut to try to keep me out.

“Ouch.” I wince when the door hits my foot.

Despite the pain, I don’t move my foot out of the way.

“You need to go,” she tells me.

“That’s my apartment.” I point to the top of the landing.

“That’s where we live,” says the man. “You’ve made a mistake.”

Maybe Liv is mistaken because the interior is very different—her eclecticism has been replaced with a more minimalist design. But when Liv looks outside, she spots the brightly painted flower boxes in the apartment window across the way—the same view she’s had for years. She leaves, totally disoriented, and pats herself down, looking for her phone. In place of the phone she finds a bunch of bills in her front pocket. Lastly, wrapped in a T-shirt, she finds a stainless steel knife streaked with fresh blood. It clatters to the ground. Liv’s horrified that something so gory is in her possession. She wraps the shirt around the knife and throws the bundle in a garbage can. She flags down a cab, thinking she’ll go see her boyfriend, Marco, then decides against it after giving herself a once-over and discovering some scribbled messages on her hands:

Above my knuckles are letters written in black ballpoint pen. I put both fists together. The letters spell out the words STAY AWAKE. Above my right wrist I’ve written the name and address of a place called Nocturnal.

I lean forward and tell the driver to take me there instead.

The bare bones of the plot are laid out in the first few pages. Why doesn’t Liv Reese remember where she lives? Why is she in possession of a bloody knife? She doesn’t remember anything that has happened to her in the last two years. The writing on her hands is her way of forcing herself to stay in the present because when she collapses into sleep, she wakes up to a world that doesn’t make sense. The timeline shifts frequently between present-day and two years earlier, but Goldin only gives tantalizing, sketchy clues as to what might have caused Liv’s disorientation.

Darcy Halliday is a new homicide detective in her first months on the job, and has yet work her own case. While jogging she catches a message from headquarters that there is a homicide nearby. She’s on it, arriving so quickly she’s first on the scene. The victim is a young man. Halliday asks the medical examiner, Dr. Franklin, if he finds anything strange:

“Other than the gaping hole in his chest?” he asked flippantly, before realizing Halliday was serious. “What’s troubling you, Detective?”

“Looks to me like he slept through his own murder.”

“You think he was drugged?”

“I’d say it’s a distinct possibility. There’s no bruises or scratches on his body. No sign of a struggle.”

Halliday runs with that thought and examines the victim’s hands and nails, but find no abrasions or trauma. A senior homicide cop, Detective Jack Lavelle, arrives and tells her they’ll be working the case together, which to Halliday’s mind is preferable to him pulling rank and taking over. The last clue uncovered is a doozy—a message that looks like gibberish written on the floor-to-ceiling window.

“It’s sign writing. It was written backward so it can be read properly from the outside,” said Halliday.

“What does it say?” the photographer asked, taking a burst of photos.

“It says: WAKE UP!”

In the meantime, Liv desperately looks for familiar anchors. She doesn’t have a phone, a bank card, a computer—who wouldn’t feel adrift in such circumstances? She shows up at her workplace. In her mind, she’s a successful writer for a trendy magazine. But like her apartment, everything is different, even though the employees seem to know who she is. To say more would be to give away a complicated, ingenious plot. Suffice it to say when Liv catches glances of social media and learns of a horrific murder, capped off with mysterious writing—the same writing that’s on her hands—she is thrown into turmoil and confusion. Could she have murdered someone unknowingly? To Liv, her mind is an unreliable narrator—can she trust her instincts when she senses she’s being followed?

As with Goldin’s hit debut novel, The Escape Room, Stay Awake is full of complex, riveting, frightening scenarios. 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 ying and yang but make a great team.

An unreliable narrator is always an enjoyable read for me, and this was no different. I felt this book wasn’t as strong as the last book I read by this author, so it was a bit of a let down. However, there was tension and compelling characters that kept me tuning in to the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced reader copy.

4.5 well that was a great thriller that took me by surprise. This story follows Liv a woman who was almost murdered at the scene of a double homicide and lost her memory of the events. Since the murder Liv has been obsessed with regaining the memories so she can solve what happened that night. She now cannot remember anything after she falls asleep her memory reverts back to the night of the murder. That is till she finds herself in bed with a dead man and can’t remember anything.We also follow 2 cops who are trying to solve the new murder case as they talk through all the people who knew Liv. We are also reading what happened the night of the first murder as well.

I really enjoyed this book I had previously had read Night Swim by this author and loved it so I had high expectations as far as the writing went on this one but the trope of unreliable main character is not my favorite so I did not know what to expect going into this. What I found was a thriller that kept me on my toes while not falling into the stereotypical unreliable narrator tropes ( ie drunk women who can’t do anything). The characters were likable and not frustrating and the way the story was told from multiple people and timelines kept me engaged. I have read and heard some comparisons to Memento and those are completely valid this actually made me want to watch that movie again. Overall I loved this novel it took me a minute to get the timelines and how the story was told but I would recommend this to any thriller lover and will pick up anything by this author in the future. I would like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

Ok, real talk....I didn't love this book. All signs pointed to me loving it because I love Before I Go To Sleep and The Flight Attendant. Even while reading it, I was asking myself why I didn't love it. All I can come up with is the jarring switching back and forth in time along with the gratuitous repetition of things. I kept realizing that I had been reading for an hour and not really retaining any of the book. I think a huge factor, in hindsight, was that I didn't find Liv to be a fleshed-out character....which was likely done on purpose. No matter the reason for it, it kept me at arm's length from the plot. I loved The Night Swim, by this author, and I will definitely pick up more of her work to give it a try, but this one just didn't "wow" me.

Stay Awake!! Liv Reese must stay awake or she will forget everything. A murder thriller/mystery which makes the reader feel as involved as much as Liv. Megan Goldin writes a great thriller that keeps you wanting to read. You feel as though you are just as frustrated as Liv is when she wakes up not knowing what is going on. I really enjoyed this one. I had the "twist" figured out pretty early on, but still wanted to know how everything was executed.

*Thank you @stmartinspress for the egalley and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.*

What an intense, wild ride Stay Awake was! I started it first thing in the morning and read the entire thing before the end of the day because there was no way I was putting it down. I had to know how everything played out. Megan Goldin is one of my favorite thriller authors because she knows just how to hook you and keep you there until the very last word! If you like pulse-pounding, take off like a shot thrillers, this one is for you!

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin. Pub Date: August 9, 2022. Rating: 4 stars. If you're looking for an edge of your seat psychological thriller, then this book is for you. The main character, Liv wakes up in the backseat of a taxi with no idea how she got there or what is going on. She is dropped off at her apartment to discover the apartment is not hers anymore. Soon after, she finds a bloody knife with the words "stay awake" written on a window. A murder has occurred. But Liz has no memory of what happened and how she may or may not be involved. Centered around memory loss, the reader is taken on a journey to find out what really happened. I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend to psychological thriller readers! Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. #netgalley

It wasn’t my favorite by this author but it was still good. I read the others that Megan has published and they were better. This wasn’t the worst book I’ve read but it definitely could’ve been better. I felt like it was predictable.

This book had me holding my breath and flipping pages so hard I almost gave myself multiple paper cuts. As someone with insomnia I was definitely freaked out. This was so good. Did not guess anything at all!
Thank you to Megan Goldin, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!!

I have really enjoyed Megan Goden’s thrillers and this one did not disappoint!

Synopsis
Liv Reese can’t remember anything each time after she wakes up, that's why she is doing her best to stay awake. Especially after waking up in a taxi with the words Stay Awake written on her hands. When she arrives at her brownstone she finds strangers living there that threaten to call the police if she doesn’t leave. With everything she’s been through recently, not remembering might not be the worst thing. As she tries to recover her memories she learns the truth about her boyfriend Marco and her roommate, Amy. The police suspect her of murder but the real murderer is tracking Liv. It’s only a matter of time before Liv is able to put the missing pieces of her life together but will it be too late?

My thoughts:

Talk about your unreliable narrator, this one really had me guessing and on the edge of my seat. The pacing was excellent and I didn’t want to put this one down. I really liked the female detective as well. I hope she returns in another of Godon’s books. This one really plays up the ides of the role memory takes on with murder and how much insomnia can effect our mental state.

I love Megan Goldin’s writing and this was no exception. This is a fantastic psychological thriller and will keep you guessing. If unreliable narrator trope is something you enjoy, you’ll love this one.

Stay Awake had me invested from the beginning all the way to the end! This is the first I’ve read of Megan Goldin, and I really enjoyed it. It’s definitely an unreliable narrator read.

Every time Liv Reese falls asleep, she loses her memory. Sort of like 50 First Dates, but terrifying, as she’s lost two years and when she wakes, she discovers that several of her friends have been murdered, and she’s a suspect! There’s a dual point of view, which switches to Detective Halliday, who is trying to solve these murders. It also includes multiple timelines!

Thank you to NetGalley, Megan Goldin, and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review!