Well, this was a long/short reading marathon! With tinges of a more malicious villain from Doctor Who, and legit goosebumps, this is the perfect book to read on a dark and story night.

Wow, okay there is so much to unpack with this book.


First, I want to thank the author, publishers and Netgalley for allowing me to review this ARC with honesty.

The premise alone of the book appealed to me. A person who wakes up with no memory, finds scribblings on her body that tell her to "Stay Awake" and "Trust No One" give it a very startling beginning. But it only becomes more twisted when you find out the poor woman keeps going through this every time she falls asleep only to wake with no memory of the past two years. Everything is strange and wrong, the people she expects to be around are not, she's absolutely lost and scared - and what could be any worse but a murder! And she's being looked at as the suspect!

Alright, so here we go. I liked the premise a lot. It was very page turny and it was very hard to put down. What threw me a bit was the motive (or lack there of the original issue *spoilerish so I'll tread lightly*) that stumped me. You kind of have to fill in the blanks because it's never truly explaining which left be baffled. The other issue I had, which I see I'm not alone in this, is the main character herself. Liv is so hard to feel sorry for with the flashbacks due to how airheaded she was about her life. You want to say, "Oh, she'll start to notice inconsistences and put two and two together. And she does but then throws it out the window! Like "Oh I'm just being silly!"

Overall, I liked the book. I wish it had a better ending but it wasn't awful. I do like the detectives in this one (Not Krause, yeck) but it would have been nice to get a little more backstory on them.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars 🌟🌟🌟💫 (rounded up)

My first Megan Goldin book and I can see that she is great at suspenseful stories. It took me awhile to warm up to Liv as the constant repeating of events was annoying but then with the introduction of the detectives the story took off. I figured out the killer about midway and the resolution of their capture was well done. Give this a read. 3.5 stars

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, the author, and NetGalley for the free gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book had me in an absolutely choke hold and had me lying awake at night shook on what was going on - the book's title really came to life. 
The different timelines added a good twist to the book because it was all so confusing already that MC had amnesia so this took us on even more turns.

I always like a book with short chapters, multiple timelines, and many twists and turns. This is a really intense psychological thriller that will have you genuinely question reality.

I love Megan Goldin as an author and love how her thrillers before this one were completely different from this. The Night Swim was also a 5-star thriller for me.

Liv Reese has a problem - she's woken up in the back of a cab and doesn't remember how she got there. Not only that it seems like she's been erased from the life she does remember. Someone else is living in her apartment. Her roommate and boyfriend aren't answering their phones. Her hands have scribbled messages written all over them of reminders to "STAY AWAKE". Liv is not sure what's going on but now she's afraid to sleep. So begins the thrill ride of finding out what happened to her memory and why.

Megan Goldin knows how to write a story that will grip you from the first page and take you on a suspenseful ride. Truly thought this book and its premise was brilliant. The way she artfully navigated two timelines and perspective made for a cohesive and entertaining read. The little moments where the reader is able to piece together the pieces that Liv herself cannot remember is perfection. For any suspense or thriller readers out there, make this one of your fall reads. You won't regret it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Liv wakes up in a taxi with no recollection of how she got there… and when she goes to “her apartment”, she finds other people living there. She reaches in her pocket for her phone, and finds a bloody knife – what on earth has happened?! This gripping thriller has so many twists and turns, while still being (mostly) believable, and I absolutely loved it, reading it all in one night. There were a few motives I didn’t understand, but they didn’t take away from my enjoyment; I just really want all my friends to read this book so we can discuss. Highly recommend this!!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.. Stay Awake was a pretty good book. It was a quick read with lots of twists and turns. The killer wasn’t a big surprise. It getting there was interesting. Would definitely recommend.

Addictive and immersive, “Stay Awake” is a well paced thriller that I didn’t want to put down. After barely surviving something extremely traumatic, Liv develops a rare condition where her memory resets every time she wakes up, taking her back to a particular moment in her lifetime. One of the strengths of this novel is how Goldin immerses the reader in Liv’s disorientation; we aren’t just watching her distress and disorientation, we feel it as well. The story flips between the past and the present and even though the heroine is confused, I never struggled to follow the plot line, a fine line Goldin had to balance - ensure the reader has feelings of confusion to empathize with the heroine but don’t actually confuse the readers - and she did it well. The resolution wasn’t quite as tight as her previous work, I struggled with some plot holes, and it sometimes felt like it was echoing “Memento” a little too much, but overall, it was a strong and fast paced read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine my excitement when I was approved by Net Galley to read this book before publication. The author has a ton of buzz in the bookstagram world, so I was really looking forward to checking out her latest book before it hit shelves. As an added bonus, I was approved for the audiobook as well as the print version so I was able to do a hybrid of reading and listening to the story.

The premise that our main character, Liz Reese, suffers from memory loss and finds herself accused of murder seemed intriguing, if not reminiscent of a book I recently read and disliked – Before I Go To Sleep by S.J.Watson. My hope was that this writer could give the amnesia angle a better run. Unfortunately, I found this frustratingly repetitious and full of plot holes. Of course, some repetition is expected when you’re reading about someone who has no memory of where they are or what they’re doing but this book used the exact same phrases within the same page, or even the same paragraph at times.

The audiobook was incredibly difficult to listen to. While the narration for the detective investigating the murder was very well done and I found myself the most engaged while listening to those portions. However, the majority of the book is about Liz and shown from her perspective. The person who narrated her parts alternated between sounding in absolute awe and complete stupidity. Every sentence said was expressed as a question. ‘I put my hand? In my pocket? And pulled out… a knife? My breath caught? A knife? Covered in blood?” I wanted to jam a fork in my ear every time this person spoke. Surely, there must be a way to convey confusion without this exasperating tone of voice.

This book was a big miss for me. I wouldn’t recommend it except maybe to someone very new to the thriller genre who hasn’t read many amazing books yet. This one is not in that category – not by a long shot.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this free eARC and audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was just okay! Wasn’t my favorite. Didn’t overly love the characters and wasn’t immediately sucked in. Will still read more from this author in the future

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Here's one that makes me happy I didn't listen to many of the reviews. The premise sounded fantastic, so I gave it a go--and I'm so glad I did because I loved it!

I spent most of the book thinking "what in the worldddd is happening?" Our main character loses her memory every time she falls asleep. I think if you like the unreliable narrator trope, you may like this one. But if you don't--stay away. I also think fans of the book The Wife Between Us may enjoy this one. The plot is nothing alike, but I found the writing style similar.

This one ended up being only an okay read for me. I thought the beginning would suck me in but it really didn't. I think I just didn't like the main character, or didn't feel like I could trust her. Either way I struggled. There were also some plot points that just didn't make sense to me. I did feel like the writing was good and the mystery and its conclusion were interesting. It just wasn't the best fit for me.

I received this book from a Facebook giveaway with no review required. I will adjust if I decide to review in the future.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This is not the first book by Megan Goldin that I have read nor is it the second but the third and I will read anything that she writes because nothing is ever as it seems.

Liv Reese seems to have come unhinged or at least that's what she's led to believe. She wakes up in the back of a cab with no memory of how or why she got there. The only thing that she's aware of is the writing on the back of her hand that says Stay Awake! It appears that the world has changed and Liv doesn't know where she's been while time has passed her by.

The one thing that Goldin does really well is write dark and twisty and this book fits that description. At times this book seems like it's all over the place and I admit I got a little confused but in the end the author brought it all together. I won't say that this is my favorite Meg Goldin book, that honor lies with The Night Swim. Still it is worth the time and energy to read it because it is so different from her other books and I like that. Goldin doesn't write a formula or a one size fits all book. If you are looking for dark and twisty then this is the book for you.

Didn't work for me at all. Too many plot holes. Things just didn't make sense. I'm in the minority but just didn't work for me.

initial thoughts: really enjoyed this psychological thriller! while I’m not necessarily a fan of the unreliable narrator, in this story it worked, and it worked really well. rediscovering Liv’s memories alongside her was fun, and all the twists — and multiple POVs — along the way made the story move at fast pace.

I received a copy of Stay Awake by Megan Goldin from NetGalley. This was a fun and quick thriller. I thought it was pretty obvious from the beginning who the "bad guy" was but it didn't take away any of my enjoyment with the book. Great beach read and will take your mind off whatever stresses you have at the moment because the main character has more stress than any of us!

Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a cab with no recollection of how she got there. In fact, she doesn’t remember the last two years but she doesn’t quite know that. ⁣
⁣
Confused and not sure where to turn Liv heads to her apartment that she shares with her friend, Amy, only to find a strange couple she doesn’t recognize living there. The couple is a hostile and adamant Liv and Amy no longer live there so she tries to go back to the place she last remembers, her work.⁣
⁣
Things continue to confuse Liv and soon she finds herself plastered across the news wanted for murder. Is she really a killer? Will her memory come back?⁣
⁣
𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦 is unique and kept my attention the entire way through. I highly recommend reading this one!

Stay Awake by Meg Goldin is a truly gripping thriller about a woman with amnesia who is suspected of a brutal murder.
The construct is so interesting, as Liv, the protagonist, tries to ‘stay awake’ because when she falls asleep, she wakes up with no memory of her life of the past two years. The author cleverly lets the details of Liv’s life and activities unfold bit by bit, all in the context of this unusual form of amnesia. Liv observes, “I don’t know how I became an interloper in my own life,” as she voices her confusion and distress at her present circumstances.
This is also an excellent police procedural, in which Detective Darcy Halliday, of NYPD homicide squad, is investigating the murder. While suspicious of Liv’s involvement, Halliday is astute enough to realize there are unexplained gaps in the timeline of Liv’s life.
No spoilers here. This is a fast-paced story with enough twists to keep me reading and guessing well into the night!
I highly recommend this to readers who enjoy edge of your seat suspense and a relatable protagonist.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my unbiased review.

Review

Thank you to #St.Martin’sPress and #NetGallery for giving me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest.

Swipe for Synopsis from Goodreads.

Lord knows that I love me a good clutch your pearls, triple lock your doors and sleep with one eye open type of thriller. This book didn’t do all of that lol, but it did hold my interest, nonetheless.  This book gets going from the first page, sucking you right in, leaving you wondering what is going on, with Liv? It also does a good job with the unreliable narrator trope. I found myself more interested in the detective’s point of view and their piecing together the crime. Mainly because the MC was so clueless (even before she lost her memory) that it made her so annoying.

Overall, this was a good page turner thriller. There was a plot that felt unresolved, but other than that it was a solid book.

My review ⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5