I have no words. This book was one of the best psychological thrillers I have ever read. It was fast-paced and had such compelling characters. I genuinely could not guess the twist. Right when I thought I had it, I would be wrong about the final "mystery" in some way. It had me questioning the plot line (and my sanity) up until the very end.

I also liked how the storyline alternated between Liv, the main character who has no recollection of the past two years, and Halliday and Lavelle, the two detectives who are trying to solve the murder that is happening alongside Liv's story. It comes clear that Liv is connected to the murder, but she can't remember anything. Every time she wakes up, she loses her memory and can only remember events that happened over two years ago.

The author did a great job of showing Liv's memories during flashback chapters. It was interesting to see the events leading up to the big event. The big event shocked me because I wasn't expecting the out come, but I had predicted half of it correctly.

If you love murder mysteries and thrillers, this is the book for you. I could not put it down and have already recommended it to all of of my friends.

This was like 50 First Dates with a psychological thriller twist. Very cool concept, not the most original, but this was written in a very interesting way that kept me going back for more.

The author impressively created such empathy for Liv while keeping us on our toes about what actually happened. We didn’t know what happened not just because we were the reader, but also because she had forgotten as well. It’s pretty cool to be alongside the same journey as the protagonist.

I liked the alternating perspectives and build up. This was a relatively fast-paced read and I would recommend this!

Wow ! What a ride this novel takes you on. Megan goldin has done it again. Stay awake is a twisty tale of Liv who can't remember what has happened but she knows she has a knife in her pocket covered in blood. She can't remember but she knows she needs to stay awake. She is trying desperately to remember what happened to her boyfriend and best friend. Will she remember?

As the story went on I was clicking through the pages as fast as I could possibly read to find out what was going on. I didn't see that ending coming. Pick up your copy today and devour this novel.

Thank you to netgalley and St martins press for the aRC

Thank you to Megan Goldin, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an ebook copy of Stay Awake for me to read and review. What an intriguing, twisty, creepy story. I was immediately fascinated by the unique weirdness of the story. I found this to be somewhat reminiscent of the film 50 First Dates but with a more sinister, mysterious vibe. There were a couple of times that the language used was quite pretentious and I felt like it didn't fit the scenario. Goldin included so many red-herrings throughout the story that I was kept on my toes wondering who was involved almost until the end. I did not want to put it down. Definitely a must read for all lovers of twisty thriller mysteries!

4.5⭐ rounded up.
A suspenseful, thrilling read! I was intrigued and engaged from the questionable beginning until the exciting end.

Liv wakes up with a note written on her hand that says stay awake, but has no memory of how it got there. Turns out she has a rare form of amnesia and her memory goes back two years if she falls asleep.

The confusion she faces, not knowing who to trust or where she lives or what's going on at all, was so well written that you can't help but feel empathy for Liv. Obviously she can't stay awake forever, so there is quite a bit repetitiveness every time she wakes up, but I didn't mind it too much, well maybe a smidgen. Although the puzzle pieces are put together rather slowly since Liv is ultimately living groundhog day over and over again, it still took on a fast pace and I was on the edge of my couch throughout the entire book.

It's told in both Liv and Detective Darcy Halliday's pov in the present and two years prior. This way gave us little tidbits that kept the story flowing nicely at a suspenseful pace. I felt that the current detectives, Halliday and Jack, did a much better job investigating than the ones prior. The others never took her seriously, but I suppose that would be hard to do when you're reporting a carton of milk in your fridge that you didn't place there. But did she truly put it there and can't remember, or is there someone playing with her already fragile mind?

I was lucky enough to get a kindle copy and an advance audiobook to review. I went back and forth between the two. Ultimately, either way was great, but since I started off listening I enjoyed this way slightly better.

This is my 3rd book by Megan, which I think are all of them. I thoroughly enjoy her writing style and definitely recommend her for psychological thriller and wild ride lovers.

This was quick and pretty exciting, but IMO not nearly as good as the author's other books. This reminded me of the movie Memento and the book When the Lights Go Out.
*
Quick recap: Liv Reese wakes up with no memory of where she is, with scribbles all over her hands telling her to stay awake. She tries to go home to find that someone else is living there, and she then finds a bloodstained knife in her cardigan pocket. She's soon a person of interest in a murder and although she knows she can't have killed someone, she has no memory of the event, or of anything in the past two years.
*
Ok...I did like the alternating timelines with Liv in the present and then flashing back to prior to when her memory problems started. I also liked the ending, and I didn't expect one twist (although in retrospect I probably should have...) I also liked the alternating POV with the detectives, although I didn't like how it would switch which detective's POV in the middle of a paragraph.
*
But there were a lot of things I didn't like. For one, I was left with a lot of questions about this memory problem she had, and how it started. The explanations provided seemed a bit weak.
*
Secondly, Liv is handed several opportunities to find out what's going on with her from professionals, or from people who seem to know her and her background and she is just constantly running away! It was so frustrating, and seemed like a way to prolong the story rather than a legitimate decision she would make.
*
I'm seeing a ton of 5-star reviews, so maybe these are just my own nits, but The Night Swim remains by favorite by Megan Goldin!

Okay Megan Goldin, you are now a member of my auto-buy author list. Stay Awake was an electrifying thrill ride from start to finish. It started with a bang, and I fell headfirst and literally had to stay awake to finish. I just couldn’t put this one down.

I fell pretty hard for some pretty obvious red herrings – and y’all, I did not see that twist coming at all! Not even a little bit. Whew! That really happened.

On another note, I would really love to see homicide Detective Darcy Halliday in a series. I just loved her character and need more. Please??

Read if you like…
✨Fast-paced suspenseful thrillers
✨Timelines that jump from past to present
✨Alternating points of view

I rated this one five stars, and this is an easy recommendation for me.

Read it!

My thanks to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book before its publication date.

I grabbed this book because I'm all for a psychological thriller! However, I read this more of a psychological suspenseful mystery than a psychological thriller. It did keep my attention, and I wasn't happy with the few times I had to put the book down.

Live Reese wakes up in a fog, in the back of a cab. She asks to be dropped off at her apartment. She knocks a few times, but takes a while to get an answer. It seems Amy, her roommate, has company over, but they won't let Liv in. She's confused and begs to come in to at least make a phone call, and the husband gives in and allows her to make a call., because Liv had mentioned Amy's name and mail still comes to the apartment. Liv calls her boyfriend, but no answer, then she kind of loses it about the apartment and they force her out, but do call her a ride. While waiting for her ride she discovers a bloody knife in her cardigan sweater pocket and sees the words STAY AWAKE written on her hand. She has no ide why!

There are a few timelines in there, but they focus mainly on two years ago and today.

Two years ago she had a great job, a fiancé, a tight best friend, and life seems to be great.

Today a murdered body has been found and when Liv catches the story on the news she has no clue who it is, but notices the words STAY AWAKE written in blood on the window and cannot even imagine what she has done or why, there's no memory of it at all!

The two detectives working on the case are trying to solve a murder that starts off with not even knowing who the victim is, let alone who to look for. As the day proceeds answers start coming clear.

So with loving the story so much that kept me "turning pages" and aggravated putting it down, why the 3 stars? Because being a true crime reader and a true crime documentary watcher you are not going to get DNA results in the same day, let alone NYC, even if you have connections with the FBI. Plus saying again, I read more of a mystery than a thriller.

Thank you Scene of the Crime an William-Morrow for allowing me to read it through Netgally for an honest review.

Generally speaking, I felt the story was interesting until we were exposed to more character backstory around 20% in… from that point on, I just had to push my way through to the end. The synopsis held so much promise but, unfortunately, this read wasn’t for me.

This novel was so addicting that I kept wanting to speed read through to find out what happened. I enjoyed the dual viewpoints from the police solving a present day murder as well as what was happening to Liv Reese, the main character, while she kept losing her memories and trying to figure out her life. I cannot imagine that being my life, where every time I fall asleep I forget the past two years of my life. While I did overall enjoy the story, I was left wanting a little bit more, though I can’t quite put into words what. I felt as though the story wrapped up a little too neatly and while I was able to suspend disbelief a little as I read the story, I still wanted a little more real-ness to the end. Overall, I will absolutely read anything Megan Goldin writes.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is such a riveting thriller about a woman with a rare form of amnesia that puts her in the crosshairs of a murder investigation. This boom is jammed packed with tension, suspense and drama. The mystery behind Liv’s amnesia is very intriguing and the way this book unfolds makes it where you can’t put it down and you need more and more. The ending is very action packed and surprising! Couldn’t have done it better SO worth the read!

I still remember watching the movie Memento the first time and being totally blown away by the concept. When it was used as a comp title for this book, there was no doubt I’d request it.

Just like Leonard in Memento, Liz Reese makes notes to herself on her hands and arms – Stay awake, Don’t trust anyone, Don’t answer the phone. Every time she falls asleep her mind resets to two years ago, and the last thing she remembers is answering her office phone on a sunny summer morning. A lot happened in that time span. Imagine losing two years of your life – people you can’t remember, places you’ve lived, things you’ve done. Even worse, losing loved ones during that period and every time you’re told about their death you experience the grief all over again. Maybe you can’t exactly relate to what Liz is going through, but it sure is easy to emphathize with her.

This book had me hook, line, and sinker, and I plowed through it as quickly as I could turn the pages. I rooted for Liz to stay awake and remember the crucial details from her past. She hits one obstacle after another, but is fortunate to have found some compassionate people who are also willing to offer help. Around the halfway mark I was pretty sure of the identity of the culprit (I was correct), but I kept waiting for the motive. Yes, something happened that might make that person angry, but based on the information given about them, it seemed completely out of character. I’d hoped some earth-shattering reveal would be made at the end – but it wasn’t. And I felt cheated.

Judging by other reviews, I’m very much in the minority with this opinion, so take it with a grain of salt. Maybe I even missed some crucial line of detail somewhere along the way. This could turn out to be one of the best reads of the year for someone else. Before the ending I was completely engrossed in this book, so I wouldn’t hesitate to read something else by this author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I just love a good, terrifying thriller, and I certainly found one in Stay Awake by Megan Goldin. From the first page, when Liv wakes up in a cab with no idea how she got there, why someone else is living in her apartment, and why there is a bloody knife in her pocket, this book had me completely unsettled. I did not want to stop reading, but it was dark out, and I was alone in the house...

The situations Liv navigated were completely realistic, at the same time as they were totally unimaginable and frightening, with multiple twists that I did not see coming. Throughout the book, Liv seems like an innocent victim, but Ms. Goldin has created the ultimate unreliable narrator, as the reader questions Liv's amnesia and whether she really is a murderer, and simultaneously wonders who she might possibly be able to trust.

I have not read other books by this author, but am adding them to my TBR immediately. Loved this one!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC of Stay Awake. The opinions in this review are my own.

Stay Awake by Megan Golden follows Liv Reese; a girl who cannot seem to remember anything that's happened since two years ago. Every time Liv falls asleep, she loses all memory of the events that happened since two years earlier. All she knows now is that she is a top suspect in a recent murder, and she cannot be confident that she had nothing to do with it.

I don't tend to read many mystery/thriller novels, but this one was really well done. I really enjoyed the fact that it was not just one mystery, but there were many things left unknown during the novel because of Liv's memory loss. I enjoyed the different perspectives that we were given throughout the novel as well. There was Liv's perspective, which was always very interesting to read, but there was also the perspective of the detective trying to solve the case. There was also many time jumps back to two years before the current timeline. These time jumps were placed in such a good way, so that it revealed more pieces of the mystery to readers, but not all at once. It really amped up the suspense and enhanced the feeling of actually working out the mystery on your own.

There weren't many things that I disliked about this book. I sometimes found that it was a bit slow, but it was information that was still important to the mystery so it was necessary to include. Overall, I think this was an amazing mystery/thriller novel; definitely one of my favourites that I've read so far. It's convinced me to try more of this genre in the future.

Thanks so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

I love the premise of this story but the execution was a bit off for me. The main character wakes up every day with no memory. She finds a message that says Stay Awake on her body. This story goes back and forth from the past and current events. The basic premise is that she has to discover what’s going on and how she is connected to a crime. There were a lot questions I had while reading, which kept me invested in finishing, but overall I never really felt like questions were answered and the story just need something to elevate it to the next level. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

If she closes her eyes, it may be the last thing she ever does...

Liv opens her eyes, disoriented, in the back of a cab. The driver drops her off at her apartment, and she's ready to fall into bed. She doesn't have her keys, so she knocks on the door, hoping her roommate Amy is home and will let her in. A stranger opens the door, demanding to know why she is knocking on their door so late at night. Liv is shocked to find she doesn't live there anymore. When she reaches for her phone to call Amy, her fingers close around a bloody knife. Upon inspecting her hand, she notices her hands are covered in written messages, the most prominent one being, "STAY AWAKE." Liv navigates her way through New York City, becoming increasingly confused and distressed when nothing is the same as she remembers. She has no memory of the last two years of her life, let alone last night. She's chilled to the bone when a breaking news story shows the window at the scene of a murder with a message written in blood: STAY AWAKE. Liv doesn't know what she did, if anything, but someone knows the truth about that night. Can Liv stay awake, or will she go to sleep for the last time?
I loved this propulsive psychological thriller. I felt so sorry for Liv and was almost as desperate as she was to find out what caused her memory loss. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrators were perfect for their respective characters. The narrator for Liv seamlessly exuded a wide variety of emotions, exactly the way I would imagine her to sound. I highly recommend this psychological thriller to anyone looking for an intense, quick-paced read!

This was a really solid read! It felt like a unique thriller, to me at least, and I was extremely intrigued from page 1. It kept me invested til the very end, I even gasped out loud a couple times!

However, some things were a bit repetive and predictable. Also, the chapters with the detectives were always boring to me. I understand we needed those chapters to get more information on Liv, but I didn’t connect with the detectives at all. I felt that information could’ve been revealed in a more exciting or engaging way.

Overall I would recommend this book for a fun, psychological thriller that will suck you in from the first page.

An exciting cross between Memento and Before I Go To Sleep, this novel is thrilling and un-put-downable! The characters are relatable and realistic. The writing style and method helps propel the novel forward and the twists are unpredictable.

Thoughts

I really enjoyed The Escape Room and absolutely loved The Night Swim so when I saw Goldin had a new book coming out I was ecstatic.

Admittingly this story line took me about 100 pages to get into. I almost DNF it because it didn’t feel like it was going anywhere. Finally around or a little before page 100 the pace picked up and I was intrigued. It was interesting how Liv’s amnesia storyline played out. Could you even imagine not knowing what anything that has happened to you for the past 2 years?!


Once we get to the part where we learn why Liv can’t remember anything I could not turn those pages fast enough! I was left with questions at the end, but overall this was a fun read. The Night Swim is still #1 in my book!

What a wild ride! I have to admit I was a bit confused about the different timeline perspectives but it all came together at the end. A very interesting unreliable narrator and condition.

I was very surprised to find out who was behind the murders. I did not see that coming at all. Sadly the ending didn't feel complete. We find out who it is, but we don't get much closure for our main character. I did love the little gem thrown in at the end, but I'm a sucker for that kind of thing.

I read some reviews that say it is repetitive, but I didn't notice it in an annoying light. I mean this woman is waking up over and over in the past so if you want to complain about repetitive, be happy you aren't her! I was a little peeved that she never bothered to grab a NEW notebook, even if its a little one she can attach to her wrist!

Overall worth a read, interesting unique thriller concept!