I spent most of this book trying to figure out what in THE world was going on. And I loved that. Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she’s dropped off at the door of her brownstone, a stranger answers―a stranger who claims to live in her apartment. She reaches for her phone to call for help, only to discover it’s missing. In its place is a bloodstained knife. Her hands are covered in scribbled messages, like graffiti on her skin: STAY AWAKE. She can’t remember anything from the last two years. She can’t remember anything from yesterday.

For the most part, I was completely engaged in this thriller since it was so twisty and I legitimately had no clue what was going on. The longer Liv ran from the crime she didn’t remember committing, the more bored I got. It seemed to be a bit repetitive. The ending was good, but I didn’t feel like the reveal was anything special. Then again, I haven’t been overly impressed with thrillers lately 😂

Amazing, entertaining, and atmospheric thriller! This book is a fast paced, anxiety inducing, sinister nightmare and you won’t know who to trust until the very end! I did not even read the blurb before reading this, I trust Megan Goldin to bring a high quality, engrossing story every time.

Thank you Netgalley, St Martins Press and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book is available for purchase August 9, 2022

This book took me on a ride I will never forget. Plot twists and changes from left to right. I didn't know what was going to happen from one moment to the next.

That was a ride! In all honesty, it was a 5 star book for me until the end. It was so much build up and unlike anything I've ever read before. I was questioning everything and trying to piece together any scraps on my own. I was so incredibly into it that when the big reveal happened.... I was underwhelmed.

It might be easy to say it's my own fault and that I expected too much, but I think I (and Liv) deserved more than that. Argh! I'm so frustrated because it was so freaking good and it just didn't stick the landing. I mean, I'm still giving it 4 stars because I was THAT into it and I think that's a great rating.

I feel like anything I could write about this book could be a spoiler so I just won't. Just read the blurb and settle in for a psychological thriller where the girl who's a suspect loses her memory every time she wakes up. It's a good time.

I FIRMLY believe nothing is more scary than lack of sleep...or maybe nothing is more scary than ME when lack of sleep is involved.

EITHER WAY....Stay Awake by Megan Goldin totally kicked my thriller slump. I definitely can say that Stay Awake is one of the more gripping thrillers i've read this year.

The premise is a fantastic twist on the unreliable narrator trope. Our main character Liv...wakes up in a taxi and has no idea...where she is...where she is going and where her memories of the last two years have gone. She's exhausted, has a murder weapon covered in blood and A LOT of questions.

What was great about this book is that I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. I literally had to "stay awake" because I had to figure out what was going to happen next. It was a bit creepy, completely unpredictable and had those fun moments in thrillers that creep you out, and keeping you reading....the stakes were high and with a killer on the loose, you never knew what what would happen next.

I will say that the ending had a few little plot holes or things that I wish would have gotten some more closure and explanation but overall the experience I had was so fun that that outweighed the things that I found I missed.

Thank you to Minotaur and St. Martins Press for my arc. I can't wait to visit Megan's backlist.

I picked up this book purely based on the author, I didn't know anything about it when I went in. It begins with a woman waking up in a taxi, completely confused as to how she got there. The last thing Liv remembers was sitting in her office, answering a phone call. As you read, it becomes obvious that she is missing a very significant amount of time (turns out to be over two years that she can't remember). In addition, it appears she was potentially involved in a murder the night before. And to top it all off, it turns out every time Liv wakes up, her last memory is answering the phone at the office.

The mystery/thriller is told in a dual narrative from Liv's perspective, as well as the investigators trying to solve the murder the night before.

Definitely a page turner as the mystery unfolds. I would have given this five stars, but towards the end of the book it did feel very repetitive every time Liv woke up. It was essential to the story when she would "reset" but you can only write a person waking up in confusion so many ways.

Overall, this is a great thriller and I do recommend picking it up to read or listen to.

Stay Awake is exactly what I thought it would be - a classic who done it that would keep me guessing - and it didn’t disappoint.

Liv had it all, a great apartment in New York, a promising career as a writer for a trendy culture magazine and a boyfriend she loved. But after a trauma, she wakes up to find she doesn’t remember anything from the past two years and if she falls asleep she doesn’t remember anything from the day. That’s right, all memories erase every time she goes to sleep. This leaves Liv in a very vulnerable position. Who can she trust and what if she trusts the wrong person?
I really enjoyed this book. It did seem a bit redundant in places but I think this was a decision the author made to show the repetition in Liv’s mind and decisions. I also wish the ending had a bit more explanation especially about the motivation behind the crimes. I want to thank NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy and give my honest review.

A FANTASTIC thriller you can’t miss!!! 🖤 It’s based on NYC gal Liv Reese who woke up with no memory after a severe injury. Two detectives are searching for her as a suspect in their murder investigation.. that of her roommate and boyfriend, now dead from foul-play. Told in alternating perspectives and timelines.. this is one endless, terror-filled nightmare that kept me on the edge of seat!!! I read it from beginning to end in one shot. Yes, it’s that good!!! Recommend!
5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub. 8/9/22

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was really good, I was hooked from the start. The premise sounded very interesting and it did not disappoint. Even though the story jumped from first person POV to third person, I found it perfect for the context of the story. However, I do think some things could've been explained better.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

For example, we never found out why Brett was stalking Liv before the murders, was he just doing it to rattle her and be able to pin the whole thing on her or what? This left me a little unsatisfied after I finished but not too much that it ruined the book. Anyways, this was a great book! Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC

This one sucked me in almost from the jump. I HAD to finish it as soon as possible (& with small children, that is no small task these days)! The storyline was very intriguing and the different perspectives was a great way to tell it.

I was unable to finish Megan Goldin's "Night Swim", so I was almost tempted to not even give this book a chance, but I am so so glad that I did!! Thank you Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC e-book. I absolutely recommend this book!

I received an ARC of this book. Wow! Another fantastic book from this author. This story grabs you from the start. It's has so many twists and incredible suspense. I loved it!

4.5 stars

I love a well-crafted thriller with an amnesia plot, and this hit the mark! It's a twisty, multiple timeline read that will keep the reader guessing along with Liv, trying to decipher the messages she's written on her hands, sticky notes, etc. Trust no one and suspect everyone! I hated to put this one down! This is the first book I've read from Goldin, but I doubt it'll be my last!

Why my nose was in this book:
A unique spin on a story centered on murder and memory that blurred the lines between fact and fiction
MC Liv was the most unreliable narrator, especially because I wasn’t completely convinced that her memory was wiped - was she a victim?
It was fun donning my detective cap and playing alongside Liv, as she struggles to understand her memory loss, a murder, and the mystery person trying to get in touch with her
It was funny how she went back to her old workplace and they just accepted her walking around multiple days, like she was still an employee!

Thank you to @netgalley for my advance copy! I am obsessed with @megangoldinauthor so I was stoked!

I literally could not stop reading this one. When I took a break, it was all I thought about. It is so expertly plotted that it literally kept me awake (see what I did there) and done with such precision it really evoked a tense and suspenseful vibe while I read it. I think I lost some fingernails in the process lol

Told in multiple timelines, you really had to pay attention to what was going on. I felt it help keep me on my toes and guessing even though I did not predict the ending in the slightest. There are a few red herrings here and there but it was so masterly crafted that my head was spinning and had no idea what was going on. I really enjoyed how the ending came about. It wasn’t super shocking but it did not need to be either because the whole story was exciting.

Definitely different there your average thriller with very big Memento vibes.

This gripping thriller kept me glued to the pages. It reminded me of <i>Fifty First Dates</i> or <i>Before I go to Sleep</i> with the repetition.

Liv Reese is stuck in a horrible time loop where every time she goes to sleep, she forgets everything that has happened for the past two years. You can't help but feel sorry for her pain and disorientation. When we first join her she is in the back of a cab at night - doesn't know where she is or where she was going. She has no idea how she got there. There is writing on her hands. The words STAY AWAKE are promient - however, she doesn't know why it's written on her hands and she doesn't know what it means. And then she finds a bloody knife in the pocket of her cardigan. She goes to her apartment, only to find other people living there and her roommate Amy doesn't live there either.

Detective Darcy Halliday is called to the scene of a murder. The words STAY AWAKE are written on the window in the victim's blood. She and her partner are on the case.

Liv sees the news about the murder on television and notices the message on the window and compares it to the message on her hands. Was she involved in a murder? She did have that bloody knife....

This story unfolds from two narrators, Liv and Darcy. There are also two timelines, before Liv lost her memory and the present. The story is tense and gripping. Liv's condition is heart-breaking. The police investigation is interest, to say the least.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on August 9, 2022.

Amnesia stories are tricky to pull off and this one was a miss for me. Irritating main character, lots of plot holes, and a ridiculous ending.

What an interesting premise, when you fall alseep you lose your memory for the last two years due to a traumatic event. So, what if that event puts you in danger? When you do fall alseep and then wake up, how do you know who it is you are supposed to trust? The suspense builds as events are revealed. The only question I have that I wished was answered (although I can guess) is what was the motive behind the initial crime? Fans of fast-paced suspense/thrillers will enjoy Megan Goldin's new release. Aug 2022.

What an interesting premise, when you fall asleep you lose your memory for the last two years due to a traumatic event. So, what if that event puts you in danger? When you do fall asleep and then wake up, how do you know who it is you are supposed to trust? The suspense builds as events are revealed. The only question I have that I wished was answered (although I can guess) is what was the motive behind the initial crime? Fans of fast-paced suspense/thrillers will enjoy Megan Goldin's new release. Aug 2022.

What an interesting premise, when you fall alseep you lose your memory for the last two years due to a traumatic event. So, what if that event puts you in danger? When you do fall alseep and then wake up, how do you know who it is you are supposed to trust? The suspense builds as events are revealed. The only question I have that I wished was answered (although I can guess) is what was the motive behind the initial crime? Fans of fast-paced suspense/thrillers will enjoy Megan Goldin's new release. Aug 2022.

Oh no, the dreaded three stars...

What I Liked
This is a cleverly plotted mystery, I actually did not guess the identity of the villain before it was revealed. I didn't have a huge amount of buy in for the motive, but I can set that aside for the fact that in the end, I appreciated the way things turned out.

I really liked the portions involving the police officers and their process for trying to figure out who committed the murder in the beginning of the book. I appreciated that the author didn't make the male/female cops automatically start a romantic relationship, this book was much better for having zero romance.

What Didn't Work
I was constantly annoyed by Liv's character. I listened to most of this as an audiobook, and the narrator didn't really help. Her portrayal of Liz was more frantic and hysterical than it needed to be. (On the flip side, the narrator for the police detective was fantastic) I kept thinking--so you have this medical condition that makes you forget everything when you fall asleep. Instead of checking yourself into a hospital or making sure you have someone with you at all times, you write "Stay Awake" on your hand instead and then run willy nilly all around town trying to make sense of things over and over? I would think that the medical professionals would put her on a psych hold because she was a danger to herself, or that she could recognize that she needed help.

The reveal of Liv's backstory was way too slow. I (and most readers I assume) had already figured it out long before the police thought to pull her old files and see what the heck happened to her two years previously. Things could have been wrapped up and solved much more quickly had they done a bit of research.

At risk of going on too long and sounding like a broken record, I thought Liv was just too naïve and trusting about certain things, and then overly paranoid about others.

Even though I have many cons about this book, it wasn't a bad read for me. I was invested in the story and thought that in the end it had a decent conclusion. I'm a fan of Goldin's books and will definitely read another one in the future.