Riveting thriller about a women with amnesia who finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. I enjoyed the different narratives, but sometimes I was confused which timeline was taking place. Great ending too! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

this was an arc so no spoilers!! i liked this book. it was a fun and consuming read though i will say some of the twists and reveals have me little to no excitement. there were plots i wish had been followed up on more and i feel like the conclusion was not the best conclusion the book could have possible had? idk it was still def an enjoyable read though.

SPOILERY STUFF AHEAD:
graham being the killer just didn’t sit right with me i’m sorry!! came out of absolutely nowhere with him being allegedly a nice guy at the beginning. i also thought the memory stuff became a little bit hard to follow at some points but it was an interesting device. ok that’s all for my thoughts!!

This was my first thriller by Megan Goldin and I was intrigued! At first. Premise- Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a cab and has no memory of the last two years. Written on her hands is the phrase: Stay Awake.
The reader slowly learns, along with Liv, what led up to her memory loss, who is after her and why she is wanted for murder. While I enjoyed it, it was easy enough to put down and come back to later. And the ending was blah.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital arc of this book.

Liv wakes up in a taxi with no recollection of how she got there. The last thing she remembers is answering her phone at her desk. She has writing on her hand with messages to stay awake. She goes to her apartment only to find other people living there. The man at the bodega and the bartender at Nocturnal seem to know her but she would swear she never met them. When ever Liv wakes up she loses any recollection of the day before and no memories of the last two years but she has a sense that she is in danger. This story grabbed me right from the beginning. Told from her point of view and of the police detective, Darcy Halliday, it was easy to get both sides of the story and keep me turning the pages. I had no idea who the killer was until the very end but once it was revealed things wrapped up rather quickly. I got to the end and kept tapping my kindle thinking there had to be more. Like why the killer did it. How did he set Liv up and again why? It could have been five stars but for that.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital copy.

What a scary concept 😳 I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to wake up every day with no memory of the past two years.

I did enjoy this one but I found the repetitiveness to be a little annoying even though I know that’s kinda the point. I liked Liv and I thought it was interesting to follow her around & watch her try to navigate her once familiar life.

I Just finished Stay Awake by Megan Goldin and here is my review.

Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a cab, with no memory of what happened to her. No phone, no credit cards, someone else living in her apartment and a wad of cash in her pocket.. And a knife. Her arms and hands covered in writing, STAY AWAKE.

Liv has no memory of the last 2 years. She was living the life with a boyfriend and being a successful writer. She sees the news about a horrific murder… A murder where the words STAY AWAKE are written in the victims blood.

What happened the night before? Did she have something to do with the murder? Or is someone sending Liv a message?

When I got a copy of this book I was interested. By the time I got to the 2nd chapter I was hooked.
Liv was the victim of a terrible crime and moved to get away from it. When her memory starts to fail her, she returns to the place where it all happened. The problem is Liv’s memory resets when she falls asleep and she believes she is 2 years in the past.
The whole book is her trying to figure out what happened, who she can trust, yet when she falls asleep, she loses anything she does find out. It was brilliantly written. I love the pace, it was fast right where it needed to be and then slowed for the most dramatic punches it hits you with.

I felt like I was on a rollercoaster blind folded and I got the feeling we were supposed to feel how Liv felt during the times with no recollection of what was going on and I have to say I really enjoyed the mild disorientation.

I did feel the ending didn’t fully explain why it all went down the way it did. I don’t want to spoil it for you so I won’t say anymore but I would have liked to have known the reason for it. What we do know, doesn’t explain such a gruesome thing to happen. I never did piece together all of it by the time the book ended which thrilled me no end.

4.5 stars just because I have unanswered questions but seriously, this book!!!

If you love an unreliable narrator that is original and not the same trope over and over again, then this has to be your next read. Out to buy Aug 9th!

Thank you to netgalley and St Martin's press for my ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

WOW this completely surprised me. After liking but not loving The Night Swim, I went into this book with medium expectations. I was still a bit unsure about it for the first couple of chapters, but the uncertain feeling the author gives the reader completely drew me into the story.

I've been reading a lot more thrillers over the last couple of years, but this one was completely different from any other that I've read. I'm not sure how I've read this many thrillers without coming across the amnesia trope, but this is somehow the first I've read and it was amazingly done.

I've also loved the unreliable narrator trope in the past, but a few books that I've read in the last year or two made me question that. This book brought that love back for me. With the narrator's amnesia and her possible involvement in a murder, I feel like the author put me right in her shoes and I felt just as uneasy and confused as her. The reader literally discovers what has happened as the narrator gets her memories back and through flashbacks.

Perfect for anyone looking for a fast paced book that will make their skin crawl at times!

2.5 stars - I thought this would be a fun, quick thriller but it was actually quite drawn out and slow/boring in the beginning. On top of being generally unrealistic (which I can typically get past and suspend belief for), it was also predictable - there was no surprising twist at all.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for honest opinions.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin indeed had me reading past my bedtime.

Liv Reese wakes confused and disoriented in the back of a cab en route to her shared brownstone apartment. When she reaches her apartment, nothing goes as expected. A pair of strangers answer her door, claiming to have lived there for years, and who subsequently push Liv out onto the street.

Liv’s last memory is answering her office phone on a sunny afternoon. Now, there’s a noticeable chill in the air, strange messages scribbled on Liv’s arms telling her to stay awake, and an ominous bloody knife she’s found in her pocket, which she suspects may be linked to a murder she saw on the news.

While the police investigate the murder case, Liv desperately tries to piece together her memory of the last two years and learn more about this murder.

This tense psychological thriller has alternating timelines and multiple POVs.

This thriller was a compelling and equally frustrating read for me. I needed to find out how everything would turn out for Liv, but I also could not stop clenching my teeth at the sheer repetitiveness of it all. The same information kept getting regurgitated, almost verbatim, page after page. It makes sense that Liv would be stuck on square one, considering her amnesia, but it did not make for the best reading experience. There were also a few loose ends that never got resolved.

Overall, I did find the story entirely gripping. I could not put it down. I can see why Megan Goldin’s books are so popular, and I will definitely be checking out her backlist soon.

3.5.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

Stay Awake certainly kept me awake late at night so I could finish it! Half of the time, I had no idea what I was reading or what would happen. The book’s description was so realistic that I found my heart racing at certain points. This is an excellent fast-paced thriller and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Megan Goldin, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Stay Awake is an entertaining thriller which moves quickly and the reader is left to put the pieces together. I loved Megan Goldin’s previous book, so I was excited to read this one. The premise is fascinating, Liv Reese wakes up with no memory and thinks she may have been involved in a violent crime. Early on we learn that there was a murder of an unknown man the night before. The second perspective is about Detective Halliday and her partner trying to solve the murder and discover the man’s identity.

The story moves quickly, but you really have to suspend disbelief when you read this one. It was a bit too unrealistic for me and I wasn’t invested in the characters or storyline. Liv is constantly panicked and afraid because of her severe memory impairment. I liked putting the pieces together and found the detective’s perspective fascinating. The story resolves neatly. I listened to the audiobook, which is dually narrated by Imogen Church and January LaVoy. I love Church’s narration of Ruth Ware’s books, but she uses an American accent for this book, which didn’t always work for me. When she quotes other characters, the accent/affectation was downright cartoonish at times. Church narrates Liv’s perspective and LaVoy narrates the detective. I absolutely loved LaVoy’s narration. I would recommend this if you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller.

Thank you to the publisher for providing this book. All thoughts are my own.

DNF. I've seen this plot done before and done better. Plus I hate books with unreliable narrators. Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Stay Awake was an incredible book. It follows Liv, a woman who suffers memory loss every time she goes to sleep. Which is highly inconvenient when she wakes up one day and is suddenly being accused of murder. It also gives you the point of view of the two detectives working the case.

The author manages to convey the confusion Liv is constantly growing through perfectly! The tension and excitement throughout the book is palpable!

I enjoyed this book so much and am always looking forward to more books by Megan Goldin.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

“Everyone has roles to play. Sometimes we don’t know it until it’s too late. You were given a choice, Liv. Every choice has a consequence.”

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a early review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

After reading ‘The Night Swim’ I found myself a fan of Megan Goldin. I eagerly went out the same day I finished to get her other book ‘The Escape Room’ that I still have yet to read. This release is one of my most anticipated for 2022 and I was over the moon when Netgalley approved me! However, this was just… okay. It wasn’t horrible and it was a great thriller to get me out of my slump but it wasn’t as good to me as ‘The Night Swim’, and I think I had too high of hopes for this one.

I liked the concept of this a lot. We follow our main character, Liv, who wakes up in the back of a cab with blood on her and the words Stay Awake all over her knuckles, she remembers nothing. We later learn that she has a medical condition, stemming from a past trauma, that causes her to forget everything from the last two years, every single time she wakes up. Cool right?

Liv was not a character I liked. She was naive, which I guess makes sense, and so repetitive. I lost count of how many times her inner monologue says that the words on her hands match the words on the building (without me giving too much away). It was fine the first couple times but then it just got so annoying I would roll my eyes. I understand it’s suppose to help with the amnesia approach but my God.

I really en joyed the chapters from the eyes of the Detectives. That was cool to follow their process and see police work behind the scenes. We also have several chapters that take us back 2 years; which is the last time Liv remembers anything. Like I said, a pretty cool concept.

I didn’t guess the twist until a chapter before it was revealed, which was in one of the last five chapters. I feel like that’s both a good and a bad thing? Like why did it take so long? But also good that the story was good enough for me to not figure it out.

Not a bad thriller, and one I will recommend if you are trying to get out of a reading slump.

Also, how terrifying would it be to wake up each day and remember NOTHING?!

TW: murder, mention of suicide, mention of self-harm, mention of panic attacks, infidelity

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I've enjoyed other books by this author, but when this book first started I wasn't if I was going to like it. I think it was a good middle of the road mystery/thriller and definitely kept my attention. I thought it slowed down a bit in the middle, but still intrigued me enough to keep reading. I also enjoyed the multiple POVs/timeline. Overall this was a solid read and I look forward to more books by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

*3.5 stars*

If you're looking for a fast-paced thriller/mystery that will leaving you flipping the pages fast, then you'll want to pick up Stay Awake. From the first chapter, I was drawn into the mystery and wanted to know what was going on with the main character.

Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi, not knowing where she is. After she's dropped off at her apartment and discovers someone else living there, she leaves disoriented, reaching for her phone in her back pocket and instead discovers a bloody knife wrapped in a tee-shirt and the the words Stay Awake written across her knuckles.

We also follow a pair of detectives investigating the murder of a man in an apartment where the words Wake Up have been smeared across the window. The two stories gradually come together in a tense, action-packed plot.

The timeline jumps all over the place, so this is a mystery where you need to pay close attention. It's a fairly complex plot, which at times I found a bit muddled. But despite some questionable plot elements, I was impressed at how Goldin structured this mystery, using Reese's severe memory issues to add genuine suspense.

My biggest issue was the ending, especially the villain revelation. I just couldn't buy the motivation behind the killings. IMO, there weren't enough clues and foreshadowing to make the ending believable. Also, the writing is very basic. I don't need my mysteries or thrillers to have beautiful prose, but I was hoping for a bit more detail and atmosphere to the writing.

I would recommend reading Stay Awake if you love an unreliable narrator, fast-paced thrillers and solving mysteries.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital arc. My opinions are my own.

I listened to this and thought the two narrators did a good job with the emotions and suspense of this book. When Liv falls asleep, she forgets anything from the past two years. When she wakes up her last memory is from two years earlier, when she was at work. There are two timelines, the present and the two years before and it was easy to follow the changes between the two. It did get a little repetitive to me in the middle but overall I enjoyed this audio book. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

3.5 stars!
Liv has a special condition: everytime she falls asleep, she forgets everything from the last two years. Another part of her condition is that she doesn’t know that she has it. So when she wakes up in the back of a taxi holding a bloody knife, she is extremely disoriented. She goes to her apartment, only to find that there are different people living there. She tries to call her boyfriend, but he doesn’t answer. She begins to realise that she can’t trust anyone as she starts to uncover her past.

This was a fun read and the introduction had me hooked. The premise was fascinating and I really enjoyed the writing style. However, when I reached the middle, I got bored. It was just too much and it felt extremely unrealistic to me. The story went on too long without any of the pieces connecting and overall, I was disappointed. I liked The Night Swim by Goldin much more! Thanks to @stmartinspress, @macmillan.audio & @netgalley for my review copies.

🩸🔪BOOK REVIEW🔪🩸

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin
Release Date: August 9, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5


What would you do if you woke up in the back seat of a taxi cab with no idea how you got there, or what day it was, or where the cab was going? That is what happens to Liv Reese. No purse. No phone. No wallet. No keys. No clue of what has happened.

Two years ago, Liv was a successful writer at a prestigious magazine. She had a handsome Italian boyfriend and a stunning flat with her best friend in Brooklyn.

Once she finds her way back to her apartment, she finds a couple of strangers now living there. With confusion taking over, she reaches in her pocket and finds a bloody knife. She then realizes her hands are covered in scribbles. The most distinct of them reads “STAY AWAKE.”

Now she is wandering New York, dazed and confused. The last thing she remembers happened in the spring, and now the chill of fall is setting in. And in her efforts to figure out what is happening and why she has no memory, she sees a news clip where a man has been murdered and a message scrawled on a window that mirrored the ones on her hands. In her renewed panic, she wonders if she was involved. How could she be involved in a murder and have absolutely no memory of it? What she doesn’t realize is that someone is watching, knows what happened, and is willing to do whatever it takes to make her memory disappear….forever.

🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪

THIS BOOK WAS AN INSANE RIDE. I was HOOKED from the very beginning. The past and present, and the multiple pov, is all intricately woven and unravels PERFECTLY. I was on the edge of my seat for DAYS. And to be honest I couldn’t figure it out until it started unraveling, and even then, I still had a few theories. If you love thrillers, READ THIS BOOK. I have already bought Megan Goldin’s other books because I was so impressed with this one. It was fantastic!!

🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪

✨Thank you @netgalley for the opportunity to read this before it is published!!✨

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5 stars! Liv wakes up in the back of a can with no idea where she is. Her house isn’t hers anymore and she has notes scribbled across her hands and arms. Readers find that Liv has a form of amnesia where she loses her memory every time she goes to sleep. This is a classic psychological thriller, and quite a joyride. Goldin hit it out of the park with this one! Thank you for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.