The Night Swim by Meg Goldin is one of my favorite thrillers of all time, so I was ecstatic to receive an early copy of this ebook. A fantastic start to the book, Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. Worst of all, she has a bloodstained knife with her and messages all over her hands telling her to stay awake. Throughout the story, we travel back and forth in time between the present and two years ago while we piece together the details behind Liv’s memory loss and what she’s forgotten in the past two years / 24 hours.

This concept is so unique and entirely thrilling. It creates this unreliable narrator because of her memory loss, which is something I love in thrillers. I also really appreciated the short chapters and dual timeline to add to the intensity of the story. The ending felt a little unsatisfactory, and I would’ve loved to see more of what happened after the story ends.

Overall this was a terrific thriller, and I am so thankful to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me an advanced copy of this ebook!

Megan Goldin is a stunner in the genre. The Night Swim was one of my favorite reads of the year, and when I saw Stay Awake in my inbox, I screeched with excitement. I was thrilled to finally be able to take this gem to the beach with me and dive in.

From the publisher via Goodreads: 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 now lives in her apartment and forces her out in the cold. She reaches for her phone to call for help, only to discover it’s missing, and in its place is a bloodstained knife. That’s when she sees that her hands are covered in black pen, scribbled messages like graffiti on her skin: STAY AWAKE.

Two years ago, Liv was living with her best friend, dating a new man, and thriving as a successful writer for a trendy magazine. Now, she’s lost and disoriented in a New York City that looks nothing like what she remembers. Catching a glimpse of the local news, she’s horrified to see reports of a crime scene where the victim’s blood has been used to scrawl a message across a window, the same message that’s inked on her hands. What did she do last night? And why does she remember nothing from the past two years? Liv finds herself on the run for a crime she doesn’t remember committing as she tries to piece together the fragments of her life. But there’s someone who does know exactly what she did, and they’ll do anything to make her forget―permanently.

In the vein of SJ Watson’s Before I Go to Sleep and Christopher Nolan’s cult classic Memento, Megan Goldin’s Stay Awake is an electrifying novel that plays with memory and murder.

I devoured this book. From the constantly shifting suspicions to the unreliability of the narrator, Stay Awake is one of the books you just cannot put down. Liv's voice is engaging and nuanced. I enjoyed the relationships explored in the procedural chapters, and was gripped trying to figure out the mystery along with them. This was the perfect beach read for me, so if you're looking for your next vacation thriller, add this one to your bag now.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

Stay Awake was my third ARC from author Megan Goldin (I really need to get ahold of that other backlist title!) and I swear they just keep getting better and better. Stay Awake is definitely my favorite of the three I've read (The Escape Room, The Night Swim, and Stay Awake).

We open the story with Liv Reese waking up with no idea where she is or how she got there. The only possible hint she has is writing on her arms, but all it says is "Stay Awake". Why? She arrives home just to find out she doesn't live there anymore and when she goes to call for help, she finds a bloody knife. How in the world did Liv get this knife and why can't she remember?!

Stay Awake is truly twisted and suspenseful. The narrator is clearly unreliable, as she has no memory of what happened. We get to watch the story unfold at the same time as Liv so I truly had no idea what was going on until the end either. The twists make sense, but you never see them coming, which is something I definitely look for in my thrillers. This was a five star read for me and solidifies the fact that I love Megan Goldin and will be picking up anything she writes in the future.

Really enjoyed this! A twisty thriller that kept me guessing right till the end, I finished it within the day. Stay Awake alternates between the perspective of Liv, who can’t remember anything from the last two years, and the detectives investigating a murder, which may be linked to Liz. For once, I liked both narrators equally - it was just as interesting to read about Liz’s efforts to uncover what happened to her as well as police work. The two detectives, Darcy and Jake were engaging characters, I wouldn’t mind seeing them appear again! The reveal of the central mystery and Liz’s memories was well done, really created a tense atmosphere without being too slow. Highly recommend, thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

It took me some time to really get into this story but once I did, I was hooked! Each chapter ends in a way that you can't put it down. I really enjoyed the concept and fast pace. One issue I had was with the main character, she would be looking for answers however when someone was close to helping her, she would run away! So that became a bit frustrating. I also didn't feel like the ending was super crazy and exciting like I was hoping for. But regardless, I still enjoyed this thriller.
3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book!
Overall I enjoyed this book but thought it felt incomplete - the premise was incredible but I thought that it was a bit lacking.

Stay Awake takes us through the story of Liv Reese, a girl with a unique type of amnesia. Every morning, Liv wakes up having no clue where she is or what happened in the past two years of her life. She's truly living in the past. The notes on her hands and arms read phrases like "stay awake," "you forget everything when you fall asleep," and "wake up;" a message that was also found written in blood on the window of a recent crime scene. All signs point to Liv being connected to the murder in some way...but how?

Have you ever ridden in a car with a driver who's constantly tapping their foot on the break and sending their passengers lurching back and forth? This book feels like a similar form of whiplash. It disjointedly takes the reader from various times of day (on a Wednesday), then flashes back 2 years, then takes us to the present day but from the POV of Detective Halliday, a woman trying to prove herself on NYPD after her years of military service. There's so much going on, yet it doesn't feel like the story is being propelled by its contents. Like Liv, I felt like I was reading the same things over and over again, without having any understanding of why.

I truly felt like this is one of the most predictable thriller/mystery books I've read. It was predictable in the sense that there weren't many alternatives on how things could potentially turn out. I just kept hoping for the end of the book to come so everything could be wrapped up in a nice ribbon and I could be released from the nightmare that was this story. To me, the characters weren't super relatable or intriguing and lacked development throughout the course of the book. The detectives' storyline felt like an afterthought and I don't think Liv's portions of the book were as suspenseful as they were meant to be---to me, they just felt jumbled & incoherent. I loved The Night Swim, so I came into Stay Awake with high hopes, only to leave being put to sleep by the unimaginative story.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Megan Goldin for the ARC of Stay Awake!

Stay Awake is an exciting psychological thriller that pulled me in from the beginning. This is packed with tension, suspense, and drama. The narrative is split between multiple timelines. Liv and Halliday, one of the detectives investigating the murder, are the main narrators. The mystery behind Liv’s amnesia is intriguing, and the way the novel unfolds makes it unputdownable.

What a good book! I was awakened at 2:30 this morning by my furbaby Duke, as is my habit I picked up my Tablet to start a new book, little did I know that I would stay with Liv until her horrid nightmare ended, one way or the other. I will admit being skeptical about the reviews of this book, sure I thought, another Thriller, you will not sleep, all hype no substance! Was I wrong! It does live up to the hype, I was hooked after the first Chapter, yes, it took the chapter for me to suspend reality, and fall into Liv's waking nightmare! I had to know what happens! I refuse to give away any spoilers, trust me, as a severe critic, this is a turn-the-page, watch the next episode, (in my mind, it is always a film rolling) I must know who is the real killer? As a side note, with the latest DNA technology, hair roots are not necessary, they can match DNA with just a hair strand.
I highly recommend it! Thank you #Netgalley, #StayAwake #MeganGoldin who is a new author for me, but I have looked at her books to see what I have missed.
carolintallahassee

Stay Awake

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Megan Goldin writes a really solid thriller with unique premises, this was my third book of hers. In Stay Awake, a woman loses her memory every time she falls asleep. She has to rediscovery and understand what happened the last few years as she is chased around New York.

If you’re looking for a dual perspective and multiple timeline book, this one has both! Somewhat the unreliable narrator, but a different take on it than the usual alcohol or drugs. A solid thriller coming out next month!

Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this eARC!

Such a good read. I loved the different points of view and the timelines. I've already told my hometown library to get this book when it is released.

I was so excited to read this after reading Goldin’s other book, The Night Swim! Stay Awake follows Liv, a woman who wakes up in the back of a taxi not remembering how she got there. Switching between two years in the past and the present, Liv tries to grapple with why everything seems different and why she can’t remember the last two years. I could not put this book down and was hooked from the very beginning! However, I did guess parts of the plot and felt frustrated by the storyline being based around gaslighting a woman with mental health issues. I didn’t feel as if the ending was really explained as well.

After reading this book I'm definitely going to check out her other books. I really loved this book. It was super fast paced. Had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The unreliable narrator made it so much better too hear all the memories popping up in her mind. I couldn't put it down.

Stay Awake by author Megan Goldin is a psychological thriller that had me guessing throughout the entire book. It’s crime fiction that starts out with a double murder and the question is, who did it and why? All the evidence leads to Liv Reese, the best friend and roommate to one victim and the girlfriend to the other. Liv feels like she’s in danger but she has a really big problem! Every time she falls asleep, she wakes with absolutely no memory of what happened before then. She’s lost the last 2 years of her life. She has messages written in pen all over her hands and arms. They warn her to stay awake and not to trust anyone. The story jumps back and forth from past to present day. It also tells the side from the 2 homicide detectives working the case. It’s a well thought out plot that kept me guessing and had me turning the pages late into the night. It isn’t until almost the very end that the killer is revealed and all the clues beforehand come together. I believe that other readers will enjoy this as much as I did. I’d like to thank NetGalley for the arc. It’s a great read, one I really enjoyed and I will be recommending it to my friends. I’m giving it a 4 star rating!

Stay Awake!

Imagine waking up in a taxi with no memory of how you got there, where you are going, or why you are now two years in the future.

Written on your hands is STAY AWAKE, along with other cryptic messages.

To make matters worse, you seem to to be the prime suspect in a murder investigation. The police are hunting you down, and you don’t remember what happened.

Scared, anxious, and alone, you must figure out who committed the murder before you fall asleep and time resets.

Meet Liv Reese.

Alternating between the past and present and through Liv and the detectives perspectives, readers will be on the edge of their seats, glued to the pages, and furiously attempting to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Is it Groundhog’s Day? Did Liv time travel into the future?

My only gripe is that there appears to be a plot hole surrounding part of the MOTIVE. However, the reveal is still MOSTLY satisfying.

If you are looking for a fast paced thriller that will keep you reading long into the night, look no further.

Stay Awake is another winner from Megan Goldin!

If you enjoyed Before I Go to Sleep and Girl on the Train, this is the book for you.

4.5/5 stars rounded down

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of Stay Awake in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

Well, I'm a definite outlier since I didn't love Stay Awake like so many others have and as I hoped I would. I enjoyed it, don't get me wrong, but it just didn't work for me, which was extremely disappointing since I was a huge fan of The Escape Room and The Night Swim by the author.

Liv Reese wakes up one morning in a cab not knowing how she got there since the last thing she remembers is being at work in Manhattan. Her hands and arms are covered in writing: Stay Awake, Wake Up, Don't Listen to Anyone, I Forget Everything When I Fall Asleep and more. Her phone is missing, she has no purse, no wallet, only a bloody knife. When she arrives at her Brooklyn apartment, her roommate isn't there; instead, strangers answer the door. They tell her she doesn't live there. She later wakes up again on a park bench only to wonder how she got there since, again, the last thing she remembers was being at work.

A man has just been murdered with the words Wake Up written on the window for bystanders to see. Newbie NYPD detective Darcy Halliday is called to investigate the homicide alongside long-time Detective Jack Lavelle., a loner who partners with her on the case.

Liv is stuck in a cycle of insomnia and amnesia--every time she falls asleep, she forgets the past two years of her life, so she tries whatever she can to stay awake. Her present-day chapters alternate with chapters that give flashbacks of what happened two years ago that caused Liv's amnesia and led to the murder Detectives Halliday and Lavelle are trying to solve.

I enjoyed the plot and wanted to read on to see why Liv suffered from amnesia and who the murderer was in the story, but I didn't feel pulled into the book or start reading it and find it unputdownable--in fact, it took me 6 days to read this, which says a lot since I usually read a book every 2 days! I felt empathy for Liv and her inability to remember the past and for her insomnia, but I thought she was a bit of an idiot and repeatedly did stupid things, which probably had a bit to do with my overall love of the book.

What the story does have going for it is strong characters, especially in Detective Halliday, and a fast pace. The ending was very entertaining and well-done and I rounded up my rating based on that.

My rating/review is definitely in the minority so take it with a grain of salt and make sure to read all the glowing 4 and 5 star ones because I think most, if not all, readers will enjoy this one! I'll certainly be reading Goldin's next book.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

-review posted to Goodreads and Twitter on 7/22/20
-review will be posted to Amazon and Barnes & Noble on publication

Imagine waking up in a cab realizing that your last memory is over 2 years ago! And, then you discover a bloody knife in your possession, you have no idea where you live, no phone, no idea how people seem to know you and you have graffiti scribbled on your hands and arms with phrases like "wake up", "don't trust anybody"!! And, everytime you fall asleep, you lose all your most recent memories again! This is Liv Reese's current reality! Now Liv is the last person known to be with a murder victim and evidence is stacking against her and with no memories, Liv is questioning her own innocence!

Stay Awake is told from the perspective of the officers trying to solve the murder of the a mystery man and Liv going back from before the tragedy that caused Liv to loose her memory and event leading up to the murder and days following.

This book sucked me in from the first chapter! One of the best thrillers I've read this year! I guessed the plot pretty early in the book but I still couldn't put it down till I knew what Liv had been up to!

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

‘Every choice has a consequence.’

Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi. She has no idea of how she got there. When she arrives at her apartment, she finds strangers living there. Her phone is missing, she has a bloodstained knife, a bundle of cash, and her hands are covered in black pen. Short, scribbled messages including ‘STAY AWAKE’.
Liv, lost and disoriented in New York City, sees reports of a crime scene. The victim’s blood has been used to write ‘STAY AWAKE’ on a window. Where was Liv last night? Liv is desperate to try to piece together her life.

‘Two years have passed, and I remember none of it.’

Two years ago, Liv was living with her best friend Amy and working for a trendy magazine. She had a boyfriend, and life was looking good. So, what happened?

The story shifts between past and present, between the life Liv remembers and her current search to make sense of what is happening. And the stakes are high: apparently someone tried to kill Liv two years ago. Liv is not safe and, as she fights to stay awake, her mental state deteriorates.

Well, that was a roller coaster ride! The villain may have been obvious fairly early in the story but the real hook for me was Liv’s desperation for answers during her journey through amnesia.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Have you ever felt like you were watching a train wreck happening and were powerless to stop it? You know how when you are watching a horror movie, and the dumb blonde goes down in the creepy basement, you want to shout “Don’t go down there, the killers down there! How don’t you know that?!” That tense, on the edge of your seat feeling that something very, very bad is going to happen soon? That’s pretty much the feeling I had the whole time I was reading this book. I couldn’t put it down!

Our main character is Liv; she is suffering from a rare sort of memory problem, where she forgets everything that has happened when she falls asleep. Doctors think it was due to trauma that she had suffered, but couldn’t remember. The time line flips back and forth to the last time she remembers when she wakes up, leading up to the trauma, and then to the present day while she tries to make her way with no memory of what has happened since then. The police leak CCTV footage of a suspect in a murder that happened the night before, and Liv is shocked to recognize herself on TV. What happened? How is she going to figure it out? Who is telling the truth? She has all of the questions, and time is running out to figure out the answers.

This book took me on such a mental/emotional rollercoaster and I wasn't even sure I could trust my memories about half way through. Megan Goldin does an absolutely incredible job of creating a atmospheric mystery/thriller that you are hanging on the edge of your seat the entire time. This books premise was incredibly unique and I found myself struggling to predict the ending until the last 25%, but boy did I enjoy seeing how everything came untangled and watching the main character really piece everything together.