Thoughts | This was my second Megan Goldin. I loved The Night Swim and that love spilled right over to Stay Awake.
Liv loses her memory every time she falls asleep. And without knowing who to trust, she has a very hard time navigating her current situation.
Throughout the book we learn about her amnesia, the past trauma that caused it, and the person that caused the trauma.
I loved the detectives and Liv. I also love an ending that ties things up but also leaves you knowing what may be in the future.

Trigger Warnings | Stalking, Memory Lose, Suicide in Veterans, Murder

Quotes | “Leaves fall from half-makes trees like autumnal rain.”
“The only thing I know for sure is that time has skipped ahead with without me noticing.”

Thank you to NetGalley, Megan Goldin, and St. Martin’s Press for gifting me an ARC in return for a real and honest review.

QOTD | What is your favorite flower?

AOTD | Tulips and purple iris.

Liv Reese finds herself waking up in a cab, but doesn't know how she got here. As the night unfolds, she finds people who know her and she starts to fill in the gaps, but who can she trust and what should she believe? Her journey to find her memory is complicated by a murder with a unique signature. This isn't the first story to play games with memory loss and untrustworthy characters, but it is unique. It's a fast paced thriller that I couldn't put down - if you need to "stay awake' then pick up this book, you won't want to sleep until you've finished it. And even then....
There is much to say that would spoil this, so I will simply state that this is my favorite book of the year so far. Great characters, great tempo, action and more twists and turns than a roller coaster. Each time I thought I had it figured out, I was wrong.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I ended up listening to the audiobook instead of reading it on my kindle. This book kept me on the edge of my seat! Overall it kept me guessing with lots of fun twists & turns. Certain parts were a little repetitive & reminded me a little of the movie Memento! Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC! I’ll definitely read more by this author!

Wow! What a great thriller! I’m so happy I received this amazing ARC. I couldn’t put this book down. Megan Goldin has that way with her writing and just makes you feel that tension leaving you in awe. I never hit a lull in the story or felt like it dragged. I will keep reading anything Megan Goldin writes, she’s a genius.

This was one wild ride and I absolutely couldn't get enough! The dual POVs (Liv and the detectives) was awesome and kept me on my toes the entire time! I loved the twists and suspense and found myself playing detective and trying to solve it for myself - I was mostly unsuccessful which proves just how great this story is!

This is the first Megan Goldin book I've read. . This is one of the best page turner, twisty thrillers that I've read in quite some time.. I found the diagnosis of repetitive memory blackout a clever and interesting plot device..
I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book! I was looking forward to this one but not sure how I feel about it now. I liked the story and the idea, but there was a little too much police procedural for my personal taste that I wasn’t expecting. I also feel like I have several unanswered questions about the ending, where I didn’t think it wrapped everything up in terms of motive, the random artist Q or the stalking from two years ago?! I’m confused.

Megan Goldin is solidifying her place as a mystery/thriller queen in my books!

STAY AWAKE while sounding like it may feel a bit hokey with a main character who forgets the last two years of her life every time she falls asleep, actually delivered with an unreliable narrator that didn't piss me off. Liv's condition was triggered by a horrifying tragedy and re-triggered by a very upsetting time in her life and a lack of sleep.

This is a dual time line AND dual POV. We get Liv's past and preset and we get (female detective) Halliday in the present. For me, who struggles at times keeping time lines in order when they're too mixed, I actually found this one pretty easy to follow. I liked both characters and both POV's.

One thing I love about Goldin is the way she weaves in our societal and cultural issues into her plot. This book dealt with the trouble stalker victims often have at getting law enforcement to do anything to help them without them actually being hurt first. It felt right with the story.

I'd say I guessed who the bad guy was half-way through: the who and the why. But honestly that didn't hurt my enjoyment any. Because the best part of guessing while you read is finding out if you were able to put it together or not!

If you like thrillers, I definitely recommend this one! And if you like Audiobooks, this one was fantastic!

4.75 Stars (I received both an e-arc and audio arc from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review)

Originally I had gotten an e-arc but then I saw they had one for audiobook and I got accepted pretty quickly. When I read The Night Swim, I had listened to the audiobook and it was quite well done. With this release they definitely raised the audio book game.

The book follows three different perspectives Liv in the present day, a female detective investigating a murder in the present timeline and then Liv in the past, roughly two years prior. Present day Liv wakes up disoriented not know where she is and tries to go back to her apartment, only someone else lives there now.

We also go back to Liv’s life when she was actually living in the apartment with her best friend and is dating her boyfriend. Working as a food critic for a popular fashion magazine but also dealing with some paranoia regarding a stalker.

The other perspective is Detective Halliday, a female ex veteran who has recently joined the police force and has been bouncing around with different cases not with technically in a permanent position. But this time she is the first detective on the scene due to being on her way to work, so she gets to work on her first major case. Honestly her POV chapters were my favourite to read, and it was nice to have a change from Liv’s various perspectives.

I also wonder the condition that Liv suffers within the story is something that can happen in real life, losing your memories from the past couple years every time fall asleep. It is interesting seeing Liv’s story slowly be revealed, which some aspects I did guess (like the cheating and that the two people who were killed in the apartment, before they were revealed). I will say that I didn’t expect the villain to be who it was, I thought it would have been the artist who was the killer.

Overall it was a very engrossing, engaging and the best thriller I have read this year. Possibly even of all time.

This book was one of the best thrillers I have read in a long time. I absolutely couldn't put it down. It was part Girl on the Train (unreliable narrator and pacing) and part something that is all it's own. I loved getting to figure out Liv's memories alongside her. It was engaging and interesting. I also loved The Night Swim and will read anything Megan Goldin writes. 5 stars for me.

I read lots of thrillers, which makes me a little jaded when it comes to my favorite genre. I just couldn't get into this one unfortunately. This is my second attempt with Ms. Goldin, so maybe we just don't vibe.

I really enjoy megan goldin's books and I did enjoy this one but this is probably my least favorite one. I really enjoyed the journey the book took me on as I had no clue what would happen next but the ending was a bit of a letdown.
It felt somewhat rushed and I didn't feel like it was a huge payoff. Overall I did enjoy this and it was quite thrilling but the ending left a sour taste in my mouth.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Aug 9, 2022
Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi, with no recollection of how she got there. When she shows up at her house, strangers are living there and Liv quickly realizes that two years have passed. She is unable to reach her friends or her boyfriend, and she has no idea where she lives or how to get there. Then of course, there’s the bloody knife she found in her purse and the messages scrawled on her hands that tell her to “stay awake” and “trust no one”. When she sees a news report of a murder, where the victim was stabbed and “wake up!” written on the windows in his own blood, Liv is labeled as a murder suspect and the police are on the hunt. But Liv couldn’t possibly have killed a man—could she?
Megan Goldin delivers a suspenseful thrill ride in “Stay Awake”. “The Flight Attendant” mixed with “Memento” with a splash of “Fifty First Dates”, Goldin’s new thriller is desperately addicting.
Liv narrates the story from different time periods; one being present day, while the police are searching for her, and the other starts two years ago (when the memory lapse started) and works forward. Readers feel the utter terror Liv feels every time she wakes up in a completely unidentifiable place, and it’s enough to raise goosebumps. We also hear from the police officers investigating Liv, of course, as they close in on her, which fills in some of the gaps in the timeline for the reader that Liv can’t remember.
“Stay Awake” flows well, and Liv is a character anyone would root for. As a long-time reader of this genre, I was able to guess the real culprit pretty quickly, but I still enjoyed all the twists and turns that Goldin’s plot took me on. Although Goldin’s other novels (like “Escape Room” and “Night Swim”) have been on my radar for some time, I just haven’t found the time to read them. After reading this novel, though, I cannot wait to explore Goldin’s other works.

ᴍɪɴɪ-ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ

Liv wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. Complete strangers seem to know her, she has strange writing on her hands & a two year memory gap. On the news she sees that a murder has taken place and on the window where it happened is a message written in blood, "Stay Awake." The same message Liv has scrawled on her hands ...

Here's some of what you have to look forward to in this novel:
Dual perspectives & multiple timelines
Unreliable narrator
Part police procedural
Air of distrust
Action-packed climax
Learning in tandem with the MC

This was an enjoyable psychological thriller but for some reason it didn't grip me as tightly as I thought it would.

I will say that I didn't guess the culprit and I'm shocked I didn't because after finishing the novel it seemed a lot more obvious (Doesn't it always?) Goldin did a good job with those red herrings.

Thank you St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for this ARC!
Pub Date: August 9th 2022

I give Stay Awake by Megan Goldin 3.75 stars ⭐⭐⭐✨ (rounded up to 4 stars for NetGalley)

This was a wild ride! I have read all of Goldin's work and loved the Night Swim. I feel like Goldin has a way of getting her hooks deep within you early on that drives you to finish books quickly. I had a hunch who the bad guy was but the plot and misdirections kept me guessing! The pacing is amazing and story was so fresh and creepy.

Stay Awake is a suspenseful and intriguing psychological thriller with multiple timelines and POVs. The plot is unrealistic but it really drew me in. I loved the strong female characters. Overall, I though the book was an action packed page turner that hooked me in right from the start. I loved that I felt like I was part of the book trying to figure out everything alongside the characters. Even though it was filled with red herrings I did find the final reveal somewhat predictable. The only complaints I have is that there was some repetitiveness and a few minor plot holes. I enjoyed this book and it’s unique plot line and would recommend it to anyone who loves thrillers.

My Thoughts

What character Liv Reese experiences in this story is terrifying to me.

Cannot begin to imagine what I myself would do if lost 2 years of my memories to amnesia and then on top of that had to somehow keep one step ahead of a murderer while also staying out of reach of law enforcement as well.

As Liv reconstructs her past her future remains uncertain except for one very real thing, she must Stay Awake.

For me it was a very intense read that I enjoyed following along with as Liv solved the mystery one day at a time.

This is a one day read that built its story plot beautifully from beginning to end for me.

[EArc from Netgalley]

On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

3.5 stars - This is the third book I've read by Megan Goldin and unfortunately, it's my least favorite. I knew the main character, Liv Reese, had amnesia and couldn't remember what happened for the last two years, and that sounded intriguing. However, I didn't realize that every time she went to sleep and woke up, she would also forget everything that happened the prior day. To me this is an overdone plot and not one I enjoy. I felt sorry for Liv and there are some very suspenseful moments, but overall I didn't find the story to be engaging. Others may enjoy it more than I did, but for the most part, it just wasn't for me.

I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of St. Martin's Press. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

4.5 ⭐️, rounded down.

I enjoyed <I>Stay Awake</I> a lot, though it was tough for me to get through. I think this was more due to my mental state than the book itself as it was action packed and kept the adrenaline pumping for the most part.

We find out Liv’s memories/story through the present, through a series of flashbacks to two years prior, and also in part through a perspective from a female detective. The story is riveting, though the paranoid and unreliable narrator storyline is a bit played out at this point.

I love thrillers and I love when there are multiple directions that they could go in. This was no exception to that. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

If you loved <I>The Night Swim</I> as much as I did then definitely pick this one up!

What would you do if every time you fell asleep you woke up not remembering any of the recent past? This is the conundrum facing Liv Reese. She's navigating a New York City that she no longer knows, and dealing with strange people she doesn't remember, even though they remember her. This book is part murder investigation and part trying to figure out what happened in Liv's past to make her lose her memory. I was hooked from the beginning and found myself turning page after page to try to figure out what happened. I loved that this book was told from both Liv's perspective and the detectives, Halliday and Lavelle, because it made it more intriguing seeing the investigation play out while Liv was also working to figure things out. I had no idea who would end up being responsible for the murder up until the end, and seeing how it played out it made so much sense. I had a lot of theories and none of them were right 🤷‍♀️🤣. Overall, a great book that I'd definitely recommend!

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book. It publishes August 9, 2022!