I could not put this book down! I was hooked from the first chapter! This was a fast-paced thriller that kept me wanting more. I do like a POV change, and the ones that happened in this book were great. The writing was unique and I really enjoyed the story unravelling backwards. I have not read any other books by Megan Goldin, but will definitely be reading some in the near future! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital arc of this title.

This fast-paced thriller had me going until the very end. While the unreliable narrator wasn't my favorite character I really enjoyed the pace of this book and that it kept me guessing.

*Imagine waking up and not recognizing where you are. Your last memory is a sunny day, a phone ringing at work, you picking it up...and that's it. Now it's fall, over two years later, and you have no memory of what has happened in those two years. You see you have written things like, stay awake, don’t trust anyone and don’t talk to the police, on your hands and arms and have no idea why. That's Liz's reality, She wakes up to confusion and has to start all over again, trying to figure out where the people she knew have gone, Her apartment belongs to a couple she doesn't know, her former co-workers think she's been in London. Her best friend, and boy friend will not answer her calls. We get to find out what happen along side Liv. Stay Awake is packed with tension, suspense, and drama. The way the novel unfolds makes it unputdownable. If you figure out the ending, you’re a super hero, cause I sure didn’t. This is the second book I’ve read by this author, and will wait with not so patiently for her next book.

#netgalley

This is one of those thrillers that I have been looking for, FOR SO LONG! One where I couldn't stop turning the pages, had to read more and know more, edge of my seat dying for answers and constantly theorizing as to whodunnit and what was going on.

So now why 4 stars? Well, the reveal. It was honestly a bit of a let down for me - but the first 90% was so awesome that I still highly recommend this book!

Thank you to St. Martins for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Stay Awake is one of the best thrillers I’ve read in a long time (and I read a lot of them)!

Stay Awake is a riveting thriller about a woman who suffers from a rare form of amnesia. Every time she goes to sleep she wakes up with no memory of what happened before she went to sleep with her mind reset to two years prior. When we first meet her, she’s just woken up in a cab with a bloody knife. She finds herself on the run, unsure of who she is and who to trust.

The story is split between 3 timelines: Liv in the present, Liv 2 years ago, and Detective Halliday, a detective investigating a murder. Lately I’ve gotten tired of the dual timeline trope but Goldin makes it work here because it helps the reader understand what it must be like to be Liv only having fragments of information and memories and trying to piece them altogether. You really feel her disorientation and confusion.

Stay Awake is packed with suspension, tension, and plenty of drama with two strong female characters you’ll be rooting for and is a must read for thriller fans.

Megan Goldin’s writing is just masterful. She really seems to know just the right ways to pull you in, keeping you hooked for chapter upon chapter.

This was a really fast paced, suspense-filled read about a girl who wakes up and has no memory of the last two years. Nothing is the same and she is alone and scared. She has writing all over her hands and arms, telling her to STAY AWAKE and a bloody knife in her purse. Meanwhile, police are investigating a murder of a man who was stabbed to death. Strange writing in blood on the window says STAY AWAKE.

While this book is told in dual POV, it almost feels like its actually told in three different point of view, considering we have the detective on the case, Darcy Halliday and we have Liv Reese, both current day and Liv two years ago. They feel like such different people and I found that aspect of the storytelling really fun.

There were a couple of things that I could see coming but I can surprisingly say that I didn’t figure out the ending ahead of time, creating this great amount of cresting suspense. This is one of those books that, when reviewing, you really don’t need to say much. You want other readers to go in knowing as little as possible. Just know that I absolutely enjoyed every minute of this book!

What I liked: an interesting premise that kept me reading until the answer presented itself.

What I didn't like: the writing felt a bit like a middle grade/YA thriller and the pacing could have been tightened a bit. The characters were a little thin, the dialogue was pretty trite, and the constant POV and tense shifts were a little disruptive to the flow of the story.

Overall, I was excited by the idea of this story more than the actual book itself.

In the beginning, I found myself trying to guess where this story might be going. As more details were revealed and I started getting a clearer picture of what was happening, I couldn’t help but empathize with Liv. I can’t imagine what it would be like to wake up every morning freaking out because I don’t know where I am or how I got there. Megan Goldin does a great job of telling Liv’s story in a way that makes you like her and want to step into the story and help. The story is written in a suspenseful manner that kept me turning page after page. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good murder mystery, alternating timelines, or unreliable narrators.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and of course Megan Goldin for making this book available to me to read and review. (Publish date: August 9, 2022)

Since the publication of the Escape Room Megan Goldin has become a must read thriller writer for me. The plot of Stay Awake is hard to describe without giving the twists away, but I will try to describe it without giving anything away. The plot opens up with a murder and written in the victims blood on the window is wake up. We then follow a woman who has amnesia every time she falls asleep and can’t remember what happened prior to falling asleep. She finds writing on her arms that mirror the writing at the murder scene and begins to question if she is in fact the murderer. The plot twists and turns over dual timelines as information about the present day murder is slowly revealed as the story progresses.

I loved the atmosphere of the book as it reminded me of the movie memento somewhat and the twists that occur as the book progresses are surprising. It is refreshing to find a novel in the thriller/mystery category that uses some unique plot devices that haven’t been retread in every other novel!

The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is some of the dialogue does feel wooden or juvenile, but for a quick and unique mystery definitely check this one out!

I had high hopes for this one since I’ve loved Megan Goldin’s previous titles, but sadly this one just didn’t work for me.

I know I’m not feeling a book when I don’t even want to pick it up. The story felt so repetitive, the memory loss was exhausting and the jumping around timeline didn’t flow. The chapters are short so it should have been a quick read, but it took me way too long to get through it.

If you want to check out this author- I would recommend The Night Swim or The Escape Room. Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

After a run of not so good thrillers and mysteries I have been on a winning streak. Stay Awake has been one of my recent thriller wins and a book that I could not put down.

Liv wakes in the back of a taxi with a bloody knife she is thoroughly confused. She gets herself together and tries to return to life but something strange is going on. Her apartment is no longer hers, her job is no longer hers, everyone thinks she went to London. She just remembers the phone ringing at her desk on a normal workday as her last memory.

The mysteries keep piling up for Liv. She also has covered her body in messages, most notably "Stay Awake". She also has notes on her person about not trusting others, or the police, and reminding her that she forgets everything when she falls asleep. Add to the mix that a body has been found with a message in blood painted on the window, Wake Up.

Why does she lose two years of her life every time she falls asleep? What has happened to her life? Could she really have killed someone before falling asleep and forgetting the whole thing? So many questions to answer and the revelation of everything was well executed.

Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio, and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this one in exchange for an honest review.

😴Book Review😴
*
Summary: 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.

Two years ago, Liv was 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, similar to the 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. But there’s someone who does know exactly what she did, and they’ll do anything to make her forget―permanently.

A complex thriller that unfolds at a breakneck speed, Stay Awake will keep you up all night.
*
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
*
My thoughts: Thank you @netgalley @stmartinspress and @megangoldinauthor for the advanced copy our August 9th! Wow what a book this was my favorite of hers yet 😍 this book kept me on the edge of my seat with the most unreliable narrator ever. Many of the twists I didn’t see coming. I really enjoyed the plot I thought it was totally unique with different perspectives of Liv and the detective. A really funny mystery and a totally unique idea. This is the perfect summer thriller in my opinion.
*
#stayawake #megangoldin #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookstagram #bookobsessed #booklover #bookaddict #bookaesthetic #bookish #bibliophile #booknerd #bookworm #booksofinstagram

Liv Reese has a great job writing for lifestyle magazine, Cultura, a hot Italian boyfriend, Marco, a stunning physician roommate/best friend, Amy, and a great apartment in Brooklyn.

Doesn’t she?

She did until she woke up this morning. Why is everyone treating her so strangely? And who is the couple who answered the door of her apartment? Weirder still: Why is there a bloody knife in her pocket, and why are her hands and arms covered in ballpoint ink admonishments to “WAKE UP!”, “STAY AWAKE!”, “TRUST NO ONE”, and more?

If all of that isn’t alarming enough, during her wanderings, she’s just seen a news report showing a murder scene where the killer scrawled “WAKE UP” in blood on the victim’s window. Is she connected to it somehow? Detectives Darcy Halliday and Jack Lavelle certainly suspect so, and now they just need to find her to ask questions.

That’s a great premise! You have an MC who’s not just lost two years of her memories but whose brain does a complete reset to her last familiar day each and every time she falls asleep. She’s confused, scared, and vulnerable to dangers she’s completely unaware of. I should feel the utmost care and concern for her! Wouldn’t anyone? So, why did I start feeling detached?

Questions are what mysteries are built on. It’s why most of us read them! However, there’s a big difference between a series of new questions that move you toward a conclusion and the same question being asked repetitively, like a child in the backseat saying, “Are we there yet?” over and over and over - only Liv’s question would be some variation of “What’s going on?”. I enjoyed it at first, then … not as much.

While I liked the story, my over-analytical brain got in the way of just going along with some things. Other than Detectives Halliday and Lavelle and those involved in the investigation, no one seems to know how to ask or answer a direct question. Everyone tells Liv that she doesn’t remember things, but no one seems to ever tell her the facts, like “Hey, you seem really confused. Let me help fill in the blanks.” Nope. Liz doesn’t ask and they don’t offer, and no one thinks to call the cops to help this clearly very confused woman.

What did work for me was the narration by Imogen Church and January LaVoy. I thought they both did a fantastic job, and listening to this while reading along on my Kindle kept me engaged in the story. The premise is intriguing, the story is good, the writing is excellent and it has a solid ending reveal, so the book has a lot going for it! Definitely more pros than cons.

For those of you considering this book, I hope that much like our MC, Liv Reese, you’ll go to sleep tonight and completely forget my review and wake up tomorrow with only memories of that last glowing one you’ve undoubtedly read before mine. There are many! I think most readers will really enjoy this book, and I know I’ll be eagerly awaiting Megan Goldin’s next one!

★★★ ½ (rounded to 3)

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley and author Megan Goldin for this digital ARC to honestly review. This will be published on August 9, 2022.

This book definitely kept me awake until the early morning hours! Liv wakes up in the middle of the night in the city in the back of a taxi. She has no idea how she got there, but she has writing all over her hands, and it’s her handwriting. Messages telling her to “stay awake”. She also finds a bloody knife in her pocket. This book was nuts! But fantastically nuts! Twists and turns you never see coming and an edge of your seat ending! Than you so much!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and Megan Goldin for allowing me to read an ARC of Stay Awake. Holey moley did this put me through a ride! Once I started this I could not put it down. This is an honestly one of the best thrillers I have read that kept me on my toes the whole time. There were a few follow up questions I have, but I can look past it! It’s a quick read and don’t forget.. stay awake!

Let's just say this book was not for me. I found it to be incredibly repetitive, which makes some sense because the main character has a rare amnesia disorder that causes her to forget the last two years of her life every time she falls asleep, but I found the middle of the book to be excessive in repeating the same scenes and conversations. In addition to this, Stay Awake had one of my biggest reading pet peeves: I figured out the "bad guy" before it was revealed. The only saving grace for this title was that the characters Goldin created were really well developed and I think others will enjoy this title more than I did. My favorite book of hers is still The Escape Room and I will pick up her next title despite not vibing with this one.

4.5 stars!

I binged this book in less than 12 hours. I could not put it down because I was so curious about all the plots and how they were going to link/play out. There were a lot of parts to the story that I didn't expect and definitely DID NOT see the ending coming at all. Some parts may have seemed extreme, but IMO it did not take away from the story at all!

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press & MacMillan Audio for advanced copies in exchange for an honest review!

😴😴😴😴 / 5

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for providing me early access to the ARC!

This was a thrilling read, and I was super intrigued from the start! I enjoyed the concept and the dual timeline and POVs, as it was interesting to follow the MC and the detectives. It was a little difficult to keep up at times, but everything is cleared up at the end, so it’s not important to try to remember all of the details. There were plenty of twists to blow your mind, and the ending was wild! Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

I can’t wait to read The Night Swim next!

A digital ARC of this book was provided to me by NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. The opinions are my own and freely given.

This book opens with Liv waking up in a taxi and the last thing she remembers is answering her phone at work. She goes to her apartment only to find she doesn't know the people that are living there, and it appears it is no longer her apartment. She discovers that since her last memory it is now 2 years later, and she has no idea what happened. She has messages written on her hand to STAY AWAKE and TRUST NO ONE. Liv has been diagnosed with Repetitive Memory Blackout of Repetitive Fugue Amnesia.
This book is broken up into chapters of Liv present day, Live 2 years ago and Detectives Darcy Halliday and Jack Lavelle in the present day. The present-day story is told in a 1-day timeline and is well marked with the time stamp. I was not confused with the way the story jumped timelines, especially with Liv forgetting everything the second she woke up.
I was hooked from the beginning, and I couldn't wait to find out what her trauma was that made her forget everything else. Oh, and did I mention, there was a murder, and the detectives are trying to find Liv through it all. I didn't want to put this down. I loved Liv, I loved the detectives, (not Krause - him I wanted to hit over the head). This is fast paced, and I would highly recommend. Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Megan Collins.

I have posted my review today (7/19/22) on the following sites:
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/884503335
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4425141343
https://www.instagram.com/kuhlreads/
https://www.librarything.com/topic/338257#n7873768

4.5
This might be one of the most unique premises for a thriller that I’ve ever come across. I honestly couldn’t stop listening as I tried to figure out what the heck was going on.

The alternating perspectives allowed the story to be fully formed and made it feel truly intense. The writing was really good and the big reveal was actually surprising. I really didn’t know where this was headed for a large majority of the read and I loved that!

I did a combo of audio and print and can recommend both! Add this to your list immediately!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for the arc & alc in Exchange for an honest review!