Stay Awake hooked me from the start! Though it seemed sort of confusing, I got my bearings and was very intrigued by the plot line. Unfortunately it ended up falling flat for me. I liked the idea of back and forth timelines and dual POV, but they seemed pretty disjointed skipping backwards like 2 days or 2 years and the detective parts were boring. I liked the short chapters and that it definitely felt creepy at times—I was craving a good, creepy thriller when I picked it up. It felt a bit too repetitive for me though— I understand why that was part of the plot with the amnesia storyline, but it felt a little drawn out. I wasn’t super shocked by the twist and left wanting more explanation at the end. Overall, this one was a bummer based on my expectations and really liking the author’s prior work THE NIGHT SWIM— I recommend it over this one.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

This book was really good! It’s a fast paced, psychological thriller that had me on the edge of my seat for most of the book and kept me guessing until the end of who the killer was.

This book comes out on August 9 and it’s one that should be added to you tbr list!

What would you do if you had lost two years of your memories? If every time you fell asleep you would wake up with no recent memories?
There were quite a few bright spots in this book. I usually don’t like unreliable narrators but I really liked Liv. She felt believable and I felt she was well developed and a character I was pushing for (even when things didn’t look good for her). I also liked the twists and turns and how information was given to us sporadically. I didn’t feel like I was waiting and waiting all the time just to get another piece of information in the mystery.
However, I felt like the detectives weren’t as well thought out. Sometimes I felt like there was just information thrown in to give them depth but it wasn’t organic. I also felt like parts got very repetitive, which isn’t surprising since Liv constantly loses her memory, but it would have been good to get info in different ways. I don’t think I want to read another sentence about how STAY AWAKE or WAKE UP was written on her hands and that’s how she realized she couldn’t fall asleep.
All in all, it was a good solid mystery thriller! Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

2.5

Stay Awake is a psychological thriller following an amnesiac named Liv, who forgets the last two years of her life and any recent memories she's gained every time she falls asleep. We're also following Detective Darcy Halliday, a young and ambitious detective, who is investigating a murder that seemingly involves Liv. The book takes place over the course of one (very, very long) day.

While initially the premise was interesting to me and kept me reading, I quickly became less and less interested in the plot and characters, who were by and large flat. Liv was constantly confused and disoriented, and although her constant goal was to gain answers, every time she was about to talk to someone who could help her, she would inexplicably escape out of some back exit and be left in the dark, which became frustrating. Her narrative was also very repetitive, as she would walk up with the same exact memories (from two years prior) and would have similar thoughts.

The detectives in this story were also pretty flat (one is young and ambitious, the other, Jack Lavelle, is a grumpy, experiences, and prefers to work alone) and I found their dialogue very, very stiff and unrealistic.

While the plot propelled me to continue reading and I planned to give this 3 stars for most of the book, the ending was really disappointing, and a lot of what happens to Liv in this book goes unexplained. In the end, of course, Liv suddenly gains her memory back in the nick of time.

If you are a fan of The Night Swim, I wouldn't deter you from reading this book, but I would lower your expectations. I will probably continue to pick Megan Goldin's books up, but this one was not it.

**Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review**

Note: I will review this book in a reading vlog that will come out on my YouTube channel on 7/31. I will also discuss this video in my July wrap up, which will be published on my channel on 8/7.

This was a well written, fast-paced thriller that kept me guessing the entire time. Everything is confusing for Liv Reese so it is for the reader as well. More confusing things keep happening and it should make everything a muddled mess but it doesn’t; it’s all introduced in a way to keep you intrigued but invested in what is going on. I loved everything about this story as I did with Night Swim, also by Megan Goldin. The only flaw from this recording is the narrator - the overacting was annoying but I learned to tune it out after a while. Highly recommended for a long weekend where you can stay up all night reading.

Liv Reese has a big problem. Because of a mental trauma, every time she falls asleep she forgets everything that has happened in the past two years. Everytime she wakes up, it is almost like "Groundhog Day: for her. All she remembers is a phone call at the office and then waking up, be it in bed, on a park bench, on a subway. Because she can't remember anything, she writes messages to herself on her hands: locations, phone numbers, stay awake!, etc. Imagine then, learning that someone has just been killed, and a message written on a window says "Wake up!" A picture posted of a woman leaving the scene is identified as Liv Reese. Who can she trust to help her when she remembers nothing? I thought that this was a pretty good book. You could feel the terror and confusion that Liv must have felt everywhere she went. It shows how many people knew her and of her condition, and how they tried to help her, even if they really didn't know how. Interesting how your brain tries to protect you from things that you just aren't capable of dealing with at the time.

Fast-paced thriller with an unreliable narrator. The dual timelines were done very well, and the main character's sense of living on panic and no sleep came through.

A little too formulaic and far-fetched for more stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my this book is great!

Liv wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or why she’s there. She looks at her hands and sees writing all over her hands and arms - Stay Awake is written many times. After she exits the taxi at her apartment she learns it isn’t her apartment anymore. What is going on? Liv can’t remember anything since she woke up and can’t remember anything from the last two years. Liv is desperate to figure out what is happening but in the meantime it looks like she’s wanted for commuting a crime she has no recollection of.

I was on the edge of my seat with this book. The Night Swim was one of my favorite books of 2020 so I had high hopes for this one - and it did not disappoint. I highly recommend this book to those looking for a psychological twisty thriller! Be on the lookout for this book August 9th! Special thanks to @netgalley and the publisher @stmartinspress for my e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Liv wakes up in a cab— and has no idea how she got there. It turns out that she has no memory of the past 2 years, and every time she falls asleep she loses her memory again. Stay Awake goes back and forth between 2 years ago and the present day.

Overall, this is a great read, but the pacing does feel a bit off. Stay Awake starts out really intriguing, but loses some steam as it plows through the meat of the story. As it wraps up, the excitement returns and it becomes a page tuner again.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED the concept of this book. The frequent stay awake messaging set a really fun spooky tone. However, the concept of memory loss means that the narrator doesn't know what's going on and therefore the reader does not know what's going on. I would of liked to see more clues given in the other POV to help me not feel as lost. Additionally, there were so many extra characters I had trouble keeping up along with piecing together the story.

✨Book Review✨
Stay Awake by Megan Goldin
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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This book was SO good. I will say, it takes a lot these days for a thriller to suck me in, and I literally don't remember the last time I stayed up too late only to keep reading, but this book had me NEEDING to read more.
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There were a lot of time adjustments to get used to, but I actually ended up loving jumping from the past to the present and back. I never quite knew who to trust and just HAD to know what was happening. Some of you might not be into the sort of unrealistic aspect of this book, but its farfetchedness did not bother me at all. If you want a thriller that will keep you turning pages, pick up this book.

Another trusted author fail. What a bummer! After loving the authors last two releases I had high hopes for this one. If not for a strong history with the author I would have dnf’d this around halfway.
The story was intriguing at first and kept me locked in til about 55%. I thought when we hit the big reveal at 40% that things would pick up. Unfortunately I just found the second half of the book a drag. The ending was lackluster and predictable.

I needed a solid ending after the repetitiveness of the majority of the plot line and again this fell flat for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Stay Awake was a fast-paced, quick read that left me wanting more - in a good and bad way. I think the market is becoming saturated with thrillers that have memory or amnesia as the center of the story/crime. While I think Goldin did great job of building suspense, I am not sure if the resolution was enough to satisfy my interests. Aspects of the story felt forced or too "trope-y" for my personal tastes. Additionally, the chapters that followed the detectives were cartoonishly procedural and didn't enhance the overall storyline.

Liv wakes up in a cab, and doesn't know where she is. The last thing she remembers is being at work, answering her phone. She goes home, only to find out she hasn't lived there in two years. Somehow, the memories of the last two years of her life are missing. All she knows is that she is in possession of a bloody knife, and she has written all over her hands and body, a habit she had as a child. Chillingly, STAY AWAKE is one of the things she has written on herself.

The novel narration is told from different narrator's, and different chapters are told in the present and from Liz's life two years in the past. I thought the pacing of the novel was well done, and while I didn't immediately see the twist, I had an inkling about the outcome.

Really enjoyed this one, I read it in less than two days, I could not put it down. Thank you to Netgalley, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Thank you so much @netgalley and @stmartinspress for allowing me the opportunity to read Stay Awake by Megan Goldin early. This book comes out August 9th. If you haven’t preordered it yet, run don’t walk!

I went into Stay Awake without knowing the synopsis and I was happy with that journey. We meet Liv as she wakes up having no idea where she is with STAY AWAKE written on her hands. She returns home only to find out it’s not her home anymore. Liv doesn’t remember the last two years of her life. If that wasn’t enough, she notices a murder on the news with STAY AWAKE written on the window. So not only does she need to figure out where the last two years of her life went, but she also needs to figure out if she’s murderer someone with cops hot on her trail.

❤️Review❤️

This was one impressive book. I loved the Night Swim, but this was so much better. It exceeded all of my expectations. I loved the short alternating perspectives and timelines. I was hooked and couldn’t let go. I was mad every time I had to put the book down. Liv is very paranoid in the book, rightfully so, and her paranoia soaked into me. I had no idea what or who to trust. Each page has me racing to read the next. The only downside to the book is that it ended and I now have to wait at least another year for another book to come out. Seriously fantastic and you don’t want to miss it!

5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#Bookstagram #BookReview #NetGalley #StMartinsPress #EBook #NewBook #2022Books #NewBookRelease #SummerReading #BeachRead #FastPaced #ThrillerBooks #SuspenseThriller #KeepMeOnMyToes #PageTurner

Liv Reese has a rare type of amnesia where she forgets everything each time she wakes up. The conditions onset was the result of a traumatic experience 2 years prior. When she stumbles upon a murder scene where a message written on a window is the same as a message written on her hands we are all left wondering what exactly has Liv forgotten? I have seen stellar reviews for this title and while I found the premise interesting, it just didn't quite work for me. It started out very strong and I liked the pacing and short chapters. I had a hard time connecting with the characters, none of them were super likable, and it felt like Liv just kept making mistake after mistake. It got repetitive between the POV shifts in the middle and I was able to guess the outcome pretty early on. This was my first book by this author but I will give her others a try. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC of this book.

This is a really unique, super creepy book that kept me furiously turning pages. Imagine having two years of memories wiped clean every time you fall asleep... Liv spends her days trying (with various degrees of success) to stay awake because falling asleep means forgetting everything--including that she's being hunted by a killer. A very enjoyable campfire read!

4.5 stars! (but rounding up to 5)

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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.

This book was such a wild ride! I read it all in one sitting because from the beginning I was absolutely hooked. This is the first book I have read by Megan Goldin, but I will definitely be going back and reading more. I LOVED finding out everything with Liv, and the whole time I was tense as I tried to figure out what exactly had happened. After reading so many predictable thrillers, this was a fantastic reprieve.

This book was unputdownable! This is Megan's best one yet. I was so invested in this story from page one. Liv was a perfect character, unreliable and believable at the same time. I felt bad for Liv one minute and then thought better of it the next. I have to admit that this had me guessing until the reveal.

Can you imagine not being able to remember the past two years of your life and not knowing who to trust or even if you can trust yourself? This was a fantastic read!

A fast paced thriller with an unreliable narrator.

Liv Reese wakes up in a taxi with no recollection of how she got there. She is dropped off at her apartment, where a stranger is now living. She cannot find her purse or her phone. She is holding a bloodied knife and has messages written all over her hands and arms: "stay awake". We soon learn that Liv was the victim of a crime two years prior, she has blocked out all memories since that date. Since then she was noted fleeing the scene of a murder, where the message stay awake was written on the window. Since Liv was at the scene of the crime, she has become the prime suspect, particularly since the writing on her hands matches the writing on the window at the scene of the crime. She must find out what happened or be charged with murder herself.

Unreliable narrator tropes are not my favorite; however, this one was different than most. Oftentimes you see the unreliable narrator as a result of drugs or alcohol, but in this case its due to trauma.