Liv Reese must stay awake or she forgets everything that happened.

She is really in a dilemma when she wakes up this time.

She has messages all over her hands and arms with warnings about being safe.

The worst thing about these messages is that someone wrote one of messages in blood on the window of a room where a man was murdered.

Liv tries to remember where she has been, and when she returns to work why her office looks totally different and why they welcomed her back.

We follow Liv two years before and present day.

Present day is when the detectives find her fingerprints on a wine bottle left at the murder scene.

Liv has no clue how or why she was there, why she has a stash of money in her pocket, or where her purse or phone are.

She also doesn't know why anything isn't the same - especially her boyfriend....where is he and why is someone else in her apartment she lived in for years?

We follow the investigation, the search for Liv, and Liv's nightmare of a her life.

She also has a stalker adding to her terror and memory loss.

STAY AWAKE will keep you glued to the pages.

It is a thriller you will not want to miss.

It keeps getting better and better as you turn the pages with a great ending.

Don't miss this one. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

Liv is working in NYC at a magazine. Lives with her best friend. They both have serious boyfriends when her friend and boyfriend end up murdered. Liv is injured. It is very traumatic so she goes to London for two years but when she comes back it is a cat and mouse game with the killer. It is a page turner. Packed with twists and turns.
#stayawake #megangoldin #netgalley

I recently read Megan Goldin's The Night Swim and really enjoyed it and her writing style so I was very excited to get this ARC. I read this book in one day. It was fast-paced with a very intriguing story. I was quickly drawn into Liv's world and needed to know the truth of everything. That being said, I thought this was a great book, however, the ending fell a little flat for me. It came together a little too quickly and cleanly wrapped up in a little bow. I needed a little bit more. Also, I will preface this with the fact that I read a lot of thrillers, but I figured it out about halfway through. I still very much enjoyed the ride and would definitely recommend it. Giving four stars simply because of my thoughts on the ending. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me the opportunity to read the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis:
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.

Review: Told from the POV of Liv and the Detective investigating the case, I thought this was a fun and suspenseful read.

Fifty First Dates in the form of a thriller, this unique novel kept me guessing the entire way through. Goldin even had me questioning parts of the plot I assumed to be facts.

The premise of the novel, is a young women with trauma based amnesia finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. While a suspect, Liv, even finds herself second guessing her own innocence but how does one prove their innocence while also suffering recurring amnesia?

This was my first Megan Goldin novel, and certainly will not be my last!

Note: I received this ARC from Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Press in return for an honest review.
Review date: 7/8/2022

Thank you so much to Net Galley, the publisher, and author for providing this book for my honest review. Wow! This was such a great book full of twists and turns and surprises. I never saw anything coming and was kept guessing throughout the book. This book is highly entertaining. I love the multiple perspectives and how the reader is kept guessing on who the bad guy truly is. The main character can’t remember anything and what she does is confusing and different from what others around her is saying. She has no idea what is going on and the reader doesn’t until it all comes together in the end. I recommend going in to this book without reading too much of what it’s about. I did and it was so enjoyable to discover everything as I read it. This was highly entertaining and such an interesting premise. If you love unreliable main characters and a bit of a slow burn sort of a thriller then this one is for you! I can’t wait for this book to be released on August 9. I will be buying this for sure. Thank you again to Net Galley, the publisher, and author for providing this book for my review.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin was one of the best thrillers I have read in a really long time. I was super into this story and count not put it down!

Publication Date: August 9, 2022

Synopsis:
Liv Reese wakes up in a cab with a bloody knife in her pocket. Her apartment is no longer hers and her friends and boyfriend refuse to answer her. Left with scribbled messages all over her hands and arms, the only thing that Liv understands is that she must STAY AWAKE

Liv does not know what is happening. The last thing she remembers is working for a successful magazine as a top writer. But Liv soon realizes that this memory was over two years ago and she cannot remember anything that has happened since.

When a man is found murdered and the words similar to those on her arm are smeared on the window of his apartment (in his own blood) Liv realizes she is the only murder suspect. What can she do with no memory and nobody to help her?

Thoughts:
- I was left guessing what was happening. I had no clue how this one was going to end.
-A slow burn but the story is so interesting, I was so engrossed in Liv's story from her past and present
-Loved the ending

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Five Bright Stars for Stay Awake by Megan Goldin. A must read of the summer!

I loved this one. Full of suspense and multiple potential bad guys that were written in a way to where I truly wasn't sure who was The One behind it until the very end. I wasn't even 100% if the MC was even innocent. Worth the read, highly unputdownable.

Liv Reese’s last memory is over two years ago. She last remembers answering her phone at Cultura magazine on a hot summer day. Now, her hands are covered in writing saying Stay Awake, Don’t trust anyone, and more. Why is there writing all over her hands and why does she forget everything every time she falls asleep? Why does she have a bloody knife?

Liv sees the news and the cops are looking for her because a man was murdered. On the window near where the man was murdered, it says “Stay Awake” in blood. Did she write this? Did she murder this man? Liv truly doesn’t know. What’s worse is that she forgets the cops are looking for her every time she falls asleep.

Liv is an unreliable narrator but is immediately likable. Megan Goldin had me drawn in from the beginning. My jaw dropped several times as the details unfolded. I enjoyed the dual timeline with flashbacks to two years ago right around the time Liv lost her memory. The present timeline hops back and forth between Liv and detectives Darcy Halliday and Jack Lavelle trying to solve the murder of the man in the apartment. Sometimes in books, I have a hard time following multiple storylines, but Goldin did such an excellent job writing each point of view I was not confused a bit. This was not my first book by Goldin and it certainly won’t be my last. She truly has a talent for writing fast-paced thrillers. You will stay awake to finish it!

As the result of a major trauma a couple of years earlier, Liv Reese suffers from a severe type of amnesia, which causes her to forget everything that has happened in the past two years. The action begins when Liv wakens suddenly in the back of a taxi — without knowing where she is or how she got there — with a bloody knife in her pocket, a roll of cash, but no cell phone or purse. Then, she discovers that she is wanted by the police as the prime suspect in a murder investigation.

Alternate narratives make up the novel: one which details events from the last two years, which are the last that Liv can remember, and the other which details events in the present (which, in turn, alternates from Liz’s perspective to that of the detectives assigned to the murder case). Megan Goldin is able to juggle these multiple perspectives and timelines very aptly and in so doing creates a super suspenseful read.

There are plenty of twists and turns (only one of which I really saw coming) and a multitude of red herrings that keeps the reader turning pages. Having a sort of mini cliffhanger at the end of many chapters definitely adds to the fast pace of this novel. The writing is great, the characters are interesting, and the plot — albeit an intricate one — is well-developed. All in all, this was a highly engrossing thriller and a great read.

Stay Awake follows Liv as she wakes up with no memory and strange messages written on her hands. Liv is thrust into a world she doesn’t remember and a significant portion of her memory missing as she tries to navigate a vastly different world than she remembers all while on the run attempting to prove she’s not responsible for a crime she doesn’t remember committing.

Stay Awake is told from two perspectives, Liv and a detective Halliday. These two perspectives are easily the best aspect of the novel. Liv’s chapters are told from the first person, while Halliday’s chapters are told from the third person. Liv’s chapters are almost chaotic with a hint of stream of consciousness as Liv tries to navigate her present with out of date information. Halliday’s chapters mimic a police procedural as her and her partner investigate a murder. These vastly different perspectives offer readers different views of the same story while ratcheting up the tension.

Despite Goldin’s switching narrator perspective, the resolution of the mystery quickly became obvious. The climax lacked tension and its resolution was eye roll worthy.

Stay Awake’s root idea is a good one, however the nature of the story and its resolution is obvious meaning the tension gained from the unreliable narrator fizzles out quickly.

Overall, Stay Awake has an interesting enough premise with well written and alternating perspectives but falls flat with its obvious resolution.

Liv wakes up disoriented in the back of a cab and can’t remember how she got there. When she tries to get into her apartment, she learns that she and her roommate, Amy, no longer live there. Her boyfriend, Marco, isn’t answering his phone. Even more distressing, Liv finds a bloody knife in her cardigan pocket and strange writing all over her hands and wrists – messages stressing the importance of staying awake and not trusting anyone. As Liv tries to sort out what is going on, she continuously loses her memory each time she falls asleep and wakes up believing it is two years ago. Moving frantically through New York City, she begins to unravel the missing years of her life and realizes that she may be in great danger.

The city is in distress over a recent murder by stabbing. The words “STAY AWAKE” were written with the victim’s blood on the window and a woman is seen leaving the crime screen late at night. Detectives Halliday and Lavelle are called to the crime scene and begin to realize the situation is much more complex than it seemed at first glance.

The story was told from the point of view of Liv (past and present) and Detective Halliday (present). Poor Liv! I felt so bad for her the entire book. What a horrible and scary thing to be going through! I really enjoyed the chapters from Liv’s point of view, especially the chapters that took place in the past so we could get to know her in a less frantic environment. Typically, I do not enjoy police procedurals but the author wrote the chapters from Halliday’s perspective in a way that was still suspenseful and entertaining. Halliday’s character came across as very smart, open minded, and fair which was very refreshing. She was open to any and all possibilities which I think is rare when something is written from a detective’s point of view.

I really enjoyed this book! It was fast-paced and kept me interested the entire time. I would have loved one more chapter from Liv’s perspective to wrap things up and check-in on how she was feeling but that’s me being picky! I can’t wait to see what Megan Goldin writes next! Since reading The Escape Room, she will always be on my must-read list.

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

Positives: I loved the premise, and the pacing. I could NOT put this book down!

Opportunities: there were some questions that never did get answered, but weren’t intentional cliff-hangers. If those had gotten wrapped up this would have been an immaculate story.

This had me racing through it! I couldn’t stop because i had to know what was happening! I actually like an unreliable narrator so it was fun to be as puzzled as she was!

I did figure out who was behind it or had a suspicion but the others were a bit surprising. I really enjoyed figuring things with out with our MC and i really liked the detective aspects/pov as well.

I did think that the amnesia bits did seem to get a bit repetitive at times but there was always a bit more added on for clues too.

Great story tho!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! After reading Goldins “Night Swim” and really enjoying it I was super excited to read “Stay Awake” and it did not disappoint. The first 85 percent of this book I was just flying through it. I needed to know what was going to happen next. I was convinced this was going to be one of my favorite thrillers if not my favorite of all time. I have seen a few critiques that the book was repetitive and I can see that but think it works well with the story and you really get a sense of what Liv is going through and her constant confusion. Unfortunately, I did find the ending to be a little lack luster and was hoping for a little more. Overall, I did really love this book and will continue to pickup anything Goldin puts out.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin really reminded me of the movie Memento with a twist. Amnesia books can be hit or miss for me, but the fast paced nature and snippets of Liv's life that we got really worked well for me here. I don't necessarily think that the plot of this novel was new, but I think the way the author told it really worked here.

Every time Liv falls asleep she is taken back to two years ago, not remembering anything that has happened. She writes cryptic messages on herself to remind her of snippets she learns. A thriller has to keep me turning pages and reading and this book really did that. I wanted to find out all that had happened and work out who did what.

I enjoyed that there was two main points of view, Liv and Halliday. Liv was completely unreliable, and then you had the steady Detective Halliday. I can see Halliday becoming a recurring character in a detective series! I really found the thriller aspect and pacing so good in this book. I found the author built suspense so well, giving us just the right amount of stories and clues to progress through the story. The ending was unexpected for me (ie: I didn't guess it totally), but it also didn't really surprise me. The author gave a lot of possible red herrings, but I liked how things were pieced together. If I did have a complaint it would be that there were many suspects introduced and no tying up of those storylines. It didn't detract from the story for me though.

I thought the Night Swim by Megan Goldin was great, and this one was just as good to me. I would recommend it for lovers of thrillers that keep you on a roller coaster the whole way! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.

With this premise, this book could have been terrible; however, the writing is superb. Definitely one you won’t want to put down.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me an early copy of this book.

I did also receive an audiobook which I listened to over reading the book physically, and I would recommend doing that!

It was honestly a creepy thriller although a bit unrealistic I was thoroughly entertained.
The only thing I was a bit bothered by was when the main character Liv kept waking up and was continuously astonished by the writings on her hands and arms telling her to STAY AWAKE! Although this was fine in the first few chapters it got awfully repetitive.

The suspense was fun to read, and i genuinely enjoyed this book!

Liv wakes up in the back of a taxi with writing all over her hands and arms, and no memory of why or how she got there. Her purse and cellphone are missing, and someone else is living in her apartment. To cap off a really bad night, she finds a blood-stained knife in her pocket. Stay Awake is a page-turning suspense novel that switches from the past to the present, and from Liv to a pair of police detectives. It's a perfect beach read that will keep you turning the pages. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.

Thank you St Martins Press for this ARC if Megan Goldin’s upcoming release! I have enjoyed her previous books, so had to read this one. It was a very interesting premise, having the MC memory reset to 2 years back every time she fell asleep. I liked the dual timeline, which turned into 3 different timelines. I also thought having the detective as a narrator was perfect for this book and filled in so many gaps for the reader as Liv is such an unreliable narrator. This one kept me guessing and trying to put together pieces until the end. I truly did not predict how this would turn out!