If you're looking for a fast-paced suspenseful beach read - look no further. I enjoyed Goldin's previous book and liked that this one definitely reads faster and isn't such a slow burn. It's an unreliable narrator trope - which I feel can be overdone at times but Goldin tries to put a fresh spin on her main character. There are two timelines that propel the story forward, and while I was able to eventually guess the murderer, the red herrings, plot twists and writing made it such an enjoyable ride.

An interesting read, not an absolute favorite, was not an “I can’t put this down” but drawn in enough to finish. I typically enjoy all from this author. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC opportunity!

This was for me a superb read that I honestly didn’t want to put down. I highly recommend this book.

This was my first read by Megan Goldin and I thoroughly enoyed it! Gave me Memento and Before I go to sleep vibes.

I love amnesia tropes but I think it's hard to make them original because they're already overdone. This one was entertaining enough and kept me on edge from the beginning. Liv was very likeable and there was that tension and suspense of what happened and what will happen to her that stayed all throughout the story which I really like and is one of the reasons I read thrillers! I didn't think the result was surprising or too twisty and I would have liked a bit more depth to the motive, but all in all, it was a solid, fun, fast paced thriller!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy. I was excited to read this book as I really enjoyed Night Swim. Unfortunately, this book is nowhere near as good. The repetitive fugue state of the main character is interesting, but the characters in general weren’t very well developed, there were a couple of unnecessary plot lines (why the Q art exhibit thing???), and I knew who the killer was the second he was introduced in the story. Also, the ending fell so flat! All of this build up for over 300 pages and then the ending happened super quickly and the reader is never even given a motive for the original double murder! Overall, I will continue to pick up Goldin’s books, but this one was a little frustrating.

I could only make it barely past 50% in this book.

Liv wakes up every day not remembering who she is, and finds messages of “Stay Awake” written on her arms. She sees a news story of a murder with the same message written in blood on the window and Liv finds a bloody knife in her possession. The story alternates between past and the present, where she spends the day trying to piece together clues to your identity only to do it all over again tomorrow.

The amnesia premise eis a goo one if executed well.

BUT….
- Wait? Liv only writes ‘Stay awake” and other cryptic messages on her arm. If she knows enough to remind herself to write notes to herself WHY did she not write something more helpful?

- The detectives sound cartoonish and it doesn’t help that the author gives them dialogue that doesn’t remotely sound like anyone actually speaks, especially seasoned detectives. Thank you <b>Captain Obvious </b>

- The writing is just…<i>not good.</i>

- The story was so repetitive I found myself wishing someone would kill Liv just to shut her up. Actually, everyone here continually repeats themselves.

- There are huge gaping plot holes.

Ultimately this was not for me!

This is the second novel I have read by Megan Goldin, and it is by far my favorite! Momento is one of my favorite movies, and while at first I didn’t like reading a similar book, the story kept me interested and I could not put it down. I quickly got over the comparison of the movie to this book and started to really enjoy the book. If anything, my biggest complaint is that I wish it was a little longer - I did not want it to end!

I definitely recommend this book!

Hmm… I liked the book but didn’t love it. I felt the main character’s amnesia got repetitive and there was quite a bit that I felt was left out during the “black outs.” I did think the ending was a twist as I swore I knew who it was and I was wrong. But this book took me longer to read than usual as I just wasn’t super motivated or engaged to get it done. Solid 3 stars.

3.5 stars.

I buddy read this in a GR group and we all thought it started out so interesting and gripping! Poor woman Liv cannot remember how she ended up in this taxi, why she being dropped off at this apartment. She can only remember answering the phone at work 2 years ago. Hmmm!!!! Well, this got a bit repetitive, for obvious reasons, but kept pulling in new information so I was still hooked. For me, what didn't work was some glaring plot holes with the timeline and the amnesia/insomnia and the actual culprit. Because they kind of came out of left field. Plenty of red herrings but not a whole lot to lead the reader to the murderer. So it lost its spark for me by the end but I still enjoyed it. And I am hoping to finally read The Night Swim soon!

LOVED IT!!! Megan Goldin definitely knows how to write a heck of a thriller and I am never disappointed. I am not spoiling about any content within the book, you'll have to read it for yourself.

Highly recommended!

Thanks to Netgalley, Megan Goldin and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 8/9/22

This is my third novel by Megan Goldin and I really enjoy her writing. To date, I think my favorite of her books is still Escape Room, I really liked the twists. Stay Awake is based on a really interesting concept (which I won’t spoil because figuring that one out is half the fun) The first half off the book your trying to figure out what's going on with Liv and the second half you know what the story is with Liv BUT you still don't know what happened! The events unfold from two perspectives and also move from two years ago to the present day. If you're not paying attention you can get a little lost but the chapter date stamps help. Overall I really enjoyed the story as it went, but I had my suspicions on who the killer was at about 75% through, and while it's fun to guess right, I also like being shocked by an ending, so it felt a little anticlimactic. Nevertheless, I would 100% recommend this to fans of thrillers, especially if you're looking for a fresh twist.

I loved Megan Goldin's Night Swim, so I was highly anticipating Stay Awake and was so excited when I received a review copy. Sadly, while this book has been receiving a lot of praise and great reviews, it just did not work for me.

Stay Awake follows main character Liv who loses her memory every time she falls asleep. We also have the point of view of the police detective trying to solve a murder that Liv seems to be connected with. The story is told between 2 timelines and progressively helps the reader understand more of Liv's background and her current predicament.

This book was a fast read and I completed it in 2 sittings. I was curious and anxious to get to the end to officially discover the whodunnit and the why, which I think is where my greatest disappointment comes from. *This next section contains spoilers* In the time point 2 years prior (the time point prior to the murder the detective is investigating), there is a traumatic event that Liv experiences. When we get to the end of the novel, there are threads relating to this initial trauma and timeline that left unconnected. For instance, we do not learn the motivations behind this event. While the motivations can likely be assumed, there are also periphery events that are never explained. Is the whodunnit trying to mess with Liv, trying to scare her (and if so, why), trying to create a red herring or were these events completely unconnected. We never learn it. This was a major hole to me and something that detracted from my overall enjoyment of the novel. Had this hole been filled (which when it goes to publishing, it very well could be), this read would have likely been an either 3 or 4 star read for me. But as is, I struggle to call it good with this piece missing.

Another drawback was that it was very repetitive. This can be partially explained by the main character's memory lapses, but for the reader, it still became a bit tiresome and redundant and I believe the author could have found a workaround to cut down on this burden, maybe by not writing it in first person.

Lastly, something with the writing style in this novel was not connecting with me. It often felt choppy and informal when I wanted smooth and flowing.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

While this book as I read it didn't work for me, were the plot hole fixed, I would be open to rereading and re-evaluating this novel. It had great potential and I was intrigued, I just didn't feel like I could overlook that missing motivation.

This is a story about a girl who really needs to get some sleep.

I loved the authors first, so I was delighted to receive an audio/eArc of this one- and I enjoyed it even more than anticipated! The premise was incredibly unnerving- imagine forgetting everything everytime you fell asleep? And it was *so* well executed that I never found myself unable to believe the narrative. I was suspicious of everyone, and convinced I knew what was going to happen- but I ended up totally surprised by the end. I really hope to see this made into a movie- it’s like something between Momento & Before I Go to Sleep, both of which I loved.

Thank you so much @netgalley @stmartinspress & @macmillan.audio for the e & audio arcs!

STAY AWAKE
by Megan Goldin
Release date: 08/09/2022

Liv wakes up in a cab with a message in her hand. Stay. Awake. She tried to go to her apartment, but someone else lives there. Her cat is gone. The only person who does know her is the bartender at a nightclub. Somehow she can’t remember the last two years of her life, she loses her memory due to trauma and is instantly back 2 years ago - with no memory of the days prior. this is a for-real coping mechanism, see def below. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Dissociative amnesia is amnesia (memory loss) caused by trauma or stress, resulting in an inability to recall important personal information. People have gaps in their memory, which may span a few minutes to decades.

So Darcy Halliday is one badass detective. She did several combat tours in Iraq and worked he way up the ranks to detective pretty fast. You will love her. I hope there are more books with this character in the future. And please make sure Jack Lavelle is there, he is a def a favorite too. They just made the book kick more ass. 🙌🏼
They’re called to an apartment with a man who’s been murdered, the killer used his blood to write a message on the wall.
The messages match one on Liz’s hand. (There are a few different messages ). She uses those messages to jar her memory.
It’s a crazy, fast-paced, page-turning. Thriller ride. I devoured this book
5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟S҉҉T҉҉A҉҉R҉҉S҉҉


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I love Megan Goldwins writing. She does a great job at short, fast paced chapters that keep the reader interested and make it easy to fly through one of her books. While this one jumped a bit too much for my taste, it was well written and the main character was made to be understood. I guessed the ending twist about halfway through the book, but I still enjoyed reading it to see how it played out to the end. This was a solid fast paced thriller. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Megan Goldin delivers again.

STAY AWAKE opens with Liv waking up in the back of a taxi, with no idea where she is or how she got there. She buzzes her apartment -- can't find her keys -- just to find an irate stranger who claims to live there now. And then when she slips her hand into her pocket, she finds a wad of cash and a t-shirt wrapped around a bloodstained knife.

Perspective switches between Liv in the present day, homicide Detective Halliday, and Liv two years ago.

The plot's more developed than I let on above, but I don't want to give too much away. Suffice it to say, I hit the halfway point and still wasn't quite sure where the story was going -- a true sign of a good mystery/thriller. Not to mention this book managed to hold my attention when that was a tall order.

Very excited for whatever Goldin writes next, and for friends to get to enjoy this one too.

This book was a compelling and fast paced read but the jumping timeline and unreliable narration made it difficult to keep track of where we were in the story. I enjoyed this book as I read it but afterwards felt like most of the characters were two dimensional (name three character traits of Marco, Amy, Halliday, etc...hell, even Liv, our main character). The suspense is top notch and kept me reading, even if it wasn't propelled by my love of the characters. Another issue with the book is that the chapters with Halliday and Lavelle started as if from Halliday's perspective but would randomly jump to Lavelle's, and vice versa. It's confusing and poor editing.

My biggest issue with the book is that the motive for the killer is never revealed. I guessed the killer at 70% into the kindle edition and can guess at their motives but their motive for stalking Liv prior to the murders is never explained. Where they obsessed with her? Framing her? Making her look crazy? I don't necessarily appreciate when authors (or movies) have our villain monologue about their motives and decisions, but some clarification here would have been nice. Especially as it could have been included in the final chapters about the investigation. I recommend the book to anyone looking for a fun beach read, but not a book I loved.

Wow! A fast-paced thriller that had me hooked right from the start. Liv wakes up in a park. Not sure how she got there, she heads to her apartment only to find that it is now occupied by a couple she doesn’t know. As she traces the places and people that are in her life, she finds out that she can’t remember anything that has happened in the past two years. Liv finds messages written on her body that tell her that when she sleeps she forgets. Constantly struggling with the reset of her memory, Liv puts the pieces of her life together. But there’s another mystery, the same night that Liv slept in that park, a murder happened and the lead suspect was a woman that looked just like Liv. This book is good! I loved the suspenseful journey of Liv trying to figure out what has happened to her coupled with the slower burn of the flashbacks that show what led up to Liv waking up in the park. The twists kept me on pins and needles. The characters are written well and in a way that you can’t help but feel for each one of them. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy for an honest review.

Note: This was a really difficult review to write because it’s almost impossible not to spoil things!

I was immediately sucked in to this amnesia-laden story! I read it in two days!! It was kind of like 50 First Dates meets a police procedural, and add a side of creepy stalking!

Can you imagine waking up and not remembering anything about your recent life? It would be terrifying! I could feel Liv’s fear and paranoia throughout the whole book.

And can you imagine thinking that you’d possibly murdered someone before you fell asleep? How could you possibly prove that you hadn’t if you have no memory?

Did Liv kill someone? Or was it someone else? It was impossible to know for sure until close to the end! I loved the guessing game.

I have enjoyed all of Goldin’s books, thus far. I can’t wait for what she comes up with next!

Thanks to Netgalley, Macmillan publishing and Megan Goldin for this ARC.. This was a thriller that was hard to put down..Back and forth timelines, which actually are pretty easy to decipher the going back and forth, not like other books that you have to go back pages or chapters to remember. .I loved all the storylines, and the characters within. This was a “great ride” of a story . 5 stars.