Stay Awake is another strong and captivating thriller by Megan Goldin.

In Stay Awake, Liv wakes up only to discover two years of her life have gone by and she has no memory of them. The only message she finds for herself is to "stay awake." She finds herself on the run for a murder she has no memory of committing and every time she falls asleep, she forgets the past two years again.

I found this to be another strong thriller like Goldin's previous works. It kept me guessing until the end, and I read it in one, maybe two sittings. It's hard to write a review free of spoilers with this one, but I can safely say this book did not disappoint and was a fun ride from start to finish.

Liv wakes up in the back of a taxi with no recollection of what happened. When she gets home, she finds another couple living in her apartment, and finds out she can’t recall the entire last two years. Two years ago, she was living with her best friend Amy, dating Marco and loving her job. When a murder is broadcast on the local news, Liv is terrified to see that the writing on the wall is the same as what she has written all over her hands. What happened last night and why can’t she remember anything?

Escape Room by Megan Goldin was one of my very first physical arcs, and was a 5 star book for me. Since then, any Megan Goldin book is one I need to read asap. This semi 50 first dates synopsis just made me want to read it that much more. I really enjoyed the dual timeline in this story. Current day and two years ago. I was on the edge of my seat wondering what happened that makes Liv forget everything when she goes to sleep. This book was twisty and kept me wondering what was going to happen. I did a mix of the e-galley and audiobook on this one, and the audio was great!

This book is brilliantly crafted! Every time I thought I could trust someone or had figured something out, I was second-guessing myself a few pages later. It would have been easy to confuse the reader with this plot but it's so wonderfully written, the reader is taken along for the ride with ease. The NYC setting was vibrant but also evocative, especially with the bar called Nocturnal. Perfect! Definitely a captivating read that kept me awake for more than one night. Except the night I had to put it down early because I thought something intense was about to happen. It's that good.. The Night Swim by Goldin was a favourite and I clearly remembering reading that in the dark instead of sleeping. I will read anything she writes now!!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I’ve been a big Megan Goldin fan for awhile and this book is exactly why I love her writing. Stay Awake was such a fast paced addictive read! I loved the alternating point of views between Liv Reese and Defective Halladay. Liv’s amnesia made her an unreliable narrator because she forgets everything every time she falls asleep. I also liked when they alternated between a few days ago and the present. Goldin really knows how to craft a story that keeps me on the edge of my seat! I binged this in just about a day because I couldn’t stop listening. I really enjoyed the narrators. I can’t for more Megan Goldin books.

I will update with the link when I share to my bookstagram account.

Finished a 5⭐️ thriller this morning while drinking a hot coffee from my thriller mug ❤️

I read The Night Swim by @megangoldinauthor last fall in record so I was super excited to get an ARC of her upcoming book, Stay Awake. I have to admit, unreliable narrators are not usually my jam but she managed to do it in a way that I LOVED! Liv was such an interesting character and trying to figure out what was going on alongside her was perfect. Liv’s amnesia gave a fresh perspective on the unreliable narrator that worked. I loved how the story unfolded while alternating between Liv in the present, Detective Halliday, and Liv two years before.

Bonus points because the book is set in NYC which is one of my favourite places to visit and read about 🗽

Thank you to Netgalley, Megan Goldin, and St. Martin’s Press for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Stay Awake comes out August 9th and if you didn’t already plan on picking it up, you better put this one on your TBR asap

Thank you @netgalley & @stmartinspress for an early copy of this book! It publishes on August 9th.
 
Alright guys, this book is Fifty First Dates meets Memento haha. It was anxiety-inducing, mysterious, and fast-paced. For the first half I was like, “WTF IS GOING ON?” But by the second half, I was able to pull most of the pieces together. I was addicted to solving the puzzle throughout the entire read.
 
MC, Liv has a form of amnesia that makes her forget everything from the past 2 years every time she falls asleep. That was a little outlandish, but it certainly kept things interesting. The story was told in 2 timelines (two years prior and present day), as well as multiple POVs (Past Liv, present Liv, and the detective solving the current murder case, Darcy Halliday). This did cause some confusion at times, but it also kept me laser-focused so that I didn’t miss anything.
 
The last third of the book felt a bit rushed/kind of like an information dump. That said, I wasn’t mad about the ending. It made sense and it worked for the most part despite wrapping up maybe a bit too neatly.

All in all, I would recommend this book, but come in with an open mind because it isn’t exactly realistic. I still could hardly put it down and think it was a fun, suspenseful read for those who enjoy an intricate murder mystery.

You will stay awake until you finish this fast paced thriller!!

I have read Megan Goldin's books before and love them for their interesting characters, fascinating plots and unexpected twists. This book has all of them but the tone is different from her other books!!

I found the characters interesting and compelling!! The story is told in multiple timelines, and Goldin manages to juggle all of them and create a cohesive story that is unique and thrilling. You need to pay close attention. Each chapter gives us a little more knowledge than the last…until the puzzle is complete.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read. Expected Publication Date: 8/9/22.

2.5 stars

i mean, it was fine? it's kind of hard for me to have many opinions on this book, mostly because the ending was so terrible. i like the idea of amnesia in theory, but god was it frustrating to read about liv having the same realizations over and over again. i get it -- she has amnesia, and she forgets everything, which means she has to learn everything all over again, but do you really have to subject me to that every time she wakes up? and the plot twist was so strange, but not because it's an unexpected conclusion -- it was just so mundane? it's the kind of plot twist that's been done over and over again, and if i knew the plot was going to end up being this cliché, i probably would have called it from the beginning. but hey: at least now i know not to trust men.

thanks to st. martin's press & netgalley for the arc!

I really enjoyed reading this thriller. I rooted for the protagonist and found the premise to be a unique take on the Groundhog Day trope. I did think the antagonist's motivations were not entirely clear by the end of the story, but that did not disrupt my enjoyment of the story. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys suspense novels, especially those with unreliable narrators and flashbacks.

Liv Reese wakes up in a taxi and has no idea how she got there. When she reaches for her phone she finds a bloody knife in its place. Her hands and arms are full of messages she's written to herself. One in particular reads "STAY AWAKE!" Two years ago she was living with her best friend, dating a new guy and had the job of her dreams. Now she's lost and confused with the city looking nothing like she remembers. When she sees a newscast announcing a murder with a message found a the scene similar to the ones written on her body; she's afraid she may have done something she doesn't remember. She begins to look for answers.

This is story is a story about memory and murder that will keep you on the edge of your seat. What I loved most about this story was that it kept me guessing the entire time. The dual timelines and multiple point of views were flawless, giving the reader just enough to want to keep reading. It reminded me a bit of 50 First Dates meets Memento. I have read all of Megan Goldin's work and she just keeps getting better and better with each story she writes. You won't want to miss this one!

Once Again, Megan Goldin does not disappoint. In this fast paced psychological thriller one woman fights to stay awake after waking to a changed world. This book had me fighting to stay awake to find out who did it. Having been born and raised in New York, I enjoyed reading about places that I am familer with. Liv wakes up in a cab and finds the world has moved on without her. She soon learns that she can trust no one. I found the pacing and storyline line to be something new and not often found in books. A few characters are thrown in to confuse both Liv and the readers. I was cheering for her throughout the whole story. Highly enjoyed and recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a free copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Stay Awake is written by the author of Night Swim, a thriller that I really enjoyed back in 2020.

I listened to the audio of Stay Awake and felt like it was a bingeable thriller. It has an unreliable female narrator but not in the typical way we have all come to expect.

In Stay Awake, every time our our main character, Liv, falls asleep, she wakes up and can't remember the last two years of her life. Talk about confusing and paranoia inducing.

While I did think the first 40-ish% got a little repetitive - I mean, she can't remember anything so of course the same things are going to get repeated quite a bit - I still think it was worth it for how everything unfolds at the end.

Very hard for me to rate this one - the beginning took a while for me to get into it and I found myself not picking it back up when I put this book down. It’s a rough start - lots of jumping around from flashbacks to alternative character POV and obviously a MC Liv who remembers nothing recent - which all adds up to a disorienting start. Of course it is likely on purpose that the author did that but it makes it hard to get into the book and want to read it. BUT then, it really start getting super fast paced and it’s like you can’t put it down and want to know what is going on and… well. It is the whole all is well that ends well, so I am glad I kept at this one and overall I’d say it was a good fast paced thrill ride with a rocky start.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the review copy!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced audio book in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Liv Reese wakes up in a cab with no memory of where she is and her arms and hands covered in messages saying to stay awake. She is missing the last two years of her life. The story goes back and forth between now and two years ago as we discover why Liv has an unusual form of amnesia.

Enjoyable thriller.

Excellent narration by Imogen Church and January LaVoy.

I’m a little confused by this book, I’m surprised it was written by the same author of The Night Swim which I thoroughly enjoyed. Stay Awake sounded right up my alley and the description of it being similar to the film Memento piqued my interest. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into this book and the writing was a tad clunky for my liking.

I’ve seen many positive reviews so if the synopsis intrigues you, certainly give it a try.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fabulous mystery. Throughout much of the story you have no idea what is going on. Everything unfolded for me at the pace the author intended and I thought the ending was great. I loved the way it all came together.

The characters in this book were well built. I particularly loved Darcy and would love to see this turn into her series.

I have enjoyed Megan Goldin's writing in the past and look forward to reading whatever she comes out with next.

4.5 star - Almost perfect.

A unique premise is harder to find as more thrillers are pumped into the market, but Stay Awake was one that actually seemed to try something different. This entire story - as do most thrillers - needs the reader to completely set aside the disbelief that someone who forgets everything they’ve done over the last two years when they fall asleep could live a functional life alone. Let alone travel overseas and manage to snag a New York apartment in the midst of all this. But if you can swallow that outrageous setup, it’s an incredibly interesting way to create an unreliable narrator that doesn’t rely on drugs or alcohol. Liv is not some suburban wine mom suspicious of a cheating husband - she’s an incredibly exhausted woman whose disorientation is believable and lack of sleep is entirely relatable.

A few chapters into this book, I thought it could be a rare 4-star thriller for me. It drops Liv directly into the action as she awakes with no memory in a cab, in the sprawling landscape of NYC. It’s the perfect setup for the kind of anxiety-inducing plot points I come to this genre for, and carried that momentum forward about halfway through the book. However, the story eventually falls into this cycle of Liv constantly running into people in her old life and hearing them explain the same thing to her ad nauseum. Coupled with the fact that we get flashbacks to her life two years ago anyways, these interludes seemed completely pointless and just dragged the narrative along.

While I don’t think the dual timelines worked here effectively, I do think the second POV from a detective working a murder case Liv is the number suspect of did. This was the right choice in giving Liv’s backstory in a way that didn’t seem info-dumpy, as we had a character that could actually do this investigation themselves. However, it continued to highlight the fact that there were just too many storylines telling the exact same story.

What Stay Awake delivers with its refreshing premise, falters a bit in executing this setup in a way that doesn’t feel like a repetitive loop of the same disorienting events. I would still recommend this for the premise alone, even if the twists and turns of the novel weren’t remarkable and the page count could have been condensed. It was enough to make me interested in Megan Goldin’s other releases, to see if she has a history of these kind of out-of-the box thriller pitches.

Thank you to the publisher St. Martin's Press for providing an e-ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

A big thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Megan Goldin for an ARC of this book.
Liv wakes up in the back of a cab not remembering anything except her last memory: her desk phone ringing and her answering it. Now she's covered her hands and arms in notes, including one that says STAY AWAKE. Unraveling the meaning of all the writing, and discovering why she can't remember anything leads her down a dangerous, and potentially deadly, path.
In this book, we follow Liv, trying to figure out who she is and what's going on, and a detective pair who are investigating a murder. Where their paths cross and how they interconnect is such a wild ride that will keep you entertained from start to finish. I really enjoyed Megan Goldin's writing style and the multi-POV , multi-year timeline set up. I had an inkling of who was involved in what, but it was such a good page turner, I read it in one sitting. Parts of this one definitely gave me an unsettling feeling, especially about being watched, and the conclusion was solid. My only complaint is that the ending did feel a bit too neatly wrapped up, and a tad rushed, but still worked within the plot, and it did leave me wondering if it was meant to be a little open ended.
The Night Swim was one of my favorite books of last year, and (so far) this one will probably be on my favorite's list this year too. Will continue to pick up anything and everything by Megan Goldin.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Whenever Liv Reese falls asleep, she wakes up with no memories of what happened in the present — she’s taken back to 2 years ago, unable to remember anything past that. In an effort to prevent that from happening, she downs shots of caffeine and writes “STAY AWAKE” and other important messages all over her hands and arms. One night, she wakes up with a bloody knife in the back of the cab, freaks out, and tosses the knife away, and begins to run. But who is she running from? And why?

This was an exciting and thrilling book that kept me on edge for the majority of it. The premise was excellent, and I loved the detectives in here. It was pretty fast paced too, although the ending seemed a little rushed, and it was a little repetitive at times. I enjoyed the changing timelines and POVs with each chapter, as it kept me more engaged.

I currently have The Night Swim by Megan Goldin currently sitting on my shelves, and I can’t wait to dive into that one next. Will definitely be purchasing this book when it comes out on August 9, 2022!

Maybe 4 and ½ Stars ✨.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, St Martins Press and Macmillan Audio for my advanced copies of Stay Awake.

What I Loved-

✨ The Audio- Imogen Church & January LaVoy.
Are you kidding me?!
They hired the best of the best for this audiobook.
If I were Abby Lee Miller- these ladies would be at the top of the pyramid.
They're both fabulous.
They both did a magnificent job.
Highly recommend this book on audio.

✨ The Dual Perspective- I loved following both Liv and Darcy. I enjoyed both perspectives equally and the piecing together of the mystery was done masterfully using both characters.

✨ The Plot- So well executed. I am seriously impressed. From the very first page I was sucked into this story and immediately invested.


✨ The Writing- This book was so easy to follow. I listened to Stay Awake in the span of one day. From the time I woke and into the evening. I could not stop listening.

Overall- I cannot recommend this book enough. I am officially a Megan Goldin fangirl. I look forward to reading more by this author.