I’ve read a few books by this author before. This one did not disappoint. It was a very suspenseful story and I had a hard time putting this book down once I started reading it. I loved not being able to guess what was going to happen next.

**3.5 stars**

I absolutely loved Megan Goldin’s first two books The Escape Room and The Night Swim so I was thrilled when I received an early copy of Stay Awake from NetGalley.

Stay Awake is absolutely an original psychological thriller where the main character, Liv Reese, has memory issues where every time she falls asleep she forgets the past 2 years of her life. The story starts with Liv returning to her apartment to find strangers living there and she finds a bloody knife wrapped in a t shirt in her pocket. And the story takes off from there.

I really liked the mystery of this book where we are eager to find out what happened to Liv, why her memory is bad, who the dead person is and how are they connected to Liv, etc. The mystery of the story is absolutely page turning. I liked the detective a lot. What I did not like was Liv, I understand she has memory issues but man is she DUMB. I didn’t like the constant rehashing of her story every time she feel asleep, it got very monotonous.

While this wasn’t my favorite book from Megan Goldin it was still a good thriller/mystery and I recommend it.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc I received in exchange for my honest review.**

Liv Reese wakes up with no memory and is confused as to why a couple is living in her apartment...or why there's a bloody knife in her pocket. Readers follow the mystery of Liv's condition and the murder she may have committed.

Memento meets Groundhog Day meets 50 First Dates as Liv tries to piece together what's going on...but she kinda just flails about and each instance of her memory-reset is the same: confusion, news cast, "STAY AWAKE," can't trust anyone, a bar called Nocturnals, who's Ted, "have we met before? How do you know me?" AND IT GOES ON AND ON. This was a cool concept that was just executed poorly. We also get POV of the detective trying to solve the murder, which I thought would be more interesting, but feels like a set-up for future projects with the detective as MCs. We get back and forth timelines of two years ago before Liv's condition and what triggered her memory loss to the present. There was a lot going on where the present accounts are in the span of 2-3 days (I think? But girl falls asleep so much IDK). There were a lot of plot-holes that could have been filled in by replacing a lot of the filler fluff of the news broadcasting and repetitive exposition that the readers already know but are being re-told for Liv's sake. 1.5 rounded to 2...it wasn't terrible, just ok...the beginning definitely hooks the reader.

This has an interesting twist that you don't see much in thrillers. Still it somehow managed to give the same vibes of any thriller with a building on the cover.

This book was very entertaining and thrilling. The books numerous time frames and point of view really kept me intrigued and guessing. I did figure out the “who done it”, but still enjoyed finding out I was right and why. This will definitely not be my last book by this author!

Wow I really enjoyed this book. I had a hard time putting it down once I got into it. It took a few chapters to really capture me, but it got really good as the pages turned. It definitely kept you guessing throughout. The author did a great job with this mysterious thriller. I don’t think I will be putting it on my reread list, but it is definitely worth at least one read!

I really enjoyed Stay Awake by Megan Goldin. This was a bit of a different take of an unreliable narrator. The book kept me guessing and had a good pace about it. While I did figure out the ending it took me a good bit to figure it out and I would definitely recommend this book!

Liv Reese wakes up in a cab with no memory of how she got there. She directs the driver to take her home but when she knocks on the door, new tenants who have no idea who she is won't let her in. She discovers the words "STAY AWAKE" written across her knuckles and a bloody knife in her pocket. And after a body is found in an apartment across town with those same words written across the window in blood, Liv starts to wonder if she's being framed for murder...or if she actually committed one.

I wanted to like this book, but I found it so difficult to follow. It's important to note that I listened to the audiobook, so I might not have had so much trouble if I'd been reading a hard copy. But as it was, I often couldn't tell where in the timeline of the story the characters were, and that left me pretty confused throughout. It definitely has Memento vibes with the parts of the story seemingly happening before others but you're not sure which pieces fit where.

I like mysteries that keep you guessing but not ones that make you feel completely lost. I want to try to guess what's going on and not be totally clueless at the end, where you shrug and say, "Huh" because it's so convoluted that it doesn't really make sense. I just find that unsatisfying, and I wanted more from this story. However, it did keep me reading, and I'll still be interested in following what this author does next.

**Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!**

Overall I liked this book. It always had me guessing and trying to figure out what exactly happened to Liv that made her lose her memory and had her in the situation she was in throughout the book. She was so alone and it was terrifying to think of yourself in that type of situation with very little memory and no idea who or what was even after you. Liv's amnesia and blackouts were debilitating and made it so she never knew who to trust or even what was fully going on half the time and because of that she is constantly on the run and reliving the past trying to figure out the murders and what caused her to have this type of trauma. All that she can vividly remember is the stalker that was messing with her before she was then attacked, and then everything else is just gone leaving her helpless in a way. She doesn't even seem to have anyone looking out for her or even checking in on her to make sure she is okay for most of the book, which leaves both the reader and her wondering what in the world is going on and why is everything so messed up.

When it came to the mystery/thriller portion of the book I did figure out part of this mystery about 50% of the way through with just some of the hints we were getting, but I was not prepared for the unveiling of who it was that the person actually was and had been in Liv's life. Completely took me by surprise and was not expecting the murders to have been as gruesome as they were either.

While so much of this book leaves you guessing throughout the entire thing, the ending of it does answer your questions and leaves you with a nice little resolution to all that Liv went through.

If you're wanting a mystery/thriller that is going to keep you on your toes throughout the entire book then I suggest this book. But if your wanting a nice calm mystery then this is not the book for you.


(read a finished copy from the library)

I'm not crazy about books that take place in one day (like this one and Goldin's other book - The Escape Room). I always have high hopes but then the day-plot just drags on and takes forever for things to happen. The writing is good and the twists are clever but by the end of the book, I just wanted to take a nap.

I really wanted to like this one, ,but ultimately it fell short. Not enough happening action wise, a lot of repetitiveness that was just frustrating to say the least. I found my mind wandering while I read and couldn't wait to be done.

Crazy psychological thriller, and I loved the twist even if I did guess who the murderer was pretty early on. I don't usually enjoy amnesia stories because they tend to fall into the groundhog day trope, but this one was kept new and fresh by the craziness of the murder and everything happening around our main character.

Liv was an infuriating narrator to follow because of her memory issues and unreliability, and it was frustrating to watch her constantly run away from people that could actually help her. If you ever lose your mind, don't be like Liv! That being said, the unreliability of her narration and the way the story jumped back and forth between the present and the past made for a gripping plot.

If you're looking for a super solid thriller, I can absolutely recommend this one.

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for an early audio copy. This is the third book by Megan Goldin that I’ve had the privilege of an early read/listen and just like the previous two, Stay Awake delivered. It’s part psychological thriller, part police procedural, split between multiple timelines through unreliable (but lovable) narrator Liv and strong-female narrator Detective Halliday (can we get a spin-off with her as the lead?!). Liv wakes up in the middle of the night in an NYC taxi with no recollection of how she got there… or why she has STAY AWAKE! DON’T SLEEP! written all over her hands… or why there is a bloody knife in her cardigan. Suffering from rare amnesia and stuck in a two year time loop, Liv quickly finds herself in the crosshairs of a murder investigation… a murder that she swears she didn’t commit… or at least one she doesn’t remember doing. Stay Awake will cause YOU to stay awake rapidly flipping through these twisty, heart-racing pages until the very end.

I read Stay Awake by Megan Goldin. Stay Awake follows Liv Reese as she goes through life not being able to remember the last 2 years, every time she falls asleep, she forgets. She has notes telling her to stay awake written on her hands, along with other important things. You spend time with her as she tries to figure out what has happened, why she has a scar on her torso and why she woke in taxi with a bloodstained knife. Stay Awake is thrilling and will keep you guessing until the end!!

The last thing Liv Reese remembers when she wakes up in the back of a cab is answering her work phone on a sunny day. When she tries to get into her apartment, there are strangers who claim to live there. Her arms are covered with scribbled messages warning her to stay awake and in her pocket she finds a bloody knife. As police investigate a murder that she is somehow linked to, Liv tries desperately to piece together her memory of the last two years.

Reminiscent of the novel 'Before I Go to Sleep' and the movie 'Memento' (both of which I loved), 'Stay Awake' was a gripping, fast paced thriller. I quite enjoy the presence of an unreliable character when there's a mystery involved because you really never know what to take at face value. All in all and entertaining, enjoyable read and just another reason why I keep coming back to Megan Goldin again and again.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a digital copy in return for an honest, unbiased review.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Stay Awake.
Goldin is an author I starting to love.
She takes ordinary subjects and puts them in precarious situations.
Stay Awake is a quick read that I enjoyed a lot

3.5 stars

I am a sucker for an unreliable narrator, ever since i first read Girl on the Train I have been obsessed with following narrators who can't figure out what is going on and somehow are tied up in dangerous situations.

Stay Awake follows Liv as she slowly realizes she is wanted for a murder she can't remember. Because she can't remember anything from the past 2 years and has no idea where anyone she knows is.

The story sets up plausible reasons why Liv is so isolated - why she doesnt have her phone and purse makes sense when you realize she has no idea where shes been before she fell asleep, and because shes lost 2 years of memories its logical she can no longer remember passwords, or where she lives.

even Livs distrust of the police felt logical - why she wouldnt go to them when she first realized she might be in trouble - because they have proven time and again to fail her.

What DIDNT make sense to me is why she wouldnt have tried to see a medical professional immediately. once you had a base understanding of confusion why not go see a doctor? doubly so because she KNEW TWO DOCTORS.

The highlight of this story for me was the investigation, Those characters were more fleshed out and were making progress every time we met them. LIv was, no matter how logically, going in circles every time we saw her and the repeatitiveness of her remembering her 'last moment' before the amenesia black out got annoying. Yes it made sense but i grew weary of hearing it.

While reading this I had high hopes for the ending and it really fell flat for me. the Killers reveal was fine? but I never got a clear motive for him (presumably because of the cheating? but why involve Liv at all in that directly?) Why did Amy call her home? (i'm guessing the killer made her?) why was the killer stalking Liv and scaring her the way that they were? none of this is explained, and is mostly felt like weird things to frame various red herrings who all but get dropped mid-way through the story. Why did I need to care about Kevin? or ... the business partner, or the business partners girlfriend or Q? they all felt like they existed primarily to be red herrings and once it was clear they weren't the killer they disappeared. execpet Kevin really just disappeared halfway and NEVER resurfaces and that felt random - why was he ever there.

and because we never got the Why behind the Killer i'm left wondering and assuming. PLUS now i wonder even more about her missing 2 years as well. she apparently was doing SO WELL for 2 years and then suddenly had a full lapse in memory? what caused it. why did this start? what made her suddenly so keen to solve the murder.....

Overall it was a great skeleton for a story and i was incrdibly invested the entire time but the ending just did not tie up enough to make this satisfying.

Liv wakes up every morning not knowing where she is and with no memory of the previous 2 years. Each time she falls asleep she wakes up to writing on her skin and body telling her to "stay awake," "don't trust the police," and a large scar that she doesn't remember getting. The story goes back and forth between present time and two years ago when the traumatic event happened that likely caused her recent amnesia, because she can remember everything that happened before the event. Finished this in one day, couldn't put it down.

Holy CHRIST is this a tense book.

I genuinely adore Megan Goldin's writing. She has a style unlike almost any thriller author. Her plots are beautifully unique, the characters full and flush without being too weighed down with back story. I look forward to each read of hers I pick up because I know I'm in for a great time.

But I am furious that I didn't see the ending coming.

What makes me even more annoyed is she laid the breadcrumbs down like a master mason laying brick work. You don't see the marks until the big picture is revealed, and suddenly all of those little details come flying at you like angry canaries.

This plot is insane. Our main character, Liv, is the most unreliable narrator you can imagine. She wakes up in the back of a taxi, disoriented, tired and confused, unclear how she got there or where she's going. She gives the driver her address, and hopes her roommate is home because she doesn't have her phone or purse.

Except when she gets home, the angry people being woken up in the middle of the night have absolutely no idea who she is, and threaten to call the police.

Also, for some reason, she has a kitchen knife and a bloody shirt.

Well, that's odd.

What's even odder is the writing all over her hands and wrists.

Stay Awake. Don't Go To Sleep.

You Forget Everything When You Go To Sleep.

Thus kicks off a deliciously frustrating race to find out what the hell is going on before she finally succumbs to the exhaustion and confusion wracking her body. And why there's a murder scene with writing all over similar to the writing on her hands and wrists.

With two bouncing points of view, and multiple flashbacks to Liv's life 2 years prior, this book will kick in your front door and slam your head into the wall over and over to the STILL SO VERY WELL LAID OUT EVEN IF IT INFURIATED ME ending.

I never get mad when I can't figure out the ending. I really don't, it's a joyous surprise since most thrillers are so rote and predictable.

But this one was too well done even for me. Dammit.

I can't emphasize enough how GOOD this book is. Recommendations all around.

Stay Awake was my first Megan Goldin novel, but definitely won’t be my last.

Our protagonist Liv wakes up with memory loss every time she falls asleep. She has stay awake written on her body to help remember, but why? In Stay Awake we follow Liv as she tries to put together her missing memories and why she can’t remember the past two years of her life. We hear her past and present form to get snippets of what might have happened to cause her memory loss. As she begins to piece together the pieces of her past, the less people she can trust.

I read this book in a day because I got immediately sucked in and I had to know how this story ended! I highly recommend this book.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martins Press for an ARC copy in return for an honest review***