*3.5 stars*

What I liked - this book had a creepy vibe the entire time and was giving me major "Memento" vibes. Liv's memory problems came through, and made ME feel like I was going crazy too! There were some interesting twists and I liked how the chapters were going forward by time of day, and switched back and forth between the present and the past. It's almost like as a reader, we were slowly piecing things together along with Liv.

What I didn't like - I had to go back and double check things a lot since it was going back and forth from past to future, but maybe I'm just dumb. The end felt a bit rushed, and I HATE when that happens. It felt like Goldin was trying to explain everything over the course of a few pages. Annoying.

All in all, I enjoyed it and it had a lot of great suspense!! Kept me reading long into the night. However, I will say that I think I enjoyed her first 2 thrillers better.

This book is EXACTLY the book you need to pull you out of a slump if you’re ever in one. The different POV’s and varying timelines made this thriller all-consuming. I simply could not put it down.

Personally one of my favorite takeaways from this book was how fantastic the character development was. My heart stuck with Liv and I was so engaged with her and her future, despite still having many questions about her… it was just that good!

My only complaint about this novel was the ending was a little predictable. It would have been a 5 star read if I was guessing until the very end. Otherwise this is a really great, enjoyable read.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advance readers copy.
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I loved The Night Swim by Megan Goldin, so I had high expectations for this follow up thriller. Unfortunately, I don’t think Goldin’s writing was at its best here. Undoubtedly, it was a fast paced page turner, but it’s possible suspense building took priority over plot and character development. Although it isn’t a science fiction novel, the repetitive nature of waking up in a “new” world felt very reminiscent of that genre, which is not for me. Ironically, it just wasn’t particularly memorable.

A heart-pounding, deeply psychological tour de force.

Liv Reese is unraveling. She wakes up in a cab not knowing where she is or how she's gotten there. She has no phone, no keys and a large wad of cash in her pocket. Cryptic messages are scribbled on her hands. She learns on the local news a man has been murdered. Has she committed a violent crime or is she the victim of one?

You will Stay Awake all night devouring this frenetic, fast-paced thriller.

This book was so interesting and intriguing. It kept me guessing until the very end. I loved the shorter chapters that kept hooking me into the story.

Liv Reese woke up in the back of a NYC cab with no memory of how she got there or where she was going. When the driver dropped her off at the apartment she shared with her roommate, she was relieved to be somewhere familiar and finally home. But it was not her home and hadn’t been for over two years. Confused and overwhelmed by this knowledge, Liv examined her pockets and cardigan looking for her cellphone to call her boyfriend or roommate. She didn’t find her phone, but she did find a blood stained knife wrapped in a T-shirt. Once again, Liv had no knowledge of how it got.

Liv had a certain type of amnesia. Every time she fell asleep she lost the past two years of her life. Those two years held secrets that she desperately tried to remember. But in order to do that she had to stay awake.

This was a very engaging story from the first to last chapter. You could feel the tension build with every scene as Liv battled mental and physical exhaustion, trying to piece her life together before the cops found her, and more importantly, before succumbing to fatigue and sleep…and ultimately amnesia once again.

Highly recommended for mystery/thriller fans.

📚BOOK REVIEW📚

Stay Awake

Genre: Mystery
Format: ebook
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
Pub date: 8/9/2022

Thank you to Netgallery for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Favorite Quote from the Book:

"Everyone has roles to play. Sometimes we don't know it until it's too late. You were given a choice, Liv. Every choice has a consequence"

Synopsis One Liner

Multiple stories with only one answer.

Thoughts

This is a first Megan Goldin book for me and certainly not a last. When I saw this being advertised, I requested a copy immediately because the synopsis pulled me in. I was not disappointed at all.

Liv has everything she could have wanted, a boyfriend, a best friend, the perfect house, great job, and all around perfect life until one event changes it all. The twist, she can't remember a thing in her life when she wakes up.

The story is set in multiple povs which makes the chain of events questionable and exciting to read. Each part of the timeline is left with a cliffhanger later answered. The psychological twists with the main character keeps a reader guessing if she is absolutely crazy or an innocent victim. I will say, I wish the story didn't rush the end so much because their was a lot of material to expand on, but I could see why it was left the way it was to focus more on the psychological trauma that Liv faces.

If you love multiple POV and psychological thrillers, definitely pick this one up.

Instagram: @alexlivesathousandlives

This thriller had me guessing until the end. Liv Reese loses her memory every time she falls asleep. At first, I was worried the book would be hokey and play into the same tropes as other mysteries. But this book weaves a story that keeps you on your toes wondering what will happen next. This book kept me up late reading as I was dying to know what happened next. I have already started recommending this book to fellow mystery/thriller readers. Pick up this book!

THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD! I am such a sucker for a mystery/thriller that also has a cop/detective POV. I feel like the first chunk of the book I felt a little, lost?? I don't know if I just wasn't in the right headspace because this author doesn't write books that are confusing writing wise. As with The Night Swim, the entire time I was trying to act as if I knew what the twist would be, but I was completely wrong. This book kept me on the edge of my seat and then all of a sudden it was like, BAM, perfect resolution. It has been a while since I have read a thriller where I was so captivated.

This book was so good! I want to see more from this author in the future!! I couldn't put this book down. What a page turner!!!

I absolutely loved this book! I loved how the main character Liv was trying to figure out what really went down as I did the same. Between the story lines of Detective Halliday and Detective Lavelle I must say every question I had was answered in between chapters. However I was not shocked on the big reveal I knew exactly who was involved but, what surprised me was how and why .I really loved the story line and really enjoyed this. I definitely recommend . Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC copy of Stay Awake. Definitely will be buying the book to add to my library!

A murder she doesn’t remember committing. A killer she doesn’t remember meeting. Megan Goldin’s Stay Awake is an electrifying novel that proves memory can be deadly.

Fantastic! It will be one of my favorites of the year! Quite a nail-biter and I loved the MC. Bring me all the Megan Goldin books!

This is a ridiculously good rollercoaster ride that’s sure to thrill thriller fans.

Live Reese loses two years worth of memory every time she falls asleep, forgetting that she was almost murdered and making her easy prey for a killer still at large.

This gave me Memento vibes, and I absolutely love an unreliable narrator.

Megan Goldin is the queen of dual timelines, and this book is no exception.

Get this on your pre-order lists now, because it’s sure to be a summer smash!

I rated this four stars because I guessed who the killer was, correctly, very early on, but I love Goldin’s writing so much that it didn’t phase me and I reveled in being right.

**Many thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are my own.**

#thriller #heartpounding #unreliablenarrator

Book: Stay Awake
Author: Megan Goldin
Release date: August 9, 2022
Rating: 4 ⭐️

Stay Awake is exactly what this book made me do. Every time Liv Reese wakes up she doesn’t remember anything from the past two years. Her home is no longer hers, she can’t get ahold of her best friend or her boyfriend and there’s writing all over her hands and arms telling her to “Stay awake.”

This book has a 50 First Dates in psychological thriller feel to it and you continue to relive things. The time line jumps at first get confusing as well as character POV switching between Liv (2 years ago or current) and detectives working on a homicide. It got a bit repetitive in stating the full names of the detectives over and over (sometimes within the same page) and some details that were poorly written, however overall this was a book I couldn’t put down! It got really creepy in a few spots and caused me to be nervous to go to the bathroom in the darkness of my home in the middle of the night and gave me some interesting dreams when I finally fell asleep. I was able to figure out the “who” part of the mystery pretty early in but it still held interest as the puzzle pieces all fell together.

Overall, good read for those that like psychological thrillers and don’t mind character POV and timeline changes.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this early digital copy in exchange for my thoughts.

This definitely reminded me of the movie Memento and kept my attention from start to finish. Megan Goldin hasn’t done me wrong yet!

A HUGE thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of Stay Awake.

The story begins with Liz Reese suffering from a memory blackout, trying to remember how she ended up in the backseat of a taxi. The fear and frustration she feels is palpable to the reader. As the story unfolds, you uncover the traumatic situation that caused these blackouts.

Told from two perspectives, Liz and Detective Halliday, the story is easy to follow and keeps you wanting more.

Detective Halliday is investigating a recent murder, with the words WAKE UP written near the body. When Liz comes to in the back of a taxi, she has words scribbled all over her body— specifically the words STAY AWAKE. Liz spends the entire book questioning if these two situations are related, making for the perfect page turner.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me an ARC of this novel! have never read anything by Megan Goldin before, but if it's as good as this one was, just might have to check it out.
really enjoyed this one; even though had predicted a key fact about two of the people closest to the main character, the ending still caught me off guard. This story kept me on the edge of my seat until the very last chapter, even though it began to feel a bit never ending with the consistent back and forth of whether or not the main detectives believed or did not believe Liv had committed the murder. look forward to checking out more of Goldin's work and definitely recommend this to people that are interested in thriller stories with a unique basis. Liv Reese's inability to remember anything after falling asleep was an interesting twist on a typical thriller.

Synopsis: a woman forgets everything when she falls asleep with her last memory being from over 2 years ago. liv reese finds herself in the middle of a murder she doesn't remember committing and unable to remember who the killer is. liv works to piece together who she is in present day and why she has no memory of the past 2 years while running from being blamed for a crime she cannot remember.

OMG what a book highly highly recommend it. This is twisted psychological thriller which blows your mind…this book brought me back from my reading slump 😂…. This story revolves around a woman named Liv Reese and how she has a rare form of amnesia which make her forget everything she does as soon as she falls asleep so she tries to stay awake as much as possible, being on caffeines and other medicines..but obviously she does fall asleep and then forgets everything….this happened due to her trauma tht she went through 2 years back ( for the details please read the book). But what follows after that, the murder investigation, her being a suspect in a murder that she may or may not have committed is something that will keep you at the edge of your seat. This book could easily be turned into a movie later maybe…but overall just amazing one… ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me an ARC of this novel! have never read anything by Megan Goldin before, but if it's as good as this one was, I just might have to check it out. really enjoyed this one; even though I had predicted a key fact about two of the people closest to the main character, the ending still caught me off guard. This story kept me on the edge of my seat until the very last chapter, even though it began to feel a bit never ending with the consistent back and forth of whether or not the main detectives believed or did not believe Liv had committed the murder. look forward to checking out more of Goldin's work and definitely recommend this to people that are interested in thriller stories with a unique basis. Liv Reese's inability to remember anything after falling asleep was an interesting twist on a typical thriller.
Synopsis: a woman forgets everything when she falls asleep with her last memory being from over 2 years ago. liv reese finds herself in the middle of a murder she doesn't remember committing and unable to remember who the killer is. liv works to piece together who she is in present day and why she has no memory of the past 2 years while running from being blamed for a crime she cannot remember.

Stay Awake is a fast-paced thriller following Liv Reese, a woman who forgets everything about her life from the last two years every time she falls asleep. She quickly comes to the forefront as a suspect in a murder but, because she has no memory of the incident and has no idea who she can trust, she spends her time dodging everyone and trying to force herself to stay awake. As far as thrillers go, this was pretty solid. The main problem is that you have an author who is clearly not an American attempting to write a story set in America with American characters. The most notable instance was when someone was told they would need a referee, instead of a reference, for a job application. There is also a character who was supposedly in the military before getting a job with the NYPD and it seems that this was just a convenient way to give said character contacts in the CIA. There were no details on what branch of service the character was in or anything else that made it seem real. In fact, as someone who did serve in the military, it was more a television representation of military personnel than how the experience actually is. It should have either been researched better or left out completely, as it really served no purpose in the plot line, in my opinion.