This book was a great thriller that kept me guessing a lot longer than any other I've read recently. I'll definitely be looking out for more from Megan Goldin.

The main storyline has a crossover with S.J. Watson's Before I Go to Sleep (which I also loved) - it's truly chilling to imagine the fear of waking up every day with no memory. I loved the writing and how the main character is made to feel like an unreliable narrator which adds to the suspense, should you be on her side?!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy of the ARC in return for my honest review.

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Synopsis:
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.

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.

A complex thriller that unfolds at a breakneck speed, Stay Awake will keep you up all night.

What happened to Shawna the cat??
Was going to give 4 stars because I love a twisty story where you really have to pay attention. But as I think about it, there is touch left hanging. I guess the artist 'Q' and Kevin the waiter were red herrings but I really wanted to know what was up with Kevin. And I'm not crazy about the ending. I guess we can gather why the murderer did the first murder (rage over the betrayal) but would have like a little more insight.
And I need to know the cat was ok!
Thank you Net Galley.

Liv Reese has a rare and complex form of amnesia. Every time she goes to sleep, she wakes up, remembering absolutely nothing from the past two years. So, her solution is to never sleep. She drinks highly caffeinated drinks, espresso, energy drinks, and takes over-the-counter pills to stay awake. Despite all her efforts, occasionally, she falls asleep. Sometimes on a bus, sometimes on a park bench. She awakens to the same confusion over and over again.

Except now, there is a murder with all the evidence pointing to her as the perpetrator. Liv has no memory of the person she wakes up next to, who is now dead. Yet, the fact that it is her ex-fiance gives detectives Halliday and Lavelle more reason to believe Liv has killed Ted Cole. I loved the depth of character the author exposed with both of these detectives. It was an interesting sub-plot.

The storyline drew me in from the first. However, I was confused at times, as the timeline went back and forth between present-day and two years prior when Liv Reese's life as she'd known it came to a brutal and terrifying end. Once I got accustomed to the author's technique of telling the whole story, it got easier to keep up, although I have to admit there were still some confusing scenes. For instance, when Liv wakes up in a dingy rundown apartment with only a mattress on the floor for a bed, walls covered with writing, and the floor littered with empty caffeine drink containers, I had no idea how she rented or why and that part was never explained.

The most fascinating part of the story was the way Liv's brain struggled, holding on to the trauma that created this type of amnesia for her. "Stay awake," was a phrase she mumbled to herself over and over. She wrote it on her hand, so she would see it. She also wrote lots of other words on her hand, like "Don't Trust the cops," and "Don't open the door."

The way it came together in a climactic ending explained everything, the trauma that sent her brain into this Groundhog Day syndrome, the phrase, "stay awake," the obsession with a fleur de lise pattern, writing on her hands and arms—All of it made sense.

Imagine that every time you wake up, the last two years of your life have disappeared from your memory. This is Liv Reece's life. Suffering from a type of amnesia, Liv's last memory is of answering the phone in her office. When she wakes up, she finds herself in the middle of NYC and nothing is as it should be. Her hands and arms are covered in messages written in ink. One is especially troubling - STAY AWAKE. When a murder is committed and the same message is scrawled on the window in the victim's blood, Liv is terrified that she is the murderer - but why? This book will keep you up as you unravel the mystery, piece by piece. Fast paced and riveting, the story will leave you breathless as Liz tries to make sense of her life. Who is a friend? Who is an enemy? Why is this happening? With surprises around every turn, this book will keep you engaged until the very end.

Megan Goldin has done it again. Don't miss this one. 4.5 Stars.

Positives: Stay Awake was a fast paced, couldn't put it down thriller. I've enjoyed Megan Goldin's other novels and was excited to get into this newest one. The story unfolds quickly, telling the story of Liv as she tries to piece together her life after waking up covered in blood, with no memories. It switches perspectives between Liv and the detectives on the case. The plot had me on my toes until the very end and I would recommend it to a friend looking for a thrilling story.
Negatives: I was desperate to get to the end of this mystery and put all the pieces together, but I found the concluding chapters a bit clunky and rushed. There was a lot of "telling" instead of "showing" at the end and it took me out of the excitement. The shifts throughout Liv's chapters also took some getting used to, but I enjoyed the multiple perspectives racing towards the conclusion.

Megan Goldin has done it again! I definitely wanted to stay awake because I couldn’t put this down. What a page turner! I am a lover of multiple POV’s so this was right up my alley

Thank you to St Martin’s Press, Megan Goldin, and Netgalley for this book in an exchange to an honest review. This book keeps you on the edge of your seat. It is a fast paced book. My sympathies lies with Liv through out the book, while wondering if she’ll be able to remember and be remain safe. 🌟🌟🌟🌟 solid stars for this book. Stay awake for it’ll be published in August!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review. OMG!!!!! This book was amazing! How would you feel if you lost your memory every time you fell asleep? And your memory reverts to 2 years ago. This is what Liv experiences on a daily basis. When she wakes up, she has no idea where she is and sees messages written on her hands that say “stay awake.” On one particular instance, she wakes up to discover that she has been accused of a murder, but she can’t remember what she did that night. All signs point to her as the murderer. But, what really happened? The format of the book is written in alternating timelines and it was easy to follow, not confusing at all. I love a good thriller with an unexpected twist, and this did not disappoint! I honestly didn’t want it to end! Highly recommend, 5 stars!

Liv arrives at her apartment which she shares with Amy to find two irate strangers demanding to know why she is banging on their door in the middle of the night. She tries to contact both Amy and Marco, her own boyfriend, to no avail. She has neither ID nor phone; what she has are inked messages written on her hands and a blood-stained knife wrapped in a bloody tee shirt. One message reads “Stay awake.” In another part of the city a detective arrives at the scene of a fatal stabbing with a message written in blood: “Wake up.” Is there a connection? From here we follow Liv’s amnesiac journey to find her friends and Detective Halliday’s journey to solve the homicide. Megan Goldin once again provides for her readers a series of flashbacks and twists filled with frightening and traumatic events. Suspense builds and pages turn rapidly. I am a fan.

I literally did stay awake late (or early, since it was the morning technically) just to finish this. A story with multiple timelines and POVs can be hard to pull off, but it was deftly done and made me not want to put it down. The premise, of a girl whose memories reset to a certain time every time she falls asleep, is terrifying as much as it is intriguing. Loved it.

This is one of those thrillers that is a mind-f*ck. Poor Liv. Every time she wakes up, her memory reverts back to a little over 2 years ago. She's living in NY with a great BFF roommate and a wonderful boyfriend. It's definitely one of those unreliable narrator books (for the present Liv) and there were times even I felt deja vu when I was reading. The author does a great job putting you in Liv's situation and you feel the anxiety and panic every time she falls asleep and wakes up not knowing where she is and everything she knew has changed.

The book starts off with Liv waking up in a cab with a bloody knife, no phone, word written all over her arms and hands, and no idea why she is in a cab. What a nightmare. As she struggles through her day, she discovers a variety of things that leave her scared and constantly on the run. We get Liv's POV from 2 years ago and the present.

In addition, we also get new detective Halliday, investigating the murder of an unidentified man discovered in an AirBnb with "Wake Up" written in blood on the window. Halliday was a great character, and the rapport with her partner was great. (I loved the resolution with Halliday and would love to see more of her.)

This book has some great, memorable characters. The writing style is great as well - suspenseful, thrilling, and some really disturbing scenes. I really enjoyed this one!

Liv wakes up in a taxi and has no memory of why she is in the car, where she is coming from, or where she is going. She has odd writing written all over her hands telling her to STAY AWAKE. She's dropped off at her home and there are other people living there. While she is trying to figure out what is going on, police are investigating a murder with writing on the wall at the scene of the crime eerily similar to what is written all over Liv's hands and arms.

I really loved this story navigating Liv trying to figure out why she can't remember anything for the past 2 years, the murder investigation, and the race against time for Liv to not be blamed for the murder. It's a true thriller through and through. I'm definitely looking forward to picking up more books by Megan Goldin!

Stay Awake is a compelling thriller about Liv, a woman with memory problems, who believes she took part in a crime that she can’t remember. This book has a unreliable narrator, plenty of thrills, and a mystery that completely took me by surprise.

The writing style was not for me, too much description when it’s not needed. Readers of this genre don’t need to be told what a BOLO is, for example. However, the premise, the pacing, and the story itself made up for that. I didn’t see the bad guy coming at all and that part of the mystery had me guessing until the very end.

Stay Awake was a pretty good thriller read and I’d give it a 3.5/5 (rounded up to 4).

This was such a twisty thriller that I was dying to read but almost too scared to read at night. Such an interesting concept and I loved the format of the timeline.

The only thing I felt wasn't wrapped up fully was the motivation of the villain... Like I get it but I also would have preferred to have more explanation at the end.

I was very excited to receive an ARC of this title as I was a huge fan of her first two books. From the beginning, I was hooked and read this very quickly. It’s dark and twisty, shifting back and forth from present day to two years ago when the main character Liv can last remember her life; in the present day she forgets everything after she falls asleep, even her possible involvement in a murder. The pretense alone had me captivated and the book did not disappoint. As the story builds and more clues, and questions, pop up, the reader is left turning page after page to find out the truth along with the protagonist and the detectives. I can’t wait to suggest this to my book clubs and purchase copies for holiday gifts. It’s a must-read that’ll make you stay awake until the last page.

Holy moly, what a page turner! Five stars because I could not put this book down! Stay Awake by Megan Goldin starts by telling us the story of Liv Reese who loses her memory every time she goes to sleep. The story follows Liv as she tries to figure out what happened to her two years ago and who she can and cannot trust. The story switches between Liv's point of view and the detective's point of view, who is trying to solve a recent murder. Apart from the change in narration, the story adds another element of time, going back and forth between past and present. Usually, when there's two time periods and multiple narrators, the story gets confusing but I think the author did a fantastic job in making sure the narrator and time period was clear from the beginning of each chapter.

My only critique is that once we found out who the murderer was, there was no closing as to why the murder was committed. It felt like the author wanted us to assume the reason why but personally, I like it to be directly told to me so that I can close out the loop in my head. There were also a few other dead ends that were left unanswered, and I wish they were answered. With all this, I still rate this read five stars because it was THAT good. Definitely pick this one up, add it to your shelf, your TBR, make sure you read it.

Sending a huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange of my honest opinion.

Great thriller from Megan Goldin, I have enjoyed her thrillers in the past (Escape Room, Night Swim) and this was my favorite so far. I am so appreciative to St Martin's Press, and NetGalley, for the chance to read a strong unreliable narrator story. I want to note that I have found each of the books I have read from this author to have a common theme of thriller/women's lives (mistreatment, sexism) but to have also a unique way of letting a plot unfold. I appreciate a writer who can change up narrative style and storytelling while still honoring strong pacing, good character and plot development, and keeping a reader engaged.

3 things I liked:
1. I loved the focus on uncovering what messages written on the protagonists body mean (what a thought provoking way to also return to themes on women's lives and bodies... I think that is worth thinking about!). I like a protagonist who is empowered to take charge of wrong's in their lives, Ms. Goldin does this well.
2. Pacing, I was never bored while reading this and I felt that the story unfolded clearly and in a way that kept the plot moving along.
3. Memory, I love thrillers about memory and can we trust what/who we know and what we don't know. I think this was particularly well executed in this mystery and appreciated how this theme was woven into the plot.

I can't wait to recommend this one to my mystery bookclub and thriller friends; this is also a great option for a later summer or fall book vacation read.

I love Megan Goldin and I honestly didn't think I would enjoy one as I did "The Night Swim" but boy oh boy was this a great read!

Another solid read from Megan Goldin! Goldin has the ability to create thrilling stories but with such a unique way of getting to the end point. In Stay Awake we follow Liv as she tries to figure out her own mystery of why she can’t remember the last 2 years of her life, as well as two detectives trying to solve a murder they believe involves Liv. Every time Liv falls asleep her memory resets to 2 years prior. I will Admit getting into the hang of Liv losing her memory every few chapters was confusing to follow at first but once the pieces started coming together I couldn’t put this one down.

Spoilers!

Stay Awake is a taut psychological thriller that is well written and is pleasant to read.

I really liked all the different POV's. The cops investigating the murder were not just cops or idiots. Ms. Goldin gives full backgrounds on them, especially the female detective. We learn that she's former military, and how she's transitioned to civilian life. We even find out that she has contacts in other branches, which come in handy. It's all interesting and readable.

All the characters, except the minor ones, are fully filled out and feel real.

The heroine is running on instinct, (and caffeine) which serves her well. I found her to be a little annoying, though, and deliberately disconnected from everyone and everything. I'm not sure why I was annoyed by it. I guess because I wanted to figure out the mystery before the end. I actually did figure out that the roommate was sleeping with her boyfriend, and that the heroine had been set up for the murder by the murderer. I don't want to give away all the secrets. It was an exciting book, fun to read and I was able to read it quickly. Overall, I liked it.

That said, the relationship between the protagonist/heroine and her "roommate/friend/closer than a sister" bothered me. The heroine specifically stated that that's how close they were. Yet, she still got betrayed by her. Would a sister do that? I have no idea, I don't have a sister, but I would think not.

Overall, even with my annoyance about the roommate and figuring out "who done it" half way through the book, it was an enjoyable read, and I recommend it.

I thank #Netgalley the author, #MeganGoldin and the publisher for giving me an advanced copy of #StayAwake to read without any strings attached except a review. I appreciate it!