For me, Stay Awake was kind of a snooze. The odd thing is that some chapters were captivating but then others FELL FLAT.
The story line was a bit preposterous, as most “rare amnesia” plots can be and while twisty /turn-y , upholding is suspense genre, I often found myself wanting to hurry it up and figure it out already!
Also, if you like detailed police procedurals this is the book for you!
Our main protagonist Liv Reese , the bearer of said “rare amnesia” is highly unreliable in that she falls asleep and her memory is near erased each time she wakes up. This lands her in a world of mess as she finds herself the #1 suspect in some pretty gruesome murders.
Liv’s POV is well written in two timelines, present day and two years ago . Megan Goldin did a beautiful job writing however, it did feel a bit disconnected at times. Perhaps there were too many nonessential characters muddying up my head with nonessential info?!
This wasn’t my favorite read just yet but I didn’t despise the book. At times I could feel myself interested but I was ultimately let down . I hate that because I wanted so badly to love this book!
Thank you sooo much to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for my ARC! My opinions are solely my own!

Thanks to the publisher for granting me access to read this ARC.
So I absolutely adored Night Swim and my expectations were really high for this one.
In general, I’m not a fan of the Groundhog trope so if I would have known that I probably would have never read this. What I did like was the ending it totally caught me off guard.

Oh Megan Goldin, how you played with my mind! I don’t know if I’m coming or going with this book. There were red herrings swimming all over. My kids ate cereal for dinner today so I could finish this thriller. .
STAY AWAKE. It’s written on Liv Reese’s hands. It’s a mantra that keeps repeating over and over in her head. Why does Liv forget everything every day? You have to read this roller coaster of a book to find out why.
This is my second book by this author. I read “The Escape Room” two summers ago. This book was just as twisty and turny. I’m on the edge of my seat wondering what twisted tale Megan Goldin will come up with next.
I want to thank the author, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I love a good amnesia story. This was definitely one of those! Having read the Night Swim and not loving it, I was hesitant to try another book from the author. Thanks to NetGalley, I gave her another try with Stay Awake and I’m very glad I did!

Stay Awake follows a woman struggling with memory issues. It’s told in a dual timeline which allows for current events to unfold around the past - there’s also a dual POV (told by different narrators - yay!) split between Liv (the woman in question) and a police officer. There’s murder and mayhem in this book and it’s so interesting to slowing watch the past unravel into the present!

The audio was fantastic. Both narrators did an amazing job! This booked is paced well, doesn’t feel overly long and definitely has a suspense factor even if it’s pretty clear where it’s going to go. The format of the dual timelines and POV really help make that predictable twist interesting as you’re never quite sure when it’ll finally be revealed if your guess is correct or not.

I’ve read a lot of books that deal with mental health lately and even though this is a work of fiction, I do wish that some resources for mental health services had been included. I guess I got used to that being something included in fictional books of this nature and I did miss it. It’s possible it was just missing from the audio version but as it’s the only version I have I can’t be sure.

Anyway - solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read.

I'm as surprised as anyone that I didn't really like this. It wasn't a bad read, and there were parts I really liked, but a large part of this book just felt extremely frustrating to me, rather than the intriguing and unsettling the author was going for (I think).

Stay Awake kicks off with our MC, Liv, waking up in a taxi with no memory of how she got there, and upon directing the cab to her apartment, finds that two strangers are living there. She also finds a bloody knife in her pocket, and cryptic phrases are written all over her hands and arms, saying things like STAY AWAKE, DON'T GO TO SLEEP, YOU FORGET WHEN YOU SLEEP. It soon becomes apparent to the reader that she is suffering from memory problems, as every time she sleeps her memory resets to an afternoon in July when she accepted a phone call at work two and a half years before. As she's wandering around NYC, trying to figure out her life, she notices on the news (multiple times across the book) that a man has been murdered at a short-term rental, and someone has painted on the walls in his blood, "STAY AWAKE." Huh, wonder what could have happened there.

The other POV character is Detective Darcy Halliday, as she and her partner work to solve the murder of the man in the short-term rental, which eventually spirals into them investigating Liv, and trying to both find her physically and find out how she is connected to the case. The narrative is split between them about 70/30, with Liv (unfortunately) getting the lion's share of the POV. Liv's POV itself is split into the present day narrative, where she is wandering around NYC without a memory, and the past two and a half years leading up to the present day, where we find out what's been happening to her.

I was just endlessly frustrated with Liv. I know that not sleeping is really, really bad for you, and can compromise a lot of things, not least of which is your thinking and processing capabilities, but Liv throughout this book continues to make all the wrong decisions, do the same things over and over again (some of this can't be helped, of course, because she doesn't remember), and be the slowest person in the room to connect the dots. Every time her memory resets it takes her FOREVER to even realize that the problem is with her and not with the world around her. Maybe I'm an asshole, but I hated having to listen to her doing this for most of the book. I felt it was agonizing, and not in a good way. Half of the book I feel like I spent yelling OH COME ON at my phone.

The ending was pretty good, though, even if I did almost completely figure out what was going on about halfway through the book. I think in the end that this just wasn't the book for me. I didn't find it nearly as emotionally compelling as her last book, The Night Swim, and now I'm worried about the copy of The Escape Room that I have waiting for me.

As for the audio itself, the dual narrators were pretty good. You have to listen on at at least 1.2x speed though, because Imogen Church (I think she's the one that does Liv's chapters) speaks like the audiobook narrator equivalent of the sloths in Zootopia. January LaVoy was pretty good. She does the chapters narrated by Detective Halliday. If you're an audiobook reader, you'll be fine here, but I think it might have played better for me in hard copy so I could read through it faster and the frustrating parts didn't dragon on forever.

[2.5 stars, rounded up because the last third was pretty good for me]

This was a very fast paced entertaining thriller! I loved the premise of her memory resetting every time she fell asleep.
It kept me turning the pages so to speak. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was perfect!
Highly recommend this one, great for a beach/vacation read!

The thriller book genre is so saturated with books that it's hard to really stand out. This book was a clear standout winner for me! Unreliable narrators tend to frustrate me, but this book took that angle so well.

Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with scribbling all over her hands and a bloody knife in her pocket. When she gets out at her apartment a couple she has never met is living there and have no idea who she is. She comes to find out that she is missing two years worth of memories and every time she falls asleep her memory resets.

The book is a mystery from all angles as Liv tries to piece together who she is and what has happened in her life while also trying to explain away a murder that she doesn't remember committing. The story is told partly in present and partly in flashbacks and things revealed at the perfect pace to keep you hooked. Loved!

Liv Reese can’t remember where she put her phone or why she put a bloody knife in her coat pocket. When the words written on her skin appear written in blood at a murder scene, she begins to panic. The panic doesn’t stay long, though, because every time Liv falls asleep, she wakes believing she’s living 2 years in the past. This proves to be quite a problem since, in the present, the police are hot on her trail.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin is a mystery-thriller at its core. I started out extremely invested in and excited about the story, but I began to feel worn down by Liv’s memory resets about halfway through. I believe Goldin did this on purpose, though, because every time I was frustrated, I would find myself considering how much more frustrated Liv must feel… or, well, will feel when she realizes (again) what’s going on.

I am thankful I listened to the audiobook, though. I’ve never heard a narration by Imogen Church I didn’t love, and both she and January LaVoy carried me through my frustrations with Liv’s resets. I don’t know that I would have powered through reading this actual book-book right now. Not to say I didn’t enjoy the story – I definitely would have come back and finished it later (like, when the kids are back in school?) - but currently, I can only read in short bursts. This is a story that drags you in and won’t let go which would have been annoying to put down. I listened to the audiobooks while I was working, cooking, cleaning, exercising, etc., so I finished it quickly and then, boom(!) no more (book-related) frustration because the ending? Oh, it pays to finish the book!

Thank you SO MUCH to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for giving me the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

While Goldin's latest work revolves around a woman who seems to forget absolutely everything upon waking up, the author does a fabulous job of progressing the plot through creatively woven time jumps and changes in character perspective. As this story revolves around a woman with mental health issues, I felt as though Goldin was careful to create positive and gentle relationships surrounding Liv, the main character. I enjoyed both character's perspectives within this story, as Goldin gave each woman a strong, deep background, that further fed into the mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed the rollercoaster of events within this book, while finding myself questioning who the killer could be at every turn.

I am struggling to find the words for how much I loved this book. The storyline was so well crafted that I could not put it down. I had to know what was going to happen next. This is my first book by Megan Goldin, and I cannot wait to read her others. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a creative thriller.

I listened to this book and enjoyed the narration.

Imagine waking up day after day, not knowing where you are or how you got there. Spending the day putting together all the pieces of the puzzle, only to fall asleep and wake again with no memory of the past day….or two whole years of your life.

This is what happens to Liv in our story. Add to that being nearly killed two years ago; and potentially being hunted by your would-be-killer….with no memory of any of this.

And then there’s another murder….that you can’t remember.

This is the most interesting and horrifying Groundhog Day yet. Amazing thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillian audio for this amazing ARC in exchange for my honest opinion .

3.5 stars

This is my second Megan Goldin book, I loved The Night Swim and eagerly awaited this her new book.

This book sounded familiar as soon as I started reading it with reminders of Before I Go to Sleep, fingers crossed the plot was not similar. This was both an audio and a digital read for me. I was very thankful to have the audio and managed to polish it off in just over a day.

Liv wakes up in a taxi and when arriving home finds it’s 2 years later. Where has she been all this time? That’s the million dollars question.

Stay Awake is told from Liv’s pov as well as a detective. Though I couldn’t connect with Liv this was an intense read. Taking place over a one day period there were glimpses to the past to bring this story full circle. It was part repetitive not just with the 'stay awake' and other messages written on her hand but in other aspects also which took away from the mystery and intrigue.

The ending was okay and actually I didn't see it coming but it did lack some parts to make it feel authentic. All in all an fun read.

My thanks to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Press for advanced copies in exchange for a honest review.

I enjoyed The Escape Room by Megan Goldin, and The Night Swim is one of the most well-written thrillers I've ever read.

I did like this upcoming release of hers, but not quite as much as I liked her other books. The premise was interesting, and her writing is as strong as ever! However, the time jumps were a bit hard to follow, and I found the plot to be slightly predictable. Also, I was hoping for a more detailed explanation for the main character's memory loss in the end.

I switched between the ebook and the audiobook. I found the time jumps in the story easier to follow in text, but the audiobook narration was wonderful. I listened at 2x speed.

What It’s About: Liv Reese has a problem. Every time she falls asleep, she awakens with no memory of the past two years. This time she wakes up in a taxi with a bloody knife in her pocket and messages scrawled all over her hands. When she sees the news that a man has been found dead with the same message scrawled on his window in what appears to be blood, she realizes she must figure out what’s been going on. Unfortunately, she can’t get ahold of her roommate or her boyfriend, and she isn’t sure whom to trust.

My Thoughts: I really liked it.

The story is told in alternating perspectives and timelines. We follow Liv in the present, Liv two years ago, and Halliday and Lavelle, the detectives investigating the murder in the present. I think the dual timelines and the way the chapters were organized worked well. Present-day Liv makes the reader uneasy, then past Liv helps to clarify the events in the lead-up to Liv’s initial memory loss. The detectives both help to clarify the facts surrounding various crimes and also add an element of suspense.

Stay Awake was a really compelling read. Goldin’s story grabbed my attention from the first few lines, and I didn’t want to put it down until everything had been resolved. I did manage to figure out what had happened in the past timeline pretty early on, but it didn’t bother me because the journey through the novel was so engaging.

The audio narration for this book was well-done. The use of two different narrators really helped to clarify whether we were with the detectives or Liv at any given point.

Thank you so much to #Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for access to an advance copy of Stay Awake. I've linked my Goodreads review and will be posting to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Instagram closer to the publication date.

Imagine every time you wake up, you only remember your life from two years ago and have to fight to stay awake. This is Liv Reese’s reality.

I liked the idea but the execution, not so much. It’s not the most original or anything either but I still thought Goldin could pull it off. I expected this to be fast paced and at first - it was. Then as you continue reading, it becomes so repetitive. We get it!!! Everything is literally explained to us 50 times every page.

On top the that, Liv is boring and whiney. She has no personality and is not someone you want to read as a main character. I also felt like she was kind of dumb and if she suffered so much from memory loss, I feel like there were better steps she could have taken to jog her memory. I don’t think she was doing enough to try to stay alive so like if she died, who am I to feel bad??? Why should we feel sad?? I felt like there were some plot holes too and it started to get obvious too.

ALSO one of the narrators drove me insane. She was overly dramatic and I think that it ruined Liv more. I try to stay away from this narrator if I can and will honestly look out to make sure to avoid her. I don’t want to name any names but obviously it wasn’t January LaVoy.

The potential was there and I tried so hard to love this but I couldn’t. Thank you to St. martin's press and macmillan audio for advance copies of the e-book and audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

This book kept me on the edge of my seat! Overall it kept me guessing with lots of fun twists & turns. Certain parts were a little repetitive & reminded me a little of the movie Memento! Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC! I’ll definitely read more by this author!

4 stars

This one was a twisty (and kind of creepy) thriller. It jumped around a bit between different characters and time periods without being confusing, and although some parts of the basic premise weren’t wholly unique, I’m a bit of a sucker for the type of suspense that builds up when there’s dramatic irony from the protagonist having memory issues and, therefore, being a bit of an unreliable narrator. As usual, I don’t love cop-centric narratives, and once again, I didn’t fully realize that a homicide detective was one of the main characters in this one (I really need to screen more effectively when I’m choosing my thriller-mystery-suspense reads); all that being said, I didn’t hate all parts of her perspective, and her scenes did complement the protagonist’s at many times. I did figure out who was likely the main villain before the end, but I still wasn’t disappointed with the reveal. Ultimately, this was a book I’d been thinking about and looking forward to for a while, and it didn’t let me down.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio advance reader copy of Stay Awake by Megan Goldin. Loved The Escape Room, her first book, and really enjoyed this new novel. This book makes the reader learn the details of several murders at the same time as the main character, which makes for a different and interesting read. 4 stars for this twisty thriller.

a fascinating concept that was bafflingly dismal in its execution 😭 this was one of the most disappointing thrillers i've read all year.

i have a great track record with megan goldin's writing. the night swim stirred up so many intense and mournful emotions in me, while the escape room was a highly entertaining and vindictive - if predictable - mystery. so when i saw stay awake available on netgalley as an audiobook, you can bet i smashed that request button!

unfortunately, this just wasn't the book for me.

the premise was immediately intriguing. liv reese awakens to find herself in a taxi with no memory of how she got there; in fact, the last thing she recalls is picking up a phone call on a gorgeous summer day in her NYC office... which turns out to have been two years ago. what happened in the intervening time? why can't liv remember? why are cryptic phrases scrawled all over her hands - one of which matches a bloody message painted at the scene of a recent murder? while liv goes on the run from the NYPD, grappling with severe memory loss, she must delve deep into her murky past to survive the present.

again, i'm just so disappointed. i feel like the book was so fixated on the concept, that the plot (and characters and overall stakes) took a far backseat - and stay awake was all the worse for it. the story really suffered from repetitiveness and over-explanation of technical details, including overwrought logistics behind the police work (e.g., handwriting analysis) and, particularly, the reason behind liv's memory loss. the writing in this book was bland and passive - and felt all the more haphazard with the transitions between character POVs, as liv's chapters are narrated in first-person present-tense, while detectives halliday and lavelle are in third-person past-tense. (maybe this is a function of the advance copy i listened to, and the final publication will be more polished?)

moreover, none of the characters were compelling to me. nothing about liv stood out to me as individual or interesting; the two detectives were straight out of central casting, with zero distinguishing quirks to set them apart from the dozens other homicide detectives i've watched on tv / read about; and the side characters were barely fleshed out. in fact, the paltry cast made the book very predictable, as there is only one reasonable person who could be the perpetrator.

regarding the audiobook delivery, i absolutely ADORE january lavoy's narration - i'm a huge fan of her versatile, expressive, compulsively listenable voice. unfortunately, i felt more lukewarm toward the other narrator, imogen church, whose tone came off more melodramatic and overdone than i would've liked.

in all, stay awake was a really underwhelming reading experience. however, though this wasn't the book for me, i'm still looking forward to what megan goldin cooks up next!



many thanks to netgalley and macmillan audio for an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This one was so good!! I listened to this one on audio, and after some slow audios that didn’t keep my attention, this one finally stood out as amazing! This storyline intrigued me right away, and I couldn’t wait to figure out what was going on! I loved the dual POVs and jumping timelines. I really like the narrators for this one, and I would highly recommend this on audio! Can’t wait for more people to read this when it comes out!