“Stay Awake” by Megan Goldin

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was super excited to start this book. My all time favorite movie is “Memento” and I got the feel this would be in the ball park of that. It was a fun read and definitely kept my interest throughout. This was my first book by this author and I will definitely be keeping her in my TBR pile from now on. At parts the dialogue seemed a little repetitive, but I guess that happens when the main character has amnesia. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that wants a fun thriller that keeps you intrigued the whole time.

I'm sorry to say I didn't care much for this story. My dislike for the story is in part for the plot itself. The story was about a young girl who forgot her memory every time she fell asleep which I felt was not just overdone but boring. I slept through some of the audio and found that the same was going on.
The narrarors were very good however both Imogen Church; January LaVoy. .

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

At first, I thought maybe this book was sci-fi/fantasy because it felt like time travel or similar was going on. But no, just a well-done realistic psychological thriller. In the vein of a good Agatha Christie novel, "Stay Awake" weaves a multi-leveled thriller with very likable characters. Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC copy.

Let me start with Megan Goldin is an auto read or listen to the audiobook author for me. I went into the book blind and really had no idea what the story was about. STAY AWAKE did not disappoint. Is it an unrealistic story with possibly and unreliable narrator? Yes but it works. Liv wakes up in a cab and has no idea where she is or where she is coming from. She goes to the last apartment she remembers living in with her roommate. However, she has suffered from memory loss and doesn't know why the words STAY AWAKE are written on her arm, yet she does feel as though something is wrong.

The story is told from Liv's point of view and Detective Darcy's. Darcy's narrator on the audiobook was my favorite. I could listen to her all day. Liv's took a little getting use to. The dual timeline was fantastic and the slow build of each chapter kept me listening and wanting more. I even liked that the plot left some holes in the story, it would my mind wonder and guess what was going to happen. The overall suspicious, skeptical and fearful characteristics worked and I totally enjoyed this psychological read!

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review this book with my honest review!

3.5 rounded up!

You wake up in the back of a taxi with no idea how you got there. You try to enter your apartment but a stranger answers the door and you discover that you no longer live there. You reach for your phone only to discover that its has been replaced by a blood-stained knife. What do you do?

This is the premise of Megan Goldin's newest, "Stay Awake", and it completely drew me to it. Up until the moment, I began reading this book I couldn't stop thinking about how excited I was to get into it. This was a really solid thriller that took some tropes I've read before (jilted ex, memory loss, framed for your best friend's murder, POV of a detective fresh on the beat) and took them in some interesting directions.

My one qualm with this story is the repetitiveness. While I understand that this is an inherent issue in a plot where our main character is constantly waking up and reliving the experience of losing her memory, it got pretty boring to keep reading about and constantly hear the same thoughts expressed over and over. I think the way that the big reveal at the end was laid out was really smart. I'm not someone who goes into mysteries and thrillers trying to guess the whole time what's going to happen, so things being predictable don't really bother me too much ... this is one that I think some people might find predictable, but for me it wasn't a big issue!

While I definitely prefer Goldin's "The Night Swim" (5 starts from me!!) this is definitely a strong addition to her works.

Stay Awake
Megan Goldin
An exciting psychological thriller.
Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a cab with no memory of the last two years. She doesn’t know where she is going or why. Her last memory is answering her phone at work. She goes to her apartment expecting to see her cat and her roommate Amy (a doctor) instead she finds two strangers living there. Liv has messages written all over her hands in black ink. “Stay Awake” “Don’t Go To Sleep.” No matter how hard she tries her body must have sleep. Once again, she wakes up with no memory of the last two years other than what happens after she wakes up. The pattern repeats over and over. She has a bloody knife in her pocket, no cell phone, no credit cards, no bank account. She goes to work but her co-workers think she has been living in London. There is no one Liv can trust.
There has been a murder, an unknown victim was stabbed to death. A message was written on the window in his blood, large enough to be seen from the street “STAY AWAKE.” Detective Darcy Halliday is working the crime along with Detective Jack Lavelle. Halliday is new on the force, a veteran, unbeknownst to her Lavelle has been asked to keep an eye on her by the brass. Lavelle thinks Liv is guilty while Halliday has doubts.
The story is told in two timelines two years ago and current day they are told through the point of view of Liv and Halliday. While I figured out whodunit ahead of time I was still mesmerized by this tale. Kudos to author Megan Goldin.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

Stay Awake is a different kind of thriller from Megan Goldin. What happens when someone forgets everything from the last two years every time they fall asleep?

"Liv wakes up in a cab with no idea about how she got there. At her apartment, there are strangers there. Instead of her phone, there's a bloody knife in her purse. And then she sees her arms are covered with writing that says STAY AWAKE. She catches a glimpse of local news and finds out that she's a suspect in a murder. How did she get here? Did she kill someone? She doesn't remember"

I like when an author tries something different. Lots of previous books have had characters with memory issues. even those caused by trauma. But Goldin puts Liv in an almost impossible situation. You're listening and thinking that this poor character is lost and can't recover. But Goldin keeps writing and shows you what happened. The killer is one that's hiding in plain sight. I had no idea. I'm usually pretty good at making a guess - not this time.
There are mostly two POVs - Liv and the Detectives. I hope we see the detective team in future books. I think there are more stories there.

Two of the best are narrators for this audiobook - Imogen Church and January Lavoy. Tremendous performance from both with a large cast of characters. You can really feel the desperation of Liv and the momentum of the story as it builds to the reveal.

Another great story from Goldin. Another great thriller option for your summer reading.

Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with STAY AWAKE scribbled on her arms in pen, a knife with blood on it, and no recollection of where she is or how she got there. All Liv remembers is two years ago, when she and her best friend lived together, and she worked at a culture magazine in New York City. Now, it's a new season, her apartment is owned by a new couple, and a man has been found dead with the message WAKE UP on the window in his blood...eerily similar to the print on Liv's own arms.

The book alternates between Liv's first-person POV and the detectives' third person POV, with 95% of the story taking place in a 24-hour period starting on a Wednesday at 3 a.m., as we follow Liv in her attempts to outrun the police while trying to regain her memory and, more importantly, to stay awake.

I listened to the audiobook ARC I received for this, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear Imogen Church's voice! She's personally one of my favorite audiobook narrators, after having heard her narrate Ruth Ware's Turn of the Key . I know some people don't like her style, as she tends to dramatize her readings, but I thought it worked really well here.

Once I passed the 50% mark, I couldn't put it down! Things started falling into place, and the time honestly flew by. I felt like the book really benefitted from alternating perspectives, adding to the unreliability of the Liv as a narrator. I loved that we were thrown right into Liv's perspective as she's waking up. It would be like watching 50 First Dates from Lucy's perspective instead of Henry's...if Lucy was a suspect for murder. We're finding things out as Liv does, supplemented by the detectives' findings in the POVs in almost every other chapter.

I could see this book being frustrating for some, especially because the beginning is a little repetitive and slow, since Liv has no memory and therefore we have a really steep learning curve. It isn't until the end that we realize the significance of starting at the exact moment we did.

Overall, this was a really solid thriller, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun mystery/suspense read that has the same vibes as the movie Memento .

I have no idea what I just read… honestly… what was that… I’m so disappointed because I loved THE NIGHT SWIM and THE ESCAPE ROOM. But this one fell so flat for me. It was cheesy, repetitive, and physically/physiologically improbable. Someone is literally supposed to just stay awake? For like their entire life? And never sleep? I’m sorry, what? The narration on this one was pretty good, my overall problem was the plot and story line. Usually I enjoy alternating timelines but this one seemed to be over the place. Overall, I almost DNF’ed but it was almost like watching a train wreck when you can’t look away.

I am thankful to Netgalley and the Publisher for allowing me the opportunity I read Stay Awake. I have read The Night Swim by this author and thought it was mediocre, sadly I thought this book was even worse :/ It felt super repetitive. I felt like our main character just kept repeating the same mantra, and it got old really quickly. I didn't really appreciate the detective's POV as I felt there was a ton of "fluff" in their dialogue and just helped prolong the book which didn't really need to be prolonged. Sadly, I would skip this one.

4.5 stars rounded up

Every time Liv Reese goes to sleep, she loses her memory of the past two years of her life. She wakes up in a taxi, not knowing where she is or why to find the words STAY AWAKE written on her knuckles. But there has been a murder, and she is a person of interest the cops are looking for. Through multiple timelines, we slowly find out who Liv is, what led up to her memory loss, and what has happened since. I was riveted.

I've got to say, I love the way Megan Goldin does thrillers. I find them compulsively readable, but also thematically rich. She chooses important topics to address alongside a mystery/thriller plot and in Stay Awake, she's partly exploring stalkers and how little recourse there often is to women being stalked until they are actually harmed. She also touches more broadly on misogyny and violence towards women. That said, this theme is woven into the story, but isn't the story itself.

I was quickly sucked into this narrative and wanted to keep listening (great audio narrator by the way!). I was concerned for Liv, curious to find out what exactly had happened, and liked the female detective perspective we follow as well. It's tense, well-paced, and kept me a little on my toes. There were a couple loose threads that could have been tied up better, and while the amnesia was reasonably well explained, the specifics did feel a tad contrived. That said, I was having such a good time reading I didn't spend much time worrying about those issues. Overall, I really loved this. I received an audio copy for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Liv is living the life in NYC. She writes a food column for an incredibly popular magazine. She shares an apartment with her best friend and her cat and has an Italian boyfriend that she adores.

One night, she wakes up in the back of a cab with writing all over her hands with no recollection of how she got there. The last thing she remembers is answering her phone at work earlier in the day. Her night goes down hill from there. She gets back to her apartment and there’s a strange couple there that won’t let her in. Then the creepy, anonymous phone calls start…

This novel definitely takes you on a ride and has some suspense! I would for sure classify this as a thriller. I really enjoyed the back and forth timeline, it helped build the story and made you understand Liv’s condition more.

I did however find it to be very predictable and that’s one thing I really don’t like in my thrillers. I want to be surprised around every corner. The narrator was pretty good, I really didn’t like how her voice had a synth type sound if you speed the narration up.

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for this ALC of Stay Awake by Megan Goldin in exchange for an honest review.

I really did not like this book. I have read two other titles by this author and enjoyed this very much. This one…missed the mark with me.

The main character loses her memory every time she falls asleep. Ok. Someone tried to kill her years ago. Could they be after her still? Who could it be? Liv, the main character, suffers from big dummy syndrome. I just couldn’t deal with her stupidity. And I felt like I was reading sections of the book over and over again. So much of the story just repeats itself.

I really did not like the narrator of this audiobook and will avoid her work in the future. Her pacing for a particular time period meant that. she. would. just. speak. very. slowly. Because. She. Was. So. Confused.
HATED IT!

I didn’t read the very last part—so I don’t even know who THE VILLAIN turned out to be. If you know, please message me. If I never find out, I’ll live.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced listening copy of this title in exchange for my honest opinion.

First off, that narrators did a fantastic job. Overall, I thought the book was entertaining and suspenseful. We’re some parts over the top? Of course, but that made it fun.

Fifty First Dates in the form of a thriller, this unique novel kept me guessing the entire way through. Goldin even had me questioning parts of the plot I assumed to be facts.

The premise of the novel, is a young women with trauma based amnesia finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. While a suspect, Liv, even finds herself second guessing her own innocence but how does one prove their innocence while also suffering recurring amnesia?

This was my first Megan Goldin novel, and certainly will not be my last!

Note: I received this ARC from Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Press in return for an honest review.
Review date: 7/8/2022

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin was one of the best thrillers I have read in a really long time. I was super into this story and count not put it down!

Publication Date: August 9, 2022

Synopsis:
Liv Reese wakes up in a cab with a bloody knife in her pocket. Her apartment is no longer hers and her friends and boyfriend refuse to answer her. Left with scribbled messages all over her hands and arms, the only thing that Liv understands is that she must STAY AWAKE

Liv does not know what is happening. The last thing she remembers is working for a successful magazine as a top writer. But Liv soon realizes that this memory was over two years ago and she cannot remember anything that has happened since.

When a man is found murdered and the words similar to those on her arm are smeared on the window of his apartment (in his own blood) Liv realizes she is the only murder suspect. What can she do with no memory and nobody to help her?

Thoughts:
- I was left guessing what was happening. I had no clue how this one was going to end.
-A slow burn but the story is so interesting, I was so engrossed in Liv's story from her past and present
-Loved the ending

Five Bright Stars for Stay Awake by Megan Goldin. A must read of the summer!

The narrators, Imogen Church and January LaVoy did an excellent job as well. I was so into the story and the way they narrated was filled with emotion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

This one was just ok for me. I thought the idea behind it was really great but the first 3/4 of the book just seemed super repetitive. I just couldn’t really get into it and wish it wouldn’t have just been the same thing over and over with Liv. Thank you netgalley for my free review copy.

Positives: I loved the premise, and the pacing. I could NOT put this book down!

Opportunities: there were some questions that never did get answered, but weren’t intentional cliff-hangers. If those had gotten wrapped up this would have been an immaculate story.

This had me racing through it! I couldn’t stop because i had to know what was happening! There were a few twists in this one!

I did figure out who was behind it or had a suspicion but the others were a bit surprising. I really enjoyed figuring things with out with our MC and i really liked the detective aspects/pov as well.

I did think that the amnesia bits did seem to get a bit repetitive at times but there was always a bit more added on for clues too.

Great story tho! Liked how it concluded

The narrators did great too.