Ever since I first read Megan Goldin's "The Escape Room" she has been my go-to author for disturbing, creepy, and down right thrilling novels. "Stay Awake" has all her signature touches, making it yet another unputdownable read.

Liv Reese wakes up with no memory, something she does every time she falls asleep it turns out. This time though it's looking quite plausible she may have killed someone. Her last memory is from 2 years and 3 months ago and her life has altered so dramatically she is spinning to put all the pieces together.

This thrilling novel has readers feeling just as confused and trying to put it all together as Liv works to do the same. From the detectives, to her drive to STAY AWAKE, to unraveling the last two years this book is a thrilling masterpiece.

As much as I was looking forward to reading/listening to Stay Awake, I have to add I really struggled with it. It was in credibly repetitive, and not in a good way. There were too many plot holes and inconsistencies. And one of the two narrators was overly dramatic, making it very difficult for me to stick with it. Overall, this one just did not work for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an audiobook copy of Stay Awake in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately I found this story to be quite repetitious and oftentimes rambling towards nothing. Her ability to write messages on her hand or her arm made me wonder why she didn't write more pertinent things that were ever so relevant to her staying alive?

Added to all of this was the narrator who was over the top in her narration with dramatics worthy of a Disney cartoon. Seriously she ruined the book for me. The many plot holes in the story was another stumbling block for me.

So, this one was not for me. If anything, it put me to sleep and was in my humble opinion poorly written.

Thank you to NetGalley and for both a physical and audio version of this story.

I enjoyed this fast-paced thriller—perfect summer vacation book. Liv wakes up with no memories of the past two years, or the awful thing that happened to her. She has to figure it out, and who to trust, before something bad happens again. Suspenseful and satisfying, though I would have liked a bit more closure at the end. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc!

This was a fun book, and it was narrated by one of my favorite audiobook readers January LaVoy, so I really loved it.

I did think the main character did some fairly dumb things, But it's a thriller and people doing dumb stuff is basically a pre requisite.

Liv Reese wakes up and cannot remember anything that has happened to her in the past two years. Imogen Church does an excellent job giving us a sense of what it is like to be desperate and alone. The messages she has written on her hands and arms beg her not to sleep. Meanwhile the NYPD is investigating a murder. January LaVoy is the voice of Detective Darcy Halliday. Is Liv a suspect or a potential victim? What happened to Liv two years ago? What happened last night? As we are given information about the past, at times we know more than the police. We definitely know more than Liv. This was an entertaining read and required me to focus and connect some dots. I love making connections and if the book hadn't left me with some unanswered questions, I might have given it five stars. This is my third book by Megan Goldin. I would say that The Night Swim is my favorite, the latest from Goldin come in second. The Escape Room comes in at third place.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an audio ARC and St. Martins Press for a DRC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Liv Reese is our complicated, troubled, amnesiac main character who gets wrapped up in a murder investigation. Her memory has a massive 2 year gap and when she falls asleep, she forgets everything and wakes up with her memory wiped. Liv writes reminders and tips to herself on her arms/hands. The most shocking note says “Stay Awake,” the same phrase that is found written in blood at a recent crime scene. As timelines jump between the present and 2 years ago, Liv tries to understand what has happened and how she got tied up in the murder.

I was pulled in by this intriguing nightmare of a premise alone, but Megan’s writing is what made the entire book a suspenseful and engaging experience. That’s actually what I appreciated most about this book was that it wasn’t a slow burn as so many psychological thrillers can be. It was exciting from the get go and continued to provide twists and alarming details that made me question Liv’s true nature throughout. Also I love an unreliable narrator, and when even the narrator doesn’t know if she’s reliable? Delicious!

Liv Reese’s amnesia made her an interesting character and it was fun discovering her memories as she did. It helped that she’s clever and not completely helpless even though her amnesia severely limits her. Liv has no idea who she can trust, let alone herself, which adds to the suspenseful atmosphere.

The book also breaks up Liv’s perspective with a third person account from Halliday, who is a detective put on the murder case investigating Liv. I really enjoyed her character as she was empathetic with a “take no s***” attitude since she has to work with a bunch of tough male cops. She’s smart and has great instincts as a detective. I would read any book Halliday is in.

Okay, so this is the first audiobook I’ve gotten to review from NetGalley (hooray!). I am a HUGE audiobook fan. In the past year, I estimate that for every 2 books I read in physical copy, I listened to 1 audiobook. I almost always listen to them on 2x speed, and Stay Awake was no exception. I have never been particularly picky about narrator voice, but I feel that there are some notable things to say about the narrator that read Liv’s parts.

The cadence was constantly going up and down like a roller coaster, but not in a way that made sense to me. Her voice was dramatic when it didn’t really need to be, drawing out words without reason. Let me give you some examples (capitalized words are emphasized words in narrator’s voice):

“With his fake taaan, and dyed HAIRRR.”

“It FEELS as if it happened YESTERDAY.”

“The labored breeeathing and footsteps behind me make me ACUTELY aware that I’m on a DARK and ISOLATED stretch of street. NObody is around other than ME and the STRANger following me.”

“I’m. Still. Rattled. By what happened. The other night.”

As I said before, I’m not usually picky when it comes to narrator voice, but these things did bother me slightly. The voice for Halliday was perfect, very straightforward and enjoyable. Ultimately, when I consider my feelings about an audiobook, I rely much more on the content of the novel and less on the performance on the narrator, but keep these points in mind if you give the audiobook a try.

With this novel, Megan Goldin has proven to me that she is a master at psychological thrillers and she’ll be a staple in the genre for the foreseeable future. This being the third book of hers that I loved, I can now say I’ll read anything she writes.

Listening to this book was more of a challenge than I normally have. I had to listen at 2x speed to keep up with my normal reading speed. This made the voice nasally and echoey.
But the book itself…

WOW! What a whirlwind adventure. Great writing propelled this thriller through multiple perspectives and kept me on my toes.
I instantly took the the MC. Her situation was unique, but not unbelievable. Piecing together her past to solve the unknown was more than entertaining.
I found myself thinking of this book when I wasn’t reading as well as telling others about it.
I have loved everything I’ve read from Megan Goldin and look forward to more from her.

Liv comes to in the back of a cab with no recollection of where she was or what was happening. The cab drops her off at her place where someone else is living and who slams the door in her face. Liv has no idea where to go, she reaches for her cell and finds a bloody knife in her pocket instead. When she looks at her hands she sees STAY AWAKE written in pen.

This one was a unique and gripping read. The pace was steady throughout and the atmosphere was paranoid. A tad repetitive and unrealistic at times but I’m sure it was intention given the premise. This book gave me 50 First Dates vibes but make it a psychological thriller.

I LOVED The Night Swim by this author and this one was another solid effort.

Stay Awake is a thriller following a woman who wakes up, and has no knowledge as to why she is where she is. This memory loss does get a bit repetitive as the story goes on, but it an interesting way to further the plot. The story is told in the present, where our main character has lost parts of her memory, and two years ago. Due to this structure, the reader ends up knowing far more than the MC. However, I was still surprised by The Who Done It.

Overall, this is a 3 star for me. I enjoyed the story, but didn’t love its repetitive nature.

The audiobook for Stay Awake is pretty standard. Their is one female narrator, who reads the story well.

Stay awake will be published on August 9, 2022. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the audiobook of Stay Awake in exchange for my honest review.

Liv Reese wakes up to discover that strangers live in her apartment and there’s a bloody knife in her pocket. Her hands and arms are covered with strange messages like “stay awake”, “don’t sleep”, “don’t trust anyone”.

Each time Liv wakes up she’s living in a nightmare. She can’t remember the last two years of her life and each day is like starting all over. She writes messages on herself to try to prompt memories. Over and over, she discovers a large scar on her torso. She can’t remember how she got it.

When a man is found murdered in his bed, the clues lead the police to consider Liv the prime suspect. But how do you get enough evidence to prosecute a woman who can’t remember what she did yesterday?

Stay Awake is an anxiety inducing mystery-thriller. If you’ve ever woken up and briefly panicked, not knowing where you are, you’ll get an inkling of what Liv feels each and every waking moment of her life. In the beginning of the book, I was working right along with Liv to try to work through the murky mess that is her life. Eventually, other voices gave me clues as to what is going on, which greatly helped my agitation.

I listened to the audio version and have to confess it kept ME awake! But there were two reasons for that and I am going to rate the book accordingly. The author, Megan Goldin, gets five stars for a first-rate thriller.

The narration was much more jarring. The narrator created a voice for Liv that was extremely distracting. It was halting, and alternated between peevish, puzzled and angry. Puzzled, I can understand, but there was no “normal” base voice, just this constant barrage of over-the-top moods. About halfway through the book, this leveled out quite a bit, and the listening experience was a lot more enjoyable. The narrator for Liv’s voice also mispronounced several words.

Stay Awake is recommended for readers of Psychological Suspense and Thrillers, but I suggest reading the text version.

book cover, Stay Awake by Megan Goldin
My Ratings: Book — 5 Stars, Grade A
Narration — 3 Stars, Grade C

This was exactly what I was craving. I devoured this psychological thriller in one day. I couldn't stop until I knew what the heck was going on! I loved Megan Goldin's other novel, The Night Swim, and was skeptical this one would live up to it. However, Stay Awake was entirely different but just as good. A very pleasant surprise! High recommend adding this to your summer reading list!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this audiobook.

This was an absolutely amazing thriller. Was unable to put it down full of twists and turns, highly egrossing and addictive i was unable to put this one down my only regret is that i didn't read it sooner

Thank you, NetGalley, Megan Goldin, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read this book! It releases on August 9th, 2022.

Stay Awake is my first Megan Goldin book and it will not be my last! When Liv Reese wakes up, she can’t recall what has happened for the last two years. She has writing on all of her hands. She has written things like, “stay awake” or “don’t trust anyone.” She needs to find her best friend Amy and her boyfriend Marco and figure out what is going on. When there is a murder nearby, she soon discovers that she is the prime suspect. How can she convince the cops that she is innocent when she can’t remember what has happened in the last 2 years?

This book is WILD! I seriously finished listening to this in less than two days. I had know what was going on. This gave off serious Momento with Guy Pearce vibes. I love how there is a small revelation at the end of each chapter, making it impossible to put down. Not to mention it is also narrated by Imogen Church and January LaVoy. Imogen Church is one of my favorite audiobook narrators and can really pull readers into the story. This is my first time listening to January LaVoy and she was phenomenal as well!

Readers will go back and forth about Liv for the first part of the book. Then will spend the rest trying to piece together the mystery. I honestly couldn’t guess the ending. –which we all know is a huge positive for me! Plus there is the emotional nature of the book. While it may seem like a standard thriller, there is a huge tug of emotion as well. Just imagining being in Liv’s shoes filled me with anxiety. Overall, I highly recommend this book and it is one of my top favorite thrillers this year, so far!

This was an interesting premise and I enjoyed getting to the bottom of what happened in the story. Amnesia was used as a way to keep the story going in order for us to find out what happened at the same time as Liv. Liv was a likeable character which made me feel vested in what would happen to her. I listened to the story and read it. Unfortunately I think the narrator kind of turned me off of the story at times with the way it was portrayed. All of the time hopping was confusing at times too, but I understand the need for it due to the amnesia. It felt a bit repetitive at times as well. Overall it was a good mystery and it never occurred to me who the actual killer was! I'd recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Megan Goldin, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for access to this ARC!

As a huge fan of the author, I was super excited for this book, and it did not disappoint. It was so twisty and kept me on the edge of my seat. I honestly never knew where it was going next. It was a roller coaster ride. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. The audio made the experience even better. With a great narrator, she brought the story to life even more. Excellent book and can’t wait to read more from Goldin in the future

Let me preface this with the fact that not only is the author, Megan Goldin new to me, but the narrators Imogen Church and January LaVoy are new to me as well.

Stay Awake did NOT disappoint. The reader/listener is immediately immersed in the story, experiencing the same fraught disorientation as Liz Reese who has no idea what is going on with her world after awakening inside a cab with no purse, ID or cell phone and no clue that two years have passed.

The story is fast paced and presented skillfully through two main characters, Liv Reese, narrated by Imogen Church, and Detective Darcy Halliday, narrated by January LaVoy. They both gave a fabulous performance, each highly talented in multi-character narration and foreign accents.

Liv Reese is the prime suspect of a murder she knows nothing about. I especially loved the way the author drew me in to the investigation by not knowing who, why or what actually happened to make Liv forget two years of her life every time she falls asleep.  Throughout the story, the author transports readers back and forth between Liv's past and present time delivered seamlessly via the narrators inflection.

In the end I was surprised and never even suspected the real killer. The sort of amnesia Liv Reese suffers from may sound outlandish to some, but the author told it in such a way that I did not doubt its plausibility.

I give this audiobook five stars 🌟🌟🌟 🌟 🌟 for story and performance.

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan audio for the arc.

A creepy version of 50 First Dates. I was perpetually confused, which I think was sort of the point. I might have enjoyed it more had I not chosen the audio version. The narrator for Liz's point of view annoyed me so much I almost put it down after the first hour. Her cadence and intonation successfully conveyed Liz's utter bewilderment but it was completely overdone. Additionally, her representation of the male voices scraped against my nerves like a cheese grater on skin. Fortunately the narrator for the detective's point of view was better and gave me a break now and then. Definitely worth a read but skip the audio version.

3.5 ⭐
Pacy and suspenseful!

"Stay Awake" really kept me awake. I don't want to sleep like the main character Liv.. for me I want to know how the pieces all come together. It hooked me from the very beginning!

Liv forgets when she wakes up and therefore tries to stay awake. She falls into this two-year loop and the readers get two timeline perspectives from her. When she woke up with a bloody knife and heard that a murder had taken place where a note was written in blood similar to what she scribbled all over her arms she started to freak out. Was she involved? Two detectives who were assigned to the case are on her tail.

This is a very addictive thriller that I can see myself giving 4 stars if I like the ending. I think I was a bit disappointed with the grand finale. I was hoping for more since I was hyper-alert throughout this journey.

I'm excited about the audiobook because January LaVoy never disappoints. She's the voice of detective Halliday. I'm not too familiar with the main narrator Imogen Church who voices the MC, Liv. I struggle to get through some of her chapters where I felt she was overacting.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for this DRC.

4.5🌟
This Thriller was a quick suspenseful & twisty read. The story is told in 2 timelines.. present and 2 yrs ago.
Liv Reese suffers from amnesia. Every time she wakes up, she doesn’t remember anything from the past 2 years. She has “Stay Awake” written on her hands.
2 police detectives are looking for Liv after a murder crime scene points to her.
Did she do it or was she set up?
I highly recommend reading Stay Awake by Megan Goldin.
Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.