3.5 stars

Stay Awake was HEAVILY reminiscent of Memento. If I didn’t watch Memento this would have been a more mind blowing story.

There are 3 timelines: present - post murder, 2 years ago, and present - pre murder. And it is written from 2 perspectives: Homicide detectives (3rd person), Liv (1st person).

The chapters covering the detective’s perspective were repetitive, overly explanatory, and dry. For example…. “Halliday pushed open the fire exit doors and stepped into an alley behind the building. Ten yards away was a street. On that street, directly facing the end of the lane was a liquor store. Halliday crossed the side street and went inside.” 🥱 I skimmed a LOT of those chapters.

It had the usual red herrings that misdirected me, and I didn’t predict the ending. I guessed bits and pieces, but it was satisfying and I ended up enjoying it.

✨𝐑 𝐄 𝐕 𝐈 𝐄 𝐖✨

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧

Oh my goshhhhhhh!!! My first read by @megangoldinauthor did not disappoint. It’s been a while since I’ve been this addicted to a mystery/thriller book. I devoured this book over a few days which is very impressive for me & my schedule lately 😍 IT WAS SO GOOD.

👍🏼: I loved the unique storyline with the main character, Liv, waking up and having no memory of where she was or why her entire life seems to be different in the blink of an eye. 🤯 I enjoyed the dual perspectives and timelines gaining little pieces here and there as the detectives try to solve a crime that Liv is on the run from with no memory of the events that happened. The story was so well paced with short chapters that kept me going. I truly did not want to put this one down! 🙌🏼

👎🏼: I did want more at the end of the story after so much had unraveled, like a mini epilogue or something- I always appreciate those 😂 but I respect how the author ended the story & honestly loved everything else about this thriller/mystery.

Again, it’s been a while since I was so excited about a book & definitely recommend this one for my thriller lovers out there! Thanks to @stmartinspress for the gifted e-ARC ❤️ this one is out 8/9!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This book was okay, I thought it was going to be more thriller then detective story. I’d give this author another chance!

I really, really enjoyed Stay Awake! Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a cab with no memory. Upon arriving at her apartment she learns she no longer lives there. Her phone is missing and she is covered in strange messages saying, "stay awake" and "don't trust the police". This was a fun spin on the unreliable narrator and a fast-paced thriller. Definitely one of my favorites so far this year!

I've enjoyed most of Megan Goldin's books. Nothing that I would rave on and on about, but not bad either. This was a decent 3 star for me.

Liv wakes in the back of a taxi with no idea how she got there. She tries to head home but discovers someone else now lives in her apartment. In her hand she finds a bloody knife. And all over here body she finds writing - on her arm STAY AWAKE. What is going on?!

A solid mysetry, I enjoyed the unraveling. Wouldn't quite call it a thriller.

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.

******
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.