I was soooo excited to finally get my first ARC from @netgalley and @stmartinspress (thank you!!) and from an author I read before! ⁣
⁣
𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞 by 𝘔𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯- release date 8/9/22. ⁣
(Author of The Night Swim which I loveddddd!!) ⁣
⁣
I want to leave an honest review so I gotta say, this was a big disappointment for me. 😩 I was getting used to the jumping back and forth in time but then I found so many details just felt ridiculous, confusing and unrealistic. ⁣
There were so many added bits and unnecessary details that didn’t even make sense, or it made the character just look stupid. I didn’t like any of the characters so I never felt connected- more annoyed and just wanted it to be over. ⁣
⭐️ 1/5⁣
⁣
With all that said- I would still read from her again but this was just a big miss for me.

Loved this book! Fantastic mystery/thriller! The plot was original and fresh and kept me interested and engaged throughout the whole book. Fast paced and propulsive.. Was hard to put this book down. For those readers looking for a one-sit read, this would be a perfect choice. The story is told with two main time lines: current time after a murder has taken place and flashbacks of Liv’s life. The two main POV are LIv who has memory problems and the police detective. This starts with LIv trying to get into her apartment without keys or a phone. She is very confused when strangers are living in what she believes is her apartment. The way Liiv’s story unfolds with current updates interspersed with events from the past two years kept me off-balance as I tried to put the puzzle together. THe detective storyline gave other views of Liv’s life that slotted important pieces into place. Great pacing and strong mystery. Really liked how the identity of the murder victims was kept secret for a decent part of the book. Plenty of suspects for the murderer. Really loved this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a ride!! This was so fun. Stay Awake brings you the story of Liv who has a great New York life - cute boyfriend, great job and fun best friend roommate who wakes up one night not knowing how to got to where she is holding a bloody knife.

You get this story in dual timelines with multiple points of view, the police and Liv as she tries to piece together what's going on. I went into this pretty blind and I think that's the way to go. You'll be guessing after each twist and turn.

I was ready to prematurely ready to declare this a five star new favorite but the friend I was reading it reminded me of some serious plot holes that didn't get tied up. I guess they're just red herrings but it would have been better to have everything tie together. It was still a fun ride and my heart was pounding, which is exactly what I want from this genre.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author Megan Goldin for this amazing read! I have read The Escape Room and loved it and this was no different. I loved the “Memento” vibes which happens to be one of my favorite movies.

What happens when every time you wake up you don’t remember a thing? What happens if one of those times you wake up with a bloody knife, next to a body and the last thing you remember is a phone call at your work desk. That is what Liv has to figure out in this high paced thriller that switches back to current time and a time in the past. I will say you will want to make sure you pay attention when the MC falls asleep a couple of times I was like “What just happened?” then I understood what was going on. I will say I would give this a 4 stars in suspense and a 4 star overall for thrills, chills, and twist!

I enjoyed this thriller. The amnesia element keeps you guessing throughout the book. Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this.

Oh woah!!! Now THIS is what I have been waiting for to read. It started off with a bang; straight to the insane plot of Liv who has memory problems and cannot remember a thing. She drinks caffeine like how a normal person should drink water so that she can avoid sleep. If she sleeps, she loses her memory.
Liv is in New York, that’s where she lives…she thinks anyways and is retracing her life from when she remembers last, which is 2 years ago. She needs to be really careful because someone may be after her but she doesn’t understand who or why. She needs to learn everything about her life, without trusting anyone, and while staying awake.
Needing more books by this author! Because I LOVED it!!!!!

The title is both a description of Liv's constant battle as well as an unnecessary suggestion to the reader--unnecessary because the reader will "stay awake" when reading this twisty mystery filled with unexpected turns with every page. The story alternates between Liv's past and present. Her past is something that she cannot remember if she goes to sleep, so she does everything possible to stay awake. When an unidentified man is found stabbed to death in his bed, detectives Lavelle and Halliday begin a desperate search for his identity and that of his killer. Alternating between Liv's life (whether past or present) and the police investigation is an effective method to inform the reader and to keep the reader guessing. Loose ends are tied up logically, but it is not until almost the very end that the reader knows what is really happening. And that's the way a mystery should involve its reader. Very satisfying read.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read the advance copy of this title and to review it.

This is an amazing thriller that kept me guessing til the end. The weaving of amnesia and sleep deprivation made for a new twist on figuring out this mystery.

Thank you Net galley for this ARC.

This was so much fun! I enjoy reading thrillers, but sometimes they become fun...but forgettable. This one was fun...and I won't forget it! It was a new story, and told in such a way that I knew I was missing information, but I HAD to keep reading to find out what it was. I was constantly second guessing myself, and that was a delight! I could not put this one day. Megan Goldin writes stories that keep you hooked from the first page, and I'm here for them!

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy of this novel. I read and really enjoyed both of Goldin’s previous novels and this was another enjoyable one.

Stay Awake is the story of Liv Reese. She wakes up late one night in the back of a cab, with no memory of how she got there. In fact, she’s forgotten two years of her life. To make matters worse, she soon sees a news report about a murder and notices writing on her hands that’s similar to a message written at the crime scene.

The book alternates between the present day investigation, present day Liv and two years ago where we find out the events leading up to the murder. This was a really good, fast paced thriller. My only complaint is that the timeline can be a bit hard to follow, and some of the dialogue rings false. But all in all, a very enjoyable book

I really enjoyed this book. I liked how it unfolded little by little. All I could think about was 50 first dates but as a thriller.

4 Stars!

Megan Goldin definitely knows how to draw you in and make you continue reading until you fall asleep holding your Kindle, I couldn't stay awake, but I wanted to keep reading Stay Awake!

Liv Reese wakes up in a cab, with her hands covered in blood and writing all over her hands and arms telling her to Stay Awake. Every time she falls asleep, her memory is erased back to two years ago.....this book was a wild ride! I loved being in Liv's head and only knowing what she knows and getting snippets of flashbacks.

I also love, love, loved the female detective/war veteran Darcy Halliday....if this became a series with her and Detective Lavelle, I would read them all!!

A special thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Megan Goldin for providing me with an ARC.

This was such a fantastic read! It grabbed me from the first page and didn't let go. Told in different POV with multiple timelines. Liv was a fantastic character, and although the book jumps back and forth, it added to the story as you try to figure out what happened to her.

Liv an amnesiac, loses her memory of the last two years, every time she falls asleep. Each time she wakes up, the last thing she remembers is answering her phone in her office. She desperately needs to remember what happened during that two-year time gap, so she constantly is trying to stay awake. Writing notes to herself on her hands with the words Stay Awake, and Trust No One. She tries keeping a journal and covering her walls with post-it notes to try to remember everything that she can when she wakes up. While she is trying to recover her memories from those missing two years, there is a murder, and it turns out she is the main suspect.

This was a fast-paced thriller, and Megan Goldin has become an auto buy for me ever since I read The Night Swim, this one does not disappoint!

This is the first book I have downloaded and read on NetGalley Shelf! I loved Megan Goldin’s The Escape Room and The Night Swim so I had very high hopes for this book. It started a little rocky for me and I think part of it was because I wasn’t actually holding a book. Once I got used to reading it on a screen I settled in and enjoyed this book a lot. It was a little a confusing dealing with her “amnesia” but it all lead to a surprise ending! I never suspected the killer at all! I highly recommend reading this book as well as her other titles

Another amazing mystery from Megan Goldin! "Stay Awake" kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire novel. In this thriller, we meet Liv Reese who has just woken up in a cab confuse and not sure how she got there. Soon, Liv finds out that her life has totally changed and she might be in danger. Full of twists and turns, memory loss, and a mystery killer, this book will keep you guessing until the very end!

Wow! This is the first megan goldin book i read and it did not disappoint! It kept me guessing until the very end. Highly recommend, cant wait to read kore if her books!

This book is about liv, who has a form of amnesia where she forgets everything from the last two years every time she falls asleep. Her ex boyfriend and best friend were both murdered and she was also stabbed. She was not wanted in the murder even tho she is the only witness because she was also stabbed. Now two years in the future she is trying to solve the crime while forgetting everything the moment she falls alseep. Will she ever discover who killed them before the killer gets her?

Thanks for the arc netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Wow! I made the "mistake" of staring this book when I lay down for a nap. Haha, hours later, I was still reading! The very unique plot kept me wondering if the main character, Liv, would ever get her memory back. Was she a killer when she was asleep? You like her a lot and don't want that to be the case but keep reading to find out.

The only problem I had with the story, and I don't think this is a spoiler, since it's mentioned in the public description of the book, is the fact that Liv had the same words written on her hand that were found at the murder scene, along with other incriminating things on her other hand and arms. Why didn't she immediately wash them off? They offered proof to the authorities that she was involved.

How I love an author who can write something so compelling without having to add sex or bad language! I want to read more by Megan Goldin now.

Stay awake kept me awake reading this book. I could not put it down. It was a beautifully written psychological thriller that will keep you guessing. It was easy to put myself in the main characters shoes. I can’t wait to read more books by Megan Goldin.

This book was amazing. Kept me guessing until the end. There are so many unknowns that are slowly revealed but the pace of the story never let up! Told from various points of view and different timelines, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire ride! Thanks to NetGalley for the Arc in return for an unbiased review.

I just finished reading "Stay Awake" by Megan Goldin. Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is a book about a young woman who has a rare form of amnesia where everytime she wakes up, she has forgotten everything that has happened in the last two years. There is a constant electric energy in the book as the main character is trying to find out what happened to her life while at the same time a police detectice is investigating a homicide that may or may not have included her.
I loved this book. It definately had some "Memento" vibes because in order to remind herself of important information, the main character ,Liv, writes notes to herself on her body. Her body is covered with notes like "Stay Awake" that lead her on a wild chase to find out what is going on. The story goes back and forth between the past where the reader gets an idea on what Liv was like before the amnesia and is introduced to her best friend and her boyfriend. Then there is the point of view of the main detective who is tasked with investigating a homicide. Throughout the book, we meet different characters who may or my not want to hurt Liv, but the ending ties up all the intrigue and action with a conclusion that explains everything.
I liked the pace of the story and the shifts in perspective. I did get a little confused a couple of times about the timeline so i had to go back to the beginning of the chapter, but it wasn't a big deal.
I like how the author tied all the characters together in the book. There were a few moments which I thought were a little farfetched but overall, the story telling was great.
I liked the main character. She was messed up and scared and smart and brave all at once. I found myself rooting for her and I found her back story fascinating.
I am so glad I read this book. It was a riveting and thrilling ride into the mind of an amnesiac searching for the truth. I am sure everyond will love it.
Happy Reading!