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Member Reviews

This is another fantastic Megan Goldin book! Stay Awake had me hooked from the start, and had lots of "wow" moments that had my head spinning. I loved this one!

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Sooo good! One of my faves to read! Definitely would recommend picking this one up if you see it in the store!

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Huge fan of of this author, and I really enjoyed the opportunity to read this story. It was a fast paced, mystery, and believe it or not I was unable to put a finger on the “villain “.

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Wow! I always wonder what gives authors their ideas, and this one is definitely one of those books that had be wondering, what on earth is wrong with this author?! Kidding!
But seriously! The premise is so unusual and I liked the build up of suspense in the characters!

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In this gripping thriller, every time magazine writer Liv Reese wakes up, she finds herself confused about where she is—and it quickly becomes clear that she has no memory at all of the last two years. She tries to understand her own situation while vaguely realizing that something seriously bad is going on, whether it’s something she did or something that’s threatening her. Meanwhile, an appealing duo of homicide detectives try to figure out whether she is a suspect or a victim. The clues in this story are well placed, and although a seasoned mystery fan can probably figure out what’s going on well before the authorities, that doesn’t make the book any less compelling. There’s plenty of suspense, and it’s fun and satisfying to see how everything turns out.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital advance review copy.

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Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi, completely in the dark as to who she is or where she is going. Someone else is living in her home, having moved in long before. With no phone and a gruesome reminder of the night she does not remember in her pocket, Liv can only look at the graffiti on her skin for answers. When a news report gives Liv the feeling that she has done something terribly wrong, who can she turn to when she remembers only the life she had two years before?

I love mystery thrillers and, though I did figure some of the ending out, I still enjoyed reading this novel. Characterization was very strong and the plot had some good twists and turns. I liked how there was not a rush to judgment by the police, that they investigated the crime instead of the suspect. Though the back and forth in time did help to build suspense, I would have preferred a more linear story. Overall, Stay Awake was a good mystery thriller and one I would recommend to those who like the genre.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy by NetGalley and the publisher. The decision to read and review this novel was completely my own.

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I really enjoyed this! I love the authors writing style and her characters were great!

The way that the past was revealed to Liv I wish had more showing rather than telling, but in this case it would be quite difficult due to her memory issues. I loved how the dual timelines showed us before the incident and then after the new incident as parallels.

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The premise behind this book was fascinating. Liv forgets everything from the past two years every time she goes to sleep - and things are getting tricky with her waking up holding a knife with a bloodstained message saying "STAY AWAKE"

This story was a little bit repetitive at a times, but it obviously had to be as Liv continued to wake up with the same basic knowledge of her life. It was fun to piece together what happened alongside Liv, and although I had an idea of some of the secrets before they were fully revealed. Between what really happened with Amy and Marco, and the later twist setting up more murders and who the mastermind was, threw me a little bit. It was not who I expected it to be in the end.

The one thing I didn't like was how naive and dumb Liv was sometimes. I know she had a diary that had been destroyed, but while she is investigating and on the run couldn't she have popped into a store and bought a cheap notebook? She could just write down everything she's learned and that way she doesn't need to cover her arms in weird cryptic messages. It would also save her a lot of day to day panic about who and where she is. Overall though, I did enjoy this one and I'm excited to read what Megan writes next!

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Parts of this story were captivating, while other sections dragged a bit, or didn't feel quite as developed. I did enjoy this one more than The Escape Room..

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I’ve highly enjoyed everything I’ve read by this author, so I was excited to get the chance to read their newest book. As usual, I was not disappointed. I thought this is a great read, and I will continue to be reading any books this author comes out with.

Even though the main character wasn’t super relatable to me, considering I didn’t have these issues, I found that what they were doing, made perfect sense throughout the story. I loved all the mystery surrounding the characters and how you really couldn’t trust any of them even the main character.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to anybody that likes to read thriller mystery type novels. I even feel like this would be a good place to start if you want to get into reading them.

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I’ve dealt with memory loss before both before and after I needed brain surgery so that part was definitely relatable to me. But this thriller had a lot of twists and turns that kept me reading and wanting to know what was going to happen next.

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This was such a fun and addictive thriller. I loved that the narrator was so untrustworthy! I felt like I had memory problems in this book. I didn't trust anyone and had no idea what was going on! I LOVED IT! (IT would be a 4.5 stars if GR did half stars)

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I really liked the concept, and the mystery was exciting and everything, but man I could NOT get past the insufferable protagonist. You'd think that, after learning she can't remember anything after falling asleep, she would write down more helpful things on her arms that just 'stay awake' or 'don't fall asleep'. What exactly was her end game here if she knows she can't remember things, but never takes steps to make anything easier on herself, and literally cannot stay awake forever. Anytime she was close to getting help or an explanation, she ran away, fell asleep, and the whole stupid thing started over again. Take out her parts and have just the detectives and that should be the book.

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Megan Goldin's latest novel, Stay Awake, is a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Think 50 First Dates (the movie), but instead of a cheesy rom com, it's a chilling murder mystery.

Stay Awake follows Liv Reese, who's memory resets any time she falls asleep. As if her memory loss isn't terrifying enough, two years ago, she narrowly escaped being murdered. This book has alternating POVs and timelines, but despite that, the storyline was easy to follow.

Without giving too much away, the ending felt... incomplete to me. It was by no means a bad ending, but it did feel rushed. The reveal at the end did catch me by surprise.

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okay, this was a TRIP. my brain is still reeling & i don’t know if i’ll ever get over it.

i loveeeeee the unreliable narrator troupe & this was that x100

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Stay Awake by Megan Goldin starts off with a woman waking up in the back of a taxi, and having no recollection of how she got there. Right off the bat, I just knew that this was going to be an entertaining read. It grabbed my attention immediately, and the momentum stayed strong until the very end. After the taxicab scene, we quickly find out that a man has been murdered, and the woman was spotted fleeing the crime scene. What follows after that is one heck of a wild and crazy ride because she doesn’t remember anything from the night before! I will admit that I was able to put a few of the pieces together, and the character that I predicted as the murderer was correct, but the story still kept me on the edge of my seat! If you like your thrillers exciting, chilling, suspenseful, and extremely fast-paced, then Stay Awake is just the one for you. The author has a new book coming out this summer called Dark Corners, and you better believe that I’ll be reading it. 4/5 stars for Stay Awake! It’s a fun one!

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Great thriller!! Could not put down will definitely be adding to recommend list!! You will definitely want to STAY AWAKE to finish this amazing thriller.

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this was totally un-put-downable. I tore through it in a day - my favorite kind of thriller. I didn’t love the end twist and felt like there were some loose ends left, but overall, this was a solid thriller. if you enjoyed the movie Memento, you’ll enjoy this!

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From my blog: Always With a Book

I have become a huge fan of Megan Goldin’s thrillers, having loved both her last two books, The Escape Room and The Night Swim, so of course I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her latest book, Stay Awake. And I’m so happy to say it totally delivers in every way I had hoped!

One of my favorite tropes in thrillers is the amnesia story and I loved the way it is used here. It totally grabbed my attention and made for such an addictive, compelling story. Yes, there is a bit of repetition here and there, but you sort of have to expect that when you are dealing with someone forgetting things. I loved the way the story was told from Liv’s perspective both in the past and present and that we also get some chapters from the detective. I really liked her character, too – Detective Darcy Halliday.

This book kept me on my toes right from the beginning and I loved that things moved fast. I never felt like there was a lot of downtime in this book, but you do need to pay attention. I was so focused on what was happening with Liv’s mental state that I missed a few clues as to the identity of the murderer. This is definitely a book I plan to reread sometime in the future and read much slower! The first time around, I just couldn’t slow down…I needed to see how it ended!

With this book, Megan Goldin proves that she is a master at what she does and that you are not going to get a standard cookie-cutter thriller from her, which I love. She is a must-read for me and I am already counting down the days until her next book comes out!

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What a ride. Excellent psychological thriller following the main character Liv Reese a woman who seems to have no memory. She does however have words written on her hand stating “Stay AwKe” she also has a knife.

This story follows Liv as she tries to figure out why she is missing two years of her life and why she has intense fear.

Bit by tiny bit the pieces come together but will it happen quickly enough for Liv to save herself.

The reader will indeed Stay Awake to finish this one.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC copy of this thriller in exchange for my honest review.

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