I wanted to love this book so much, however, unfortunately I really dislike the "unreliable narrator" trope in thrillers. I know I will be in the minority for this one- but I just didn't think the situation was very realistic and I'm not great at suspending disbelief. I will definitely give this author another chance, as I loved Night Swim!

Quite a page-turning psychological thriller. I was immediately invested in Liv's story and deciphering the clues right along with her. I am not exaggerating when I say I could not stop reading! This is very well written and kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end.

Liv wakes up in a back of a cab with no memory of how she got there and where she is going. When she arrives to her apartment, she finds someone else living there - and no sign of her roommate. She has phrases written on her arms and hands - but nothing makes sense. I found myself immersed in her confusion and fear and trying to figure out what is going on.

We also meet the detectives who are working to solve a murder - a murder where all the evidence points to Liv as the killer. The race to find the killer and for Liz to find out what is going on keep you flipping the pages.

If you enjoy psychological thrillers, this is one not to miss!



Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Publishing Group for sending me an ARC of Stay Awake in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start by saying I am a Megan Goldin fan. I loved Night Swim and The Escape Room. So, I was excited to receive this ARC. This book is very suspenseful and at times super creepy. I was hooked from the start and read it quickly. I always laugh a little when I see a book described as "unputdownable" but that is how I would describe Stay Awake. I did have some serious issues with the book but it held my attention and that is important!

At about 50% I thought this book was heading into 5-star territory but it fell a little short in the end. For one thing, Liv is annoying. She has so many opportunities to talk to people who can tell her about her past but she runs every time someone is about to disclose information that she claims she needs to know. Also, she managed to get from London to the U.S. and rent an apartment. That is pretty implausible. Also, I realize only two days pass from the 2nd murder to the ending but she doesn't shower or brush her teeth and nobody seems to notice?! I didn't care for how the story is wrapped up. The motivation for the crimes is clear but the motivation for the stalking of Liv before the initial crime in definitely not. The stalking didn't make sense and it was so central to the story. That is my biggest issue.

BUT... overall I really enjoyed reading this book. It was creepy and fun!! I'm not sure if this is 3.5 or 4 stars. May change later after I think about it some more.

**Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Publishing Group for this advance copy.

So dang good! It was a really fast paced mystery and I didn’t guess the ending which is always a win in my opinion. If I can set a thriller book down and not obsess about the next time I can read it then it isn’t a good thriller in my opinion because I want to be on my toes at all times. This delivered on exactly that.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an eARC to review! Stay Awake is a standalone thriller by Megan Goldin. It will be published August 9, 2022.

The last thing Liv remembers is answering her office phone during the day. However, when she wakes up, she finds herself in the back of a taxi at night with her own handwriting covering her hands and arms, Most prominently, she notices the words STAY AWAKE across her knuckles. Unbeknownst to her, Liv is suffering from a dissociative fugue in which she loses all memory of the previous two years each time she goes to sleep. She also reaches into her pocket and finds a bloody knife wrapped in a t-shirt. She has no clue how it got there. She does her best to stay awake until the next morning, where she sees a murder scene on the news. The words WAKE UP! are written on the victim's window in his blood. Could Liv be the murderer? Even she doesn't know.

This book had me riveted from start to finish! I could not put it down! The book was told in two different timelines and also from two different perspectives. Liv's point of view is told in both timelines. One is from two years ago, and one is from the present. The other perspective is that of Detective Darcy Halliday. I thought that the different timelines and perspectives were sprinkled into the story at exactly the right times. I felt like this story unfolded at the right pace, and my brain was fully absorbed the entire time with trying to figure out both what happened in the past and what would happen next. I found myself so busy devouring Liv's story that I gave little thought to the murderer until the very end of the book. The plot was fresh and exciting! I read a lot of thrillers, and few have me racing to the finish like this one did. Read this book!

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

* Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for providing a digital copy of Stay Awake in exchange of a honest review.

I liked Stay Awake so much! It's been a long time since I read a creepy and weird thriller like this one. I didn't guessed the ending which is always a bonus. Typically, I don't gravitate toward investigator/detective stories but this one really worked for me.

Liv’s last memory is sitting in her office and answering the phone, but somehow years have passed and Liv has no idea where the last two years of her life has gone.
Unable to get in touch with her friends Liv’s only clues are messages she finds written on her arms. The situation intensifies when the same message is found at a murder scene.

The classic “who done it”
While I did really enjoy the bulk of this book I found the ending to be a major let down. It wasn’t a shocking twist, it was more of a … “ok, but that’s a pretty big stretch”
In fact anyone I talk to who has read this book, all said the same thing.
Some books when the killer is revealed is like
- wow. Of course. How did I not see that.
This one is more
- riiiiiiiight. But why?

Stay Awake did not disappoint. This was my first Megan Goldin book and I can’t wait to try more. Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a cab and has no clue how she got there. She finds a bloody knife and writing all over the back of her hands. As she goes back to places she thinks she is currently living and working at you realize she has lost two years from her memory. The book alternates between what happened two years ago with what is currently happening. I was hooked from the start. I had to finish this book to find out what was happening. I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley for my honest review.

This book was just what I needed to get myself out of my thriller/mystery reading slump. I was kept on my toes throughout the entire book and finished it in less than 24 hours. Would definitely recommend!

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fairly quick read that kept me guessing. I also looked forward to picking it back up to read when I had the opportunity.

Stay Awake definitely had me awake to finish. I couldn’t wait to see how all the pieces tied together. Great thriller/mystery. five star recommendations!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC of Stay Awake by Megan Goldin. After reading the Night Swim last year, I knew I needed to get my hands on this book as soon as I heard about it! Five MASSIVE stars - I’ll be recommending this one to all of my book-loving friends.

The human brain is so complex - and given that this thriller deals not only with memory but murder, I was instantly captivated. When Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with absolutely no clue how she got there, her life begins to unravel. How has she forgotten the past two years of her life? Why is there writing all over her hands telling her to STAY AWAKE, and what is this bloody knife in her pocket that seems to be a linked to a brutal crime scene?

This thriller is complex, offering POVs from both Liv and the detectives solving the bloody crime scene that she may be connected to, the true definition of an unputdownable book. Not surprisingly, Stay Awake kept me awake all night while reading until the early hours of the morning.

Very fast paced and engaging! I enjoyed this story right from the start, it jumps right in but was not confusing or jarring at all. I also enjoyed the characters and dialogue.

Just finished, and it was a true page turner. The characters were good and engaging. My only quibbles were that the protagonist was able to go to London as a dual citizen through her dad (if she could do that, why not have him help Liv through her childhood?) and that the "stalker" that hired the neighbor was never revealed (If it was the killer, why do that so early on?) Those holes are why I dropped the review a star. Otherwise a good solid thriller.

This is a fast paced, winding ride through the mind of an amnesiac. Liv is an unreliable narrator which I am not too fond of in general but it works here. The story itself unfolds over dual timelines which was a bit confusing but also worked well and blended the two timelines to tell the story. This is very fast paced and gave me some anxiety (in a good way)...it really throws you right in the middle of the action. I wasn't expecting the ending but I also wasn't shocked either.

4.5 stars - rounded up. Absolutely loved the premise of this book and the execution was great. I typically get frustrated with unreliable narrator stories but felt this one avoided all the most frustrating tropes. (Spoiler-ish ahead...) I would have liked a bit more closure at the end - the resolution seemed to happen quite quickly and while the reveal of the was antagonist was well done and surprising, there was no explanation of their motive whatsoever. (Also felt their "final speech" was a bit contrived. The dialogue was so overly-explanatory it came off a bit goofy)
The other thing I felt was a bit confusing was Liv's life in New York. Why was she in that gross apartment? She had only been there a few weeks but was already a "regular" at a bar and a bodega - to the point where they knew about her condition? That felt like the stretch - hardly possible in a tiny small town, let alone a big city!
Overall this book had me totally hooked and the premise was so interesting and well done I can forgive some of these missteps.

One of the best thrillers I've read in a ling time! I read this so fast I almost finished it in one day! Liv Reese wakes up in the middle of the night in New York and tries to go back to the apartment she shares with her best friend, except a new couple lives there and two years have passed since Liv has lived there. Also, Liv discovers that she has a bloody knife with her. There are so many twists and turns in this book, starting with the fact that Liv loses her memory of the last two years every time she falls asleep. Who do you trust when you don't remember anyone?

It took me a little bit to get into Stay Awake, I found it dragged on a bit in a few places and while the constant jumping back and forth in timelines made sense for the plot I did find you were left in the middle unknown section of the book for a little bit. In the end, the resolution and "who done it" portion wasn't fully explained to the extent that I would have wanted in terms of the motive and why. Still a good read, definitely a unique storyline.

Stay Awake made me want to stay awake just to find out what happens!

Liv forgets everything the moment she falls asleep. When she wakes up, her last memory is from two years ago when she answered the phone at her desk. Everything from that point on is a complete blank. She tries everything to stay awake and writes notes on her hands and arms and keeps post it notes to remind her what she should and shouldn't do. When we meet Liv, she wakes up in a cab with a bloody knife. Having no idea what happened, she tries to go back to her apartment and talk to her roommate only to find that she no longer lives there and the current tenants are fed up with her showing up thinking she lives there. As she tries to figure what exactly happened, when it is, and where to go, she also has to fight to stay awake so that all of her progress isn't erased if she falls asleep.

We flashback from two years ago to now to learn more about Liv and what caused this rare form of amnesia. Interspersed from Liv's point of view, we meet the detectives working the mysterious murder of a man in an apartment with the words Stay Awake written in blood on the window. A woman is sought after and Liv begins the woman they are looking for is her but she has no idea how that could be possible. As she works to figure out what is going on the present, she begins to realize that what happened two years ago is the key to everything.

Quick paced thriller. Slightly confusing about the present timeline and how many times Liv falls asleep and wakes up but all in all it makes sense in the end. I suspected what happened in the past but did not suspect who the ultimate villain was. Excellent read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book had me hooked from the very beginning and I literally couldn't stop; not even to sleep - I felt as if the main character Liv's motto 'Stay Awake,' was my own. I would give it a solid 4.5 stars if I could.

This was my first time reading a novel by Megan Golding, and yet I'm already looking for more. She navigates the plot through multiple timelines and points of view near-flawlessly for and edge-of-your-seat experience that refuses to let you walk away until you know what happens next.

Beyond all of that, everything is well researched, planned out, and complexly written in a way that is refreshing from many of the novels that I've picked up on a whim lately.