STAY AWAKE

Liv Reese doesn’t know why she has this written in black pen all over her hands. In fact, she has no idea when she wakes up in the back of a taxi of how she got there, or why, in place of her cell phone, her pocket contains a bloody knife. (Think the TV show-Blindspot”)

It’s because she suffers from a rare form of amnesia which can be described as repetitive dissociative fugue. When she falls asleep, she forgets everything that has happened over the past two years. So, she lives on caffeine, No Doz tablets, and energy drinks, hoping she can avoid repeating the cycle. But, nobody can avoid sleep indefinitely.

STAY AWAKE

Written in the Victim’s own blood, these same words have been painstakingly written on the window of a crime scene. Is it possible that Liv committed this crime? Is that why she has the knife? It can’t be a coincidence! Who can she trust to help her figure everything out?

The book unfolds in two timelines, TWO YEARS PRIOR and the PRESENT-told through the perspectives of Liv, and a detective on the case-Darcy Halliday.

The story was entertaining but NOT very surprising. I figured most of it out, including the PERP, pretty quickly. So, it lacked the WOW factor of a five star thriller for me.

Still, I enjoyed learning the details and reading to see if I was correct, and Megan Goldin remains an auto-request author for me!

See if you can figure it out on August 9, 2022!

Thank You to St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy! It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

Liv is a writer at a fashion/foodie magazine. She wakes up in a cab, with blood on her, and words written on herself such as "stay awake" and "trust nobody" and "don't sleep" She then discovers that two years have gone by. She is alone and afraid. She tries to discover what happened , and what is going on.

In the meantime, there is a murder and someone has written "stay awake" on the window in blood. This part of the story is told from the detective investigating it, and you know the two stories will intersect at some point. The plot of this story was something a little different, which I appreciate. I was getting tired of the same story being told over and over and it was really great to read something different.

This was a fast, engaging read. It was suspenseful and I found myself rooting for Liv. That being said, I liked the first half of the book better when I had no idea what was going on. The second half felt just a bit repetitive - was this on purpose?

This was worth the read. However, I had a few issues. I couldn't help inserting myself into the story and thinking what I would do. Why would she not go to the police or the hospital? why was she making the decisions that she was? Normally, this is a good thing, but in this case, it kept removing me from the story because she was aggravating me. On the other hand - the fact that I was feeling aggravated is a good sign right? It means I was invested in the book.

Overall, this is a 3.5 star read rounded up to 4 .
Thank you to the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.

This book grabbed me from the start. Memory is such a large part of a persons life and to lose your memories would be horrible. I really liked the storyline and the different plot lines

Thank you to the publisher and @NetGalley for the E-ARC copy of this book. The rating of this book is entirely of my own opinion.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it. It was so good, it was actually stressing me out. The writing is suspenseful and full of detailed. The characters are well rounded, and you have no problem rooting for Liv as she goes through the horror of what is her life. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves a good thriller with believable characters, action, and suspense.

My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions expressed are
my own.

This book was so jacked up in such a good way! I cannot even fathom the vulnerability and confusion of forgetting recent history every time I fell asleep. Liv is an awesome character, with such a unique set of circumstances. And the twist at the end! And the detectives! Once I got into it I couldn't put it down and I've already recommended it to like three people since I finished. One of Goldin's best!

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. WOW! This book has it all!!! It's absolutely the most twisted action packed book you may ever read! I loved it so much! You will NOT be able to put it down once you begin to read! So darn good!

This is my third book by Megan Goldin, and unfortunately, I just don’t think she’s for me. I finished this book but barely. The problem is not the storyline; that I loved and is the only reason I finished this book. I needed to know what happened and why. It’s the writing style that’s the problem for me. So many elements seemed thrown in, and there were little details that were SO wrong that it took me completely out of the story. For example, near the beginning of the story, the main character mentions that she loves to cook, and studied “Cordon Bleu” cooking. I am a classically trained chef and this is not a style of cooking, it’s a cooking school. A person would say they studied classical French cooking. There were several instances like this that really bothered me. This is on top of the style of writing that just felt stilted and awkward in a lot of places. Like I said earlier, maybe she’s just not for me, as I’ve read many reviewers that loved it.
I do appreciate the opportunity to read this early though.

This has got to be my favorite thriller read of all time! That first chapter hooked me and I could not put it down until I finished the book. I really loved the time jump between chapters. It really made it more suspenseful.

After a traumatic event, Liv relieves every day with no memory of the day before. She's lost 2 years of her life and through the chapters, we get to read why and how this happened. I was pleasantly surprised with the ending but in reality it didn't matter who the villain was, since I was happy reading every page. Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

I enjoyed this advanced copy from the publisher.
It was a fast paced gripping plot making me guess what really happened.. . To lead up to the current mysteries. Who is the guilty party? Who do you trust?
4.5☆

A suspenseful thriller telling the story of a young woman with a tragic past and her current life in New York City that throws her yet another curveball as she plunged deep into some very disturbing circumstances.

I really liked this book! Thanks again to #NetGalley for a chance to read and review this ARC! Think 50 First Dates meets murder thriller and this is this book! I instantly loved Liv and wanted to help know her story and find out what happened! Didn't put too much into trying to figure out the killer, let the book take me on the journey. I wasn't shocked at who the killer was but I didn't really KNOW. Great short read! Definitely worth reading and would recommend to a friend... So, friend, check out this book! 😊

Liv Reese wakes disoriented, with no idea where she is or how she got here. The last thing she remembers is answering her phone at work, “This is Liv.” But here she is, sitting in the back of a taxi with a bloodstained knife in her hands. She looks down at her hands and finds messages on them, telling her to “stay awake” and “don’t trust anyone.” After finding her apartment is occupied by strangers, she feels like she’s living someone else’s life as she goes around the city, looking for anything familiar. On the news, she hears of a man that was murdered in the early hours of the morning. On the window to the apartment where the dead man was found, a message can be seen from the street “Wake up!” She’s seen messages like that. On her own hands. What happened last night? And why can’t she remember any of it?

Wow! What a ride! This book hooked me from the very beginning and didn’t let me go until the very last page. Every time Liv fell asleep, I could feel myself tensing, fearful of what she may or may not remember when she wakes up. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book. An excellent psychological thriller that shows how far the mind will go to protect itself from trauma, and the deep-seated will for it to survive.

The biggest thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and Megan Goldin for allowing me to read this ARC, which was provided to me in exchange for my honest review.

Suspense read that kept me guessing through most of the book. Hard to get into at first but once I did, I couldn't stop reading. I needed to figure out the story! Likable main character that keeps you interested in her story.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin

I wish to thank Net Galley for this compelling psychological thriller.
Stay Wake is an exciting psychological thriller involving a young woman, Liv, with amnesia. Liv has been living in London for the past two years, ever since she was almost murdered. Every time she falls asleep, she forgets everything from the past two years. Consequently, she tries to stay awake drinking highly caffeinated drinks and taking pills. However, since it is impossible to stay awake forever, Liv eventually falls asleep and then doesn’t remember anything that recently happened. To help her with remembering important things, she writes messages on her hand i.e., “Stay awake”, “don’t trust anyone”. Apparently one day when she fell asleep, she may have been involved in a killing. She is being hunted down by the police who have captured her on video, leaving the scene of a crime. She is also being hunted down by an unknown character who may have been involved also in this recent killing.
The chapters alternate between Liv’s account of her actions and the two detectives on the case of this most recent murder. The timeline is set by the hour of the day with flashbacks to two years ago before Liv moved to London.
The author keeps you guessing who is involved in this lastest murder as well as wondering about the when Liv was almost murdered two years prior. Are they related or completely separate incidents?
This is the second novel that I read by Megan Goldin (The Night Swim) and her book The Escape Room is definitely on my TBR list. If you like psychological thrillers that keep you reading past your bedtime, this may be the book for you.

I've never read Goldin's work before but I will be looking for more after this great thriller.

This story starts with an absolutely captivating mystery that had me on the edge of my seat. A fantastic way to start a book for sure. A woman in a taxi has no recollection of anything previous or how she ended up in the cab. She's got writing all over her hand: stay awake! What? What does that mean? She heads to her apartment and fins strangers living there . . . What in the world happened. And then she finds a bloody knife in her pocket . . . Oh God . . .

The story switches to Detective Halliday responding to a murder. I was immediately weary when she came into the story simply because I don't usually like detective books. I gave it a chance and continued reading and I am so glad I did. I quickly found myself really liking Halliday and her coworkers.

The message written in the victim's blood at the crime scene matches one of the messages written on Liv's hands . . . I was completely and utterly consumed by this novel. It was fast-paced with great twists and sudden turns. The two point of views significantly added to the story, moving it along and keeping things fresh and climactic

Liv wakes up in the backseat of a cab, on her doorstep without her keys. She figures Amy, her roommate, will let her in. But after ringing the doorbell, she finds that this is not her apartment like she thought. And that 2 years has passed since she last remembered anything... Amy isn't picking up her phone and her boyfriend Marco is nowhere to be found. Liv struggles to figure out what is happening around her, especially since every time she goes to sleep she forgets everything that has occurred. The only thing she can remember is the phone call she got 2 years ago...

I wanted to love this book, I really did. The beginning really drew me in, it gave me Blake Crouch vibes with the concept of the story. I wanted desperately for Liv to figure out what happened two years prior, and when she did I was like FINALLY!!!

I had no idea who the killer was going to be, I had my speculations that it was the male detective on the case, he was kinda fishy to me at times. When it was Brett, I had to struggle to remember who Brett even was...

I felt like each main character had a backstory, which usually is fine, but this felt like it had too many stories and too many important characters. Maybe it's just me! Clearly this book got a LOT of 4 and 5 star ratings!

One of the main things I disliked was that she desperately wanted to find out what was happening, and she found some people that were important to her before the incident (not that she would remember of course), but every time we got close to her getting information, she would just get extremely overwhelmed and leave. I would understand it happening one time, but I think it happened two or three times and that just got annoying to me really quickly.

I really was over it at the end when she just miraculously got her memory back because she had 1 good nights sleep... alright that could've happened 200 pages ago??

Overall, I was really disappointed in this one, I enjoyed The Night Swim, and while I didn't hate this book, I don't think it will be one I recommend unfortunately...

This book reminded me of Memento in all the best ways. It's a psychological thriller that will keep you turning the pages. I found the ending to be a bit unexpected, though I did guess the killer. There may not have been enough foreshadowing to figure it out directly (at least on the first readthrough). But Megan Goldin is the queen of leaving 1 clue 50 pages in that tells you immediately who did it, so maybe I just missed it! Liv felt tortured and manic throughout as she copes with her trauma and sleep-induced amnesia, all while trying to solve a murder. I loved the switches in time and perspective, as we also got to see how the police's investigation was proceeding. It's the perfect mix of police procedural, serial killer mystery, and intricately plotted thriller that will leave you gasping.

*Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Liv Reese wakes up on a NYC park bench with no memory. There is handwriting covering her hands and arms telling her not to sleep. As she visits her apartment, her boyfriend's apartment, her employer, she finds that two years have passed and she cannot remember a single moment. In addition, there is a murder that she is drawn to, she hides among the onlookers trying to figure out why she is drawn to it. As the police continue to investigate the murder, the evidence builds up against Liv. Could she have committed murder and not remember? You'll have to read the book to find out.

The story line is good, but I found the narrative to be repetitive and not overly engaging. I was able to easily put the book down and go to something else, for a thriller like this, I had hope to not want to put the book down. I enjoyed Night Swim more, but I enjoyed it enough to add her other books to my list.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book!

I don't know what to say except that I could do nothing EXCEPT stay awake while reading this book! The thrills were many, the twists and turns kept me captivated, and I was dying to find out what happened next while simultaneously cursing another night full of nightmares! Spooky and haunting, wonderfully written!