Frightened and confused, Liv Reese doesn’t understand why there are strangers living in her apartment, or where her roommate Amy is. She’s lost her phone and can’t remember where she was earlier that evening, but her childhood habit of writing notes to herself on her hands provides a small clue, a bar called Nocturnal, along with an order to STAY AWAKE.

Liv’s last memory was of living in New York with her roommate Amy, working at Cultura Magazine, and spending time with her boyfriend Marco. Being escorted home by a man who obviously knew her and had done this many times before was unsettling, and she was horrified to learn she was currently living in a dirty basement apartment. When Liv showed up at Cultura the next morning, she didn’t understand where all her co-workers had gone, why people were asking her about London, or what she had actually been doing for the past two years. She catches a segment on the morning news, sees herself entering an apartment building with a stranger, and then learns that she is wanted in connection with a murder that she has no memory of committing.

The suspicion of everyone, especially the police, keeps Liv off balance, and made for interesting reading. Told in alternating time periods, two years earlier and present day, clues are offered that hint at the reason behind Liv’s memory loss. I really liked Darcy Halliday and her approach to the case, utilizing her military training to look more deeply into the murders, resisting the original case file notes. This was a fascinating read, one that pulled me in and kept me guessing.

This book made me do exactly what the title says, stay awake. I devoured this book and it kept me guessing. I really liked the dual timelines as it helped me to try to piece together the pieces. This was my first Megan Goldin book and she did not disappoint!

Another great Goldin book. Grabbed me from the beginning and kept my attention throughout.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin was an excellent thriller!! It kept me on the edge of my seat and I thought the premise was very original. I have read other books by this author but this has been my favorite from her.

From start to finish, "Stay Awake" had my full undivided attention! Liv wakes up to discover she has no recollection of the last 2 years of her life, and she has the words "STAY AWAKE" written on her hands. Why can't see remember and why does she need told to stay awake? What unfolds is a fast-paced whodunit with likable characters, an easy-to-follow storyline, and a well-executed plot.

I absolutely loved this book !
It will keep u wanting to read it to see what happens:)
Can’t wait to read more from this Author

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy of Stay Awake by Megan Goldin. This book was kind of hit and miss for me. I had read Goldins previous book The Night Swim and loved it. The beginning of the book was great. Who is Liv and what did she do - then it got very repetitive to me. Not until I got to the 70% mark did I find any interest again, I nearly gave up. All in all I am going to give it 3 stars. I will give Ms. Goldin another chance.
Thank you again for this advanced copy.

Stay Awake was a fast-paced and thrilling read following a woman who forgets the last two years of her life every time she falls asleep.

After waking up in the back of a taxi with no idea how she got there or where she is, Liz Reese just wants to go home. But when she gets there, she finds two strangers living in her apartment claiming it's theirs. Then she finds a bloodstained knife in her pocket instead of her phone when she tries to call for help. Lost in New York City, nothing is like Liz remembers. As Liz struggles to figure out what happened last night, she sees a report on the local news of a murder with a message scrawled on a window in the victim's blood. The same message that's written all over Liz's hands. But someone knows what Liz did and they're willing to do whatever it takes to make sure she never remembers.

The premise of Stay Awake sounded pretty interesting and after enjoying the author's last two books, The Escape Room and The Night Swim, I was excited to see what the author would do with the story. This book is told from two different points of view, Liz's and Darcy who is one of the detectives investigating the murder. There are also two different time lines in the story with Liz's chapters either taking place in the present or from two years ago from right before her memory loss starts.

Liz's chapters in the present at times felt repetitive but with Liz losing her memory multiple times throughout the story, that made sense. I liked that Liz's reaction to everything was different each time though which helped keep it from feeling like we were getting the exact same thing every time. With Liz's amnesia and because we have both Liz and Darcy's points of view, often times we as the reader knew a lot more about what was going on than Liz does. I liked seeing Liz work out what was happening and how she'd retrace her steps without realizing that's what she was doing.

I don't want to spoil too much of what happens so I'll just say I found the plot to be engaging and I liked the pacing of the story. There was very little down time in this book which I appreciated and I thought the dual POV definitely helped with that. Whenever Liz's chapters would start to slow down or get a little repetitive from her memory loss, we'd switch to Darcy's point of view which would speed things up again.

Overall Stay Awake was a fantastic book and I would highly recommend it if you're looking for a fast-paced read.

Fast and fun psychological thriller.

Liv Reese has a huge gap in her memory. The last thing she remembers is answering the phone at her office over two years ago. Every time she falls asleep and wakes up, she has forgotten everything that happened since. Obviously, this means she wanders around a lot trying to figure out where she lives, where she works, and why everything is so strange. She can't find her phone or her wallet. Her roommate and her boyfriend aren't answering her calls Then, she sees herself on TV as a suspect in a murder. All she has to do is STAY AWAKE in order to try to put the pieces of her fracture memory together and figure out what is going on.

I had sworn to myself that I would not read any more books that had the words "amnesia" or "memory loss" in them. I'm not sure why this beckoned, but it did and I picked it up and was immediately hooked. Sure it was predictable, and this narrator was certainly unreliable, but it was entertaining, and I actually liked most of the characters. Even the flawed protagonist, Liv, wasn't as annoying as so many have been.

I liked the fast pace and the narratives from the point of view of Liv and also of the police who are trying to investigate the murder. The time shifts can be a bit disconcerting and helps get the reader in the frame of mind of the dissociative fugue state that Liz is experiencing. I enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

A great read by this author. I definitely recommend checking this one out!
Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I should probably give this 4.5-5 stars as I loved every minute of this book.
Liv wakes up and doesn’t know where she is. Her last memory is from two years ago. It bits and pieces we learn what’s happened to her and follow her wild race to figure it out! The notes on her hands that say to stay awake and that she forgets things when she sleeps baffle her but she is starved for sleep.
Great story and the back and forth was perfect. Liv is being chased and hunted almost by two separate groups. One will help her and one will kill her. Can you figure out the mystery?

Thank you so much for the chance to read this novel! I apologize I was a little late to the game on this one! But, finally had the chance to enjoy some winter reading and devoured this novel! We will be selecting this title for our Winter subscription boxes and we are now hand-selling like crazy at our store! Can't wait to read Megan's new release this year!

Synopsis: When Liv struggles to stay awake she is faced with not remembering what happens when she falls asleep and before. She does everything she can to leave reminders and to stay awake so that she doesnt have to face the terrors of what happens when she falls asleep.

Thoughts:This book kept me awake for sure. I was hooked from the very beginning and highly suggest this for those who love thrillers. I think the author did a great job with the character of Liv and I felt that I connected with her. I think that the story line kept me intrigued. Definitely pick this book up if you are looking for something to keep you awake in a good way!

This was an ok thriller with elements similar to Memento. Although I will say this did not fully work for me. I loved The Night Swim when I read it, but so expected a little more from this one. I went in hoping for a high octane, page flipping thrill ride. It was good, but needed more thrill.

I really enjoyed this book, I thought it was very fast paced and really held my attention. I was not able to put it down once I started and read it all in one sitting. The character development was good and I loved the plot.

Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a cab, confused and disoriented, and finds herself in a nightmare. There is also a bloody knife wrapped in a t-shirt in her jacket pocket. Her last memory is of picking up the phone in her office at a tony magazine, in a life where she lived with her roommate, also her best friend, and was happily engaged to be married. It is now over two years later, and she has fallen victim to a rare and bizarre condition in which every time she falls asleep, her memory resets itself to that earlier, happier time.

Over the course of Stay Awake, we follow Liv through the next day in her quest to find out what happened the previous night, during which a man was killed and in whose murder she is the chief suspect. The book shifts between her present perspective, her memories of the past, and the perspective of the two detectives investigating the murder, Darcy Halliday and Jack Lavelle.

While this book was an easy read and I enjoyed it, there were some things that kept me from getting completely immersed in it. Maybe it was inherent in the nature of Liv’s character and her own confusion, but I found it hard to get emotionally involved with her. It also seemed unbelievable that all of these events, including more than one forensic analysis, could be squeezed into less than 24 hours, which I found a bit distracting. I did appreciate the relationship between Halliday and Lavelle; it was refreshing to find a pair of detectives who weren’t either at each other’s throats, wrestling with unresolved sexual tension, or both, but whose skills and strengths complemented each other and who treated one another with respect. I would not mind seeing them again in a future book; my only beef is that the female combat veteran who becomes a cop seems to be becoming a severely overused trope. I also failed to finger the real murderer, which I consider to be a plus.

Overall, this is a book that many people will enjoy but my view of it is ambivalent at best.

I received a copy of Stay Awake from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Stay Awake is the second book I have read from this author. Just like Night Swim, this thriller is intense and nerve wracking. Liv Reese loses her short term memory every time she goes to sleep. I totally was getting Memento and Before I Go to Sleep vibes. The premise drew me in and I was intrigued by Liv and her constant state of confusion and bewilderment. The middle of the book unfortunately seemed repetitive and my interest began to wane. I can’t say I disliked this compelling thriller, but I definitely didn’t love it either. All in all it was an okay read. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my copy.

After DNF’ing my last book, I knew I wanted to read a more fast paced thriller. I couldn’t have done a better job by picking up this one! 🙌

By chapter 5 I was totally hooked on this multiple POV, action packed story. I love an unreliable narrator, and thought the added layer of amnesia and sleep deprivation made this story all the more interesting.

I know I say this a lot at this point when a book is good, but I genuinely did not want to put this one down! The beginning to middle of the story had me dying to find out how things would come together in the end.

What kept this from 5 stars for me was partially the pacing, as it felt like it was kind of rushed at the end, but ultimately the ending in general. It just didn’t compare to the build up and suspense that was presented in the beginning of the novel, and I guess I was hoping for a little bit more.

Overall I will definitely be checking out more work by this author! This was a great read! Thank you to the author and Netgalley for my e-copy to read and honestly review.

Mind. Blown.
Thank you to the publisher for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for review.

Megan Goldin has become a favorite author of mine. This one did not disappoint. The main character loses memory every time she falls asleep. I mean, every time she wakes up, she has no idea where she is. It’s wild. While the chapters go back and forth between the main character’s unreliable narrative, and the head detectives on the case, as well as different time lines.. you would think it’d get messy. But it just intrigued me even more. I was totally hooked and couldn’t put it down. Check this one out of you like a good mystery with unexpected twists and turns!

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Stay Awake by Megan Goldin in exchange for an honest review. Wow! This was a very exciting, psychological thriller that kept me guessing the whole book through. Having an unreliable narrator can make the book very interesting and it definitely did this time. I really enjoyed this book, what a ride!