This psychological thriller kept me guessing until the very end. The main character forgets two and a half years of her life everytime she falls asleep. Losing vital information that could keep her safe when she does. It was invested in the story and couldn't wait to get back to it every time I put it down. I didn't see the conclusion coming at all. I had so many other theories. I reccomend picking this up if you like a good psychological thriller.

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This book definitely gave me Memento vibes. How do you just a narrator that can't remember anything? That is how we were made to feel the whole book. Getting bits and pieces of the story along the way as Liv ran into people from her life. But are they a part of her life. I think this was a pretty good book. But ultimately I wanted more from the "bad guy" I wanted to know why?


I still think the Escape Room is the best Megan Goldin book ever, but this book definitely comes in second. Way to go Megan, can't wait to read the next one.

The main character Liv wakes up in the back of a taxi and has no memory of how she got there or where she is. She gets dropped off at her house only to find out a stranger lives there now. She finds a bloody knife in her purse and sees the phrase "stay awake" written all over her hands. She then sees a news report about a murder where the victims blood was used to write the same message as what's on her hands. The story is told through multiple POVs and is full of red herrings. It goes back in time to leading up to when she lost her memory. It was a great twisty read with an excellent ending. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

Enjoyment: 5
Total rating: 4.43

This is my first Goldin novel, and I immensely enjoyed her style. The dual timeline worked really well in this narrative, and I like how each alternating chapter was paired with the flashback giving meaning and perspective to the present time chapter we have just read.

Here is where I remind readers that Stay Awake is a work of fiction, and if they aren't willing or prepared to suspend their disbelief to be entertained, maybe this isn't the book for them. I enjoyed how Goldin used Liv's unique condition to weave a fast-paced psychological thriller that delivers quite a few satisfying punches.

Stay Awake has many of my favourite devices in a psychological thriller - dual timelines, unreliable narrator, tension and some gaslighting. The careful plotting is evident, and things come together quite nicely. As a layperson, I do not know how accurate Liv's amnesia depiction is, but as a reader, I loved how it served the story.


Disclaimer: In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to the publishers and NetGalley for providing a copy of Stay Awake

Propulsive, FAST, jagged and had me at page one! I loved this wild ride. Bravo Megan. 5 STARS for me!

DNF @ 25%. I loved Megan Goldin's The Night Swim, but this one was both too hard to follow and boring. Maybe I've read too many thrillers, but this just wasn't interesting enough to make me want to continue. And, for me at least, the point of reading thrillers is to be entertained. So sadly, I decided to put this one down.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller and highly recommend reading it. It was great to finally read a story that made me want to keep reading chapter after chapter. The two POV’s and timelines were well written and blended together nicely. All of the characters were well developed. It’s been a while since I’ve read a thriller that I couldn’t wait to pick up every day to continue reading. This is my first book by Megan Goldin and I will certainly look into her other novels. Loved this one!

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin was a page turner indeed! Right from the start, I could tell this was a thriller that would keep me on the edge of my seat, wondering how the story could possibly play out. Full of mystery, twists, and turns - any true crime lover would agree its worth a read. I enjoyed receiving this book as a digital ARC copy, however, I look forward to adding a physical copy to my bookshelf as well!

I really enjoyed the first 75% of this book and it was making its way to be a full 5 stars. It was such a fun ride throughout and interesting concept. The ending was a bit sloppy, unfortunately, where she had to literally spell out what was going on. Either way, a strong 4 star book!

Another excellent thriller by Megan Goldin. This is such a creative and complex story. I couldn't predict what would happen and I felt deeply for the character and her challenges. I also suspected almost every character along the way. I did see one main plot point coming but I suspect that was done on purpose to let the reader into the secret before the main character. This was a little far-fetched and the ending was convenient, but I enjoyed the experience of reading this so much, it didn't bother me at all. I will continue to pick up the author's books in the future.

Stay Awake is told in multiple POVs, multiple timelines, and centers around Liv Reese who suffers from amnesia and I love this theme in books. I love to discover with the protagonist her past and this feeling of anxiety that maybe she is a villain. It was so good.

Sheesh! Twists on twists! Although I thought I was reading a book version of the movie Memento, this book surprised me. I have read lots of Megan Goldin's other works and have appreciated how she really can shock you.

Megan Goldin delivers another entertaining thriller. She is a master of suspense and the plot kept me on my toes from the first page until the end. There are clever clues sprinkled throughout the story and I enjoyed solving the crime. Other reviewers have called this book the thriller version of the movie 50 First Dates and I agree!

The book also reminded me of Chris Bohjalian's The Flight Attendant and Wendy Walker's The Night Before so if you like those stories, you'll love this one.

This book is about amnesia, murder, relationships, memories, deception, lies, and love. I really enjoyed Megan Goldin's books The Escape Room and The Night Swim, and this story is just as good. This book is a captivating, fast paced read that will make you Stay Awake and read this until the very last page.

This isn't my favorite book my Megan Goldin (The Night Swim was god tier!) but this premise is so interesting and this book gave me anxiety in the best possible way. Not knowing what is going on, losing chunks of your memory, that is something that terrifies me. So extremely relatable.

I enjoyed reading this suspenseful story. This is a new author for me which I look forward to reading more from in the future. This is a well written story where the author used details to make the story realistic. The characters pull you into the story from the start. They kept me turning pages fast and engaging throughout the story. This is a suspenseful, action filled story that is hard to put down. The characters have great growth and are relateable. You don't want to miss this book. It is a great, entertaining story that is easy to read. I really enjoyed this book and what the characters brought to the story. I highly recommend this book.

A murder suspect with no memory of the murder… or anything that’s happened the last two years. I was 100% here for this premise!

But the book was just too long, and the ending was not very satisfying.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

Stay Awake
by Megan Goldin
Pub Date: 09 Aug 2022

Can you imagine a world where every time you fall asleep, you forget...suddenly you only remember the life from two years ago.?

It has been a while since a book has disturbed me this much and kept me on the edge of my seat. It is very easy to internalize what our main character, Liv, is going through. I felt like I was walking in her shoes, the helplessness, the confusion, the wanting to trust, but not knowing who to trust. I was right there with her! And just when she starts to fill in the missing blanks, she falls asleep!

This book has mystery and suspense...and really makes you think. SHIVER!! Highly recommend!!

An interesting premise to this thriller: a woman who is being stalked by the killer of her best friend suffers from a unique form of memory loss. Each time she falls asleep, her memory resets to years ago, on the day of her friend's murder. An enjoyable thriller that kept me guessing although the ending felt a bit rushed.

Stay Awake is the story of a woman who cannot remember the last two years of her life. She is trying to situate herself when she becomes aware of an incident that may implicate her.

Megan Goldin takes the time to build a story that draws the reader in. I was kept guessing until the very end of the book. The lack of details the reader is given can be very frustrating, however gave me the feeling of urgency that Liv must have been feeling.

An excellent thriller that I will absolutely recommend.

I'll admit that unreliable narrators and time-loops are some of my least favorite devices. So it took me a while before I warmed to the story because every time the main character goes to sleep her memory resets. Having said that, it was compelling enough that I also couldn't put it down.

Liv wakes up in the back of a cab and has no idea how she got there, where she lives, or basically anything about her life. The last thing she remembers is answering the phone in her office, but that was in summer, and now it's winter...two years later.

As if that wasn't enough to deal with it appears she's also in danger. She has notes written to herself all over her hands, and she has to piece together the mystery...but starting from scratch each time she falls asleep.

Even though I didn't find any of the twists particularly surprising and I found the main character mildly irritating, I still enjoyed the story and the writing quite a lot. I absolutely loved this author's last book The Night Swim so I did have very high expectations going into this one.