I'm finding some luck this week in great books. Finally! I've been DNF'ing so many. This is a great thriller. I listened to this audiobook in one sitting! Towards the end, the time jumping could be a bit confusing at times and the ending was somewhat a disappointment, but overall, I would recommend this and even read it again.

A big thank-you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC!

Stay Awake is a highly entertaining read that showcases our main character's struggle with memory using dual timelines. Goldin takes her time building the suspense and keeps the reader guessing at what the cryptic messages of "Stay Awake' and "trust no one" mean on Liv's hands mean, where they came from and who she's running from. The story was a quick and easy read, and I kept turning the pages quickly. The detective POV was one of the more successful elements of the novel. I enjoyed Halliday's characterization and the way the investigation unfolded felt realistic instead of following the trope of the always slightly dim and behind detective.

I am a big fan of Megan Goldin and really enjoyed this one as well! It kept me hooked then tire time and enjoyed the different timelines. I started to suspect the ending but still felt it tied up really nicely!

I enjoyed this thriller which was out of my genre comfort zone. The multiple POVs and dual timelines kept me on the edge of my seat. I was so excited to see how everything unfolded and came together for an entertaining conclusion.

Holy cannoli!!! Told from dual pov’s this story had me gripped. This author had me looking every which way trying to figure out what was really happening.

There were a couple moments I was like hmm really. (How many public phones have you seen lately 🤣) but for the most part I was gripped and didn’t want to sleep until I was finished.

This was so wild and I enjoyed it from the very beginning! This dual timeline was also written in dual pov & it was written very well! After reading this, I will now have to go back and read any and everything written by Megan Goldin!

Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars for me. I was a little disappointed in the ending but that didn't ruin the whole book for me. Liv-how scary to wake up thinking your life is the same only to find out it's nothing like your actual life. She can't go to sleep because if she does then she doesn't remember a thing. Kind of reminds me of like a severe sleep walking issue. But way better. Police Department was fun to read. I literally gasped when Liv found a bloody knife in her sweater. The twists were fun in this book.

Oh my goodness, I loved this book! The plot is so intricately woven and layered that it kept me on my toes the whole time! I loved the different perspectives and timelines as well, and it definitely gave me chills while reading it! It was a really enjoyable thriller!

This story was extremely gripping from page one. I was so invested in the storyline and trying to get to the bottom of the story. It was a fascinating idea for a mystery thriller and had me on the edge of my seat, never sure of who I could trust. By the end, my excitement waned a bit and the ending felt a bit lackluster. However, the ride was extremely enjoyable and I am excited to continue reading Megan Goldin in the future.

Megan Goldin does not miss! I was obsessed with The Night Swim and this was just as great. Memento is a movie I’ve loved for a long time so the ties between this book and the film were super fun.

This book definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. I really love the premise too - a bit like the movie Memento and very well done. I liked the protagonist, Liv, a lot, but there were times that I wished she'd thought to do a little sleuthing on her own. She never once went to a library to try to look up herself, Amy, or Marco - if she had, she would've found out what had happened, at least to them. She realizes at one point that it's two years later than what she thinks it should be, plus she's unable to find Marco and Amy at their old numbers and addresses, so it stands to reason she might try to look them up at some point to find current contact info. That would've shown her part of the truth right away. That said, she's understandably exhausted and confused, so I can understand why this might not have occurred to a character in that state.

I will say that when the villain is revealed I immediately thought "oh that makes sense' but they had not occurred to me before that moment as being a potential culprit. I was more focused on Liv trying to figure out on her own what was going on and trying to stay awake, as well whether or not Amy and Marco could be trusted. It becomes relatively clear about 60% of the way through the book that there's something more going on, and honestly, I should've seen the villain reveal coming, but I just didn't. Goldin does a really great job of basically making the reader suspect everyone because Liv herself suspects everyone. She's living in perpetual confusion and going off of notes written on her arms that state not to trust anyone, including the police, so we don't trust anyone either. All-in-all this was a really excellent book and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a nail-biting mystery read.

The words written on the window and on the hands of Liv as a reminder to not go to sleep so she doesn’t forget.

This book was fast, quick/short chapters and a page turner as I was trying to find out what the heck happened to Liv two years ago that caused a lapse in her own memory.

Megan Golden is basically an auto read author for me at this point. Her storylines are all so different, and the way she writes has a way of being so captivating you cannot help but finish the book to figure out what was going on.

Ending up not finishing. Writing was choppy and hard to follow. Haven’t loved her other books either unfortunately

You can tell that it’s a good thriller when you jump at sound while reading. This book is suspenseful and keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. The characters are complicated and you can’t tell who is good and who is bad. It’s such an intriguing story with so many intricacies that keep you interested .It’s such a intriguing story with so many intricacies that keep you interested from start to finish.

It pains me to say that this one was a big miss for me! The differing POV felt choppy and it was a little hard to figure out if it was present day, twenty four hours before, two years ago, etc. I kept getting confused! The major twist wasn't that shocking unfortunately! I have loved her other work and can't wait to see what she comes out with next.

Holy smokes, talk about a story!

I don’t think I trusted a single person in this book.

I love Liv, such a strong character and she did not give up! I loved figuring out her memories with her, while reading you felt like you were right there with her.

I could not imagine waking up everyday day and not remembering anything especially when you are in the middle of a murder investigation.

Megan Goldin takes you in a ride with this one. Stay Awake will hook you from the very start and won’t let you go until it’s finished!

Definitely go in blind with this one, you won’t regret it!

**Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to review.**

The premise set up a total Memento vibe that hooked me right away, but also set up an unfair expectation. I have liked Megan Goldin's previous books so I didn't hesitate to dive in, however, this one wasn't a hit for me. The main character Liv was annoying and illogical. The psychological thriller genre, which used to be my favorite, has become boring and frustrating with unlikeable, unreliable, female characters that make dumb decisions. That can work in horror sometimes as a trope wink and nod, but in this genre, I want smart characters who I can get behind.

I get that Liv has a memory problem, no matter how implausible, I'm there for amnesia 100%, but why wouldn't she seek medical help? Why wasn't anyone checking her into the psych ward for evaluation? Clearly, she needed a time-out. And why why why... does she run away every time she encounters someone who could give her information? She's trying to solve the mystery, right?

Unfortunately, the repetition that is meant to hammer home her brain disorder only got annoying and caused me to skip chunks. As a reader, once we know there's an issue, we only have to be reminded occasionally... maybe once a chapter if switching back and forth between POVs... but I definitely don't need to read the same thought in paragraph after paragraph to "get it". It felt like a mistake in the editing process or else it was filler to make the page count more. Not sure, but it came across as lazy and I know Megan Goldin is NOT lazy.

The best thing going for the book that kept my attention were the detective's storyline which flowed logically and the characters were believable. I did keep going because I had to know how the story resolved but it wasn't a zinger for me. The plot was a little too similar to others but I was there hoping there'd be a unique way to twist it. It's hard to come up with these things so I get it. I'll still pick up Goldin's next one. They can't all be made for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for the copy of this book. I do look forward to her next one.

I'm a BIG 50 First Dates fan and the memory aspect of this thriller is... similarly based.
Less rom-com lol

I'm waiting for Megan Goldin to really hook me with characters and this one didn't quite get me. I do love her concepts and will continue to come back!

In Stay Awake, the protagonist struggles with the fact that she must stay awake or else lose all of her memories from the past two years. The other lead character, a detective, is trying to track down the protagonist to solve a crime. I found this book to be creative and engaging. While the memory loss did not seem realistic, Goldin generally followed the rules she created for the memory loss well. I recommend this as a fun thriller to read.

I'm a big fan of Megan Goldin and I enjoyed this mystery. The multiple POVs and timelines definitely made for a lot of characters and a lot to keep track of, but I found the characters distinct enough to follow. I also liked how each timeline linked and we were "reminded" of some facts.

So the short version is we get very unreliable narrator, Liv, who wakes up in the back of a taxi with no memory of her night. When she gets back to her apartment in Brooklyn she learns there is a couple living there. Liv can't understand where her roommate Amy is or why these strangers are living in her home.

Literally kicked to the curb, Liv can't find her cell phone but instead finds strange writing on her hands and arms - namely the words "Stay Awake". Oh and then there's the bloody knife wrapped in a t-shirt in her coat pocket...so.....

Police investigation. Lost memory. Liv trying to piece together what happened since her last memory, which was answering her desk phone at work.

I was a huge fan of Detective Halliday and am so curious if we'll get to see her again. She had an interesting back story and I liked her 'approach' to the case. I'm always a fan of some police investigation and I liked the balance between her story and Liv's.

I really enjoyed how Megan Goldin played with memory and the unreliable narrator trope. This is one of those books that peppered with some solid suspects. (I maybe fell for a red herring or two.). But also plants some clues that you can follow to some places - I figured out a 'what', but not the 'how' or 'why' of one thread.

I enjoyed trying to unravel it all and overall had a good time with this story. I'm down for anything that Megan Goldin writes and would recommend this one for sure.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's for the ARC. Loved it!