A gripping page turner! I loved it! I really enjoyed the dual timeline and building mystery and suspense through the novel which made it very difficult to put down. The author did an excellent job making the reader truly experience the amnesia that the main character was experiencing. That being said, I did think the twist was a bit predictable and the villain character was a bit obvious, but the fast action definitely made up for this!

I would recommend this book to fans of city-set psychological thrillers looking for a fast-paced read.

Told via dual story-lines, this novel was a real page-turner. At first I was underwhelmed due to the fact that the main character Liv Reese seemed to not react strongly enough to the distressing situation she found herself in – time and again. Then, as I came to read the police story-line, I became more invested in the narrative and my enjoyment increased. The relationship between the detectives was a compelling one to follow.

I did think the amnesia experienced by Liv was a tad hard to believe, though the human mind holds myriad secrets and coping mechanisms that I have no idea of. A ‘Groundhog Day’ on steroids (perhaps crossed with elements of the TV show ‘Blindspot’), this novel was packed with suspense but was repetitive as you might expect due to the plot.

This is my second novel by Megan Goldin and I appreciate her writing style. In this instance I was less enamored of how the timeline jumped around repeatedly, but overall this fast-paced thriller delivered. Yes, I would read another novel by this author, but no, it wasn’t my favorite of hers.

Megan Goldin’s latest novel will not disappoint! This darkly intense novel has so many twists and turns in it that my head was spinning!

Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a cab on her way home. She and her roommate Amy, a doctor, live incredibly crazy lives. When she arrives, she realizes she does not have her key. Although she hates to do it, she begins to bang on the door to wake Amy to let her in. But to her shock and confusion, a stranger answers the door and tells her Amy does not live there.

Her confusion deepens when she tries to find her phone to call her boyfriend Marco and she can’t find it. How could Amy not live there? She just saw her. Then she looks down at her hands and sees writing on them. She has written STAY AWAKE and DON’T CALL THE POLICE. She also sees TRUST NOBODY. Panicking she digs into her coat pocket and discovers to her horror a bloody knife wrapped in a t-shirt. What has happened to her? Did she witness a stabbing?

As we flashback to two years prior, which in her confusion Liv believes is now, we discover Liv was an up-and-coming writer for a popular magazine. She and her roommate Amy were very close, and she had just started dating someone new named Marco. The last thing Amy can remember is falling asleep on the subway on her way to work.

So, with that information she goes back to her office hoping someone there will be able to fill her in on the missing hours. But what she finds is they are all shocked to even see her. She can’t understand why. While there she sees a breaking news story on television. Someone has been murdered and a message was left on the window at the murder scene: STAY AWAKE.

She looks down at her hand and realizes she has done something terrible. But she can’t remember what. And to make matters worse she discovers that IF she falls asleep, she awakes with no memory of what has occurred and seems to revert back to her last train ride. With limited memory, Liv must somehow try and piece together her past and present and what happened to her and why she is unable to remember.

Stay Awake is a fast-paced terrifying thriller with ingenious plot turns and shocking discoveries which will keep the reader in suspense. Once you start this incredibly creative story, you won’t be able to put the book down, so just STAY AWAKE and finish it as fast as you can!

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sPress #MeganGoldin #Stay Awake for the advanced copy.

4.5 stars

This was a fantastic, suspenseful read and I was on the edge of my seat until the very end!

When Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi, she has no memory of how she got there. In fact, she has no memories from the past two years. All she has are the messages written on her body to piece together the fragments of her life. The local news, however, catches her attention because of a message left on a window in the victim’s blood…a message she knows all too well. Liv is unsure if she is responsible for this heinous crime, but there is someone who knows, and they are determined to silence her.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The author did a wonderful job of not giving away too much too soon and keeping the reader in the dark until absolutely necessary. I was quite surprised by the twist at the end, and I’m disappointed in myself for not seeing it coming. Highly recommend!

*Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing a copy of this book to review.*

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the #gifted eARC of STAY AWAKE!

My three word summary for this book: Far-fetched but fun!

STAY AWAKE is very Momento-esque with a protagonist who loses her memory every time she falls asleep. Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a cab heading to her apartment. Only when she gets there, she discovers other people living there. And then she finds a bloody knife wrapped in her pocket. And writing all over her hands telling her to “stay awake”, “wake up” and “trust no one.”

STAY AWAKE is a wild ride but I had fun suspending my belief and seeing where Megan Goldin would take me! This book is not a devastating social commentary like THE NIGHT SWIM. Instead this book is a thriller for the sake of being a thriller, which sometimes is exactly what I wanted to read at this time in my life.

STAY AWAKE is out now!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4278589950
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Stay Awake was one of the best thrillers I've read this year. I couldn't put it down and I always found myself wanting to pick it back up. I even snuck a few pages in while at work. Short chapters, great plot and very suspenseful. Will be recommending this to my friends.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin

Disappointed in this one…really enjoyed the previous books that I read by this author but this one let me down. Why? Well, I never bought into it or found it believable. I didn’t warm to the main character, didn’t feel I got to know the detectives on the case, and never really understood the motivation for murder, stalking, attempted murder, and simple solution at the end. What should have been a fast paced, thrilling, suspenseful tale – flipping from present to two years ago while also following th detectives, just didn’t provide the intensity and pull me in as I had hoped. In the end I was underwhelmed. That said, I am hopeful the next by this author will be more to my liking as I gave five-star reviews to both Night Swim and The Escape Room.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

2-3 Stars

Such an interesting concept. I can't imagine staying awake because when you sleep, you forget everything. Liv Reese wakes up in a cab and doesn't know how she got there. She goes to her apartment only to be told she doesn't live there. She finds a bloody knife in her possession and has no idea where this came from. We find out there has been a murder and he is Liv's ex-fiance (who Liv does not even remember). While the police look for Liv, she tries to figure out what happened. Who killed her ex? Who killed her best friend and her boyfriend? The plot thickens and the ending is exciting and satisfying.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's for a copy of this book for review.

Wow! I was thoroughly invested and incredibly stumped. I love to try and guess the “bad guy” when I’m reading. I’m so glad my original guess was wrong. The fact that liv had amnesia made this book so good because anytime she fell asleep she forget but each time she woke up we got more information. I thought it was very well done and I can’t wait for Megan’s next book!

Overall, this thriller was not for me. I thought the premise was very intriguing and unique, but the execution lacked something. The ending felt lack=luster to me, after all the twists and turns throughout the book. And some of the twists seemed out of place and not fully finished at the end.

However, just because it wasn't for me, doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a try. I've seen some great reviews for this one, and think it'd be a good popcorn thriller for others.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the gifted e-copy in exchange for an honest review!

Well this was incredible. It’s one of those books that keeps moving and you’re just gripped by every second as you’re trying to put everything together. And while looking back on it now hindsight says I probably could’ve seen this ending, but man was I taken on a twisted path. I never landed on the ending, never fully guessing it. This was incredibly twisty and a great psychological thriller. One of my favorites of the year!

Another solid thriller from Megan Goldin! Over time, I've come to dislike the "unreliable female narrator" trope, but Goldin offers a unique perspective on this one, and it definitely worked for me. This book literally kept me guessing the entire time, and I liked how it went back and forth in time. Maybe it's because IS likeable; you get the sense early on that she is a good person. You know something bad has happened to her, and you can't help but root for her and hope she ends up okay. The concept of her being an insomniac was interesting, particularly because studies have shown how important sleep is for our overall health, including our mental and emotional health. The fact that she was also an amnesiac was also interesting; imagine forgetting two very crucial years of your life every time you go to sleep. Stay Awake is very fast paced and it was a quick and entertaining read. This might just be one of my favorite thrillers of the year! Thank you to the publisher for giving me the chance to read an early copy of this book.

If you are looking for a thriller you can’t put down, this is the book for you. I read it in 2 days and would have finished quicker if I hadn’t been busy on vacation.

The story is narrated by Liv Reese, who is suffering from amnesia and can’t remember anything once she falls asleep. It is good in both the past and present which made me want to keep reading to see what was happening. It kept me guessing up until the very end!

Definitely a very fast paced and great thriller- I recommend it to anyone who enjoys thrillers.

Thank you netgalley for the advanced reader copy!

REVIEW

Stay Awake ~ Megan Goldin

READ IF:
* You love a good night’s rest.
* You’ve come home from a night out and wondered where your belongings are!
* There’s a bartender somewhere that knows your name.

SUMMARY: Liv Reese wakes up disorientated in the back of a cab with a bloodied knife and writing all over her hands, reading “Stay Awake.” She soon realizes that she has no idea what had transpired over last two years.

When a newscast reports a murder by stabbing accompanied by the message “Stay Awake” written in blood - Liv can’t help but see the connection. She soon finds herself not only running from the police but also trying to piece together the last two years and why she can’t remember any of it.

REVIEW: I have read Megan Goldin’s previous two novels (The Night Swim and The Escape Room) and enjoyed both. This one gave me major “Seven” vibes - it’s felt dark and grimy and had a bit of a frenetic pace with moving timelines and perspectives. The concept alone is a smart one and appreciated the effort from Goldin to write something so different and dark.

One issue for me - it was too long. I felt like the same thing just kept happening over and over and I found myself about halfway through waiting for a break in the plot to move the story along. Then the end kind of came and it was like wham, bam, done. All that mess and then it just tied up real quick. Left a bit to be desired but I enjoyed most the ride. If you haven’t read Goldin’s books yet they are definitely worth taking a look.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
"Stay Awake" was the 1st Megan Goldin novel that I've ever read & it didn't disappoint.
Ms. Goldin did an exceptional job at keeping me on the edge of my seat, dying to see what would happen next.
She kept me guessing at every turn.
I loved the way she told the story by jumping around the 2 different timelines (present time & 2 years ago) & how she ended up connecting them to each other.
I’d highly recommend this to anyone looking for a unique thriller.

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the ARC and audio ARC of this!

Memory loss is particularly frightening to me in and of itself, after watching my Grandma go through dementia, so this thriller was uniquely terrifying. The idea that someone could be coming to hurt you and you don’t know who it could be? Shudder. Kept me on the edge of my seat, halfway holding my breath while I read the second half of it.

Well you know I have never read an amnesia lead thriller and it’s safe to say I’m a big fan!

I enjoy a good Megan Goldin twist and the ending did not disappoint! I was not excepting it!

I really enjoyed the timeline jumps and the multiple POVs! Usually they are hard to follow but it really made sense for this thriller! I read this book so fast! Would definitely recommend!!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the gifted ebook for my honest review!

"Lack of sleep does horrible things to a person's mind, it can make some people psychotic."

Liv Reese has got it all: a great job at a lifestyle magazine, a great Brooklyn apartment, an amazing roommate/best friend and a hot Italian boyfriend. ... or does she? After waking up confused in the back of a cab, she arrives at her apparrment and is baffled that another couple lives there now, claiming they've lived there for years. What happened and why did Liv blackout and lose her memory? And better yet, why is there a bloody knife in her pocket and are her hands covered in messages like "STAY AWAKE" and "WAKE UP"?

"What do I have against sleep?"
"You're afraid of what you do in your sleep."

This book has a great premise and it's executed well. The short chapters, multiple POVs and flashbacks make it an absolute page turner. It also definitely added to the suspense and fast pace of the book. I loved how the flashbacks brought out my detective and had me looking for clues about whodunit. I'm happy to report I did figure out the guilty party quite early on, but that didn't take away my doubts completely. Somehow Megan Goldin still had me second guessing myself here and there.

"Everyone has roles to play. Sometimes we don't know it until it's too late. You were given a choice, Liv. Every choice had a consequence."

I will admit that sometimes the book got a bit too repetitive for my taste. But I guess that was necessary considering the main character forgets everything every time she falls asleep. The author still kept me totally hooked, though, cause I finished it in one sitting.

If you love fast paced psychological thrillers and movies like memento, I would definitely recommend this book!

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for providing an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Overall rating: ★★★ ½

Stay Awake
Megan Goldin
reviewed by Lou Jacobs



readersremains.com | Goodreads


There’s a famous quote from “Catch 22” by Joseph Heller: “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.” How appropriate for Liv Reese who awakens in the back of a cab confused and concerned for her safety.

She has absolutely no recollection of how she got in the cab or where she’s going. The cab pulls up to a brownstone and the cabby announces, “We’re here.” Standing on the porch, she realizes she has no keys or purse, but recognizes the building as her and Amy’s apartment. She pushes the intercom buzzer and encounters a strange couple occupying “her apartment.” The woman is none too happy, and quickly becomes peeved at Liv’s insistence that she lives there, and threatens to call the police.

Once back on the street in tears and her head throbbing in confusion, she notices black ball-point markings on her hands: STAY AWAKE… DON’T SLEEP … TRUST NO ONE … DON’T TALK TO THE POLICE, EVER.

After a quick search, she realizes she has a large wad of cash in her jeans, and a lump in her cardigan pocket. Reaching into her pocket she retrieves a T-shirt, after opening it, discovers a blood-stained knife. Bewildered, she quickly rolls it back up and dumps it in a nearby trash can. Still confused, she looks down and notices on her wrist the written name and address of a place: Nocturna.

Her next cab ride deposits her at a bar. She walks in and is greeted by a smiling bartender by her name. Apparently, she was actually there several hours ago and learns that she has “a memory problem,” hence the messages on her hands. When she falls asleep, she forgets “everything” that has happened to her. The bar TV blasts breaking news of a murdered man and the message: WAKE UP was written backwards in his blood on a window. It is quickly evident that she has a gap of two lost years. There has been a traumatic event that has created insomnia and paranoia and eventually a memory wipe. She has to find her best friend Amy and her boyfriend, Marco. Is she dangerous or in danger? Why are two years gone from her memory?

Cut to the murder scene, where detective Darcy Halliday is first on the scene, having answered a page while jogging to the precinct on her morning run still in her running gear.

She had been transferred to Homicide on a six-month temporary transfer status, and is eager to lead her first investigation. She served in the military for six years with distinction during multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. She paid her dues after joining the NYPD with two years on patrol, followed by stints in other departments. (An intriguing character that merits further appearances.) Next to the location, is Detective Jack La Velle, a seasoned, grizzled veteran, with the department’s highest solve rate, who detests having a partner. The victim reposes in a peaceful pose on the bed, with a single stab wound just below the rib cage. No blood splatter, no wallet, no cell phone, no identification, and no signs of a struggle. Written on the window, backwards: “WAKE UP.”

The chapters alternate between Liv’s point of view, in the present and two years ago, as she desperately attempts to unravel her predicament. Also in the present, Detective Halliday and her partner investigate the murder and attempt to track down Liv, with Darcy stubbornly holding out for the possibility of Liv’s innocence, even though she’s the prime suspect.

Megan Golden crafts a compelling and chilling thriller that catapults the reader with breakneck speed along a twisted path with multiple unexpected reveals to a shocking denouement. Someone wants to make sure Liv doesn’t remember, but why?

I had the pleasure of alternating between the ARC and the audio version. The two narrators, Church and LaVoy brought to life the multiple characters in the theatre of my mind and enhanced the intrigue, ongoing confusion and escalating tension and suspense in this twisty and riveting thriller.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for providing an Uncorrected Proof and Advance Audio version in exchange for an honest review.

I have read and loved all of Megan Goldin’s books. This is another intense thriller. Liv has amnesia and every time she wakes up she has no memory of the last two years. She is confused about the writing on her hands telling her to stay awake among other things. Liv does begin to realize she is wanted for a murder but she stays on the run not knowing who to trust or where to go. This was definitely a wild ride and the suspense starts right at the beginning of the book. I did figure out the big twist fairly early on but I still really enjoyed the book and I was interested to see how all the pieces were going to fit together. This is definitely a page turner!