Wow, and here I thought Nightswim and Escape Room were fantastic books! This one had big shoes to fit, i.e., I had great expectations. And Megan Goldin did not disappoint! True to the title, I just had to finish the book even though it cut the hours of sleep last night pretty short. I couldn't help it! I just had to "stay awake" (nice pun, huh? lol). This book kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time. Usually, I look for details in thrillers that may be unrealistic. I was so enthralled, I didn't care one bit this time and didn't pay attention to the details at all. Great job, Megan!!! You gave your readers another great treat!

PS: Listen to the audio, the voice of the perpetrator is super sexy but OMG is it creepy the way the narrator made it sound at the same time!

4.5 stars...

Utterly captivating! This one was suspenseful and had me on the edge of my seat. Anything to do with amnesia, memory, etc. is always such a complex and interesting plot. This made for the perfect thriller.
(Loved this even more than her last book!)

The "losing your memory every time you wake up" has been done a few times, but Megan Goldin put some interesting twists in this book. Who to trust? Who did the crime? And the always wondering: why does she keep losing her memory?

I found the first half a little slow with way too much police-procedural chapters, I wanted to know what Liv was doing! At the 50% mark it starts to pickup and then it really gets good at 70%.

I thought it was interesting that Liv tries to keep herself awake to prevent herself from losing her memory - that's logical and I've never heard of that before.

One thing that kept bugging me was this: How is "stay awake" written under each knuckle, when across both hands there's only 8 knuckles... For 9 letters. Sure maybe she could have used a thumb but it doesn't say that.

4.5 stars. I have never heard of this author before but was excited to read this book from the blurb. It had a unique storyline that kept me hooked from start to finish. The chapters alternate back and forward in time but it was very easy to follow. I loved the detectives and hope to see more of them. Really enjoyable book!

3.5 stars!

I was so excited to be approved for this ARC that I immediately had to read this! I have read The Night Swim and loved it. Stay Awake is suspenseful, tense, and with lots of drama. Overall, the storyline was tasteful and I wanted to know what was going to happen and why, even if it wasn’t all that surprising. I would highly recommend this as an audio as I feel like it’s more entertaining for the reader!

At times I thought the multiple times lines were not so clear so I got confused as to who was who. I also thought it was a slow burn pace which is personally not something I always enjoy. It was repetitive in the middle and I found myself skimming.

Megan Golden has done exactly what this book says—you will stay awake reading it! The book swept me into a different psychological situation where a woman is trying to stay awake to stay safe. I stayed awake reading when I should have been sleeping. I can’t really say what the story is about because it will spoil it, suffice to say #stayawake will keep you awake turning pages to come to the conclusion of this interesting premise based thriller/procedural. Thanks to #netgally and the publisher for this advanced reading copy, the review is my own.

Memento meets Before I Go To Sleep, this was a fast paced suspenseful thriller where I always felt one step behind, lol.

It took me a bit to get into it and figure out and adjust to the timelines. Basically, Liv has traumatic amnesia. Every time she falls asleep she loses her memory. When she wakes she's taken back to a day 2 years ago, not remembering the events or people of the past 2 years at all. The timeline jumps back and forth between the present day and what happened 2 years ago, slowly filling in the blanks of the traumatic event in Liv's past.

I won't say anything more about the plot or storyline as I think you're best to go in fairly blind. I did find the plot unique and engrossing and the pacing worked pretty well for the clues, mis-directions, and reveals. This was my first read by this author and I would read her again.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of Stay Awake. I loved The Night Swim by this author, so I was super excited to read her newest novel and it did not disappoint! Stay Awake is a fast paced, psychological thriller that reminded me of an episode of Law and Order: SVU. The novel follows Liv Reese, a woman that lives in NYC with her best friend, with a job and a boyfriend that she loves. However, she wakes up one day with no memory of the last two years and cryptic messages written on her hands that she doesn’t understand. The story takes place across 24 hours with flashbacks to her life two years prior.

I loved how the story unfolded. The reader is kept a bit off kilter for the start of the book as Liv (and the reader) try to understand what’s happening, what happened to her memory, and who can she trust? I think the “whodunnit” aspect was easy to figure out early on, but I was still along for the ride and couldn’t wait to see how it would all be revealed. My only small gripe is that I don’t feel like we ever got a true confession from the killer and why they did what they did. I would have liked a little more closure there. I would still highly recommend this read, especially if you like to be creeped out! I would read this before bed and found myself hesitant to walk down the dark hallway in my house. I think that’s a sign of a great story!

I STAYED AWAKE FINISHING THIS ONE LAST NIGHT!

From the author of The Night Swim and The Escape Room, comes an unputdownable, fast paced, psychological thriller that plays with memory and murder. This one is hands down, my favorite from @megangoldinauthor thus far.

This one comes out August 9, 2022 so make sure you snag a copy immediately!

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for providing me with an advanced readers copy. This one blew me away!

4 stars! This was my first Megan Goldin book and will definitely not be my last! I really enjoyed the dual perspective/multiple time lines and thought it was done seamlessly. It kept me guessing throughout, I would highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to negalley for advanced reader copy. I really enjoyed this book! The writing pulled me in and I couldn’t put it down. There were great twists I didn’t see coming. I would continue to read books from this author, and look forward to doing so.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the e-arc!

Megan Goldin did a phenomenal job with her newest thriller STAY AWAKE! Goldin writes in dual POVs, multiple timelines and murder!

Liv wakes up in the back of a car at her Brooklyn home. She knocks trying to get in, when a bloody knife drops from her possession and she realises that strangers are in her apartment. She doesn’t know how she got here or what is going on.

I absolutely loved the fast pace and short chapters. Goldin wrote in a way that kept me hooked and trying to figure out who-dun-it! Can’t wait to read more of Megan’s thrillers in the future!

If I’m ever in trouble someone please call Detective Halliday because she is one of the smartest detectives I’ve encountered in a book! Her tenacity and drive make her a strong detective but her empathy and ability to think for herself made her unstoppable!!

I loved that both of the female leads were strong capable women!

I cannot even imagine not remembering details of my life whenever I fall asleep, it’s terrifying.

I found Stay Awake fast paced, filled to the brim with twists, and overall just a great read. Every single time I read a book by @megangoldinauthor I love her more!! Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my digital copy to review!!

Stay Awake published on Tuesday so grab your copy today!!!

Thrillers aren’t my preferred genre. I want to like them, but I usually find them to be predictable, thus defeating the purpose of being… thrilling. I’ve been determined not to give up. To find the thriller that I can finally say I couldn’t put down. And friends, here it is… I’ve finally found it. This thriller truly thrilled me. What a fun, suspenseful, twisty ride. I was hooked from the beginning, staying up late to read more. It’s like if 50 First Dates (the movie) wasn’t a rom com but a murder thriller story. A delight. I did find the ending ultimately somewhat predictable, and I kind of wanted more. But the story held my attention enough that I didn’t care that I knew how it would end.
I’ll definitely be checking out other books by Megan Goldin.

Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no memory of where she's been. She arrives at her apartment to find someone else lives there and there's a knife in her pocket. She comes to realize that she has lost 2 years of her life and nothing is as she remembers - further every time she falls asleep her mind resets to 2 years prior and it all starts over. As she is running around trying to make sense of her life, she is also the primary suspect in a murder. Is she a murderer or a victim? This is a fast paced ride and was hard to put down until I was finished.

4.25/5 (rounded down)

Megan Goldin quickly became an autobuy author for me after I read The Escape Room (I still need to read her debut The Girl in Kellers Way), so it really isn't a surprise to me that I loved Stay Awake. I saw a lot of reviews that mentioned repetition, but I didn't have that issue, and it is my thought that you are going to have some of that anyway when you have an amnesia story. I was completely GLUED to this book, and I didn't put it down once after I started it. The book alternates between Liv's viewpoint both in past and present as well as Darcy Halliday who is on a temporary transfer to the homicide department of the NYPD. Technically her viewpoint isn't always her since at times we had another detective in there, but for the most part, it was her and I loved her character. Series spinoff anyone??

I also think that the preferred way of reading Stay Awake should be listening to the audiobook since it was amazing. It had 2 of my favorites, Imogen Church & January LaVoy, and they definitely killed it (no pun intended). They are brilliant narrators, and I was exceedingly happy to have 2 narrators for the 2 different main viewpoints. I haven't listened to them narrate a book together before and let's just say I really hope they do it again someday. I thought the pacing moved really quickly, and the viewpoints along with the dual time periods for Liv helped keep me engaged even more. I honestly wanted more out of Darcy's viewpoint since she added a nice procedural feel to the story, but since this was really about Liv, I understand why she had a smaller part. I am going to be holding onto the copy of Stay Awake that I purchased and will definitely be doing a reread in the future! Read this if you like the amnesia trope, want a quick read, and a story that will keep you guessing.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

WOW What a page turner!
While this book started out slow for me, once I got into it, I couldn't read it fast enough.
Besides it being a twisty, thrilling emotionally charged read, I for once did not figure out the ending until I got there.
My second 5 start review read from this Author. Can't wait to catch up on some of her other books.
Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins press and the Author, Megan Goldin for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you @stmartinspress & @netgalley for the eARC to read and review !

One thing I love about Megan Goldin is how different each of her books are. One thing they all have in common for me is a fresh take on a trope, which always makes for a great read!

In Stay Awake, Goldin gives us an amnesia thriller with a twist- something I wasn’t sure was possible at this stage in the game.

Liv wakes up in a cab with no idea where she is or how she got there. Her only clue is the phrase STAY AWAKE written on her skin. It’s a totally different year than she remembers and everything and everyone around her has changed.

This is such a fun and entertaining read!

The concept of falling asleep and forgetting everything that’s happened makes for great tension. It’s real enough to make you think it could happen to you, which is the scariest (and most fun!) kind of of thing to read.

I loved the memory flashbacks and trying to piece everything together. Just call me detective Arianna 🕵🏻‍♀️. While I did figure out the twist, I had a great time piecing it together!

After reading all of Megan Goldin’s books to date, I can officially say she’s an auto-read author for me forever 💕

This story goes back and forth from the present to the past. We are trying to piece together the story as is the main character Liv. She wakes up in a park and it’s two years later and she doesn’t know what’s happened in between. Gripping story detailing her memory loss and a persons mission to find out what happened to her friends.

I really liked this book! I found it to be a great thriller that kept me guessing the whole time. I never really thought I knew the ending, and I was definitely surprised! You won’t be disappointed!