Liv Reese suffers from memory loss. Every time she falls asleep, she forgets the past two years of her life. To help her remember, she writes all over her arms and hands, things like "don't fall asleep" and "stay awake." Which is why Liv is shocked when she see news of a recent murder where the killer wrote "stay awake" in blood on the window. Now Liv is afraid she may be a killer at the same time she is receiving threatening telephone calls from someone she doesn't remember. Megan Goldin did a wonderful job of making me feel badly for Liv; her writing made Liv's lapses in memory and fear totally believable. It got a bit confusing at times, but what a wonderful premise! A very original story. It sometimes dragged a bit in the middle, but when it picked up, boy, did it take off! Definitely pick this one up!

This is a Psychological Thriller that takes you on a very wild ride. I cannot say how much I loved this book. I have had bad luck with thrillers recently, but this did not let me down at all. This book is told in two timelines (one present day and the other two years before). The beginning was slow to get moving, but once it did I really was into the story. I did not see this book ending like it did, and wow that was one great ending. I listened to the audiobook, and I loved the narrator of the audiobook so much. I was kindly provided an e-copy and e-audiobook of this book by the publisher ( St. Martin's Press) or author (Megan Goldin) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

A friend of mine described this as 50 First Dates but make it a thriller. It took me over 100 pages to figure out WTF was happening and it felt super stiff and weird. I loved the Night Swim and this one fell flat for me.

Megan Goldin is one of those authors - I'll ALWAYS purchase her work. This was a fast-paced thriller that I couldn't put down. I loved the book's premise of falling asleep and waking with no memories. It instantly drew me in and kept me guessing until the satisfying end. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received a digital advance copy of Stay Awake by Megan Goldin through NetGalley. Stay Awake was released on August 9, 2022.

Stay Awake begins with Liv waking up in a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she arrives at her apartment, a stranger answers the door, then turns her away. Instead of her phone, she is carrying a bloodstained knife. On her skin are messages warning her to trust no one and to stay awake. Liv eventually realizes she has lost two years in time and that a murder occurred last night, perhaps by a woman who looks a lot like her. We follow Liz as she works to piece together the bits of her life and avoid the stranger that is reaching out to her with a combination of information and veiled threats.

As a main character, Liv is fantastically unreliable. She is clearly not sharing the details of her past with the reader, but it works because she doesn’t know those details herself. As the story unfolds, the reader ends up knowing more about Liv than she knows about herself, which creates scenarios with some tension and concern for Liv’s safety. Other than Liv, we only get a true sense of one other character, the police officer working the murder Liv might be responsible for. Other characters in the novel are not developed, and very much pushed into the background.

Other than the moments of tension involving Liv being in potential danger, the story felt a bit flat despite the enticing premise. Often I can pinpoint why a story didn’t work well for me, but in this case, I can’t put my finger on it. I did struggle with some continuity in the story, a lack of a sense of place (it took me a long time to sort out where the story was taking place due to contradictory clues in the narrative), and threads that were dropped late in the novel. These factors may have kept the story from really landing with me.

Overall, Stay Awake is a story with a fascinating premise, that didn’t quite deliver for me.

Wow! This author is quickly becoming one of my favorites. This is the 3rd book I’ve read by her and I’ve really enjoyed them all.

Liv wakes up late at night in the back of a cab. She can’t remember how she got there or where she’s going. In fact, the last thing she remembers is answering her phone in her office at work on a sunny July morning. She looks at her hands and sees notes written on them - Stay Awake! Wake Up! Don’t Trust Anyone - and is concerned. She gets even more concerned when she arrives at her apartment only to find other people living there. While standing outside, she realizes she has a t-shirt balled up in her hands and in the t-shirt is a bloody knife which she immediately tosses.

This begins the endless loop that Liv is living in. Every time she falls asleep, she wakes up with no memory of where she is or how she got there. It’s now Fall - two years after she answered that phone call in her office - and Wake Up has been written in blood on a window at the scene of a murder. Did Liv kill someone?

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, the author and NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

The premise to this novel was excellent but the main character was incredibly grating to read about and the plot became too repetitive.

I have recently gotten more and more selective about thrillers - they so often miss the mark for me. Luckily, this one gave me everything I wanted!

This book really used the unreliable narrator in a perfect way that didn't make me roll my eyes once. I was hooked from the start, desperate to find out how it would end, and was very satisfied with how everything turned out.

I didn't find this to be a book with mind-blowing twists, but that didn't take away from the enjoyment at all. If you're a thriller fan, you'll love this one.

This was my first Megan Goldin and I am so excited to read some of her backlist because this book was a fun one to read. I always like when thrillers are slightly unique and maybe this premise has been done before but I haven't read anything like it. Liv wakes up in a taxi with no memory of how she got there only to discover that two years have passed since the last thing she remembers. The story is told in alternating timeline with the present where Liv is covered in writing telling her not to go to sleep and to the past leading up to her last memories. I enjoyed this thriller and was surprised by the ending. I liked both timelines and wasn't distracted when we switched which is the case for me sometimes. Liv was an interesting character to read about and I felt really bad for her, especially when you get towards the end of the book. At times it was a little hard to read because losing ones memory is a fear of mine but I thought the author handled it well. Highly recommend this one! Thank you St. Martin's Press for my #gifted copy for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Liv wakes up in the back of a NYC cab with no memory of how she got there or where the cab is taking her. When she arrives at her apartment, strangers are living there and quickly kick her back outside. Liv has no purse, so she looks through her pockets. The good news is she has a wad of cash. The bad news is she has no cell phone. Instead, there is only a bloody knife in her pocket. What could be happening to her? And why is Stay Awake written on her arms?

Stay Awake is a fun romp combining Memento with a traditional woman-in-danger-who-doesn’t-know-where-to-turn thriller. The pace is relentless. I couldn’t stop turning the pages! I had a bit of a problem with the conclusion, but I can’t tell you why without giving spoilers. Still, it is definitely a 4 star read!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

Another hit by Goldin! Like the movie "Memento" but better. The protagonist was very relatable, and the settings terrific. Loved it!!!

Rare amnesia mixed with psychological thrillers is almost always a win. I was intrigued and it kept me guessing. Great book.

I love this author. Her stories just grab you and pull you in. I love the characters and the storyline. Always enjoy her books

This book is a perfect thriller which will keep you guessing till the end. Liv Reese is missing a chunk of her life. She's confused, she's running and she does not remember a huge part of her life. What exactly happened to her?
As soon as I started reading the book, I remembered a hindi movie which had pretty much a similar plot and this book delivered on all counts. I can't reveal the name since it would be a spoiler but people who watch Indian movies can immediately understand within the first chapter which movie I am referring too.
What I liked: The plot and the characters except for a few. The characters were believable. The plot was well developed and moves with a good pace.
What I didn't like: It's not exactly not liking but I would have liked one more chapter on how did the perpetrator find out? I will leave it at that again everything would be a spoiler.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book.

Does anyone else feel like this is the billionth memory loss/psychological thriller with a female protagonist storyline they’ve read this year???!

Luckily, this story was exciting and better than some of the others one I’ve read. Unfortunately, I am a busy and irritable woman, and so, this book came to me at the wrong time!

A multiple timeline narrative wherein the story begins with our main character Liv waking up after 2 years with no memories, a bloody knife and writing on her hand urging her to Stay Awake, because, guess what? Every time Liv falls asleep, she forgets again.… Yes we’ve heard this before!!! Overall this is a fun mysterious and suspenseful novel that amalgamates the complexities of recall with a whodunit police investigation. There were ups and downs but I would definitely recommend it to anyone who isn’t suffering from memory loss fatigue!

This is a fantastic psychological suspense thriller. I did not put this book down until I finished it. This was spooky. I loved that I could not figure out what was happening to Liv for such a long time. I love Liv. I loved Detective Halliday and Detective Lavelle. This story kept me on the edge of my seat. This was one of my favorite stories this year. I received a copy of this book from St. Martins Press for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

OH MY GOSH! I absolutely LOVED this book. I hated having to put it down when my eyes got too heavy at night. It was written so well. Definitely a lot of back and forth with points of view and time frames, but if I was able to keep track, then I'm sure most would. AH, I literally cannot believe how hooked I was to this story. It reminded me of the show Blindspot in a way. But now that I have finished and I know everything....I'm still left wondering, what the motive was by that person and the original act? IYKYK. Still trying to figure that one out. Here is me about to go find some others who have read this to pick their brain! Okay, you must read this!

Imagine waking up one day not being able to remember the last two years of your life, and to make it worse every time you fall asleep you wake up with no memory of the last two years.

Two years ago Liv survived a tragic event which caused her to move to London in an attempt to start her life over. When she wakes up in a cab not knowing where she is or how she got there her life starts to take a turn for the worse.

A murder in NYC then becomes headlines while the detectives not only try to figure out who the person found murdered is but who killed him and why.

A slow start to the book quickly picked up speed and kept you guessing until the end. While Liv kept running into people from her past the reader, along with Liv started to wonder who you could really trust and who might be taking advantage of her memory loss.

Liv Reese wakes up in a taxi with no recollection of how she got there. She goes to the apartment that she’s been living in with her best friend, Amy. New people live there and they have no idea who she is. She has lost two years of her life and memories. Even worse, every time she falls asleep, she forgets it all again. So she tries to stay awake to figure out why she has a bloodied knife, why are there words written on her hands, and what happened in the two years time.

This is a tense thriller that kept me guessing most of the way through. Having to read the panic and anxiety that Liv has to deal with while also realizing that Liv could be an unreliable narrator makes it a page turner.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC. It’s out now and makes for a great early autumn thriller.

I love Megan Goldin and this book didn’t disappoint. I couldn’t set it down!

Liv wakes up in the back of a taxi with no recollection of how she got there. When she heads home a stranger answers and claims they live there now and her roommate Amy is nowhere. How long has time passed and why does Liv have a bloody knife on her.

The intense build in Megan’s stories always get me. So full of twists, and ones I don’t see coming, which are refreshing. This book is what psychological thrillers are about. It’s fucked up but well done. Definitely a book worth the read, especially for all the build up.