Apparently this reader took the title of this book as directions on how to read it. I might have stayed up till 3am reading because there was no way I was going to fall asleep without finishing this story first. And let me tell you - it was most definitely worth it. Megan Goldin's Stay Awake is already on my "must recommend reads" list.

Liv Reese wakes up in a cab not remembering how she got there or anything much after receiving a phone call while she was at work. Except most things in her life are no longer the way she remembers them - strangers are living in her home, she can't seem to get a hold of important people in her life and all she has to go by are the words on her hands - STAY AWAKE. As local police begin investigating a brutal murder, Liv starts suspecting that she might be connected to it somehow. But how can she possibly make sense of her current circumstances when she forgets everything as soon as she falls asleep.

This story was everything and a bag of chips. It definitely gave me Memento vibes (in the best possible way). I love Megan Goldin's writing style and I loved how vividly she p0rtrayed the terrifying reality of not being able to hang on to your memories. The parallel story-lines of Liv's journey and the police investigation helped with the pace of storytelling and introduced another strong female character. This was such a page turner that will definitely appeal to most fans of the genre and even to those who are simply looking for a well-written and engaging read based on an interesting premise.

Grateful to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

Fast-paced page turner. Liv Reese wakes up in the back of an NYC cab with no memory of the past two years. As she tries to piece together her life, she winds up in the middle of a murder investigation. Without her memories, how can Liv figure out who to trust and who to fear?

This was a fun read with a unique premise. I've seen a few thrillers in recent years where the protagonist suffers from facial blindness (Survive the Night by Riley Sager; The Resting Place by Camilla Sten) and this recurring amnesia felt like a similar trope. It ups the ante when the protagonist cannot recognize the killer when standing face-to-face. The chapters are SUPER short which made this story fly by. The detectives who are investigating the murder and looking for Liv were slightly less interesting to me than the sections about Liv, but I liked how it all tied together. This book is not similar to The Night Swim by Megan Goldin, which was more of a mystery. However, this did remind me of Goldin's earlier book, The Escape Room, for it's fast pace and multiple POV styles. I think this would make an excellent beach or pool-side read.

At the start of this novel, main character Liv wakes up in a cab with no memory of her life for the last two plus years, with phrases written all over her hands - and holding a bloody knife wrapped in a T-shirt. She - and we as readers - soon discover that she loses all her memories of the last few years every time she falls asleep. The book takes place mostly over the next day, from her perspective and the perspectives of the detectives investigating a murder connected to the knife - plus flashbacks to Liv’s life before the amnesia.

It is really hard to rate this one - the writing is not great, and the various revelations towards the end of the book seriously make no sense. And it was a disappointment compared to Goldin’s previous book, the excellent The Night Swim, and her preposterous yet more believable than this The Escape Room. But yet - it was so suspenseful and entertaining and kept me reading non-stop!

I definitely have less tolerance for crazy thrillers than a lot of people, so if you don’t require believability or logic in your thrillers you may love it. For me, it probably only deserves 3 stars, but I’m giving it 3.5 stars anyway for being captivating enough to get me to finish it in less than 2 days.

3.75 rounded up. Perfect summer thriller. Cat and mouse story between a con artist and a reporter Kat who after 10 years has found the woman who upended her life. Determined to be the one who takes her down Kat works on finally exposing her only to learn that everything is not as it seems. Twisty, turvy, this one was such a fun ride. I'm a sucker for con artist story's if done correctly and this one is well done. Loved it.

What if you went to sleep and instead of waking up the next day, you wake up and its two years later? Liv Reese has no idea what happened to those two years of her life. She only knows that she is running from danger, or from someone that she cannot remember. A tension filled thriller with a taunt ending. I received an ARC from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press. The comments of this review are my honest opinion.

"Starbursts blink from streetlights like they're sharing a secret as I wake to find myself slumped in a cab, without any recollection of how I got there, or where I'm going."

Being a fan of Goldin's The Night Swim, I was offered the opportunity to review this book. I have to say it did not disappoint.

Liv Reese wakes up in a taxi with no recollection of how she got there or where she was going. Her last memory is of her, sitting in her office and taking a call. Unbeknownst to Reese, this memory is from more than two years before. But when a man is found murdered in his sleep, Liv becomes the prime suspect.

This is a story with a lot of intrigue and emotional panache in which the protagonist loses her memory every time she falls asleep and is consequently sent into a spiral of fear and terror every time she wakes up. I have to say that not many thrillers manage to be intriguing. Mostly they are peppered with red herrings and loose ends. But here I felt myself being just as distrustful as amnesiac Liv. I feared for her because what she was going through felt real. Some might say that the plot was a bit repetitive regarding Liv's habits and discoveries, but to me it made it real that this person actually loses her memory and comes to the same ideas and conclusions again as if for the first time. It was engrossing.

I even liked the detectives, which is a rarity for me. They felt uncharacteristically realistic and sincere. For me, in other books, they were almost always the overbearing element in the story.

My few scruples with the book were that, firstly, it wrapped up a bit too neatly for my taste. I kind of believe more in looser ends and, not exactly messy, but just not as neat. But hey, that's on me. Secondly, the perpetrator was kind of easy to guess despite the attempt of throwing us off with a red herring or two.

Looking forward to whatever Goldin has next in store!



Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Nightmarish Amnesia and a Murder

Liv Reese has a complete loss of memory each time she wakes up. When she wakes in a taxi she has no idea how she got there. When she arrives at her apartment, she’s met at the door by a curt woman who tells her that she and her husband have lived there for two years. Two years, Liz can’t believe that she’s lost two years of her life.

Things get complicated when the knife she found in her purse is linked to a murdered man. Imagine trying to get clues to what happened when your memory is so faulty.

Jack Lavelle and Darcy Halliday are the team of detectives assigned to the murder investigation. Jack is a veteran cop, but Darcy is new. Being recently partnered, they are getting to know each other. There is a bit of friction because Jack believes Liv is guilty, but Darcy isn’t so sure.

This is a fast paced thriller. The short chapters keep you moving rapidly through the book. The story is told from two viewpoints, Darcy and Liv. I found Liv’s sections unsatisfactory. She can’t remember and she keeps talking about it. Plus the first person can be annoying. I found Darcy much more likable. She’s tough and smart. I hope she’s featured in another book.

The multiple timelines are necessary to fill you in on the backstory since Liv has no memory. I found them easy to follow. This mystery has many good points. The ending is a surprise, but it also suffers from the problems with the main character: her inability to remember, and her distracted way of looking for clues.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

Huge amount of thanks to NetGalley and st martins press for an advance copy of this book.
Y’all! This is a good one! What if you had a rare form of amnesia that caused you to lose the last two years of your life every time you slept? Liz has it and she’s recently woke up with the words ‘stay awake’ written all over her, spring turned into fall, and a bloody knife in her pocket.
Megan Goldin perfectly conveyed those feelings of confusion and fear, easily pulling me into the story and keeping my attention during all the twists and turns.
Fantastic read! One of my 5 stars for this year.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT (IN A NUTSHELL):
Stay Awake by Megan Goldin is a spine-tingling thriller about a woman who loses her memory every time she goes asleep. She's in danger from a killer, and to figure out who the killer is, she must stay awake.

INITIAL EXPECTATIONS (BEFORE BEGINNING THE BOOK):
The cover is a dark building with two lit windows – one of which has a woman in it in the shadows. Clearly, she's awake long after everyone else has gone to bed. The blurb is even more intriguing and holds a great deal of information that are small bits of what sounds like a potentially excellent thriller. Between the two aspects, my initial expectations for this thriller are very high in terms of pacing and story.

ACTUAL READING EXPERIENCE:
I loved the cleverly plotted mystery most of all. I was totally stumped until the reveal. Of course, I had some thoughts, but they were all wrong. I had mixed feelings about the motive. I'm not sure it was really on par with murder, but people who murder other people are not thinking logical thoughts, so I was more than willing to just go with it. I was absolutely riveted by the idea of someone losing their memory whenever they fall asleep. It's sort of like a crazy twist on movies, such as Groundhog Day, where a person must relive the same day repeatedly.
I loved all the action. Psychological thrillers do not always have much action, but this one did, and I enjoyed it very much. Between the action and the amnesia, the pages flipped quickly from start to finish. It got a bit repetitive in the middle, which slowed me down a little, but that didn't last long, and my reading soon sped back up.
The conclusion is satisfying though it does again require some suspended disbelief. I loved that the major threads were brought to a definite conclusion.

CHARACTERS:
Liv Reese is the main character, and we learn a little about her through the flashback chapters. Still, I wouldn't consider her or any of the support characters, particularly well-developed. I didn't mind this, though, considering the plot. There are also many things to let slide concerning her character, such as why anyone didn't take her to the hospital. But again, this is fiction, so I was willing to buy into the inconsistencies with the natural world to enjoy a thrilling ride.

NARRATION & PACING:
The story is told in two timelines and uses two narration styles for the current timeline. The main character Liv Reese tells events from two years ago in first-person narration. She is telling us the story of what happened to ultimately cause the amnesia she is dealing with in the current timeline. And the current timeline is told from Liv's perspective in first-person. Then third-person narration is used for the chapters that tell of the police investigation into a murder that Liv is wanted for. This all worked together seamlessly and caused no confusion for me. I loved hearing Liv's story in her own words. The stress of not remembering anything is told in a way that I could feel her confusion and constant feelings of being in danger as she felt them. All of this works together to create a pace that is mostly fast throughout the story.

SETTING:
The story is set in New York City, which is ideal for increasing the thrills. Who would want to develop amnesia while walking around NYC – not me, that's for sure. I think the city's inherent danger could have been utilized more. Somehow this poor amnesiac woman is walking around the city at night, never getting mugged or even running into dangerous situations.

TO READ OR NOT TO READ:
If you love psychological thrillers and can easily suspend disbelief, if it means taking a thrill ride, you won't soon forget that Stay Awake is just the book to keep you awake all night reading it.

Megan Goldin is a fantastic storyteller! A thrilling page turner that kept me on the edge of my seat. This book was hard to put down and had me guessing until the very end. Well written, fast paced, engaging. Overall a great read

I absolutely loved the ride this book took me on! I do desperately wanted to find out what happened to Liv and was cheering her on the entire story. It was full of suspense and Megan Goldin knocked it out of the park again!

Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a cab, with words written all over her arms. Arriving at her apartment, she finds strangers living there, with no trace of her roommate, cat, or belongings. Worse still, when she reaches for her phone, she discovers a bloody knife wrapped in a t-shirt. And as news outlets begin reporting on a man’s murder, Liv is haunted by the words “Stay Awake” written in blood at the crime scene and also in ink on her arm. Could she have killed him? And why?

Two years ago, she was a writer for a successful magazine, with a boyfriend and devoted best friend. But she has no memory of the intervening two years. Or how she got that horrible scar on her abdomen.

New York homicide detectives are newly paired for this baffling case. One is eager to prove herself, while the other would prefer to work alone, but they unexpectedly find a rhythm to their partnership.

Vaguely reminiscent of Groundhog Day but with far more deadly consequences, this psychological suspense novel is so different but so very good. #StayAwake #NetGalley

"Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she’s dropped off at the door of her brownstone, a stranger answers―a stranger who now lives in her apartment and forces her out in the cold. She reaches for her phone to call for help, only to discover it’s missing, and in its place is a bloodstained knife. That’s when she sees that her hands are covered in black pen, scribbled messages like graffiti on her skin: STAY AWAKE."
It's hard to give a description of this book without giving everything away, hence the copied description from the publisher. This book was such terrifying rollercoaster of twists and turns, only getting snippets of the story as it jumps from Liv in the present with amnesia of the events of the past two years, and then Liv two years before and what led up to her trauma. Every time she falls asleep, her mind resets to that morning two years before. I absolutely loved the investigative team of Halliday and Levell. Their chapters and how they handled the investigation were my favorite. This is my third book by this author and they just keep getting better and better!! I was so excited to get an early copy through NetGalley!
I received an advance reader copy of this book. The views and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

This was one of the fastest paced, most propulsive thrillers I have ever read! I flew though the pages trying to piece together the murder mystery along with amnesiac Liv. The reader has a big advantage over Liv; while she forgets everything more recent than four years every time she falls asleep, the reader knows everything she learns along with her but we thankfully don't forget. It is a really interesting version of amnesia. I'm not sure if it exists in real life but it sure makes for an exciting story!

Discovering the fragmented pieces of her story then watching her forget everything she learned was frustrating and often horrific. There are several murders around her and she is either the killer or being set up by someone else. There is always the feeling that someone knows about her condition and is manipulating her. it is easy to gaslight someone who forgets the previous day after she naps! It is kind of a toss up between Liv being an unstable murderer or a victim herself. I won't give anything away but I was satisfied by the resolution. If you want to completely lose yourself in a book, this one is a perfect choice!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

Wow! I love when a book is so thrilling and suspenseful that I have trouble putting it down! Liv was a great unreliable narrator and I had no clue where all the twists and turns were headed. The dual timelines were done well, although there were a few times where it was a little confusing. I really liked the two detectives, Halliday and Lavelle, and would be so excited if they popped up in a future book! I was definitely surprised at the ending! The only thing missing for me was the motive.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the e-arc!

This was a very interesting and intriguing book since Liv forgot everything from the last 2 years every time she went to sleep. When she woke up she knew who she was but had no recollection of major events from the last 2 years. I found it to be super interesting. I wanted a little more motive and connection between the killer and the murders, but it was still a very good and gripping book.

Stay Awake started out with a bang for me and sucked me in!! I loved the beginning and thought it was intriguing!! Then, I felt bummed because it slowed down for me a bit, but luckily It picked back up at the end. Overall, I enjoyed it! I definitely felt a lot of suspense while reading and I liked how the story unfolded. I thought the storyline was unique and interesting!! 3.5 stars rounded to 4!

Thank you, Net Galley, and St Martin's Press for an ARC in return for my honest opinion

Megan Goldin does not disappoint. This story unrolls in a Momento type ride of memory loss. Imagine if every time you went to sleep, you lost your memory. It was an intriguing idea and the story went along at a fast and eager pace. There are reveals, such as the origin of some important details and phrases, that I found completely interesting and compelling. I was a little disappointed by the final reveal. The who of the who-dun-it, if you will. Everything else was taught and thrilling.

This one finally got me out of a reading slump! We follow Liv who every time she wakes up, she forgets everything that has happened the last two years. I loved discovering Liv’s memories beside her. I became just as obsessed with figuring out what happened next just as she did. I loved the paranoid/uneasy atmosphere this book gave off. There were times that I felt it was repetitive and the ending somewhat fell flat but overall, it was an overall exciting psychological thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat!

I've loved the other Megan Goldin books I've read, but Stay Awake was a disappointment. Liv's segments were written like a young adult's book, especially the past Liv. The current Liv acts immediately resigned to the fact that she has to stay awake or lose her memory - shrug. The writing all over the body would be cinematic, but this theme was already done and mastered in "Memento".