4.5 stars

This is one of the best thrillers I have read since The Silent Patient! The concept was so interesting and intriguing, filled with tension and suspense, and I couldn’t put it down.

When the main character, Liv, falls asleep, she wakes up not remembering what has happened except from two years earlier. One night, she wakes up in the back of a cab with a bloody knife, and she finds herself on the run without knowing what had happened or who she’s running from.

Liv is an unreliable narrator, which typically annoys me, but in this instance I find it very effective to the plot and storyline. We also get the narrative from the detective, Halliday, investigating the murder. I loved the use of these two narrators, as Halliday’s perspective allowed you to open your eyes to the possibilities of what was going on even when Liv was still trying to figure it out herself. I loved discovering Liv’s memories with her, trying to figure out what had happened in the past 2 years, gaining some new knowledge during each chapter.

While Liv’s memory loss is kind of unrealistic, it’s quite easy to put this to the side, as it really seems to work in this particular novel. The novel could have gotten repetitive due to the plot, yet it never did.

I had my suspicions about some the plot and ended up getting some of it right, but I wasn’t expecting the ending of the book!

I would highly recommend this book if you like thrillers!

Liv is losing her mind…literally. She experienced a terrible trauma 2 years ago and her mind is on a loop. She cannot remember anything recent. She thinks she lives and works in the same place and she keeps going back to the terrible night the tragedy struck. But, her life is in danger and she has no idea!

There was just something about the first of this book which I did not like. I just cannot quite put my finger on it. Possibly because I didn’t know where my feelings for Liv were supposed to fall…is she a good person or a bad person? I really almost quit reading. But, I am glad that didn’t happen. Because, the intensity just keeps building! I actually caught myself gripping the steering wheel extremely tightly at some parts of the story.

This is a unique premise. I found Liv’s situation different and very interesting. I mean…how would you handle losing your memory every time you slept. The notes she wrote to herself, the situations she found herself in…Very well done!

The narrators, Imogen Church and January LaVoy did a great job tag teaming the characters! They kept the intensity level high!

Need a story which will have you scared to go to sleep..THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

This book y'all! I switched between ebook and audio, and I really feel the audio gave an even higher level of intensity!

I'm a big fan of the unreliable narrator and no one is more unreliable than Liv. She has a rare form of amnesia - when she falls asleep, she wakes up not remembering anything that has happened recently! It's like the movie Groundhog's Day, but more horrific. She finds herself in a time loop - and we travel back and forth in time with her over the two year time frame. When Liv wakes up in the back of an NYC cab holding a bloody knife and no memory of what happens, she goes on the run, although not sure what she is running from.

The narration comes from Liv and Halliday, a younger detective working the murder case. I really liked Halliday, but found Liv's narration more intense and captivating. Following the murder investigation was very interesting and I loved the peeling back of the layers of this case.

This book is filled with drama and suspense and I was so engrossed that I didn't even attempt to figure out who the murderer was, I just kept reading and reading to find out what would happen next!

Liv’s amnesia worked for me in this book. We got just enough of her forgetfulness. She was a likable character and I found myself cheering for her, despite the mess that her life is at the moment. It ends with a bang!

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Liv Reese has the perfect life. She works as a journalist for the magazine Cultura, she lives in an apartment in Brooklyn with her best friend Amy, and she has a boyfriend, Marco, who she adores. However, one night she wakes up in the back of a taxi, a knife covered in blood in her hands, and writing on her hands warning her not to fall asleep. She doesn’t know where the knife comes from or who the blood belongs to and when she tries to get inside her apartment, she finds strangers living there. Her last memory is working at the office and answering the phone, then blank. Except that this happened two years ago. With no memory of the last two years and sensing that she is in danger, Liv knows she must figure out what happened, but, most importantly, she mustn’t fall asleep, because every time she does she forgets the last two years of her life.

In the meantime, in an apartment in Manhattan the body of a man has been found naked with a stab wound to the heart. Detective Darcy Halliday, temporarily assigned to the murder unit, is the first on the scene. There is blood writing on the window, the weapon is missing, and the identity of the victim is unknown, but as Halliday and her new partner, Detective Jack Lavelle, investigate they discover that the clues lead to Liv. However, they are not the only ones looking for her. There is someone who knows exactly what happened to Liv and wants to stop her before she figures it out…

I loved Megan Goldin’s previous novels and this new one didn’t disappoint. Packed with suspense, tension, and twists that I didn’t see coming, Stay Awake kept me on the edge of my seat from the first to the last page. The story is split between different timelines and points of views. Two years ago, we meet Liv before her memory loss, with her dream job, house, and boyfriend, and we learn what happened to her. In the present time, the narrative switches between the two smart, determined, and bold female protagonists: on the one side, there is a confused and afraid Liv, on the run from someone who doesn’t want her to remember and from a crime that she doesn’t know if she committed. On the other side, Darcy Hallidays, after various tours in Afghanistan, has chosen a life in the police and hopes to prove her worth and remain in the murder unit.

If you are looking for an exciting, action-packed, intense read, and two fantastic and likable protagonists then I can recommend Stay Awake enough!!!

This is my 3rd book I've read by Megan Golden and she's fast becoming a favorite of mine when it comes to thrillers. Stay Awake was fast-paced with short chapters that kept you on your toes trying to figure out all the pieces.

Liv Reese has woken up in NYC and is confused and disoriented. She has writing on her skin with phrases that do not make sense. She returns to her apartment and strangers are living there. She can't make sense of anything, until she returns to her job and sees the news that someone has been murdered and the woman in the video looks a lot like her. Could she be the killer? Liv cannot remember anything, so anything could be possible.

Stay Awake is told in a past and present timeline from Liv's POVs and from Detective Halliday in the present. The present takes place over 1+ day (Wednesday) and it was exciting, compelling and heart-poundingly good. Liv is on a race to figure out what happened and to Stay Awake. Because each time she falls asleep, she remembers nothing of her time awake. Her story from 2 years ago is the time she remembers. Up until one point. But after that, she has no memory. Sounds a little like 50 First Dates with a thriller twist.
Detective Halliday and her partner are trying to find all the pieces and figure out who killed the man in the apartment and the woman in the video is prime suspect number one. With both of these timelines going back and forth in the book, you feel a part of the story and want to help Liv clear her name, or figure out why she has killed. With insomnia induced amnesia, Liv doesn't make the most reliable narrator. But I loved her anyway. I knew there was more to her story and watching the past unfold was terrifying yet satisfying.

Stay Awake is one of those "On the edge of your seat thrillers" that you'll want to keep reading and not put down. The dual timelines worked for the amnesia plot and to piece everything together. I liked the strong female characters that were represented in the story. There were a few characters that didn't have a place in the overall scheme of things, but I think they were placed there more to confuse the reader. It still left a few holes. But that didn't hinder my love of the story, the characters and the way everything wrapped up. Another winner for Megan Goldin.

Happy Publication Day!
Megan Goldin is one of my "must read" authors for mystery/thrillers (Jennifer Hillier and Greer Hendricks/Sarah Pekkanen being the others!)- she does a great job creating the setting of the story and developing a mystery with characters and actions that are believable. This book had me guessing a lot and I felt that the ending really pulled everything together well.

I was worried going into "Stay Awake" because main character, Liv, has amnesia. Short-term memory loss so that every time she wakes up she has lost a large chunk of her life. Liv remembers details from a certain point, but as a reader, we don't get those details until much later on. This book made me want to re-watch the 2000 video Memento -- when a short term memory loss story is good, it's worth the "twists" and craziness that it takes to get to that point! While the memory loss is not completely believable, I felt that it was done well and added to the story.

I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy this genre-
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced e-copy of this book. I look forward to reading this one again in a few years when I've forgotten most of the details. I suppose I should put a little more belief into the short-term memory loss thing XD

Stay Awake took me on a rollercoaster of questions, intense anticipation, and even panic….in a good way! At every moment of Liv’s journey, I was on the edge of my seat, desperately wanting to know what would happen next. I enjoyed the quick pace and multiple timelines and would recommend this books to others who are looking for a solid summer thriller.

Liv wakes up as she is dropped off at her apartment. She has lost her purse, keys, and phone. She keeps ringing the doorbell until her roommate opens the door except it is not her roommate! It is two strangers. Thinking that they are just friends of her roommate, she barges in. It’s the same apartment, but everything inside has changed. Liv realizes that she has not lived here in a while. She leaves and sits on the stoop trying to think what to do next. She finds her knife with blood on it wrapped in a T-shirt in the pocket of her long cardigan. She tosses it and the T-shirt in a nearby trash bin. She waves down a cab that just dropped somebody off and gives her boyfriend's address. She notices that she has handwriting on her hands, and one has the address of Nocturnal. She tells the cab driver to take her there. The novel starts off from here.

The main storyline consists of two threads. The first is centered on Liv Reese. Every time she falls asleep, she loses all memory since she woke up last. The last thing she remembers was answering the phone at work, but that is it. This thread uses flashbacks quite often to provide what she does remember to fill in the events leading up to the amnesia. Because of this reoccurring amnesia, the flow is choppy with repeated material that Liv must relearn each time she wakes up. The second thread is the investigation into a murder where “Stay Awake” was written on the condo window so all outside could read. The same words are written on Liv’s hands! Here the investigation is given to a newly minted female detective who is partnered with a grisly older male detective. The investigation proceeds at a good clip even though the progress is slow at the start. This thread captured my interest rather quickly. The Liv thread took longer to capture my interest it did.

The B-storyline is a common one where a newbie detective, commonly a female, is paired with a grumpy old detective. He has been tasked by his Captain to assess her fitness to replace a retiring detective. This framework provides a natural format for discussions between each other about their backgrounds and why she wants to be a detective. As they relationship matures and becomes more mentor/mentee the old detective opens up about himself. A rich B-storyline results that greatly enhanced my reading enjoyment.

As for things that some readers find objectionable, there are not any intimate scenes. Profanity is very minimal. Most of the violence is described in the less edgy after the fact. The threat of violence, especially to Liv, keeps the tension high throughout the novel. In my opinion, there is very little in these common objectionable aspects in novels.

What I believe might be a major complaint is that the start is slow and disjointed because the repetitive amnesia actions keep being repeated. While that is true, these sections must be read carefully because there are little revelations provided in each. There was aspect in the Liv main storyline thread that I found improbable, but later when more facts were revealed, I realized that it was indeed possible. Therefore, I found some reading enjoyment from these initially negative aspects. One aspect that I particularly like was the cat and mouse between Liv and an anonymous caller. Another was the suspense built on whether she was a victim or a perpetrator for an incident that caused her first amnesia. This was complemented by whether or not she was a murderer now. All the loose ends were tied up in both main storyline threads. The ending for one thread was good, and the other is the best that could be expected.

This is a new author that I have not read before. I enjoyed reading this novel and am looking forward to reading more. I am tentatively placing this author in my Will-Read category that I use to prioritize my requests to NetGalley, my purchases, and my library barrowing. If you like the teaser for this novel, I do recommend reading it. I enjoyed reading it. The author wrote a very good novel based upon a challenging storyline. I rate this novel with four stars.

I received a free e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from St. Martin’s Press. My review is based only by my own reading experience of this book. I wish to thank St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

I have been a fan of this author since The Escape Room. I enjoyed her second book, The Night Swim, as well. So when I saw she had a new book coming out, I knew I had to get my hands on it to read. This book did not disappoint, and I think it is my 2nd favorite after The Escape Room.

In this psychological thriller, we meet Liv, who cannot remember anything if she falls asleep. To combat this rare type of amnesia, she ingests a lot of caffeine and other products to keep her away, a sort of forced insomnia. However, her body will force her to fall asleep, and she awakens with no memory of how she got somewhere. She also thinks it is 2 years in the past and is searching for her roommate, Amy, and her boyfriend, Marco. But at the same time, there are forces working against her, and the police are close to honing in on her after discovering a dead body and some incriminating evidence against her...or is it?

This story is told from two different timelines, current day and two years ago, right before Liv lost her memory. The back and forth kept me riveted to the book, which was hard for me to put down. I kept trying to figure out who the villain was and if Liv was crazy or not. I suspected one character but was far off base...I think there was something with this character, but it is never answered or resolved. There were a few surprises, but some earlier scenes led me to believe that certain events had happened, but there was never any definitive proof.

I really liked Detective Darcy Halliday and her approach to deciphering the clues and not assuming that Liz was a killer. She was very methodical but also not afraid to put it all on the line when necessary. I felt bad for Liv because she couldn't remember anything and wrote notes on her arms but couldn't remember what the note was for or if she could trust what was written. Plus, she couldn't get any answers for the missing 2 years, but some were trying to help her and looked out for her knowing that she couldn't remember.

While there are things that aren't realistic, such as Liz consuming lots of caffeine but never having to go the bathroom, it still was a fantastic read.

We give this book 5 paws up.

I really enjoyed Megan Goldin's Night Swim so I was thrilled to get a chance to read Stay Awake before it was released. The book's main character, Liv, is an unreliable narrator with memory issues. She isn't sure if she's involved with a recent murder and she cannot trust anyone. On the other side of the story a temporary rookie detective is working her case while trying to prove herself in the department. The story was fast paced, creative and a great thriller. If you loved Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, or The Woman in the Window you will like this. Very different from Night Swim but still a great read. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Publishing Group for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. This is going into my DNF pile. I really wanted to like this book but it was just too hard to follow going from back in story to current time. A chapter would start off saying "two years ago" and the next chapter would be "8:34 am" and as a reader, you feel like it is still in the past but it is not.

This book had a whirlwind of emotions for me. Liv wakes up on a fall morning with no recollection of the past two years. She notices strange words written on her arms such as "stayawake", "don't trust anyone", etc. in HER handwriting. There's been a murder, and she fears she somehow might be involved. She meets people that defiantly remember her, but she has no memory of ever meeting them. She must try to piece this difficult puzzle together by following indistinct clues from herself, and others. Problem is, she has to stay awake long enough. Falling asleep means she forgets anything she learned that very day. With no knowledge of Detective Lavelle, and Halliday hot on her trail, and putting things together faster then she can this book has twists, and turns I never saw coming! With a dual narrative from past, and present Liv it's great for fans of the Silent Patient. The Author includes amazing details, it makes it easy to follow along and makes you feel like your right there with Liv. This book is a nail biting page turner you seriously don't want to miss! I'm excited to say I'm a new huge fan of Megan Goldin, and can't wait to see what else she has in store!! You will not regret picking up this whodunit thriller!

Thank you St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for this ARC!

all starts with a murder and the words “𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦.” And then welcome to the rabbit hole of Liv’s memory, where every time she falls asleep, all her memory is lost. Yeah, try keeping up with that as the plot turns and twists.

Perhaps I’m old (I am), perhaps I’m picky (I am), or perhaps it took far too long to anchor this story down (it did).

Granted, I turned pages voraciously but ultimately was frustrated and underwhelmed. I suspect others may like this one tho - just didn’t work for my patience level (it’s low).

Okay, this is my second book from this author and I can say I love her writing. I have also read The Night Swim and, somehow, she has given us both of these that have common themes in this genre, but made them completely her own.

Stay Awake, was a great book. The thought of not being able to go to sleep because you'll forget everything, is terrifying. Then put that in a thriller and you got a suspenseful ride on your hands.

Like with Night Swim, I think, Stay Awake touches on some important topics, that I cannot discuss without giving away spoilers, but that need to be discussed especially in thrillers.

And the way she played the red herrings were great. While I guessed the who I was also suspicious of others throughout because she did great making you question everyone.

I would recommend this one.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, wow, wow!!!

I found my fave thriller of the year! Absolutely LOVED every single second of this book! It was one of those books that you stay up late for and wake up the next morning craving answers!

I loved the main character, Liv, she was super like-able and I found myself rooting hard for her to figure all this out!! While the storyline does jump back and forth, it was very easy to follow and adds to the confusion of WHO TO TRUST!?!?

You guys know I read 1-2 thrillers/month, but if you are going to pick one to read this year - this should be it!!

Liv Reese wakes up in a taxi with a bloodied knife in her pocket. She remembers nothing after answering her office phone on a sunny day, but when she exits the taxi at her apartment, she encounters a cool New York city night. She can’t wait to get inside and figure out what’s happening, but she doesn’t have her keys, and when she buzzes an unfamiliar woman opens the door and threatens to call the police if Liv doesn’t leave. The only clues she has are messages written on her hands, one of which says: STAY AWAKE.

Soon, she happens to see a breaking newscast. A man has been murdered, and his blood was used to write a message on the window, a message uncomfortably close to those on Liv’s body. She’s finally able to piece together that she was once a successful writer at a premier magazine, but her memories ended two years ago. Now, she’s got no wallet, no phone, and is on the run from the police for a crime she does remember.

The book is told in two timelines, past and present, and from two perspectives, that of Liv and Detective Halliday who is eager to prove herself and get a permanent spot on the homicide squad.

Because of Liv’s condition, she’s extremely vulnerable and has no context with which to categorize friends versus foes. This heightened the tension as every new situation could be deadly. But at the same time, many of her decisions were questionable.

The past events that lead to Liv’s current condition were extremely frightening and her interactions with the police so frustrating! I found there were lots of loose ends from Liv’s past that I wish had been explained.

Because this book has a Groundhog Day element, when things “reset,” there was repetition that I understand was necessary but that sometimes became monotonous. It was also often achieved through exposition by secondary characters; maybe if it had been conveyed less through description, it would have retained my interest more.

When the timelines start to converge, though, the action accelerates, and I was highly invested in the ending which I found satisfying for all the major characters.

This is my first book I have read by Megan Goldin, and my first book that revolved around amnesia. And while I didn’t hate the book, I didn’t fully love it. I found the MC Liv to be annoying. I just couldn’t fully pinpoint why she was annoying, other than stupid things she would do. I get it, she has amnesia, but I just found myself annoyed with her actions. I kinda pieced together a few things that happened, and was intrigued with how the book was going to end. But then the end happened and was left wanting more. I needed more of an explanation on certain events and why it happened.

I am definitely going to check out Goldin backlog to see if maybe this one was just a one off for me.

Who….is the killer?
What….is Liv (the main character) going to do since she has memory loss?
Where …..is she going to hide, since she feels she may have killed someone?
When…..is Liv going to be safe, or is she?
How…..how are they going to find the killer, if there is no memory?
Why….this is a great book. It kept me on the edge of my seat from the very 1st chapter.

Another amazing read from Megan Goldin! It’s like if 50 First Dates when horribly wrong! There was so much to love in this novel, I finished it in 24hrs. It was fast-paced and caught my attention immediately. I loved the nod to Agatha Christie and the many timeline jumps along with the perspective shifts. I haven’t read a procedural in some time and this was just so satisfying. You really feel for our MC Liv and want to badly to scream at the book to help this woman!

Wow! Ok, where to start. Megan Goldin has done it again with another fantastic thriller. Think 50 First Dates with an unreliable narrator. This story has so many twists and turns you won’t see what’s coming next. As soon as I picked the book up to read and I knew there was no way I was going to be able to put it down.

This is a can’t miss thriller. Megan Goldin has a way of telling a story that you won’t figure out until the reveal what’s really happening to the main character.

Thank you to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for allowing me to read the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.