🚨 Preorder Alert: This one releases next week—August 9. I just finished it, and it is AMAZING!!

😱 I have some very specific fears in life: heights, bugs, mayonnaise (don’t ask). Now, I fear having my memories wiped clean every time I go to sleep. Thanks, Megan Goldin.

😵‍💫 In this one, we begin with our main character, Liv, as she wakes up in a taxi before she’s deposited at her home. Nope! Not accurate. Because she doesn’t live there, hasn’t lived there in over two years. She, of course, doesn’t remember that because every time she goes to sleep she forgets everything that has happened over those last two years. ‘Tis okay though, ‘cause she’s written notes to herself on her hands, notes mainly telling her exhausted butt to…🚨 title alert 🚨…STAY AWAKE!!!

🤷‍♀️ So…what happened to her? Why is her memory holier than Swiss cheese? Y’all gonna have to read it for yourselves, but lemme tell ya, IT IS BAD!!!!

🤨 Basically, while reading, don’t trust anybody. Nobody. No one. Not a dang soul. Don’t even trust yourself. You mighta done it. Did you do it? That’s how paranoid you’ll be during this wild ride.

😳 This book, y’all!! It’s crazy tense, crazy unsettling, crazy terrifying. Y’all, the thing is crazy!!!

🤩 If you aren’t reading Megan Goldin, make it your mission. Skeedaddle down to the nearest bookstore, and grab them all. But start with this one. Just prepare to lose sleep, mainly because the book won’t let you put it down, but also because you’ll never trust yourself to make it through the process again with all of your memories in tact. You, too, will have a new fear in life! Repeat after me: Thanks, Megan Goldin!

Okay. That was a WILD ride!! I don’t think I’ve read anything like this plot before and found it so intriguing. I loved the characters and the plot kept me sitting in suspense. The dual timeline was written fabulously. I was riveted from the beginning! This was so incredibly twisty and mesmerizing. The entire tone was frantic, the plot one of urgency. The conclusion was GOOD y’all. I enjoyed this one from beginning to end. 4.5 ⭐️

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin is a highly recommended thriller/mystery involving memory loss.

Liv Reese wakes up in a taxi and doesn't know where she is. She gets back to her apartment only to discover strangers living there. All she knows are the messages written on her hands, with STAY AWAKE featured prominently. She has lost her phone and her bag and has a bloody knife in her pocket. She is lost and disoriented in NYC. Meanwhile the police have discovered a murdered man and are looking for who did it.

The narrative alternates between Liv in the present day, Liv two years earlier, and NYPD detective Darcy Halliday’s current homicide investigation, slowly leading up to answer what is happening to Liv. Liv thinks it is two years earlier, but clearly it isn't. She is disoriented and trying to run from something or someone but she can't remember. What she does know is that she must stay awake and avoid sleep at all costs.

Liv's character is developed, but more so in the chapters that deal with her three years before the present day memory loss. She has a stalker and feels very threatening. Her present day chapters are much more repetitious and a little off-putting. I did wonder immediately, before there was much information revealed, why she hadn't written more detailed notes to herself. She can't trust anyone. Her confusion and memory loss put her at a great disadvantage. She is a bit annoying as a character, but much of this is due, in my opinion, to her not writing more detailed notes to herself.

The final denouement is satisfying and wraps up the novel quickly. I predicted the perpetrator ahead of time, but the journey there was interesting, and full of tension and suspense. Liv is an unreliable narrator, but her search for the truth will have you supporting her and wishing for the best.

In order to enjoy this novel about memory loss you have to suspend disbelief while reading it. Trust me on this one. Next, you have to skip over all the repetitious phrases and whole paragraphs that are used in association with Liv's memory loss. If you can do both of these steps, you are going to enjoy the novel and figuring out the mystery of what really happened and what is going on with Liv. Honestly, there have been better memory loss novel and this one has an uneven start until Liv's history of memory loss was revealed..

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of St. Martin's Press via NetGalley
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, and Amazon.

Megan Goldin is a new-to-me author, and her new novel, Stay Awake, was, without question, one of the best and most original, and most addictive psychological suspense thrillers I've read in recent memory. And speaking of memory, the loss of it by her heroine, Liv, is exactly what her novel is about, and it gets 5 stars from this reader.

Written both from her protagonist, Liv Reese's point of view, as well as that of the two police officer's trying to find her, during multiple timelines, I expected to be seriously confused, but thankfully, the author made the narrator and time/date clear at the beginning of each chapter which was a huge help.

As the novel opens, Liv wakes up in a cab with no memory of where she is or when it is. The reader is told it's Wednesday, 2:42 a.m. present day, and Liv believes she's heading back to the apartment she shares with her roommate and best friend, Amy, but has no purse, no wallet, no phone, no keys--nothing with her, and after hitting the lobby buzzer to be let inside. Her last memory is of picking up her phone at her workplace, Cultura Magazine on a hot day in July. By the time she notices that the leaves are falling off the trees on this chill early morning, it's an angry couple that finally greets her--they now live in what she believes is her apartment, and after they let her in, she realizes that nothing is the same as the apartment she remembers, the furnishings are different, her cat isn't there, the only familiar thing is the view from one window.

After being kicked to the curb, and while checking her pockets for her phone, she discovers a bloody knife wrapped in a blood-stained tee shirt, tossing it in the trash and getting into another cab to see her boyfriend, Marco. While in the cab, she notices messages written on her hand, the main one being Stay Awake, and another message the name and address of a place called Nocturnal, which is where she directs the cab driver to go.

At this point, I was just as confused as Liv, and you might be in the same state, but follow the date and time at the beginning of each chapter and as you become more and more involved in Liv's attempts to make sense of what's happening to her and why, you'll realize that the timeline of this intriguing novel, all 66 chapters of it, takes place in just over 48 hours, give or take 2 years--2 lost years for Liv, who has a rare form of amnesia, and it all makes for one of the most incredibly exciting, mind-blowing and riveting whodunits I've ever read. The writing is masterful, the plotting brilliant, and the tension never lets up until the shocking denouement I never saw coming.

In short, Megan Goldin has a new fan in this reader, and I cannot recommend this novel highly enough. It left me breathless, and eager to read more of her novels.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions stated are my own.

I really wanted to like this book since the plot is so interesting but so many things didn’t work for me. Liv, the main character, has crippling insomnia and amnesia after a horrific crime. They allude to her witnessing something for over half the book but you don’t know what. She wrote things on her arms to remind herself but honestly NEVER THE RIGHT THINGS. the pacing was so boring. I was stuck in a repetitive loop with Liv. I felt like I was losing my mind as well. The book is saved by the last 1/4 of it when they finally answer questions instead of circling the same block for so many pages. I wish it would have been paced better for my and liv’s sake. There were also some answers given but I still have questions. Why the stalking, why the murder?

Can we just stop for a moment and give a big round of applause to Goldin?!
Because she has done it again!
Hands down one of the best books I have read this year.
I found this book to be captivating, hard to put down, intriguing and thought provoking.
Another nail-biting from Megan Goldin.
This story will keep you on the edge of your seat as the plot cleverly twists and turns and your brain frantically tries to unscramble what is going to happen next.
The characters and the story are perfectly developed to keep the reader's interest and build the suspense throughout.
Goldin has written an addictive and entertaining thriller that will have you up so late at night rushing to finish this phenomenal new thriller!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

St. Martins Press
Thank you for your generosity and gifting a copy of this approved eARC!

Having loved The Night Swim, I was super excited for this ARC! Stay Awake did not disappoint as a thriller. From the first chapter of meeting Liv and finding out she has no idea where she is and what is going on, it hooked me into its story. The shift in points of view from Liv's first person to the third person of the detectives was a great way to help piece together what was happening.

This one started out strong for me right out the gate. The protagonist is suffering from amnesia, but the author still creates a full, three dimensional character - and you can feel the tension and anxiety she feels throughout.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy to read and review.
All opinions are my own.

This was such a good book! Liv Reese has no memory of the past 2 years of her life. Murders, betrayals, and much more happens, all while Liv has to try to piece everything together. I really enjoyed this read, 4/5 stars. Thanks so much @NetGalley for the ARC!

Megan Goldin does it again! Her third thriller is definitely her best, and it just might end up being my favourite thriller of the year!

I started this book and could not put it down until I was finished. I wouldn’t have been able to let it go, even if you tried to wrench it from my cold, dead fingers.

This book is such an original spin on the amnesia trope. Nothing that the heroine, Liv, sees or remembers can be trusted. She suffers from short-term memory loss. Every time she sleeps, her brain resets, and her most recent memory is something that happened over two years ago. And trust me, a lot can happen in two years.

The book has a unique narrative style. We have a present day timeline told by Liv in first person, but we also have a timeline of the events that happened to her two years ago. The first flashback came upon me as a reader so suddenly, that I was almost confused, and it felt disjointed, but it kind of perfectly fits with how an amnesiac would be feeling. On top of all of this, we have the third person point of view of detectives investigating the present-day murder, hot on her trail. But did Liv kill that man? Who was he to her? If only she could remember…


Despite the different timelines and points of view, the book is fast-paced and easy to follow. However, towards the end, we have time jumps that are a little closer together, and it was a little bit of a slower read as a result.

Like I said, the book is fast-paced, and Goldin sure knows how to paint a picture with a limited word count. I know I’m not supposed to quote an arc, but I just wanted to include this line, because it’s creepy, yet humorous, and perfectly depicts how she writes: “a face so Botoxed that he looks like a lecherous gargoyle”. Yup. I love it.

Goldin has created intriguing, three-dimensional characters. Liv is a relatable protagonist, despite the fact that few (if any) of us have suffered from this type of memory loss. But we can all feel the fear and anxiety as she experiences it, when she shows up at her home and there are other people living there. She can’t reach her best friend, her boyfriend. She goes to work, which she apparently left two years ago, and nearly all the staff has changed. She has strange messages she’s scribbled to herself on her hands and arms. Don’t trust the police. Don’t answer the door. Stay Awake.

This book is beautifully crafted, and it all comes together perfectly, like pieces to a jigsaw puzzle. There are numerous twists in the plot, and Goldin kept me guessing until the end.

5 sleepless stars!

Thank you for the ARC! I was excited to read this after loving “The Night Swim”. It started out strong but fell short for me in the end. I loved the short chapters but felt like this book could have been much shorter (extra details regarding detectives irrelevant to the story/repetitive details). I did feel like it was lacking in further explanation of motive for killer in original murder and other character development. It felt like a lot of subplots at times. . Overall, I think it is a relatively fast paced thriller unlike any other concept I have read and definitely enjoyable.

I was so excited for the premise of this book. A woman forgets everything every time she falls asleep and is trying to figure out what is going on while also wondering if she is wanted for murder. What could go wrong? Honestly, it was just a little boring. The final reveal was not shocking like I was hoping to make up for the lack of twists and turns and it just didn’t. I did enjoy the dual timeline so we learn what happened in Liv’s past up to the time of the murder as well as the time after the murder. I have really enjoyed Megan Goldin’s other books so I will definitely pick up whatever she comes out with next.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Liv Reese wakes up in a taxi in the middle of the night with no recollection of how she got there. Arriving at her apartment, she finds someone other than her roommate living there. Her hands are covered in writing with messages including “STAY AWAKE” and she’s in possession of a bloody knife.

She has no idea why she has the knife and no idea how she got it. She starts looking for answers by trying to connect with her best friend and her boyfriend. Liv sees a news broadcast about a crime the night before and realizes that the person the police are looking for is her. She’s not sure what happened the night before, nor is she sure that she wasn’t involved. Upon seeing the date, she realizes that her last memory is two years before when she recalls answering the phone at her desk.

She needs to do whatever she can to find out the truth before it’s too late.

I enjoyed this novel and trying to piece together what had happened. It reminded me of SJ Watson’s “Before I Go to Sleep” which I also enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this eGalley. #NetGalley #StMartinsPress #StayAwake

This is my first Megan Goldin novel, and after reading this one I am super pumped to have her other books in my TBR pile.

We follow Liv who is trying to navigate her current life, but there’s a slight problem… she has a rare form of amnesia. Every time she falls asleep she forgets everything in the current. And when she awakes she doesn’t know where she is, she believes she is living her life from two years ago. She doesn’t remember coming back to NYC or why she is in a cab holding a bloody knife running from something/someone she can’t identify.

Liv’s mental state was so intriguing. I really liked the flipping between Liv and Detective Halliday’s POV, I definitely think it helped build the suspense. The ending was very suspenseful and action-packed. This book is a super quick read. I read it in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down!

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin is a gripping thriller that will pull you in from the beginning and keep you staying awake in the early mornings to finish. I highly recommend running & grabbing this one once it is available on August 9, 2022!

Thank you to NetGalley, Megan Goldin, & St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book definitely kept me guessing, however I did figure out who the bad guy was very quickly in this book. I thought the overall premise was interesting, however the flips backward and forward in time left me reeling a bit. It made it hard for me to follow whether something occurred in the past, or in the present and how this fit into the narrative. The disconnect with the timelines really kept me from investing completely in the story since I felt like I was flipping channels and joining in the middle of a program and I was just confused as the girl with the memory issues. This was definitely not my favorite book by this author, but I did find it to be a great premise. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

Wowza! That was a rollercoaster ride I was not expecting to go on! I’ll start by saying that the narrators Imogen Church and January LaVoy were phenomenal! They kept it very intriguing and fast paced and it was easy to identify which character was talking. The story itself had me on the edge of my seat! There were some nights where I was listening right before bed and got a little paranoid so I was running around my house making sure everything was locked! I loved the plot as memory is such a fascinating topic and the twists the main character continually dealt with. I would definitely recommend to anyone that enjoys psychological thrillers with an extremely unreliable narrator half of the time!

Great book. Filled with mystery and suspense. Right when you think Liv is getting somewhere she forgets and starts over again. That made me frustrated but also made me want to keep going to see what happens next.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin will make you literally stay awake into the late hours reading! This was a fast paced, edge of your seat thriller with great characters and an even greater storyline. Liv Reese wakes up in a taxi with no recollection of the last couple of years of her life and holding a bloody knife. The only clues she has: notes written all over her hands and arms, the most prominent one being STAY AWAKE. Exceptionally well written, I could not put this down and finished it in one day!! Highly recommend!!

This is an exciting fast-paced thriller. However, the conclusion of the story is kind of underwhelming. The killer could only be who it turns out to be, and the reason is immediately obvious. It is all too predictable so if you are looking for a surprising ending don't look for one here.

I will preface this review by stating that I'm not a fan of unreliable narrators as a thriller plot tool and almost didn't want to read this one! In my mind, a protagonist who has no idea where she is or how she got there seemed pretty unreliable.

However, I also enjoyed The Night Swim enough to give this a try and I am SO glad I did! Megan Goldin gives you *just enough* to keep you guessing how this story will play out and masterfully weaves a book that is both immediately engaging and leaves you some breadcrumbs, between the present-day storyline and snippets of Liv's past.

The story also mixes in the police perspective, which I really liked. You don't know you're getting that from the synopsis, but I would totally love to read Detective Halliday take on more cases for sure!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this and the opportunity to share my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.