Yeahhhhhhh... this was a miss for me.

I was so excited to read this because the concept is really interesting and I was sold by the synopsis. But this just fell so flat and was incredibly disappointing because I feel like the author could have done so much better. I just ended up not caring literally 15% into the story.

Things that didn't work for me:
1) I cannot express how repetitive this book is. I get it - she has memory loss. But I was just tired of revisiting the same events over and over again.
2) The writing - I'm sorry but this. was some bad writing. THe.
3) The twist made absolutely no sense to me. I felt like we went around and around only to land on an ending that just left me feeling beyond unsatisfied.
4) I wasn't a huge fan of the narrator. It felt too forced.
5) The main character is actually insufferable. You are a grown woman and can't use some critical thinking skills?

I know lots of people loved this one and I totally get it. I was just disappointed because I was so excited for this release.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this Arc!!

Wow! An amazing thriller! Fast-paced and full of so many twists. Simply put, this was so much fun to read.

Liv has a memory issue unlike any I've ever heard of before. Every time she fails asleep she forgets everything that has happened in the past 2 years. So when she wakes up, she is confused and believes it's always the same day from 2 years ago. However, she becomes a suspect in a murder and the story follows her along with the detectives trying to solve the case. And, this stays exciting the whole way through!

I am delighted I got a chance to read this early and am also happy to say that I definitely recommend this to fans of thrillers!

Out August 9, 2022!

Unfortunately this was not for me. I loved The Night Swim and was eagerly awaiting this book. Sadly the writing and story felt extremely redundant. The detectives full names (Detective First Last) were used regularly after we'd already been introduced, the main character kept repeating herself, and the same topics kept being covered mere pages apart. I liked the setup of the story with the first chapter being a good hook, but after that it was lost for me.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

This was my first introduction to Megan Goldin's work and I was pretty pleased. I felt that the author drew inspiration from the movie, Memento for this book since this story involved an amnesiac protagonist. The premise alone was so intriguing - who wouldn't want to dive into this book?!

The format of this book also reminded me of Alice Feeney's His & Hers, with the date and time stamps at the beginning of each chapter, alternating perspectives, and shifting timelines. These were all elements I appreciated in both books as they heightened the suspense and sense of urgency in solving the crimes.

In terms of characterization, I admired Detective Halliday's portrayal as an intelligent and meticulous woman, which provided a sharp contrast to the stereotypically jaded and dismissive male cop characters like Krause. Liv's character, of course, was nothing short of fascinating and one whom you could not help but feel sympathy and fear for as she navigated NYC unaware of all that had occurred two years ago.

One minor issue I did have about this storyline was the introduction of extraneous characters who seemed to play no central role to the plot. However, I recognize that this may have been intentional to keep readers on their toes and second guessing the killer's identity. I also found the ending to be rather abrupt without a clear explanation of how the killer came to uncover truths leading to their MO. Lastly, I was hoping to learn what happens to the characters next, even if it's a brief glimpse into the future.

Nevertheless, the author carefully crafted the dual timelines and narratives, leaving little to no room for confusion. This was a fast-paced, suspenseful, and enjoyable read overall. I would definitely recommend this book to thriller/mystery fans!

4.25/5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me the digital ARC of Stay Awake!

Stay Awake is a great psychological thriller. There are very few books where I like alternate timelines ans multiple POVs but I very much enjoyed it with this book because it kept me just as disoriented as Liv was which kept me guessing untill the end especially with the change in 1st and 3rd person. I'm also a sucker for a good unreliable narrator and Liv with her rare amnesia disorder is something I haven't read before and loved it.
I enjoyed following Halliday and Lavelle as well. They helped break up the confusion and disorientation of reading Liv's experience.

This was a good read for me. I love a good mystery that keeps me guessing until the very end, but it did start out a bit slow for me in the beginning. The first chapter start with a bang than slowed until a little later. I'm glad I stuck with it. I do feel as if Liv's story ended to quick. I wish there was a bit more about her after climax of the story.
I'm interested in reading other Megan Goldin works.

Stay Awake is a thriller with a little different storyline from any book I’ve read lately. Megan Goldin writes a quick-paced story that had me guessing how the story would end.

This story started as a slow build for me. Liv has no memory of the past 2 years because she is suffering from trauma induced amnesia, only she doesn't know it. She wakes up in strange locations, everytime she falls asleep, her memory reset to the day of the events that changed her life forever. It is a bit like Groundhog's Day in the early chapters. As the story goes on the pace really picks up to a high tension climax. Liv's unreliable memory really adds to the psychological impact of this thrillers storyline.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to experience this thrilling e-ARC.

This was a very fast paced entertaining thriller! I loved the premise of her memory resetting every time she fell asleep.
It kept me turning the pages so to speak. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was perfect! I had an ebook arc too.
Highly recommend this one, great for a beach/vacation read!

Stay Awake is a fabulous psychological thriller that had me guessing until the end. The character development is well thought out and I love the pace of the story. Liv, who is a total mess takes us on an adventure and we experience everything through her eyes as she experiences it. Usually, I do not like alternating timelines, but I found that the different timelines kept me guessing in addition to Liv waking up with no memory.

This was my first book by Megan Goldin and I loved it. I look forward to discovering more of her books.

4.5 stars

#StayAwake #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a complementary electronic copy of this book. I am voluntarily leaving this review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

4.5 ✨

Imagine waking up in the back of a cab with no memory on how you got there and going to the place you call home only to find out you no longer live there. Not only has that changed but it’s 2 years into the future and you don’t know how. Then you find the words “Stay Awake,” “Wake Up,” and “Don’t Trust Anyone” written on your hands. You also find a bloody knife in your pocket with no memory on how it got there or what you’ve done! This is Liv’s life now, she does whatever she can to stay awake because every time she sleeps she doesn’t remember anything from the past 2 years! I truly enjoyed this psychological thriller. It was a good read with a great characters! It’s hard not to feel bad for Liv and all she’s going through. I enjoyed our two detectives Halliday && Lavelle. I secretly wished they got together. Lol. The book went at a good pace and the different POV’s were done well! I loved all the twists. I felt the ending was rushed but I still enjoyed it! I really wished we got a 2 or 5 years later epilogue.

This was my first book by Megan Goldin. If her others books are like this one, I’ll definitely be reading more from her cause I truly enjoyed this book!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts are my own. Make sure you pick up your copy on August 9, 2022!

Such a great, suspenseful book by Megan Goldin. I love it when I read a great thriller, and get some surprises along the way. Megan's characters are so well written and thought out which gives the story so much depth. Can't wait to read her next book!

“Stay awake.” “Don’t sleep. I forget everything when I fall asleep.” WOW 🤩! This was AWESOME 😎! I LOVED everything about it, including the fact that I was surprised 😲 by the twist!! This was told in both first person (Liv) and third person POV back and forth along with a dual timeline. I am totally pleased with this thriller! 😍

This was my first read by Megan Goldin (Thank you NetGalley.) if her other books are like this one, I MUST read them. I’m glad that I ‘stayed awake’ to finish this one! This is a definite read for thriller fans!! 👏🏻

ɪᴍᴀɢɪɴᴇ ᴡᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴜᴘ ᴛʜɪɴᴋɪɴɢ ɪᴛ ɪs ᴛᴡᴏ ʏᴇᴀʀs ᴘʀɪᴏʀ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴅᴀʏ ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴋᴇ ᴜᴘ ɪɴ ᴀɴ ᴜɴғᴀᴍɪʟɪᴀʀ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴛʀʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴀʟʟ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴏʟᴅ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅs, ᴏʀ ɢᴏ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴏʟᴅ ᴊᴏʙ ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ɪs ᴀs ɪᴛ sᴇᴇᴍs. ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴡʀɪᴛᴛᴇɴ ᴀʟʟ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʜᴀɴᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴏᴛᴇs ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏᴜsᴇ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴏғ ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀs…ᴛʜɪs ɪs ʟɪᴠ’s ʀᴇᴀʟɪᴛʏ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴅᴀʏ.

👍🏼
👩🏼‍🤝‍👩🏻👮🏼 ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ᴅɪғғᴇʀᴇɴᴛ ᴘᴇʀsᴘᴇᴄᴛɪᴠᴇs
👮🏼👮🏼‍♂️ ʜᴀʟʟɪᴅᴀʏ ᴀɴᴅ ʟᴀᴠᴇʟʟᴇ’s ᴡᴏʀᴋ ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴsʜɪᴘ…ʙᴜᴛ ɪ sᴇᴄʀᴇᴛʟʏ ʜᴏᴘᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴇɴᴅ ᴜᴘ ᴛᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ 😂 ғᴇʟᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪᴛ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ᴀ ᴘᴇʀғᴇᴄᴛ ᴏᴘᴘᴏʀᴛᴜɴɪᴛʏ ғᴏʀ ᴀɴ ᴏᴘᴘᴏsɪᴛᴇs ᴀᴛᴛʀᴀᴄᴛ ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛ
🧠 ɪ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇxᴘᴇʀɪᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴏғ sᴇᴇɪɴɢ ᴀᴍɴᴇsɪᴀ, ᴅɪssᴏᴄɪᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ ғᴜɢᴜᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀʏ ᴘʀᴏʙʟᴇᴍs ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴇɴs ᴏғ sᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ɪs ᴀᴄᴛᴜᴀʟʟʏ ᴇxᴘᴇʀɪᴇɴᴄɪɴɢ ɪᴛ. ᴍʏ ɢʀᴀɴᴅᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʜᴀs ᴅᴇᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴀ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ǫᴜɪᴛᴇ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀsᴛᴀɴᴅ ᴡʜᴀᴛ sʜᴇ ɪs ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ, sᴏ ɪ’ᴍ ɢʟᴀᴅ ᴛʜᴇʏ ʜᴀᴅ ᴛʜɪs ʀᴇᴘʀᴇsᴇɴᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ.
📕 ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴛɪᴛʟᴇ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴛɪᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴛɪʀᴇᴛʏ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋ, ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ɪs ᴏɴᴇ ᴏғ ᴍʏ ғᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ᴛʜɪɴɢs.
👮🏼 ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀᴅᴀssᴇʀʏ ᴏғ ɴʏᴘᴅ ᴏғғɪᴄᴇʀ ʜᴀʟʟɪᴅᴀʏ

👎🏼
🔚 ᴇɴᴅ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ғᴇʟᴛ ʀᴜsʜᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ..
😢 ɪ ᴡɪsʜ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴀs ᴀɴ ᴇᴘɪʟᴏɢᴜᴇ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ʟɪᴠ’s ʟɪғᴇ 𝟻 ʏᴇᴀʀs ғʀᴏᴍ ɴᴏᴡ

What a psychological thriller this book was! If you like a fast paced thriller, then this is the book for you. So many twists, turns, and storylines that kept me wanting to pick this book up all the time.

4.5*

one of the best thrillers i’ve read!!

this story follows liv, who wakes up in the back of a taxi with no memory of how she got there. she has a bloody knife and words written on her arms. but it’s not just last night she doesn’t remember, she has no memory from the last two years. now she’s a suspect in a murder case, one she doesn’t even know if she committed due to her memory.

i loveee unreliable narrators, and liv is as unreliable as they come. with her memory issues and blackouts, she knows as much as the readers do, which is nothing. so when reading, we find out everything that’s happened when she does. this made the story really engaging because i was constantly on the edge of my seat wanting to know what happened but not being able to because of liv’s memory. while this was frustrating at times, it was interesting to experience everything unfold for the main character and yourself at the same time.

this story had two pov’s and was a dual timeline as well. i think it did a good job having the time jumps and the multiple pov’s. sometimes it gets really confusing when there are multiple people and timelines but it was handled well here. in the past, you see liv’s life, which are the only memories that she has in the present. i liked having this because you could see how she remembered the people she was looking for and talking about in the present.

i think the author did an amazing job in making the story really creepy! it was a great psychological thriller.

thank you to netgalley and st. martin’s press for giving me this arc in exchange for an honest review!

The thriller book genre is so saturated with books that it's hard to really stand out. This book was a clear standout winner for me! Unreliable narrators tend to frustrate me, but this book took that angle so well.

Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with scribbling all over her hands and a bloody knife in her pocket. When she gets out at her apartment a couple she has never met is living there and have no idea who she is. She comes to find out that she is missing two years worth of memories and every time she falls asleep her memory resets.

The book is a mystery from all angles as Liv tries to piece together who she is and what has happened in her life while also trying to explain away a murder that she doesn't remember committing. The story is told partly in present and partly in flashbacks and things revealed at the perfect pace to keep you hooked. Loved!

I LOVED The Night Swim by Megan Goldin so I was pumped to be able to read Stay Awake ahead of publication. This is another great page turner to add to your TBR!

The novel unfolds with alternating perspectives and an alternating timeline. I’m always here for both! I’ve seen lots of reviews comparing this one to a mash up of Memento and 50 First Dates, which is definitely an apt comparison. The pacing and tantalizing chapter endings had me breathlessly devouring the pages until the very end.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. Look for Stay Awake from your favorite bookseller on August 9, 2022.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of Stay Awake. Liv suffers from repetitive dissociative fugue, a very rare form of amnesia. Every time Liv sleeps, upon awakening she has no memory. This has occurred as a result of a traumatic event. As the story unfolds and Liv’s past is slowly revealed, it is clear that she is in danger. The story is well written and the tension builds as it unfolds. My second read of Megan Goldin’s and equally well done.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin comes out In early August, but if you love Alice Feeney, Mary Kubica, or the Greer Hendricks/Sarah Pekkanen duo, do yourself a favor and preorder it now or place a hold on it at your local library. I listened to the audiobook in one day - it was a truly absorbing experience!

Remember the 2000 movie Memento directed by Christopher Nolan?!? That movie blew my mind (I had to watch it for a college literature class and our discussion afterward was electric!) and this book gave me the same experience. So I’m going to also say that this would be an excellent Fall bookclub pick, too!

This book deserves the whole 5 stars! It was electrifying, thrilling, and suspenseful. I could not put it down I was hooked! This book proves that memory can be deadly! You do not want to miss this one! Add it to your list now!