Liv wakes up disoriented in the back of a cab and can’t remember how she got there. When she tries to get into her apartment, she learns that she and her roommate, Amy, no longer live there. Her boyfriend, Marco, isn’t answering his phone. Even more distressing, Liv finds a bloody knife in her cardigan pocket and strange writing all over her hands and wrists – messages stressing the importance of staying awake and not trusting anyone. As Liv tries to sort out what is going on, she continuously loses her memory each time she falls asleep and wakes up believing it is two years ago. Moving frantically through New York City, she begins to unravel the missing years of her life and realizes that she may be in great danger.

The city is in distress over a recent murder by stabbing. The words “STAY AWAKE” were written with the victim’s blood on the window and a woman is seen leaving the crime screen late at night. Detectives Halliday and Lavelle are called to the crime scene and begin to realize the situation is much more complex than it seemed at first glance.

The story was told from the point of view of Liv (past and present) and Detective Halliday (present). Poor Liv! I felt so bad for her the entire book. What a horrible and scary thing to be going through! I really enjoyed the chapters from Liv’s point of view, especially the chapters that took place in the past so we could get to know her in a less frantic environment. Typically, I do not enjoy police procedurals but the author wrote the chapters from Halliday’s perspective in a way that was still suspenseful and entertaining. Halliday’s character came across as very smart, open minded, and fair which was very refreshing. She was open to any and all possibilities which I think is rare when something is written from a detective’s point of view.

I really enjoyed this book! It was fast-paced and kept me interested the entire time. I would have loved one more chapter from Liv’s perspective to wrap things up and check-in on how she was feeling but that’s me being picky! I can’t wait to see what Megan Goldin writes next! Since reading The Escape Room, she will always be on my must-read list.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Positives: I loved the premise, and the pacing. I could NOT put this book down!

Opportunities: there were some questions that never did get answered, but weren’t intentional cliff-hangers. If those had gotten wrapped up this would have been an immaculate story.

This had me racing through it! I couldn’t stop because i had to know what was happening! I actually like an unreliable narrator so it was fun to be as puzzled as she was!

I did figure out who was behind it or had a suspicion but the others were a bit surprising. I really enjoyed figuring things with out with our MC and i really liked the detective aspects/pov as well.

I did think that the amnesia bits did seem to get a bit repetitive at times but there was always a bit more added on for clues too.

Great story tho!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! After reading Goldins “Night Swim” and really enjoying it I was super excited to read “Stay Awake” and it did not disappoint. The first 85 percent of this book I was just flying through it. I needed to know what was going to happen next. I was convinced this was going to be one of my favorite thrillers if not my favorite of all time. I have seen a few critiques that the book was repetitive and I can see that but think it works well with the story and you really get a sense of what Liv is going through and her constant confusion. Unfortunately, I did find the ending to be a little lack luster and was hoping for a little more. Overall, I did really love this book and will continue to pickup anything Goldin puts out.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin really reminded me of the movie Memento with a twist. Amnesia books can be hit or miss for me, but the fast paced nature and snippets of Liv's life that we got really worked well for me here. I don't necessarily think that the plot of this novel was new, but I think the way the author told it really worked here.

Every time Liv falls asleep she is taken back to two years ago, not remembering anything that has happened. She writes cryptic messages on herself to remind her of snippets she learns. A thriller has to keep me turning pages and reading and this book really did that. I wanted to find out all that had happened and work out who did what.

I enjoyed that there was two main points of view, Liv and Halliday. Liv was completely unreliable, and then you had the steady Detective Halliday. I can see Halliday becoming a recurring character in a detective series! I really found the thriller aspect and pacing so good in this book. I found the author built suspense so well, giving us just the right amount of stories and clues to progress through the story. The ending was unexpected for me (ie: I didn't guess it totally), but it also didn't really surprise me. The author gave a lot of possible red herrings, but I liked how things were pieced together. If I did have a complaint it would be that there were many suspects introduced and no tying up of those storylines. It didn't detract from the story for me though.

I thought the Night Swim by Megan Goldin was great, and this one was just as good to me. I would recommend it for lovers of thrillers that keep you on a roller coaster the whole way! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.

With this premise, this book could have been terrible; however, the writing is superb. Definitely one you won’t want to put down.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me an early copy of this book.

I did also receive an audiobook which I listened to over reading the book physically, and I would recommend doing that!

It was honestly a creepy thriller although a bit unrealistic I was thoroughly entertained.
The only thing I was a bit bothered by was when the main character Liv kept waking up and was continuously astonished by the writings on her hands and arms telling her to STAY AWAKE! Although this was fine in the first few chapters it got awfully repetitive.

The suspense was fun to read, and i genuinely enjoyed this book!

Liv wakes up in the back of a taxi with writing all over her hands and arms, and no memory of why or how she got there. Her purse and cellphone are missing, and someone else is living in her apartment. To cap off a really bad night, she finds a blood-stained knife in her pocket. Stay Awake is a page-turning suspense novel that switches from the past to the present, and from Liv to a pair of police detectives. It's a perfect beach read that will keep you turning the pages. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.

Thank you St Martins Press for this ARC if Megan Goldin’s upcoming release! I have enjoyed her previous books, so had to read this one. It was a very interesting premise, having the MC memory reset to 2 years back every time she fell asleep. I liked the dual timeline, which turned into 3 different timelines. I also thought having the detective as a narrator was perfect for this book and filled in so many gaps for the reader as Liv is such an unreliable narrator. This one kept me guessing and trying to put together pieces until the end. I truly did not predict how this would turn out!

Every time Liv falls asleep, she wakes up with no memory and strange messages she’s written to herself on her body. Due to a traumatic incident from her past, she can’t recall anything from the past two years of her life. When a man is found murdered Liv finds herself implicated in the crime, although she has no memory of the crime or the victim. I’ll stop right there as you probably get the drift.

As others have mentioned before, this is a bit like 50 First Dates and Memento. I honestly didn’t mind that at all and it’s been a while since I’ve read a book with the “amnesia” trope and I do enjoy them. I also enjoyed the memory flashbacks and piecing everything together. Overall this ended up being a quick and entertaining read for me that I liked for the most part. Was it a tad repetitive? Yes. Could the pace have been better? Yes. Did I figure out the plot twist? Yes. So I’m obviously kind of on the fence with this one but would I still recommend this? Yes, because at the end of the day I did enjoy reading it. There was enough tension and suspense to keep me going and I did feel for Liv and I was entertained. 3.75⭐️

Megan Goldin returns with her third psychological thriller following The Night Swim (2020) and The Escape Room (2019)—STAY AWAKE.

An intense, propulsive tale of a woman who has lost her memory. A killer she doesn't remember meeting. A murder she doesn't remember committing.

Liv Reese finds herself in a cab in Manhattan. There are handwritten messages above her knuckles: STAY AWAKE. Above this she finds and name and address, Nocturnal. A bar.

With no keys, phone, or wallet, and then upon arrival at her apartment there are strangers. A bloody knife in her pocket. Then she wakes up on a park bench. Nothing is as it appears.

She also has the words WAKE UP. The bartender tells her she is afraid of what she does in her sleep.

DON'T SLEEP. I FORGET EVERYTHING WHEN I FALL ASLEEP. DON'T OPEN THE DOOR. DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE,

A news report airs a murder where the killer wrote WAKE UP on a window in blood. Could she have done this?

She attempts to leave notes for herself. She tries staying awake but her ongoing lack of sleep only amplifies the amnesia.

In addition to her apparent issues, Liv ends up a suspect in a murder of a man that she has no recollection of knowing. There's a knife in her pocket, surveillance of her coming out of the building, and a note she wrote to herself that tells her not to trust the police.

Frantic, she begins her search for the truth. The author alternates between the present with NYPD Detective Darcy Halliday and the investigation with flashbacks of two years earlier.

Liv Reese was a journalist for Cultura Magazine in New York City and shares an apartment with her best friend Amy Decker, who is a doctor. They are dating two guys Marco, an ex-lawyer, and Amy's boyfriend Brett another doctor.

What happened to her life? Two years had passed, and she remembers none of it. Someone wants her to forget, not just after she sleeps, but to forget permanently.

In the vein of Before I Go to Sleep, Memento, and 50 First Dates, the author cleverly unwinds the events both complicated and compellingly hypnotic.

Fast-paced, twisty, and multi-layered with cliffhanger chapter endings, I alternated between the digital e-book and the audiobook. The audiobook was INTENSE and often over-the-top dramatic by Imogen Church (Liv). A lot of writing was repetitive due to the nature of the story. I enjoyed January LaVoy (also a favorite) and her narration of Halliday.

A special thank you to #NetGalley #StMartinsPress #MacmillanAudio for an advanced reading copy and audiobook.

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@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: ✨✨✨✨
Pub Date: Aug 9, 2022
Aug 2022 Must-Read Books

A little redundant and my least favorite of Goldins books but still a fun fast thriller/mystery perfect for a summer weekend read!

This was my first MG book. And it won’t be my last.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.
I finished this book in 2 sittings - definitely a page turner and twists to keep you going!
I did figure things out about 3/4’s of the way, but 8 was not disappointed!
I liked the style of writing and her characters!
Thanks again to NetGalley!

This is the first novel I have read by Megan Goldin. I was super excited to read this because it has actually been a while since I have read a detective style crime novel and what set this apart for me was there was also a main character, Liv Reese, who was trying to figure out her own mystery of why she has no memory of the last 2 years and why she has the words “Stay Awake” written on her hands and what it means, and the panic that ensues as she races to discover what’s going on, considering she has a bloodied weapon in her possession. At the same time, you have detectives Darcy Halliday and Jack Lavalle, who have been put together on a case trying to uncover who is behind an overnight homicide and various incidents occurring there after that may all be tied together, so I was excited to see how this all connected.

While I don’t necessarily feel like the plot itself was new, I do enjoy mysteries where amnesia/memory loss is at the center. I did find that this novel being written from multiple perspectives in this style to be unique so bonus points there.

This book reminded me of an action movie and oddly enough, one reason I am not a huge fan of action movies is because I find the action scenes so repetitive. This was a bit similar in that I felt I was reading similar scenarios over and over again coupled with traveling back and forth between past and present as Liv tried to solve her mystery. I also felt like at times she was running from the answers she was trying to solve. I understand you have to build up suspense, and build up a story but I think because of all this, it took me a little longer to read this than I anticipated.

Even with all that, I enjoyed the multiple perspectives (Liv and Detective Darcy Halliday) and transitions throughout the book. The other piece that kept me interested was the person who was going after Liv to make sure she never remembered the past. I thought that build up was pretty cool and I did enjoy the ending although admittedly, I was not shocked or blown away.

I think this was a good solid read that I would give a 3 but more like a 3.5. I enjoyed Megan’s writing style and I felt she put a lot of effort into this book and it had a nice build up to the ending.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book. I am excited to check out more by Megan.

Stay Awake is another thriller I just did not expect. The premise is enough to suck you in, but once you're there...you have to finish before going to bed! Top notch!

Megan Goldin's newest novel "Stay Awake" is a thrilling mystery, literally, Liv Reese has no idea what is going on. Liv cannot remember anything from the last two years every single time she falls asleep. Any memories Liv has created in the time before falling asleep are wiped away, leaving her waking up with no recent memories, and wondering why there is writing all over her hands telling her to stay awake. As the police hunt her down as a suspect in a murder, Liv scrambles to figure out what happened over the last two years, and if she did indeed kill someone.

I really enjoyed this new take on the thriller/mystery genre and found myself speeding through the pages. You get the story from several different perspectives, Liv in present day, Liv in the past, and from detective Halliday. Goldin does a great job of building suspense, and slowly giving away information and clues. My major complaint with this book was having several untied storylines. The murderer is revealed, and the story just ends. I wish there had been more explanation behind their motive, and why Liv specifically was being stalked. There were a few other minor characters who were suspects in my mind, but later never had any resolution to their actions. Overall I enjoyed this thriller and found it reminiscent of the movie "Memento". It was fun learning along with Liv and the police as they each pieced together Liv's past and how it brought her to her predicament today.

Wow, I really enjoyed this book. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the escape room, so was unsure how I would like this book but I honestly loved it. It was a fast paced quick read that held my attention from the first page. I’ve always loved the movie ‘50 first dates’ and really enjoyed seeing that same theme in a thriller. I also wasn’t able to guess the ending which is always a plus. I would have liked to have a little more backstory on the motive in the end though.

Great initial story, but the ending is a bit predictable and also at the same time farfetched. I will definitely continue reading more from the author, but this was my least favorite installment of her work.

Stay Awake is what is written all over Liv’s hands when she wakes up with no memories of the past two years. In fact, every time she falls asleep, her memories of that day are erased. Following this unreliable narrator, we attempt to figure out many crimes such as stalking, breaking and entering, and murder. With the help of a police detective’s POV, we try to solve various crimes spanning several years surrounding Liv. I enjoyed the twists and turns and this book had me on the edge of my seat!

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin is a great thriller that NetGalley afforded by the opportunity to read. Imagine waking up and never remembering what happened the day before? Nightmare right? That’s exactly what Liv Reese’s life has become. Nothing you know is the same. Everything you do remember is from two years past. Show up at your apartment and it’s not yours. Call someone and the number is wrong. What do you do?

Well this is Liv’s life. Only worse because she wakes up in a taxi with blood on her and stay awake written on her hand. Did she commit a crime? The crime scene seems to indicate so. Stay awake is written on the window of the crime scene as well. So starts the thriller. Is Liv a criminal or a victim?

This great thriller will keep you guessing until the very end. I loved it and highly recommend it. Be sure to buy and read it when it comes out on August 9th, 2022.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher St. Martins Press.