Thanks to St. Martin’s Press , I was provided an ARC of Stay Awake by Megan Goldin via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

*****Publishing August 9, 2022****

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A fun and suspenseful book that will keep you entertained from start to finish! Even having you laughing at times!

Imagine waking up in a cab groggy in the middle of the night to only find out the cab had brought you back to an old apartment, but new people live in it, so you get turned away. Next realizing the last thing you remember was being at your desk at work and you are left without your purse and cell phone. Then you get back in a cab to go back to the bar where you started. You don’t remember what happened, but are told you left with a guy and you hate sleeping at night because you are afraid of what you will do in your sleep? This triggers your memory of the bloody knife you just had? This is exactly what happened to Liv Reese. Liv has a lot to sort out because when she tries to go back to her work and personal life, it’s all changed and unrecognizable. Will she discover why she can’t remember the last two years? How will Liv navigate life? Can she find her best friend and boyfriend? This page turning book will unfold all of the dark secrets and more!

You won’t be able to turn the pages fast enough! The twists and turns will keep you entertained! Perfect for book clubs!

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin

Liv Reese wakes up in a taxi that’s taking her to her apartment. She doesn’t know how he got there but when she tries to get in, a stranger opens the door and tells her she doesn’t live there. Her hands and arms are covered in written messages that say things like “Stay Awake” and “trust no one.” She finds a bloody knife in her pocket and then she realizes that the last thing she remembers was 2 years ago.

Strangers talk to her like they know her and her friends are nowhere to be found. While trying to understand what’s happening, she sees on the news that someone was killed and that the murderer left a message written in blood that also says “Stay Awake.” Could this be a coincidence?

The story alternates between two timelines (2 years ago and the present) and two POVs (Liv and Detective Darcy Halliday’s perspectives). The three storylines are action-packed and intriguing. The story's pace is fast, with many plot turns and twists and the suspense is very well maintained from beginning to end. I love unreliable narrators and Liv’s memory issues and the uncertainty of what’s happening make this book even more exhilarating and unputdownable!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the review copy of this exciting book! This was my second book by Megan Goldin and I can't wait can't wait to read whatever she writes next!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

"Don't tell me you fell asleep and forgot everything again."

Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi in NYC, unsure of how she got there, who she is, or why she has a bloodstained knife. The only clue she has as to what's going on is the message written on her hands: STAY AWAKE.

Wheeeeew!! Stay Awake was super creepy and I LOVED IT. I'm a huge fan of the movie Memento, and this book was very reminiscent of that movie. I loved Liv as an unreliable narrator, constantly falling asleep and then waking up without memories. This was really well-written, as we start in the present and work our way back to the event that triggered it all two years ago, while also revealing the killer in present time. If you're looking for a really atmospheric, suspenseful, and fast-paced thriller, this is the one to pick up!

I want to be very careful with my review for “stay awake. “ let me just say I have never read a book by Megan golden before, but I will definitely be reading more in the future. This is a skillfully detailed mystery and I promise you will not guess who the killer is until you know. Live Reese is a journalist 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. When Liv wakes up in a taxi in the middle of the night she is confused the last thing she remembers is answering her phone while at work and oh yes it was summer and now it’s fall. When she knocks on the door so Amy can let her in a couple answer the door and tell her she can’t possibly live there, because they do. She is confused and doesn’t know what to do but the sods to leave when the woman insists she will call the police. Sitting on the steps outside her old apartment she sees writing on her hands and a knife balled up in a T-shirt that’s full of blood. That is all I am going to say but the summary this book was so good and the surprises and twist is what makes it that much better. I promise if you love the real and mysteries you’re going to be googoooo over stay awake by Megan Golden. If there is a such thing as a perfect mystery this is it I stayed up until four in the morning reading this book because I didn’t want to put it down in a soon as I woke up I finished it. Let me just say before I in my review I absolutely loved the detective Darcy Halliday, she was not only amazing but the author made it come up so authentically Megan Golden crossed every tea and Dotted every I to make an amazing mystery. I cannot say enough about this book except it was so so awesomely amazing. I received this book from netGally and the author but I am leaving this review totally voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are definitely my own.

This book was amazing! It kept me intrigued right until the very end. I did not guess the ending ahead of time. I will definitely be recommending this book to family, friends, colleagues and students.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin

This kept me paralyzed on the edge of my seat!

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @megangoldinauthor for a chance to read this eARC! This thriller comes out August 9 and you can preorder now via B&N, Amazon, or your local bookstore.

Two years and three months ago someone tried to kill Liv. There’s just one problem - she can’t remember who made an attempt on her life or any new memories she has processed since. Liv was able to recover and relocate to London to start anew and with the help of a journal outlining her life for her and visual guides in her home recommended by a helpful social worker, she’s been able to move on from her past, until now. Something causes her to snap from her routine and fly back to Brooklyn, where everything started. She begins to wake up every day thinking it’s the day she almost died, burns her journal, and is only able to work from the notes on her arm and hands while hopped up on caffeine and paranoia. Liv finds herself at the center of a murder investigation with her prints all over it with no memory of whether she was involved or assurance as to whether she is at risk. Will she be able to assemble the pieces and clear her name or will she learn that she is indeed a cold blooded killer?

I absolutely loved this! I’m an avid thriller reader and I’ve never read anything quite like this. I was immediately swept up in Liv’s fight for the truth. I enjoyed the cut between two years ago (the attempted murder of Liv and the other murders), the recent past (as she searched for truth and leading up to Ted’s murder), and the present day. It allowed for the reader to have just enough information to keep you baited and on the edge of your seat.

I strongly recommend for thriller/mystery lovers out there!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5

Liv Reese wakes up the back of a NYC taxi with no clue how she got there or why there’s a bloody knife in her pocket. Her hands are covered with inked messages: “Trust No One. Stay Awake.” She gets to her apartment only to find that it isn’t her home anymore and hasn’t been for two years. When Liv finds out a man has been murdered and the same message, “Stay Awake,” was written in blood on his windows, she knows it can’t be a coincidence.

Every time Liv falls asleep, she forgets the last two years, keeping her (and the reader) perpetually on the edge. You can practically see Liv’s exhaustion and confusion shimmering off the pages. The dual-timeline device is effective, as the reader unravels the mystery at the same time Liv does. Unreliable narrator and insomnia tropes are all the rage these days in the psychological thriller genre, but the way Megan Goldin has put them together is unique and takes it to the next level. The result is an original and captivating plot that is sure to be a hit later this summer.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me an advance copy of this book.

I wish I could give this a million stars this was one epic effing thriller! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 hands down crazy wild ride I devoured in almost 72 hours. Liv Reese has to fight to stay awake. She doesn’t recall where she is, the day or even the year, but she replays the same day from two years ago over and over again. She fights to stay awake because as soon as she falls asleep, she forgets everything that she learned in present day. Which, in present day, she is faced with being the epicenter of a heinous crime: a murder that she does not remember committing nor the man who is murdered. But written in blood on the window for the world to see are the words “WAKE UP!”

The book opens with Liv being in the back of a taxi cab that she doesn’t remember getting into or why, but she ends up at her apartment. But she realizes she doesn’t have her purse (thus no keys). She is instead faced with a couple of strangers residing in her home. She goes to reach for her phone and finds a bunch of messages that she has written all over her hands. And one of these is a reminder: to STAY AWAKE. The same message that was written at the crime scene are written all over her hands. She can’t remember what she did last, how or why those words are on her hands…but someone out there does. Someone that wants her to forget and not just after she sleeps, but to forget permanently.

Thank you @netgalley and to the author for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was chilling 🔪one of my top thrillers I have read! Definitely want to pre-order this one! Pub day is 8/9!

Overall, I really liked the concept of this book and would recommend it to other readers. The suspenseful twists and turns had me hooked the entire time. However, I did find some of the writing to be redundant when the main character continues to wake up without memories.

Thanks a bunch to NetGalley for the ARC. I wanted to love this. There was nothing wrong with it, per se. But I just know that in a day or two, I’ll have forgotten everything about it. It was very basic, with the (played out, at this point) amnesia trope, and it didn’t do anything different or have any surprising twists that made it exciting. It was a good, quick read. The writing was good (Megan Goldin is great in that department), but it’s definitely not my favorite of hers.

This was a great psychological suspense meets police procedural. The setup was excellent: Before I Go to Sleep with a little Memento twist. Liv's chapters were compelling and I felt for her as she kept waking up with no memory of the last two years. I just wanted to yell through the book at her to be careful and that someone was out to get her. There was plenty of twists that take place, but the ending was pretty surprising and I definitely didn't suspect the big reveal. My only complaint was the book did end with a couple plot holes that I would've liked resolved. I would've liked insight into certain motivations as well as a few red herrings fleshed out. Overall, 4.5 stars that I liked even better than the author's Night Swim.

Will publish review on Amazon upon publication.

Wow!

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for providing this advanced copy for me to read.

I was immediately thrown into the story and was confused in the best way. I felt anxious for Liv! The style of the timeline helped to slowly unravel the mystery. A great, fun, fast-paced psychological thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

Holy smokes this blew me away...right up until the very end. Then it fell flat. Seriously the only flaw for me is why the original murders? I feel like more explanation would have made the whole book make more sense. Overall the ride of this book was still amazing.

First off, I just want to say that this book is amazing! It is in my top three reads of the year so far and definitely my number one thriller.
Liv Reese wakes up in the back of the taxi with no memory of how she got there. She gives the taxi driver her address, but when she gets there she finds that there are strangers living in her apartment. She is without her phone or her purse, but when she reaches in her pocket she finds a knife covered in blood and sees that her hands are covered with writing like "STAY AWAKE". Before she knows it, she finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation.
Has this premise got you hooked? I don't even want to say anymore about the plot because I don't want to spoil anything. I had such a great time reading this book and envy anyone who still gets to read it for the first time. It pulls you in and doesn't let go. <Chef's kiss>
Thank you so much to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Megan Goldin for the privilege of reading this book before its release date.

This story reminded me of a thriller / murder mystery version of 50 first dates. Liv Reese doesn't remember where she is or what is happening every time she wakes up from sleep. She soon finds out that she is being investigated as part of a murder, which she knows nothing about, or at least she cannot remember.

Unfortunately I just found this story to be too repetitive for me. I understand it has to be sort of repetitive when the main character literally has to relearn everything every time she wakes up, but it just seemed to drag on and I felt bored at times throughout the story. There were definitely lines that were just copied and pasted in the story and they were definitely noticeable. That being said, it was a fun read at times, very mild darkness, no huge scare factor and the plot twists were okay. I definitely enjoyed 'The Night Swim' by this author more!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the advanced E-Book copy in exchange for an honest review!

Out August 9th, 2022

Stay Awake tells the story of Liv, who wakes up in the early morning and has no memory of the past two years. All she knows is that she's holding a murder weapon with blood on it. Liv believes that she didn't commit this murder. Yet, the cops are pin pointing her as the prime suspect. As they are closing in on Liv, will she be able to find help and stay awake to solve her own mystery?

The premise to Stay Awake was intriguing. There were twists and turns to Megan Goldin's latest however; this novel was definitely more mystery than thriller. It felt more like a look into your fears of insomniac episodes rather than running away from a killer. Loose ends are tied up after 75 percent of the book however; it was hard to stay invested.

ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Megan Goldin’s Stay Awake was a huge surprise for me. After reading The Night Swim, which I really enjoyed, I was not ready for such a suspenseful ride. And let me tell you, it was a pleasant surprise! This book is about Liv, who wakes up in a taxi not know how she got there, all she really has is a note telling her to “stay awake.” The premise had me hooked, but within a few pages I knew I wouldn’t be able to get on with my day until I had finished this book. It had everything I look for in a good thriller: suspense, intrigue, doubt, and thar off-kilter feeling of just not knowing what is going on. I absolutely loved this book, and will be sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for her next release. Meanwhile, I think I’ll be taking a closer look at her back list!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the gifted ebook of Stay Awake! All opinions in this review are my own.

Stay Awake started off really strong. I devoured the first 25% of this novel in one sitting. I liked the structure of the novel with multiple points of view and flashbacks, which help reveal new information without making one of the characters recite it.

I try not to judge thrillers based on the ending because it's difficult to write a satisfying end to all the tension that's been built up. While the big reveal was a little lackluster, I felt like there were still some loose ends that never got tied up. The biggest one was that motive was never explained for the original crime that started everything. You can deduce why they did it, but it still seems weird that was never addressed at the end.

Overall, the reading experience of Stay Awake is very chilling. I am excited to read more of the author's works.

5 Stars for this highly entertaining and gripping thriller!

I have loved this author's previous books so I'm really not surprised how much I enjoyed this one too!
Pulled me in right from the start and had me staying up until the early morning reading.

It was a gripping read and the suspense was full on right up until the end. I loved how everything came together.

Another well-written and intriguing novel from Megan Goldin!!

Megan Goldin is such a uniquely talented author, and Stay Awake embodies her uniqueness entirely. This novel is SO strange in the most excellent way. I was absolutely captivated from the second I read the premise (several months ago) until 50% through the e-arc I received.

Unfortunately, this novel is exhaustively written to the point that I felt the story was conveyed too completely. The reading experience became overwhelming and exhausting by the time I reached the end of the book. 20% of the novel could be eliminated by removing the detectives’ viewpoint entirely, and the story would still be 100% understandable and complete. The ‘2 years earlier’ chapters could be elaborated to fulfill a total page requirement if necessary, as those were the most important chapters.

The ‘2 years earlier’ chapters should have provided the information necessary to respect (not expect) the final twist, and yet I had to ask myself “who?” after reading the reveal. Maybe, after consuming so much filler information (the detectives’ viewpoints), I became too antsy to finally reach the end and accidentally skipped over some major clues, but I don’t think so. Not to mention, there were several red herrings inserted throughout the chapters that I forgot the second I finished reading the paragraphs where they were mentioned. I truly never gave them another thought.

I felt letdown and a little bored once I reached the final few chapters. Goldin’s writing, however, kept me reading until the very last word. I ultimately enjoyed this story for the most part. I will continue to read whatever Goldin writes, but this is definitely my least favorite of her novels so far.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.