If the movie Memento was a riveting thriller novel, this would be it. It definitely starts off slow but picks up to breakneck speed after halfway the point. Once I got to that point, I raced to the ending so I could finish it that same day! I will definitely seek out other thrillers from this author in the future. I took off 1 star for the ending—some loose ends were left, but other than that, a great thriller!

I first want to say thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read and listen to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was very pumped with getting the chance to read this book, especially with having such success with the author's previous book, The Night Swim, which was a five star read for me. This book immediately throws you into the story with very little information. This was a bit of surprise but I did enjoy that because it made you feel connected with the main character who is also trying to figure out exactly what's happened.

Unfortunately, I was not a big fan of this one and found it just be okay and slightly typical. I would recommend this for someone who is new to the genre or to Goldins writing but I wouldn't put this in my favorites. I will continue to read from the author in the future.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin
This is the story about a woman named Liv Reese who seems to have a pretty wonderful life. She is an exceptional writer for a magazine called Cultura where she mainly does write-ups on food but her editor has really liked her work and has her branching out to do write-ups on art, mostly performance art. Liv has a boyfriend she’s madly in love with and I think she hopes to one day marry Marco, for now she’s happy just always being there for him while he seems pretty emotionally detached from her. It’s okay though, because she has her best friend in the world by her side. Amy is her roommate and best friend, she loves and would do anything for doctor Amy, even though Amy and Liv’s boyfriend basically hate each other and argue every time they’re around each other. Liv is busy with work so she hardly notices how strange Amy has been acting lately, secretive calls, and distancing herself from Liv just a little bit. Of course, Amy is a doctor with a busy schedule and a doctor boyfriend of her own, Brett, so that could be why she’s acting a little different. Brett is Amy’s super busy, supportive, self- absorbed boyfriend. Brett was cheating on his wife with Amy when they got together and he has a child from that marriage so he is mostly busy either at work (he’s a surgeon) or with his child so to make up for that he tends to buy Amy lots of expensive gifts to keep her around.

Liv’s world comes crashing down when she goes to a performance art show that kind of creeps her out, it was like the whole show was made to make her terrified, but she gets past it and goes to meet Amy at a bar for her birthday. Marco is already at the bar with Amy and for once they seem to actually be getting along for once, it's a bit suspicious but Liv doesn’t dwell on it. When she goes home that night, that’s when odd things start happening to her that make her suspect there might be someone out there stalking her, because there is definitely someone messing around in her apartment and making her look like she’s having a mental breakdown of some sort.

Then, one day while she is at work she gets a phone call, that’s where she loses her memory. She knows details about a terrible murder but she has a specific memory loss where she forgets the last 2 years every time she falls asleep. She’s be drinking caffeine and staying up for days, and now it looks like she might be a murder suspect in a new murder but she can’t remember anything. Detectives Darcy Halliday and Jack Lavelle are tasked with finding out who killed a man and Liv’s involvement. Did she kill someone and then fell asleep and forgot what happened? It sure looks like it.

My favorite character was Detective Darcy Halliday. I really loved seeing how compassionate she was and her passion for her work is something to be admired. Liv has always lived by the rule to never trust cops, they have never really helped her in the past. I think when Halliday comes along that changes, Halliday puts herself on the line and could have died saving Liv, she’s an absolute hero. I also love how she could have used deadly force but she didn’t because it wasn't necessary, that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

This was a very entertaining book, full of suspense that I stayed up late reading because I just had to know what happened in the end. This book was different in a good way because Liv’s condition really had me scared for her, I felt so bad for her and knew it must have been hard for her to go through all she’s went through, her memory loss was like nothing I've ever seen before in a thriller/ suspense novel and I liked it. There’s parts where it switches from the past to the present but it’s not jarring or anything and writing it that way makes the book flow perfectly. I really enjoyed this book!

I had previously read Goldin’s The Night Swim and *unpopular opinion alert* did not love it. I’m happy to report that I had the opposite reaction to Stay Awake - so good, couldn’t put it down!

My favourite genre (psychological thriller), unreliable narrator (amnesia), and short chapters (the best!!!) made this one an instant hit for me. I was invested from the opening chapter until the last.

Thriller fans - I think you’ll enjoy this!

Stay Awake, both the line repeated throughout the book and equally is what I'm telling myself while my eyes are threatening to close. I'm so engrossed in the story that I can't go to bed until I discover the truth.

Tiredly I soldiered on as Megan Goldin's novel has so many twists and turns that I'm paging through as fast as I can to keep up with the plot. The high-speed chase and is terrifying yet thrilling and forces the reader to straddle the line between believing Liv and doubting her actions.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early edition of 'Stay Awake' in exchange for an honest review. Friends on Goodreads were raving about this compelling read and now that I finished it, it's easy to give Goldin's murder mystery a 5-starred review.

From the beginning I was immersed in the story and the author brilliantly penned a fast-paced storyline with so many variables that it will leave readers second guessing everyone without having a valid lead. Get ready for a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat so 'stay awake' until the very end!

Using a premise that has been done before, the author writes another heart-pounding and addictive thriller. Liv wakes up to realize that she’s missing the last two years of her life and all the clues she has, is what she wrote on her skin. Yes, that was the plot of Memento or Fifty first dates but Goldin makes it her own. The chapters alternate between Liv in the present, when she’s plagued by serious memory issues, Liv in the past, when we find out what happened that caused her amnesia, and the detectives investigating a murder that clearly Liv committed. Or did she? I figured out some of the clues, but the plot is so well-crafted that I had to know what would happen next. I like how it’s so easy to feel Liv’s desperation and disorientation, she doesn’t know what’s going on and is trying to piece the puzzle together missing most of the pieces. I really enjoyed this novel.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#St. Martin's Press!

"The footage cuts to police officers standing behind crime scene tape at the entrance of an apartment building. A graphic at the bottom of the screen says: MURDERER WRITES MESSAGE IN VICTIM’S BLOOD. The camera crash zooms from street level to an apartment window.

Painted on the window in red letters are the words WAKE UP!

I’ve seen that message before. I push up my sleeves and stare at the same words scribbled just below my wrist bone."

Liv wakes up in a situation she doesn't understand. There's been a murder, and it seems she is the main suspect. But Liv literally can't remember what happened. Every time she falls asleep her memory resets to 2 years prior. She stumbles around, reset each time she sleeps, leaving clues to herself by writing on her skin.

This is a really good mystery that starts off somewhat slow and really picks up in the second half - so much so that I finished the last half in one day. A very quick and enjoyable read. I look forward to reading other books from this author.

Thank you netgalley and St Martin's press for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was brilliant! I'm a huge fan of Goldin's and this one did not disappoint. I literally missed meals because I could not put this book down. Go get it now!

I thought this was a great thriller. After I got about halfway through, I was dying to know what actually happened. It's a story of a girl who was part of a double murder, and she was injured so badly at the same time that she was in a coma, which affected her memory. Then she traumatized herself so badly to the point of self-inflicted amnesia in which she wakes up not remembering anything after the day of the murders for the next two years.

I thought this was original and intriguing. Thank you so much to @netgalley for this advanced reader's copy for an honest review.

Stay Awake is the latest story by Megan Goldin, and true to the title I stayed awake longer than I should have reading it! Every time Liv goes to sleep she loses her memory of recent events. With stay awake and trust no one written on her hands Liv doesn't know where to turn. Stay Awake is an excellent face paced story. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy to review.

Megan Goldin knows how to write a thriller that'll keep you guessing. With short chapters, the perspectives of both Liv the main character and the two detectives working the murder case, and a number of twists and turns along the way, you will have a hard time putting this book down because you will need to know what is going on! The book also takes place in the present, a few days before the murder, and then two years in the past which really help in building the storyline and moving it along at a rather quick pace.

Liv wakes up in a cab thinking it is two years earlier and can't recall what has happened and why she has a bloody knife in her pocket. You truly feel like you are in Liv's head as she tries to figure things out, doesn't understand why she can't recall things that happened in the past, what all the notes she has written on her body mean, and who she is supposed to trust. I do think there were a few questions left unanswered, but this was a really enjoyable thriller, and I can definitely overlook a few plot holes left open.

Stay Awake is a classic unreliable narrator story, interspersed with the POV of one of the detectives that’s trying to find her. The narrator is Liv, who after a traumatic event two years ago, wakes up in New York City and has no idea who she is. Not only that, she doesn’t really process that it’s been two years and that having lived in London, many of her connections in the city are gone. With the amount of caffeine she’s consuming and her lack of memory she’s incredibly paranoid, and convinced she may have committed murder. She’s also not the only one, as Detectives Halliday and Lavelle continue to close in on her as the killer of a man found murdered in a short term stay apartment. The story also tells the story of the last days before Liv lost her memory, and how things were not quite right. Liv was convinced she was being stalked but was dismissed as being crazy by the detective she reported her concerns to. As the story goes on the reader learns what event caused her to lose her memory, but not until the end do they learn the person that was the cause of it. In many ways the story is great. The reader follows along as the detectives slowly close in on identifying and finding Liv for the murder committed in the current time, but the reader also experiences the frustration of reading along with Liv as she loses any progress she’s made in figuring out why she’s lost her memory each time she falls asleep. This could probably happen, but almost feels a little too perfect a premise for a mystery/thriller book. And while I enjoyed the reveal, it never really explains why what happened in the past, happened. Liv figures out what led up to her memory loss, but how did that person know what led them to take the actions they did? There’s also a character that feels like a red herring, but that storyline is unresolved. As someone who likes closure I feel like the author almost forgot at the end of the book about that character. I enjoyed the book, but I think it would be a better one if several plot holes were cleaned up more. A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy of this novel, which thrilled me to no end! Megan Goldin is one of my instant read authors! I have enjoyed every single one of her previous novels so I was thrilled to be approved for this opportunity. If you enjoy a good mystery/thriller then you will not be disappointed by this, or any, of Goldin's novels. Her writing is fantastic, her characters are always intriguing, and she keeps it very engaging for the reader.

I was hooked from the opening chapters. The dual timeline, the two narrators the slow burn, Stay Awake had it all. I am usually not a fan of unreliable narrators but Liv was different in all the best ways. I truly raced through this book, I couldn't read fast enough and figure out how and who. As the back and forth in timeline got closer and closer together the book became un-put-a-downable! As a big Megan Goldin fan, this book delivered and for other fans it can't be missed! Be Sure to pick up Stay Awake when it comes out on August 9th.
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Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Stay Awake is about Liv, a woman who literally needs to stay awake to remember what is happening. She has a rare form of amnesia. She wakes up with a bloody knife in the back of a cab having no idea what happened or where she is going. Detective Darcy Halliday is a new homicide detective, who along with Jack Lavelle, is called to the scene of a murder. A gruesome message written in the victim's blood says "STAY AWAKE". Back to Liv, she pulls up her sleeve and it too says "STAY AWAKE". Liv is in a time loop of the past two years and has to figure out what is real and what is not and who is trying to kill her to finish the job before she figures it out. I was on the edge of my seat and thought I had an idea of who the killer was, but I was wrong!

I really liked The Night Swim so I had high hopes going into this book and I ended up being a little disappointed. Overall, I think The Night Swim was executed a little better, but the premise of this particular book was a little more challenging, from a readers point of view.

I had a hard time getting into the book initially. The time jumps and the POV swaps make it hard to get invested in the main character and left me a little confused. However, once the cops are involved everything starts to come together. They kind of act as a grounding element - the one reliable POV. And I actually found the cops storyline to be the most interesting!

I did enjoy the ending - though once it came to it I was able to predict it pretty easily. While I didn’t get super invested in the characters lives, the plot was really interesting and once I was into I was fully into it. I had a hard time putting the book down once I was halfway into it. Megan Goldin is just a stunning thriller writer and I will read anything she puts out.

You know I was honestly considering not finishing this book because the first half is very slow and extremely procedural. As a matter of fact I would find myself cringing from the threat of boredom each time I delved into a chapter featuring the two detectives.

It wasn’t until I had reached the 50% progress mark on Kindle that the story really took off. Once the plot began to reveal itself to me I became so engrossed in the story that I had a very hard time putting it down; I just had to find out who had made it their mission to destroy Liv’s life.

“Stay Awake” is psychological suspense at its best. All of the mind games and gaslighting that the perpetrator directs towards Liv is simply maddening. BY the end of the book I was surprised by the identity of killer but once I considered everything that was going on in the story it totally made sense.

I am glad I was given the opportunity to read this Netgalley advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

WOW Megan delivers another fantastic thriller. Once you start this book, it is very hard to put down. This is such an exciting book. If you read the blurb, Liv Reese wakes up in New York with writing on her hands stay awake. She goes to her apartment she shares with her best friend Amy and there is a couple living there. She is totally confused and every time she falls asleep, when she wakes up she remembers nothing. Then someone named Ted who she doesn’t remember, whom she was engaged to when she went to live in London tries to help her out. I must digress. Two years before she was stabbed and hospitalized in New York. She was in a coma and when she came out of the coma she didn’t remember what happened. She then moved to London where she met Ted and got engaged but then became obsessed with what happened to her. They eventually broke up. As the book starts is where she wakes up in New York remembering nothing. I am afraid if I continue my review I will give away spoilers. I truly recommend this book. It is a non stop psychological suspenseful thriller which kept me pounding till as the end nears all the pieces of the puzzle come together. BRAVO Megan!!! I received this book from net galley and the publisher as an ARC for an honest review. Thank you net galley for a 5 star book.

This book took me days to finish reading. I typically read a book per day, but this one was a bit slow for me. The premise was also one I’d seen covered before in movies and books.

I read this about a week ago, and although it was a good read, it wasn’t one that held with me. I do not remember any longer how it ended.

All of that said, I love to read this author and it wasn’t an unpleasant read at all.

A refreshing new perspective in the thriller genre involving alternating timelines. I enjoyed the detective investigation thread best of all and hope Halliday will show up in a future book. Suspenseful and well done.