I greatly enjoyed this book. Amnesia books are usually a hit or miss for me but this one was so much fun. I loved the pacing of it and the side characters. This is my 2nd book by Megan Goldin and both have been 5 stars. Excited to read more of her work.

Stay Awake is one wild ride! This is the second book that I have read by Megan Goldin and she really knows how to come up with some original ideas in the psychological thriller genre. I am a sucker for short chapters and switching between past & present tense, not to mention that this one kept me on the edge of my seat. Liv could be a bit infuriating at times, but all in all, this was a solid thriller. I highly recommend this book!

This book was so hard to put down! I love an unreliable narrator when reading thrillers so this was perfect for me! There’s a lot going on in this story so you have to pay close attention. It was definitely an edge of your seat kind of book that will keep you wanting more. I read it over the course of 2 days because I just couldn’t stop.

Summary
Liv wakes up in a taxi and has no idea how she got there. Her hands are covered in notes, including STAY AWAKE. She has no phone and no wallet and her apartment is apparently no longer her apartment. Then she learns 2 years has passed from her last memory and every time she falls asleep, she forgets everything until that day again. But the news tells of a murder scene that has the words STAY AWAKE written in blood and she knows it must all be connected. All Liv knows is she's on the run from someone, and she doesn't remember who she can trust, what's happened the last two years and what sent her on this path to begin with.

Review
Wow, this one kept me on the edge of my seat the entire story. The anxiety that built the entire book settled in my chest. I felt Liv's fear and stress. I thought I figured it out early on and was disappointed, until I realized I was wrong! The book was fast paced and jumped between present day and two years ago leading up to Liv's memory loss, and culminate to the point in time where her past is meeting with her memory. Definitely was a wild ride and I enjoyed it.

Megan Goldin is true to form with her novel, Stay Awake. Another explosive, mind bending novel, Stay Awake is the story of Liv, who wakes up and has no recollection of how she got where she is. Liv has writing all over her hands and arms and the messages are quiet ominous - like STAY AWAKE and trust no one. Liv immediately goes home to check in with her roommate, but finds that she no longer lives there. She can’t find her boyfriend, and her best friend’s mom practically hangs up on her when she calls, and when she goes to work, she doesn’t recognize anybody at the office. With no one to turn to, how can Liv figure out what happened to her and her memory? And with the forbidding messages on her hands and arms, is she truly safe as she tries to get to the bottom of this mystery?

Told in duel timelines, Stay Awake quickly grabs the reader and tells the story of Liv’s past as well as her uncertain future. The dual timelines was a nice approach, as we continue to get bits of pieces of how Liv ended up in this situation while learning more about the situation she had awoken in. The danger for Liv increases throughout, and as the tension ratchets up, Megan more rapidly switches between the timelines to increase the tension.

Stay Awake was a delicious and unique thriller, as the memory loss that the protagonist deals with renders her helpless in a multitude of situations. Another great novel by Megan Goldin! Thank you to Megan Goldin and St. Martin’s press for the copy.

I like a thriller with alternating POV and short chapters because they keep the pages moving. While I saw “the twist” coming from early on. It was still a solid read. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for review

I couldn't even finish the first chapter of this book because I was that bored with this book. The characters lack depth and substance from what I heard so I'm not reading this book any further.

WHAT?! This one kept me on my toes the entire time! I can't believe I took so long to start it. I loved the thrill of following Liv on her journey and who she might or might not have after her. The murder/mystery vibes and police POV was so much fun to follow. 4.5/5!

I thought "Stay Awake" was very interesting. I don't usually enjoy books that weave back and forth between the past and the present. But in this case, the main character cannot remember things that happened in her past - so this was a good use of a narrative device and necessary to the plot.

This book was a page turner. The author plants clues along the way that made it enjoyable to try to guess what was going on. I liked the twist at the end and I was surprised by the ending! I was intrigued by the plot and it was hard to put down.

I think that readers who like mysteries and thrillers would love this book.

"Something terrible is going on, and I don't have the faintest idea what it is."

Did Liv Reese commit a murder? She doesn't remember. Every time she falls asleep, her mind reverts to two years ago, before she was almost murdered. She's on the run and suffering from a rare form of amnesia while trying to figure out what happened.

I loved Goldin's Night Swim and started this one with high expectations. Maybe I set myself up for failure. I started reading this one and put it down. It started slow, and the repetition regarding Liz's sleep issues wasn't working for me. 😬 However, I'm so glad I picked this back up! I did a combination of book and audio, which was the perfect way to read this book.

Once I got into the story, I had a hard time putting it down. I wanted to know what happened to Liz. I had a couple of guesses, but I was wrong. This clever and tense psychological thriller will keep you guessing until the end.

The opening of this book was gripping, but even though the premise of Liv waking up with no memory of anything and cryptic notes to herself drawn on her body was enticing, I was disappointed with the execution. It ended up feeling, to me, like a cookie cutter thriller. There's nothing wrong with following a formula that works, so I'd still consider this a good book, but it didn't deliver on what it promised.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel. I was not able to finish so won't be leaving a full review at this time.

So good!!!! Kept me guessing until the very very end. I was changing my theories continuously throughout the story. The ever changing timelines got hard to follow at times but otherwise, it felt like a really unique storyline and a fresh take on a thriller.

"Stay Awake" by Megan Goldin had me at the edge of my seat from start to finish. With a plot line that is reminiscent of the film "Memento" my heart was racing as I followed the main character, Liv, throughout her journey of trying to discover what was happening to her and why strangers are living in her apartment. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good thriller!

Liv Reese, a magazine contributor, wakes one morning disoriented and holding a knife. She wanders out of the building, tosses the knife, but realizes she is missing her purse, wallet, and phone. When she goes to her apartment, someone else is living there. Meanwhile, the police have been called to the scene of a homicide, a man has been stabbed to death.
Liz sees that she has written all over her hands - Stay Awake. She doesn't know why. A bartender recognizes her, but her workplace is completely different. Liz knows that something is very wrong. Where is her friend, Amy, and her boyfriend, Marco? Liz keeps getting sinister phone calls and knows she can't fall asleep-but why?
This is a tense thriller with you wondering what trauma has caused this break with reality. I really enjoyed it, but I did figure out what was happening pretty quickly, as well as the killer's identity, just not every detail. Still, I think this was a good book, and will read more by this author.

I haven't met a Megan Goldin book yet that I have not liked! This book was a very quick read for me. I enjoyed the premise of a memory reset after waking for the main character. The book picks up quickly and is a bit disorienting, much like life would be for the main character. I though the premise was unique and helped to ramp up the tension in the book. I liked that the chapters were short which really kept me reading. I was able to read this one on the beach which was the perfect place to read it! Would highly recommend for thriller readers and fans of Goldin!

A GREAT psychological thriller that will stick with the reader long after it is finished.Megan Goldin writes a great novel with enough twists and turns to keep the reader engaged and second guessing where the story is going. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reader copy for my honest review.

Really enjoy this author and this book was really enjoyable, twists and turns that keep you guessing and turning the pages long into the night.

I’ve read a few books by this author before. This one did not disappoint. It was a very suspenseful story and I had a hard time putting this book down once I started reading it. I loved not being able to guess what was going to happen next.

**3.5 stars**

I absolutely loved Megan Goldin’s first two books The Escape Room and The Night Swim so I was thrilled when I received an early copy of Stay Awake from NetGalley.

Stay Awake is absolutely an original psychological thriller where the main character, Liv Reese, has memory issues where every time she falls asleep she forgets the past 2 years of her life. The story starts with Liv returning to her apartment to find strangers living there and she finds a bloody knife wrapped in a t shirt in her pocket. And the story takes off from there.

I really liked the mystery of this book where we are eager to find out what happened to Liv, why her memory is bad, who the dead person is and how are they connected to Liv, etc. The mystery of the story is absolutely page turning. I liked the detective a lot. What I did not like was Liv, I understand she has memory issues but man is she DUMB. I didn’t like the constant rehashing of her story every time she feel asleep, it got very monotonous.

While this wasn’t my favorite book from Megan Goldin it was still a good thriller/mystery and I recommend it.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc I received in exchange for my honest review.**