This book y'all! I switched between ebook and audio, and I really feel the audio gave an even higher level of intensity!

I'm a big fan of the unreliable narrator and no one is more unreliable than Liv. She has a rare form of amnesia - when she falls asleep, she wakes up not remembering anything that has happened recently! It's like the movie Groundhog's Day, but more horrific. She finds herself in a time loop - and we travel back and forth in time with her over the two year time frame. When Liv wakes up in the back of an NYC cab holding a bloody knife and no memory of what happens, she goes on the run, although not sure what she is running from.

The narration comes from Liv and Halliday, a younger detective working the murder case. I really liked Halliday, but found Liv's narration more intense and captivating. Following the murder investigation was very interesting and I loved the peeling back of the layers of this case.

This book is filled with drama and suspense and I was so engrossed that I didn't even attempt to figure out who the murderer was, I just kept reading and reading to find out what would happen next!

Liv’s amnesia worked for me in this book. We got just enough of her forgetfulness. She was a likable character and I found myself cheering for her, despite the mess that her life is at the moment. It ends with a bang!

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars

WOWWWWW this was UNPUTDOWNABLE. When Liv Reese goes to sleep, she wakes up with no memory of the past 2 years of her life. Her hands and arms are covered with scribbled messages to help her remember. As she tries to piece together her memories, Liv finds herself accused of a crime she doesn't remember committing. If you've seen the movie Memento, then you're already familiar with this type of amnesia.

I LOVE the way the narrative unravels, slowly feeding you with bits and pieces, and forcing you to keep turning the pages. That's what made the story so addictive. Despite the amnesia trope, it didn't feel repetitive whenever Liv had to re-learn about her past. I did get frustrated that it took Liv forever to finally use Google to do some basic searches about the people she was trying to find. She should have probably written "GOOGLE SEARCH" on her hand 😂

Parts of this story creeped me out SO MUCH omg. I had chills listening to the audiobook at night. The culprit's identity is actually so obvious - right there in your face obvious LOL. But this very obvious clue is hidden among a million red herrings. It also doesn't help that the main narrator is unreliable. There was only one red herring that was left unexplained and ironically, it was this particular red herring that fooled me for the longest time. But hey, I'm proud of myself for eventually figuring it out 😂

I highly recommend this one on audio! Both narrators were so good!!

P.S. Loved the ending iykyk

Wow, wow, wow!!!

I found my fave thriller of the year! Absolutely LOVED every single second of this book! It was one of those books that you stay up late for and wake up the next morning craving answers!

I loved the main character, Liv, she was super like-able and I found myself rooting hard for her to figure all this out!! While the storyline does jump back and forth, it was very easy to follow and adds to the confusion of WHO TO TRUST!?!?

You guys know I read 1-2 thrillers/month, but if you are going to pick one to read this year - this should be it!!

The narration was excellent. The multiple voices and accents from the narrator were unique. Highly recommend this on audio!

Y’all it’s been a while since I’ve read a thriller that hooked me like Stay Awake by @megangoldinauthor

Liv Reese wakes up with no memory of her life for the past two years. She only knows the scribbles on her arms to Stay Awake. When em she catches a glimpse of the news she hears about a recent murder. Is it a coincidence that the same Stay Awake message was screamed in blood at the crime scene?

This book has a dual timeline that can throw you for a loop. If you stick with it things will make sense the further along you get. I’m not always the fan of an unreliable narrator but it really worked on this storyline. I had to keep going to learn how everything played out. Highly recommend this thriller if you are looking for a wild ride. Stay Awake is out today!

This was a fun mystery. I kept looking for time to listen and may or may not have sat on a chair staring into space to finish it. The end wasn’t shocking but I don’t think it needed to be. My only issue with the book was that one narrator spoke so slowly that I had to listen on 1.5 speed to feel like normal. The other narrator already spoke at a normal speed so her portions were so fast I had to really focus to not miss anything. Still enjoyed it and would recommend it to any mystery fan.

Holy man! This book was something else. I never knew which way it was going to twist or turn. I loved it so much. I loved that story flipped back and forth in time...leaving tidbits of information with each chapter. The story came together perfectly. I could not help but but myself in the main character shoes and wonder what all of that would be like. What a scary and wild ride. There was a very satisfying ending too. A must read for thriller lovers.

PS I was able to both listen to and read this book before publication. I loved both formats and feel that audiobook lovers are really going to love how it was performed. Either way to read this book you will love it!!!

30-year-old New Yorker Liv Reese has no memory when she wakes up in a cab, so she heads home only to find strangers living in her brownstone, to make matters worse she discovers a blood-stained knife in her pocket and the words " Stay Awake " written all over her.

In the beginning, I found Stay Awake a bit confusing and thought maybe I might have missed something as I was listening and working, but I soon found my bearings with it and found the story entertaining and thrilling. The story is told by Liv in two timelines, the present and also the past which takes place two years before.

There is a lot of action in this book to keep your attention, however, to me, the middle got a bit bogged down in the storytelling and dragged a bit. It was really interesting to see how Liv slowly began figuring the clues out and what was going on.

I have seen several people say that they easily figured the ending out, but not me. I thought I had it figured out and then Goldin threw in a twist that surprised me.

Thriller readers will enjoy Stay Awake, especially if you enjoy Goldins previous book Night Swim. I personally thought Stay Awake was a bit better.

I listened to the audio and found it engaging. Imogene Church and January LaVoy, the narrators gave a great performance and brought it to life for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and MacMillian Audio for the advanced audio

Stay Awake follow Liv who wakes up in a cab with a bloody knife in her possession and no memory of how it got there. When she gets to her house, it's not her house, and she can't remember the past two years. She's got messages scrawled on her body, messages like "stay awake."

This was a unique murder mystery, kind of like if you combined Groundhog Day and Memento. Goldin did a good job building sympathy for Liv, but Halladay was a stereotypical detective, not much unique about her, she didn't strike me as interesting. I think if I had to read this, it would have lost me. The audiobook narration by Imogen Church and January LaVoy really made the book. I really enjoyed their reading of it. The ending was a bit of a let down for me. It seemed like it wasn't a big reveal and just kind of hit me as meh. I think I expected more to be honest.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC.

Murders, Mystery, and total confusion. And yet it had me from the very beginning. I listened to it on audio while I worked and read from my kindle when I got home. I suggest both but I loved the audiobook because of Imogen Church narrating it. She’s so good. And January LaVoy was also narrating and I’m a huge fan of both of them.
I read The Night Swim and really liked it so I was excited about this.
The author did an excellent job laying out the plot and kept me guessing. I didn’t find it predictable and I stayed interested in the side characters. What was happening? Who was dead? And why?
Highly recommend it, overall this is a high 4 ⭐️ for me.
Thanks Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

3.5 rounded to 4
Liv wakes up not knowing where she is, how she got there, or why things seem to be different. She is shocked to see on tv someone was murdered and she looks a lot like the girl fleeing the crime.

I haven't read too many books with memory loss before, especially one that restarts itself every time someone falls asleep. I thought it was an interesting concept. I did think the book was a bit slow at times, especially with Liv repeating the same day over. At times Liv drove me crazy.
The character I liked most was Halliday. I liked having her POV in the book. I also liked her narrator! She did such a great job.

One thing I really liked about this book was I didn't see some of the twists. I thought I had everything figured out, but I was wrong. I also liked the short chapters and the different POVs. Some stuff I didn't like...the dual timelines started to blur together, especially since she was repeating herself. I also think some things didn't add up.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the ebook and audiobook!

I was provided a print and audio arc of this book via Netgalley. I alternated between both formats as I was reading this book. As always all opinions are my own.

This follows two perspectives, main character Liv Reese and the other of Detective Darcy Halliday. Liv wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea how she got there. She has lost her purse and phone, and there are strangers living in her apartment. She is completely disoriented and there is writing all over her hands indicating that she should "stay awake". Detective Halliday is first on the scene of a murder that unbeknownst to her is somehow tied to Liv. In the audiobook each perspective is portrayed by a different narrator, which I enjoyed. You can tell when the chapters switch from Liv to Halliday. Both narrators did a great job with their characters/chapters.

It has been a long time since I've read a thriller that had me so engaged. This started out slow for me, but once it got going I had a hard time putting it down. I also did not see the twist coming. That is so rare. Who I thought was the bad guy, and who it really was were not even close. The author does a really good job leaving several red herrings to mislead the reader.

I will say at first I found it hard to empathize with Liv, when she finds out she has lost 2 years of her memory and she keeps insisting that people should be in a certain place or that things should be a certain way. It was a bit repetitive, then I realized as the book went on that if I were in her shoes and couldn't remember anything and nothing in my life was the same, I'd probably be in a bit of a panicked state myself. As we get to know Liv and what happened in the two years prior leading up to the present day, I slowly started to connect with her as she and the detectives slowly start to put the pieces together of what really happened. I really liked Halliday. She is no nonsense, willing to speak up when she has something to say, and willing to challenge the seasoned detectives to make sure they get the case correct. I also felt like the author did a good job with her research into the life of a female veteran and detective.

This does have a funky timeline that alternates between the present and the past. I'm not usually a fan of disjointed timelines, but this is an example of a book that does it right. This was done so well to put all the pieces together of Liv's missing memory and the events leading up to the murder. The author gives you just enough without giving away too much until the final reveal.

If you are looking for a good thriller, I highly recommend this one!

Very unpopular opinion, but this book just annoyed me. I found the main character to be annoying and whiny. I found the story to be aggravatingly repetitive. I tried so hard to find something about this book to love, but I just couldn't. Literally, I kept reading in hopes that it became great with some plot twist, but it never happened for me. The story switches back and forth between present day and 2 years earlier. But at times, the storyline did not connect smoothly, in my opinion.

Present day: Liv wakes up in a cab, with no idea where she is or why. After a stranger opens the door to her home, she notices a bloodstained knife in place of her phone and notes on her hands, with messages like STAY AWAKE. Two years earlier, Liv lived with her best friend, was a successful writer and had a wonderful man in her life. Now, she is lost in NYC and remembers nothing. When she sees the news about a murder with a message written on a window, the same message she finds on her hands, she struggles to remember what happened over the past two years and finds herself on the run from a crime she doesn’t remember committing.

The premise of Stay Awake is that Liv, a couture magazine executive wakens to no idea where she is with the words "Stay Awake" written all over her arms. Her apartment is occupied by someone else. She's been replaced at her job and news headlines are reporting that someone she knew is dead.

I would've preferred if this book had been written as a novelette. Somewhere between 150-200 pages. It initially kept me intrigued with the fear of the unknown. Eventually I simply became frustrated, annoyed and impatient with not understanding anything. I found that the author would write really captivating chapters with a mini cliff hanger at the end. When we returned to that specific character though the cliffhanger was never address. It was simply a different time period for the character or they had moved on to another location. The continued "unknowing" or who Live was in her prior life and how she related to other characters for upwards of 200 pages got redundant and boring.

At 70% into the book it was so blatantly obvious who the killer was. When I read a thriller I want to be surprised. Instead I kept turning the pages out of obligation to make sure I was correct. (I was).

The writing pacing, format and dialogue were excellent but this just wasn't for me.

The narrator did an excellent job making the book more enjoyable than if I had just read it alone. She provided excellent intonation and suspense. I hope she gets the opportunity to read additional thrillers.

Liv Reese has dissociative memory loss following a traumatizing event where her boyfriend and roommate were murdered in bed together during an ongoing affair. Liv too was stabbed by the killer and barely escaped alive. Since then, Liv wakes up every single day, two years in the past with no memory of what happened. When her former fiancé/coworker also turns up murdered with the words “Stay Awake” written at the crime scene - the same words Liv has scrawled across her body - among other reasons, Liv becomes the main suspect. But because of the gaps in her memory, even she can’t be sure she didn’t have something to do with it.

I requested this title as an e-book originally on NetGalley and was rejected pretty quickly. I was pretty disappointed because I was very interested in the description and it was right up my alley. Not to mention everyone on bookstagram was raving about it after I was denied which was frustrating. But thankfully the audio was released a few months later on NG and Macmillan Audio always comes through for me!!

I thought the first 60% of this was pretty slow and confusing. But I suppose that’s to be expected in a story that is told in multiple POVs and timelines like the shards of a broken mirror that are pieced together throughout. It wrapped up together pretty nicely at the end, but because this plot idea is very original and intriguing (to me at least), I thought it could have been better executed. I wanted more excitement and thrills. I wanted more cat and mouse if someone really was supposed to be coming after her.

The narrators were fantastic. My favorite two narrators - Imogen Church and January LaVoy. Perhaps listening to the audio ended up being the better option that kept my attention more.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, the author (and not really St. Martins LOL) for the advance listening copy in exchange for an honest review.

Stay Awake is a groundhog style suspense thriller. A successful journalist for a big name life style magazine, Liv has it all going for her. That is until the unthinkable happens - 2 people she cares about are killed and she almost dies in knife attack. The event is so traumatizing, 2 years later she still cannot remember what happened and who attacked them. To make matters worse, when she falls asleep and wakes - those 2 years are completely gone. No memories whatsoever!

Goldins tale is told from 3 points of view - Liv before her traumatic attack, Liv 2 years later and the team of investigators trying to get to the bottom of what transpired so they can put the murderer behind bars. Problem is .... Liv has no memories, acts strange and is at the top of the detectives lists of suspects.

I listened to this on audio and its superb! This is your book if you love thrillers, unreliable narrators, and a fast paced who done it tale. It kept me on the edge of my seat guessing right up to the end. I really enjoyed the methods Goldin uses to help Liv remember - messages on her hands, sticky notes in her room and journaling. They all work to a point to steer Liv forward. It's just difficult when each day is a day one over and over again. (and some days you dont even know where home is)

I sincerely hope Stay Awake gets picked up for the big screen. It also would be an amazing book club read. Who are we without our memories? Who can we trust when we cant even trust ourselves? And the unknown is highly anxiety inducing when either you are the murderer or the murderer is chasing you!

Shout out to narrators Imogen Church and January LaVoy for bringing me right into the center of the story. They really did an amazing job keeping me tied into the whats happening and who done it!

Many thanks to NetGalley and MacMillian Audio for sharing the seriousness of not knowing. Stay Awake is truly an "unforgetable" thrilling ride. This may have been my first Megan Goldin read, it will not be my last.

The first page of “Stay Awake” pulls you into this mystery/thriller and you are kept guessing throughout the book’s progression. You have a protagonist who is untrustworthy both to the reader and herself. Liv, the protagonist, awakes in a cab with no memory and the story flashes between a murder in the present and in the past. This was a creative thriller that was also truly creepy at times-a solid story that kept me engaged. 4 stars ⭐️. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy for review.

fter waking disoriented in a city cab, with disturbing messages inked on her hands and arms, Liv Reese asks the driver to drop her at her brownstone. Once there, Liv realizes she doesn't have her keys. What a night. She's going to have to wake her roommate, Amy, to let her in. It's not ideal, but can't be helped. Liv is exhausted. She just wants to sleep off the rest of whatever this is.

Making matters even more confusing, she doesn't recognize the couple who come to the door of her apartment. Could they possibly be guests of Amy's?

The woman, in particular, is especially curt and hostile towards Liv. She claims they live there, have for quite some time and have no idea who Liv is, or where Amy could be. Ejected from the place she considers home, Liv doesn't know where to turn. Then she finds the bloody knife. Every move Liv makes only seems to lead to more questions.

The next day, she heads to work. The last thing she remembers is answering the phone at her desk. Maybe she can find some answers there. In the office, things are just as confusing. It looks different and she doesn't recognize anyone, but somehow they seem to know her.

Stumbling around the city, trying to piece together how she ended up in this state, Liv catches a news report that shows a murder scene with the same message written on a window as is written on her hands. She pieces together that the last memories she has are from two years ago. What has she been doing all this time, and more importantly, what did she do last night? Is Liv capable of murder?

Through past and present perspectives, the Reader is clued in to the truths surrounding Liv's memory issues and murky past. The question is, will Liv be able to piece it all together before it's too late?

She's on the run, but she doesn't even realize from what. I'll admit, her story had me panicking at times. It's uncomfortable, but in the best ways.

Stay Awake was one of my absolute most anticipated books of the year and it did not disappoint for a second. I enjoy Goldin's work so much and this is certainly no exception. This was an insanely-intense, jaw-dropping, mortifyingly-wild ride. Goldin took me on a freaking journey with this main character. Oh my goodness.

In my opinion, this is a perfect Summer Thriller. Megan Goldin delivers again!!!

I was so confused towards the beginning on this story. It really played on my own anxieties, but in a way that was enjoyable. I couldn't help but try to put myself in the shoes of Liv and wonder how I would handle these circumstances. It's hard to even imagine!

This definitely had me at the edge of my seat and I loved how it all played out. We also get the perspective of the police investigation to the initial murder. The way the two eventually blended together was so well done. Goldin nailed it.

An extra-special thank you to the publisher, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I did listen to the audiobook and it was fantastic, including narration from one of my all-time favorite narrators, Imogen Church. I highly recommend that format for soaking in this highly engaging Thriller.

Having read Night Swim previously, I was excited to read Stay Awake by the same author, Megan Goldin. It started off a little slow for me and I wasn't sure if I'd like it. It definitely picked up and I really enjoyed it! Tons of suspense, fast paced (once it picked up), and quite intriguing. I listened to the audio book and the narrator's accent threw me off. It didn't seem to match the setting, in my opinion. I did enjoy it overall, but would likely recommend eye reading vs audio book.

This was SO good! I alternated between audio and ebook, and had an easy time following along. I had NO idea what would happen until the very end. I love when a book keeps me on the edge of my seat the whole time, and this did that. I loved that every time you’d think Liv was in the clear she’d fall asleep and she’d have to start from scratch. I will absolutely be recommending this to everyone!

3.5/5

There was really quite a lot to like about this one and while I did enjoy most of it, I did have some issues that left me conflicted in the end. I’ll start with what I liked, because again there was plenty to choose from. It didn’t waste time jumping straight into the story, you’re thrust right into things alongside Liv and I was really curious as to what the hell was actually going on. So as far as grabbing my attention right away goes this one definitely did that. Besides hearing from Liv you also hear from the detectives working her case and I loved the police procedural angle maybe even more than Liv’s chapters. I was pretty invested for the bulk of it too and never really got bored. As for what didn’t work, well…the entire premise is based on Liv needing to stay awake and not sleep and while she may not have memories she still knew she was in danger so I guess I kept thinking why won’t she just go to the hospital, police etc?? Sure, a few reasons were given for her hesitancy but I didn’t fully buy it. Parts of it did seem to drag on for the sake of tension too and I really think the police would’ve figured things out a little faster, they definitely weren’t incompetent. And then the ending just took the expected route and of course I would have preferred to had some surprises. So some minor issues but still a decent read and I did enjoy the audio version. Imogen Church and January LaVoy are both incredible voice actors and we’re both amazing here.