Thank you so much to St Martins Press and Netgalley for providing an e-arc and ALC of this! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

I absolutely loved Megan Goldin's previous novel, The Night Swim. So when I saw this next release, I knew I needed to get my hands on it immediately.

The premise of this was fascinating and lead to a very eerie and unsettling atmosphere for the story. I loved how we knew from the get go that we were in an unreliable narrators head, trying to solve the mystery along side her.

I also loved that this was told in dual narration so that we got to see the mystery plots slowly merge together.

In general, I think Megan Goldin's books have amazing premises and fantastic writing. There is a general feeling of unease you get while reading/listening to this story that I loved.

But while I loved this premise and really enjoyed the first portion of this story, it lost steam for me around the middle. While I loved the concept of a woman forgetting her memories every time she fell asleep, in practice it got somewhat repetitive. We would revisit scenes and people and discussions multiple times because the heroine didn't remember doing it 50 pages ago.

But what really brought this book down for me in the end was the ending itself. This has a quintessential villain monologue which isn't my favorite ever. On top of that, while I didn't see the twist coming, I also didn't remember who they were. I actually had to pause the book to try and remember who this person was.

Overall this thriller was a bit of a mixed bag. I thought it was unique in it's premise and style but wasn't perfect in execution. This is definitely an author I plan to pick up more from in the future though! I think her ideas and writing are fantastic and I can't wait to see what comes next.

No Rest for the Wicked


There is a good reason why Megan Goldin is one of my favorite thriller writers. I think that THE ESCAPE ROOM is still one of my all-time-favorites books and one that stands out from the rest, but her latest book is not far behind. It only took a few pages into STAY AWAKE to find myself utterly absorbed by the shattered reality that has become Liv’s life..

I love thrillers that rely strongly on the doubt cast on the main protagonist’s mental state. Liv, a traumatized woman who forgets everything that has happened to her as soon as she falls asleep, is a perfect candidate to star in that category of unreliable narrators. With every plot twist, I admired the author for being able to create such an intricate, multi-layered and challenging novel without ever losing credibility. Every time I was briefly concerned that a thread would be left hanging or would stretch credibility too far, I was soon reassured by the background detail that made it all perfectly plausible and tied things up nicely in the end. A highlight for me was the authors ablity to show Liv as she wakes up, completely confused and then start trying to go home or to work, only to realize that she has been asleep longer than she thought and that things have changed. Toward the end she tries to stay awake long enough to untangle all the clues of her current circumstances. The only downfall I had with the story is the constant need to be reminded that Liv is forgetful. I enjoyed this very much and will continue to be a fan of Megan Goldin moving forward. 4 STARS in other words this book is totally # All-Nighter Worthy

4.5 stars

Megan Goldin is solidifying her place as a mystery/thriller queen in my books!

STAY AWAKE while sounding like it may feel a bit hokey with a main character who forgets the last two years of her life every time she falls asleep, actually delivered with an unreliable narrator that didn't piss me off. Liv's condition was triggered by a horrifying tragedy and re-triggered by a very upsetting time in her life and a lack of sleep.

This is a dual time line AND dual POV. We get Liv's past and preset and we get (female detective) Halliday in the present. For me, who struggles at times keeping time lines in order when they're too mixed, I actually found this one pretty easy to follow. I liked both characters and both POV's.

One thing I love about Goldin is the way she weaves in our societal and cultural issues into her plot. This book dealt with the trouble stalker victims often have at getting law enforcement to do anything to help them without them actually being hurt first. It felt right with the story.

I'd say I guessed who the bad guy was half-way through: the who and the why. But honestly that didn't hurt my enjoyment any. Because the best part of guessing while you read is finding out if you were able to put it together or not!

If you like thrillers, I definitely recommend this one! And if you like Audiobooks, this one was fantastic!

I received an eARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cover 4; characters 5; plot 5; pace 4; writing 5; enjoyment 4