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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Excellent! The best psyche thriller I’ve read in a long time with a refreshing and original plot! Also my two favorite female narrators. This one really kept me guessing and turning the page! If you love psyche thrillers and feel defeated they’re all the same tired story (you’re not wrong) don’t miss this!
Thanks netgalley for my ARC!
Thanks netgalley for my ARC!
Excellent! The best psyche thriller I’ve read in a long time with such a refreshing and original plot! Also my two favorite female narrators. This one really kept me guessing and turning the page!
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Liv Reese wakes up to discover that strangers live in her apartment and there’s a bloody knife in her pocket. Her hands and arms are covered with strange messages like “stay awake”, “don’t sleep”, “don’t trust anyone”.
Each time Liv wakes up she’s living in a nightmare. She can’t remember the last two years of her life and each day is like starting all over. She writes messages on herself to try to prompt memories. Over and over, she discovers a large scar on her torso. She can’t remember how she got it.
When a man is found murdered in his bed, the clues lead the police to consider Liv the prime suspect. But how do you get enough evidence to prosecute a woman who can’t remember what she did yesterday?
Stay Awake is an anxiety inducing mystery-thriller. If you’ve ever woken up and briefly panicked, not knowing where you are, you’ll get an inkling of what Liv feels each and every waking moment of her life. In the beginning of the book, I was working right along with Liv to try to work through the murky mess that is her life. Eventually, other voices gave me clues as to what is going on, which greatly helped my agitation.
I listened to the audio version and have to confess it kept ME awake! But there were two reasons for that and I am going to rate the book accordingly. The author, Megan Goldin, gets five stars for a first-rate thriller.
The narration was much more jarring. The narrator created a voice for Liv that was extremely distracting. It was halting, and alternated between peevish, puzzled and angry. Puzzled, I can understand, but there was no “normal” base voice, just this constant barrage of over-the-top moods. About halfway through the book, this leveled out quite a bit, and the listening experience was a lot more enjoyable. The narrator for Liv’s voice also mispronounced several words.
Stay Awake is recommended for readers of Psychological Suspense and Thrillers, but I suggest reading the text version.
book cover, Stay Awake by Megan Goldin
My Ratings: Book — 5 Stars, Grade A
Narration — 3 Stars, Grade C
Each time Liv wakes up she’s living in a nightmare. She can’t remember the last two years of her life and each day is like starting all over. She writes messages on herself to try to prompt memories. Over and over, she discovers a large scar on her torso. She can’t remember how she got it.
When a man is found murdered in his bed, the clues lead the police to consider Liv the prime suspect. But how do you get enough evidence to prosecute a woman who can’t remember what she did yesterday?
Stay Awake is an anxiety inducing mystery-thriller. If you’ve ever woken up and briefly panicked, not knowing where you are, you’ll get an inkling of what Liv feels each and every waking moment of her life. In the beginning of the book, I was working right along with Liv to try to work through the murky mess that is her life. Eventually, other voices gave me clues as to what is going on, which greatly helped my agitation.
I listened to the audio version and have to confess it kept ME awake! But there were two reasons for that and I am going to rate the book accordingly. The author, Megan Goldin, gets five stars for a first-rate thriller.
The narration was much more jarring. The narrator created a voice for Liv that was extremely distracting. It was halting, and alternated between peevish, puzzled and angry. Puzzled, I can understand, but there was no “normal” base voice, just this constant barrage of over-the-top moods. About halfway through the book, this leveled out quite a bit, and the listening experience was a lot more enjoyable. The narrator for Liv’s voice also mispronounced several words.
Stay Awake is recommended for readers of Psychological Suspense and Thrillers, but I suggest reading the text version.
book cover, Stay Awake by Megan Goldin
My Ratings: Book — 5 Stars, Grade A
Narration — 3 Stars, Grade C
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
This was a real page turner! Liv wakes up and doesn't remember where she is or how she got there. As the story unfolds, we are switching between the past and the present trying to piece things together. Liv is on the run and has no memories of her life for the last 2 years. She uses the messages she writes to herself on her arms as clues as she backtracks through her old life realizing that it no longer exists. I couldn't put this down as I tried to figure out what was happening and who was after Liv. I loved the storyline and how it kept me guessing right up until the ending. Special thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Audiobook. Overall good book, especially as a captivating audiobook. I listened to this one very quickly to try and solve the mystery aspect. Only reason I didn’t give it a higher score is I found the storyline to get very repetitive after a while.
There are good people in the world, there are bad people in the world, and there are a bunch of people who are just being polite. Without access to the last couple years of memories, Liv keeps meeting the same people over and over, but they are always new to her and she doesn't know who to trust. The saddest thing is that she was left all alone (and clueless) when a man chose a job over being with her.
medium-paced
3.5 stars
Although I didn’t love this book, it was well done and the ending was good. But I don’t prefer unreliable narrators and this book definitely fell into that category.
Although I didn’t love this book, it was well done and the ending was good. But I don’t prefer unreliable narrators and this book definitely fell into that category.