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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Memento meets dark, twisted 50 First Dates in Stay Awake. Protagonist Liv Reese wakes up in New York City, but she can't remember anything—and she's holding a murder weapon. After surviving a traumatic incident two years ago, Liv has recently lost her memory in the ensuing two years—and every time she falls asleep, she forgets what has happened since she's been awake. Liv and two detectives simultaneously try to solve the latest murder case as the novel unfolds within a 24-hour period (with alternating flashbacks).
I like the high concept for Stay Awake, although this isn't as fun or thrilling as Megan Goldin's locked room mystery Escape Room. The central twist of Liv's short-term memory loss is both interesting but also repetitive; because we see Liv fall asleep multiple times in the book, then we as readers are forced to reread certain information. I was overall entertained, even if some of the twists then ended up seeming a bit obvious in the end. As with most thrillers I've read lately, I'll say this still follows the pattern of sagging a bit in the middle then racing to the end. This was a solid thriller.
I like the high concept for Stay Awake, although this isn't as fun or thrilling as Megan Goldin's locked room mystery Escape Room. The central twist of Liv's short-term memory loss is both interesting but also repetitive; because we see Liv fall asleep multiple times in the book, then we as readers are forced to reread certain information. I was overall entertained, even if some of the twists then ended up seeming a bit obvious in the end. As with most thrillers I've read lately, I'll say this still follows the pattern of sagging a bit in the middle then racing to the end. This was a solid thriller.
3.5 stars.
Talk about a fantastic premise and a killer opening (no pun intended). Immediately hooked me and launched me into the story.
The ending twist didn't totally work for me, and the police procedural sections dragged when compared to Liv's story. But there was a lot here to like!
Talk about a fantastic premise and a killer opening (no pun intended). Immediately hooked me and launched me into the story.
The ending twist didn't totally work for me, and the police procedural sections dragged when compared to Liv's story. But there was a lot here to like!
So Ted met and got engaged to two separate women in the span of two years? Ok….
I liked it, didn't love it. The premise seemed a little derivative, but the author fleshed it out enough to make it believable. The ending felt a little rushed. It took me a while to get through it, which probably led to a lower rating. I would read more from the author. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The title is no lie. This one kept me awake, turning pages to the very end. I found Liv to be a likeable, though frustrating, character. You want to root for her but find yourself wanting to shake her sometimes because she takes her “trust no one” mantra to the extreme. It would have been easy for the story to get repetitive due to Liv’s amnesia and needing to relearn the same things again and again, but Goldin manages to keep things fresh and keep the reader engaged. This is another hit from Goldin as far as I’m concerned!
Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the chance to read the uncorrected proof in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the chance to read the uncorrected proof in exchange for an honest review.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I get why it’s repetitive but OMG …It’s repetitive! Couldn’t get through it fast enough, almost DNF a couple times.
this was good! i would love to read more memento-esque thrillers because the memory loss made the stakes so high and i liked how tight of a frame it happened in - i liked the police procedurals to an extent but the police part of it all felt like a character study on Halliday and John, more than it being about the case. The breaks they got were significant, sure, but I feel like the book would reach the end with or without them.
what worked?
the storytelling is great, you can feel the tension reverberating off the pages and i read this really quickly! all in all, a thriller which, true to its word, thrilled me
what didn't work?
i don't know if i am qualified to be a veteran of the genre but this felt fairly obvious and i knew the perpetrator before i knew the crime really. the author used lots of red herrings to misdirect the reader which is fine but those red herrings led nowhere and were so inconsequential to the story, it felt like a waste in some ways.
what worked?
the storytelling is great, you can feel the tension reverberating off the pages and i read this really quickly! all in all, a thriller which, true to its word, thrilled me
what didn't work?
i don't know if i am qualified to be a veteran of the genre but this felt fairly obvious and i knew the perpetrator before i knew the crime really. the author used lots of red herrings to misdirect the reader which is fine but those red herrings led nowhere and were so inconsequential to the story, it felt like a waste in some ways.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
At first, I did not like it. The writing felt clunky and the main character’s decisions were so stupid it was hard to get invested in her. But as the story developed and more layers were added, I got really into it. I’m not sure I love the ending finding out who did it since it felt like it maybe wasn’t explained enough why he did it (I think we as readers are supposed to just assume it was due to the infidelity but a gruesome double homicide is a pretty extreme reaction to that for a normal person. The ending wrapped up very neatly but maybe a bit too neatly for my taste. Overall enjoyable but don’t think I’d reread or recommend to others.