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A review by tessa_talks_books
Stay Awake by Megan Goldin
4.0
WHAT'S IT ABOUT (IN A NUTSHELL):
Stay Awake by Megan Goldin is a spine-tingling thriller about a woman who loses her memory every time she goes asleep. She's in danger from a killer, and to figure out who the killer is, she must stay awake.
INITIAL EXPECTATIONS (BEFORE BEGINNING THE BOOK):
The cover is a dark building with two lit windows – one of which has a woman in it in the shadows. Clearly, she's awake long after everyone else has gone to bed. The blurb is even more intriguing and holds a great deal of information that are small bits of what sounds like a potentially excellent thriller. Between the two aspects, my initial expectations for this thriller are very high in terms of pacing and story.
ACTUAL READING EXPERIENCE:
I loved the cleverly plotted mystery most of all. I was totally stumped until the reveal. Of course, I had some thoughts, but they were all wrong. I had mixed feelings about the motive. I'm not sure it was really on par with murder, but people who murder other people are not thinking logical thoughts, so I was more than willing to just go with it. I was absolutely riveted by the idea of someone losing their memory whenever they fall asleep. It's sort of like a crazy twist on movies, such as Groundhog Day, where a person must relive the same day repeatedly.
I loved all the action. Psychological thrillers do not always have much action, but this one did, and I enjoyed it very much. Between the action and the amnesia, the pages flipped quickly from start to finish. It got a bit repetitive in the middle, which slowed me down a little, but that didn't last long, and my reading soon sped back up.
The conclusion is satisfying though it does again require some suspended disbelief. I loved that the major threads were brought to a definite conclusion.
CHARACTERS:
Liv Reese is the main character, and we learn a little about her through the flashback chapters. Still, I wouldn't consider her or any of the support characters, particularly well-developed. I didn't mind this, though, considering the plot. There are also many things to let slide concerning her character, such as why anyone didn't take her to the hospital. But again, this is fiction, so I was willing to buy into the inconsistencies with the natural world to enjoy a thrilling ride.
NARRATION & PACING:
The story is told in two timelines and uses two narration styles for the current timeline. The main character Liv Reese tells events from two years ago in first-person narration. She is telling us the story of what happened to ultimately cause the amnesia she is dealing with in the current timeline. And the current timeline is told from Liv's perspective in first-person. Then third-person narration is used for the chapters that tell of the police investigation into a murder that Liv is wanted for. This all worked together seamlessly and caused no confusion for me. I loved hearing Liv's story in her own words. The stress of not remembering anything is told in a way that I could feel her confusion and constant feelings of being in danger as she felt them. All of this works together to create a pace that is mostly fast throughout the story.
SETTING:
The story is set in New York City, which is ideal for increasing the thrills. Who would want to develop amnesia while walking around NYC – not me, that's for sure. I think the city's inherent danger could have been utilized more. Somehow this poor amnesiac woman is walking around the city at night, never getting mugged or even running into dangerous situations.
TO READ OR NOT TO READ:
If you love psychological thrillers and can easily suspend disbelief, if it means taking a thrill ride, you won't soon forget that Stay Awake is just the book to keep you awake all night reading it.
Stay Awake by Megan Goldin is a spine-tingling thriller about a woman who loses her memory every time she goes asleep. She's in danger from a killer, and to figure out who the killer is, she must stay awake.
INITIAL EXPECTATIONS (BEFORE BEGINNING THE BOOK):
The cover is a dark building with two lit windows – one of which has a woman in it in the shadows. Clearly, she's awake long after everyone else has gone to bed. The blurb is even more intriguing and holds a great deal of information that are small bits of what sounds like a potentially excellent thriller. Between the two aspects, my initial expectations for this thriller are very high in terms of pacing and story.
ACTUAL READING EXPERIENCE:
I loved the cleverly plotted mystery most of all. I was totally stumped until the reveal. Of course, I had some thoughts, but they were all wrong. I had mixed feelings about the motive. I'm not sure it was really on par with murder, but people who murder other people are not thinking logical thoughts, so I was more than willing to just go with it. I was absolutely riveted by the idea of someone losing their memory whenever they fall asleep. It's sort of like a crazy twist on movies, such as Groundhog Day, where a person must relive the same day repeatedly.
I loved all the action. Psychological thrillers do not always have much action, but this one did, and I enjoyed it very much. Between the action and the amnesia, the pages flipped quickly from start to finish. It got a bit repetitive in the middle, which slowed me down a little, but that didn't last long, and my reading soon sped back up.
The conclusion is satisfying though it does again require some suspended disbelief. I loved that the major threads were brought to a definite conclusion.
CHARACTERS:
Liv Reese is the main character, and we learn a little about her through the flashback chapters. Still, I wouldn't consider her or any of the support characters, particularly well-developed. I didn't mind this, though, considering the plot. There are also many things to let slide concerning her character, such as why anyone didn't take her to the hospital. But again, this is fiction, so I was willing to buy into the inconsistencies with the natural world to enjoy a thrilling ride.
NARRATION & PACING:
The story is told in two timelines and uses two narration styles for the current timeline. The main character Liv Reese tells events from two years ago in first-person narration. She is telling us the story of what happened to ultimately cause the amnesia she is dealing with in the current timeline. And the current timeline is told from Liv's perspective in first-person. Then third-person narration is used for the chapters that tell of the police investigation into a murder that Liv is wanted for. This all worked together seamlessly and caused no confusion for me. I loved hearing Liv's story in her own words. The stress of not remembering anything is told in a way that I could feel her confusion and constant feelings of being in danger as she felt them. All of this works together to create a pace that is mostly fast throughout the story.
SETTING:
The story is set in New York City, which is ideal for increasing the thrills. Who would want to develop amnesia while walking around NYC – not me, that's for sure. I think the city's inherent danger could have been utilized more. Somehow this poor amnesiac woman is walking around the city at night, never getting mugged or even running into dangerous situations.
TO READ OR NOT TO READ:
If you love psychological thrillers and can easily suspend disbelief, if it means taking a thrill ride, you won't soon forget that Stay Awake is just the book to keep you awake all night reading it.