Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC of this book. A quick interesting read with interesting, believable characters. I would have liked to see the characters more fleshed out but still an enjoyable read.

Aspiring comic June Bloom is a writer’s assistant on the late night talk show Stay Up with Hugo Best. The long standing show has stayed the course for years, but now Best is retiring, rather unexpectedly. There will be a new host who “would hire his own writers, and those writers would hire their own assistant.” It’s been a long hard climb for June, and now she’s unemployed and broke.

Stay Up with Hugo Best

June goes to a bar to do a stand-up routine and runs into Best who is is part of the small audience. The evening ends with Best inviting June to his house in Connecticut, “No funny business,” promises Best. Given that 65 year old Best has a reputation as a womanizer–specifically there’s one incident which involved an underage girl, that “dogged him forever,” we expect hanky panky (at least attempted) with perhaps some humorous barbs (thanks to the cover) shooting back and forth. Best is an icon to June; the comic who made her think she could have a career in comedy too:

My crush had been a minicollison of forces, a science fair Krakatau. The double whammy of loving him and also wanting to be him.

Initially the novel has a lot of energy, and the plot seems full of possibilities. June is too curious to reject Best’s offer, and author Erin Somers wisely avoids the cliches we might expect from the weekend in Connecticut scenario.

Part of the book was brilliant. Best’s life turns out to be as muddled, sad and unglamorous as only the life of an aging comic can be. Some of the book’s best, funniest scenes take place at the home of obnoxious “shock jock” Roman Doyle and his surprisingly unconventional wife, Gypsy. June isn’t eager to be at Roman’s party, but she is interested to meet his wife. June admits that “the thought that someone could stand him [Roman] intrigued her.”

I was disappointed by the gray restraint of the place. Where were the vulgar classical touches, the marble nymphs and cherubs in repose? Even shock jocks had taste these days. You had to go to Los Angeles to see anything truly vulgar anymore.

One of the themes is the TV persona vs the real human being. For some reason, we seem more shocked when comics turn out to be alcoholic, druggies, and or depressive failures. After all, that humour and disposition they project has to come from somewhere right? Perhaps we need to see that some people manage to use humour as a buoy to float above life’s crushing defeats and disappointments, converting them into humour. If they can do it, perhaps we can:

In theory, it made sense that there would be some separation between the two. That the real guy would have depths the TV persona didn’t. But I felt sure that there were people out there who were exactly what they seemed to be, people you could pin down immediately. For instance, the moment they grabbed your ass in the workplace, which was something Roman had done to me.

It’s clear that comedy, as a business, is a grueling career. “Writer’s contracts were renewed every thirteen weeks.” Imagine the pressure of trying to keep up the humour when you are under the gun with no idea where the next pay check will come from? It’s no wonder some comics seem to grow more desperate as they age.

What starts as a funny novel becomes rather sad and grim as it becomes clear that June must learn some degrading, humiliating lessons and that her idol Hugo Best must topple from his exalted position. The book is being adapted to film and IMO there’s every possibility that the film may work better than the book. It’s not that the book is bad; it’s just rather depressing given that we are June’s audience for a lesson that’s painful to read about. By the time the book has concluded it’s harder to say who is more winceworthy figure: washed out Hugo Best who was dealt an excellent hand but still managed to trash his life, or June Bloom who had plenty of warning signs and should know better.

Review copy

I quit about 80% of the way through. I could've powered through it and just finished the damn book, but I'm already reading something dense and don't see the point in trudging through multiple texts.

This book was aggressively fine. It was somewhat amusing (nothing approaching what I would call "hilarious") and the writing was competent. But there was no driving force, no intimate character study -- no there there -- that made me want to keep reading.

I loved this book- for 3/4ths of it. It was a quirky little weird story about power dynamics, that could also be read on a light fluffy kind of level. If I'm being honest though, it kind of depressed me towards the end, I feel like that was the point, but I wasn't as into that. I also wish I would've gotten to know each character a bit more, more specifically Hugo but he was allusive for a reason. I received this book in exchange for an honest review on Netgalley!

Just finishing this book up, and I'm not exactly sure what I think about it. The writing style was such that it never felt slow, but towards the end it started feeling dark and melancholy. I thought it was well written, and I kind of felt like I could relate to June, the main character, in regards to the big struggle of trying to make it in a career. How all the steps you take to move up still somehow make you feel like you're going nowhere. How an entire weekend in the big scheme of life is just summed up into a 3 minute story to tell your friends and then gone.

I absolutely loved the premise of this book - I find the topic of late night comedians fascinating, and I loved the perspective from the young female staffer getting to know this famous older man. The writing was very good, very descriptive and funny, but the plot was rather meandering. Though I liked the protagonist and was happy to spend time with her, it felt as though nothing really happened throughout the weekend. The ending was poignant and the way their relationship changed her was well developed, but the actual events of the relationship could have been more interesting.

read this for the writing which burst off the page and had me laughing...perfect comic antics really gave the heroine appeal..I couldn’t get too excited about the plot but in many ways it actually didn’t matter...perfect portrayal of contemporary interpersonal encounters.

I received an ARC of this from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

I liked this one, though I'd rate it a 3.5 out of 5 rather than a full 4. It's a good character study in the aftermath of a long-time late night host retiring (or was he forced to retire?), sketching in the host (who's clearly some mix of Leno, Letterman, and others), the writer's room assistant trying to figure out her next steps in the wake of the show ending, his son, and a handful of others. This draws out tension over the Memorial Day weekend this takes place, and while I didn't love the very ending of how this one plays out, it was a pleasurable read that was easily devoured in a few commutes and does a good job at showing both the good and bad sides of each of the main characters.

I finished this book over the weekend and it put me in the mood for warmer weather. The book takes place over the Memorial Day weekend after famed comedian, Hugo Best, is forced to retire from his late night comedy show. June, a former writers assistant on the show (and a stranger) is invited by Hugo to stay with him for the weekend. The book is told entirely from June’s perspective as she spends the weekend with the man she’s idolized since childhood. Despite the 30 year age difference, June is prepared to spend the weekend enjoying Hugo’s splendid mansion as well as his bed. But all doesn’t go to plan. What could have been simply a fluff read, turned into a commentary on what the pursuit of fame does to a person, his family, and his values. Instead of a riotously fun weekend, June is at the epicenter of Hugo’s downfall. This book is fun but complicated, the characters are richly drawn, and the writing kept me flipping the pages and laughing out loud numerous times. I highly recommend this book for spring and summer break if you are looking for a beach read with literary substance. Stay Up with Hugo Best is @theerinsomers debut novel, but I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

What has June gotten herself into? A lifelong fan of her boss, the comedian Hugo Best, she accepts his impulsive invitation to visit his home in Connecticut and then enters his world in a way she did not expect. This isn't a funny book-it's thoughtful and in many ways quite sad. Hugo's son Spencer, a teen awash in the world, has Hugo nailed and can manipulate him in ways no one else can. June finds herself attracted to Spencer, appalled by some of Hugo's behavior, and totally in his orbit. Things don't happen the way she expected, not at all. Somers has done a nice job with the characters (including Laura, Hugo's manager and Julian, the very needy writer). It's well written and plotted with enough twists that it didn't feel trite. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A very good read. AND, you might think you know who Hugo is meant to be but it's not.

Hugo Best is part Jay Leno, part David Letterman, part every generic fictional late night host. He once had a huge career, but as the years passed, his show got stale, he made mistakes, etc. Now, it's his last show and then, who knows.

June is a writer's assistant on Stay Up. She's 29, a struggling comedian and has harbored a crush on Hugo since her childhood.

This isn't a light hearted romp. This is a story of melancholy and self loathing. Hugo is a sad, old man. He knows his time has passed and he's not the man he once was. June is an asshole, a bitter asshole, slowly plodding though life with no real motivation. This 'lost weekend' for both Hugo and June is a test of wills, almost. Who is going to make the first move and what is the motivation?

This is a 'Lost Weekend' story. June learned nothing, and left with nothing. She had an experience.

This is an enjoyable story, but June's distain for everything did get annoying as the story went on. Her motivations were never clear, but the same could be said for Hugo. Spencer added a lightness and youth to the story.

Erin Somers is a great writer and I can't wait to see what comes next.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm gonna be quick with this review because I feel like this book insulted my intelligence and doesn't deserve the full Angry Angel treatment.

This is the most boring, pedantic book I have ever read in my entire life. Oh my god. I got to about 20% on the Kindle and almost threw the small black brick across the room out of frustrated boredom.

A writer's assistant loses her job when the late night TV show she helps write for has its last episode. She is resolved to going back to stand up but when she finishes her set at the local Comedy Cellar-esque dump, she finds herself face to face with the host of the now shuttered show, Hugo Best. He invites her to accompany him to his house in the *someplace I don't care about outside of New York City* as a way to pass the time while the reality of the show being over sinks in.

Oh jesus the whole first quarter of this book is them talking to each other. CONVERSING. First in the chauffeured car to his house, then at his house. We're treated to a description of an empty fridge with mustard jars that have crusted on caps and an unopened Sodastream in the cabinets. My brain is melting just thinking about it. This mundane bullshit just absolutely misses me by a mile. WHERE IS THE STORY IF I WANTED TO READ DIALOGUE THAT GOES NOWHERE I WOULDN'T BECAUSE I DON'T WASTE MY TIME WITH NON-STORY STORIES.

NO. Just...no.

Erin Somers has written a debut novel about the adoration of a late night show host, Hugo Best. June Bloom adored Hugo from the time she was allowed to stay up and watch his show, a Jerry Springer type genre.

At twenty-nine, June finds herself in New York working as a writing assistant for the man she grew up admiring. But life is not all she expected in NY or working hard but not making it past the assistant position she finds herself in now. To make matters worse, Hugo calls the staff together and announces that tonight's show is his last. He is retiring.

June is devastated but somewhat relieved that the
whole thing has come to an end. She is free to find another path. Before that happens, Hugo for no discernible reason invites her to his Greenwich home for the weekend. It involves a part on Memorial Day.

The weekend is revelatory to June and the readers.
Hugo is just another rich man with nothing of any substance in his life but luxury stuff. I'm sure he is an excellent example of many of his ilks in the celebratory world.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

REVIEW
Stay Up with Hugo Best is a tightly packaged debut novel by Erin Somers that is a thought-provoking meditation on celebrity. June Bloom is a wry, funny, and cynical protagonist, on the brink of finding herself. It;s a story of navigating sexual politics. It's one to add to your TBR list.

PRAISE
"A timely comment on sex and power in the entertainment industry... There are some great laugh-out-loud moments and one-liners, and the pace is steady throughout." -Booklist

"An older man, a younger woman, show biz, nakedness--but wait! This is the hilarious version with characters so sympathetic you root for them all, even the guy." -Patricia Marx, New Yorker humorist and author of Him Her Him Again the End of Him

AUTHOR
Erin Somers’s writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Tin House Open Bar, Ploughshares, American Short Fiction, McSweeney’s, the Cincinnati Review, and many other publications. She holds an MFA from the University of New Hampshire and was a 2016 NYC Center for Fiction Emerging Writer Fellow and a 2016 Millay Colony resident. She lives in Beacon, New York with her husband and daughter. Stay Up with Hugo Best is her first novel.

Stay Up with Hugo Best can't help but bring to mind comparisons to other, real-life late night hosts. The world of the rich and famous is shrouded for those of us who have no ties to it, and this book manages to feel like you are getting a bit of an inside peek into the world of a washed-up comedian. That brings about funny, sad, and poignant moments, all helping to remind readers that money cannot necessarily buy happiness, but it can buy a lot of other things.

I struggled to feel attached to the main protagonist, June. She's 29 and decides to spend the weekend with Hugo, and it seems she would understand what that implies. However, she often feels like an aloof character, both proclaiming her desire to be successful in the world of comedy, but also bumbling around with no real idea of how to go about that, other than maybe spending the weekend with an aging comedian. Her character felt a little one dimensional and lost at times, which would pull me away from the story.

I found this story compelling in a subtle, yet entertaining, way. Maybe I could relate a small bit to the protagonist because I've been underemployed in NYC before? Come for the garden party drama, stay for the commentary on workplace relationships.

While I enjoyed reading this debut by Erin Somers, it left me somewhat cold and not understanding what the overall thesis of the novel was. June was a bit of a one-dimensional character to me, and while not unlikeable, I just couldn't really connect with her. I liked all of the pop culture and comedy references a lot, but the book as a whole was a disappointment.

This wasn't my favorite read lately. I was really excited about it but it just didn't click with me. Maybe it's just not my type of book. Thank you for the chance to read it!

2.5 but not rounding up because I wouldn’t necessarily tell anyone to read this.

Another case where I thought the blurb was somewhat misleading.

“At once hilarious and poignant, brilliantly incisive and terrifically propulsive, Stay Up with Hugo Best is an incredibly timely exploration of sexual politics in the #MeToo age, and the unforgettable story of one young woman’s poignant stumbling into adulthood.”

June Bloom, a 29-year-old writer on Hugo Best’s [60s] just cancelled [retired] late night comedy show, ends up at his Greenwich, Connecticut, mansion for a weekend. And so it goes. Add in Spencer, Hugo’s teenaged son.

It certainly was an easy read. And, it was written well enough--that’s what kept me going. But I just didn’t care about the characters. I was never interested or engaged. Yes, Hugo was extremely narcissistic. Whatever. And June was insecure. So what.

I did like many of the descriptions of the scene in Greenwich. Catering. Money. Status. Social stratification.

Nonetheless, some parts were funny/entertaining.

“Even his Adam’s apple seemed panicked.”

A gin drink—“It tasked like quinine, like a pinecone, like last-ditch medicine. It was restorative in its way. It restored by aversion to gin.”

“I hadn’t known Roman was married, or that he had a kid. The thought that someone could stand him intrigued me.”

“The path to eccentricity was winding.”

And I didn’t care for the ending at all.

So, not recommending.

Thank you to Scribner and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read and review this book in advance of publication. I wasn't ready to part with June and Hugo just yet, but I enjoyed the brief time I spent with them.

June, an assistant for a late-night show that has just ended its stint, ends up spending a weekend with Hugo, the revered star and her long-time celebrity crush. June is also a comedienne at heart and her internal dialogue -- as well as her external one -- is pretty humorous.

June and Hugo have a lopsided relationship and for me, it was unclear at times who had the power, so to speak. While Hugo could certainly do things to help June financially and with her career, June had the ability to boost Hugo's confidence and ego, which he really needed at times.

I felt the ending was somewhat abrupt and had hopes until the very last paragraph that there would be one more interaction between them, but, alas! It doesn't always work out that way, really.