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A review by dg_reads
Stay Up with Hugo Best by Erin Somers
3.0
I picked up STAY UP WITH HUGO BEST by Erin Somers after seeing it recommended by Lauren Graham on Twitter and noticing it was available as a new release at the library. The cute, bright cover also drew me in.
Going purely by the cover and not having read much about this book, I expected something light hearted. The premise is that the late night talk show Stay Up with Hugo Best has come to an end, leaving protagonist June Bloom unemployed after a stint as a writer’s assistant for the show. After completing a last minute stand up spot at an open mic, June runs into the former host Hugo Best and winds up going home with him for the long Memorial Day weekend. The book covers the four days June spends with Hugo.
June says about herself, “the worst I had suffered was nonsuccess” and this seems very accurate. She is now facing unemployment as a 29-year-old who doesn’t really have any prospects for what to do next. Hugo Best is a very familiar sounding comedian and talk show host (huge car collection, gets laughs from badly written headlines) who has been forced into retirement by his network. Neither is really in a position to spark a lot of comedy.
I thought that this book was well written, it just wasn’t what I expected going into it. June gets an interesting behind the scenes look into the world of a famous, wealthy man who was once, and possibly still somewhat is, her childhood crush and comedic idol. Having read the book description after I was well into the book, it indicates that it tells the story of June’s stumble into adulthood and for me it didn’t really deliver on that. I don’t see a lot of forward movement for June’s character by the end of the book.
I liked the author’s writing in general and it was a quick, easy read, but I didn’t find myself overly connected to any of the characters and it didn’t leave a lasting impression on me.
Going purely by the cover and not having read much about this book, I expected something light hearted. The premise is that the late night talk show Stay Up with Hugo Best has come to an end, leaving protagonist June Bloom unemployed after a stint as a writer’s assistant for the show. After completing a last minute stand up spot at an open mic, June runs into the former host Hugo Best and winds up going home with him for the long Memorial Day weekend. The book covers the four days June spends with Hugo.
June says about herself, “the worst I had suffered was nonsuccess” and this seems very accurate. She is now facing unemployment as a 29-year-old who doesn’t really have any prospects for what to do next. Hugo Best is a very familiar sounding comedian and talk show host (huge car collection, gets laughs from badly written headlines) who has been forced into retirement by his network. Neither is really in a position to spark a lot of comedy.
I thought that this book was well written, it just wasn’t what I expected going into it. June gets an interesting behind the scenes look into the world of a famous, wealthy man who was once, and possibly still somewhat is, her childhood crush and comedic idol. Having read the book description after I was well into the book, it indicates that it tells the story of June’s stumble into adulthood and for me it didn’t really deliver on that. I don’t see a lot of forward movement for June’s character by the end of the book.
I liked the author’s writing in general and it was a quick, easy read, but I didn’t find myself overly connected to any of the characters and it didn’t leave a lasting impression on me.