Twilight vs. Hush, Hush

Very recently, I had the pleasure of reading Hush, Hush, the debut book of Becca Fitzpatrick. For those who haven’t read the book, this is about a fallen angel who fell in love with a mortal girl. He wanted to become a human being and the girl is his ticket to becoming one. However, he found himself falling in love with her and ended up changing his mind.

When I first read the book, I was intrigued. Oh sure, the theme is not really that unique. What was intriguing was the note in the cover that this is “the hottest book of 2010” (by Sugar Magazine). Now who could resist a book like that?

So I bought it and needless to say, I was enthralled by it. Then again, I wanted to find out what other people said about the book. And where else could I find the reviews but in Amazon? So off I went.

Imagine my surprise when I read that a lot of the readers think that this book is much like the Twilight series of Stephenie Meyer. Since I have yet to read the series (okay, so I may be one of the few left who haven’t read the book or watched the movie!), I decided to buy my own copy and read Twilight. My goal? To compare Hush, Hush with Twilight (take note, I said, compare, not point out which is better so Twilight fans, don’t kill me).

Note to Readers: Some of these comparisons are actually spoilers. If you have yet to read any of the books (and are planning to), read at your own risk (LOL, just kidding).

Let’s start with the similarities.

One, the two male characters are immortal. Edward in Twilight is a vampire who is almost a century old while Patch in Hush, Hush is a fallen angel. They are both mysterious and were described as (extremely!) good looking and (extremely!) attractive.

Two, the female characters (Bella for Twilight and Nora for Hush, Hush) are mortals and they are the ones who are always in danger in the books. Both of them are also intelligent and noticed right away that there was something strange with the male characters.

Three, they are all teen-agers (or Edward and Patch make it appear that they are teen-agers). Edward and Bella go to the same school and so does Patch and Nora. They are partners in their biology class.

Fourth, the antagonists are also immortals. James (Twilight) is also a vampire while Jules or Chauncey (Hush, Hush) is half angel, half human. And they are after Bella and Nora, respectively, because of their association with Edward and Patch. James went after Bella because he was challenged by the fact that Edward was protecting Bella. On the other hand, Jules went after Nora because he knew that Patch was interested in her.

Lastly, the main characters ended up falling in love with each other (duh!).

And this is where the similarities end.

Now for the differences.

First difference? The description of the male characters’ physical looks. Yes, they’re both good looking but while Edward was described as somewhat on the ‘lighter’ side, Patch was a ‘dark’ angel literally with black hair and black eyes.

Second difference is the male characters’ attitude towards the females. At the start of the novel, Edward tried to avoid Bella because he knew he will only cause trouble for her. On the other hand, Patch actively sought out Nora (and I will explain why later), even going to the extent of manipulating their professor so that he can sit beside her.

Third, Edward is Bella’s savior over and over again. On the other hand, Patch’s original intention was to kill Nora (that’s why he sought her out) because he knows that by killing Nora, he will become a human being (which he wanted above everything else). Until the end of the book (or almost to the end of it) Nora was still wary of Patch while Bella was already comfortable with the thought of having a hero in Edward.

Fourth, while both Bella and Nora knew there was something different about Edward and Patch, respectively, the timing of their actual discovery of the truth is different. In Twilight, the actual discovery (or verification) of the truth happened in the middle of the book. On the other hand, with Hush, Hush, the verification happened towards the end of the book. Thus, with Bella, she was more confident of herself around Edward while Nora was always unsure about Patch.

Fifth, and I hate to say this, Nora seems to be of stronger character than Bella. In Bella’s case, Edward was always around to rescue her. However, in Nora’s case, she had to fend for herself and even in the end; she was the one who resolved matters by throwing herself off the rafter.

Sixth, Edward has a family of vampires to support him and to help protect Bella. On the other hand, Patch is alone. Sure he has friends, but he doesn’t have a family surrounding him.

Lastly, Twilight features a love triangle between Edward, Bella and Jacob. With Hush, Hush, there was none (unless this changes in the sequel, Crescendo).

So those are the differences.

But what about the writing style or writers’ skills? I’m no expert but the pace in the Twilight book is smoother than in Hush, Hush. The dialogues are clearer (I was lost in some parts of Hush, Hush) and the feelings of the characters more obvious (at least for me).

But then again, I love both of them and if I’m asked which one I love more, I would have a difficult time answering that question. And I can’t wait to read the sequel to Hush, Hush and Parts 2, 3 and 4 of Twilight. Hope you enjoyed what I wrote as I enjoyed reading these books. Cheers!