There have always been readers throughout history who have been drawn to villains.

My mother always told me if I rode a motorcycle with a boy, she'd kill me." ... She couldn't hear him laugh, but she felt his body shake. "She wouldn't say that if she knew me," he called back to her confidently. "I'm an excellent driver." -Clary & Jace, pg.289-

I suppose we all lie to ourselves sometimes.

When to people tell the same lie..." "They are working together," Will finished

Will suspected Jem was in fact cleverer than he was himself - but he lacked Will's tendency to assume the absolute worst about people and proceed from there.

You are just jealous," Magnus remarked calmly. "Because you do not have the soul of a true artiste like myself." "Oh, I am positively green with envy," Ragnor snapped. "Come now, Ragnor. That's not fair," said Magnus. "You know I love it when you make jokes about your complexion.

It doesn't matter how many times you say it. It'll still be true.' 'And it doesn't matter what you won't let me say, that'll still be true too.