i think part of what makes julian blackthorn such an incredible character is that he is a liar. so often male love interests in YA books (even other tsc books) have the personality trait of being totally, completely honest.
phrases like "honest to a fault", "honest as the day is long", "he never lies, so if you ask him a question you had better be sure you want the answer" come to mind. it's a good trait to have, but it does get bland.
julian has none of that.
in fact, a core personality trait of his is that he is a liar. he became one out of necessity and now it's second nature. he will say whatever he needs to say to get what he wants and protect the people he loves.
he lies all the time, constantly, and sometimes as readers we don't even know if what he's saying is the truth.
it's so much more interesting to read, and cassie wrote it so well
