Okay, so I really want to like these books, and by the middle of them, I do. But, for me, this was a slower read than Discovery of Witches (again, until it picked up in the middle). 
 For some reason (possibly the acknowledgments), I get the feeling that these books are heavily edited. (A pet peeve of mine is the misuse of the word "literally," which the author does twice in one page in the acknowledgments, which -- at least in my experience -- are not edited.) If indeed they are heavily edited, I'm not sure if that's helping or hurting the pace. 
 I hope #3 is more of a page-turner from the beginning...