EDIT: Original review stands...glad I decided to wait until they were all published and read straight through. Now I'll get to read the last four books for the first time :)
3.5 stars, but rounding up because I'd missed the Bad Guys and I get the feeling that the series is drawing to a close (I don't want to use the adjective, "hopefully," but it's probably for the best--I feel like it needs to end soon).
There's so many characters and side quests--you'd almost benefit from reading the entire series straight through, so that you're fresh on what's happening (even though there are slower books where not much plot advancement happens, it still feels like refreshers could be beneficial)...maybe when the entire series is finally completed and fully published, I'll do that.