SPOILER WARNING SAME AS ABOVE POSTS
I enjoyed the book tremendously. I fit in with the "8 to 10 hour" group, as it took me about 9 hours to finish it. I decided to read it straight through because of the risk of the mainstream media spoiling it for me. I had to avoid reading any news yesterday so that I could read in peace.
Like others, I was shocked early on with the deaths of Mad-Eye Moody and Hedwig. I also thought that the book grew unnecessarily complicated at times, but she had a lot of loose ends to tie up, so I suppose that's to be expected. There were indeed times where the dialogue wandered - especially when Ron, Hermione, and Harry were on the Horcrux quest in the middle of the book. However they went through fire together, so it was nice to see them come through it.
I agree with BeaStKid about the deaths of Tonks and Lupin. I wasn't that surprised, as both were in the Order, and people from the Order were dropping everywhere. But Fred was tough. I can only imagine the horror of a twin losing his other half, so that's what saddened me the most. And Colin Creevy? I mean sheesh - that was a bit harsh.
She did a nice job of explaining some mysterious plot lines that had meandered out there for a while through 5 and 6. Dumbledore was perhaps the second biggest surprise for me - both good and bad. I felt that she was tough on him at the end when he explained his great faults. That was hard to read, but understandable, as she showed the humanity in us all. I was frustrated with what Dumbledore didn't tell Harry, but JKR's explanation of why made sense for the most part.
The most obvious surprise - for some but not all - was Snape. I could not have predicted that he would turn out to be such a brave hero in the end. That threw me for a loop. I thought there was a possibility that he was innocent (she had been hinting at that quite a bit), but I was stunned when we went through his memory at what he did. I now understand that what made Dumbledore so certain about Snape's loyalty was Snape's forever love for Lily, and the fact that he would protect Harry in the end.
The pieces fell into place when all of that was revealed, because there were ample times for Snape to have caused more difficulty than he did. Those of us whose teeth were grinding every time we read his name were thrown a curve ball at the very end! That was rather skillful! I consider Snape her best character overall (he's also outstanding in the movie). He put us all through hell for all seven books, only to turn out to be "Dumbledore's Man" also. Just amazing. I think that was her greatest triumph.
There were other surprises - some pleasant, and others not so much. As DK mentions above, Kreacher surprised me! Talk about a makeover! He turned out to be a key player in this book, which I could not have predicted. The Dudley Dursley part in the beginning was just bizarre. Did anyone else think that was just completely out of left field? I guess he felt that way because Harry had saved his life. It seemed to be a strange departure, but she obviously had her reasons. The saddest surprise though was Dobby's death. I should have seen that coming. I braced myself to lose Hagrid (I predicted a Weasley would die, but I thought it would be a parent). Dobby was just not expected.
The Battle of Hogwarts was an awesome way to end the series, and a stroke of brilliance. We didn't get to see the school much in 7 because he was out and about, so we were able to return to an old friend at the end to see action. Many of our favorites were all there - like Nearly Headless Nick, the Marauders Map, the Room of Requirement, and the Headmaster's Office. Even the Chamber of Secrets made a return visit when Ron and Hermione went to get Basilik stuff. Very cool.
I agree completely with DK that a 7 movie will be outstanding, but they need to do it justice. It needs to be a three hour event. I remember being worried about LOTR, but Peter Jackson did the books justice when he made three. The director of 6 will have a hard enough time, but 7 will be a beast.
I was also amazed that she gave us an Epilogue! That must have been decided this year. I remember reading that she said she wrote the last chapter first, so I assume she means the battle with Voldemort. The Epilogue tied things up nicely, and also removed a lot of questions around what happens to the "big three". She gave us plenty to wonder about, including the idea of a next generation! I thought that "touching the scar at the end" bit was interesting. For those who saw the last X-Men, it was reminiscent of the chess piece moving, although not identical because the scar wasn't burning. But the door is definitely open.
As far as pieces I didn't like, I think the entire "Deathly Hallows" piece felt like a major distraction, although it certainly explained what Dumbledore was up to. The Elder Wand piece does fit, but the rest is just noise in my opinion. The core story was still there, it just took a while to get there. As I said above, I wasn't too pysched about Dumbledore's fall from grace, but Harry forgave him, and it shows the potential addiction to power that so many fall prey to in this world.
Overall, I think it was her second best book in my opinion. I liked four the best - Goblet of Fire - because the Triwizard Tournament will always be the high water mark for JKR for me. However, this book is an excellent runner up. I thought the work she did to finish out the characters was impressive - including major characters like Hagrid and Draco, to secondary ones like Luna and Percy. It felt like Mrs. Weasley gained a son back right when she lost one at the end, which was sad.
A fitting end to a great series. I'm not sure we'll see another one of that kind again in our lifetime.
