Yes, I ploughed through them very quickly myself. I found them on the repetitive side. Gripping, yes, but you can skip a few pages in between and not miss out on anything important, especially in the first book. The following books get better IMO. I must say, I prefer Anne Rice's vampire stories form the 90s - they made better movies too. I expect it's a "generation" thing.

Joanne Harris is on my favourite author list; just waiting for the next one...

Another is Tracy Chevalier - waiting here too...

If you like Stephenie Meyer and fantasy books, I'd suggest you look at Inkheart and Inkspell by Cornelia Funke. Also intended for younger (than me) readers. She originally writes in German, but these have been translated. Inkheart has been made into a movie, which should be out this year. There's a third part: "Inkdeath" - the reviews aren't very good, though, and I haven't yet decided if I want to read it.