For the record since the other guy didn't give you much of an answer, I genuinely didn't like wandering inn through the first arc and a half or so. I decided to give it another chance earlier this year and you stopped right around where it just starts to turn around and improve (it consistently gets better and better as it goes though, and I have pretty high standards).

At some point the author notices that one of the main characters just isn't working out (Ryoka, the one most people dislike the most) and that character just gets completely cut out of the story for a very, very long time (I'm talking like 2 1/2 full arcs).

As it is now I would thoroughly 100% recommend it. The author puts in a shit load of work (I'm talking 30k + words a week) and it pays off when it comes to her writing ability. I'd give it another shot if you need something else to read, the world constantly gets expanded on and the focus hasn't been on those two main characters in a long time.