Half-Blood Prince...it's ok, no spoilers w/o warning

So I just finished Book 6--got it last night, around 1:15, at Borders. Stayed up until 4:30 reading, went to sleep, woke up at 9:30, and finished.
It's amazing that a "children's" book can make me feel like this...all hollow and despairing...
I think I hate J.K. Rowling. How could she????

Okay, before all the sentimental crap, Book 6 seemed kind of sparse to me. Like, there wasn't as much going on in it as in the other HP books. Almost like Rowling hadn't put as much effort into detailed situations like in the other books. It just felt emptier. But perhaps it was just the mood, I don't know.
Personally, I feel that too much of the book was taken up on relationships. Yes, I agree, it's about damn time Ron and Hermione got together and Harry and Ginny, but come on, Rowling, no need to spend half of the bloody book on it. Surely those pages would have been better filled with info on Death Eater activity? More development of Scrimgeour? I'm still not even sure he's a good character--he was barely mentioned! He's the Minister of Magic, and she kept us completely in the dark about him the whole time, preferring instead to describe Ron making out with Lavender Brown! As if that's significant in the slightest.
I must say here that I thoroughly enjoyed Slughorn. I thought he was great. It was fun to read him. But one thing I did notice, is that he's a bit like Snape, only in Harry's favor...odd, and, after the whole Snape fiasco (more on that later) does leave me slightly worried. Nevertheless, I hope Slughorn sticks around, because it will be interesting to see which side he sticks with.
I think the Malfoy situation could have been more fully developed, but perhaps she's holding out on that for book 7. There's a great redemption angle I hope she takes. I don't hate Malfoy anymore, he could not kill Dumbledore. There is hope for that slimy blond prat.
I used to loathe Malfoy more than any other character, because I considered him capable of doing the most serious damage. I disliked Snape of course, but I, like everyone else, trusted Dumbledore's judgement. Now the tables have turned, and I can't stand the thought of Snape and I only dislike Malfoy--but even by giving Malfoy the benefit of the doubt, aren't I going on Dumbledore's judgement again? And we all know where Dumbledore's judgement got him...
KILLED. I knew it had to happen. I knew that Harry would need to be completely isolated. But I thought it wouldn't be until book 7, and I thought Voldemort--never, never Snape. I didn't expect it so suddenly, and right when he was needed the most. Of course it was foreshadowed blatantly, but I didn't want to see it, I still thought he'd make it until book 7.
I must say, to Rowling's credit, she did an excellent job with dear Severus. Not until he said Avada Kedavra did you know which side he had chosen--the entire time, it was difficult to tell which side he was acting for. A great bit of writing.
The Horcruxes were cool, great explanation of Voldemort's "immortality". But I was infuriated to discover that Dumbledore had incapacitated himself with that potion for nothing, for the false Horcrux. However, R.A.B.--I have a thought--Regulus Black, Sirius' younger brother...He's been mentioned too many times to be truly dead.
So, book 6 was extremely well-written, JKR hasn't lost her touch, and she gave us a ton of info. I had been hoping for more on James and Lily, but the Voldemort stuff was fascinating. I'm just raging desperately against the plot--Dumbledore gone, Harry alone, Snape, the filthy Half-Blood prince, having a good laugh with his precious Dark Lord...
I NEED BOOK 7!!!!!!