I may be alone on this one...
Huge fan of Philip's work. However, I could have lived without Bitey's back story / QQ thing. Really, I much preferred the shallow mystery of the forest trickster. I think his character has so much more depth without having to explain everything.
I'm hoping that the larger scope of Brackenwood isn't going to take away from the unique character of the series. Stick to your roots. Your stories work so much better with little being said, and little being explained.