I just started reading Hands Down! I agree about the slow start (I had that problem with Refusal as well) but I'm enjoying it enough to keep going, and it seems to be picking up a bit.

The "shrill, whiny female character" issue was also a problem I had with Refusal and, so far, with Hands Down - very minor in both cases, not enough to make me stop reading, but it does seem like Felix's female characters shout and shriek a lot, and are prone to making aggressively emotional decisions at the drop of a hat. That's unfortunate about Pulse, though - I'll have to give that one a miss.