I also HIGHLY recommend these two! They're great! It really is like HP married Narnia, had a baby, and that baby grew up to be this book, but ends up being something you'd not expect from its parents. Some of the plot twists in the second book made me furious, which I liked because I didn't expect them at all (HP always felt a little bit predictable to me at times, so I like that these books take you on a ride).
The characters are great, too. They are the type where you're not entirely sure if you should love them or hate them, and I think in the end, you do a lot of both, with each one. They are very human, in that way.