But she does need a more aggressive editor who's not afraid to use a thesaurus. She's too prone to reuse the same word again and again (see above), and sometimes in the same sentence (Harry leaned on the table, and spilled the coffee onto the table).
I thought she really increased her writing sophistication in 5. The complexity of the plot alone was noteworthy. Could be she got a better editor.
“As Harry leaned on the table, coffee slopped over the saucer and onto the highly-polished surface.”
I agree ... she’s like Mona Charen with “tendentious.” Okay, I looked it up - now give me a new word!
“Half-Blood Prince” was a very well-done story. As you observed, the author has improved over time; maybe she could go back and do a rewrite on the earlier books. (Sell more copies!)