Go Maggie Go and the Importance of Strong Characters

I'm about half way through Marian Keyes, Angels, and it's a fun read. I am waiting for a surprise like I was knocked over the head with in her book, Is Anybody Out There, but so far, none yet. Just Maggie freeing herself slowly from her marriagea nd cheating husband, what better place to do it than with good friends in the city of angels. So far she has gotten a new hair cut (not sure about it yet) and met her first lesbian. Not so very wild, but more than she can say of her life with Garv. I want things to work out for her, I wnat her to quit thinking about her heel of a husband and hook up with long faced Troy; I want her to be happy. To me, characters are the most important element in a novel. It can have a great plot, full of action and relay a touching theme, but if I can't bond with the characters, it doesn't work. When I think about my favorite books, Wuthering Heights, The Sun Also Rises, The Harry Potter Series, The Outlander Series, some Stephen King and To Kill a Mockingbird, I think of the characters. I may forget what actually happened in the book, but I won't forget Scout or Hermione, I'll remember Queen Sasha and Jamie Fraser long after the book is shelved. I want to know what those characters are doing after the story, I think about them when the book is closed. So, yes, Keyes, characters charm me. They are likable and I care what happens to them, even the ones I don't like, they still entice me. So I'm wishing Maggie and rooting for her all the way.