Myste's the sort I usually like, too. The problem with her, in part, is that she's very much a self-insert, and I'm not sure Lackey realizes the dangers of author insertion or even that making it blatant is generally frowned upon [source, if you want it]. My problem with her, too, is that her relationship with Alberich does not fit with the way he is presented in earlier books that are chronologically later.

Age is always a tricky issue. I'm sure Dillon did, because I think that'd be a normal reaction to the situation. There's no real comfortable way to address the situation.