Aw, I'm sorry you didn't like it better! You're right about Grace, and I don't think you'll be any better satisfied with the women in the sequel, should you choose to go there. But to disparage Katsu! Sir, I protest!

a bit pleasingly creepy, actually, albeit it takes the relationship further away from what I actually find appealing

Yeah, I wondered if that would be a problem for you. There's quite a lot of discourse about the series about whether it's possible to meaningfully consent / have agency when it comes to interactions with Keita Mori. The second novel dives much more deeply into that, making it one of its central questions. (I will not attempt to predict whether you would find it a satisfying discussion or not.)