So a couple of comments on the last 8 or so:
I thought Maggie was a plump little girl and also a plump bird.
Also yay @ finally starting Lightning and Tilly's storylines (both different, but connected). TBH It's the most interesting part of the next 100 chapters until Roland turns his aim at becoming king.
We really have skipped over a lot of the major-but-minor quality of life increases that both Ash and Maggie saw, and that Maggie fell in love with. It makes Maggie seem kinda weak, falling just for food/bedding, but she's really a lot deeper than that (even if her archetype is 'bird brained' and she seems to be closer to 'mentally delayed'). Things like the shower, the peaceful way of life, steady income, avoidance of the winter's bite (admittedly Maggie never struggled with that due to the amount of time she spends as a bird) all played a major part in swaying both Ash and Maggie. There's a lot of complexities we just speed through.