I love the worldbuilding and the faerie creepiness and the deadpan Victorian humour, but so far I am kept from the whole-hearted enjoyment I expected by the fact that I don't really...like...any of the characters. I have the feeling I could become very attached to Arabella and Stephen and maybe Jonathan, but the narration is so very distant and all-encompassing that I don't feel like I know any of them well enough to care.

Yes. I think it's a wonderfully crafted book, and I'd agree that becoming attached to the characters is a slow proces. I found that I became increasingly fascinated with them as the book progressed; I didn't think like was the right word for me. But I found the narration to be far too distant, even though the craftsmanship is very good.