So this slow dyslexic reader finally managed to finish KH2, later than I hoped, but hey i enjoyed it.
Full disclosure KH2 is probably one of my least favorite game in the series, at least storywise and I feel confident in saying I prefer both the Novel and the Manga to the game. I enjoyed reading the novel quite a bit, it really added a lot and recontextualized a lot of scenes.
Knowing that Kanemaki was probably already involved in writing Days with Nomura in the later half of the book, did make me question a few things as I read. In some places I felt they might have planted seeds for it only for something later to derail that assumption.
Like
@SweetYetSalty mentioned I quite like the way they fleshed out Namine as a character in this book. It's kind of funny how the game barely had her in it yet the novel decided to basically make her, Riku and Axel a group of deuteragonists. Which really enriches the Story, seeing Sora's part (even in the original game) seem directionless.
Overall I like how the story was changed and streamlined, but I do wonder what the lack of Olympus here will mean for the KH3 novel.