I have, so far, thoroughly enjoyed the pace of this series. Every episode has given us a small peak into the overarching mystery that is Haven, and has only increased my desire to see what is to come. Whether it is a tidbit of information about Audrey's mother, a strained interaction between Nathan and his father, the mysteriously combative relationship between Duke and Nathan (possibly my favorite) or "the troubles", every episode has offered some small insight. I think this series has set up such an interesting world with so many questions, and the writers are doing a fabulous job of giving us glimpses of the answers without unraveling all of Havens' secrets. Those are, after all, what make this town so very interesting.
I also love that the pace of this series so beautifully mirrors the quite living of small town Maine, and yet is so sharply contrasted to the strange happenings. That the characters find this strangeness so normal is, to me, more riveting than if they were all panicking at the latest wave of strangeness. It hints at "the troubles" being so ingrained into this small towns history that while disturbing to the residents, they are not outside of the realm of possibilities.
So far there have been 7 episodes which undoubtedly follow the monster of the week formula, but this is not uncommon in a first season while a series is setting up long term story arcs, and I must admit, while the formula may be well worn, the writers have been pretty creative with the monsters :) I can think of so many other Syfy series that followed a similar path while setting up their worlds. Hop on net-flix a re-watch the first 7 episodes of supernatural or even x-files and you will find a similar monster of the week pattern. What is important is that while following this formula, you create an interesting world and characters. For me, Haven has done this, and I can't wait to see where it goes during the second half of the season.
