I have run the gamut of Western breviaries (well, not really, but it seems like it). I would agree that there is something lacking in the translation, but I hear that the original Latin is good and beautiful so I think the problem is with the translating committee, and not with the hours themselves.
I would venture that the biggest problem with the LOTH is the loss of the traditional hymns, although whether this is a peculiarity in the English translation, I don't know.
I think it is tolerable, effacacious, indeed, capable of helping us grow as Christians. But I prefer the pre-Vatican Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or better yet, just praying the selection from the Liturgy of the Hours in my Fr. Socias Handbook of Prayers.
I wonder, have any of you tried praying the Little Office? What about the Fr. Socias prayerbook?