Most Star Trek novels are crap.
Avatar is not. I finished both volumes of Avatar just in time to download and read the Dominion War Sourcebook and I highly recommend both of them to you all. Avatar picks up the DS9 story shortly after the end of the war and gives you plenty of fine detail about the lives of our folks on the frontier. A bit of lagniappe comes with the inclusion of the USS Enterprise-E and her crew as part of the story.
Without spoiling the story, the main question is if the Dominion War is really over and can the Alpha Quadrant stand any more war. After reading the Dominion War Sourcebook, I have to say I hope to God not!
Another major element is DS9's new science officer- an Andorian 'male' (I think) named Shar. The Andorians of Avatar seem to be somewhat different from those we see in Among the Clans, but since the Andorians were never nailed down anywhere officially, it's anyone's game.
Read them and the DWS. I think you'll enjoy them.
------------------
"The best diplomat I know is a fully charged phaser bank" -Montgomery Scott