Hi there, thanks for the feedback. We released this game a long time ago, so I can't really see us making any balance changes at this point!
However, if you're finding that the 2nd area feels like a brick wall there's probably lots of room to improve how prepared you are when you leave the 1st area. To have the easiest time in later areas you want to try and leave the previous areas well prepared (i.e.with as many good cards as possible), which might mean deliberately (but safely) killing more rascals, or it might been holding out and exploring more even if you've found the exit.
I am quite confident in the difficulty curve as it is, but it does expect you to try an make the most out of each area, which might not be what you're expecting.
If you do decide to give it another go (I hope you do), good luck, godspeed :)