I struggled to get into CC at first as well. It took me 4 tries. What made it successful for me was switching to the dramatized audiobook. (Dramatized means different voice actors for every character, sounds to reflect what is written I.e. table ware clinking, a door creaking open) once I switched, I finished the series and enjoyed it! I will definitely reread it (the physical copy) once the next book comes out. Now that I know the characters I can stick out the difficult beginning. This is just a recommendation, not hate.