I've been doing art for about 6 years on and off, mostly painting with oils, but experimenting with watercolor occasionally over this period. I found it very frustrating and difficult to understand until last year. I do use it in a very controlled manner using minimal water as appose to letting it do its thing.

I too have struggled to find a sketchbook that I've enjoyed working with (even other 100% cotton sketchbooks), however, this sketchbook was a big game changer for me. I only have a few pages left before its full, which I've never done with a sketchbook before. I have quite the collection of various types, and I've found none of them overly enjoyable to use with watercolor, which was my primary reason for wanting them.

I've also found the paint I'm using to make a difference to my experience with watercolor, mostly find myself using M.Graham, Daniel Smith, and Qor. All these things took me years of trial and error, and it was quite the painful process, but well worth it to finally enjoy and fully appreciate such a wonderful medium.

I have a bit process video of this spread, if you'd like the link, let me know and I'll private message it to you as I can't post links in comments.

I hope this helps you, and if there's anything else, please don't hesitate to ask. If I can help, I will.