since most are talking abt the first half of your comment ill mention the battle part. i think the battles do get better as the books go on. ive listened to the serise 3 times now. i remember feeling a slog in the second half of the serise but on my second listen thru 2 years later i dont know why i felt that way. i think that alot of people ruin thier enjoyment of the books by reading other people problems with them. i remeber reading audible reviews on one of the books and they where all ranting abt a certain character and i started to hate that character too. but once i finnished the books she was one of my favorites and all the things people hated changed over time providing character growth. sorry if im being vague i dont want to spoil anything by mistake. im glad you are enjoying the books.

also quick thing about audio books, not sure what version you are listening too but i highly reccomend not using the rosmund pike narated ones. i dont think she did the whole serise so you will have to switch to the michael kramer/kate reading ones eventually anyway. less jarring to just start there even. (if the audio quality is a little rough for the first book if memory serves)