I'm really struggling to finish Dark Age.

I recently started listening through the Red Rising Series. I overall really enjoyed the first 3 books, but books 4 and 5 have both been a bit of a struggle for different reasons. I initially struggled to care for the other POV characters, though Lyria and Ephraim really grew on me during Dark Age. I cannot stand Lysander though, and now every time I get to one of his chapters, I find myself immediately irritated. It's not just that he's in opposition to Darrow, but his skill feels entirely unearned. I know he spent 10 years with Cassius, which may account for some of it, but I don't feel like he has any right matching those who've been actively fighting in war during that same time.

Gripes about Lysander aside, the real difficulty I've been having with Dark Age is the level of graphic violence. Clearly, the Red Rising series doesn't shy away from violence, but Dark Age really feels like it's ramped up to an 11. Especially poor little Ulysses. Or what happened to Ephraim and Sefi. The violence, and general grim hopelessness of the story is genuinely becoming something I don't really enjoy. Does it change? Does Lightbringer maintain this level of violence and overall tone? If so, I don't know if I'll actually complete the series. I have about two hours left of Dark Age (currently at the cavalry charge) and I just keep avoiding listening to the book at this time.