Hands down this is one of my all time fav series. I know they are long,<a href="http://xctyfhmzmux.com"> clmeopx</a>, and daunting but all in all, the series is solid and amazing. I struggled with the violence, war, and raping as well but at the same time the romance and characters helped me get past a majority of it. I love historic fiction as a genre, but some times the violence becomes too much (such as we see in this series and in other books like The Pillars of the Earth, A Song of Ice and Fire series) but in general I try and let the other story lines shine through and ignore some of the more violent scenes. In answer to your questions .I don't mind reading a long book/series (A Song of Ice and Fire series and the Outlander series have been the longest I've read) and no I don't always finish a series no matter what. For example, I just don't know if I can finish the Fifty Shades of Grey series ..but usually I do finish the series if I start it. Great write up on a personal fav! Cheers!