Tower Lord question

I found the first half of Tower Lord to be very good and didn't mind the shift to a multiple POV format. I also thought the introduction of the Volarian Empire and its invasion of the Unified Realm to be a great overarching plot point. But I got tired of the endless killing in the second half of the book, particularly the interminable descriptions of graphic deaths in Frentis and Reva's chapters. So many people got stabbed in the brain, shot through the eye, had their throats torn out, were set on fire, etc. Bodies were heaped in piles or hanging from trees, dismembered and disemboweled. Screams echoed from this or that chamber. I also found Frentis becoming an unlikeable character, ordering one torture and execution after another, and even started to lose interest in Reva for smaller-scale albeit similar actions.

I should note that I am not a fan of the 'GrimDark' genre that seems to be very popular right now. Trying to be 'realistic' in medieval fantasy is fine, just not to my particular taste. Even so, I felt the bloodletting got repetitive from a narrative point of view, and wish that there had been more development in the plot outside of the fighting. I found myself thankful that Vaelin's charge at the enemy ranks at the end was mercifully short. Instead of anticipating the great battle that I thought would unfold I was just glad it was over quickly.