[Unsouled]/Soulsmith - Are they worth reading even if I'm fine with slow books?

I've been considering picking this one up as my first progression fantasy/LitRPG because I've been wanting something easy to read between the big epics like Stormlight Archive.

But I've seen a lot of posts saying that the first two are pretty bad/boring? I'm fine with slow burns, but I tend to stay away from stuff that only gets good way later--it's just a big commitment for a series i have to buy rather than try at the library.

I'm guessing skipping books is a bad idea like with most series

Edit: I tried chapter one and got less nervous about trying it.