Yes you will hate the Lannisters more and more and more.............. but there are twists and turns ahead. As Ray said tho': STAY away from spoilers because there are some mad things that happen. And yes it does get bloody and it does get nasty but it's brilliant

Some of the later books seemed to wander about for ever with pages describing food, the weather, belly button fluff etc etc but well worth sticking with (hope Martin actually gets round to finishing the bloody story before he pops his clogs)
Arya is by far the best character in both book and show for my money - that girl kicks arse! Really think Maisie Williams is doing a brilliant job in the show and she's only 17.