I seem to have gotten over the hump regarding difficulty. Parry is kinda pointless except for 1v1 with non monster bosses. Not that many of those around. Dagger throw lv2, another wasted talent. Too expensive to maintain a steady supply. Just finished chapter 2 but it seems like I missed a lot of content around the fort and was cut off by the main quest line advancing. Overall I think it's getting better after the prologue.
Button mashing is very much the way to go with quen to reduce and cause damage, doesn't matter what kind of battle it is, just left button attack. Gets even easier after you unlock adrenaline.