I keep seeing people say no one read the books until the show. That's totally untrue. I've been reading these books since I was in Jr High, which was waaaaay before the show. I've been waiting on the end of this story for over half my life. And they've been best sellers since jump street - HBO picked this gig up in part because of the huge, guaranteed fanbase that already existed.
GRRM isn't trolling you, the show isn't trolling you, the HBO PR department isn't trolling you - it's your preconceived notions about what's supposed to happen in the story trolling you.