Is ABH the best in the series?

I read ABH separately not knowing it was part of this larger HS universe and dying to continue that story. Trudged my way thru most of HS1, am now towards end of s2 in HS2 and the writing and character development is just not the same. I feel like having red ABH first, I may have read the best in this series already. Tell me it ain’t so and I have something to look forward to in requiem and hs3.