Eldest

I'm a very, very old fan of Eragon and the Inheritance Cycle. Re-reading Eldest after 8 years or so has been a blast of nostalgia, happiness, and grief. Nostalgia from the memories of many late nights trying to finish this beast of a book. Happiness from finding more about the Elven life and Eragon's training. Grief for Eragon as he lost his humanity but gained the strength and willpower to take what he wanted because the world deserved it 10x over. I have no qualms with Eragon or his friends, Nasuada and Arya and Orik.
However, Roran? Eragon's cousin? Yeah. He can go.
I disliked his constant obsession with Katrina and Katrina's obsession with Roran. Call it love. Call it infatuation. I call it an annoyance. In fact there are several lines in the book that constantly explained his undying love for the woman. I see nothing of quality in either Roran or Katrina so I'm quite baffled at their swooning with each other. To be honest, I skimmed or out-right skipped many of the Carvahall scenes or the ship scenes. I only read the part with Jeod.
This book is 4 1/2 because of Roran. But it truly is 5 stars because of Murtagh and Eragon. Thank you Christopher Paolini! I will finally proceed with this series.