Moggle - Since you don't know me, or what I do, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on your rudeness. I reviews books. All of them. I used to manage a bookstore. It was the #1 ranked Waldenbooks in the country--knowing what NOT to recommend is just as important (if not more so) than what TO recommend. I've had some training from Brandon Sanderson's Agent on the ins-and-outs of that job description. As a result, I read and finish pretty much every popular novel/series in the fantasy genre, and to a lesser extent SF, Horror and Mystery/Thriller. I have had connections in the publishing industry for years now, and a large number of editors, agents, publicists and authors seem to appreciate my opinions (not to mention the the hundreds of readers who go to my review blog daily).
So, when I say I have an opinion on Terry Goodkind, it is because I have read his work. All of it. Same with Terry Brooks who I hate. Stephanie Meyer who I hate. Dan Brown who I hate. If I only read books I liked, from a professional standpoint, I would be uninformed. If I only read novels I liked, from a personal standpoint, I wouldn't appreciate the awesomeness of great authors as much as I do now. I read books and series that I absolutely hate. I do it so I can give people legitimate opinions on a wide variety of novels across various genres and sub-genres. So don't insult me for having read books I detest so that I can have a complete and informed opinion. You see, people in a surprising number of countries rely on me for my opinions.
The op asked for novels with strong female leads. I gave a list of authors who have strong female characters who serve as leads. A strong lead doesn't mean that they are the only character who has a PoV. Once again, all of those authors have female characters who serve as leads. If you've read all of those series, as other readers here will attest, then you know that these authors have some of the strongest female characters in all of literature.