I've discovered a wonderful author, Juliet Marillier. She writes historical fantasy that takes place in the British isles area. I don't normally read contemporary authors of fantasy/sci-fi simply because there is so much of it out there, and I have no desire to spend time separating the wheat from the chaff. But I decided to browse the new fantasy section at the library and happened across her newest book, part of the Bridei Chronicles, and devoured it within a week. I am starting to see what kind of books I tend towards, ones that give character to the environment, so that the landscape has a life of its own and thereby makes the characters of the stories more real.
I also like fairy tale re-tellings, so I snapped up her Daughter of the Forest when I saw that it was the story of the brothers that are enchanted to become swans and the sister that must toil for years at making clothes that will turn them back into humans. Not only does she make the fairy tale real, she adds insight that makes the reading experience richer.