My first published works were written in first person, heroine’s point-of-view because I started my career writing confession stories and that’s what is required in that market. I see nothing wrong with this way of writing and was somewhat surprised to find that many publishers, many editors and many readers don’t like it.
I suspect their problem is with the writer, not the fact that the story was told in first person. Not all writers are talented and stories told in first person can be just as bad as those told from any other point of view. I also suspect that many new writers write in first person because they were told to do so in a writing class. So it may actually be true that more first person stories are poorly told than those told in other ways.
But I also know that first person can be an intense experience for the reader because they are seeing the story through the eyes of the protagonist.
I like that. I like intense.