The Life-Giver had an interesting premise that held my interest from start to finish. The world building was mostly fine, but a few times I found myself wishing the story had been spread over two books, as I felt there was room to expand the world building further. I also would have appreciated longer to get to know the characters. Lyam was the best formed, following by Annelie, but a few other characters, particularly the antagonist, could have been more fully developed, as we didn't have long to get a real sense of their backgrounds and motivations. Also, it was only when I read the author's end notes that I realised the relationship between Lyam and Annelie had been intended as aro/ace. That could perhaps have been illuminated further in the text, as I really didn't read it that way at all; I'd taken them as friends, and had then been thrown a little by the exchange of "I love you"s as the book closed. But, despite these small wishes for change, overall The Life-Giver was an entertaining read with a fascinating storyline and will appeal to fantasy fans looking for a standalone read. It gets 3.5 stars from me, but I will round up, rather than down in this case.

Processing The Life-Giver was a strange experience, because I felt like I had entered the book on false pretences: its official blurb comped it with The Priory of the Orange Tree, which is incredibly disingenuous, as the two books share no significant similarities at all. That meant I had entered with a set of expectations and frameworks wholly inappropriate to this book, which doesn't help it (appropriate comps are important!). On its own terms, TLG is a generally straightforward fantasy dystopia, in which a strange and mysterious world is gradually explained and explored. All the familiar aspects are there, just with their particular flavour of worldbuilding. It's generally fine and inoffensive, with a mostly clear plot and readable prose, but there were some sticking points for me. I was thrilled at the prospect of exploring Annelie's disability and also her relationship with Lyam, which I understand to be intended as queer platonic. But this really isn't Annelie's story at all, as she is more narrative function than full character; as for the QPR, it doesn't get enough attention to show how it is not just a romantic relationship that has been skipped over (I don't want to overdo it on "good representation", but I feel if you're going to champion ace/aro relationships, you need to make sure there isn't this grey area where people will just read it as romantic). All that, coupled with the weird ideological place it ends up landing with regards to authority, made this read (of a book I probably wouldn't have requested without its false comp anyway) a really disappointing experience despite any strengths the book has.