Victoria of Many Faces Volume 1 Light Novel Review (Spoiler‑Free)

No spy is better than Chloe, whose destitute parents sold her at the age of eight to Lancome, a member of a spy organization. Within just a few years, Lancome became a chief in the organization, and Chloe, a spy. As she got older, Chloe would routinely send her family money and gifts to help them out, or at least, that’s what she thought she was doing. Upon learning that her family had been dead for some time and that Lancome never told her, Chloe is enraged to the point of wanting to defect. So she fakes her death and flees to the nearby kingdom of Ashberry.

Now calling herself Victoria (to keep things simple, that’s how I’ll be referring to her as well), the former spy hopes to pursue a peaceful life. Quickly upon entering Ashberry, she finds an abandoned child called Nonna, and whilst sitting with Nonna, she helps the captain of the second order of the knights, Jeffrey, in arresting a pickpocket. Victoria of Many Faces (VOMF) follows Victoria as she navigates trying to stay under-the-radar in a kingdom where she can’t seem to help but attract everyone’s attention—and all whilst being a new mother to Nonna, whom she soon adopts.

The Good

I think VOMF has the foundations of an interesting story—it sounds very cool on paper. A talented ex-spy fakes her death and escapes to a nearby country, where she soon adopts a child and falls in love with a knight; that sounds awesome. And it’s even better seeing how readable the book is—author Syuu (through the lens of Andria McKnight’s lovely localization) is great at pacing things in a way that makes it feel really easy to keep reading, even during the times where you’re not particularly interested in what’s going on.

There’s also something positive to be said about the romance between Victoria and Jeffrey. I don’t want to say too much at the risk of delving into spoiler territory, but I will say that it’s very refreshing to see a romance between adults, especially with one of them being a single-parent, in a light novel. Many of the best parts of this book, in my opinion, are moments between these two.

The Bad

Frankly put, I didn’t find any of the characters to be interesting—or, well, Victoria can be interesting at times. She’s marred by attempts at interiority that are often little more than skin-deep (in fairness to VOMF though, there are times where I can see it at least trying to push itself further in this regard), and a skill/stealth level that can be inconsistent at times. Broadly speaking, the characters of VOMF are very 2-dimensional. In a narrative that’s mostly character-driven, a lack of interesting characters makes for an unengaging experience. This is emphasized by things like bland dialogue, and writing that—while well-paced, as mentioned earlier—usually only offers details when it comes to what people’s clothes look like, or specifically what kind of pastry they’re eating.

Also, I’m not a parent so you can take my opinion on this with a grain of salt, but VOMF feels like it’s leaning into a very glamorized version of motherhood—new and single motherhood in particular. This is in spite of the fact that Victoria is new to the country and adopts the 6-year-old and freshly-abandoned Nonna more or less immediately. Whether it’s Victoria adjusting to her radically different lifestyle, or Nonna coping with being abandoned, expanding on their personal struggles in a way that’s meaningful feels like it should be low-hanging fruit. Nonna is always a perfectly good, obedient, smart, and talented (but certainly not inquisitive) child who doesn’t really question either Victoria or the situation she finds herself in, and Victoria is able to flawlessly and instantly intuit how to be Super Mom.

Verdict

VOMF’s execution just can’t match the strength of its concept. I didn’t find it actively unenjoyable, but it also never really grabbed my attention. It’s a character-driven story in which none of the characters are particularly interesting, and how much good does a strong concept do if the writing is bland? Overall, despite its potential, this book felt really lacking to me. But if you’re in the mood for some light, easy reading, domestic life, and/or a cute romance between adults, this might scratch your itch.

If you liked Victoria of Many Faces, you might also like…

• Spy x Family
• Buddy Daddies
• Kakushigoto

Credits

Author: Syuu
Translation: Andria McKnight
Artist: Nanna Fujimi
Publisher: Yen Press / Yen On

A special thank you to Yen Press for allowing us the opportunity to review this title. Receiving a review copy has in no way altered the opinions expressed in this article.