I laughed out loud. [Spy x Family, Vol. 1 by Tatsuya Endo]

An action-packed comedy about a fake family that includes a spy, an assassin and a telepath!

Master spy Twilight is the best at what he does when it comes to going undercover on dangerous missions in the name of a better world. But when he receives the ultimate impossible assignment—get married and have a kid—he may finally be in over his head! Not one to depend on others, Twilight has his work cut out for him procuring both a wife and a child for his mission to infiltrate an elite private school. What he doesn’t know is that the wife he’s chosen is an assassin and the child he’s adopted is a telepath!

I'd read the description for Spy x Family a few times before I requested it, the first few times nothing really grabbing my attention. Eventually my interest was peaked enough to request it, and I'm glad I did. This first volume of Tatsuya Endo's Spy x Family follows our spy protagonist, Loid Forger, as he is called upon to build a fake family in days. Needless to say, hijinks ensue.

Before, now, and forevermore I will reiterate that I don't revisit book descriptions once I've been granted a read through NetGalley. I go into the story with only loose impressions of the book and take it from there. Even were a reader were to go in completely blind, the first few panels would indicate that the found family consists of Loid, a spy, in the role of husband, a female assassin in the role of wife, and a child psychic. My expectations were that the grouping were all in open agreement and fully aware of the nature of the arrangement. That everyone knew everyone's secret capacities was the situation I expect. But, at least at this point, they don't.

I also must not read descriptions thoroughly enough because the comedic elements also took me by surprise. That lack of complete transparency pushes the comedy forward and is a great element of the storytelling, though I'm sure that further down the line secrets may be shared. For whatever reason I expected the assassin and spy to be at ongoing odds from the onset. Instead, and logically, they keep their occupations close to the vest, and so the possibility of a true romance developing is an obvious tease.

I considered looking back to see what rating I gave the last manga I read, but later deemed that an inappropriate tactic. Initially I might have given this 3 stars, but unexpectedly it got funnier and my investment in the story grew. It's not perfect, but I enjoyed it and would like to read the next volume. 4 stars. Looking forward to the inevitable anime adaptation as well.