Spelled could have been wrapped up in one book, but for that pesky epilogue which opens a whole can of worms in this book. Wanted starts off a little further into the timeline from Spelled, and is from Rexi's POV - which is why in the starting I was like 'huh, where did these characters come from?' If I hadn't just finished Spelled I would have been so confused. Actually, I was still confused; a lot of the book was me just walking around dazed like Alice in Wonderland, but we'll get to that later on in this review.
So, when this book starts, the squad is dealing with repercussions from Dot saving Rexi's life at the last minute, binding her to her life, and connecting them closely in their minds. Kato transforms every time he kisses Dorthea, and they all are now outlaws (from who? there is no 'ruler' or 'leader' or a form of government to convict them!) and on the run from the Blanca who escaped and brought down Kato's mountain abode (we get this explanation a little further into the book) but thankfully they still have Hydra - wonder head hunter right? Wrong, because she picks the wrong head, gets trapped in Gwenevere's personality and unleashes more trouble on the plot.
Now, there are a lot of things going on here, just like Spelled. Rexi is revealed to be Robin Hood's daughter (who is a terrible father, btw), Camelot is taking centerstage (who was ruling all this time again?) and we are told that Stories and Legends are two separate territories in Libraria. My head was spinning because it is an amalgamation of so many different stories, but not in a way that was sufficiently coherent or with adequate motive to do so. Characters were just popping in and out according to plot convenience. Why did Gwen even want a Villain academy? Why did the Evil Queen even want to help Morte? Also, what did Morte even want in this world when reality would have been much easier to conquer? Also, does he only exist as an afterlife for fairytale characters? Why the sudden love triangle?
This sequel was just messy, and with the same problems as the first one - not enough attention to characters themselves, which is why we get Dot suddenly jealous of Rexi, and the weird triangle thing going on. Overall, I was just glad when it was over because it was exhausting to keep track of things that didn't make sense till the very ending.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Sourcebooks Fire, via Netgalley.
