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A glorious interpretation of Mulan, while staying so true to the characters that the Disney movie created. It seamlessly transitions the story to modern day, and instead of war, it's business they're dealing with. I love the whole Meant To Be series, and Worth Fighting For is a very worthy entry.

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The formatting on this one made it hard to read. There were no chapter breaks and it read like one drawn out thought. I really liked the story itself but it was hard to read. I had to switch to audio to better understand the context of the story.

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Absolutely adored this Mulan retelling! Jesse Q. Sutanto is a total auto-buy for me, and she brought everything I love about her writing to this story—sharp wit, fast pacing, and characters that leap off the page. Mulan has always been one of my all-time favorite Disney stories, and this version kept the spirit of the original while adding a fresh, clever spin that made it feel brand new. It was heartfelt, hilarious, and just so much fun from start to finish. Highly recommend if you love fierce heroines and smart, snappy storytelling.

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3.5 stars rounded up. Mulan is one of my favorite Disney movies and this was a really cute take on it. It's the kind of book that works best if you just go with the plot and try not to think too hard. The characters were mostly in character. Mulan and Shang's relationship was adorable and I really enjoyed Mulan and Mushu's too. All in all, I'd say it was an easy, light read that's especially fun if you grew up with the movie.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

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This retelling of Disney’s Mulan updates the setting from war to the equally cutthroat world of business takeovers. Mulan pretends to be her father to close a deal with a family-run whiskey company that’s all about being manly, even going so far as to participate in cattle wrangling at a ranch. This book tackles misogyny, generational divides, and cultural clashes in the modern world while still providing a satisfying romance with a side of comedic relief. This is the fifth book in Disney’s adult Meant to Be series that adapts fairy tales.

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Love this author so much, so was thrilled for a copy of this new release. This was different than her other reads, but I was still interested in it throughout. Thanks so much for the copy!

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The fifth instalment of Disney heroine reimaginings follows Mulan! Mulan works in private equity, a self referred finance bro who’s worked herself to the bone and barely dated since starting at her fathers firm, all in hopes of being the son she believed her parents always wanted but never had. When her father suffers a health issue, Mulan has to step up to the plate to require a whiskey company run by the attractive CEO Shang and his patriarchal and sexist family.

3.75 ⭐️

It took me a bit to get into this but I did really enjoy it in the end! I think it could’ve been a touch longer, this is definitely insta love but there is enough substance there. I enjoyed Mulan’s journey and I think this retelling did a good job of incorporating all the main themes of the story. I liked Mulan’s relationship with her parents and Mushu, I liked how she could acknowledge people’s pasts and what made them how they are, how multifaceted they are. This was cute, funny and very sweet. Mulan herself had in my opinion a couple of minor contradictions in regard to what she considered sexist but then her own behaviours and how she thought about Shang. I loved reading about the food and culture in the story. I would recommend this if you enjoy the series! The ending was good. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free preview in exchange for an honest review.

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DNF @ 5% — I tried to read this but I couldn’t because I am in a reading slump.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Ughhh I wanted to like this more! Mulan is my favorite princess and I used to watch the Disney movie on repeat. I was so ready for this modern retelling... Or maybe I wasn't as ready as I thought? I think my heart wanted full on Mulan fanfic which probably just wasn't releastic haha. I do think it was well-written and I'm a fan of another of Sutanto's books, Dial A for Aunties. I haven't read this other books in this series. Easy to read as a standalone, though!

Regardless, it's not a bad book by any means! Mulan’s a powerhouse wading through swamp of finance‑bro culture (maybe a swamp that was a biiiiit too thick... a couple mentions would have been enough!). As expected, she's impersonating her ailing dad to protect her family. Should have been a highlight buttbh the whole thing started to feel exhausting after a while. I wasn't a huge fan of the banter and the relationship felt a little too instant for my liking.

I think this book kind of trips over its own setup. The idea of a Mulan retelling had promise but this take ultimately didn't land for me. I think it was cute and I don't regret reading it! If you love Mulan and are looking for something easy to read with a fun FMC this could work for you!

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Thank you to Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue for an early copy of this book in exchange for a honest review. I loved this book and read it in one day. Jesse Q. Sutanto did not disappoint me again! I loved the storyline and all the characters. I thought the characters had great growth. I would definitely recommend this book.

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"Worth Fighting For" is the fifth book in the "Meant to Be" series and is a contemporary romance retelling of Disney's Mulan. I've read all five books in the series and it's so fun to see how the different authors reimagine these stories and include phrases, song lyrics and other little connections to the Disney movies. Mulan's character was brave and loyal, just like in the movie, and the plot was cleverly about her "getting down to business." I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to see what's next in the series!

Summary: Fa Mulan, a private equity executive, decides to impersonate her ailing father to finalize a crucial acquisition of a whiskey brand. She must convince Shang's traditional and skeptical family, that she's her father, Fa Zhou. This leads to a challenging week-long ranch retreat filled with tough activities and a growing attraction to Shang, making her deception even harder to maintain as she strives to make her father proud.

Thank you for sharing the advanced reading copy of this swoony romance!

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Thank you to the author, publisher and @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I have made it no secret that I adore the whole Meant To Be series and all their very modernized Disney reimaginings. Worth Fighting For is a reimagined modern romance of Mulan and I always appreciate the nods with character names or events.

Oddly, this one felt a little more forced versus the previous iterations. I hated the toxic masculinity that dominated the entire novel and felt the same end could have been achieved without leaning in to that aspect of the finance world. And their relationship started with a little insta love, but to me didn’t develop in a way that kept the reader involved. It was a lot of tell us, instead of showing us. Although there were some definite good moments.

I adored the whole entire ranch part and I was giddily laughing at moments (as a half cowgirl myself). I loved Mushu as a character and her arc/comic relief were impeccable and totally Vera Coded from Jesse.

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I really enjoyed this modern take on Mulan! I loved Mulan, Mushu, Mulan's parents, Shang, and Shang's mom! They were an absolute delight! I had a difficult time with the male members of Shang's family, I but understand that was the point. This was a great romance told with Jesse Q. Sutanto's usual wit and humor. I admire Mulan's love and dedication to her dad and his desire to buy the company. I was impressed at how hard she worked to win over the family, despite their clear disdain for women, ultimately winning their respect. Overall, it was a great book!

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I’m such a sucker for a play on Disney’s stories. I’ve been following the “Meant to Be” series and this one is another hit out of the park. I loved it! It was funny, light hearted, and so cute. Definitely would recommend this book to any Disney fan or lover of romance books. :)

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This was fun. I enjoy this serious and I love Sutanto. Not my favorite in the series though. This was a little repetitive but no real criticism here. It was a light, easy, enjoyable read.

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Milan was on of my favorite movies growing up so I loved seeing her in a modern day setting. Sutantos works are always full of whit and this was no exception. I loved the story and the characters, this was a perfect addition the the meant to be titles!!

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"Is there anything you can't do?" "Lots, actually. Baseball. Basketball. Calculus." "Calculus? Am I going to have to take your Asian card away?" Generalizing attributes to a specific community in a way that's disguised as a compliment but actually perpetuates racism. Jesse Sutanto, do better.

Worth Fighting For is the 5th installment and retelling contemporary romance in the Meant to Be series. Just like the Disney iconic story, it follows Mulan battling family misogynistic expectations while taking on a mistaken identity; except this time dealing with a high stake merger instead of fighting in a war. Oh, and being a "finance bro." No, seriously, "finance bro" was mentioned TWENTY. SEVEN. TIMES. One page had four "finance bros" written. This alone made me almost DNF.

While reading such an iconic Disney story from a Disney publishing group, I was expecting the writing to be just as great. However, the writing was abysmal and corny to say the least. Here are a few examples:

"Contrary to popular belief, cows do not, in fact moo. The sound that they make is closer to Mrrroggrrrrhhh." ...fire everyone in the process of writing, editing, and publishing for allowing this sentence to waste loads of ink and paper.

As if it couldn't get any worse, a few of my icks, is reading anything remotely to the current corny lingo or a mention of TikTok. Sutanto's Worth Fighting For achieved both. "Well, anyways, so you can see why Shang would find your incompetence when it comes to herding cattle somewhat sus." "Have you been on TikTok?" "I saw it on TikTok." "I am, as youths call it, going inside my villain era."

So, Jesse Sutanto, per your acknowledgement, you did not handle Disney's Mulan with the care and love that it deserves. Readers, if you're enjoying the Meant to Be series, and you're a Mulan fan, do yourself a favor and skip this one.

As always, thank you to Hyperion Avenue of Disney Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

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I'm a sucker for retellings, so how could I resist a retelling of Mulan?!

Mulan is the heir to her father's hedge fund company. She is thrust into the lead when her father unexpectedly becomes sick. She needs to dodge finance bros and their toxic masculinity to save an important acquisition. The book has your favorite Mulan characters re-imagined in a modern day corporate setting.

This book fell flat for me. I found it hard to get into the book because there were so many characters thrown at you at once. I love a book that jumps right in with the story, but a bit of a slower introduction would have been nice. This is the first of the Meant to Be books I have read. I don't really enjoy reading inst-love, and that is this story. I love a bit of a build up to a relationship. This is perfect for you if you like inst-love though! I also struggled a bit with all finance bros. They are called that in the book, which works well once but I don't like it being specifically named more than that. There were so many misogynistic undertones that it made it hard for me to read. If you're reading the Meant to Be series, don't skip this one. If you are picking this book out of the lineup, maybe start with another one in the series.

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What a fun re-telling of Mulan!! I loved the growth arc for Mulan, and Auntie Jiayi and Mushu were also fun to watch as they came into themselves. Fun, easy read and great chemistry between Mulan and Shang.

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I'm a huge fan of Jesse Q Sutanto's writing, and I know this was a Mulan re-telling and had to contain certain elements, but I had a harder time than usual suspending my disbelief for the story. Overall though, super cute characters and inventive take on a modern day Mulan.

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