3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Mulan has always been my favorite Disney character, she was the first female character I remember being independent and so strong without relying on a man to save her.

This story is a modern spin on Mulan … as a finance bro? She is a female in a male dominated field pretending to be her father to seal a deal with a very traditional Chinese family owned business. She has to prove she is a tough and “manly” as the next guy, or in this case as manly as anyone in Shang’a family (excluding Shang who is not like his family).

I would to note I loved Mushu, her sassy cousin. The relationship of Mulan and Mushu really reminded me of the Disney animated movie with Mushu being a support and also making witty remarks.

I’ll be honest I was not a fan of how fast things progressed with Shang - one weekend and boom love?

It was definitely cute story that any Mulan lover could enjoy.

I adore the entire Meant to Be series, and I love how personal this story was to author Jesse Q. Sutanto. You can tell that she approached it with care to really highlight Chinese culture in a very yin/yang way. There were the incredibly droolworthy food influences throughout, the big, loud, loving family dynamic and it wouldn’t be Mulan without a heavy dose of traditional gender roles, misogyny and toxic masculinity.

At times, the book could be a little repetitive. There are three or four reflection-type moments and a lot of reiterating for the reader how she’s wearing masks or wondering what to do/who to act like. While I am not a fan of insta-love storylines, I did find Mulan and Shang really developing chemistry and a connection at the ranch. When they got back, it all kind of escalated/concluded very quickly. But I ADORED Mushu, she really had me laughing out loud – and with the original character voiced by Eddie Murphy, those are some big shoes to fill, and the author completely nailed it. I totally read her scenes with Awkwafina in mind! The subplot of Mulan and her immediate family, while you don’t see them a ton on the page, made me tear up at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the opportunity to read a copy of this. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was thrilled and honored to receive an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of *"Worth Fighting For"* by Jesse Q. Sutanto. Thank you to NetGalley!

This book is part of the Meant to Be series, where different authors retell popular Disney stories, and *"Worth Fighting For"* offers a fresh take on Mulan. Mulan works for her father at his male-dominated private equity firm, surrounded by “finance bros.” To be taken seriously in this environment, Mulan must adopt a tough and smart persona, embodying what she calls "Work Mulan." When Mulan’s father, Zhou, falls ill, she fills his role and finalizes the deal to acquire a family-run whisky company he was eager to purchase. However, she faces a significant challenge: the company is traditionally run by men reluctant to engage with a woman in a leadership position. While trying her best to win over the Li family, Mulan falls in love with “G-two” family member Shang.

This book captures the essence of Mulan in a humorous and charming retelling. Mulan struggles to be true to herself while juggling the multiple roles she plays daily. The storyline between Mulan and Shang is sweet and challenges traditional gender roles as their romance evolves towards the happy ever after (HEA).

Mushu steals the spotlight in parts, and I would love to see Jesse Q. Sutanto write a whole story about her!

This is the 5th book in the Meant to Be series, which is a collection of modern-day Disney Princess retellings, each by a different author.

Mulan is one of my favorite Disney movies, so I was excited for this one. I enjoyed parts of it, but some of it fell flat for me. Knowing the Disney story, I was worried about how realistic the storyline would be with Mulan pretending to be a man. Actually, this was one of the things that worked for me!

I really enjoyed the hurdles that Mulan had to jump to prove herself. The book mostly took place at the family ranch that belongs to the highly traditional family who owns the whiskey distillery that Mulan’s company is trying to acquire. Mulan had many funny adventures on the ranch, including cattle wrangling, that made me laugh. Mushu obviously wasn’t a dragon, but was Mulan’s spunky cousin who tagged along to the ranch and added additional humor. I also loved the insight into Chinese traditions, and the food descriptions made my mouth water!

The romance is really what fell flat to me. If I had picked this up expecting a women’s fiction book about Mulan’s career journey, I think I would’ve really enjoyed this book. There just wasn’t enough about the relationship for me. It was a slowwwww burn, and since it’s single POV, we know Mulan is wildly attracted to Shang but we get nothing back from him for so long. Over 50% of the book had no romance between the two of them, and then it raced forward really quickly, kind of skipping steps along the way. I felt like we learned more about their relationship in her heartbroken reflections after the third act breakup than in the whole rest of the book. I do think this book could work for other readers, so pick it up if it sounds like your kind of book!

Thank you to Jesse Q. Sutanto, Hyperion Avenue, and NetGalley for this e-ARC; opinions are my own.

Read if you like:
💕 Disney retellings
💕 Forbidden romance
💕 Slow burn
💕 Secret identity
💕 Chinese traditions and cuisine
💕 Fade-to-black romance

I love Jesse Q. Sutanto's writing. She does an incredible job of bringing Mulan and the cast of characters to life. Her humor is always evident, which is one of my favorite aspects of all her books. I also love that the author of Mulan has cultural ties to the story's origin. I only got a quarter of the way through the book because I realized how much I dislike the story of Mulan. This has nothing to do with the author and everything to do with the cringy plot. I despise it. Oh - and if I have to read the term "finance bro" one more time, I will scream. For this reason, I am unable to finish this book. Kudos to Ms. Sutanto for taking a stab at it!

Quick recap without spoilers:
Mulan has worked twice as hard as any man to rise to the top of her father's private equity company. When her dad, Fa Zhou, has a heart attack, Mulan jumps in to close a critical acquisition. To do so, she pretends to be Fa Zhou and the head of the company. She quickly finds herself in the middle of an ultra-masculine family-run whiskey company that invites Mulan to their family ranch to see how she keeps up with the men. Can she prove that a woman's touch is even more necessary?

I really loved this Mulan retelling. I loved how Mulan felt that she needed to be a strong “alpha man” to be treated with respect in her line of work in finance. Being the daughter of the owner, she needed to prove that she belonged there and wasn’t just given the job because she was family. When her father ends up in the hospital she takes over and pretends to be him to try to win over their newest client. Shang and his family own a whiskey business which they have advertised to the manly man, and they are very sexist towards women.
I loved the connections with the Chinese culture, and sharing their struggles of gaining the American dream.
Definitely a great take on the original story.

thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced eARC

3.5⭐️

had an absolutely fun time with this modern mulan retelling

I was instantly drawn to this book when I saw it was a modern-day retelling of Mulan—and let me tell you, it did not disappoint! I absolutely adored the contemporary twist on Mulan, and her cousin Mushu had me laughing out loud. 😂 The story delivered all the warm, comforting vibes of a cozy romance, and I enjoyed every moment of it.

What really stood out to me was the cultural depth woven throughout the story. The book thoughtfully explores sexism within the Asian community, and I genuinely learned a few things I hadn’t known before. It was eye-opening in the best way.

Jesse Q. Sutanto’s writing style is so engaging and fun—I couldn’t get enough. This was my first book by her, but I already have some of her cozy mysteries on my shelf. After this, they’re definitely moving to the top of my TBR!

Fa Mulan has gotten used to proving herself amongst all the finance bros at her father’s hedge fund company. But when her father suffers a heart attack on the precipice of securing a big acquisition, Mulan vows to prove herself not only to her father but the misogynistic owners of the company that women are vital to success. In order to do that Mulan decides to impersonate her father while he’s recovering and close the deal. What Mulan does not expect is to develop feelings for Shang, who was brought up by a single mother and is the only family member who acknowledges the value of women in business. Will Mulan convince the family to sell their whiskey business to her father’s company? Will Shang still trust Mulan after finding out she lied to him?

This book from the Meant To Be series is the one I’ve enjoyed the most. Mulan was a favorite movie of mine growing up and it was encouraging to have such a strong and determined FMC to get behind with all the weight of familial expectations.

This book was super cute for a Mulan retelling that stayed very true to the Disney adaptation. I loved the way Mushu was portrayed as Mulan's cousin and I loved the banter and sisterhood between Mulan and Mushu's characters. I was a bit bored in the middle when we were heavy into the ranching life but otherwise I felt that the banter and chemistry were top notch!

4.5 stars- I was in desperate need of a book to love, and this delivered. This had great humor and a swoon romance. I loved Shang! I thought this was paced well and was very good in terms of the retelling aspect. This was my favorite of the Meant to Be series so far, and I highly recommend it!

Mixed feelings on this one. Fun to read retelling of Mulan, but very surface level as a romance. Mulan and Shang’s relationship was very insta-love and we only got snippets of their interactions so hard to understand the like 3 day fall in love timeline.

I also struggled with the misogyny in this. Obviously it’s a Mulan story so I expected it. But for a contemporary story I think I expected more from the ending. It felt rushed and didn’t deep dive into any of the problematic issues. Just “poof” everything is cool now.

Overall worth reading if you’re looking for a light, easy read vs an emotional, complex out one.

I received this as an arc thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue.

This is a fun, contemporary retelling of the classic Mulan story. It’s a great summer read, fun and light. This is the fifth book in the series of retelling and modernizing classic stores. Definitely worth a look.

This was such a fun retelling of Mulan! Mulan's character was hilarious, while staying true to her heritage and cultural pulls and I really appreciated Shang's portrayal. The corner that Mulan, and her cousin, gets backed into just gets funnier and funnier. I will definitely check out the rest of the series!

Closed door, male female, 1st person single point of view, contemporary romance. This is the fifth book in a series of fairytale reimaginings. I am a HUGE fan of Mulan so my expectations were undoubtedly too high. This book was fine. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. I've read good things about this author's writing so I'd try their work again (in a different genre).

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This modern-day retelling of Mulan was fun and sweet. So glad they chose this author for this book, I’ve enjoyed her other work.

I’m obsessed with this outstanding series!
Worth Fighting For is book five in the Meant to Be series by Jesse Q. Sutanto.
This was such a cute retelling of Mulan.
It was swoony and so sweet I absolutely loved it all!

I absolutely loved this modern day retelling of Mulan! As a kid, I loved the movie, the message, and what a strong, empowering woman Mulan was, and this book did it justice. I loved all the Easter Eggs to the original movie that were tied in, and Mushu being an absolutely unhinged sidekick, making me constantly gasp, then laugh out loud while reading.

In this retelling, Mulan’s father falls ills, the night before a big meeting with Wutai Gold, a whiskey company that his finance firm wants to acquire. When Mulan realizes this firm is extremely male dominated and wanted to work with her father, she takes on his name, and tries to show the Li family that a woman could handle the acquisition.

I loved Mulan, and her cousin, Mushu, who served as her sidekick, as well as Shang. Shang was the one man in his family who was more of a feminist, and seeing his banter with Mulan was heartwarming.

This book contained several of my favorite tropes, such as one bed, or tent in this case. It’s a book that shows how women belong in what were male dominated industries, and how far we’ve come having women in business roles.

I absolutely loved this book, how it paid homage to the classic movie, kept true to Chinese culture, and made you fall in love with the family.

Thank you to Jesse Q. Sutanto, and Hyperion Avenue for the e-arc!

I really need to start reading the synopsis first because I had no idea this was going to be a Mulan retelling but it took about two pages to figure it out since the characters have the same exact names: Mulan, Mushu, Shang, etc.

I really do not enjoy instalove because I find it fully unbelievable and that was absolutely the case with this romance as well. I also really don’t love finance bros and their misogyny so this plot line was really grating. I did appreciate that Mulan was trying to get a business deal done to make her dad proud rather than something more violent like the original.

Overall this was just a book.

This fun, closed-door romance reimagines the tale of Mulan and is as charming as it is witty. In this story Mulan is the daughter of a managing partner of a venture capitalist firm who falls ill as he is getting ready to acquire a new business and must pose as her father to continue the negotiations with the Li's of the Wutai Gold Whiskey company, whose traditional family values would never allow for a woman in place of power/business. To prove herself worthy, she goes to stay at their distillery/ranch, where her city girl ways are put to the test as she battles the challenges of a working farm. Throughout the journey, she is never caught too far from the ever-so-handsome CEO of the company, Shang, and feelings will begin to evolve, as well as the guilt of hiding her true identity.

I loved the characters in this book. They all felt genuine while a little quirky. I especially loved Mulan's trusty sidekick (cousin) Mushu who was always close by with witty banter to help Mulan stay grounded. I thought the relationship between Mulan and Shang evolved naturally and was sweet and endearing. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this. I think if you enjoyed Crazy Rich Asians, this has similar vibes, and you also will thoroughly enjoy this.