★★★☆☆ 3/5

⋆ Tropes :
▹Insta-love
▹Headstrong & Intelligent FMC
▹Mulan Retelling
▹Chinese Culture

Worth Fighting For is a Mulan retelling set in a modern-day scenario, where Mulan is a finance bro looking to help her father buy out a whiskey company owned by none other than Shang, our burly, incredibly handsome, and witty male lead. And of course, we follow Mulan in this book as she takes on her father's identity.

: ̗̀➛ Main Characters

Hua Mulan is our female lead, a twenty-seven-year-old finance bro who has spent her entire life dedicating herself to being the best son possible for her parents after a childhood trauma rooted itself in her ability to love or accept herself. She wears too many masks, pretending to be different people in order the get the best results possible. Due to this, she has forgotten who she truly is.

Shang is our male lead, and the CEO of Wutai Gold, a family-ran whiskey company. He is witty, great at banter, aloof in the beginning, and incredibly handsome. He was raised in a traditional Chinese household, one strong on their beliefs, and are very misogynistic. Shang has set out to redefine his roots by supporting women and taking up household tasks otherwise seen as emasculating.

Mushu is Mulan's cousin, and an absolute joy of this book. She is hilarious, confident, and speaks far too much. She works at the same firm as Mulan, although finance has never been her passion. She is loyal, fierce, and so incredibly loveable.

: ̗̀➛ My Review Rants

I actually really enjoyed this book. The first ~10% of the book I was a bit questionable about it, it's very heavy on the Gen-Z way of talking and read similarly. However, once the plot started developing, I became addicted to reading it. It flowed so well and there were very few moments where I felt bored or like there was nothing happening.

The entire ranch portion of this book is hands-down my favorite. I had such a blast reading through Mulan's experience there and I wish that it had never ended. I could've stayed on that ranch forever and never looked back again, and I feel by the end of it, Mulan felt similarly. I will say, almost every single cheesy romance trope you can think of; yes, it was in this book. Usually, that would leave me put-off and not as invested, but I just ate all of those tropes up in this one and did not mind it. It didn't take away the enjoyability, although it did definitely pull me out of the immersion at times.

I really loved the self-discovery in this book as well. As a half-Chinese woman, I've experienced all too well how it can feel to give up so much of yourself for others and never really look back on who you were meant to be. To see Mulan take that step, thanks to Mushu, to finally rediscover who she is, what she likes, and have the ability to go for it was heartwarming. A very sweet journey of learning who you truly are and finding peace with that while saying goodbye to the you who was never truly you.

My only gripe with this book would be the ending, last roughly ~20% of the book. This is the one time where I feel a book would've benefitted from being longer than it was because the finale of it felt so rushed, and the conclusion so anticlimactic that I finished this book thinking, "that's it? There's no more?". While the relationship between Mulan and Shang developed throughout this book, it was built on an insta-attraction/love, and from there I noticed there wasn't much development between them by the end. There was a lot of time clipping, summarization of their times together, and small, cute things they'd done together in passing, but no true development or time spent forming their relationship and by the time the ending conflict was resolved, I felt like I had missed so much.

: ̗̀➛ Final Thoughts

A solid 3/5 stars feels comfortable for me with this book. I enjoyed it for what it offered, and while I did have some minor issues with it, as a whole I still had a good time with it. While I wish there was a bit more to it, what it did have was a good read. I had a nice time reading this!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

🎧Song Pairing: A Girl Worth Fighting For - Mulan Soundtrack

💭What I thought would happen:

A Mulan retelling x Jesse Q Sutanto….SAY LESS! The cowboy hats on the cover are throwing me though….is it like Yellowstone as well…is Mulan like Beth (she ain’t)

📖What actually happens:

🙃Smart woman in a finance bro world
💻Mergers & Acquisitions
🥃 Whiskey
🔥Hot CEO
❌Sexism x 100000
💕Mulan proving herself
🐑Farm life

🗯Thoughts/sassy musings:

One of my favourites of January and I cannot wait for more people to love this one. I mean who didn’t love Mulan?!

Mushu is still the best character. Very much has an Awkwafina silly and outspoken vibe. I dug it!

The female rage that comes with this book is just so FRUSTRATING yet accurate. Some of the men (not all men😈) of Shang’s family are twat bag ding dongs. Of course Mulan had to work 100x harder than any man to prove herself (no, there is no drag undercover in this but the deception was written well)

The amount of times finance bro was written in the first 25% kind of definitely made me roll my eyes as I don’t think the author really knew anything about the finance world and kept referencing back to that stereotype (as a female in finance I was quite annoyed).

This one is worth fight for! Prioritize it in 2025! It’s out June 3!

I recently dived into the Meant To Be series and was especially excited for the Mulan retelling by Jesse Q. Sutano. I must say, as a born and raised Disney Addict, it blew my expectations out of the water. Fa Mulan, working tirelessly in her father's hedge fund, battles against the odds when he falls ill, determined to keep the family business afloat amidst a sea of traditionalists, led by the overwhelmed Shang. The book is both hilarious and poignant, filled with clever nods to the Disney original—Mushu, for instance, becomes an outrageous cousin that had me laughing out loud multiple times. Yet, beyond its humor, it offers a raw, emotional reflection on the challenges women face in the business world, highlighting the struggles of immigrants as well. The author’s note at the end shares her personal family story, making the experience even richer. Overall, this Mulan version stands out as my favorite in the series and ranks among my top romances ever.
Huge thank you to the author and to NetGalley for sending me the ARC of this incredible book.

Let me start by thanking the Author, the Publisher, NetGalley and whoever else is involved for letting me read an advance copy of this book.

If you were around me this past summer you would know I DEVOURED the first 4 books of the Meant to Be series! I love how the authors have the freedom to turn Disney classics into modern day Romances and let the stories grow up with the people who enjoyed me. This story is no exception.

Let’s be real- Mulan was a lot of Millennial women’s first exposure to being a BOSS in life and I feel this version of Mulan is the pay off of that influence Mulan had on us as kids. We get to see her turn into an undeniable force to be reckoned with in the male dominated finance bro world! I can only imagine that so many who read this as adults are in places they never thought they could be in due to Mulan’s influence.

I also LOVED the banter between Mulan and Shang! There were so many times I felt giddy and was kicking my feet reading the about the two of them interacting. It has been a long time since I’ve read banter this good. I love how this series showcases different authors because this is my first read by Jesse Q. Sutanto, and if the banter is good in all of her book, I am ready to read more!

If there is anything the author does well at, it is building complex relationships because another highlight was complexities of family dynamics rooted in history, culture and tradition. No matter what your background is, every woman can relate to Mulan’s need to prove herself worthy enough to be in a professional role in a room full of men.

However, my biggest disappointment in this book is that it is not an interactive read!!!!! I was sitting and reading the story, and every time food or cooking was mentioned, I was so jealous not to be in the book enjoying it. The author made everything sound delicious, and I don’t even want to count how many times I said “get in my belly now!” while reading.

Overall, this book was very good, and I really enjoyed it. I highly recommend to anyone who has been loving the Meant to Be series or who just really loves Mulan!

Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q. Sutanto is the next book in the Meant to Be series based on Disney’s Mulan. Mulan is working in finance at her father’s company masking her behavior to fit in. When her dad has a heart attack, she needs to take his place to try to close a deal with Wutai Gold whiskey. However, they refuse to work with a woman, so she must take her father’s name and pretend to be the one with whom they were communicating. However, as she gets to know the family, she starts to connect with the and fall for Shang, the CEO. Can she reclaim her name and still keep their respect and love?

I loved this book! Mulan is one of my favorite Disney movies, so I had high hopes, and I was not disappointed. The book made me laugh while watching city girl Mulan try to fit in on a farm, and Mushu was hilarious! I couldn’t put it down!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I cannot being to describe the hold the Meant to Be series has over me. When I received the notification I was approved for an ARC of Worth Fighting For, I almost screamed out loud at work.

Worth Fighting For is a contemporary reimagining of Disney's Mulan, taking place in the business world of the Bay Area in California. Mulan's father, Fa Zhou, is hospitalized just before their company is set to acquire a whiskey company owned by a family with traditional Chinese values. To keep the Li family from walking away from the deal, she pretends to be Zhou and fights to prove to them all that she and her company are a good fit for them.

This was a truly enticing read. I finished the book in one sitting, it was impossible to put down. Worth Fighting For is feminist and strong, like any Mulan story should be, but also a story of immigration and generational trauma. No matter which generation you're in, we all learn from the ones before and after us. Acceptance, love, and moving forward together is the only way to happy ever after.

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

I was a huge Mulan fan as a kid and have really enjoyed the Meant to Be series so far so was thrilled to receive this ARC! This was a fun reimagining of Mulan - Hua Mulan as a “finance bro” working on partnering with Li Shang’s family whisky business Wutai Gold - impersonating her father who falls ill just before their initial meeting. The “work retreat” felt a little silly and far fetched at times but I thought it captured the culture and family dynamics well. I thought Mushu was hilarious and enjoyed how her family was reimagined. I felt like the romance plotline took a back seat and had a hard time connecting to Shang and Mulan as a couple for a large part of the book despite loving them both individually and rooting for them! Overall I thought this was authentic to the original story in a modern way and would recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc of this new book in the meant to be series. In general I am just in love with this series! I love the modern takes on classic Disney movies with subtle references to the original. I also love this author so I was so excited to see she would be writing one themed about Mulan! The story was fantastic and I of course loved the characters! Can't wait to read more in this series.

A great modern twist on the story of Mulan, but in the modern world. The story was engaging from the start while touching upon social issues such as a woman's role in society, discrimination in the work place and who can be a leader. You can feel the sense of cultural norms, such as the Chinese preferring to have boys rather than girls, and you want to root for Mulan who is pretending to be her father, to conduct the business deal.

I love this series because the books are light and fun, and the parallels to the original Disney stories are fun to find. However, this book is not that. It’s very business, the name Mushu is hard to wrap my brain around being a woman and even though Mulan’s attraction to Shang is in the Disney movie, I was not expecting it to play such a big part of the plot in this book. Was Mulan actually a romance movie and I missed it? Overall this feels too heavy on the finance bro side for me to find it engaging or parallel to the original.

I received an advance review copy for free from the publisher via Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is my favorite Meant to Be in the series. I have loved all of them but this one has truly captured the spirit of Mulan. It had the charm, humor, and brashness of the movie while putting a whole new spin on it. I love watching Mulan and Shang interact and this book made me laugh out loud several times. While the book touched on some heavy topics it still felt uplifting. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting something funny and heart warming.

I am a huge Disney nerd so I was excited when Hyperion offered the Meant to Be Series. These modern retellings of classic Disney stories are simply fantastic, and Worth Fighting For is no exception! It's a modern day retelling of Mulan's story from the gifted pen of Jesse Q. Sutanto, the author of Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers and the Dial A For Aunties series. A match made in heaven!

My expectations for this book were high, and I'm pleased to report that they were absolutely MET! The characters are all richly drawn and the nods to the original story are clear and lovely. I laughed, cringed, cheered, and swooned. Sutanto does a phenomenal job of balancing the comic nuance you'd expect from the original story, with closed door romance and the absolutely real struggles that women face in the workforce. Sutanto did not gloss over issues that deserve this spotlight and bold headlines.

It's tough to pick a favorite from this series, but if I was made to choose, Worth Fighting For would come out on top. I'm hoping this series continues and am looking forward to see what's next! Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for providing this advanced review copy prior to the book's publication in exchange for my honest review.

I will be posting my reviews closer to pub date on both StoryGraph and Amazon. I will post to IG (@bookish.moment) on May 27. I will update my review with links to these posts when they are live. Thank you!

As a Disney enthusiast, I really enjoy this Meant to Be series and Worth Fighting for was not exception. A Mulan reimagining as a contemporary romance, who could want anything better!

First of all, I didn't realize this was a retelling of "Mulan" the Disney movie. I didn't care for the movie, so I knew I really wouldn't care for the book. So unfortunately I DNF at 25%. It started out boring and just continued from there. Mulan works for her father's private equity firm with a bunch of 'finance bros'. It didn't keep my interest. This series didn't pique my interest. Hopefully the next novel will.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this ARC.

This was my first Meant to Be novel and I really enjoyed it! Look, did I rewatch Mulan more than any other Disney movie? Yes. Was I hesitant about this adaptation because the first few chapters said "finance bro" a lot? Yes. Did reading characters named Mulan and Mushu also throw me? Yes. But by 45 pages into the book I was hooked.

I did not expect there to be a ranch setting for Mulan's attempts to prove her masculinity (note: she doesn't take on the identity of her father, acting as a man, but rather his name and title as the owner of the firm) to the misogynistic uncle and cousin bros who make up part of the Wutain Gold family company. That being said, I love a ranch setting and was thrilled.

Shang's characterization was so good, even recalling and echoing little movements the animated character did (his jaw tightening, for example). I loved that they pushed beyond his background in martial arts and role in the whiskey company to showcase him as a loving son, who isn't afraid to cook and clean/ take care of his surroundings. Closed door romance.

A mark of a great romance for me is that even when I can spot the conflict coming a mile away, I still feel nauseated and upset for the characters.

The novel also echoed key moments in Mulan's relationship with her father and I found myself getting teary.

Such a good novel and Sutano's afterword about how important writing this novel was to her and her family was so lovely and touching.

This is a modern retelling of Mulan, but I was initially drawn to it because of the author!

Mulan works in finance, a traditionally male dominated field, with her dad. When her dad gets sick suddenly in the middle of an important acquisition, it’s up to Mulan to seal the deal. Except the company is a hyper masculine whiskey brand that would never work with a woman. They had been emailing with her dad, and so she has to pretend that it is her they’ve been emailing all along. They think she grew up on a farm, can herd cattle, ride a horse and do all these manly things and she has to prove it when they invite her to their ranch. Shang and his mom are the only ones in the family who do not immediately write her off and give her a chance. Can she prove to the whole family that she has what it takes?

This was a fun story and it was interesting to see the modern twists. The dialogue was funny but also repetitive and immature at times. As a chinese american, I appreciated the cultural representation and pushing against traditional gender norms, although it did feel exaggerated at times too.

4.75 stars

This is by far one of my favorite books of the series. This is a Mulan retelling in modern day San Francisco. Mulan is a finance bro who has to fill in for her father when he becomes ill.

I really enjoyed learning about the Chinese cultural and customs and how hard it is for a woman to grow up in such an environment. My favorite part was auntie talking about the sacrifices they made having to leave their home country and start new in the US. This touched really close to home and demonstrates why we should always read books written by someone who doesn’t look like us.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Disney retelling in modern day, while still talking about being a girl in a Chinese family.

Thank you #netgalley and #HyperionAvenue

1/28/25: I loved the "Aunties" books by Jesse Sutanto, and generally pick up any book she has written, as they are entertaining and fun reads. I was not familiar with the "Meant to Be" series prior to reading Worth Fighting For, but I looked it up and understand it is a series of books written by different authors to modernly interpret or reimagine classic Disney stories. I have to admit, I'm not much of a princess person or follower of Disney, and didn't even know the concept of Mulan! The general gist of Mulan is that a young woman decides to pass as a male to take her father's place in the Chinese Army, and in doing so challenges gender stereotypes.

In Sutanto's book, we have a 20-something female finance VP in her father's investment banking firm in San Francisco. When Mulan's father falls ill, Mulan steps in to oversee the acquisition of an important whiskey brand started by a large Asian family. But the whiskey brand is totally based on a marketing premise of it being a "man's man" whiskey, and Mulan knows that both from both a cultural and business standpoint, the family will never accept a woman leading the acquisition. So, she does a variation of passing for a man in that she takes her father's gender neutral name as her own and acts as managing partner, her father's role.

I love the idea of women competing with finance bros. I love the alliance between Mulan and a key woman at the whiskey company. I love Mulan's friendship with her crazy cousin who also works in the investment firm. I love the last quarter of the book that dials up the action to make the deal happen. But readers, please know that this is 100% a romance novel from start to finish. And to build that storyline up we have to suffer through at least a third of the book dedicated to high jinks Mulan gets herself into at the whiskey company's family ranch, somewhere in California. Mulan petting a cow. Mulan sheering a sheep. Mulan riding a large horse. Mulan losing her tent in the river and having to share with........ Well, I told you it is a romance.

If you like romances and HEA endings, this is a good 5-star! If you like Disney it is also a 5-star. If you're not a fan of romances where the middle is kind of dull and the ending obvious, even when they have a positive message of women succeeding in finance, this is a 3 star. I'll compromise and give it a 4-star.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Books for a free book in exchange for my honest review.

1/18/25: Just approved by NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. My kids are in college so I did not see the Disney movie Mulan, but understand this is a modern take on it, so will try to learn more context before diving into it. Review coming soon.

I wanted to LOVE this story, but I just could not get into it. I have loved this series so much, and Mulan was one of my all-time favorite Disney movies as a kid, but I just could not find myself getting into the story. It felt like the start was SOOOO slow, but introduced SOOOOO much right from the get-go. I felt myself not being able to keep track of what was happening and where it was happening because it felt like there was just an information dump at the start. I get that the beginning of books tend to start off a bit slow, but I also just couldn't find myself being able to push through. I hope to one day be able to finish this story, but I unfortunately think I may need to revisit this title at another time. For now, I am rating a three until I am able to give it more of a fair rating.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. My family and I watched Mulan on the the repeat growning up. We had all the lines memorized. When I saw that the Meant to Be Series was doing a Mulan re-telling, I knew I needed to get my hands on this book. If you loved the movie (animated version) this was a grown-up contemporary version. I loved all the Easter eggs from the original movie. Honestly this book is what I wanted the movie to do about the romance between Mulan and Shang. Let’s talk about Shang….he might make my top 10 list of my all time favorite book boyfriends. He was the ultimate green flag. All I was picturing was Captain Shang shirtless with an apron.


Read this book if you like:
✨Fairy tale re telling
✨hidden identity
✨laugh out loud moments (I mean there is Mushu)

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️ fade to black, kisses are sweet not steamy
Language Rating:🤬🤬 (s-word and d word used
Violence Rating: no violence
Content warning: loss of parent (off page), parent with life threatening illness

I will be posting the review on IG closer to the pub date last week of May. I’ll send my IG link.