I just love Jesse Q. Sutanto’s writing so much. This is the fifth book I’ve read by her, and she always nails the humor and the heart, especially when it comes to family, both blood and found. Worth Fighting For is a modern twist on Mulan, and I had such a great time with it.

In this version, Mulan has to step in for her father and close an important business deal when he falls ill. The catch? The company they’re trying to acquire is super old-fashioned and will only negotiate with a man. I really appreciated that Sutanto didn’t go the route of Mulan pretending to be a man, it works in the original or in a fantasy setting, but it would’ve felt too over-the-top in a contemporary story. Instead, the book focuses on Mulan navigating this situation with wit, heart, and a whole lot of awkward ranch encounters.

This story was full of warmth and charm. I especially loved the different family dynamics we got to see, and watching city girl Mulan try (and fail) to blend into ranch life had me laughing out loud. It’s a quick, fun summer read that still manages to pack an emotional punch.

As a proud Disney girlie, I adore the Meant to Be collection, and Worth Fighting For was no exception!

Let’s get down to business–Jesse Q. Sutanto delivers a fun, fast-paced, and swoon-worthy modern reimagining of Mulan that had me grinning, blushing, and cheering the FMC on every step of the way.

I loved watching this version of Mulan try to navigate not just a high-stakes business deal, but her own journey of self-discovery. She’s smart, bold, and hilariously real, especially as she fakes her way through sheep shearing and cattle wrangling. The added twist of mistaken identity worked perfectly in a corporate setting, and the chemistry between Mulan and Shang? Delicious.

If you’re into sharp heroines, fake identities, and retellings that celebrate fierce women following their own path, Worth Fighting For is absolutely worth picking up.

Read if you like:
🤠 Workplace Romance
🤠 Mistaken/Hidden Identity
🤠 Forced Proximity
🤠 Meet Cute

I have loved this series of retellings and thought this was a good twist on the Mulan story. I enjoyed the start and finish of the book more than the middle. The middle dragged for me and I felt like being able to do farming tasks from watching Tiktoks was a bit unbelievable. I also don't love how far the relationship went where someone was still lying about who they were.

Overall this book fell right in the middle at 3 stars.

This book!!! The Meant to Be Series has another winner. I absolutely LOVED Jesse’s retelling of a modern day Mulan and how she incorporated the female warrior in a modern setting. It’s a story of female empowerment and finding love. I LOVED it!

Thanks to @booksparks and @jesseqsutanto for a #gifted copy of Worth Fighting For, the next book in Track 4 of the BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge.
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Mulan is back and this time, she’s trading her sword for spreadsheets and saddle sores. In this delightful modern retelling, Jesse Q. Sutanto gives our favorite warrior a fierce, feminist glow-up in the world of private equity!
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Mulan knows how to slay in the boardroom. But when her father’s sudden illness forces her to impersonate him during a high-stakes whiskey acquisition, she finds herself out of her element. Enter Shang. He’s broody, brawny, and baffled by this mysterious “Fa Zhou” who’s suddenly showing up at the family ranch for team-building and axe throwing.
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From cattle wrangling to corporate wrangling, Worth Fighting For is equal parts rom-com, workplace drama, and cowboy chaos. Sutanto delivers all the laughs, swoons, and sharp commentary with a baddie heroine you can’t help but love. And a love interest that is extremely swoony!
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What you’ll fine:
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✅ Fake identity
✅ Slow-burn romance with sizzling chemistry
✅ Strong women navigating male-dominated spaces
✅ A splash of “yee-haw” with your business strategy

I loved everything about this modern interpretation of Mulan! Putting Mulan in the corporate world with the Finance Bros was inspired and hilarious! I found myself consistently comparing this to the movie and was amazed by how well it followed it but still had its own story to tell. The characters were all well-developed and likeable (as much as they’re supposed to be) and there were some heartwarming moments that were the perfect complement to the serious business negotiations and Mushu’s antics. Highly recommended!

A very cute retelling of Mulan. The instalove was a bit much but the banter between Mulan and Shang was really good. Mushu though stole the book for me. She was such a great character.

I received an arc from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Great romance. Social commentary regarding the patriarchy society and anti-feminism. Quick read. Based on Mu;an.

Today I want to talk about a book I absolutely loved…
Worth Fighting For by author @jesseqsutanto. 📚✨

Here's a modern take on Hua Mulan, but this time in the corporate world. Mulan works at her father's company, Hua Zhou, who suffers a heart attack just as they're about to close a deal to buy a family bourbon company.

Mulan wasn't convinced about the purchase, but ends up taking charge of the negotiations. When she meets with the Li family, she discovers they're extremely traditional and sexist. They don't accept women in business, much less sell their company to one. So Mulan pretends to be her father to protect the family legacy.

🌸 This was my first read by this author, and I have to say... I was fascinated!
As a childhood Mulan fan, I have to say this modern retelling was a wonderful experience. The way the author adapted the story and how it depicts the clash between the traditional and the modern struck me as very real and necessary.

💪🏼 This book reminds you that women are enough, powerful, and capable. That there's no mold we should follow. We're not "just" wives or mothers; we can lead businesses, make decisions, and fight for what we believe in!

📚 If you're looking for a quick, entertaining read with a powerful message, Worth Fighting For is perfect for you! 🫶🏼

This was a fun twist on the Mulan story. I loved the interactions between Mulan and her cousin, Mushu. Mulan works for the family business and while her father is recovering she has to try to keep things on track for a deal her father is negotiating. The situation gets out of hand as Mulan interacts with the highly traditional company.. sparks fly between her and Shang.

Okay, this Mulan retelling was actually really cute. I absolutely adored Mulan, Shang and their swapped gender roles. I also love the Aunties and their banter. There is a lot of toxic masculinity which can be a bit much but there are actual men and families who think this way so it’s not really far off the mark. The romance is just okay. But I do really enjoy Mulan and Shang together. Mushu was also a wonderful side character!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this ARC!

Jesse Q. Sutanto has written some of my favorite and most memorable characters. The Aunties and Vera Wong convinced me to give this Mulan retelling a shot.

In this version, Hua Mulan is a brilliant financial analyst trying to make a name for herself amid the old boy network and prove her hiring was not based on nepotism. When her father falls ill, she steps in to close the acquisition of a family owned whiskey enterprise. Impersonating her father, Hua Zhou, Mulan finds herself in over her head living up to the persona the Li family expects all while finding herself attracted to Shang, the company’s CEO.

There are laugh out loud moments, entirely outlandish moments, and tender moments as Mulan tries to determine just what she wants from her life.

In typical Sutanto fashion, the supporting characters steal the spotlight at times. Mulan’s cousin, Mushu, and Shang’s mother, Auntie Jiayi, are two I fell in love with over the course of the story.

As in any retelling, some elements of the original are emphasized and others are downplayed. My two issues with this version are (1) the original Mulan is fierce and fearless while the modern version is less confident, and (2) finance bros. If there is any group of characters I don’t want to spend time with—even in fiction—it’s finance bros. Like most classics, it’s hard to improve on the original.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

One word for this Mulan re-imagining…OBSESSED 😍

This was one of my favorite Disney-inspired contemporary romances to date! Jesse did such a phenomenal job of making the story more modern while incorporating so many of the best lines from the original story, without it EVER feeling forced

Mulan as a finance bro? 10/10
Shang as the CEO of a whiskey ranch? 10/10
Mushu as the fiery bestie cousin? 10000/10

I LOVED this story! It was such a fun read and now I want to binge every book @jesseqsutanto has written 😍

Thank you so much to @jesseqsutanto and @hyperionavebooks for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review! 🩷

This was a five-star read for me!

Mulan is successful in a predominantly male field. She is the right-hand person of her father’s hedge fund company. When her father had a medical emergency, she felt that pressure to acquire an ultra-masculine whiskey brand. In her father's absence, she pretended she was her father, Fa Zhou.

When I saw this one, I KNEW I had to read it! As soon as I saw that it was a modern take on Mulan, I was hooked! This was a fun read that included family drama, cultural pressure, and mistaken identity. It had all the things I LOVED about Disney's Mulan with a modern twist. I highly recommend!

I really wanted to be able to like this book because I loved mulan growing up but instead of mulan being the bad ass I remember from childhood, they made her boy crazy. Every other page she was distracted by how attractive Shang was. This totally missed the mark for me..

I can't give this more than a two. I was so disappointed because I have loved other books by Jesse Q. Sutanto. This one just fell flat. I actually felt so annoyed while reading it. There was zero subtlety or tension between the love interests. Overall plot was expected which was fine because it's a modern retelling of Mulan. It just wasn't funny, the romance was not believable, and the side characters were so ridiculous. Shang's macho-man family was incredibly stuck in their toxic masculine ways, but when it was explained it didn't fully match up with how obnoxious they were. And Mulan in her job fighting as a woman in a male dominated finance office. I could have heard the term "finance bro" 10 times less than it was in there. Everything was just so over the top. It wasn't funny. There was no good banter. Ugh. I didn't really enjoy this one at all, but will still read others by this author.

I liked getting to see each of the nostalgic characters that I knew and loved growing up in a new light for this retelling. I wish there had been a bit more development of Mushu but overall it was a fun story!

This is very much a rom com. Very funny and chaotic in the beginning but oh I loved the rest of it! Loved learning about Chinese customs (good and bad) and foods. Very nice perspective on the patriarchal and misogynistic views of both Chinese and western societies and how it affects both men and women. Loved Shang and his different ways from the rest of his male family members but I adored Mushu

Unfortunately, this retelling was not for me :( I would have loved if Mulan had the same personality as the animated movie because that really is the whole point of a modern retelling. Keep the same personality traits and same character development in the modern world.

I don't want to read from the perspective of a finance bro, even if she is Mulan. I hate every character, and am beginning to hate the plot as well. So sad :(. DNF at 16%.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hyperion for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.