Jesse Q. Sutanto fans will love this. Meant to Be series fans will love this. I had so much fun reading this as I was picking out all the Muan references. This retelling felt fresh and natural to the original source material.

4.25 out of 5. I am an absolute fan of the Meant to Be Series. They are absolutely adorable, I have loved every single one of them as a Disney and a Book lover, and this new installation, a modern interpretation of Mulan does not disappoint! (past interpretations, which i link here the reviews are Cinderella, Beauty and The Beast, Little Mermaid and Tangled). I was actually cautiously concerned about how they would modernize Mulan, but a woman in a male dominated business really does the trick. I absolutely adored the attention to detail, even quoting parts of Reflection in the text was so good . A beautiful story about not only female empowerment but the blurring of lines and the power of family.

Apart from the Reflection direct lines, Some of my favorite quotes:

it is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman working in finance must work twice as much and get approximately 50% less sleep than her male coworkers
whenever a finance bro says “with all due respect” I know what they really mean is: you stupid little girl let me tell you every way in which you are wrong.

Before I get to the nitty gritty of the review I want to give a big thank you to NetGalley & Hyperion Avenue for allowing me access to this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

First off I was so excited to get approved for an arc of this book. I’ve really enjoyed the modern retellings in the Meant to Be series. Each one just kept getting better and better. I had such high hopes for this addition because it was a retelling of Mulan. One of my all time favorite Disney stories. However, the execution just wasn’t quite there for me.

In this retelling instead of posing as her father to fight in a war. Mulan poses as “finance bro” to secure a critical acquisition for his private equity firm. She is attempting to acquire Shang’s traditional family led whiskey-distillery. However she gets herself into pickle with a series of lies and must find a way to navigate her father’s wishes and her heart.

I’ll be honest I didn’t enjoy this book at first. And thought about DNFing. Mainly because the amount of times “finance bros” was mentioned was driving me up a wall. However, I pushed through because Mulan is my favorite and I wanted to see if it could be turned around. Overall, I’m glad I did. The story got so much better once they were on the farm retreat.

I really enjoyed Shang and his mother. I loved both of their characters and their backstories. I loved the relationship build between Shang & Mulan. The only thing I didn’t like with their relationship was the lying aspect. I really wish Mulan would’ve confessed earlier especially once she realized things were getting deeper with Shang. Because she didn’t it their we’re moments that did leave me feeling creeped out.

Overall, I enjoyed this addition to the series. It’s not my favorite but I would still recommend it to everyone to pick up later this June.

Worth Fighting For is the fifth installment of the Meant to Be series, a line of rom com books that play on the classic Disney movies most of us grew up with by the well known romance writers we know and love. This one is a play on Mulan by Jesse Sutanto.

I enjoyed the story and the details about Asian culture and cuisine. Mulan’s romance with Shang was cute and clean. I had never read anything of Jesse Sutanto’s before but now I’m excited to check out Dial A for Aunties!

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Grab your copy on June 3rd!

The Meant to Be series has modern retellings of fairy tales. Worth Fighting For is a modern retelling of Mulan. Mulan works for her dad at his private equity company. When he falls ill in the midst of talks with the Li family about acquiring the Wutai Gold whiskey company, Mulan decides to assume the role of her father, Hua Zhou. The handsome CEO of the company, Li Shang, has been corresponding with her father by email but they had never met and never mentioned that he was a man, so Mulan lets him and his family believe that she is Zhou. With the help of her outgoing cousin Mushu, Mulan charms the family at their ranch and the deal is all but guaranteed. One problem- she and Shang are falling in love and she knows that she will have to tell him the truth before any business deals are finalized. Is their love strong enough to overcome the lies that began their relationship? The story was very cute. There is great banter between Mulan and Shang. Mushu is also a solid character. The finance bro stuff was a bit boring but once you get past that, the retelling is great.

This was such a fun and brilliant Mulan retelling! In this version, Mulan works at her father’s firm, constantly proving she earned her place and wasn’t just a nepotism hire among the finance bros. Her experiences felt so spot on for many women navigating male dominated fields it was almost too real and a bit triggering at times, lol.

Right before a major medical event, Mulan’s father tells her he wants to acquire Wutai Gold, a whiskey company dripping with toxic masculinity. But her family sees through the facade to the family run business underneath. Mulan, however, takes it at face value and, with the help of her hilarious cousin Mushu, comes up with a plan to prove she’s “man enough” to match their energy and become the perfect partner for the acquisition.

This story was laugh out loud funny and such a joy to read! While it’s a closed door romance, the chemistry and relationship building between Mulan and Shang were chef’s kiss. I also adored how Shang defied traditional gender roles and had such a beautiful, respectful relationship with his mother. And Mushu? ICONIC. I need an audiobook immediately because her character alone would be comedy gold 🤣. Seriously, can’t recommend this enough!

This might be my favorite one in the Meant to Be series yet! I loved this modern-day rom-com retelling of Mulan. Sutanto had me anxiously waiting for the other shoe to drop (we all knew it was coming), but I wasn't sure when and exact.y what the fallout would be. Definitely add this one to your list if you've read the other Meant to Bes, like Mulan, like previous Sutanto books, or just are in the mood for a sweet rom com with a strong female protagonist.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 rounded up to a 4.

Worth Fighting For is a delightful addition to the Meant to Be series. This is a standalone retelling of Mulan set in modern times. Although the novel deals with sexism in finance and traditional Chinese culture, in general it is a light story. The plot beats are all predictable, but the romance is sweet and the novel itself is like a warm hug.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

Oh I loved this! Such an original plot and creative modernizing of the story. I laughed out loud several times, and I swooned. I cheered Mulan on as she was brave and sought to be treated equally. I loved her parents and their support. Wonderful book! Don’t miss it when it is published.

I've been a fan of the "Meant to Be" series from the beginning, and Jesse Q. Sutanto's adaptation of Mulan fits in perfectly with the theme and her own writing style. Sutanto brings her signature compelling language and character banter to the Disneyfied series. The exemplary writing style was incredibly apparent, like, I couldn't put this book down. It was the absolute perfect modern version of Mulan. It reads quite quickly and was just so fun and cute. I'll avoid spoilers but will categorize it as a literal smile-worthy romance, which is incredibly rare for me.

I read this book on a plane, and I'm just so glad I finished it before we landed because I couldn't bear to deplane without figuring out how it would end and everything would resolve. And thank god I did. Also, I love how completely realistic the ending/epilogue was. With Worth Fighting For," Sutanto 100 percent did Mulan justice and brought it into the modern world seamlessly with new twists so that it still feels like an original novel.

"Worth Fighting For" is the perfect addition to the "Meant to Be" series -- and I cannot wait to see what's next. Also, Sutanto has once again proved that she doesn't miss whether it's YA or adult romance. So, I'll be keeping an eye out for what's coming next.

Loved this book. All the books in this series were great. It is so surprising that all of them were different well known authors because they all sounded so similar which made it really enjoyable to read them all. I really enjoyed this reimagined mulan. The beginning was a little rough as they are setting the scene that Mulan is having to enter into a mans world and it is a little too bro ish but after you get past that I couldn’t put it down. Thanks net galley for sending me an advanced copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the eARC.
Overall this book was ok, it was pretty cute. It had a serious side I liked, but overall the book fell a little flat to me. I would love a Mushu spin off!
3.25/5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the eARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I absolutely adored this book. Like all of the other "Meant to Be" books, this was light hearted and fun, but definitely showed a more serious side. I really enjoyed how Jesse wrote the story, nothing felt rushed or overdone. Auntie Jiayi was one of my favorite characters, but I am also dying for Mushu spin off book. I wanted to hear her story and truth, so Jesse: GIVE IT TO US!!!!

It was a great book, defiantly worthy of the 4 stars!

I truly love this Meant To Be series. It’s like Disney revamped for adults! In this book, we get a retelling of Mulan in world of financial Bros who think that women should look pretty and keep their mouth closed. Enter Mulan, who is determined to prove her worth to her family and to herself. However, along the way she realizes that maybe the person she thought she was isn’t really the person that she is and that the expectation she was putting on herself are not the ones her parents actually have for her. This book is both laugh out loud funny, and really heartwarming. It deals with many of the issues around Patriarchal societies, and careers and how women in that space feel they must behave to be accepted. I look forward to the next one in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I’ve read the entire Meant to Be series and loved each one. This was no exception. I was so happy to see Mulan was the next retelling and working in a male dominated field myself, this story was very relatable.

I just absolutely love this series and all the retellings they do. This one has been my favorite so far!

This is a story of the Li and Hua families. It is loosely a modern day telling of the legend of Mulan. The beginning of the book was slow with character development, but after about the 40% mark, I really enjoyed the book. The story is funning and engaging with Chinese cowboys and ranchers.
It does include some closed door intimacy, which wasn't really necessary for the book. If it was removed, this book could be marketed to a much broader audience. Without, the book is very clean with no language.




I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

In this retelling of Mulan, when her father has a heart attack right before an important meeting for the acquisition of a liquor company, Mulan decides to impersonate him in order to impress the misogynistic board.

I have really enjoyed all of the Meant To Be novels I've read so far, and this was not an exception. I was curious how they were going to adapt this story without straying too much from the original and think it was well done.

I had secondhand embarrassment for Mulan when Mushu was overexaggerating her ranching capabilities. I also am loving the trend lately of only one tent. I was in love with Auntie Jiayi - she was a complete badass.

This overall is perfect for those who love Disney, stories of female empowerment, and closed door romance. I'd give it 4.25 stars.

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

Thanks to Hyperion Avenue and Net Galley for the ARC.
This book was a great addition to the meant to be series! I found the storyline a bit slow at times, but was certainly rooting for Mulan by the end. I really loved some of the supporting characters like Mushu and Auntie Jaiyi - they made the book shine

This was a wonderful book! I loved the movie Mulan and I loved this new retelling of the story. It was fresh and interesting. I had a really hard time putting it down like all of the other books in the Meant To Be Series. Also, I have read quite a few books by Jesse Q Sutanto and have really enjoyed them all, even though they have all been very different.