I've really liked the other Meant to Be books, so I was incredibly excited to receive the ARC of Worth Fighting For. The finance bros seeing seemed like a good choice for the Mulan retelling, and I loved the relationship between Mulan and Mushu. You obviously know that Milan and Shang are going to be together, the way they were almost pushed together was cute. There were some sweet moments and some gross ones (James 🤮). This was a cute one that did justice to the original character.

Actual rating: 3.5
Overall, this was an enjoyable read. I always love seeing a Disney movie retelling. I also really loved the personal connection the author had with the Disney work as well as the historical stories of the original Mulan. The first chapter had me very hesitant, but then when the story picked up I found myself enjoying it more. The language of the book was a bit jarring at times. For example, the constant reference to "bros" and finance bros was a little too much. I don't think it's bad to use this terminology once or twice, but those words were used so much throughout the story it kept taking me out of it.

Just like the movie, Shang was great! The story really shined with the moments between just Mulan and Shang together. I felt like the relationship was progressing naturally throughout a majority of the book. However, towards the last 3rd of the book, I wasn't a huge fan of the insta-love of their relationship. When she was head over heels after spending like a week or two together, as a grown adults and not high schoolers, I was a little like "okay....."

The whole ranch section was fun, a little out-there, but considering the source material, I'm not mad about it. Mushu great as well. For some reason, she reminded me a lot of Awkwafina's character in Crazy Rich Asians as well as Mushu from the original Mulan.
Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Disney Publishing Group for the arc of one of my most anticipated books of 2025!!!

I have been a fan of Jesse for awhile now, and when I learned she was writing this retelling of Mulan I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it! Mulan is my favorite Disney princess, and I LOVED this retelling! I laughed, I cried, I cringed, and most importantly I couldn’t put this book down! I cannot wait for everybody to read it! I feel incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity to read this ARC via NetGalley!

Thank you Jesse! Can’t wait to see what you write next and maybe “Carrie Breadshaw” will make a surprise appearance! Lol #iykyk

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

First and foremost, I am a massive fan of Mulan and Jesse Q. Sutanto, which made me incredibly excited to read Worth Fighting For, and it certainly did not disappoint! This has become my favorite book in the Meant to Be Series! I adored all the little Mulan Easter eggs and found myself laughing out loud on several occasions! However, at times, I felt the theme was emphasized a bit too forcefully. While the storyline effectively addressed sexism, the inner thoughts felt a bit excessive in reinforcing this point. Additionally, I thought the names Mushu and Mulan were mentioned a bit too frequently in the text. Nonetheless, I loved the storyline and the characters. The way everything came together was delightful, making it a beautifully written story!

I did not enjoy reading this. The flow of reading was off. The writing style was very choppy. It is an unedited version. Which I understood when I received this arc. The premise of the story was interesting. I love Mulan, so I jumped at the chance to read this book. I have also read the other books in this Disney series of princess stories reimagined in the modern world.
The FMC just didn't seem believable and wasn't that interesting. That's my honest opinion. I wish I could get around her cousin being called Mushu. I liked some of the story. I loved the Aunties. I wish the main story wasn't about buying this guys company. It needs a different story line. Mulan falling in love with Shang went from 0-60mph with a flip of a page. We need some build up. This book is probably towards the bottom of The Meant to Be series for

This book was so good! Mulan is one of my favorite Disney movies so I was so excited for a modern retelling.

In this modern day Mulan retelling, Mulan works in finance and is trying to secure an account from old school, misogynistic owners. The writing was great. The story was fast paced. I found it to be hilarious but also very emotional. Very well done.

I had such high hopes for this novel as I've read the first book in this series and adored it. A Mulan retelling sounded fabulous as I loved the Disney movie and cheered for Mulan the entire time. However, I thought about not finishing this one, but wanted to finish it as I promised to give an honest review.

My favorite characters were Mushu and Shang's mom. Both women were strong and had to overcome obstacles to be seen and follow their dreams. I am not a fan of insta-love (and Mulan actually refers to her relationship with Shang as such) and the romance never felt like more than maybe a crush. True, there were a few swoon-worthy moments, but Shang and Mulan didn't have enough time to develop such a strong relationship to be called love.

The humor felt like a slap-stick comedy at all times. For example, out on the ranch, Mulan falls into cow manure. I often rolled my eyes at the stereotypical use of overdone situations.

Overall, it's a fast read, but also very redundant. The themes of immigration, sacrifice for family, and equality for women in the workplace were well done.

Worth Fifhting For is a contemporary Mulan retelling in which she is working towards becoming a partner in her father's business firm and helping to buy a new whiskey company owned by none other than the Lis, Shang's family, in which he is the current CEO.

The characters are just what you want from any romance novel that you read. Whitty, fun and lovable.
Mulan (FMC) is a badass and not in the fighting in a war kind of way, but in the work hard for everything you want to prove to yourself and others that you can do anything, be anything way. However, she has lost her true self along the way.
Shang (MMC) grew up in a misogynistic family where the males were brought up to lead and take control of everything work related, and the women just cook, clean, bear children, and do as told basically. But he aims to change that way of thinking and starts by how he chooses to live his life.
Mushu is Mulan's cousin, and she's absolutely hilarious, although sometimes she talks a little too much - causing mischief when she doesn't really intend to.
Their banter and chemistry were very fun to read, and I thoroughly enjoyed the way that the author brought a classic Chinese heroine story to life in an all new way.

This story is captivating and such a fun, easy read. I didn't put the book down except to go to sleep.

If you like tropes like insta love, forced proximity, and female leads who aren't only beautiful but smart and strong-willed, then this book is for you.

I only wish that the ending didn't feel rushed and leave me wanting more. But overall, I really enjoyed Worth Fighting For, and I recommend you definitely give it a read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this eARC of Worth Fighting For in exchange for my honest review after reading.

Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q. Sutanto is the fifth book in Disney’s Meant To Be series. A reimagined Mulan set in the world of finance. Mulan pretends to be her father in the attempt to buy an anti-female whiskey company.

Thank you Net Galley and Hyperion Avenue for the arc!

If it were not for my love for Mulan and all things Mulan retellings I wouldn't have given this book a second glance.
This is a Disney a Mulan retelling in an urban setting. There's no going off to war in a literal sense and Mushu isn't a spirit. At first it was a little cheesey then the character development was good, the humor, the way I could relate as a first generation Asian American, the swoon worthy Sheng. I'm laughing, I'm tearing up. I'm hooked. All of a sudden I'm looking down and I'm 95% done with this book but I don't want it to end! Such a sweet fun read
This is the first book I've read in the Meant To Be series. If they are all this good, sign me up.
They are all standalone books which is great also.

I’ve loved the entire Meant to Be series, but I think this Mulan retelling may be my favorite. There’s plenty of slapstick and shenanigans (thank you, Mushu), but also so much heart (particularly familial). Reading this book simply brought me joy. Thanks to Disney/Hyperion Avenue for the ARC.

thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the ARC!

i will not be beating the disney adult allegations with this one 🫣 jesse q sutano consistently delivers quality representation with a healthy dose romantic comedy; the romance fell flat in this one for me. the MCs lacked chemistry, so the narrative failed to build the tension necessary. more than that, i just couldn’t understand why Mulan didn’t speak up a little sooner? enjoying this genre means you gotta deal with the miscommunication trope to a point, but i struggled to believe the character’s motivations by the third act. too much telling, not enough showing for me 🤷‍♀️

Mulan is my favorite Disney movie of all time. I have always loved her story of bravery, courage, self-acceptance, and growth. I’ve also read every book in the Meant to Be series, so when I heard Mulan’s story was the next to be adapted I was elated.

There are things about Worth Fighting For that I loved. I think Mushu’s characterization was pretty spot on. Auntie Jiayi was so lovable and absolutely stole the show. And, I loved Mulan and Shang’s relationship (though it did feel like it went from 0-60 very quickly once it got started and I do wish we had seen more of their relationship earlier in the book). I also love the theme of female empowerment and women lifting up other women.

However, this didn’t mirror Disney’s Mulan as closely as I would’ve hoped. There weren’t as many easter eggs or pointed references throughout the book as there were in some of the other Meant to Be novels, which I missed. I also felt like there wasn’t representation of all of my favorite film scenes.

I’m happy I had a chance to read this early and am glad Mulan is represented in this series.

Worth Fighting For is the best book in the Meant to Be series. Sutanto pulls all the feminism and many favorite moments out of the animated movie. Shang is sexy as ever, and Mulan is confident and resourceful.

Mulan is following her father’s footsteps as a finance bro, and when he falls ill, she hopes to outsmart some mysogynists by pretending to be the masterful executive that has been corresponding by email. If you can get past this part, then the rest is a fun ride.

Sutanto brings a lot of nuance to the understanding of the American Dream from one generation to the next, and perspectives on gender roles. Fans of the Mulan movie can enjoy this breezy take on the tale, and they’ll fall in love with Mulan, Shang, their parents, and Mushu.

Rating: 3/5
Spice level: 1/5

Mulan is one of my favorite Disney princesses so I immediately jumped at the chance to read a retelling. Sadly, it didn't live up to my expectations. I found the book boring. There only seemed to be bits and scraps of romance scenes between Mulan and Shang sprinkled throughout. I honestly think the relationship between her and her cousin (Mushu) was emphasized more which to be far in the Mulan movie there are more scenes between them than the love story. The book had its moments like with Mulan herding the cows or riding the bull, but I never truly got into it.

The absolutely delightful MEANT TO BE Series continues, this time with a reimagining of Disney's MULAN. I was stoked to see that this was the next one in the series, as MULAN is a Top 3 Disney movie for me, and I loved how Sutanto brought out the themes of sexism, war, and determination and made it about financial companies, family businesses, and trying to prove oneself in the face of preconceived notions and expectations. So instead of a woman pretending to be a man to go fight in a war in her father's place, Mulan is a part of her father's financial firm that hopes to acquire a traditional Chinese Whiskey company, and who pretends to be the head of the company when her father is ill and the deal is in the balance. I loved seeing her and Shang have a romance (as we don't really get to see that in the source material, and I understand why but I do LOVE them), and I liked seeing other characters be reimagined ( for example Mushu is her cousin/assistant who helps her put on a finance whiz front, and is quite funny too). Definitely another winner in this series.

I've never read a Mulan retelling before so I was really excited for this, but it fell a bit flat for me. I didn't feel invested in the romance, and some of the references and languages used to make this story feel more "modern" threw me off a bit. I did appreciate the relationship between Mulan and her father; I always love when a book explores family dynamics but unfortunately, nothing else really captured my interest beyond that.

Let's! Get down to BUSINESS!

This is an interesting modernized twist on Mulan's story. I love the idea of her being rich and powerful, going to war in the corporate world, being a finance bro, standing in for her father, falling for Shang, and making it all work despite every possible force working against her. And I LOVE this author's sense of humor.

But this particular book feels wooden, like maybe it was written during a creative or romantic slump. It wakes up a little after Mulan finally arrives on the ranch with Shang because by that point, shenanigans are in full swing.

Maybe that's it. Maybe the need to set up Mulan as a no-nonsense finance genuis prohibited shenanigans — something this author absolutely excels at crafting — and it started off on the wrong foot. Anyway, I kept reading. Mulan/Zhou tries to convince Shang she's the "man" he envisioned when setting up business accounts, and, uh, spoiler alert: it doesn't go smoothly!

I bet a really good audio version would improve the tone for the first few chapters.

The Tangled and Cinderella stories are still my undisputed favorites, but I am just so glad that this millennial Disney kid has these romantic retellings today. There are a total of 13 Disney Princesses out there, and I hope they all get their own Meant to Be. Keep 'em coming!

I enjoyed this story--the similarities to Mulan are unmistakable but it is a great story on its own. Mulan is working very hard to prove her worth to her father when she decides to lie in order to win over a company. It was a lighthearted novel and enjoyable--although it did have a bit of repetitiveness in the beginning. Clearly, if Mulan had been honest from the beginning, the story would never have gotten off the ground, so a little bit of a lie starts down a pretty hilarious path. It's also good that the lie was dealt with rather than brushed under the rug or ignored.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
Disney's Mulan came out in 1998, when I was 16 years old. So I was not the target audience, and I was definitely a too cool teenager to have interest in seeing a Disney movie at that time. I've since seen it (not sure if I ever saw it the whole way through in one sitting, more like in bits and pieces), but it was never one of my treasured favorite Disney stories, through no fault of its own.
I was excited to see how the story would be reimagined in this book. For about a chapter or two at the beginning, I was a little nervous that Mulan was going to try to actually dress as and pass her self off as a man, so I was happy when she instead tried to pass herself off as Zhou, the person who had been messaging with Shang already.
Unfortunately, I found the first half of the book repetitive and pretty boring. There was a lot of telling instead of showing, and the telling was the same things over and over again, sometimes with the exact same wording. There were several points I was beat over the head with...that Mulan worried her parents were disappointed that she was a girl and not a boy, that Mulan wanted to focus on the deal she was trying to make, that Mulan was attracted to Shang even though she didn't want to be, that Mushu didn't belong in finance, etc. They were important points, but they weren't subtle by any means, so I would have liked less reinforcing in the narration, and maybe a little more action.
The book picked up for me in the 2nd half when things started changing, but that made me question whether it was really likely that such big changes were likely to actually happen.
I did enjoy that Shang cooked and that Mulan did not, and I also enjoyed all the descriptions of food. The playful banter between Shang and Mulan was my favorite part, and I would have liked more of that.