Review by Gabrielle
Series Name: Meant To Be, #5
Another great addition to the Meant To Be series, this adaptation of Mulan will have fans swooning.
Favourite Quote:
My parents have set such a high standard for coupledom. Watching them, I know I’ll never settle for less than this kind of love, a love that is strong and yet tenderhearted, a love that is worn soft round the edges, like a comfortable pair of socks.
Book Synopsis:
As the right hand of her father’s hedge fund company, Fa Mulan knows what it takes to succeed as a woman in a man’s work twice as hard, be twice as smart, and burp twice as loud as any of the other finance bros she works with. So when her father unexpectedly falls ill in the middle of a critical acquisition, she is determined to see it through. There’s just one problem, the family company in question is known for its ultra masculine whiskey brand, and the brood of old-fashioned aunts, uncles, and cousins who run it—lead by the dedicated but overworked Shang—will only trust Mulan’s father, Fa Zhou, with the future of their business.
Rather than fail the deal and her father, Mulan pretends she’s Fa Zhou. Since they’ve only corresponded over email, how hard could it be to keep things moving in his absence?
But the email leads to a face-to-face meeting, which leads to an invitation to a week long retreat at Shang’s family ranch. One meeting she can handle, but a whole week of cattle wrangling, axe-throwing, and learning proper butchering techniques, all while trying to convince Shang’s dubious family that this young woman is the powerful hedge fund CEO they’ve been negotiating with? Not so much—especially as she finds it harder and harder to ignore the undeniable spark between her and Shang.
Can she keep her head in the game and make her father proud, all while trying not to fall into a trough, or in love with Shang?
Review:
I’m not a diehard Disney fan, but I have been enjoying the Meant To Be series. For those unfamiliar, this series does modern remakes of classic stories that Disney has based movies on. A different, popular romance author writes each book, and they are written for a more adult audience. This is the fifth book in the series, and I knew I had to read it because I am a massive fan of Jesse Q. Sutanto. I honestly couldn’t think of a better author to tell this story.
In my opinion, the coolest thing about this series is that the authors appear to have been given quite a bit of artistic license. These really are adaptations, and it has been so fun to see how the authors would modernize these classic stories into something that feels fresh and new. Worth Fighting For is no exception. Actually, at first I had a bit of a hard time getting into it, if I’m honest. In the book, Mulan is a bigwig at her father’s finance company. She’s had to work very hard to get where she is, and is surrounded by finance bros constantly mansplaining things to her. When her father has a heart attack, she has to step up and take over as the lead on a new acquisition that is really important to her father. Except that the whiskey company they are trying to buy is owned by a very traditional company that won’t deal with anyone but Mulan’s father, and so she pretends to be her dad to save the deal. This is a very different take on the Mulan story, and at first, it didn’t feel high-stakes enough to me compared to the original. I’m happy to say that I changed my mind as I got more into the story. The themes are all there, and they are just right.
Of course, things don’t go as planned, and soon Mulan finds herself at the ranch of the family who owns the whiskey business, trying to prove she’s “manly” enough to lead their company. A city gal through and through, Mulan faces a number of new challenges like cattle wrangling and sheep shearing. At night, she furiously watches how-to TikTok videos and then she fakes her way through various situations with funny and delightful results. It was so fun to read as Mulan fumbles with some tasks and nails others. I was definitely cheering for her. Perhaps the best part about it is watching Mulan grow in confidence with each new job she tackles.
One of my favourite characters in the book is Mushu. In this book, Mushu is Mulan’s cousin who works at the finance company with her and accompanies her to the ranch as moral support. She is hilarious. Most people see Mushu as a bit of a disaster; she only got the job with the company because her uncle owns it, for example, but as the story goes on, readers will see how smart and capable she is in her own right. I won’t spoil it for you, but Mushu does get her own version of a happy ending that had me cheering.
Jesse is well-known for her books featuring incredible Asian Aunties and I’m delighted to say there is one in this story. There are a few actually, but Shang’s mom Auntie Jiayi is the one that really shines. She is not front and centre for most of the story but she plays an instrumental role near the end that I just loved.
Now this is a modern romance after all, so I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about the chemistry between Mulan and Shang. Shang is a bit of an enigma at the beginning of this book. He comes across as severe and like the rest of his family (that is, misogynistic) when we first meet him. As the story progresses, we get to know him a little better through his actions, and we come to realize he is not like his family at all. I just loved Shang. The attraction between him and Mulan is fairly immediate, but they take their time getting to know each other because of the business deal. I liked this for them. It felt more realistic. At the ranch, they get thrown together in a few different ways, including a delicious forced proximity evening when the whole group goes camping for an evening. Only one tent! Need I say more? This book isn’t particularly spicy; it is pretty closed-door for the most part. Overall, I loved Mulan and Shang together.
Whether you’re a Disney fan or not, Worth Fighting For is a fun read for all romance lovers.
Thank you, Disney Publishing Group and Hyperion Avenue, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
