Review: Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q. Sutanto

I received this book via the publisher Hyperion Avenue. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Series: Meant To Be #5
Published by Hyperion Avenue on 2025-06-03
Length: 288 pages
Reviewing eARC from the publisher Hyperion Avenue
Rating:
Reading Challenges: #NGEW2025, 2025 New Release Challenge

Laugh and swoon with the next book in Disney’s Meant to Be collection by bestselling and award-winning author Jesse Q. Sutanto, whose novel Dial A For Aunties Emily Henry called “Utterly clever, deeply funny, and altogether charming.”

Mulan's ready to get down to business. But when it comes to love, she hasn't got a clue.

As the right hand of her father’s private equity company, Fa Mulan knows what it takes to succeed as a woman in a man’s world: 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 hitch: 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 private equity 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?

Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q. Sutanto is the fifth book in Disney’s Meant to Be which features our favorite princesses in modern-day, contemporary romances. Hua Mulan is a no-nonsense hedge fund manager at her father’s firm, fighting every day for recognition and a place in a male dominated career. When her father suffers a heart attack before a critical acquisition, Mulan steps into his shoes, pretending to be him to woo the clients, a traditional Chinese family who own a whiskey business.

Mulan is one of my favorite stories, so I was excited to dive into this one. Hua Mulan is unlike the warrior from the Disney cartoon. Here she is working in the finance world, fighting “finance bros” who think less of her contributions because she is a woman. Add in the insecurities she feels as her parents’ only child and overhearing an Auntie say “it’s a shame she isn’t a boy” and you get this character. Mulan is strong-willed, determined, and a fighter.

Shang is introduced rather early in the story as the CEO of the company Zhou is looking to acquire. He is the opposite of what I expected. He isn’t the stalwart general we all know and love, but a kind and empathetic man surrounded by his misogynistic uncles and cousins. Shang knows that his family’s business cannot continue running as it has been which is why he found Zhou and truly considered selling to him. When he meets Mulan pretending to be Zhou, he is clearly taken aback, but willing to give her a chance even if his uncles are not.

I really struggled with this one. There were aspects I enjoyed, like Mulan and Shang themselves, but the story was hard to believe and buy into. Mulan spends a majority of the book as Zhou, not pretending to be a man like in the movie it is based on but just him as the lead of the company and who Shang has been conversing with through emails. At first, I was intrigued and thought it would lead to some funny moments (which it does), but I soon found myself uncomfortable with her lying.

While Shang’s family definitely has a lot of blame to shoulder (specifically their treatment of women, which I understand to be cultural and mostly accurate if not a little dramatized for entertainment purposes), my real problem was Mulan’s consistent lying. She lies her way through an entire trip to Shang’s family’s ranch. She sheers sheep, tries to herd cow, and rides a horse, all of which she has no prior knowledge of how to do. She is manipulating this family to seal a business deal, making them like her as Zhou so they will trust her in buying their company. It’s just wrong on so many levels. The author does address this some with Mulan’s guilt, but it is never enough guilt to make her come clean.

Overall, I thought Worth Fighting For was an okay read. While I enjoyed Mulan and Shang’s relationship, I struggled with the lying. And yes, I know that Mulan lies in the original story to take her father’s place, but in that situation she wasn’t manipulating anyone. She was fighting for her country and protecting her father. I was uncomfortable with how long that went on. The book itself ended on a high note though and redeemed her somewhat. If you are a fan of the series so far and a lover of Disney or contemporary romance, I think you should give it a try.

Related Posts