Mood Board: Worth Fighting For

Yesterday, I reviewed Worth Fighting For, which was a fantastic book. You can read my review here. 

I have fun making these mood boards.

Review: Worth Fighting For

 

* Part of the of MEANT TO BE novels * 

Fa Mulan works in finance, but the finance bros just might be the death of her. Yes, her father owns the company, but that's not why she was hired. Her father's interested in making a deal with a family run whiskey company. Fa Mulan can't understand why because the numbers don't add up.

But when her father has a heart attack just before the negotiations start, Fa Mulan promises that she will get the deal done. 

But the family run company is traditional and only wants to negotiate with a man. Fa Mulan steps in and assumes her father's name. Her father talked about his time on a ranch. The family is unimpressed with Fa Mulan's presentation but agree to her coming to the ranch and showing off her skills.

Fa Mulan doesn't have those skills, but maybe her sheer determination will convince the family. Can she get the job done for her father?

My Thoughts: I loved this book - it was charming and funny. The time on the ranch was hilarious. I enjoyed Shang's family - the women were sweet and feisty. The men were old school and annoying (some of them) but some just wanted to do right by the company. I loved Mushu (Fa Mulan's cousin) - especially how her story ended. Another fantastic retelling; I didn't want this to end.

Cover Thoughts: Adorable

Source: My Library

Why I Read It: I love these retellings and Mulan is a favorite story of mine. 

Library Recommendation: Highly recommended series for your public library's romance collection

Hand this to: Disney adults 

* these are not series in term of connecting characters, but in terms of Disney retellings *

Review: Didn't See That Coming

 

Kiki's parents make her change schools during the last year. She thinks she's going to rock it, but everything goes sideways. The teachers are strict. There's a boy bullying her. He calls her Crazy Kiki. Now no one wants to be seen talking with her. Kiki isn't sure what to do, except hide herself in her online game.

But even that is causing havoc in her life because her one friend in gaming actually attends her new school. But how can she tell him it's her when she's been pretending to be a guy to get away from online harassment? Everything's terrible - will it get better?

My Thoughts: I loved that this is a You've Got Mail adaptation. That's one of my favorite movies. While this is book 2, I did read it first by accident. There were references to characters from the previous story, but it wasn't necessary to read that story first to follow this story. I loved the Kiki was a gamer girl and that she was AWESOME at it. This book made me SUPER ANGRY. I hated the bullying and the toxic masculinity. I hated the principal. I just wanted to wrap Kiki up in a big hug and tell her everything was going to be ok. I hated Jonas. But I did love the Moxie reference and the female friendships. Those were everything. I adored Eleanor Roosevelt and Sarah Jessica. These were highly entertaining. I would love a book about them. This was a really good read; I didn't want to put the book down because I had to see how everything turned out. And now I have to go back and read the first book. 

Cover Thoughts: Cute

Source: ARC sent for review

Library Recommendation: Highly Recommended for your library

Blog Tour: Dial A for Aunties

What happens when you mix 1 (accidental) murder with 2 thousand wedding guests, and then toss in a possible curse on 3 generations of an immigrant Chinese-Indonesian family? 

 You get 4 meddling Asian aunties coming to the rescue! 

About the Book:

When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate, especially when it is inadvertently shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding Meddy, her Ma, and aunties are working at an island resort on the California coastline. It's the biggest job yet for the family wedding business—"Don't leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!"—and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her auntie's perfect buttercream flowers.

But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy's great college love—and biggest heartbreak—makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding all in one weekend?

* Photo Credit Michael Hart

About the Author:

Jesse Q Sutanto grew up shuttling back and forth between Indonesia, Singapore, and Oxford, and considers all three places her home. She has a Masters from Oxford University, but she has yet to figure out how to say that without sounding obnoxious. Jesse has forty-two first cousins and thirty aunties and uncles, many of whom live just down the road. When she's not writing, she's gaming with her husband (mostly FPS), or making a mess in the kitchen with her two daughters.

Confession:

So I didn't read the description of the book before I started reading. And then I got to the part where the death happens. And I was stunned because I wasn't expecting that. The book turn a huge turn for me...but it wasn't a bad turn. Just VERY unexpected. I really loved the Aunties and Meddy's mother. And the drama (So Much Drama) made me laugh and cringe and laugh again. This book was a lot of fun! And while this was her adult debut, she has a YA book out and a middle grade book upcoming. I can't wait to read more of her books!