Official book description:
CHINA, 484 A.D.
A Warrior in Disguise:
All her life, Mulan has trained for one purpose: to win the duel that every generation in her family must fight. If she prevails, she can reunite a pair of priceless heirloom swords separated decades earlier, and avenge her father, who was paralyzed in his own duel.
Then a messenger from the Emperor arrives, demanding that all families send one soldier to fight the Rouran invaders in the north. Mulan’s father cannot go. Her brother is just a child. So she ties up her hair, takes up her sword, and joins the army as a man.
A War for a Dynasty:
Thanks to her martial arts skills, Mulan is chosen for an elite team under the command of the princeling—the royal duke’s son, who is also the handsomest man she’s ever seen. But the princeling has secrets of his own, which explode into Mulan’s life and shake up everything she knows. As they cross the Great Wall to face the enemy beyond, Mulan and the princeling must find a way to unwind their past, unmask a traitor, and uncover the plans for the Rouran invasion…before it’s too late.
Inspired by wuxia martial-arts dramas as well as the centuries-old ballad of Mulan, The Magnolia Sword is a thrilling, romantic, and sharp-edged novel that lives up to its beloved heroine.
A young adult retelling of the Mulan story, written by one of my favourite historical romance authors? Who just happens to be Chinese, so someone you might hope would do a good job of researching and writing this? Of course I was going to want to read this as soon as I could get my hands on it.
I love Disney’s Mulan, and this may be one of the cases where I’ll actually go see the live action remake they’re doing, as I’m also a huge fan of wuxia films. I don’t know if this retelling that Thomas was commissioned to do has anything to do with Disney, or if her publisher is just cashing in on the fact that there will be a new movie soon, but if the new film is anything like the story presented here, I’ll be very happy.
Full review on my blog.