I tried really hard to get into this one but I just couldn’t. I wasn’t able to finish and wouldn’t recommend it.

This was chaotic start to finish! The moorwood family was truly dysfunctional but so much fun to read about. The love interests here had excellent chemistry and it was fun to watch the family get it all together.

Wanted to love this one so much, as it’s a deviant from what I typically read… but I couldn’t find joy in it. A child from a con-famous couple, who took the fall, comes back even better and this time, pissed. She wants to change the way things are in her family and how she’s viewed as a person. The whole idea was intriguing, but the idea of it being a full on con-job mysterious type of story was incorrect. It’s about self discovery and finding your way more-so than a rom-com or mystery of sorts. That’s where it lost me. Overall, not the worst, but not the best I’ve ever read. Thanks for the opportunity to read!

Setting: Rhode island
Rep: n/a

This is a fun, easy read about a very dysfunctional family. At times it was a bit repetitive and I did hope for a slightly more explosive ending but it was a good read that kept me entertained.

I like the description I read when requesting this book where they called Moorewood Family Rules Knives Out and Oceans 8 meets The Nest. Jillian returns home from a three year prison stay to her family. This in itself doesn't sound like it will lead to wacky shenanigans, but consider that her entire family value system is built around a con man, and you get just that: wacky shenanigans.
Who in her family can she trust? Who turned her in? Is anyone willing to give up their life of crime and deception to walk the straight an narrow?

Add in a hot bodyguard, and you've got yourself the type of book I love. We have a great cast of characters that genuinely reminds me of Knives Out, and you can never really place your finger on who is involved in what scheme and what exactly is going to happen next.

This book was written for you if:
1. You like Knives Out or Glass Onion
2. You want a book that feels like a peek into.a complex family dynamic for just a small sliver of time
3. You would like a rather quick read that doesn't center around romance but also doesn't fail to include it

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of Moorewood Family Rules by HelenKay Dimon from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book but loved the cover and description. I found it to be a very cute, fun read. I would for sure read more books by this author in the future.

Rating: 2.5/5

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for access to this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was initially excited to read a book that gave "Knives Out" vibes. However, I ended up being disappointed with the book. I found it hard to keep track of the numerous characters and struggled to empathize with any of them. The premise about a family of con artists intrigued me, but I was ultimately let down by the repetitive plot and wished for a shorter length. I felt that stories like this are better suited for the screen. Despite this, I appreciated the unique and quirky nature of the story, especially the portrayal of the eccentric family dynamics. I also enjoyed the budding romance between Jillian and Beck the Bodyguard, although I wished for more action in the narrative.

This was such a fun ride and so different from the books written by this authors pen name that I had no clue what to expect, but I loved it! Such a great cast of characters and filled to the brim with hijinks. Not a huge romance gal myself but that's a personal thing so that element of the story most people will likely enjoy more than I did. Nonetheless, another great read from this author!

This story was very cute. I loved the reformed inmate family member vibe. I feel like the love story was thrown into the mix to capture an additional audience and it took away from the overall story for me.

I originally went in expecting only a fun story about a con artist family and the one family member trying to get them to go legit and the hijinks that would inevitably ensue. What I wasn't expecting was sparks flying with her hot bodyguard and the swoony banter between them. This book had banter, revenge plots, family cons, twists, turns, and a little romance thrown in.

This book was so much fun, and it was a fun ride. Over the course of roughly a week, we learn exactly how far family members are willing to go over money, ego, and status (as fake as it may be). There is a family divide and a long history of cons, fraud, theft, and backstabbing.

There is also a reel on our feed of quotes that made me sigh and swoon between Beck and Jillian. I feel like I need a follow-up book just so I can get more moments with these two and to meet Doug, the cousin lost in Europe and a happy ending for Anika.

Give this one a try if you like to laugh, swoon, and see crazy family antics!

A fun book with a funny, quirky cast of characters.
It wasn’t really my jam but that was just me trying a new book that caught my eye.

Not what I was expecting and that is fine, but I probably just shouldn't have picked this up. I think the marketing and comparisons they used could have been better to avoid this.

Jillian Moorewood has long been the voice of reason in her unreasonable, and unlawful, family. After serving a 39 month stint in prison for crimes related to the family business, she is free and enforcing her threat that her relatives go legit or get cut off. Of course, her band of thieving family members is far from understanding and between her murderous great aunt and grifting cousins, Jillian’s hope for legitimacy is waning. When death threats loom, Jillian is forced to hire a bodyguard, but the addition of this imposing and annoyingly attractive new employee gives her an unexpected ally. Jillian is not above resorting to some of the old Moorewood family tricks and uses her relatives’ ruthless nature to her advantage. This is a light-hearted romantic comedy with a splash of Knives Out added for some fun tertiary characters.

Was intrigued by the description and was not let down! Took me a bit to remember who was who and connected to whom, but once I figured it out, it was an absolutely fun ride.

The plot of this book sounded promising but the execution left me uninterested in the story. There were so many characters and even the main character was unlikable from my viewpoint. It took too long to build to make me care what was happening to this crazy crew. The romance piece, in particular, felt fairly far fetched..
This one just wasn't for me.

While this isn't as action-oriented as I expected (it all takes place in the same house and is mostly interactions with family members), it is still a very engrossing and unexpected read. The family drama feels like it will get boring after awhile but it never does--it always feels fresh and interesting. I love watching how the family reacts to the pressure that the main character puts on them. Will they fold? Will they strike back? They are an entire family of con artists, so the surprises are fun and unexpected. The side romance between Jillian and the body guard felt a little rushed at times, but I still very much enjoyed it. The plot itself, again, was pitched as more of a mystery / thriller but in reality this was very rooted in just the family drama BUT, again, I still enjoyed reading and will read more in the series!

When Jillian Morewood confronts her dysfunctional family after spending 39 months in prison (for what were for the most part their crimes), all bets are off. She's set an ultimatum with a rapidly approaching deadline - no more schemes. But can you really expect a family of con artists to change their ways? And how far will they go to continue the family business?

This book was a fun, quick read for me. With a little bit of everything (family drama! romance! insanely rich, unlikable characters!), I didn't even find myself wanting to take a break. I was invested in the fate of each member of the Morewood family - whether that was because I was rooting for or against them.

For me, the (bodyguard) romance element was not as compelling as the family dynamics. I wish there was a little more focus on the family members we saw less. But overall, I thought this book was enjoyable! Would recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the e-ARC.

From the description of this book - I knew I would enjoy it. Some family drama, a bit of mystery, and a splash of romance.

Maybe it's just me - but I wish there was a bit more drama & mystery & thrill to the story. It was well written, however I think I expected a little more from the story. I liked it, but I wanted to LOVE it. If you are looking for a mystery with no scary elements - grab this one.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This story had *so* much potential but ended up being very different (and far more bland) than what was promised in the blurb.

I'd expected a snarky, fast-paced story with a family full of con artists, but in reality, it was just a family melodrama. I suppose that's where the KNIVES OUT comparison comes from? Still, there's no murder. No real mystery. Just a rich, spoiled, dysfunctional family with no real bite to their bark.

There is a bodyguard romance subplot, but even that felt light on the development side.

I guess I was hoping for more action, more mystery, more at stake. More plot. The story started off promising, but it quickly devolved into a whole lot of nothing. If there hadn't been the mild intrigue surrounding the sisters, I would've DNFed this one. (I maybe should have.)

Such a bummer. I've enjoyed many of HelenKay Dimon's romantic suspenses in the past, as well as her domestic thrillers under her Darby Kane pen name, so hopefully this is an anomaly and the next one will be a winner.

RATING: C- (2½ stars)

(Note: I received a review copy of this title courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley.)

This wasn’t served well by marketing it as like Knives Out, because I went into it expecting a comment about the absurdly wealthy and humor. But there isn’t really anything of that in this. It was a fine read about a woman trying to set herself apart from her kinda shitty family, but it wasn’t funny and it wasn’t particularly clever.