Jillian Moorewood is the black sheep in her family. The rule follower, the responsible one, the one who went to prison to cover up her family’s history of cons, schemes, and lies. But now Jillian’s free, and she’s determined to straighten her fleecing family members out once and for all. With the help of a great aunt (who may or may not have murdered her cheating husband) and a bodyguard who gets hotter the more he lets down his guard, Jillian sets out to change the family legacy - and maybe get a little revenge while she’s at it.

If a telenovela and a heist movie had a book baby, it would be MOOREWOOD FAMILY RULES. This was so fun to read! It was dramatic and over-the-top, often laugh out loud funny, but with some meaningful background layered in to explain the characters’ motivations. I kept trying to untangle the web of relationships, and to guess who was really at fault for myriad cons and assassination attempts. I would love to see a movie adaptation of this book! Personally I would’ve liked to see a little more of the conning from when the family was in its prime; I think that could be a cool prequel idea @helenkaydimon 😉. For fans of KNIVES OUT and OCEAN’S 8.

NOTE FOR THE EDITOR: there are a few mistakes with the numbering of the rules. Rules 17, 37, 39, and 40 are not given. Rule 29 is given twice: first in chapter 13 (“Rest when you can but never on a job”) and then in chapter 26 (“Never let anyone outtalk or outcon you”).

Moorewood Family Rules is about a lady named Jillian who was tossed in prison despite her attempts to fix her scheming family. With the time she spent locked away she comes up with a fail proof revenge against those who plotted against her. As her story unfolds, she hires a grumpy bodyguard named Beck who finds himself deeper than he intended. Alliances are shifted around and there's a rat in the group, will Jillian's plan work or will she go under all over again?

I give this story three stars out of five because, while the concept of the story was really great, the first half of it dragged for me. Some of the chapters didn't really contribute and some of the background of the characters being constantly explained was a bit over kill. After the first handful of chapters the characters were established enough that it wasn't necessary.

Once sixty-five percent of the story came up the pacing picked up and was much more fun to read, more interesting.

For the spice I give this story one chili pepper out of five, the sexual tension felt kind of forced, there was no make out or sexy scenes. The relationship between them didn't transition as smoothly as it could have .

The entire time I trusted virtually no one until the end. lol Because of this and the way it ended I hope there's plans for a second book in the series.

I liked the relationship / friendship that slowly developed between Anika and Jillian and how things were handled with Emma and Gregory.

The huge revenge plan was exciting and perfect!

Overall I'd still give book two a chance and recommend it if you're looking for a clean heist story.

The very definition of "dysfunctional family" - the Moorewoods. This crime-family drama reminds me of a lighthearted, modern version of Agatha Christie's whodunnitness mixed with the glamor of crime life from shows like White Collar, all wrapped up in the humor and lightheartedness of a Hallmark flick. Jillian Moorewood attempts to influence her family into "going straight," despite their best efforts to not only sideline but murder (spoiler??) her. Other reviewers have suggested the ending is dissatisfying, and I have to agree; but it does leave us wanting more of the Moorewoods (a sequel, perhaps?). Overall a cute read!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy!! It was a fun one.

this was a great read! fun and easy to follow with the perfect mix of plot, crazy characters and a sprinkle of romance! there were so many twists and secrets and it kept me guessing the whole time. i took off a star because at times the writing felt a little flat and the characters weren't super well developed. but overall a good read that i would definitely recommend! especially if you liked crazy rich asians and counterfeit then this is for you!

review to be posted on amazon, barnes & noble website, and instagram closer to pub date.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I know there were comparisons given, but it seems to me like the book that would result from Emily Henry re-writing Arrested Development. A gem!

A zany caper full of implausible situations and unlikeable people! Moorewood Family Rules is a fun and engaging read.

We follow Jillian Moorewood as she helicopters onto her family's lush estate in Connecticut. She's fresh out of prison and ready for revenge (in the form of politely suggesting her family of con artists try to make an honest living). Not everyone takes to Jillian's request kindly and, with her life seemingly in danger, an alluring bodyguard is assigned to protect her at all costs.

I was drawn to the plot description and mention of Knives Out and Ocean's 8 and was excited to see a romantic twist on those stories. I was surprised that the story mostly focused on the twisted family dynamics of the Moorewoods and less so on the relationship between Jillian and her bodyguard (which felt rushed and underdeveloped). Overall, this was enjoyable despite the whisper of a romantic plot and tonal shifts (from satire, to mystery, to comedy, to drama and everything in between). 3.5 stars.

Many thanks to Avon and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

- This story was a very slow, nothing really progressed till I was 70% done with the book. I expected more crime and heisting schemes happening but it was basically all talk about what they did in the past. There was a tiiiiiiny bit of romance between Jillian & her bodyguard Beck but it felt very rushed at the end. Overall it was very anticlimactic story, especially comparing it (sorta) to Knives Out which was the opposite of anticlimactic for me! *Thank you so much to Netgalley & Avon/HarperCollins for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review*

What fun! It was great seeing the Moorewood Family in action, and especially to appreciate Jillian getting to be angry and seek justice in clever and satisfying ways.

Woah, this was seriously one fun, interesting, phenomenal book!

Jillian Moorewood is an outstanding female lead. I really enjoyed following her story plus getting the scoop about her con artist family.
I found this book to be funny, compelling and such a page-turner.
The twists just kept coming and I just kept turning and I couldn't flip these pages quick enough.
A manipulative, dysfunctional, hilarious read and one I enjoyed tremendously.

They aren't lying when they say this is a Knives Out and Ocean’s 8 meets The Nest kinda story.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Avon,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my blog, platforms, BookBub, B&N, Kobo and Waterstone closer to pub date.

Well this was a fun one! Definitely recommended for fans of movies like Knives Out or fans of heist type movies as well!

The twists and turns in this book kept me on my toes and turning the pages over and over. I could not put this down. I do like that there was pretty much no spice and that it is a closed door romance. That is something that I have been into as of late and it is nice to see a popular book that is not so explicit. I will need to pick up some of this authors other novels after how successful this one was for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Oceans 8 is one of my recent favorite movies and I was so excited to read something that was so highly praised and likened to the movie. Unfortunately, this fell flat and read as if it was a kid writing it. None of the characters were likeable and the sarcastic writing made them even more so. Would be a great first draft!

Good plot but writing is too repetitive. Loved that added layer of the relationship with Beck. Wish there would of been more of that and less of the rehashing of the same thing over and over

I was a little skeptical if I'd like this book based on the description and reviews. I tend to read shorter books because a book has to keep me intrigued or I'll stop reading it. This book was a pleasant surprise and I really enjoyed it! It was well written with just the right number of characters so you could remember who was who. It had a little romance and suspense.

Thank YOU to Avon HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for providing my ARC, always amazing titles and great pleasure to leave a honest review for your publications!

This book was SUPER engaging and fun since it is about a family of conniving and manipulative con artists. I've never read anything like this, so when I saw that, I was immediately interested and I was not disappointed. It was one that I could not put down because Beck and Jillian's dynamic just kept me enthralled because it was charming and really funny. Also, the revenge aspect of Jillian's return gives this book extra pizzazz. The supporting characters did not disappoint either! The shadiness and ridiculousness of them made it that much more fun to read. While it was fun and flirty, it was also sharp and witty, which was perfection and I could not put it down! Highly, highly recommend for those that want a different type of spice to their romance.

Expected publication date: April 25, 2023.

This was such a unique story! I had such a fun time learning about the characters and their family dynamic. It was funny but also the romance kept me intrigued as well. I'm excited to dive into other stories by this author!

This book was described as Knives Out meets Ocean’s 8 and it completely delivered!! The fast paced and witty banter (especially in the first half of the book) was PERFECT and gave me Gilmore Girls level verbal sparring vibes.

The story was mostly cozy mystery with a tiny side of romance, as in honesty you could have taken Beck and Jillian’s romantic interest in each other out of the mix and still have an awesome and enjoyable story. The tension between the two though was fabulous, although it did shaft to fizzle a bit once they got together and the entire story overall started to be a little less fast paced and quick witted and a little bit sluggish at times. However, it picks up and the story is well worth the read.

I loved the extra focus on their family dynamics and the point of view focusing at times on a character other than Jillian which gave the side characters more depth.


Oh! And also for the romance fans out there, this was a closed door romance with great tension and dialogue. :)

All in all, I hope there’s another story with these characters and I really enjoyed the book! :)

First off this is not really a romance book, there is some in there but it is more of a comedy/mystery, a funny mystery?! It really gives strong "Knives Out" vibe with the story of a wealthy, selfish, honestly a little mix of pathological and sociopathic family members. It pretty much hits the mark of what you expect a backstabbing and sabotashing family dynamic with lots of undercover allies. Jill wants everyone to be there best but how do you get a family of con artists to be their best when they are used to lying and scheming. Overall it was a pretty good book, not what I was expecting at all, the romance genre I was expecting more of it and the cover gave me Schitt's Creek vibes so when I was reading it was very different than expected but not in a bad way!

What a truly awful bunch of people Jillian had to deal with. She learned a lot about herself and her motivations while trying to find out who dobbed her in, who is trying to kill her and just who can she trust. Revelations unfold making her rethink her position and, like a phoenix, rise above the ashes of a dire family background. I received this as an ARC from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving this review.

What a wild ride! I read this in one sitting, because I was at the edge of my seat and could not put it down. I loved all of the twists and turns and had so much fun trying to figure out who would backstab who next. I was suspicious of every single character at one point or another which kept the book exciting the whole way through!

I definitely recommend this for readers who enjoy books full of morally gray characters with questionable motives.

Thank you so much to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.