Moorewood Family Rules by HelenKay Dimon
Rating: 3 stars
Pub Date: 4/25

I was super excited to get my hands on this Knives-Out-Meets-Ocean's-8 style novel, but unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me.

When Jillian returns home after a 3-year stint in prison, she's annoyed that her conniving family did not go legit while she was away. It will be up to her to make some changes to the dynamic, whether they like it or not.

I think the comparison to Knives Out does this story a disservice, as it's really a story of self-discovery and learning to take control of your own life. The dysfunctional family trope takes center stage, along with a romance between Jillian and her bodyguard.

I found it difficult to connect with the characters, and the relationship between Jillian and Beck felt forced. There was very little chemistry, and the story itself dragged at times. The ending was lackluster, and overall just not what I was hoping for.

Overall, this was a great concept, but the execution could use some polishing. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for this ARC to read and review.

I cannot explain how hard it was to put this book down once I started reading. It is so entertaining, and all of the characters were fascinating whether they were plotting or not. Jillian is the daughter of an heiress and a ConMan. Her father’s family is now always trying to get the whole family into cons. She tried to make the family go legit and actually end up going to prison for three years to save them. Jillian is back and wants revenge but she needs to find out who is the one who set her up.

There seem to be no clear-cut. Good people in this family. Jillian’s sister Emma is now seeing a man that Jillian is angry with and we find out later why. Their uncle and his two daughters, as well as aunt Patricia are scheming as well.

It was nonstop, scheming and plotting throughout the book. It was interesting to see as you read what people were actually trying to do , none of the characters seem to have a loyalty to one another besides Jillian and Emma also there was the addition of the bodyguard Beck, who was there to protect Jillian.

If you are looking for a book that has knives out types of sensibilities. This is the book for you .

Moorewood Family Rules is the ultimate escape for readers seeking a thrilling read. This book is perfect for those who enjoy exploring dysfunctional family dynamics, as it offers a healthy dose of humorous back-stabbing and an ensemble comedy that is fast-paced and engaging. The characters are out-of-the-box, and the romance is one to root for. The book is imaginative, emotional, action-packed, and artfully crafted, making it a must-read for anyone looking for a captivating story. With its professional writing style and intriguing plot, Moorewood Family Rules left me wanting more.

REVIEW FOR MOOREWOOD FAMILY RULES

3 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon/HarperCollins for the gifted copy.

This book started slow for me. I think the author tried to go for the suspense and wow factor, and some of it succeeded. However I think in the attempt to do that it slowed the pace of building the foundation. For me it picked up about 40% in and from there I couldn't put it down.

Overall, I liked the book. I thought the banter was witty between Jillian and Beck, and the familial structure was fun to experience. I had a really difficult time feeling any sort of sympathy for any of these people, as they were all terrible with the exception of (arguably) one person. Even Tenn and Kelby, who are often viewed as innocent bystanders, are guilty by association. Additionally, I've read a lot of ARCs and this one had way more typos and misprints, so sometimes the dialogue got confusing.

I haven't seen Knives Out yet, but I have seen Oceans 11 and I can say that comparison is relatively inaccurate beyond the fact that the characters in both the book and the movie are con artists. Beyond that, there really isn't much comparison. But overall it was an enjoyable book and I can see why people would rate it higher.

DNF at 35%. I'm gutted about this book but maybe I will come back to it in the future. The premise of this one had me hooked, an ex con coming back to get revenge on her family?? Sign me up! However, this book ended up with just family whinging and a lot of unnecessary back and forth between characters.

We are thrown right into the story with our main character coming back from prison and waltzing into a family engagement party. It was clear how unwanted she was. The part I found most frustrating was that there was not true definition of the characters in this story. We met 10 new characters in 3 pages but there was no real depth or way to connect them to each other. There were some random switches of POV too which did not help with clarity at all.

The part that tipped me over the edge on this one was the mental health discussions. When our main character returns, it turns out her family have said she was having a mental breakdown. In no book should mental health be used as a token topic. People have faced breakdowns and the way it was thrown around in this book will offend people. Overall I am really disappointed since this was one that caught my attention and I was really excited for.

Nothing beats a good book and killer scenery- and this combo had it.

This is the first book I’ve read by @hkdimon and spoiler alert: I LOVED it. Big thanks to @avonbooks and @netgalley for gifting me an advanced copy to read and review. This hysterical mystery rooted in a family of con artists is out on April 25!

We meet Jillian Moorewood upon her release from prison. She crashes a family event and we quickly learn that her family is… dysfunctional as hell. Her con artist dad attempted an epic con with an heiress - and what resulted was Jillian and her younger sister, Emma. But the con gene runs strong and extends to Jillian’s uncle, cousins and great aunt.

This was SO fun. It gave me strong oceans 11 vibes, but also reminded me a bit of Weeds and Good girls. There’s some mystery elements, a lil romance and lots of family intrigue and drama.

Come to learn why Jillian was in prison, and stay for hot bodyguard Beck, the laughs and the surprising twists and turns

Posted on goodreads, my bookstagram @scottonreads and will post on retail sites

Once upon a time a con man met an heiress, married her, had kids….then kept on conning. Jillian Moorewood is the eldest, the responsible one, the one tasked with getting her family to go legit after her mother died. Taking her job so far as to go to jail to save her family, she hopes she’ll return home to find everything on the straight and narrow. Only to find out her family took her go legit or else ultimatum as a suggestion.

Although her life is in shambles, Jillian is determined to set her family straight. And with the help of her bodyguard and some unexpected allies she starts to get her life back.

Moorewood Family Rules is described as Ocean’s 8 meets Knives Out and that’s a pretty spot on description of the dynamics. And the cover is the perfect one for this book, I absolutely love it!

This was just such a fun, entertaining read. It’s got a little bit of everything: cons, family dynamics, quirky characters, and romance, it’s got something for everyone! I would have preferred a little bit more con aspects but the family dynamics were still very entertaining.

Although I don’t relate to being a part of a con family, I did relate to Jillian and her struggles of being the eldest and feeling responsible for her family. I just really liked Jillian’s character and also her relationship with Beck, their banter was great.

Thank you HK Dimon, Netgalley, and Avon for the review copies in exchange for an honest review!

Moorewood Family Rules was such a fun read! I usually don't enjoy third person books, but I really loved the writing in this book. I loved following Jillian and Beck. The plot twists throughout the book kept me on my toes. Obviously I was getting very frustrated with the Moorewood family, but ended up loving a lot of them towards the end (not Jay or Astrid though). Overall, this was such a good and fun read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I found the plot fun, and loved that we got a touch of romance in there as well as the mystery aspects. Such an enjoyable read.

This is a fun, quick read about a dysfunctional con artist family, unknown revelations, and revenge. If you're looking for a book that has drama, sarcasm, several smaller mysteries, and a desire to survive, this is absolutely a book for you!

Really sad that I couldn't do more than skim this after a few chapters. I didn't connect with the characters and although I liked the premise of the Family Rules, getting dumped into the family didn't work. The writing was choppy, especially in the internal monologues/thoughts of Jillian.The characters were okay, and although I liked some of them, I couldn't get over the repetitiveness and unnecessary POVs.

Overall, I wasn't a fan, though this fast and easy read will be fun for a lot of readers. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me. Dimon's writing style doesn't flow well, and her the characters felt immature and very limited by the roles they were cast in. I didn't get Knives Out or Ocean's 11 from this at all, just women's fiction with a dash of mystery and romance.

Moorewood Family Rules. Jillian was in prison for 3 years, but got out on good behavior. She went in for a white collar crime, based on the family business (stealing from the rich, but not in a Robin Hood sort of way.) Now that she's out, she is on a mission to figure out who sent the FBI on her, and to get the family to quit scheming. Along the way, her aunt and the business guru decide that Jillian needs a bodyguard because someone in her family is trying to kill her, or send her back to prison.

The synopsis of this book states that it is like Knives Out, which I can see because it is a family drama about crime... but I would have to disagree.I just.... didn't like it? Now, I did read an uncorrected proof, but I couldn't get over some of the mistakes. I felt like there were plots in this story and that I just didn't understand what was going on. I ended up skimming the end. It felt like the author was just dangling things in front of me and then closed it nicely? Just felt dragged out. Also SPOILER ALERT!!!!!! she has a weird relationship with the body guard??? That came to be towards the end of the book??? Felt real weird.

I've seen good reviews and maybe that was because they had a corrected proof and the story changed slightly, but damn I almost DNFed... whoops.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

There was lots of hype surrounding this book but I found it to be so poorly written, with such absolutely horrible dialogue that it was a struggle to complete

This book was not what I was expecting but I still had a nice time with it.

I really liked the premise of this book: a dysfunctional con-artist family; and a daughter who went to prison for them, now out for revenge. Told from two pov's: Jillian's - the daughter who wants the rest of her family to retire from the family business and go legit, and Anika's - her cousin who is in fact part of that side of the family that doesn't want to retire from the family business. I enjoyed the fact that we got to see both sides of the family and exactly what they were plotting. But I wish we got more.

Things to look forward to:
-Magnificent revenge plans
-A sweet bodyguard romance
-Sneaky great aunt behavior
-Rich, snobby white women
-A fun look inside the lives of con artists and their various schemes

I really hope HelenKay Dimon writes more in this world because I would love to go deeper into the Moorewood family lives and schemes.

I was really into this for the first half but then it became extremely similar and I felt like I was reading the same things over and over again. Ultimately, this one seemed like it didn’t know what it wanted to be and left me wanting more of *something*. The marketing for this is also confusing - we need to stop comparing every family drama to Knives Out. To me, it was for family drama with a hint of mystery and romance. I really enjoy the way Dimon writes and I am huge fan of her thrillers written under Darby Kane. I'll definitely check out more of her work as HelenKay Dimon.

I requested the ARC for this one based on the comps - Knives Out meets Ocean's Eleven. The family definitely had drama similar Knives Out but the similarities stopped there. I was looking forward to some schemes and thieving, and while our MC did have some tricks up her sleeve, this was primarily a novel about family drama. A fun surprise was the romance subplot, which got more space than I expected. I adored the relationship between Jillian and Beck. If you like complicated family dynamics with a dash of romance and crime, check out this new release.

This was a light hearted story about a family of con artists and their interpersonal drama. It’s nothing like Oceans 8 or Knives Out so don’t go in expecting that. There is no heist involved which I found disappointing.

The hijinks in this novel is unbeatable. This was fun, funny, suspenseful, and heartwarming. It is a story of self discovery and family drama. The chapters are short and always end in a fun cliff hanger so the novel is really easy and fun to read. Totally recommend this novel for a fun and easy escape from your world.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the gifted copy. This novel is out April 25th!

Moorewood Family Rules by HelenKay Dimon is a rom-com novel about a family of con-artists who get what they deserve. The book flowed easily and it drew me right in with the funny remarks and quick immersion into the plot. The different rules as chapter titles was hilarious and witty
 
We meet Jillian, fresh from 39 months in prison, ready to descend upon her unsuspecting family who put her there. She debarks from her helicopter on the family mansion’s spacious grounds in the midst of a party, where they are laying the groundwork to swindle and con their latest victims. They are none to  happy to see Jillian, but Jillian is less so. They had promised to go straight in return for Jillian taking the fall for them with the FBI. Now she’s back, she has their number, she holds all of the cards, and she’s had 39 months to contemplate her revenge.
 
This book was really engaging and fun since it is about a family of manipulative con artists. I have not read anything like this, so when I saw the premise of this book, I was immediately interested.  The book lived up to my expectations. The revenge aspect of Jillian's return gives this book extra zing. The supporting characters were written well and we get enough insight to understand them. 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! . I would recommend this book to others who love that light rom-com aspect!

Totally drawn in by the synopsis but the execution just didn’t work for me and it ended up a DNF. Take this with a grain of salt though - I’m struggling to find the right books for my mood lately so could very much be a case of wrong reader and not wrong book. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Ms. Dimon for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I saw "Knives Out meets Ocean's 8" in the title and I was ALL IN. I love a good heist story, I love a revenge story, I love romance, I love a messy family, and frankly this book was poised for complete success. It definitely had all of those elements, I just wish it had... MORE.

It really wasn't a heist per se, so much as that Jillian (recently freed from jail on good behavior) wants to neutralize her family of grifters and con artists, which requires heist-like planning. It really wasn't revenge, as Jillian isn't trying to GET revenge, exactly, just enforce her desire that her family "goes clean or goes broke". It really wasn't romance, necessarily, as Jillian certainly LIKED her hunky bodyguard, Beck, but the romance element was weak and underdeveloped. And there was a messy family, certainly, but the way they were talked up (I mean, for pete's sake, they cut her brakes!), I expected way more than some half-hearted grumbling and conniving. As another reviewer pointed out - and I completely agree - this book could more accurately be described as contemporary fiction with a little self-discovery on the side.

That's not to say it wasn't fun: it WAS. I really enjoyed the book and I devoured it at top speed. It just wasn't precisely as advertised. For what it WAS: four stars. For what I thought it would be: three. Solid average score of 3.5, but I'll round up because I enjoyed it (which is really what ultimately matters, right?).