This family!!!!!! Y’all this family is one of kind. Jillian had just gotten out of jail after serving a few years, taking the fall for her family of scammers and con artists, I guess someone had to take the fall for all her family has done. Now that she’s back she wants to seek revenge on the person who set her up, and also clean up the family. She’s not a fan of their scamming ways, but she had also realized that someone in the family is trying to kill her to stop her. She gets a security guard to keep her safe, its that serious, but I couldn’t help but laugh at this whole set up. A family of con artists???? This book was too entertaining.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this witty family dramedy about a young woman who, when released from a three-year prison sentence returns home to her grifter relatives, and then tries to force them to go legit. In a twisty, back-stabbing household, filled with cousins and relatives who all are looking to protect their own stakes in the family 'business', Jillian and her bodyguard, Beck, are trying to control the family.

I liked that none of the characters were trustworthy, and the budding romance between Jillian and Beck. I was intrigued from the beginning about what Jillian's plans were and how she was going to get the cousins and other relatives to comply. This was a fun, twisty novel, that kept me guessing until the end.

Thank you to Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for the digital ARC of Moorewood Family Rules by HelenKay Dimon. The opinions in this review are my own.

The comparison to Knives Out does this book a disservice I think because they're really not similar at all. There also wasn't much mystery or romance here so this definitely read as more like women's fiction to me. I also did't care for the dual POVs. Not for me, sadly.

Moorewood Family Rules by HelenKay Dimon #twentythirdbookof2023 #arc

CW: discussions about death, suicide, cancer, drugs, prison time, con artists, dysfunctional families

This book was billed as Knives Out and Ocean’s 8 meets The Nest, full of scheming family members and their desire to hang on to their inheritance. That’s a very generous and untrue comparison. It was also kind of boring.

Jillian takes the fall for her family’s financial crimes and goes to prison, and now that she’s out, she’s determined to make everyone else go straight. Sounds interesting but nothing ever happened. The book was literally just talking about cons and scheming behind each others’ backs and then not actually doing anything. I didn’t care about any of the characters because they were all very flat.

The relationship between Jillian and her bodyguard was unearned and not believable. I found myself speeding through the book to get to the interesting parts of the family dynamic, and nothing jumped out.

Thank you to @netgalley and @avonbooks for the advance copy. (Pub date 4/25/23)

Jillian wants her family to go straight and they don’t want to!

Jillian Moorewood was hoping her family had finally went legal like she had planned before taking the fall and going to prison for all of the stuff that her grifting family had done. Jillian plans to put a stop to their cons but that changes when one of her family tries to murder her and now she needs a bodyguard!

I absolutely loved the line at the top of the cover about the family that steals together stays together because you get the feel of a movie where everybody especially your family has a plan to relieve you from your money.

I absolutely laughed at all the back talk between Jillian and Beck when he finally get to really know her family plus all of the Moorewood Family Rules!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm disappointed. I wanted more for this story. I wanted it to want more for itself.

This book really nailed the family dysfunction part of the synopsis. All the drama and one-upping and back-stabbing and general insanity made for an interesting ride. The problem is is that you know you can't trust anyone in a book about a family of con artists. So you're always looking for the trick, the big reveal and this one didn't deliver well. There was one mildly surprising moment and that's it.

The romance either needed to be a slower burn -- really dig into why Jillian likes him, trusts him, feels comfortable with him -- or don't have it at all. It felt half-baked and convenient as it stands. I had also thought there would be more conning but it was mostly a lot of talk.

We didn't need two PoVs here. Anika's PoV took away from the tension and distrust of some of the characters. It seemed more like lazy storytelling -- a way for the readers to see things they wouldn't see if this was told strictly from Jillian's PoV.

This book is readable and has a moment or two that I found entertaining. But on the whole, it's disappointing and not really worth the time.

I’m not sure what I expected when I picked this book up, and after having read it I still don’t know what genre it should be classified under. Maybe WF? Maybe like WF with a touch of mystery? I’m not really sure. I will say this is a fast, fun, light read even with the darker elements that are layered in.

When the book first opens it introduces Jillian Moorewood, fresh out of prison and surprising her family by helicoptering into the family estate right in the middle of a society luncheon. She’s pissed and has some surprises up her sleeve on how she plans to handle her disreputable family and their shenanigans. This is a family of conmen who can’t seem to go legit, not that they really want to, and Jillian is done. They’ll clean up their act, or be cut off.

I zipped right through this novel, the pacing stays steady, with shorter chapters, and it was so easy to keep flipping pages until I reached the end. Jillian is the main POV, but several chapters have her cousin as the narrator, which means you never quite know what’s going on or who the culprit out to end Jillian really is. Despite the lightness of the dialogue, there are some deep themes throughout, with huge revelations of Jillian’s mother’s backstory toward the end. It’s kind of a shock to the senses when you read it. Yes, I knew these were horrible people who had done some horrible things, but I guess the admission of just how Sonya died surprised me, as well as the flippant way it was brought up in conversation by Jillian’s family.

There is a romance, with some closed-door love scenes. But it’s pretty light, and there isn’t a whole lot of lovey-dovey romance between Jillian and Beck, who also happens to be her bodyguard. They fall for each other while he’s protecting her, which I didn’t really buy into, but appreciated the potential HEA for at least one of these characters.

The ending was quick, and weirdly enough without a huge amount of drama, which I had expected. I enjoyed it, but didn’t love. Although, I do think readers looking for a lighter suspense novel, with dysfunctional characters will be interested.

Content notes- Mentions of- cancer, suicide, off-page death of family members, murder, PTSD

I enjoyed this ARC, but I would have loved if there was more comedic relief in it. One funny outrageous character mixed in the chaos would have been amazing! I enjoyed the family drama and the lengths they would go through to continue conning. I don’t think the Ocean Eleven description is even close. It’s the opposite Jillian is trying to get her family out of the conning business.

Thank you to NetGalley, author HelenKay Dimon, and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Anytime a book or movie is marketed as being similar to Knives Out, I am all in! I love family dramas, especially ones that have a mystery aspect with wacky characters. Moorewood Family Rules definitely falls into that category, and this was a fun read. There were a lot of hijinks, scheming family members, and complicated scenarios to be had. I was definitely Team Jillian the entire book, and I enjoyed trying to figure out how she'd use her control over the family as I read. With all this being said, this book didn't quite land fully for me. There was just entirely too much going on at any given time. The book drops you right into the action and takes nearly the whole book to reveal the background scenarios of many of the characters. In the way that it's done, it feels almost like this is a second book, making it confusing for me as the reader. I kept losing track of who was supposed to be on who's side and what was the context of them being there. It felt messy, and so many of the intertangled side plots kind of distracted and added to the chaos of the overall book. I also didn't enjoy the romantic plot between Jillian and her bodyguard, as it developed way too quick and didn't read even remotely believable to me. Overall, this was a fine book that had some fun moments, but I finished it feeling a bit confused and disappointed.

I loved the family drama portion and the funny moments. There was a lot of humor and banter. The plot and action dragged for me at times towards the middle.

If the Finlay Donovan books married the Spellman Files series this would be the result. A funny, entertaining, clever novel about a dysfunctional family of con artists at odds with each other.

Jillian is out of prison after three years and just wants her family to go legit. That's the deal she made with the family when she was arrested. Free at last, Jillian returns home to find her family still grifting. Ignoring her was a mistake, so now it’s time for her revenge plot to kick in, regardless of the Moorewood Family Rules. Jillian never wanted to be the fixer, the cleaner up of messes, yet here she is. Again. But this time, with the help of some unlikely allies and a very intriguing bodyguard, Jillian finds a way to live the life she sees for herself.

When Jillian Moorewood Landon on the front lawn of her home fresh from prison it was obvious she had more than reform on her mind and despite the fact her family was there to greet her it wasn’t a happy reunion at least not underneath the bleached million dollar smiles in the fragile veneer of surprise they all tended to show. Jillian is back in despite popular consent she is also the head of the family. Her family is a bunch of crooks and Jillian wants to know who helped her wind up in prison and also who is going to go on the straighten arrow and also stay on the family dole. This is a snarky dysfunctional family drama with one LOL moment after another. I found this book to be so much fun and although there were no big gestures or tragic situation the family drama threaded through the storyline was enough to keep me interested in turning the pages. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. I received it from NetGalley and Avon, Harper Voyager but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

This was a fun read! Lots of anticipation and intrigue from the beginning. It held my interest the entire time and I highly recommend!

Jillian Moorewood served time in prison to protect her family of con-artists with the understanding that she take the fall and they go legit. Returning home after serving over three years, she finds that nothing has changed, and Jillian has had it with her family. She kicks some of them out of the family home and cuts off everyone's access to money, hoping to force them on the straight and narrow.

But a con will always con, and what ensues is a series of wacky, convoluted, outrageous shenanigans as Jullian's family fights her tooth and nail. The story doesn’t end here though and includes twists, turns, and surprises along the way.

It's been years since I read HKD, and this is not at all the HKD I remember. I like her older work, but I completely adored this unexpected, madcap delight! Women's fiction with a dash of romance, this charming, witty story had me hanging on every word. If you’re looking for something a little off beat, you’ll love this fun, quirky, phenomenal read!

This book kept me intrigued and guessing what the big bomb was going to be dropped by Jillian. Definitely a fun book to read to sus out who did what. Lots of family drama like Knives out.

Thoughts
I love a good drama and this opened on a note that hinted we were in for a high-stakes family drama a la the Van der Woodsens or Waldorfs of the world. But it didn’t quite deliver those promises by the time I hit the last 50 pages mark.

What I liked
First, let’s talk about what I loved. The opening 20% of the book leaves us in the dark on what exactly happened before the story begins. This secrecy really kept me on my toes because, clearly, something very bad happened and someone needed to pay. Heavily. This is a story about a family of con artists, after all. Normalcy and humility are simply not in their vocabulary. I really enjoyed the quick wit and sass of the main characters. (Anika and Aunt Patricia were my favorites and I really wanted to get more story on their roles and pasts!) They really captured my attention and made me wonder who’s side to take!

What went wrong
But.. things started to crumble quickly. At its core, this book has great plot and dialogue. But what made it miss it’s mark, imo, is that by the 60% point, nothing of note had happened and the genre tropes we were promised in the synopsis and advertising for the book were very clearly missing (I went in expecting major crime, heists, even murder, etc). This isn’t an Oceans 8 family nor do we ever see the actual high-stakes situations we were promised come to fruition… things just fizzle out and a lot of threats and promises ended up being empty or conveniently stopped. The resulting conflicts fizzle out in anticlimactic ways and a romantic subplot develops seemingly out of nowhere (which I felt really didn’t belong and distracted from what could have been a great story focusing on Jillian and her family and their decisions between betrayal or loyalty.) The romance just didn't fit. I think if it had been paced differently, there might have been room for it to fit naturally, but as it stands, the romance felt out of place and distracting from what we all picked the book up for.

In the end, we’re really left with a story that started strong but didn’t quite deliver in the end as far as high-stakes conflict. Bickering, gossip, and snark? We got a perfect amount! Just not enough of the stuff that I picked the book up for in the first place. I think the major error here wasn’t the writing itself per se, the marketing just really didn’t match what was actually in the book, so my expectations weren't met and couldn't possibly be because it was simply inaccurate. The drama was still incredibly fun and very juicy, so I did have an easy time reading. I just ended up being disappointed that we didn’t get show-stopping plot twist ending. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Rating
I give this one 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
While it didn’t quite deliver on what I expected, I did have fun and felt like it was definitely an enjoyable and quick read. I'd give this one a chance if you're a fan of anything contemporary and dramatic! (If you enjoy shows like Gossip Girl, Dynasty, Knives Out, etc. This might be a book for you!)

*3.5

I enjoyed this enough I guess. I liked the story but it feels weird that the publisher is avon when this is not a romance. It's about a girl who just got out of prison figuring out how to get her family under control. The romance with her bodyguard was cute but it wasn't the main focus.

I received an arc through netgalley.

As always, much thanks to NetGalley and Avon books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
If you can't resist a mystery thriller set amongst a pit-of-vipers family, all of whom are up to no good to varying degrees, welcome to the Moorewood clan.
As an extended shady gang of conniving grifters, these familial sociopaths specialize in marrying wealthy heirs and heiresses, with a cold eye centered on their victims' bank accounts. Jillian, one of their few non-psychopathic members, made a futile demand for them to give up the grifts and go legit. For her troubles, one of them anonymously set her up for an FBI arrest, resulting in a grueling, miserable prison stretch of almost 3 years.
Out on parole, Jillian's back and seething with a vengeful agenda to thwart all the family's illegalities.....control their money, claim ownership of their mansion home and thwart their newest two grifts to marry into separate fabulously wealthy families.
But the Moorewoods aren't likely to take Jillian's 'go-legit-or-or-else' demand sitting down. When mysterious, murderous 'accidents' begin to befall her, her few family allies supply Jillian with hunky bodyguard Beck.......and a predictable but still amusing slow burn romance simmers while literally everybody's deepest family secrets start coming out.
While the set-up seemed to promise a deliciously dark comedy, I felt surprised to find the book spent more time on the soap opera conniving and the all too serious drama of the Moorewoods' dysfunctional family histories. True, there a good amount of wit in many of the dialogue exchanges, but the 'Knives Out' type laughs, if that's what your expected, don't occur with any frequency. And Jillian, along with the storyline, both take an awful long time to finally get where they're going.
Even with the dawdling plot, the chapters do zip along fast enough. Plus, I'm right there for any book that offers the fun of watching a sprawling household of toxic rascals meet their match. Best saved for a warm lazy spring afternoon.....or even the beach.

Moorewood Family Rules is a unique family drama but it also reminds me of so many of my favorite binge worthy shows like Bloodline, The Sopranos and even Yellowstone! I loved the relationships between all of the family members.
My favorite part of the book was definitely the very beginning. I mean, who wouldn't want to start revenge by crashing a party on a helicopter?! Talk about an attention getter.
The conversation and banter is so well-written in this book that you literally feel like you are in the room with the characters.
When Jillian gets out of prison to cover for her family's messed up schemes, she's mad. Like really mad and who can blame her? She wants the family to be decent people; not a family of con-artists. But thanks to her, they are going to eventually get what’s coming to them with Jillian as the smart female lead as the mastermind behind her own elaborate heist! It's not a serious read despite serious topic matters but more of a romcom. Super fun!
Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the ARC!

Jillian Moorewood is home after spending three years in prison to protect her con artist family. Hoping that they had finally gone legit, but not surprised that they hadn’t. She knows and expects that they will revolt, but not that they might try to kill her. When her business manager (whom she does trust) hires her a bodyguard, he is nothing like what she expected, but he sure is something! Beckett Gabriel Romer, aka Beck, is not just a security specialist, but owns the company. He slowly gains the entire picture of what her families’ plans are for Jillian and her money. When she needs a confident, he is there and when she needs a lover, he is also there. Will Jillian be able to remove her family from HER home without anyone, especially her, dying? A little confusing at times due to the various characters and their plans to rid themselves of Jillian, but altogether an amusing story. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)