Fast paced and engaging, this book was a quick read with comedic relief, and a great story line. The family characters were fun, though annoying at times and the main character was likeable!

Definitely a fun read though I found many of the characters to be stiff and annoying. The family dysfunction part is mostly new to me as a huge part of the story, however, again, I found some of the characters to be exasperating in relation to the dysfunction. The romance added a nice layer though I felt like something was missing. Overall, something about the whole of the book felt stale .. or just that something more was missing.

Don't hate that I read it.

Reuniting with her family after serving a prison sentence, thanks to one of her backstabbing relatives, Jillian was determined to uncover the traitor and force her family to abandon their criminal ways. As expected, the family was not amenable to these terms, but Jillian wouldn’t give up on them. The real question was why?

I will admit that I as I read this book, I was happy to not be part of a greedy grifter family, but at the same time, I was utterly amused by their antics. I laughed a lot, and I laughed often, but under all the humor was Jillian’s desire for love and stability. I felt this gave the light and fun story a bit of depth. I also admired Jillian’s personal growth. She eventually was able to take a step back and recognize the best choices for herself.

The romantic subplot was a winning one for me. The chemistry and rapport between Jillian and her love interest was fantastic. I loved every moment I spent with them, and I simply cannot imagine anyone resisting the charm of Beck. Overall, this was a rather rollicking and throughly entertaining romp.

Overall I thought the premise of this book was so interesting. However I felt the story was a little repetitive and I wish we got to see or hear about their past cons. Also some of the twists weren't as punchy as I thought they would be. I did love the little romance that was sprinkled in however.

Jillian Moorewood returns home following a three-year stint in prison. Someone in her scheming family set her up to go to jail. She went with an agreement of no more cons. Except now they are claiming they didn’t really agree to anything. With complete control of the family finances, Jillian is demanding that they follow her orders. Problem is that someone doesn’t agree, and it becomes clear that Jillian needs a bodyguard. Now they must figure out how to keep Jillian safe while also getting her family under control and legitimate.

I have not read any of HelenKay Dimon’s novels prior to this one.

This reminded me of Jennifer Crusie’s Dempsey family duology. Sophie’s novel was about her not being a part of the con artist family. This novel was about Jillian trying to stop her family from continuing to be con artists. I loved everything about it. I loved sassy, vindictive, but also wanting to save her family Jillian. I loved Beck, the smartaleck, but efficient bodyguard. The banter was hilarious and was part of the enjoyment. I breezed through this novel in one day because I absolutely refused to put it down.

While Jillian obviously wanted revenge, I found her more compelling because she wasn’t completely hateful. The way she handled the family at the end, after giving them more than one second chance, showed she was the bigger person. I can’t imagine being able to not destroy my family if one of them had just sent me to jail for their deeds. I was surprised about the snitch, and I understood both sides of the conflict.

Overall, I rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars.

Let me just start this review by saying.. this is the best book I've read all month. Somewhere between Knives Out mixed with Ana Huang's Twisted Love (the hot bodyguard romance)... I could NOT have asked for a more refreshing read right now. It was exactly what I needed. 😂💪🖤

A SHORT PREVIEW:
When Jillian Moorewood gets out of prison, for tax evasion crimes she actually did commit... she's only got one thing in mind: Revenge. After everything she's done for years while her family couldn't keep themselves together, someone betrayed her and got her sent to prison. Not only does she mean to find out who it was

THOUGHTS:
- Not only did this make me laugh a time or two.. Dimon kept me interested in where the storyline was going without making me think too hard about who was doing what. A little bit of mystery wrapped up in ridiculous family drama was a killer combo!
- There really aren't many books out there like this - where the family drama unfolds in such a deliciously satisfying way, and the characters experience growth just the way they were meant to.
- I think because this one was so fun and different without too many very heavy subjects, it was an easy fast read ready to be enjoyed.

FAVORITE QUOTE(S): -- I had so many favorite quippy British humor-style one-liners from Moorewood Family Rules, but I'm only going to list a few. You just need to read it!

- 'He blinked. “Really?” It made her grumbly to concede and now he was making her say it more than once.'

- '“She wrote him a poem.” Jillian winced when she thought about the awkward lines. “It read like a ransom note.”' - I kid you not, I snorted. This is some sarcastic nonsense I would say about my family's ridiculousness, and I couldn't stop laughing.

NOTES:
- Lauded as Knives Out and Ocean’s 8 meets The Nest - I literally was thinking this reminded me of Knives Out before I went back to review this book! That's such an accurate comparison!
- 🌶/5 -- Closed door s3xual situations, but lots of tension and humorous 'touch her and you die vibes' - but also a mature women's romance which I LOVED.
- One of the few advanced reader copies I read where I will be buying a physical copy ASAP!!
- None of this felt hard to read so no need for CWs IMO!

**Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤

This was fun! Reminds me of an adult version of Inheritance Games a bit.

I loved the cat and mouse, the family dynamics and of course the power that money has.

Family drama, thriller, old mansion, family money. Here for it all!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was less exciting than I was expecting, less funny, less interesting. It was readable as I did finish it but it felt lackluster. There were a lot of subplots that could have really been explored further, and I think it would have been much better if Jillian had accidentally gotten roped into another heist or something. The revenge angle was self indulgent and she didn't even like that plot enough to follow through with it.

This was not my favorite and I’m so sad about it!! I wanted to love it so much and thought it would be similar to Dial A for Aunties with lots of family drama and heists, but this book was mostly just family drama and seemed to be missing a lot of the heists and schemes. In the acknowledgements, the author said it was originally more heist and less family disaster which is what I was expecting. I wanted to know a little more about their lives before Jillian went to jail and really what sent her there. It was still good just a little different than I was expecting.

2.5 stars

This is the second book I've read this week that used a "Knives Out" comparison! I was planning to go ahead and watch the movie, but apparently it isn't available in the US.

I was intrigued by the premise and thought this one sounded right up my alley, but it went to the wrong address!

Love, love the adorable cover and did enjoy the MC. That is where it ends though. After a promising beginning, there was no suspense, too much back and forth chit chat and background history going on with the dysfunctional family, and I totally lost interest.

There is a tiny bit of a romantic interest that develops, but it fell flat. I didn't like the "witty" humor either. It was cringey for me. The plot needed to be developed more and the conclusion was just a head scratcher.

If you enjoy a dysfunctional house/family with some light suspense and a certain kind of humor, it may work better for you.

This was quite a fun romp of a book. There was a crazy family, a twisty (in a fun way) premise, and a short, sweet romance. There were some things that I didn't love about it, but overall it was an entertaining reading experience!

The Moorewood family is made up of con artists, but their leader, Jillian, is back from a 39 month jail sentence after taking the fall for the rest of them, and she's ready to put them on the straight and narrow. With the help of a sexy bodyguard, Jillian has to try to get her crazy family to give up the life of crime.

This book was really engaging. It had a cast of characters that I want to spend more time with. These people were humorous, bold, and often ridiculous. I really liked the family leader, Jillian, and her no-nonsense way of approaching her family. The cousins and uncle were reckless and spunky, but at times had a bit of depth to them. Beck, the bodyguard/love interest was a grumpy, sexy presence on the page. I liked their chemistry. The story itself, while meandering, was lively and fast paced.

As stated above, there were some things I didn't love. First, the vagueness that plagued the entire book. This family is bad at communication and so many conversations started but never went anywhere. Second, I could have done without the sister character entirely because I don't feel like she added much to the book. I didn't like her love interest at all. The cousins and their antics were much more entertaining. Finally, the romance was given almost no time. I also could have used a bit more spice.

Overall, this book was an enjoyable way to spend a few hours and I wouldn't mind revisiting this family. I would definitely read more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for the advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. I got a lot of Finlay Donavon vibes because we have a badass main character that has a lot of patience for the craziness surrounding her. There was humor, tension, and more importantly enough twists that kept me wanting more.

Jillian held a lot of secrets but Aunt Patricia will forever be my favorite. She had a lot of secrets to protect the people she loved. She was a hilarious character and I loved how she lurked around and used her age as an advantage to know everyone's secrets. Anika was also another great character. I loved watching her and Jillian's growth.

Some of the twists were geat. I loved how the twists just kept on coming. I also loved the writing and other than the obvious grammatical errors of an arc, it was pretty great.

Family drama, con-artist and revenge. You get all this and a little romance thrown in. Jillian returns from prison (a place she never should have been in to begin with) to her con artist family to try and get them to go to the right side of things. But her family has other plans in this funny, drama filled story.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an entertaining read of a petty, diabolical, sometimes murderous and always darkly humorous grifting family that can’t stopping conning their targets and each other. The author’s world building and cast of characters make you hate/love the family all at once. I could see easily translating to the big screen as it would be so satisfying to watch play out.

I wouldn’t categorize it as a romance though, more of a heist with romantic elements. I enjoyed Jillian and Beck’s banter and watching them fall in love and truly get each other for who they actually were, not just a fake shell.

My favorite character in the story has to be Jillian, who makes an appearance at the start in an absolute baller move of touching down in a helicopter at the family’s estate:

“She shoved a creeping sensation of doom aside and plastered a smile on her face that she hoped telegraphed a fraction of the you-bitches-are-in-trouble emotions surging through her.”

See also, “Though she couldn’t imagine how any words Kelby used could adequately sum up the messy, yelling, scheming crew on this estate. They defied description.”

Overall a very entertaining read.

This book was a lot of fun. I was rooting for Jillian the whole time, but I'm glad she found a middle ground at the end. Some parts were a little rushed, but overall I liked the pace. Really fun, and I will definitely read another HelenKay Dimon!

A fun read full of true characters in every sense of the word — I shouldn't have been surprised this one was as amusing as it was, considering that everyone is a con artist and therefore a bit over-the-top as a result, but I almost wanted more in the way of wacky family hijinks overall. The romance between Jillian and Beck was one of my favorite aspects, as was the house party atmosphere of the entire setting, but something about the pacing felt off, with a lot of tension and page space slow-burning up to a resolution that felt as though it could have been dropped earlier than the very end of the book

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

I loved this book. The dysfunctional family. The depths they’d go to to get what they wanted. The fix-it-all big sister. The gruff-yet-soft bodyguard. All of it made me happy and excited to get back to reading. The twists were less shocking and more entertaining. The ridiculousness of the family business was so fun to read. THE AUDACITY of some of the characters was appalling and hilarious.

If you want a fun read, don’t miss this tale of a twisted family of con artists and one woman’s mission to set them straight. Thank you, NetGalley, for thus ARC of Morewood Family Rules by HelenKay Dimon in exchange for an honest review. 4.5 stars.

As someone who watches Ocean's 8 religiously once a quarter and feels that she could most definitely pull off a high-stakes heist if the need arose, this book had my name written all over it. Moorewood Family Rules is the perfect combination of heists, hijinks, and drama, all tied up behind an "I'd-definitely-pick-this-up-off-the-shelf" cover. I enjoyed the fast pace and that I didn't know what to expect from page to page, it definitely kept me guessing how everything would play out. The Moorewoods are a disaster of a family and it lends to hilarious standoffs, awful siblings, and tender character development. All in all, a fun read for anyone looking to cure their crime fever without spending the next few years behind bars!

This is a pretty hilarious book about a family of con artists. If you are in the mood to read a book to feel better about your own families disfunction and need a good laugh this is definitely a great pick. It’s not my typical style of read but very fun!

Jillian Moorewood is fresh out of jail after covering the crimes of her grifting family. She heads home to the family mansion to take back control of the business and force them all into legitimate jobs but none of her extended family wants to change. Quirky characters, a hot bodyguard, attempts on her life and a battle worthy of Succession keeps readers engaged to the very end.