What do you do when the protagonist is also the antagonist. Or are they? In Dimon's novel Moorewood Family Rules we meet the Moorewood family. A family a con artists, manipulators, devilish sneaks, and people willing to do anything to keep the con on and money flowing. So when one of their owns threatens to disrupt their livelihood and do aware with their grifting ways, things get a bit dicey. This book is filled with humor, a family so dysfunctional it will make your head spin, and bunch of conniving con artists (and one ex-con). The cast of characters includes a string cheese fanatic elder, a manipulative and downright dangerous twin who will stop at nothing to protect the con, and an uncle that has lived in the con for so long he has even conned himself. If you enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, or Where'd You Go Bernadette, this is another great book to add to your TBR list.

If there is one word to describe “Moorewood Family Rules” it would be “fun.” It flowed easily and drew me right in with the funny remarks and quick engagement with the plot. The idea of the story was intriguing and unusual. It set up a lot of anticipation as to who, how, and what was going down. There were lots of snappy, fast-paced dialogue and dark humor. The POV switches between multiple characters, and they're all well fleshed out and three dimensional. Annika especially is an excellent character with an arc that I thoroughly enjoyed following, even though I fully didn't expect to. Being inside her head was my favorite part of the book and I thought she was the most well-developed character. Jillian and Beck's romance is closed door and not the focus of the story; their chemistry was strongest during their banter and blunt, humorous conversations. I kept trying to untangle the web of relationships, and to guess who was really at fault for myriad cons and assassination attempts. The one thing I loved about this book is the rules of the family that's motioned at the beginning of each chapter, and the chapter covers how the rule applies to it. The supporting characters did not disappoint! 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 think that this would make a great movie adaptation! If you enjoyed “Knives Out”, you will definitely enjoy this book! This was a fun and quirky read. I hope that this isn’t the last we see of the Moorewood clan. Thanks to HelenKay Dimon, Netgalley and Avon for an e-arc in exchange for my thoughts. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

If you are hoping for a dysfunctional family of con artists and grifters this book is for you! Jillian, just out of prison is determined to make her family of crooks go legit but they REALLY don't want to. Watching her maneuver around their schemes and dangerous plots to off her was a pure delight. A perfect book for vacation or the beach!

I went into this expecting it to be like Knives Out but with con artists; meaning, I was expecting something fun, fast-paced, and witty. Sad to say, I really didn't get that much from this book. Like many other reviewers are noting, it's slow-paced, and honestly, there's a real difficulty in nailing down the tone that the book is trying to strike. One minute, it's fun and the next, it's talking about real issues such as suicide and PTSD.

It doesn't help that the characters tend to convey exactly what they're planning on doing. The perk of con artist stories is that the audience is always one step behind them, but these cons are kind of terrible at that. Additionally, since half of the chapters follow Anika instead of Jillian, the reader always knows what the antagonists have planned and what they've done. It takes all the suspense out of the novel.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was very intrigued and excited by the description of this book....unfortunately I might have hyped myself up too much for this one. I won't say this is a bad book because it is not in any sense of the word. I will say that I personally didn't feel connected to any of the characters and therefore didn't care about their goals which lead to a very dull reading experience.
I wish more happened throughout this book. I felt like a lot of it was people sitting around and talking about heists and schemes rather than actually doing heists and schemes.
I think the story was good, but as someone who enjoys more character focused stories, this fell flat.
I also found the plot twist underwhelming. Although I didn't see it coming the way it was revealed had me waiting for something bigger to happen.
Overall I will say I can see people reading this and very much enjoying it, but for me personally it wasn't a right fit.

This reviewer supports the HarperCollins Union. I've read and written a review, but won't be uploading it here or on any other platforms until the HarperCollins Union has a fair contract.

Fun idea with an exciting mystery behind it. The chapters dragged on at some points and little backstory was given in the beginning. There were laugh out loud moments mixed with dysfunctional found family tropes all settled in a crazy backstory.

Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the ARC!

DNF, unfortunately. I couldn't empathize with the main character nor any of the other characters besides her new bodyguard. The plot wasn't engaging and I ultimately wasn't thrilled to keep reading, which is a total shame because I love Dimon's humorous writing.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager, and Netgalley for an ARC of this book! I’ve willingly read and reviewed it. All opinions are my own.

MOOREWOOD FAMILY RULES is being described as a mashup of KNIVES OUT and OCEANS 8, so going in, I was expecting a fast-paced book with extremely twisted family dynamics, a high-stakes mystery, and multiple attempts at murder with, maybe, a romance thrown in for good measure. And while MOOREWOOD FAMILY RULES certainly contains all those things and was certainly enjoyable, I didn’t feel as if there was enough.

Jillian, who controls the Moorewood money and has just gotten out of prison, is determined to make her family of con artists pay for setting her up to take the fall for the entire group. Upon her arrival home, she’s met with cousins, aunt and uncle, and sister who don’t seem to have learned their lesson and have continued grifting in their endless pursuit of wealth. After putting her foot down, Jillian learns that her family is more dangerous than she might have believed.

So, despite having the danger of murder by money-hungry family members, and the mystery of who turned Jillian into the FBI, landing her in jail for 3+ years, I never felt that pulse-pounding nervousness and excitement I was expecting. It seemed as if Jillian wasn’t at all bothered by the threat of death and rarely headed the advice of her bodyguard (and love interest) Beck, and though she took joy in their various misfortunes, there really wasn’t any sort of consequences for her family members’ actions.

In the end, I was left looking for more from the Moorewoods.

#MoorewoodFamilyRules #NetGalley Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I encourage you to check this one out!

The idea for this book was strong and had lots of potential, but the end result unfortunately fell flat. For the first few chapters I was questioning if I'd accidentally picked up a book in the middle of a series, there was little explanation or backstory as to what was going on. While the middle of the book revealed more information about the Moorewood family, I was unable to connect with them. The characters felt very surface level and underdeveloped. The story had a quick pace and a very immediate romantic aspect that felt lacking in build up or chemistry, but it made for a quick read. With a bit more character development and backstory to guide the plot this would've ranked higher for me.

This was such a fun read! Seriously so entertaining.

I enjoyed so much of this. I have hesitancies with certain parts of it, but I loved our narrator, the writing style, the humor, the family dynamics, and the drama! It was so easy to settle into this story like I was watching a trainwreck happen in my head (does that make sense?).

I only have some minor problems; if you can even call them that, that's stopped it from being 5 stars. First I think the story should have taken place over a more extended period. I was surprised by how fast things were moving. What was taking days should've been taking weeks or even months? While it kept the plot moving forward, it also felt rushed and like I was missing out on taking every part in. I understand that things needed to escalate quickly, but I also think some more build-up was necessary. Jillian’s family dynamics could have used some more time in between. And my biggest "issue" of all (SPOILER ALERT) is how rushed things were between Jillian and Beck! It was such a letdown to see how fast things went between them. Where was the build-up? Or the depth?
I was so shocked when things happened so quickly! They could've used more time to get to know each other, build that trust and loyalty, and solidify their relationship. I was looking forward to seeing them banter and be frustrated with each other, yet they dived into each other super quickly? Just felt super rushed and unrealistic. It was incredibly anticlimactic. Top that off with how short the story’s timeline was, and I was left feeling like the story was lacking in terms of build-up.

HOWEVER, I still thoroughly enjoyed this! I can't wait for others to read it. It was so fun, comical, ridiculous, and a great time overall. So happy I had the chance to read this! I truly loved it.

Thank you, Avon and HarperVoyager, for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review! I'm so excited for this to come out!

While I thought Moorewood Family Rules was a fun read with interesting characters, the middle dragged a bit and I had to force myself to continue it
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jillian Moorewood, the oldest child of a con man and his heiress wife, has endured 39 months in prison and returned to find her family still scheming and fleecing. Determined to put an end to their lies and fakery, she begins to rebuild her life with the help of a great aunt, a bodyguard, and a few allies. She kicks out the mooching relatives living under her roof, sets limits on everyone's access to the money, and establishes her own identity as her own woman. - This was a fun and suspenseful read!

After enjoying this authors works under her other pen name, which is primarily thrillers, I was excited to try another genre by her. The writing was great, witty banter and hilarious scenes. There is an extended family all living together, and their relationship could not be more dysfunctional. The synopsis sounded so interesting and I saw this going so differently. While it was a light, entertaining read, it didn’t grab me like I wished. I enjoyed it enough and will continue to read this authors work. Thank you for my digital ARC!

This exceeded my expectations by far. First off, the author has a wicked sense of humor and is incredibly funny. So many times I found myself laughing out loud at the dialogue or commentary. I can't wait for others to read this when its published in April 2023. Thanks netgalley & the publisher for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

4 Ridiculous Relative Stars!

Jillian has just made it back home after 3 years in prison. Why was she in prison? She took the fall for her con artist family.

Now she is, understandably, over their conniving and criminal ways. Especially since she requested that they stop with the grifting when she went away. She also probably doesn’t want to end up back in the slammer on their behalf. So, she is presenting a new set of rules for the family to follow. Get it together and above board, or else.

Too bad they ignore her completely and decide the answer to all their problems is getting rid of Jillian, one way or another. With a select few familial allies and a beefy bodyguard, she sets out to make things legit, once and for all.

The comparisons to Knives Out are spot on. This was so much FUN. The snark, banter, and miserable family dinners were fabulous.
I mean really, I probably would’ve dumped my lobster salad over the heads of most of Jillian’s relatives, were I in attendance at said dinners.

The pacing was great, there was always a new mystery developing to keep your attention and making you wonder what was actually going on. While many of the “surprises” were predictable, there were a few that worked.
There were also some very intense moments that had me dreading what Jillian’s relatives would try next.

Throw in a little romance and snobby potential in-laws and you have the perfect family dramedy.

Check it out, when it hits shelves, 4/25/23!

A big thanks to the Publisher & NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

If I could sum up my feelings and review in one word, the only word that I can’t seem to find at the precise moment is, WOW. This book had it all; it was punched with drama, fun and little bit of action. I seriously loved vicariously through these characters. Overall, it’s a full 5 stars read for me

I loved it. It was definitely a very funny story with a few twists. I liked how Jillian took control of everything once she was out of prison and how she got rid of all her horrible family members. I also liked how she got a happy ending of her own as well. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager . Two words to describe this book - Fun and Drama!
The book circles around Jillian who spent 39 months in prison and comes back to her family unexpectedly. Her aunt tells her at the tail end of the party where her uncle (Jay) had his next victim " Hire a bodyguard." "Trust No one". Something one does not want to hear especially when they are fresh out of prison.
The one thing I loved about this book is the rules of the family that's motioned at the beginning of each chapter, and the chapter covers how the rule applies to it. A family of grifters trying to con their latest victims, Jillian has to figure out who in her family sent her to prison -Family who think they can send Jillian back to the prison and keep her money. I love how the book covers family dynamics and drama that comes with money. I also like how the author covers that not everyone in the family is a bad apple. If you like a light fun read, I recommend this book!