Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC! This book was pitched as Knives Out meets Ocean's 8 and I think they're fantastic comps, so this will for sure appeal to fans of either one of those titles!
The bodyguard/love interest, Beck was by far my favorite character because the sass and wit was perfect, especially his banter with Jillian. The family dynamics are complex and interesting, so if you're a fan on intricate family dynamics and morally gray characters this will also be a good pick for you!
Overall it was a good read and I enjoyed it!

I enjoyed this book mostly because of the chemistry between the main character and her love interest. I did think the actual action might be more exciting than what happened but it was still good. Three point five stars

2.5/5 stars

Knives Out is probably one of my favorite movies that’s come out recently (3 years is recent!) so I was very excited about this book. Unfortunately, this book didn’t really live up to my expectations. There were so many characters I had a hard time keeping track of all of their stories. I also had a hard time rooting for any of the characters since none of them were especially “good”. In most cases books are better than movies, but I think stories like this are best told on screen.

This book was the perfect combination of mystery and family drama. Kept me reading and engaged the whole time!

You may find my review on GoodReads the link is below.

The book is well thought out and I plan to get a copy of it for my library.

4/5 stars!

Moorewood Family Rules is the definition of a cozy mystery. Full of family drama, hilarious one-liners and a mystery that will keep you on your toes, this novel is a great read for when you want to be left questioning, but you don't really want to get overly stressed out by your book.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

It was a fun read with the perfect amount of likeable/unlikeable characters. I enjoyed the will they/won't they of the characters moral compasses. Definitely a good vacation read because it can be devoured in an afternoon or spread out over airplane flights.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

The description of this book as 'Knives Out' meets 'Ocean's 8' feels pretty accurate, though it definitely leans more towards Knives Out. While I found myself wanting more of the heist feel of Ocean's 8, I thoroughly enjoyed all of the family tension, scheming, and reveals. I love the character arc we see Jillian go through as she realizes her role in life doesn't have to be the family savior and she finds a healthy way to move on. Unfortunately, the other characters don't have as much depth (though this could be intentional considering they're all con artists). I wanted there to be more complexity with Beck and his relationship with Jillian - I kept waiting for him to betray her and add some drama to their relationship.

Overall, I recommend this as a fun, quick read - especially if you're a thriller reader like me and need a good palette cleanser!

this was a first book for me from this author. i thought it was great. I really liked what i read and will read more from this author. Good book. must read.

Morewood Family Rules is a book for those who love crime and drama. Set in Newport, Rhode Island, it follows a family of scammers who make their fortune by marrying and stealing from the wealthy. Jillian Morewood returns from prison after being arrested by the FBI, she seeks revenge on the family that blamed her for the schemes she never wanted to participate in.
Until I began reading this book I had not know that it was set in Newport, RI. As a Rhode Islander, one who often works at the Newport Country Club and is familiar with many of the members, there were so many points that things I am familiar with from my everyday life were referenced.
There were some things I liked about this book, and others I did not. The premise of the book had a lot of potential. Having a dysfunctional family trying to operation a criminal enterprise in a city full of old-money heirs could have made for an extremely intriguing storyline.
While there were many plot twists throughout the book that were appreciated, I feel like there could have been more done regarding the actual crimes. Instead the focus was very much on the family dynamic. This made the story move slower and a little less intriguing due to the fact that over the course of the story there was not much character development. The romance between the main character and the love interest was also developed rather quickly. It almost seemed that there was not much of a reason for the romance other than that the main character needed to have a relationship. Their feelings for each other did not seem developed enough.
In a more positive manner, I did think the ending of the story was well done. The characters all got what they deserved, something that I was rooting for the entire story. I also liked the fact that there was switching point of views. Sometimes it seemed like one point of view was much stronger and more frequent than the other, but without both the readers would not have been able to grasp necessary details about the plot.
Overall, Morewood Family Rules was an entertaining read. I would recommend it for fans of crime or people who like complex family dynamics.

I reslly enjoyed this novel because the main characters family is just like mineand thatd how i connected with the story. It held my interest and i read in one sitting. Cant wait to get my hands on the paperback copy. So i can share it with my friends

Thank you to Avon and HarperVoyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Moorewood Family Rules is a romcom taking place in the context of a family known for their generations of conmen and conwomen - and the member that they betrayed, who has returned full of spite and ready to cause a stir. 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 thorougly enjoyed following, even though I fully didn't expect to (let's just say... Annika contains multitudes and I judged a book by its cover).

The setting and characters were great. The plot, however, was lacking for me. Not a lot happens, and the romance isn't anything to write home about. The book does an excellent job of dissecting family obligation, lies, secrets, betrayals, and growth even when it hurts. The main characters have to accept and endure some uncomfortable truths to grow as people, and it's great to see. I just wish there had been more hijinks, mysteries, plot devices... something to drive things a bit more. The glimpses we got of those things were great, I just wanted more.

Moorewood Family Rules by HelenKay Dimon is a rom-com novel about a family of con-artists who get what they deserve. Jillian, the family financier who goes to prison in order to help her family end its con-game, creates an elaborate heist, not to steal from others like she was raised to do, but to steal from her own family in order to save them from their own schemes. As Jillian navigates death threats from her own family, she hires a bodyguard to keep her safe, in more ways than one.

I really enjoyed this book by HelenKay Dimon. The premise of the book is very good. I really liked the idea of a con-artist family being conned by their own blood. I liked Jillian as a character and enjoyed her plans to get back at her family. I also really enjoyed Anika, Jillian’s cousin who gets her own point of view in the novel. Being inside her head was my favorite part of the book and I thought she was the most well-developed character.

As much as I really liked this book, I thought that the relationship between Beck and Jillian was very rushed and forced. I didn’t find myself rooting for them or eager to find out what was going to happen between them. The way the relationship was written just wasn’t for me. In addition, all the characters (with the expectations of Jillian and Anika) didn’t feel fully developed to me. Overall, the book premise is such a great idea, but the characters, plot, and ending needed to be flushed out just a little bit more. As I approached the end of the book, the storyline felt flat. This was disappointing to me because who doesn’t love a book about con-artists!

After finishing Moorewood Family Rules, I give it three out of five stars.

Thank you so much to Avon HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for providing me this ARC, always a pleasure to leave a honest review for your publications!


This was a fun read, kinda reminded me a little bit of knives out. I will say I didnt connect with any of the characters, it was really hard to tell them apart and the pacing felt a little slow. I did love the beginning but it started to drag about halfway through.

I will say this was a very quick read, but POV writing is just not for me! This was a great plot, and though it drags it does pick up at the end.

Also beck, who is a grumpy, bodyguard??? hell yes

I found this book to be a lot of fun to read, sure the book has romance but the real standout for me was the main character's almost battle of wits with the rest of her family. I loved the occasional point of view changes from our lead to other members of the family as well as the fun twists and turns that the story has. Overall I found the book to be a blast to read and loved the characters.

I really loved this book and thought it was really funny. The characters were well developed and distinctive. The plot line had me hooked from the first chapter. This book was so much fun and so different from a lot of other family dramas I’ve read!

I really tried to like this book, but I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. I found this book incredibly slow for my taste. The POV was super confusing and hard for me to follow.

I really liked both the plot and characters of this book. The people are complicated and the story is fun. But the execution was wonky. The pacing was off and a bit confusing. I think too much was shoved into too short of a time and too short of a book. It’s rare I say I think a book needs to be longer, but this could have used some more space. Dialogue was used to give background, but it felt forced. Taking the time to explain key points outright would be worth the extra words. There was some also some inconsistencies, but I’m hopeful those will be worked out in the final printing.

The Moorewoods are a troublesome lot. The type of trouble you can't look away from. This was the perfect blend of mystery, romance, and snark. Jillian gives off bad boss energy as she returns from prison and attempts to have her family go straight. Can she get her family in line and stay alive? Moorewood Family Rules is entertaining and enjoyable. If you liked the t.v. series Leverage, you will enjoy this book!

Moorewood Family Rules follows Jillian Moorewood, back from prison, after returning to her grifting family (the reason she was sent to prison in the first place). Jillian gives them an ultimatum: end the "family business" or face the consequences. Fearing for her safety, Jillian is convinced to hire a security guard, and well, you can probably guess where that is going:)

I was so excited for this book. I was expecting chaos, I was expecting 4D chess, I was expecting to be thrilled and bamboozled... and I just wasn't. It felt like the majority of this book was Jillian threatening to do something™ to force the family to go legit. There were also some chapters thrown in from Anika's point of view, which were interesting but sporadic. I almost would've rather just kept to Jillian's POV to make some of the twists a bit more mysterious. There were many subplots that didn't really pique my interest and weren't fully fleshed out, which was distracting from the main plot.

The characters are fun, there are people you root for and people you love to hate, but a lot of them fell a bit flat. The romance was alright, it's a subplot and fade-to-black, so if that is/isn't your thing, there you have it. I did enjoy the banter. That was fun. Although, a solid chunk of it was "your family is messed up," "You don't know the half of it."

The book is more about family relations than grifting and watching a family get their just desserts, which was disappointing based on the marketing. I think it was okay, but it didn't wow me. There was a lot of missed potential in my opinion.

Fun, simple, and moderately wacky, Moorewood Family Rules is a lot more com than rom and a quick read.

Many thanks to Avon and NetGalley for sending me an e-arc in exchange for my honest review!:)