This is one of those books where I was really excited to read it hut just ended up not being able to focus on it or get into it. I struggled to connect with the characters and just lost interest in the story as a result. I ended up dnfing it. I’m giving it 3 stars because the writing was good and the story itself was fine, just not for me.

Moorewood Family Values
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: HelenKay Dimon

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Avon Books and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: One day a con man met an heiress, wooed her, married her, had two kids…and kept on conning. Jillian Moorewood is the oldest child from that meet-cute-gone-wrong marriage. The stable one. The sensible and dependable one. The one who protects and fixes. The one who went to prison to save their sorry butts. Now, thirty-nine months later, she’s out and she’s more than a little pissed.

Finally home she finds the scheming clan in full family fleecing mode. They all claim they didn’t really agree to Jillian’s previous go-legit-or-else ultimatum before she went away. They viewed it as a “suggestion” then ignored it. So, business as usual. But Jillian is done with the lies and fakery. She demands the whole messed-up crew clean up its act, and this time she’s not kidding—she has the leverage to make it happen.

Problem is, her life is in shambles, but with the help of a great aunt (crooked but loveable), a bodyguard (who is a nice surprise after three years in prison), and a few allies (all working undercover), Jillian starts to put her life back together. She kicks out a few mooching relatives living under her roof, sets limits on everyone’s access to the money, ducks from their various attacks, and sees if that bodyguard is maybe interested in sticking around for a while. For the first time, she’s Jillian Moorewood, her own woman, and she’s ready to figure out who she is.

My Thoughts: This is classified as a romance/mystery/thriller but it is really family drama with a slight mystery and slight romance. I think if it was reclassified, it would set the reader expectation better. I thought the overall premise was interesting, however, it just fell a little. Jillian, after spending time in jail, no longer wants to be grifter (con artist) and wants to go ‘straight.’ Her family has other ideas. Jillian gives them an ultimatum… Will they comply?

Each chapter has a Moorewood Family Rule listed, which was fun. The banter between the characters was fantastic. The characters were a bit complicated and a little confusing in the beginning. The history of the multitude of characters is absent, so at times, I had to reread paragraphs to understand where it was going. I think if there were flashbacks to the family history and dynamic, it would have pulled things together better. For the romance part, there needed to be more built up chemistry. Since there were many characters lacking the historical significance, it was really hard to connect with any character, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Jillian. She had the attitude that even though she covered for her family doing the jail sentence, she was determined to go straight, even at the determent of her family.

If you like Knives Out or even Ocean’s Eleven, this would be right up your alley. A dysfunctional family of con artists, what could go wrong? It was not a bad read, overall, I did enjoy the story and would recommend under the classification of family drama.

This was a cute book but at times it felt like it was dragging. I was expecting more action and that wasn't there. Overall, it was fine but not a favorite.

<b><i><u>please note that the trigger warnings and topes/themes may contain spoilers</b></i></u>
<i><u>I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. </i></u>
<b>POV:</b> 3rd person, multi POV
<b>TWs:</b> death of parent (recounted), cheating (not MCs), OW drama, OM drama
<b>standalone:</b> yes
<b>final thoughts</b>: Jillian is our FMC who is coming out of prison after being put there by her family- she comes back home and is blindsided by her family still up to their old antics.
While this book was mostly enjoyable, I was not expecting the story that I read. I had a tough time considering this was supposed to be a romcom/mystery, but it just felt like a lens into tons of family drama with hints and drops of mystery and romance and not much suspense. I was SO EXCITED for a bodyguard romance, but we didn’t really get much there, and I didn’t ever really feel connected to anyone. That being said, it was a good read for people who enjoy high drama and family dynamics


read this book if you love
😬 angst
👮 blue collar MMC (bodyguard)
⁉️ murder mystery
🌀 plot twists
🎭 drama

I went into this book really excited to read about this FMC who is trying to change the way her family runs, I was excited to read about the way she is going to get these cons to go good and get a little mystery kick, but I wasn't really feeling it. I did enjoy the bodyguard romance that came along with this book but I was looking for more. I felt bad for Jillian and how her family treated her but I liked how Beck was able to help her through this time in her life, even if she didn't want it at times. I definitely think this would be a great read for someone else but just not me.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC opportunity!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I feel lukewarm about this book. It seemed like the family never changed and that at every point, the main character was complaining about her conning family or trying to change their conning ways, to no avail. I was also expecting it to have more heisting and trickery since it was compared to Knives Out and Ocean's 8. However, it's more of about a woman coming into her own and standing up for her family.

2 sad stars

I was so excited for this book because I love Knives Out with every fiber of my being and my second favorite thing is a heist movie, a heist novel, anything about heists. However, this entire book just fell flat for me. There wasn't enough "conning" for me and I honestly wasn't sold by the family dynamics. The secondary plotline of the romance also wasn't really working for me. I think I had different expectations for this novel but at the end of the day it was just a women's fiction novel about the main character's self discovery which wasn't really what I thought I had signed up for.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Will absolutely be recommending this read to all of my cozy romance friends. Kind of revenge plot, kind of romance plot, but chock full of oh my god I cannot even. Poor Jillian and these people she’s unfortunately related to. While I’ve seen it described as a “Knives Out” sort of read, I will say that the only way it compares is in how horrid the Moorewood family members are with how horrid the Knives Out family members were. There’s no real mystery here, just good ole fashioned family drama with a drop of hot bodyguard.

Jillian went to prison for 39 months to save her family of con artists. When she gets out, she is ready to follow through with her ultimatum to get her family to go legit. With the help of her great aunt, her bodyguard, and a few undercover allies, Jillian is ready to figure out who she it.

This was fine…it was a little to “out there” for me. I had a hard time getting into it.

Although this book was not at all what I imagined by the way it was advirtised I enjoyed the way that it played out. It was more of a family drama then a fun con artist come-back.

Jillian came out of jail after doing time for her family and tries to make them go striaght. They resist her and try and kick her out but due to her love interest and hire body guard that is not happening!

The relationships in this book were my favorite. I come from a very dynamic and whacky family and to see some of the same struggles and patterns in this book was a comfort.

If you were looking for the Ocean 11's feel you will not get it but if you need some family drama this is a good read!

Fun book about a family of criminals--it had me laughing out loud on many occasions. The banter was the best part. Full of family drama and the right balance to keep it kind of light, it was a great respite from the heavier books I've been reading!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the concept of a conning family. I'm a huge fan of con movies and the fake out double reveal. Jillian was interesting as a character, you hardly ever read about characters who have been to prison and especially women, made her different from most of the woman I read about. I don't really like closed door books but her and Beck and were a good slow burn and I appreciated the dedication taken to their romance. My only complaint is if you are going to have a book about con people there should be a heist! Even if the main character is trying to better themselves. There's a lot of interesting concepts here, I think it could do well with a spin off or even prequel.

2.5/3 stars
The family banter was supposed to come off as witty but completely fell flat. I could tell the author was going for quick zingers like the dialog in Gossip Girl & Succession but the end goal was not achieved. It made this one really hard to read & focus on the progression of the plot.
Felt like there was too much going on that it deterred from the perceived amount that was. For all of the closed door chats there was not nearly enough resolution. Felt like there was so many side missions that we forgot about the main one.

This one wasn't for me. I had a hard time getting into it, and I just didn't connect to any of the characters or storyline.

I ended up not finishing this around the 70% mark. I love the concept but I wasn't into this book at all.

This book has everything… drama, crime, family turmoil, and romance. The white collar crime aspect of this book is light-hearted and makes reading so much fun. Definitely a book I couldn’t put down. You love to hate the characters. I love that there was multiple POV and the characters have depth.

Thank you netgalley for this E-Book ARC. The opinions are my own.

I loved everything about this super fun romance with excellent elements of a thriller and a family drama.
Jillian Moorewood is back in her family home after spending 39 months in prison. She didn't commit the felony, but her being the head of the family and a dying request from her mother made her always put herself in front of anything that might endanger it. Unluckily for her, that family is mostly made up of con artists that live for the thrill of taking things they shouldn't. She had given her family the ultimatum to stop or lose everything before going to jail, then someone ratted her out to the FBI and now Jillian is back for revenge. But things are not at all what she expected and there's more to the Moorewood family than even Jillian knew.
I loved how the plot kept me guessing and showed different aspects of each family member. There are also little hints leading you to the revelations at the end that might not have felt so important but ended up playing big parts.
Overall, it was a fun story that instantly caught my attention and kept me glued to pages to see what else could possibly happen. I liked it enough that I'd love to get more books following what happens to the rest of the family.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the super fun read!

While I somewhat enjoyed MOOREWOOD FAMILY RULES, it was not what I expected going into it. The book ended up being more family drama and less, well, drama. I was hoping for some more action/adventure elements and less standing around and talking. So while it was fairly well done, it just wasn't what I was thinking it would be.

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 Stars

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and HelenKay Dimon for allowing me to read an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) for an honest review! This book was published on April 25, 2023.

Moorewood Family Rule #1: Family comes first. Always.

The Moorewood Family may be full of trifling con artists but, believe it or not, they were once a cohesive and supportive unit. That was until someone turned Jillian into authorities for their family’s financial malpractice. Now the family certainly knows how to put the “dis” in dysfunctional. They dis each other at every opportunity that presents itself.

Moorewood Family Rule #28: Never let your guard down.

Revenge ought to be engraved on the family crest. Jillian took a huge dig at the family by secretly stealing all of their money from under their noses. Now, everyone is out to get Jillian when she isn’t looking. Hence, the need for Beck…Jillian’s new crush…err I mean bodyguard.

Moorewood Family Rule #36: Sometimes you have no choice but to sneak around.

Will Jillian be able to sneak around and survive the attacks and wrath of her family? Will the family be able to survive the strict new terms that Jillian is trying her best to implement? Will forgiveness surface anytime soon? Or, will the family continue to crumble and eventually separate?

This book certainly throws surprises around freely. It is a book that I needed to put down for a while and come back to but I’m certainly glad I did. I ended up enjoying it much more than I predicted.

This book just wasn’t for me. I felt like the pacing was a little too slow and I never found myself eager to pick the book back up. It wasn’t the writing that I didn’t care for but the development of the story.