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.

I loved this book. It delivered everything promised from the synopsis. The pacing and back and forth was a little hard to get used to, but once I got into it, it was an easy read!

I really enjoy reading books about con artists and I thought this one focusing on the complicated family dynamics had an extra fun twist. It definitely dragged a bit in the middle but overall I think it was a fun and engaging story.

This was so well written. I was engrossed from the first page and it ticked all the boxes of my expectations. The character development was excellent. I would definitely recommend to others, a must read!

4.25/5

I found Moorewood Family Rules by HelenKay Dimon to be thoroughly addicting and such a fun read! I'm not sure why the Goodreads average is so low, but I feel like I got exactly what I was expecting when I went into this. There is a little bit of romance that was actually a surprise to me, but that was fine, and I loved Jillian and bodyguard Beck. Each chapter starts with one of the Moorewood rules which was a nice touch, and I loved that it was a mix between family drama and the wonderful world of grifting. There were many times that I laughed out loud, and you can't help but find some of the antics from this family to be completely ridiculous in the best kind of way.

There isn't a ton of suspense in this book, so I have a bit of a hard time categorizing it as a mystery or thriller, and if anything, it is a very cozy... SOMETHING. 🤷‍♀️🤣 There is a minor air of mysteriousness to the story, but you definitely have to be in it for the dysfunctional family aspect. I still haven't finished Knives Out but I do think I could kinda see that comparison, except with no one dying. Most of Moorewood Family Rules is told from Jillian's POV but we also have Anika and I found myself wishing the audiobook had more than one narrator. Mia Barron was great, and I loved her voice for Jillian, but I wasn't a huge fan of her voice for Beck, and I tended to get confused during the viewpoint switches with Anika. I think I would read this one over listening next time, but either way, it is fun with great banter and that is just what I wanted.

If you’re a fan of Schitt’s Creek, this is the story for you!

We follow Jillian Moorewood after she goes to prison for her family’s cons. After 3 years locked away, she is ready to turn the family business around and do things the right way. With the help of some trustworthy relatives and a handsome bodyguard, she is ready to kick the Moorewood’s to the curb and take back what is legally hers.

This book is filled with insane family members and drama which was fun. Think Moira Rose from Schitt’s Creek times 3. It definitely made the story interesting but unfortunately did not save the story for me.

I was under the impression that this story is a mystery/thriller based off the synopsis and marketing but that is not the case. It is more of a romance with some family drama subplot. I couldn’t tell where the story was headed the entire time and didn’t believe the romance, which was a big part of the story. He was so serious about his job that we didn’t even get a glimpse into his feelings. This was also a closed-door romance, so we did not get to see any relationship progression.

I think this would be a good book for you if you love a good family drama plot, but don’t expect there to be any thrilling or mysterious elements. Unfortunately, this fell flat for me and I wouldn't recommend it otherwise.

Moorewood Family Rules is a light and fluffy read about a dysfunctional con family. While there were some witty conversations, there were also a lot of boring ones that led nowhere. My favorite characters weren’t even in the family!

Unfortunately, I really wasn’t into the style of writing, and that prevented me from ever getting into this.

Moorwood Family Rules is a mix of The Glass Onion and the Oceans 11 series. A family of conartists all trying to outwit each other makes for a hilarious story! I loved reading this!

One word to describe this book is fun. Honestly I wasn't sure what to expect but I loved it. The wit, the sarcasm, the tiny bit of romance it was everything I could have wanted.

This book was unexpectedly clever! A bit dark and twisty but with a light mystery. I am going to recommend to my patrons who enjoy The Spellman books by Lutz.

3 stars

Ah yes, the delightful tale of a white collar criminal being released from prison and conning her con-man-filled family into never conning again because crimes are bad or something. So while Jillian, the criminal, is trying to outcon her family in the one (1) week this book takes place she:
- hires and sleeps with her bodyguard
- that she hired because one of her cousins keeps trying to kill her??
- because Jillian controls the money but if she's dead then ... Profit!!!???
- I'm not sure the bodyguard did any actual protection work. What kind of professional sleeps with their client who just got out of prison after 2 days of knowing each other??
- finds another conman lady trying to steal from her Uncle Conman and exposes her!
- never leaves the estate at any time?? I wish a hot bodyguard would show up at my house and date me. And also that I was wealthy with a giant house.
- evicts her conman family from the estate except her sister and the one cousin i guess she sort of likes now
- the end!

Yeah, a lot happens and everyone in this book needs to go to therapy and get a real job. So, if you want an absurd and sort of fun story this one is low stakes and easy to read! But do not follow any of the rules or try to take up a life of illegal trickery for monetary gain it only leads to having to talk to your family too much and being kicked out of their house.

The cover and synopsis had me hooked.
But the book totally fell flat from what i had hoped.

It was a fun in theory but the chapters dragged a bit. There was little to none of a backstory given, but there were a few funny moments.
i wasnt a huge fan of the writing style/character types.
this book wasnt a hit for me, but i believe other readers will love it more than i have.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and Netgalley for the ARC

This book made me laugh so many times. Picture a mafia family mixed with a comedy. This was such a pleasure to read. If you're headed out to the beach, take this one with you. Everyone will be asking you what is so funny. But if you enjoy strong female lead characters and hilarious supporting characters, stop looking - this is the book for you!

Enjoyed this one, but the comparison to Oceans 11 or Knives out is not a good one. This is definitely more of a family drama story and while I enjoyed it… I was also a little disappointed since I was expecting something else.

That said I’d love a sequel!

I want to finish this so badly but I don't want to rush everything and ended up in slump.

I clicked the request button right away for those "Knives Out and Ocean’s 8 meets The Nest" but this book is nothing close to them, it was like a bit mixing of everything and stirred up badly.

No distinctive characters, no development, boring plots and banters. I think it was overly claimed to be "Knives Out" twist.

I went into this book thinking it would be strictly a family drama, full of crime and complete antics, it ended up being a mix of that and a little bit of romance, which was really a nice surprise. Although the pacing was a little slow, and I really wanted to get to the bottom of all the rules, I really like that each chapter had a rule, and how it applied to the rest of the chapter. In the end, I’m glad that not all family members were heartless towards Jillian and they were able to somewhat resolve their turmoil within the family. There were also many typos or repetitive words, like all the characters snorting all the time, this gave them all the same voice. Including when they would talk back to each other and always ask “what is that supposed to mean” or “tell me what” for example, it got tiring very quickly. I still appreciated the story for what it was, but would not read it again.

DNF on page 60: it was very slow and unexciting. My friend who read it filled me in on the ending and it didn't sound like I'm missing much.

I really enjoyed Moorewood Family Rules, but I don't think it was as much Oceans 11/Knives Out as a great fiction that had some con artists and family drama in it. I was able to adjust my expectations, which is why I ended up really enjoying it, however if you have that Oceans 11/Knives Out expectation in your head you may be disappointed.

Jillian is from a family of con artists (herself included), and ends up spending some time in prison after getting caught and basically the others threw her under the bus. She comes back and has decided to play a game of her own to get back at them and make the family legit (whether they want to or not).

Lots of fun and not so fun family drama, plenty of cons and one attractive bodyguard. Recommend if you like family dramas and cons!

I haven't read anything by HelenKay Dimon before, but I was sold by the cover and synopsis for this one: "Knives Out and Ocean’s 8 meets The Nest in this hilariously twisty novel... about a woman who returns home from prison to her dysfunctional con artist family and tries to get them to go legit."

Unfortunately, I don't think Moorewood Family Rules is for me. So far it's more of a light fiction read about a woman setting boundaries with her family than anything else. I don't want to read about the family squabbling about whether or not they're still conning, I want to know what the cons are, what the characters' motivations are, who conning comes natural to and who has to work at it, etc. Are any of them coming close to getting caught, which also could force them to change their ways? If not, how do they keep getting away with things? I think there are ways for this premise to deliver a really engaging novel, but as is it's not holding my attention.

I'd recommend this one less as "Knives out and Ocean's 8 meets The Nest" and more as a cute read about a woman trying to get her family to behave better.

DNF at 15%.