The Liz Taylor Ring by Brenda Janowitz

The Liz Taylor Ring by Brenda Janowitz

Published by Graydon House ISBN 9781525806476

Trade paperback, $16.99, 384 pages

I always enjoy a good family story with realistic sibling relationships, and Brenda Janowitz's latest novel with the enticing title The Liz Taylor Ring fits that bill perfectly.

When Lizzie falls for her older sister's former boyfriend Ritchie, her parents and sister are not happy. Ritchie doesn't seem to be able to keep a job, yet he always seems to have money. Add on the fact that Lizzie is infatuated with all things Liz Taylor (including her stormy relationship with Richard Burton), and Lizzie feels that it is destiny that she and Ritchie belong together.

We see their courtship and eventual marriage. Their marriage has its ups and some serious downs, including a nine month separation after Ritchie's gambling addiction comes to light in a bad way. Ritchie convinces Lizzie to take him back and gifts her with a huge diamond ring, similiar in style to the ring Richard Burton gave Liz Taylor.

After running through a series of jobs, Ritchie opens an inexpensive clothing shop that becomes successful in part thanks to their eldest child Addy's creative ideas. Eventually the store is being run by Addy's husband Gary and her brother Nathan. Their younger sister Courtney is still trying to get work as an actress, but she has problems of her own.

Following the death of their father, the siblings receive word that their father had a safety deposit box in the Cayman Islands no one knew about. Inside the box was the ring he gave their mother, which they had always believed had been stolen years ago. The three siblings disagree on what to do with the ring- keep it in the family (and who should get to keep it) or sell it and share the profits.

As the oldest sibling, Addy feels she deserves the ring. She has always felt that she doesn't get enough credit for making the store the success that it is. Nathan believes his husband Diego is cheating on him. Courtney has a drinking problem, and she and Addy fall right back into their troubled sibling relationship, with Nathan having to play peacemaker.

The siblings have to deal with the reality of their parents' marriage, their father's addiction, and how that all affected them in adulthood. Brenda Janowitz does a great job with the complicated sibling dynamics, it feels real to anyone who has siblings. She shows how adults fall right back into their old childhood ways with the people who know them best.  

The characters are all so well-drawn, from the siblings to Nathan's husband Diego and Addy's husband Gary to Lizzie and Ritchie to Addy's teenage daughters, I cared about all of them. I highly recommend The Liz Taylor Ring. 

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their Winter 2022 Women's Fiction Blog Tour.

My review of Brenda Janowitz's novel, The Grace Kelly Dress is here.