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.

Friday 5ive- January 28, 2022

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly post featuring five things that caught my attention this week. We're preparing for a Nor'easter storm here in NYC, we'll see if we get one inch of snow or 8-12 inches of snow. Either way, we have enough wine and books in our apartment to survive.

1)  Everyone is playing the new Internet game sensation Wordle, and so I gave it a try this week. Once a day, a new puzzle is released. You get six chances to guess the 5 letter word of the day (you can only play once a day, which I like). I've only been doing it for four days, and each day I got the word in four tries- until today, I needed all six tries to get the word. You start by guessing a random five-letter word. If a letter is in the correct place, the tile turns green. If the letter is in the word but in the wrong place, the tile turns yellow. If the letter is not in the word at all, the tile turns black. It's a lot of fun and it really makes you use your brain power. You can play or get more information here. This is my Wordle from the other day.

2)  I saw this ad from McDonald's for their new "off the menu" items, specialty items you can ask for that aren't featured on their regular menu. When I saw their Surf 'n Turf- which appears to be a Big Mac with a Filet O' Fish stacked inside- I thought it was a joke. I'm guessing perhaps it was created by someone who had the munchies after smoking something. 

3)  I joined in on two terrific online book events on Wednesday evening. The first was Buzz Books Editors Panel, presented by Publishers Lunch and the American Booksellers Association. Six editors each presented a book they were excited about in a short conversation with the authors. The Buzz Books Editors Panel was always one of my favorite events at the late, lamented Book Expo, and I really like the new addition of hearing from the authors as well. I'm most excited to read Robin Peguero's debut legal thriller With Prejudice from Grand Central Publishing (publishing May 17th) and Take My Hand, a historical fiction from Dolen Perkins-Valdez (publishing April 12th from Berkley).

The second event was William Morrow's Summer Fiction Showcase. Tavia from William Morrow was our delightful host as authors from six novels publishing this summer introduced their books in taped pieces. Interspersed in the event were short messages from popular authors- Christopher Moore, Paul Tremblay, Susan Wiggs and more- who gave us a quick peek at their upcoming books. It was so well done and moved so quickly, they covered a lot of books in a short time. The ones I am most intrigued by are Shirlene Obuobi's On Rotation, (publishing June 21st) a novel about a Black female medical resident in Chicago, and Kirsten Miller's The Change, (publishing May 3rd) a "feel-good feminist revenge fantasy". You can watch the presentation on William Morrow's Crowdcast channel here. My To-Be-Read list expanded exponentially this week.

4)  We watched the first part of season four of Ozark, all seven episodes over the weekend. Things are winding down for the Byrde family, and not in a good way. It's reminding me more and more of Breaking Bad, as these people are in way over their head, and the tension is racheting up moment by moment. I find it interesting that the women are leading the way- Wendy Byrde is very scary, her daughter Charlotte is becoming a mini-version of Mom, Wendy's archenemy Darlene Snell is seriously unhinged, FBI Agent Maya Miller is walking a dangerous line, and Ruth, oh dear, Ruth, what will happen to you? We can't wait for the second part of season four, the end of the story (or do we already know the end???) 

5)  I read three good and very different books this week. My favorite was Steven Rowley's novel 

The Guncle, a sweet story about Patrick, a gay man who opens up his home to his young niece and nephew for the summer after their mother (his best friend from college) dies and their father (his brother) has to go to rehab. Patrick made his fortune as an actor on a hit TV sitcom, and left LA for Palm Springs once the show was over, leaving acting behind. I absolutely loved the characters and the relationship between the children and Patrick.  (His Guncle Rules are delightful.) This book made me smile as I read it, and you can actually feel your heart opening up to bring these characters inside. I hope this becomes a movie, because I heard Dan Levy's voice (Schitt's Creek) as Patrick as I was reading. He would be perfect! This is a truly feel-good book, albeit tinged with some sadness. Kind of like life, right? 

I read a thriller by Adele Parks titled Woman Last Seen. Leigh is married to Mark and stepmum to his two sons. The older son has become surly and angry with her, and Leigh doesn't know why. It hurts her that Mark doesn't defend her to his son. When Leigh fails to return home from work, Mark contacts the police. At the same time, a woman named Kai, who is married to a wealthy Dutch businessman, goes missing as well. DCI Clements is investigating the women's disappearance, which she believes may be connected even if her boss thinks both women are runaways. This book has a huge twist in the middle that shakes up the whole story. My full review publishes on Sunday. 

The third book I read was Brenda Janowitz's fascinating family story The Liz Taylor Ring. When a young Lizzie marries her sister's former boyfriend Ritchie (against her parents' better judgement), they have their ups and downs, and Ritchie doesn't seem to be able to keep a job. When Lizzie and Ritchie separate and reunite after nine months, Ritchie gifts Lizzie with a huge diamond ring like the one Richard Burton gave Liz Taylor after their separation. The ring resurfaces after the death of Ritchie many years later and that causes their three children- Addy, Nathan and Courtney- to fight over what to do with the ring. This is a wonderful family story, a love story between Lizzie and Ritchie, and there is much here that people will be able to relate to- sibling relationships, parental loss, and issues of addiction. My full review publishes Monday. 

 

Stay safe and warm everyone.