n 1968, Richard Burton gave Liz Taylor a large diamond that she had made into a ring. The diamond was his attempt to get their lives together again. Lizzie had always been enamored of Elizabeth Taylor and the life she led. Her husband, Ritchie, was aware of that and gifted her an 11 carat diamond after their nine month separation. The ring was a symbol of their love, at least until the love was gone and the ring disappeared. Both couples had their ups and downs and this is Ritchie and Lizzie's story of their romance over the years.

This story is told in two time periods - 1968 begins the story of Lizzie and Ritchie when they start their tumultuous romance. The present day part of the story is told by their three adult children - Addy, Nathan and Courtney. The ring that symbolizes their parents love has been lost for years and when it is finally found in a safety deposit box, the three children each feel that it belongs to them.

Who will the diamond end up with? Will it bring them together so they can move forward as family or create divisions that can't be overcome?

I enjoyed this book from page 1. The characters are all well written - flaws and all! The plot is well thought out and the author did a great job of combining some facts about Liz Taylor and her life throughout the book. This is a great story about family love and distrust, addiction, forgiveness and hope for the future. ( )

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. ( )