Oakville, State Unknown, the Present

Pandamina Dorothy Avery -- called Mina -- is going through a bad patch, to put it mildly. Jackson, her live-in boyfriend, left her after she caught him with a bit of fluff called Tiffy, who also cost Mina her job. Now Mina is stuck with the whole mortgage on the house with no way to pay it off. Mina has hired a contractor to do some needed renovation (to be billed to Jackson) before she puts it on the market. Great, jobless, boyfriendless, soon to be homeless...what more could fate have in store?

Mina learns she's an heiress. As the only unmarried female relative of one Gladys Avebury of Wiltshire in England, Mina inherits -- a trumpet flourish here -- guardianship of a rock! The cornerstone of the cottage in Wiltshire that has been home to her ancestors for generations. In spite of the attorney's speculation about valuables inside, when the legacy arrives on her doorstep, Mina sees a rock. She's much more interested in meeting her contractor, a hunk in a tool belt with a face to match his body. Jonathon Teague is his name; Teague is what he likes to be called. How is it he knows that Mina is the one he has been waiting for?

But about the legacy, when Mina breaks the seal on the cornerstone, she lets loose a being known by many names, but for this tale we'll call him Riordon. He's a puca, born of a mortal mother by Oberon, King of the Fairies. Among other talents -- Riordon can change shape at will and he and Mina choose that of a dog -- he can, and does, get into Mina's mind. A couple of millennia ago, Riordan transgressed with the daughter of a Druid. His essence has been trapped in the stone ever since. Now that he's free of that prison, he's still not whole; he hopes that Mina will be the key to breaking the curse.

Someone in your head can be very annoying. He knows your every thought, is witness to your every action, silently interrupts every conversation. Imagine having a constant voyeur with you when...well, just imagine. Yet Mina begins to see behind Riordon's flippancy and innuendos.

Mina's a delightful character, funny, yet vulnerable. Mina's father wanted nothing to do with her, still doesn't. Her mother is the one who believes in magic, but she's married now and ineligible to be a guardian under the terms of Agnes's will. Teague is that rare combination of masculinity and tenderness, but watch out, Riordon can grow on you. He makes a magnificent stallion and a "snarky mutt" but wait until he takes human form...almost.

PANDORA'S BOX is guaranteed to make you chuckle; it also has a heartwarming effect. By the middle, you will have no idea how the author can make everything come out right for all involved, yet Ms. Stenzel pulls it off beautifully. Best of all, there are a couple of sequels in the works. One will be called THE DRUID MADE ME DO IT, coming in August. Get in on the fun; go ahead and open PANDORA'S BOX.

Jane Bowers