What do you think?
Rate this book
Southern Sanctuary #6
To Date A Disaster
Librarian Cara Devigne was beyond shocked to discover that she was the long lost relative of Apep, the God of Chaos. Though that information went a long way in explaining why madness, mayhem and pandemonium broke out all too often in her vicinity of late. More disturbing, she learnt that the only way for her ruthless relatives to awaken Apep is with her blood… all of it.
Accepting a job at the Southern Sanctuary, located in far off Australia, is her best option of staying alive. A place where magic is real and she should be safe. Except she keeps bumping into gorgeous - off limits - Erik Valhalla, and her unstable chaos whammy powers appear to be intent upon killing the man. Maybe it’s because he acts like a grade-A jerk, leering at her and talking to her breasts… so it was a complete mystery to her, why, when she wasn’t trying to kill Erik, all she could thinking about was kissing him.
Erik Valhalla is a man under extreme pressure. His mother has gone grandbaby crazy. Desperate to see her son melded she has instigated a major harassment campaign in an attempt to present him with suitable baby-mama candidates. So when gorgeous Cara Devigne practically throws herself at his feet he rightfully panics. He’s determined to act the jerk because he knows bone deep if he doesn’t scare her off, his single status is seriously under threat. Despite knowing that, he can’t seem to stop thinking about unwrapping the shy unassuming librarian package and discovering the fiery gorgeous woman lurking beneath the surface.
Constantly thrown together, it will take all of Erik’s magic to protect Cara from the two evil demi-gods hot on her trail and somehow convince her to stop trying to kill him long enough to prove that even though the woman is a walking disaster… she’s his walking disaster.
Accepting a job at the Southern Sanctuary, located in far off Australia, is her best option of staying alive. A place where magic is real and she should be safe. Except she keeps bumping into gorgeous - off limits - Erik Valhalla, and her unstable chaos whammy powers appear to be intent upon killing the man. Maybe it’s because he acts like a grade-A jerk, leering at her and talking to her breasts… so it was a complete mystery to her, why, when she wasn’t trying to kill Erik, all she could thinking about was kissing him.
Erik Valhalla is a man under extreme pressure. His mother has gone grandbaby crazy. Desperate to see her son melded she has instigated a major harassment campaign in an attempt to present him with suitable baby-mama candidates. So when gorgeous Cara Devigne practically throws herself at his feet he rightfully panics. He’s determined to act the jerk because he knows bone deep if he doesn’t scare her off, his single status is seriously under threat. Despite knowing that, he can’t seem to stop thinking about unwrapping the shy unassuming librarian package and discovering the fiery gorgeous woman lurking beneath the surface.
Constantly thrown together, it will take all of Erik’s magic to protect Cara from the two evil demi-gods hot on her trail and somehow convince her to stop trying to kill him long enough to prove that even though the woman is a walking disaster… she’s his walking disaster.
271 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 17, 2015
4 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Jane Cousins
22 books152 followersAn optimist, yet overly sarcastic. Big on bringing the laughs and the heat to her paranormal romance and cosy mystery series. A huge fan of snark, with a side order of bickering and a double heaping of banter. Delivering to the page sweet alpha males and their more than a match female counterparts. Before wrapping it all up in a hugely satisfying HEA each and every time.
Living in Melbourne, Australia, with her blue tongue lizard, that pokes it head out from under the porch twice a year. When not writing, can generally be found reading.
The Beast of Gloomenthrall - a snarky, fun & hot stand alone romantasy - Released January 2025
Currently hard at work on book 15 - To Crave A Curse (Southern Sanctuary series)
Follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JaneCousinsW... or Twitter for all the latest - @JCousins_Author
or - become a fan on Goodreads, read my blog and get all the latest news.
Living in Melbourne, Australia, with her blue tongue lizard, that pokes it head out from under the porch twice a year. When not writing, can generally be found reading.
The Beast of Gloomenthrall - a snarky, fun & hot stand alone romantasy - Released January 2025
Currently hard at work on book 15 - To Crave A Curse (Southern Sanctuary series)
Follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JaneCousinsW... or Twitter for all the latest - @JCousins_Author
or - become a fan on Goodreads, read my blog and get all the latest news.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 10, 2019
"...to find out Gods are real and that I’m related to one… life sucks lemons and I’ve run out of tequila and salt..."
Cara finds out she is descended from the God of Chaos. Which explains a few things... like why the last few places she has worked at have burned down, fallen apart, fell into a giant sinkhole... etc.. She's a walking disaster. FEMA just follows her around.
Cara hates it. She tries so hard to dress and act like a mousy librarian to not attract attention. Of course with all of the chaos, it's a little hard not to notice.
After losing her next job, she gets a position in the Southern Sanctuary where all of the people are magical. Finally, a place where she fits in. Of course, that doesn't mean that the disasters stop. It just means that they understand. And, she meets a guy. Yay, Cara!
They had a meet-splat.
This guy is going to have to have a hard head... and maybe some armor.... or be wrapped in bubble wrap.. whatever works. The point is, he's in danger.
Sure you are, dude. I hope that sparkly suit is made of kevlar.
I really liked this book because the disasters were pretty hilarious. I loved that Cara caused all that chaos around her. The male hero was also pretty good. Not my favorite, but a nice guy.
Cara finds out she is descended from the God of Chaos. Which explains a few things... like why the last few places she has worked at have burned down, fallen apart, fell into a giant sinkhole... etc.. She's a walking disaster. FEMA just follows her around.
Cara hates it. She tries so hard to dress and act like a mousy librarian to not attract attention. Of course with all of the chaos, it's a little hard not to notice.
After losing her next job, she gets a position in the Southern Sanctuary where all of the people are magical. Finally, a place where she fits in. Of course, that doesn't mean that the disasters stop. It just means that they understand. And, she meets a guy. Yay, Cara!
They had a meet-splat.
This guy is going to have to have a hard head... and maybe some armor.... or be wrapped in bubble wrap.. whatever works. The point is, he's in danger.
Sure you are, dude. I hope that sparkly suit is made of kevlar.
I really liked this book because the disasters were pretty hilarious. I loved that Cara caused all that chaos around her. The male hero was also pretty good. Not my favorite, but a nice guy.
July 16, 2020
I'm having a hootenanny on the HEA cloud this book left me on. Kicking up my heels in sheer joy, even though my stomach muscles are protesting coz I've been laughing, thanks to this book, way too much. Though can you ever laugh way too much when you are presented with snarky zingy dialogue and wonderful set-ups (that never tip over into the dreaded wacky)?
I love, love, love this world - I want to live in it, date all the hot men and be friends with all the fantastic females that populate it. Magic. A manipulative matchmaker. Mayhem thanks to magical powers gone wrong. And Sek & Mot are back playing the big bad villains and doing it rather well. The poor Met Museum after Cara gets through with it.
Cara brings the disasters from page one - raining down destruction on Maat's warriors and then moving to the Southern Sanctuary to hide out - finding a new target for her chaos in Erik. Who tries to play the cad card, but no one is buying it. He takes everything Cara dishes his way and keeps on smiling and being sexy. Darn him, I want one.
How can these romances be so hot yet so sweet at the same time? JC has this amazingly light touch at creating MC's who are meant to be - though they often fight their fate - I love reading about their journey. More often than not laughing myself silly along the way.
Somehow every book I read in this series is my new favourite. Bring on my next favourite.
I love, love, love this world - I want to live in it, date all the hot men and be friends with all the fantastic females that populate it. Magic. A manipulative matchmaker. Mayhem thanks to magical powers gone wrong. And Sek & Mot are back playing the big bad villains and doing it rather well. The poor Met Museum after Cara gets through with it.
Cara brings the disasters from page one - raining down destruction on Maat's warriors and then moving to the Southern Sanctuary to hide out - finding a new target for her chaos in Erik. Who tries to play the cad card, but no one is buying it. He takes everything Cara dishes his way and keeps on smiling and being sexy. Darn him, I want one.
How can these romances be so hot yet so sweet at the same time? JC has this amazingly light touch at creating MC's who are meant to be - though they often fight their fate - I love reading about their journey. More often than not laughing myself silly along the way.
Somehow every book I read in this series is my new favourite. Bring on my next favourite.
February 9, 2017
Warning, these books should not be read in public. Unless you like being stared at for giggling like a maniac and howling with laughter (it does take all kinds)
Cara, on the run librarian, is having a very bad few months. Suddenly she's a magnet for epic mayhem. From the opening scene in the library you will be rooting for her, whilst laughing yourself silly at the chaos that erupts around her.
Especially when that chaos is directed at Maat's warriors, who are just trying to help and protect her from her relatives (the dastardly demigod dickheads Sek and Mot who need Cara's blood to wake up dear old dad). Then Cara meets Erik, and all hell practically breaks loose - he's running scared from the town matchmaker and in a conundrum - wildly attracted to Cara, his only solution is to act the jerk and scare her off. Cara's growing powers don't like jerk Erik at all, no matter how gorgeous and funny he is, and seem to be intent on trying to kill him.
There are heaps of secondary fave characters popping up and the bad guys step up big time in their bid to wake up Apep, God of Chaos, with Cara caught in the middle and Erik intent on protecting her.
Despite all the mayhem, this book never oversteps into zany, instead it is funny, smart and provides the reader with a fresh romance, that is both hot & sweet. And you feel like the couple actually have had a chance to get to know one another, and though they have fought it, their love is undeniable.
Loved this book. Loving this series.
Cara, on the run librarian, is having a very bad few months. Suddenly she's a magnet for epic mayhem. From the opening scene in the library you will be rooting for her, whilst laughing yourself silly at the chaos that erupts around her.
Especially when that chaos is directed at Maat's warriors, who are just trying to help and protect her from her relatives (the dastardly demigod dickheads Sek and Mot who need Cara's blood to wake up dear old dad). Then Cara meets Erik, and all hell practically breaks loose - he's running scared from the town matchmaker and in a conundrum - wildly attracted to Cara, his only solution is to act the jerk and scare her off. Cara's growing powers don't like jerk Erik at all, no matter how gorgeous and funny he is, and seem to be intent on trying to kill him.
There are heaps of secondary fave characters popping up and the bad guys step up big time in their bid to wake up Apep, God of Chaos, with Cara caught in the middle and Erik intent on protecting her.
Despite all the mayhem, this book never oversteps into zany, instead it is funny, smart and provides the reader with a fresh romance, that is both hot & sweet. And you feel like the couple actually have had a chance to get to know one another, and though they have fought it, their love is undeniable.
Loved this book. Loving this series.
June 21, 2015
Love this series - it has everything, laughs, action, suspense, hot sweet/steamy romance.
This sixth book in the series starts off with a bang, the scene in the library had me laughing out loud, poor Cara, she really is the Queen of Chaos. Appreciated how Cara came out of her shell, and had to laugh at how the locals give her a makeover without her realising it.
Loved Erik, acting the jerk was a nice change, even though he's clearly met his match/love of his life in Cara.
Loved all the situations these two found themselves in. The bad guys - Sek and Mot are back, and it's always nice to catch up with Maat's warriors and glimpse previous characters from earlier books.
You could read this book as a stand alone but the author does have a running storyline arching across the series and lots of little in-jokes if you've read earlier books. My only complaint is that Darcy didn't make an appearance.
Please, please bring on book 7 asap.
This sixth book in the series starts off with a bang, the scene in the library had me laughing out loud, poor Cara, she really is the Queen of Chaos. Appreciated how Cara came out of her shell, and had to laugh at how the locals give her a makeover without her realising it.
Loved Erik, acting the jerk was a nice change, even though he's clearly met his match/love of his life in Cara.
Loved all the situations these two found themselves in. The bad guys - Sek and Mot are back, and it's always nice to catch up with Maat's warriors and glimpse previous characters from earlier books.
You could read this book as a stand alone but the author does have a running storyline arching across the series and lots of little in-jokes if you've read earlier books. My only complaint is that Darcy didn't make an appearance.
Please, please bring on book 7 asap.
February 24, 2018
Damn you, Jane Cousins. I'd just spent ages trying to decide which of your first five books was my favourite and you had to throw this awesome effort into the mix.
You have created yet another cool heroine in Cara. And her disaster mojo was just hilarious. Love how it ends up mainly targeting the H, Erik, who does his best to act the jerk around her to scare her off, but he kind of knows he's doomed and can't fight his attraction so it's not long before he steps up.
There's villains, and scary sand creatures, and lots of secondary characters turning up to make me laugh. Love this world, it is just magical.
Laughs abound, and the romance develops steadily - wrapped up with a very satisfying HEA.
You have created yet another cool heroine in Cara. And her disaster mojo was just hilarious. Love how it ends up mainly targeting the H, Erik, who does his best to act the jerk around her to scare her off, but he kind of knows he's doomed and can't fight his attraction so it's not long before he steps up.
There's villains, and scary sand creatures, and lots of secondary characters turning up to make me laugh. Love this world, it is just magical.
Laughs abound, and the romance develops steadily - wrapped up with a very satisfying HEA.
October 15, 2016
Loved it. Cara, our h, is a wonderful walking disaster. At the same time she is smart, feisty and funny. Erik, our H, was flat out fun, trying to act the jerk, to keep Cara at bay was amusing as heck. And dealing with all the disasters that happen around her, often aimed at him, had me LOL.
Sek and Mot are back and are desperate to get their hands on Cara (and her blood) to bring back their father, the God of Chaos. With this book, we find out a lot more about their background and why they really need their father to return.
Action, loads of mayhem (but not zany), great bad guys, and a perfect romance; sweet, witty, and hot.
Fresh, fun and fantastic. Love this series / author.
Sek and Mot are back and are desperate to get their hands on Cara (and her blood) to bring back their father, the God of Chaos. With this book, we find out a lot more about their background and why they really need their father to return.
Action, loads of mayhem (but not zany), great bad guys, and a perfect romance; sweet, witty, and hot.
Fresh, fun and fantastic. Love this series / author.
July 13, 2019
Seriously fun. Jane Cousins has a formula down pat - cute/action story, sizzling/sweet romance and lots and lots of witty dialogue and amusing situations.
Cara, our disaster, is trying her best not to be one and understand these awful new powers she's been given. Love how her 'disaster' powers seem to focus on Erik, our hero, and give him the roughest time of all. Yet, thanks to his magic he can pretty much deal with any thing Cara dishes out.
These two were fun, lots of zinging dialogue. Great bad guys in the return of Mot and Sek, and the poor Met. How cool. Pure fun and a lovely HEA. Pretty much perfect.
Cara, our disaster, is trying her best not to be one and understand these awful new powers she's been given. Love how her 'disaster' powers seem to focus on Erik, our hero, and give him the roughest time of all. Yet, thanks to his magic he can pretty much deal with any thing Cara dishes out.
These two were fun, lots of zinging dialogue. Great bad guys in the return of Mot and Sek, and the poor Met. How cool. Pure fun and a lovely HEA. Pretty much perfect.
July 10, 2016
Wow! So much fun from the first page to the last. Loved this addition to the series.
Erik, our sexy, artistic H made me laugh out loud as he is hounded by his mother and all the women she's been setting him up with. A man on the run physically and emotionally.
Cara, our h, was great. Acting timid but in reality a fiery, independent woman. All her 'accidents' were hilarious. Loved how she couldn't stop hurting the elite warriors and poor Erik.
The set up, the story, the romance, the bad guys - everything was pulled together effortlessly.
Another great couple from this author - who try as they might are meant to be together. Great HEA. And lots of laughs along the way.
Erik, our sexy, artistic H made me laugh out loud as he is hounded by his mother and all the women she's been setting him up with. A man on the run physically and emotionally.
Cara, our h, was great. Acting timid but in reality a fiery, independent woman. All her 'accidents' were hilarious. Loved how she couldn't stop hurting the elite warriors and poor Erik.
The set up, the story, the romance, the bad guys - everything was pulled together effortlessly.
Another great couple from this author - who try as they might are meant to be together. Great HEA. And lots of laughs along the way.
January 14, 2018
People love romance, we always have, through the ages songs have been sung to it, stories told, poems dedicated to it, theater productions filled with it, it hangs on our walls in the form of art, it amazes us in the form of dance.
It stands to reason then that after all that time every single form of boy meets girl or --to be more PC --lover meets lover, has been done and done again. And yet no two stories are the same, because no two characters are the same.
Which brings me to Jane Cousins stories. One of my least favorite theme's in romance is when the H tries to drive the h away, honestly I avoid that sort of story line with a vengeance, but it was Jane Cousins... I loved all her other books and I couldn't bring myself to skip this story.
Let me say right now I am glad I didn't. I loved Erik even when he was being a jerk, and for once in this kind of story I did not want to hit him over the head with a rolling pin, mostly because Cara took care of that perfectly well without my input needed. And that right there... makes these stories jump from good reading to top-of-my-favorite-author-I-will -not-miss-a-single-book-she-writes list.
Cara, like all JC's h's is a hot mess, she's troubled but keeps going through it, unsure but stands her ground, frightened but fights, self conscious but stands tall, she's also feisty, sassy, sweet and tart, and best of all she's real.
I loved this story and highly recommend it, if you like the greats like Nalini Singh, Thea Harrison, Shelly Laurenston and a tiny bit lighter Cynthia Eden then these stories will delight you just as they have me.
It stands to reason then that after all that time every single form of boy meets girl or --to be more PC --lover meets lover, has been done and done again. And yet no two stories are the same, because no two characters are the same.
Which brings me to Jane Cousins stories. One of my least favorite theme's in romance is when the H tries to drive the h away, honestly I avoid that sort of story line with a vengeance, but it was Jane Cousins... I loved all her other books and I couldn't bring myself to skip this story.
Let me say right now I am glad I didn't. I loved Erik even when he was being a jerk, and for once in this kind of story I did not want to hit him over the head with a rolling pin, mostly because Cara took care of that perfectly well without my input needed. And that right there... makes these stories jump from good reading to top-of-my-favorite-author-I-will -not-miss-a-single-book-she-writes list.
Cara, like all JC's h's is a hot mess, she's troubled but keeps going through it, unsure but stands her ground, frightened but fights, self conscious but stands tall, she's also feisty, sassy, sweet and tart, and best of all she's real.
I loved this story and highly recommend it, if you like the greats like Nalini Singh, Thea Harrison, Shelly Laurenston and a tiny bit lighter Cynthia Eden then these stories will delight you just as they have me.
August 15, 2019
What absolute fun. Adored Cara, our h, from the get go. She has a lot on her plate of late, calamity and disaster following her everywhere. Winding up at the Southern Sanctuary cause her nasty great(times twenty) uncles are after her, she meets Erik, and for some hilarious reason her disaster powers focus on him and she tries to kill him at every turn.
Erik tries to play the jerk, to scare Cara off, but he's too nice a guy. Artistic, sexy and snarky. Just how I like my H's. He steps up to protect her, even though she's a magnet for disaster.
Great to see the bad guys step back into the frame. Love how this book takes us all over the world. The poor Met. Loved getting to know the library (more magic) Great glimpse of Gaia. Cool how the author weaves secondary/new characters into the storylines so you have fun little sub threads floating along in the background
Lots of laughs. And the romance was ultra hot as these two inevitably seduce one another. Then pow, HEA time. Loved it.
Erik tries to play the jerk, to scare Cara off, but he's too nice a guy. Artistic, sexy and snarky. Just how I like my H's. He steps up to protect her, even though she's a magnet for disaster.
Great to see the bad guys step back into the frame. Love how this book takes us all over the world. The poor Met. Loved getting to know the library (more magic) Great glimpse of Gaia. Cool how the author weaves secondary/new characters into the storylines so you have fun little sub threads floating along in the background
Lots of laughs. And the romance was ultra hot as these two inevitably seduce one another. Then pow, HEA time. Loved it.
March 11, 2021
So here’s the pattern for these books:
1. Girl is in trouble
2. Girl swears off men
3. Girl meets boy
4. boy denies initial attraction to girl
5. Both try to avoid intimacy and ignore heated attraction
6. Boy realizes he loves girl
7. Girl remains resistant and in denial fir no good reason at all. Just pure plot device driven stubbornness
8. Boy and girl bond over solving of this book’s mystery
9. Boy and girl get together
That’s every book so far folks. The first 3 this pattern worked because the characters were different enough and had legit reasons to avoid relationships. From To Bedevil a Beauty on, it’s just this pattern. Ugh
1. Girl is in trouble
2. Girl swears off men
3. Girl meets boy
4. boy denies initial attraction to girl
5. Both try to avoid intimacy and ignore heated attraction
6. Boy realizes he loves girl
7. Girl remains resistant and in denial fir no good reason at all. Just pure plot device driven stubbornness
8. Boy and girl bond over solving of this book’s mystery
9. Boy and girl get together
That’s every book so far folks. The first 3 this pattern worked because the characters were different enough and had legit reasons to avoid relationships. From To Bedevil a Beauty on, it’s just this pattern. Ugh
January 4, 2020
Another great pairing - Cara who has inherited chaos magic and Erik whose magic is a perfect match.
What I enjoyed:
* Cara and Erik are great together. Cara's chaos magic is pretty interesting (although scary) and Erik's magic
* The return of Sek and Mot, the annoying villain twins
* Maat's warrior's reactions to Cara was priceless
What could be better:
* Saffron was an unneeded distraction and very much a stalker (so I hope she doesn't turn out to be a heroine in a later novel).
What I enjoyed:
* Cara and Erik are great together. Cara's chaos magic is pretty interesting (although scary) and Erik's magic
* The return of Sek and Mot, the annoying villain twins
* Maat's warrior's reactions to Cara was priceless
What could be better:
* Saffron was an unneeded distraction and very much a stalker (so I hope she doesn't turn out to be a heroine in a later novel).
January 25, 2021
I think this may be the one I've liked the most so far in the series - mostly because it's a bit unique with some self-discovery and a good story. Like the previous one it could almost be a stand-alone, but the knowledge from the previous books did help with some depth.
November 30, 2017
I love this series, the only reason this is a 4 and not a five for me is the repetition of the words 18 months. It was distracting from the plot line in many points.
November 4, 2015
This can be read as a stand-alone, but it is much more enjoyable when the stories are read in order. The author does a wonderful job of drawing you into the world she has created, without endless descriptions or information dumps. In my opinion, the story is the perfect balance between action, humor, supernatural elements, and steamy romance. The things that happen around Cara are hilarious! All kinds of things happen to Erik, but that sexy man takes it in stride. The secondary characters enrich the story and it is a joy to see again ones from previous books. I keep thinking I know what will happen next, but then the author surprises me and the story takes a turn in a different direction! There is a HEA ending and no cliff hangers. I highly recommend this story and the rest of the Southern Sanctuary series.
January 30, 2017
I read books 5-9 of this series back-to-back in roughly 5 days. They all run together in my head now. They were all about the same - light, funny romance with action mixed in in good ways. All of them have their first sex scenes at approximately the 60% mark, per Kindle. The characters all come to the same conclusions, reversing their opinions about staying single and carefree over the course of a few pages. Formula? Yes. But it's still good, and the characters are very endearing. Definitely worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews