Cults, mystery, betrayal and an island full of social media stars and their followers created a perfect setting to create a horror masterpiece.

We follow Ruth on her journey to an island with her boyfriend and his two childhood friends who were all invited to an exclusive 5 day “retreat” of a famous YouTube star (think Mr. Beast) along with 600 other guests. Ruth doesn’t feel right, but is doing everything she can to seem normal as she is anything but that. Soon they all discover what they were brought to the island and the horrors really start.

I finished this book in less than 24 hours. It was an easy 5 star read for me! I have read other books by this author and I think this one has been my favorite. I loved the multiple POVs, the flash backs and bringing in a twist of the famous YouTuber who gives away a butt ton of money for games. I thought this book was perfect and although the ending was rough to read, it was the perfect conclusion to the book.

This book had me at the edge of my seat. Had me hating characters then loving them. Had me nervous then relieved then nervous again. The writing is so witty and flows as smooth! I love the story gave lost vibes, meets survival games/cult, couldn’t put this book down. Easiest 5 star rating and will be recommending this book to everyone! Thank you so much for the opportunity to arc read!! Made my year!!

This is easily the most entertaining book I’ve read this year. It’s not what I expected - the book is advertised as a Fyre Festival situation, but I would say it’s more Jonestown. It’s pretty graphic, so if that’s not your thing then this book might not be for you. Darcy Coates is so good at scaring me. I was so creeped out the whole time.
My only issue with this book was the ending. I almost took off a star because the ending felt rushed, almost like Coates got tired of writing and just ended it as quickly as possible. I think there was a missed opportunity for a clever twist at the end (can’t share my ideas without spoiling) but it just sort of fizzled out. I kept it at 5 stars because the ending did not ruin anything for me. I still had a great time reading this and I would recommend it.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

We've got cults, an isolated party island, and death (so so much gory death).

I enjoyed this one! The ideas were great, I just think the plot could have been executed better and that most of the characters were a bit too flat for my liking. Ruth and her past with Petition were some of the best bits, and it seemed like the flashbacks were just getting good and then disappeared completely. The last half of the novel got super crazy and was great!

If you get queasy over violence and body horror probably best to avoid this one.

3.5 stars

This was a solid thriller! Very gory, I made the mistake of eating while reading this book…don’t be like me. It was nicely paced and had a good twist. I love me a good cult book!

This was my first Darcy Coates and it was a wild ride! I loved the secluded island, influencer games vibes mixed with cult lore. Each chapter brought something new to the characters and the creepy feeling of just knowing something really bad is coming was fun. I’ll definitely be picking up more Darcy this spooky season!

I wanted to love this because I’ve enjoyed most of the books I’ve read by her, but this one….was obnoxious. It felt like she was trying to hard to make this trendy. If you think you’d like Fyre Fest + Mr. Beast, this books for you.

I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get into this book to start with but then it soon had me hooked and I could not put it down!!

This is a very sinister story focusing on Ruth, a survivor of a cult, who trys to move on with her life and forget about her harrowing past. She changed her name, the police kept her identity sealed, noone has ever been able to find out who she is, that is until she arrives on Prosperity Island...

It was supposed to be a week of games, drinking and lots of fun, run by a well known influencer. But everything takes a turn for the worst as guests go missing and games turn deadly, Ruth discovers theres a connection here to her past...

This novel is dark, creepy and terrifying. Although I found it slow to start with the suspense soon built and I didn't want to stop reading. It's a great horror to add to your autumn/winter tbr list. This is the first novel I have read by Darcy Coates but I will definitely be reading more.

I felt like there was just one thing missing and unanswered but maybe it was ment to be left that way.

*maybe a small spoiler next*
Ruth mentioned that Baroms son was the real prophecy child. Then in the epilogue it mentioned two brothers were arrested in connection with Petition. Was this Baroms son? Was Barry Baroms son? I would of liked the story to be finished off with explaning this a bit more. But it was a really easy read, Thank you @netgalley for my copy

Creepy in the best way, I couldn't put this book down! Is Ruth being paranoid, or is someone really looking for her? Are the weird things happening humans, or something supernatural?

Fast paced, told from multiple POV, with Ruth's backstory slowly teased out, I gasped more than once reading this.

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
🌴 single POV
🌴 3rd person POV
🌴 singular timeline
🌴 secluded island murder
🌴 summer thriller
🌴 short chapters 🩷🩷
🌴 scavenger hunts
🌴 large cast of characters

This one is a bit different than Darcy Coates typical style. Darcy usually has some ghostly aspects but was just a regular old thriller 🤪 and I loved it!
I really enjoyed the writing style! It made the story very exciting and entertaining to read.
I absolutely loved the plot of this book the second I read about it. A desert island/scavenger hunt/murder hunt?? SIGN ME RIGHT UP!!
This is definitely more horror-y than thriller, because there was a lot of gore and gruesome details, and LOTSSSSS of deaths. It was absolutely perfect for a Halloween-y spooky read.
I don’t really love a giant cast of characters because a lot of times it does get confusing trying to keep track of who is who.
Overall a very thrilling and exciting read, right on brand for Darcy Coates. Thank you so much to Darcy Coates and Poisoned Pen Press for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5⭐
Darcy Coates can do a special kind of terrifying. This one went in a direction I initially didn't expect. It was horrifying and gory and just a great horror. I'm not always a fan of multiple points of view but I think this was done well. She knew when to cut off one pov to go to another and leave you wanting more only to do it again in the next one which to me did a great job of building suspense.

Ruth was the only survivor of an infamous cult. Since she was rescued, she has kept her identity hidden, however, it was big news and people are still trying to find her even years later. When her boyfriend wins four spots on remote tropical island get away with a famous influencer, Eton, she tries so hard to relax and enjoy the games and prizes Eton is famous for. The week starts well, but then it seems as though other festival goers keep going missing and people are getting hurt.

Ruth overhears others talking about how it is the 20th anniversary of her cult's demise and things start getting even more odd and people start dying. The question quickly becomes, who can you trust? and how are you going to survive until dawn?

Once things start moving, the book is very fast paced and keeps you on the edge of your seat!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Must-Read Thriller!

I can't say enough about how much I loved this book! It was my first read by Darcy Coates, and it absolutely won't be my last. The story follows a group of friends invited to a mysterious island by a popular online influencer. At first, everything seems perfect—parties, drinks, and games with huge cash prizes. But the island has a dark history… and history has a way of repeating itself.

What really hooked me was the cult element—one of my favorite tropes—and it was done so well here. The suspense never let up, and I found myself racing through the pages, heart pounding, trying to guess what would happen next. I couldn’t put it down!

This book easily lands in my Top 5 reads of the year. If you love thrillers with a creepy edge and a fast-paced plot, this one is a must-read!

I really enjoyed Coates’ latest book! I haven’t read a book of hers that I didn’t like!

The isolated island is the perfect backdrop for the wildness that goes down. I love how Coates used Ruth’s paranoia to build the tension throughout the book. The dread builds throughout entire book, from the beginning right up until the culmination of the festival. There were multiple scenes that gave me the chills, just from the descriptions of the events. The body horror was chef’s kiss!

I was hooked right from the beginning. This was one of those books that I wish I could abandon my daily responsibilities to just escape into!

Thank you Netgalley & Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC!

This was a little slow to start, but really got going halfway through. Lors of action which kept me up all night!

3.75 ⭐️

When I saw this on netgalley a while back I knew I had to request it, so thankyou to netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review!

I looove Darcy Coates. This was such a creepy, unsettling story. It started off a little slow for me in the beginning, but it picked up pretty quickly. The atmosphere on the island felt so creepy & unsafe. The entire time I was reading the fear kept growing even though nothing bad was happening yet you can feel that something isn’t right, that’s really good writing. I love any type of horror/thriller book that involves cults too so that just amplified this for me. The staff members were SO unsettling. Everytime their uncanny cheeriness was mentioned I was cringing. 😬

this builds and builds and builds until finally everything comes to a head. It has horror, thriller, gore, and even some emotional parts, Darcy Coates never fails to write a page turner.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC!

Okay, so I'm more surprised than anyone that I gave this 5 stars as I've yet to actually enjoy a Darcy Coates book. But this one was really great in everything; storytelling, character development, world-building. I cared about the characters and found the plot interesting.

We've got a Mr Beast-style guy in Eton who arranges for a festival on an island he's bought. Tickets are randomly given out to fans, with a certain amount allotted to celebrities/other influencers. Ruth, her boyfriend Zach, and his two friends all manage to snag tickets as part of the lottery, while Logan gets his thanks to his journalism-style social media channels.

Ruth, as we quickly discover, is the sole survivor of a grisly cult and has spent her life avoiding any mention of Petition. No one except Zach knows, and she finds herself uneasy on the island due to the similarities between the environment and the almost cult-like devotion people have towards Eton. A subtle remark on how easily prominent personalities sway younger people.

Logan is there to see if he can find anything for a new series, and he starts to notice things are unusual almost instantly as well. This is because he's trained for this and is actively looking for problems. He's content to stay in the background, but is always watching for things and notices small things others miss.

The festival starts out as you'd expect: lots of free drinks and food, good music, and some games that run a little too risky for Ruth's liking. But then odd things start happening. People start to disappear, and we get side POVS of some people who meet unfortunate ends. As it goes on, we find out just how integral Ruth and her history are to everything going on, and everything gets more than a little dicey.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. I didn't feel bored and wanted to keep reading. Petra was hands down the best character. What happens at the end...she's a champion. I appreciate how Ruth grew a little more confident throughout the course of her life and used her past trauma to propel her forward with this current incident.

I think this could work out as a really good horror film, or even short series!

Have you ever wondered what would have happened if the Fyre Fest catastrophe hadn't been about poor organization but about partygoers mysteriously disappearing and/or dying bloody? If your answer is "Yes" or "No, but that would be a great premise for a horror novel!" then this is the book for you.

My answer was the latter. I enjoyed the crap out of this book.

Okay, yes, it has its problems. The plot relies pretty significantly on a few coincidences, and once in a while the pacing seemed a little off. But the writing is solid, the creep factor is high, and overall it's a really good slasher, so this was a 5-star reading experience for me. I don't really have much else to say! It's a good, gory time, and apparently that's exactly what I was in the mood for.

Trapped in a nightmare, Ruth must survive. She’s been doing it her entire life, and will continue to do so. What was supposed to be a fun weekend away turns into a battle for life and death.

This was a good and fast paced read that I was able to finish in one day. I would recommend to thriller lovers