This is my second book by this author and I loved it!
It was gripping and I couldn’t put it down. I really enjoyed reading it and didnt want it to end. It was totally different from her last book but still so good! Thank you for giving me to chance to read it

This book is your usual Darcy Coates book. It's very fast-paced and such a page-turner. I love how the whole journey, there's no "dead air" considering everything was interwoven beautifully. I got whiplashed from all the plot twists and turns. What a ride!

Wow! I’m not the world’s biggest fan of thrillers but this one captivated me! With a description of “Blair Witch meets Fyre Fest”, I had to give it a shot.

There were a lot of characters but it was actually pretty easy to keep everyone straight. Ruth was an interesting main character because she was both sure and unsure of herself. The main “twist” was a complete shock, and Ruth’s involvement was another small twist that I really enjoyed.

Overall this was a great summer thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley, Darcy Coates, and Poisoned Pen Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Easily my top read of 2025 so far 🙌 ‘How Bad Things Can Get’ was my first Darcy Coates and wow… what a ride. Once it hit its stride I was completely locked in - I devoured it in just a couple of sittings because I had to know where it was going.

It’s quite gory, which I loved, and in a way it reminded me of ‘The Ruins’ (one of my all-time favourite horrors) with that same creeping sense of dread that seeps in and doesn’t let go. Add in some wild twists and shocking turns, and I was second-guessing everyone right up to the final page.

The setup is perfect: an influencer’s luxury “island getaway” that quickly unravels into something dark, terrifying, and unforgettable. Suspense, horror, mystery, thriller - it’s got all the ingredients I love.

Massive thanks to NetGalley and Darcy Coates for the ARC. Don’t sleep on this one when it drops next week - it’s an absolute must-read.

Welcome to Prosperity Island (maybe it’s cursed). Your Fyre Festival-type host is millionaire, thirty-ish influencer/extreme gamer Eton. He’s invited 600 people on a cruise liner to his private paradise for five days of games, a sort of Survivor festival. The boat sails off into the sunset. Win prizes, stay alive. Eton wants the guests to believe the island is bad luck and tells the contestants of the resident cult-like Secret Door Movement in the 70s (with a slideshow!), pushing a story about Martha, the cannibal witch, in order to heighten the tension among the crowd. “How cool is that?”

Eton’s professional event manager is Petra, a sober personality who is starting to question irregularities like no safety officer, weather sirens going off, staff who act like cheery zombies, booby traps discovered, and contestants being severely injured. We hope she is being paid enough.

But our main character is Ruth, a secret child survivor of a suicide cult called Petition (ala Jim Jones) with maybe prophetic visions (why the cult worshipped her as a toddler). She’s with her boyfriend Zach, a rabid Eton video fan, who won a sweepstakes for the trip and a fellow couple, Hayleigh and Carson (of the creepy, staring eyes). Ruth’s trying to keep a very low profile since it’s coincidentally the 20th anniversary of her escape. Her cult didn’t choose a flavored drink mix, but a psychedelic that made them savage each other. Yes, she has PTSD, so of course she’s one of the ten out of 600 chosen for the first stupid (but dangerous) game.

Also on the island as a VIP (with a “keep your enemies close” invite) is Logan, a professional celebrity video “essayist” who somehow recognizes Zach & friends, minus Ruth (she’s the relatively new girl) and is keeping a close eye on Eton’s antics. He initially stalks in and out of the plot line.

We eventually meet other guests like Dylan, Jace, and Erika — a trio doing a drunken treasure hunt at night, who basically stumble upon the “shed full of whirring chainsaws” and decide it’s “good place to hide” plus Insta-model Maya and photographer Peyton who do a sunrise shoreline shoot when 8 naked people march onto their beach. Then there’s mostly mute cameraman Joel (well, he’ll never be screaming for help). And Makayla who gets injured in the first game she gets treated as if nothing happened.

This does turn into a horror novel (that’s Darcy Coates, of course) as we follow Ruth and her suspicions (who needs prophetic visions?) that all is not right or fun or safe. There are times that the plot wanders off (I kept waiting for the fact that Ruth survived a cult to become significant), but, like all good horror novels, then true monstrosity is finally revealed. 4 stars for keeping me engaged until the end and for making me regret when I didn’t have time to read straight through.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Somehow the Cannibal Witch has colorless eyes. Sure.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO We’re somewhere in the Caribbean and everything is some kind of jungly landscape.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

The perfect combination of slasher horror and thriller. You will find your self rooting for (and against) the characters as each layer of the mystery is pulled back. Though I wish to see a little bit more of the aftermath of the events in the book, I cannot deny this book was enthralling and each chapter kept me coming back for more.

Darcy Coates delivers another dark, gripping tale with How Bad Things Can Get. What starts as a glamorous influencer retreat quickly unravels into a bloody, tension-filled nightmare. The mix of cult history, survival horror, and sharp commentary on influencer culture kept me hooked, and once the games began, I couldn’t put it down. Coates balances shocking gore with unsettling atmosphere, creating a story that is both chaotic and chilling. While the cast is large and sometimes a bit one-dimensional, the relentless pace and terrifying set pieces more than make up for it. Fans of slasher-style horror will love this wild ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!
4.25⭐️

What a heart-pounding, edge of your seat, nail biting read! No seriously, I read this in almost one sitting late at night. This is my third book from Darcy Coates and she never disappoints.

Cults. A game-filled festival in paradise. No cost is too much for this event of a lifetime! Prosperity Island has secrets and so does our main character, Ruth Phillips. As a sole survivor of the tragic, horrifying, cult massacre, Ruth is not thrilled about her trip to an island that has a dark past of its own. Oh but her boyfriend, Zach, is supportive and loving and just wants her to have fun. Eton, a rich, “wholesome”, prankster, and social media influencer is throwing an epic and very expensive festival that folks would die to be a part of. And many do die.

The only thing that bummed me out was what felt like a missed opportunity regarding the island’s tragic secrets. All in all I had a great time reading!

4.5 ⭐️s rounded up to 5 ⭐️s

Darcy Coates excels at setting the atmosphere in every book she writes, and this one is no exception!! It’s what makes her my absolute favorite author above all others! 🙌

This one did start out a little on the slower side for me, but man…when I got to the last half of the book, things took off!!! I don’t want to say too much more, but hold onto your hats once you get to that point!! Creepy, gory, and tense!! Highly recommend to those who love some good cult horror!! 👏

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press, NetGalley, and Darcy Coates for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

Thank you for the ARC.
Cult type of books must be in right now as I just read this and listened to another both based around cults. Overall, the story was good despite having a lot of characters to remember. Loved the gore in the last quarter of the book.

Darcy Coates, where have you been all my life?

My first book and it certainly won’t be my last, I absolutely LOVED this one. The cult trope is one of my favourite sub genres of horror and it was done so well. The first half of the book gave off the most eerie vibes, weird stuff happening that couldn’t be explained and just bad feelings throughout. The second half? Wow. What a bloodbath lmao. I also did not expect the multiple plot twists that came with it, I literally could not put it down once I got to the 50% mark.

I would highly recommend if you’re wanting to read something that is explained as “Blair witch meets Fyre fest”. I also loved the setting of being “trapped” on an island, it really brought more horrific feelings to it and with the games involved too, it kinda gave hunger games but make it murderous.

Thank you netgalley for the arc - I had the best time with this one and can’t wait for it to come out so I can get the physical copy!!

Classic Darcy Coates, keeping me up way past my bedtime to finish How Bad Things Can Get. Possibly one of my favorite novels by Darcy.

This book was a rapid-paced and unpredictable read. I appreciated the narrative and the author's writing style. I am eager to explore more of the author's works. Overall, it was an engaging page-turner.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press.

My first Darcy Coates and won’t be the last!! HOLY COW! This was definitely more horror than I usually read, but I could not put it down!! Started off a bit slow, but once it got going it was unstoppable. Mysterious, suspenseful, and shocking. An influencers “island getaway” gone terribly wrong. Would highly recommend this one if you like horror/mystery/suspense/thriller. Thank you NetGalley and Darcy Coates for this ARC—don’t sleep on this one when it releases next week!

This was an amazing book! I loved the cult theme throughout and the twists and turns! It was a page turner and a great read overall!!

Honestly this was fantastic. I know it comes out in a week so my review may not mean much or carry much weight, but the twists really got me. I always guess twists in books and the twists in this totally surprised me. Pacing was consistent and good throughout, the shifting pov were easy to follow, there was a bit too much filler at times but otherwise it was good.

Loved this book as much as her other one I’ve read. The plot twist between Ruth and Zach caught me off guard. It was a nice twist tho. I will be getting a copy when it comes out

It starts like a dream holiday and ends nothing short of a nightmare you can’t wake from.

Ruth, sole survivor of a cult, wins a luxury getaway to Prosperity Island—only to find its beauty hides deadly games, ancient whispers, and a hunger that won’t let go.

A fantastic blend of slasher horror, cult secrets, and influencer drama, this is tense, bloody, and impossible to put down. The author takes you from slow-burn unease, lots of charcater development in the first half of the book to full-blown chaos in a way that’s both gruesome and addictive.

If you like your horror fast paced, creepy, and ceremonial, this is the book for you.

What a disturbing and terrifying thriller! Action packed the entire time and high emotions! How can you resist a thriller with a creepy island, influencers and mention of a cult!

Release date August 26, 2025

I very invested in this book from the beginning. There are so many weird things going on and I was left scratching my head. I wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen. There were twists at every turn. I had no idea what was the story was going to go.

Ruth, our main FMC, is the lone survivor of the cult Petition. She has kept her identity a secret for her entire life.

Eton is an internet celebrity. He decides to host a getaway for five days for his followers & VIPs. From the beginning of landing on the island things start going off the rails. I don’t want to give anything away. I highly recommend you pick this up. This is my first Darcy Coates novel but definitely won’t be my last.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.