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

The perfect book for Summerween! I had so much fun with this one! Everything Darcy touches is gold. It was tense and really action-packed and had me hooked from the first line. The mystery kept me guessing and the plot kept me engaged. Its one of those books you just have to race through. The perfect end to my summer reading and it could be yours too! Check it out! :)

HOW BAD CAN THINGS GET by Darcy Coates

August 26, 2025 by Poisoned Pen Press

Deliciously Creepy and Gory!

I read a book of short stories by Darcy Coates a while back, and it didn’t grab me. But this book? WOW! Now I get the hype. “How Bad Things Can Get” is deliciously creepy and absolutely guaranteed to keep you up way past your bedtime. I do most of my reading at night, so when I start reading a book this good, I’m hooked until my eyelids surrender!

The setup is irresistible: a wealthy influencer with more money than sense invites hundreds of followers to a private island for a week of challenges, drinks, and photo-ready sunsets. You can guess how alcohol and fierce competition go together, especially with a fat cash prize at stake. And the island has a bloody legend attached to it, so things go downhill fast.

Our main character, Ruth, is the sole survivor of a twisted cult. She’s concealed her identity for years, but when Prosperity Island reveals ties to that nightmare, everything she’s buried threatens to resurface. As the games get creepier and guests start vanishing, Ruth has to face the island’s horrors head-on. Get ready for some wild, gory horror!

Cults. Creepy folklore. A private island where “vacation” turns into “try not to die.” This book checks every box for a killer Halloween read. It gave me the best kind of goosebumps and reminded me why I’m obsessed with survival horror.

If you’re hunting for that perfect October scare, look no further. And if you haven’t read Darcy Coates yet, this is the ideal place to start!

Thank you to the author and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC provided via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

#HowBadCanThingsGet #DarcyCoates #NetGalley #PoisonedPenPress #CapCut

Horror Reads ~ Survival Horror ~ Dark Legends ~ Vacation Gone Wrong ~ Halloween TBR~ Thriller Tok ~ Creepy Reads ~ Cults And Secrets ~ Psychological Thriller ~ Deadly Games

It was supposed to be the party of the century: miles of idyllic white sand beaches, lush jungle foliage...and a dark legend nobody dreamed might be all too true.

When an online influencer and several hundred of his most loyal fans land on Prosperity Island, the plan is simple: five days of elaborate games, drinking, and suntanned fun.

A week in paradise should have been a welcome respite. The only survivor of an infamous cult, Ruth wants nothing more than to keep her head down and not draw attention. She's spent decades outrunning her blood-soaked childhood, and her identity is a closely held secret.

But then the true history of the island is revealed…along with its sinister connection to Ruth's past. As guests go missing and games turn deadly, Ruth and the rest of the attendees are forced to question whether they've really been invited to paradise...or whether something much darker―and far bloodier―is waiting for them just beyond the bonfire's light.


It took me some times to be fully hooked but as a big fan of From Below by Darcy Coates, I knew I have to push a bit more when I started to struggle a bit around 33%. A bit slow at first, especially because the story doesn't need a lot of setting per se to work and it could had kicked earlier than that. It's gore, fun to read and well put together. I like the backstory and how everything is linked together. Darcy Coates is excellent when it comes to atmosphere, ambience and perfectly knitted plots and frame. I didn't really root for the character but the plot is so good that I still really loved it.

If you seek a bit of gory horror in the superficial social media world and some cultist stuff seasonned with wild games, you're in for a threat. It is a light read in my opinion, I found more depth and development in From Below, but the horror and atmosphere are there and it works !

I didn’t even read the synopsis of this book when I requested it, I just knew from previous books that I was going to enjoy it and I was not disappointed. I listened to this one in one day and it kept me engaged the whole way through. I mean, how can you not get invested in a story that combines the best things about the Hunger Games, Survivor and Alone and mashes them all together?
Imagine you get dropped off into a beach jungle competition that at first glance feels like it’s with a bunch of random people, but as we delve deeper into the story you see that nothing is random at all. What starts out as paradise quickly becomes a nightmare as the competition heats up and bodies turn up left and right. This is going to be perfect for a Halloween read so don't miss it !
Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review

This book was wild. So well written. Perfectly paced and had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I didn't want to put it down. I mean spooky island, missing people, cults, lies, secrets and drama? Sign me up! Was the perfect start to my spooky reads for this season! Definitely recommend. 5 stars!

📚: How Bad Things Can Get by Darcy Coates
⭐️: 3/5

Prosperity Island - an island tucked away in seclusion with miles of beaches and jungle foliage. A perfect place for a popular online influencer to invite fans for a week of partying -- until the games start becoming fatal, and former cult survivor, Ruth, finds herself in danger.

This is a situation where a book is just not for me. Pairing two tropes that I don't love together -- an online influencer creating a locked room game scenario and cults -- this one missed the mark. (And honestly, skewed far more horror than I expected.)

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. How Bad Things Can Get is out now.

Eh ok… I was intrigued enough to finish but overall it was just okay. I am just not a huge fan of cults.

Both creepy and thrilling this book did have me on the edge of my seat. This is my fifth Darcy Coates book and it sure won't be my last. It kept me interested throughout. If you like cultish and spooky vibes, give this a try! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read.
4 Star

It turns out- amazingly bad 🤣
Oh this book was so good! A new favourite. It was the perfect blend of horror and thriller for me.
We follower a group of influencers (yay) and some lucky competition winners who win and all expenses paid trip to a creepy island (double yay). The island has a spooky ghost backstory (triple yay) and things start to get weird when people start to report seeing things while competing in a series of Mr Beast style games (do I even need to keep saying yay- you can clearly see this book was written just for me 🤣).
Everything was perfect - the setting, the deaths, the prose 👌
I’ve never read a @darcybooks before and it turns out they are a prolific AUSTRALIAN horror author- where the hell have I been?
Sorry Darcy but you are about to become my new obsession 🫶🏻
I received an eARC on NetGalley from the wonderful @poisonedpenpress but I’ll be buying a shelf trophy too because I have a feeling I need it for my end of year fav outliers stack 👏🏻
In case it wasn’t clear 5 STARS ⭐️

This book was a wild ride that reminded me why cults are both unsettling and disturbing. The story dives into all the bizarre rituals, twisted groupthink, and loyalty tests that had me muttering “nope” out loud more than once. The horror elements are sharp and creepy, but it’s the cult weirdness that really got under my skin. It’s one thing to read about monsters, it’s another to realize people willingly join them.

I laughed at my own nerves a few times (because what else do you do when characters keep ignoring every red flag in sight?), but by the end I was fully hooked and more than a little spooked. It’s eerie, atmospheric, and just the right amount of strange. Perfect if you like your horror with a side of “what did I just read?”

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ruth is the lone survivor of a notorious cult, a fact she has successfully hidden for twenty years. On the anniversary of the cult’s demise, she heads to a beachy retreat with a bunch of YouTubers/influencers to play game-show styled games and engage in general revelry. Unfortunate for her, the island has a dark, familiar secret and the vibes are immediately off. When the guests start disappearing and the party turns into an actual nightmare, Ruth must figure out if this was ever a getaway or if she's just a pawn in a bigger game.

This is my third Darcy Coates book. I went in knowing she was the queen of horror, but this novel really cements it. The setting itself, an eerie island with a cannibalistic history, is basically a horror movie waiting to happen. The tension and dread builds so well throughout the story. While the beginning felt a bit slow, and some of the descriptions of the challenges weren't totally my jam, the atmosphere and dread are top-tier. If you need a good, chilling read for fall, this is it.
📖/🎧 Read Type: ARC (thank you to @netgalley, Darcy Coates, and Poisoned Pen Press!)

This book had me on the edge of my seat from the very beginning! The perfect blend of thrilling and creepy. I will definitely be sharing it with my friends and recommending it to everyone!

If you’re looking for the perfect culty thriller this one’s for you. This fast paced story was so good! A girl running away from her past as the only survivor of a cult, her past comes back to haunt her when she ends up on an influencers game show on a remote island. The gore, the details will keep you up at night. Definitely a must add to your TBR.

This is my fourth Darcy Coates book, and I always rate them three stars, and this one is no different. Ruth joins her bf and some of his friends on an island where an influencer invited hundreds of his fans to party, drink, and play games for some big cash over five days. The island has a dark past connected to Ruth and the cult that she's the sole survivor of. I mean, how bad can things get? All the books I've read by this author are entertaining and have some gruesome, gory parts that I always appreciate. However, they never really stick with me for very long but are perfect palate cleansers. I'm definitely in the minority on this, so don't let me discourage you from reading. If you're in the mood for a slow burn horror with a cult, this might be right up your alley!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

It's Fyre Fest on speed.

Prosperity Island is hosting an influencer and a legion of his fans....600 to be specific. It's going to be 5 days of experiences, events and drinks. Prosperity Island USED to be the grounds of the Petition cult. The ONLY survivor of that cult is Ruth. With her boyfriend Zach, Ruth is one of the attendees of this getaway.

Ruth, Zach and their friends Hayleigh and Carson are all on the island and then the murders start. No one knows who Ruth really is, until...maybe someone DOES know and they are going to make her pay.

Ruth is also the soggiest wet blanket of a person as a character. The plot itself was fun and Darcy Coates always manages to twist the story a little deeper than you assume.

This is an excellent read for anyone who laughed at the photos of the 'meals' at Fyre Fest or someone who likes a good twist.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportuniiy to read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read How Bad things Can Get by Darcy Coates.

A week of paradise on isolated island with friends, games, drinking and beautiful beaches… what can go wrong? Except for the haunting past of the island, known for unspeakable tragedy.

I felt the author is trying to do too much here. If we just followed Ruth or focused on this story at a distance, it would have been more impactful. I appreciated the creepy vibes and the, “what was that” moments. However, due to so much going on, the scene would change and remove me from the story.

T.W. There is body horror

I read Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates and really enjoyed it so I was looking forward to this one.

I found the MCs cultish background to be interesting and I’m always up for a good reality game show of survival story. But insignificant details, like extremely detailed descriptions of the games that were played that did nothing to further the plot, kind of overtook the story and I found myself bored and slightly annoyed. I knew there was some juicy information just waiting to be discovered and the exorbitant amount of time that was spent on minor happenings felt like filler.

I definitely will read more of her work but this one just was an OK read for me.

3⭐️

As always I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Mercy, this book gave me chills! Darcy Coates knows how to spin a story that’ll keep you up way past bedtime. How Bad Things Can Get was eerie, twisty, and full of heart…I couldn’t put it down. If you want a good scare with characters you’ll truly care about, this one’s a must-read.

Ruth is the only survivor of a cult that committed suicide many years earlier when she was just a child. Traumatized, she became an almost-functioning member of society after a name and complete identity change. Still she lives in fear of being discovered since the internet has a tendency to never let things go. When her boyfriend, Zach, wins a trip for them and his best friends to go to an island to participate in a game festival held by his favorite podcaster, Ruth agrees to go so that they can spend some time together and relax. It quickly becomes obvious that neither of those things are in the cards when they learn the history of the island and when participants begin to go missing in Darcy Coates’ How Bad Things Can Get.

While I’m not a fan of slasher movies or books, I am a huge fan of mysteries and horror that take place in isolated spots. How will they survive? No one can help them because there’s no one nearby to do so. This allows the main character to use their brains and wiliness to, hopefully, escape doom. And I love a mystery in which characters have to use their wits to survive. This is true of How Bad Things Can Get.

Another element that I am a fan of is twists. Give me all the twists. Keep me guessing. And, again, Darcy Coates kept the twists coming right up to the end so that satisfied me.

What didn’t work for me was the number of characters introduced whose POVs take over a fatal chapter. I think this works against the novel. If you don’t spend time with the character, have anything invested in them, you don’t care what happens to them. The entire slasher-formula here actually raises apathy–which sounds harsh, I know. When there’s so much of it, the reader gets inured and, at least for this reader, skips parts. That’s not to say that I really want to read in detail the grisly death of a character that I care about either. Gratuitous gore takes away from the thrill. For me.

So. Lots of twists. Psychological thrill. Scary island backstory. Gratuitous violence. Very readable (mostly). That’s the nutshell version. If you’re susceptible, you’ve got a scary seasonal story.

Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy.