I love a good Coates read and boy was this book good! Coates has a voice and a writing style like no other and I am obsessed everytime I get to dive right into another thrilling read. This book was absolutely a fantastic adventure that I wish i could go on over and over again.

What a fantastic read! I've been ina. Bit of a slump lately and this book pulled me right out of it. The characters are written really well and you appreciate them each. The plot was great and the scene building was over the top. I could picture this book in my head the whole time I was reading it. Darcy never ceases to amaze me.
On a side note: this book would be a great movie.

Ruth Phillips, the only survivor of a well-known cult tags along for a 5 day paradise festival hosted by the infamous YouTuber, Eton. What was supposed to be a blissful, fun trip with her boyfriend and his friends turns quickly into a nightmare, as guests begin disappearing and sinister events occur.

I found this novel to be very fast-paced, exciting, and suspenseful! The competitions put on at the festival were interesting and described thoroughly. I enjoyed the flashbacks to Ruth’s childhood dispersed throughout and how those tied in to the current storyline.

The two things that made me rate this 4.5 stars, instead of 5, were the multiple different POVs throughout and how gory the story was in the last half. I’m just personally not a huge fan of those things.

Overall, an excellent horror novel!

I think of Darcy Coates as the queen of cosy horror. The kind of haunting dread (and I do mean that literally) that wraps around you and holds you closely.
But when it comes to How Bad Things Can Get, we get something totally different. Subtle storylines weave and converge into a really action packed tale, with some quite grisly scenes.
When a festival on a remote island, hosted by an internet influencer gathers together a group of seemingly random people to play games for cash prizes, it seems too good to be true. There may be more at stake to these games than winning or losing…

The games will have you at the edge of your seat at times. The plot winds through mystery after mystery before bringing them all together expertly. Characters will shock you, they are expertly built up in exactly the right ways to fuel the plot and draw out your emotions in unexpected ways.
All of my expectations for this book were turned on their head and exceeded, and I couldn’t put this down. One of my most entertaining reads of the year so far.

This one was okay! The plot was solid and there were definitely some creepy moments that gave me chills. I loved the cult angle and the island setting, but it was missing that Darcy Coates umph I was hoping for. Still a decent read if you're into slow-burn horror with a dark, twisty backstory.

🏝️ ARC REVIEW 🏝️

PUB DATE- Aug 25th 2025

My Rating : ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ 3 Shadowy Stars

Woah 😳 This was like a game of Survivor gone terribly wrong and so dark !

Only the brave need to apply to How Bad Things Can Get , because this was a dark , blood splattering read that will rock your nerves 😬

Imagine being dropped off on a tropical island with hundreds with hundreds of influencers and your host of Prosperity Island is a little unhinged and plays on your fear to make money …and you’ve just entered to play elaborate games with hefty Cash 💰 prizes and the beautiful beaches and sun as your backdrop ….only to realize something is not right and so many dead bodies and lots of secrets and YOU have the biggest secret 🤫 of them all !!

Would you risk your life to play the game to keep your secrets…or would you hide deep in the forest ?

If you love Cult vibes, reality TV game shows , lots and lots of characters , dark pasts , un relatable characters, blurred timelines and squeamish atmospheric reads buckle up and enter if you dare 👀

I really wanted to love this one more , but it had ALOT going on , and was difficult at times to follow , the concept for the story was really unique but then things got weird for me and I sort of lost interest as it was a little too far fetched even for me !

Thanks for reading 📖

Thank you NetGalley , Poisoned Pen Press & Darcy Coates for this surreal ARC🙏

I loved every minute of this. The characters were well-written, the story was creepy and gory and super fast-paced, I could hardly put it down.

With How Bad Things Can Get, Darcy Coates wades into the world of slasher horror and makes it her own. We still get elements of her trademark slow burn, atmospheric style of horror in the first half, but this is a very different type of story than most of her previous books with dialed up brutality and gore and a final third that goes fully into all out slasher territory 

A cult, an isolated island hosting a group of social media personalities and lottery winners for 5 days of fun and games, and characters alluding to intriguing secrets from the first chapter. Yep, this was exactly what my summer reading list needed. I knew immediately that I needed to set aside an afternoon to focus on this book because I wouldn't be setting it down until I was done.

The author does a great job of building tension and creating an insidious sense of dread for the first half of the book. There are a few downright creepy moments that had me glancing behind me. The first two-thirds of the story were 5 star territory, but that final third went in a direction I didn't love. It's a personal preference issue, though. Many will view the hard turn the story takes as a positive and love it.

I prefer the author's quieter horror stories, but How Bad Things Can Get packs a disturbing punch I won't forget for a while.

How Bad Things Can Get was my first novel by Darcy Coates, so I can't compare it to her other works. I enjoyed the shifting POVs; it was engaging to see the festival unfold through different perspectives. However, some characters felt underdeveloped as the story progressed.

The book's pacing and readability were strong; I finished it in one sitting. The isolated island setting, deadly games, and the integration of social media profiles gave it a contemporary edge, while the cult elements added to the psychological tension. That said, the suspense relied more on gore than on mystery or slow psychological build-up. By the end, the violence started to feel numbing, and I found myself wishing for more character depth and more insight into the main character’s past.

Overall, this felt like a solid “popcorn suspense read”, fast, intense, and entertaining, even if it lacked emotional complexity in some areas.

Thank you, Darcy Coates, for the nightmare fuel. It takes a lot to scare me (hello horror movie/ book obsession), but this book was terrifying. I kept going back and forth on whether it was bad people doing bad things, paranormal things doing bad things, or hallucinations. And let me tell you: the payoff was perfect.

Cult based horror always fascinates me, because the perception of its members is always skewed. Combine that with an isolated island, dangerous games, and rapidly disappearing guests to create the perfect setting for the ultimate nightmare.

If you like horror novels, this one is a must read! How Bad Things Can Get releases August 26, 2025.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press/ Sourcebooks (via Netgalley) for gifting me with an eARC, all thoughts expressed are my own.

"How Bad Things Can Get" by Darcy Coates is a captivating and suspenseful mystery that will leave readers utterly astonished. Although it took some time to immerse myself as the author meticulously set the scene, I was fully engaged from the beginning. As the plot began to unfold, I found myself unsure of what I had gotten myself into.

The story starts with the party of the century hosted by an online influencer on his private Prosperity Island, where contestants indulge in drinks, entertainment, and elaborate games. However, the island harbors a sinister history tied to an infamous cult. Ruth arrives on the island determined to remain inconspicuous, as she is haunted by a dark secret from her past. Yet, when the island's history is unveiled along with Ruth's troubling connection to it, the narrative takes a profoundly disturbing turn.

For those who enjoy dark, atmospheric novels with elements of gore, this book is an excellent choice. The gradual immersion into the plot leads to an unexpectedly chilling and spine-tingling conclusion. However, readers should be warned that it is not suited for the faint-hearted. Because things can get pretty bad!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Huge thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

Another absolute banger from Darcy Coates.

If you are a fan of cults, creepy islands, and just a fan of Darcy Coates in general this book is for you.

Darcy really knows how to get you to really visualize the dark and gruesomeness of her books and knows how to really give you this eerie feeling while reading.

From not knowing who to trust and not knowing if the characters you’re reading from are reliable this book will have you on the edge of your seat. I don’t want to give too much away in this review since going into this authors books blind is, in my opinion, the best way to go about reading these I’ll leave you at that.

How Bad Things Can Get by Darcy Coates is a fast-paced suspense/thriller read that evokes a Blair Witch Project meets Frye Fest vibe. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

If you love terrifying thrillers with a mix of survival horror and psychological suspense, How Bad Things Can Get is a must-read. Darcy Coates delivers a pulse-pounding story that perfectly blends the eerie vibe of The Blair Witch Project with the chaotic madness of Fyre Fest—and the result is a wild, bloody ride.

The setup is brilliant: an influencer’s party on a remote island turns into a nightmare as dark legends come alive and deadly games unfold. Ruth, the lone survivor of a horrific cult, is a compelling and haunted protagonist, struggling to keep her secrets while facing horrors that threaten to destroy everyone.

The tension builds relentlessly as guests disappear and the island’s sinister past claws its way into the present. The atmosphere is thick with dread, and every twist kept me on edge.

If you’re in the mood for a gripping, gruesome thriller with unexpected shocks and chilling mystery, How Bad Things Can Get will not disappoint.

First I want to extend a thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC.. Darcy Coates is by far my favorite author portraying my favorite genre of novels. I credit her for sparking my passion for reading particularly horror/thrillers. I was very excited and honored to get the chance to read How Bad Things Can Get before its official release date. This is one the best Darcy Coates books for me; such a great original story with intriguing characters that all have something to hide and all intertwine as the story progresses. The ending of this book had me in a vice grip and I could not put it down. Another masterpiece from the best.

an island, a competition, and lots of drama is the perfect recipe for a summertime thriller. the setting of this story was so fun! not saying that they are necessarily similar in plot, but the overall theme of this reminded me a lot of one perfect couple by ruth ware.

the prologue was super spooky and really set the tone for the story. I do feel that we were kind of thrown into the present day timeline, which could have been a creative choice because it helps put the reader in the chaos with the rest of the characters competing. however, to me, it seemed a little incomplete. just personal preference, I would have liked more explanation of how we got there for a smoother transition.

I appreciate darcy coates style of writing, which really stands out to me. I especially appreciate her attention to detail and ability to create a well thought out atmosphere. the settings of her stories come to life just as much as the characters in some ways. thank you poisoned pen press & netgalley for allowing me to read an early copy of how bad things can get by darcy coates in exchange for my honest opinion & review.

I'm so used to Darcy Coates' "cozy horror" haunted house books, or at least all just creature features.. but this one totally took me for a ride! Right from the first chapter ending I was like 'okay, I need more' and flew threw this book. I mean, 3, maybe 4 sittings.

It was fast paced, it was a destination summer slasher/ isolated trope (one of my favorites from summer time), it had influencers, a cult, lots of gore, and multiple POV's.

If you like any of those tropes, this is definitely for you.

I think this is my favorite Darcy Coates book to date (besides Hunted, that is my first and all time favorite).

This is my second ARC for Darcy Coates, and hopefully not my last!

Thank you to Darcy Coates, publisher, and Netgalley for this ARC, I genuinely enjoyed it.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Darcy Coates does it again! She knows how to deliver a creepy, haunting, atmospheric story!
The premise of this was brilliant and it really delivered for me, an influencer and his followers on an island, what can go wrong... everything!
Should you read this, yes!

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press & NetGalley for the gifted copy!

Wow! I always consider Darcy Coates to be the queen of cosy horror but this time around she totally went for it. Blood and guts and cults and cannibals. I am exhausted. And I loved it! Great gory fun. I like this Darcy. More gore please :)

An influencer that is popular for pranks and hidden games of sort decides to host a few days of fun-filled festivities on an island, and one of the invites is extended to our MC Ruth, a cult survivor. Ruth also happens to be the one and ONLY cult survivor, and she has been able to hide that identity with everyone in the entire world with the exception of her boyfriend. He joins her and their two couple friends, and they are off to enjoy some much needed getaway time in the sun. The idea of this book is set against a backdrop in which a vacation is tempted and darkened by cult undertones- and it truly does serve well in that area. I was so interested in the plot, I enjoyed Ruth's background, the Fyre fest and Survivor comparisons were so spot on, and this was a PERFECT beach read. My only glaring complaint was some of Coates' characters fell flat for me and left me wanting more. Take what you will of that, since the biggest reason I'm even bringing it up is because I wanted more of this delightful horror! I don't think it'll work for everyone, and I do think it might age out eventually- but it's a cultural blast, regardless of the time limit. Thanks so much to the author and Poisoned Pen Press for the chance to read the eARC! #howbadthingscanget #howbadthingscangetdarcycoates #darcycoates #poisonedpenpress #poisonedpen