Quick trigger warning: This was gruesome and gory and had me actually gagging a couple times. If you can't handle that, you will NOT like this.

The first part of this book was kind of boring and did not hold my attention at all, but the second part was INSANE. It took me two weeks to read the first half and two hours to read the second half; I absolutely couldn't put it down once I hit 65%-ish.

You would think a slow burn like this would have a bunch of backstory, but it was too vague and all over the place for me. I would have preferred "this is what happened in the cult, blah blah done", "this is why we're on the island ok done", "oh now we find out why Ruth is there cool done", "now we're in a game", etc, instead of the way it skipped all around. That might not make any sense to anyone but me, but the bottom line is it was too choppy and skipped around too much.

Second half was five stars, first half was probably 2.5-3 stars. I think I'm going with 3.5 rounded up.

4.5 stars rounded up. This was like a Mr. Beast-esque influencer buys a private island and invites influencers and others to play games for money/prizes. Throw in a character who gets a ticket to the event, and she just so happens to be the sole survivor of a suicide cult. There are quite a few POVs in this one, but a majority of the story is told through 3 people with others mixed in when needed. Everyone is so excited for the opportunity but almost immediately the games take a turn for the worst. People start disappearing, others are witnessing murders that can't be proven, and something is just off on this island with a horrific backstory. The island was almost a character in itself, and the horror was so descriptive, it made my stomach turn at times. I think there may have been some trigger warnings but otherwise I had fun reading it, I loved the cult storyline and felt like it was a different take. It was fast paced and immediately drops you in to the action.

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

Darcy Coates is an auto-buy author for me but unfortunately this book was not one of her strongest. It was a decent read, just some twists were predictable and the writing was not as strong as in other books.

If Lord of the Flies + Mr. Beast Games were to have a baby in the setting like Fyre Festival and add a splash of cult vibes, that would describe this book pretty well!

This is my first Darcy Coats book and man was it an amazing one! If this is at all close to her others, she’ll become one of my new favorites.

Imagine being invited to a Mr. Beast game on a island with 400 other fans and influencers for a 5 day festival filled with booze, games and cash! Perfect right? Until some of the guests start disappearing and you’re hiding a secret—you’re the only survivor of a suicide cult and you start noticing similarities and something just seems “off”.

This Novel is available 8.26.2025

Check your trigger warnings-very graphic violence

Darcy Coates is one of my favorite authors and this really cemented that for me. This is one of my favorites I've read so far. The pacing was incredible, the plot was fantastic, and I couldn't put it down. Cults, private island, competitions, and murder. What more could I ask for?

This was not my favorite book by her. I didn’t really feel connected to the characters. Still a good read. I would rate it a 3

How Bad Things Can Get by Darcy Coates


Set to Publish August 26 2025



A remote island getaway sponsored by a rich influencer with a god complex. What could possibly go wrong?

In How Bad Things Can Get, Darcy Coates answers that question with a cheerful: “Worse than you think, honey.” This book reads like someone smashed a cult documentary into a reality TV show, then dropped the whole mess in the jungle and left the cameras running. It's influencer culture meets psychological horror with a splash of blood and a strong hint of "maybe don't drink the juice."

Our main character Ruth? She's the cult-survivor equivalent of that one friend who never unpacks trauma but definitely shouldn't be around knives and strangers with matching uniforms. The writing is sharp, the pace is aggressive, and the sense of dread is practically a fifth character.

If you’re into wholesome fun like panic, betrayal, moral collapse, and cryptic Instagram captions while your friends start disappearing, congrats, this one's for you. Bonus points if you enjoy existential dread with your sunscreen.

Rating: 5 bloody stars. Bring a flashlight and maybe a therapist.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: I said if I were to like a Darcy Coates book, it would be an island thriller. This was my first book by the author and I can completely see why people love her writing and storytelling. I, however, did not. I chose this, as the book I was reading before bed, on purpose. I need something lighter and easier to read. However, the writing style drove me nuts. I know people love the "popcorn thriller," genre but it just isn't for me. The sad thing is, and a point toward Darcy Coates, to be fair, I did really love the ideas in the book. The plot points and ideas were really good, there was just too much going on, too many different elements thrown in at once that made it hard for any of it to stick with me or feel meaningful.

If you enjoy popcorn thrillers and books like "The Housemaid," series then you will love this. I am not saying it's a bad book, it's just not the kind of writing I enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and poisoned pen press for this arc copy

I went into the book total blind. I love Darcy Coates books they always have that spooky vibe to them.

I thought this was a really good book and very different from her other book I’ve read.
I wish there was a little more to the back story with certain characters. Since the book really does toss you right into the story. This is not a slow burn, it’s about fast paced which I love about it.

I’ve read a lot of books that have multiple pages of trigger warnings with the author leaving cutesy little notes asking “are you sure?” This one didn’t have any trigger warnings and it might be the only book I’ve ever read that actually needed them. It is darker, more violent, gorier, and more disturbing than you can possibly imagine. The cult angle is interesting, that has always been a subject that catches my attention, and it was mixed with what seems like Beast Games x Fyre Festival. Very original but really really violent.

Damn… this was a lot…. In a good way. I’m not real big on a lot of gore but this was such a good story. I flew through the last 200 pages, I was so absorbed in everything. As much as I thought it was frustrating when the perspective changed between characters right as something good was getting revealed, it really drew me in. 10/5 stars lol

Thank you NetGalley & Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.


This is a fun, twisted, gore filled ride. I can definitely see myself sitting out by a campfire reading this just to put myself in the element of more on edge then this book already does 😅

Darcy Coates is an auto-read author for me. I was ecstatic to receive an e-arc of this, thanks to the publisher and Netgalley!

This is billed as the Blair Witch Project meets Fyre Fest, and I think that is accurate. I'd add to that Jonestown vibes and a dose of influencer culture that leads to one hell of a read.

We follow Ruth, her boyfriend Zach, and their friends Carson and Hayleigh as they get selected to go on an all expenses paid trip for a five day festival run by mega-rich, game designing, prank pulling Youtuber Eton. Ruth has dark secrets in her past, and when her history begins to blur with her current reality, relationships are tested, trauma is brought to light, and people begin to die.

This reminded me, vaguely, of her backlist title Hunted.

While I very much enjoyed the read, I don't think it is her strongest work. It is a solid summer thriller/horror.

I have always been a huge Darcy Coates fan and this did not dissapoint!! I read this book in 2 days. I loved the storyline and allbthe details that were added to almost think you were there on that island with them. Another great book!!!!
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy

This book gave me uneasy vibes pretty much throughout. An influencer invites hundreds of people to a remote island, but there is something sinister that awaits them. Ruth had been part of a cult most of her life, and while on the island she is trying to keep her head down. The island and Ruth's past are tied together, and I absolutely loved this book for steering away from paranormal and into cult life. It was absolutely amazing and well-paced. I wish there had been more connection, maybe via background on some of the characters, but overall, an amazing book!!!

This book was a wild ride. I'm still thinking about some of the twists/revelations and I want to talk about them and that's just spoilers, so I absolutely won't, but know I was flying through the back half of this. Well, truly, I flew this this book in general. Coates has an immensely readable style and was very good at keeping the pace steady. I really liked Ruth. She's really going through it and I was rooting for her through the whole book. The only issue I kind of had with the book was there was definitely times where I wondered how the alarm that something was terribly wrong hadn't been sounded yet. I could understand why for pacing reasons, but universe, it was a little weird. Overall, I will definitely be checking out other Darcy Coates books.

I was SUPER intimidated by this book and what people were saying about it. HOWEVER please, please, please read it! I should have never doubted MISS DARCY COATES!!! I was pleasantly suprised and fully investigated in this plot line. The clausterphobic cult vibes ATE. I honestly did not know where this story was going to take me and I am honestly not disappointed one bit. I enjoyed the character devlopment, the questionable events, and the back story of the main characters. What is Petition, will there be a winner, and who will survive the night?

How Bad Things Can Get

ARC review ✨




I went into this one blind + requested it just bc it was by @darcybooks and I love her!
Darcy, my girl—this book was SCARY. From chapter one just had an overall unsettling and ominous vibe. Nothing made sense until towards the end when I was like WHOA🤯

Fabulous book with culty scary vibes 🔪💀

Four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Thanks @netgalley for the chance to read and review ahead of time! Releases August 26, 2025🤩

Pretty good book. I enjoyed the twists. I saw most of them coming, which is not a bad thing. There was something about the writing style that just was not for me though.

Thank you Negalley for this ARC! I LOVE Darcy Coates. She is a great Horror author. This is a 4 star read. I love island horror and money reality TV and this gave off both of those vibes. I could see this book turned movie!