This book was unhinged in the best possible way. Imagine being stranded on a remote island with no cell service, weirdly enthusiastic strangers, and the distinct feeling that something in the woods is watching you ……but don’t worry! It’s all part of the ✨transformational experience✨.

It was giving Blair Witch goes to a Fyre Festival retreat and never comes back. And I ate it up. I was fully invested in the “WTF is happening” energy from page one. The vibes were immaculate: eerie forest trails, culty undertones, a mysterious self-help program that screams red flags, and a whole island that felt… off. Like, every time someone said, “This is fine,” you knew it absolutely was not.

The tension? Baked to perfection. The unraveling? Chef’s kiss. And the creeping horror of realizing you’re not just stuck somewhere strange ……you’re stuck somewhere wrong? Whew. I was sweating.

If you like your horror slow-burning, psychologically twisty, and soaked in dread with a side of “I should not have clicked that RSVP link,” this one’s for you.

Five stars. Would absolutely lose my sanity on this island again.

🌴🖤 

Wow. The best and most terrifying horror I've ever read!

We face a challenging and cruel holiday filled with exciting games organised by a millionaire owning the notorious Prosperity Island and chilling mysteries occurring unrelatedly (or not?).

This book started just a bit different from what I got used to as Darcy Coates' style, but that fact didn't give it any negative sides. Quite the opposite - it was fresh, engaging, and thrilling from the beginning.

The events are shown from thoughtfully chosen perspectives allowing us to see everything in depth. The main pov - Ruth's - keeps the narration easy to follow, while others support it from their roles in the story.

Ruth is an interesting, lovable character. I didn't just see from her side, I cared about the person behind a pov, wanted to discover more of her past, see where the current events would get her. Petra, Logan, and others were great and lovable as well.

The plot is filled with events that only gained tension from the first chapter and further all through the book. Each page brought more amazing and chilly details or even quite unexpected twists and there wasn't a line I wanted to skip through.

Concluded with a perfect epilogue it lets the story find it end without losing its style and atmosphere.

To sum my thoughts up, it was a refreshing, spine-chilling and incredible experience, which I recommend to everyone who loves their stories highly engaging, thrilling, and spiced up with horror to raise the stakes!

- - -
Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with this free eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Darcy Coates’s latest novel is taut and clever, building suspense on every page, and it delivers on its promise as a true horror. We know things will get ugly on sun‑soaked Prosperity Island—but Coates doesn’t hold back; she really, really goes there.
That “Blair Witch meets Fyre Fest” marketing feels off—it’s neither a fitting analogy nor needed. This story easily stands on its merits.
The cast brims with intriguing characters, each harboring hidden agendas. Ruth, the secret cult‑survivor, is a relatable fish out of water, thrown into a world of influencers and their fans, while capable and efficient Petra, quietly stole the show for me.
4+ stars, but plan your reading time carefully — you might find yourself staying up half the night unable to put it down.

How bad things can get?

Really bad!! This was a very GRIPPING, SUPER SHOCKING, AND A WELL PUT MASTERPIECE!!!!

This book definitely gave me the heebie-jeebies, it was twisted and it’ll make you feel the adventure as the story unfolds.

Thank you NetGalley, Darcy Coates, and Poisoned Pen Press for this TWISTED TALE and the opportunity to provide an honest review of this ARC.

When an influencer's island festival getaway goes horribly, horribly wrong, a defunct cult rises from the ashes.

I've read so many of Coates' books at this point and this is by far one of her best. As always, her visual descriptions are a huge strength of her writing. The island atmosphere was fantastic and terrifying. Definitely a great read for horror fans.

Fast, bloody, and way more fun than it should be. Darcy Coates throws influencers, cult trauma, and a cursed island into the blender and hits “liquefy.” It’s not deep, but it is unhinged in all the right ways. The pacing’s a little bumpy, but if you’re in the mood for chaos and carnage with sunscreen on top, this delivers.

Darcy Coates has managed to scare me again and again with her horror novels. This one was no different. Of course I like to truly bring out the experience by reading them late at night in the dark and I have to say, damn that book was messed up. Horror is such a fun genre and this was the perfect “summerween” read for me.

Narrative style is always something that Darcy Coates can get me with. I love the random POVs that keep us updated on the whole picture. I always thoroughly enjoy jumping from different events, it definitely builds suspense and moves the plot along quickly. Which is a must for me when it comes to horror.

How Bad Can Things Get, really asks the question of the title over and over again as the storyline progresses. Until we are quite literally at the worst case scenario. The violence was very graphic and I would definitely classify this as a true horror, the descriptions were enough to make my skin crawl at times.

Cults, survival, isolated island, mystery and a boatload of suspense absolutely captured me and kept me on the edge of my seat. If you are a fan of survival thrillers that lean towards horror, then this book is for you. But be warned, prepare to be uncomfortable in the best most horrifying way!

Pure gold!
I can't get enough of Darcy Costes' books!

Isolated island, influencers, games, and cults... roll it all together and get an amazing book!

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Darcy Coates for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Darcy Coates takes a bold, bloody leap into full-throttle horror with How Bad Things Can Get—a gripping, gruesome survival story that blends influencer culture, cult terror, and island isolation into a truly unsettling ride.

The story follows Ruth, the lone survivor of a deadly cult massacre, who has spent her life trying to stay off the radar. But when a glitzy, over-the-top influencer retreat is hosted on Prosperity Island—the very place Ruth fled years ago—she's forced to confront the horror she thought she'd left behind. What begins as a curated social media event quickly spirals into something far more sinister, with eerie disappearances, chilling rituals, and secrets clawing their way back to the surface.

Coates is known for her atmospheric haunted-house horror, but this novel cranks up the intensity. The pacing is relentless, the setting immersive, and the violence...graphic. This isn’t a quiet ghost story—it’s a survival nightmare soaked in dread and desperation.

What I appreciated most was how Coates managed to keep the tension razor-sharp from start to finish. The plot is fast-moving, the stakes are high, and the dread is palpable. While some of the secondary characters felt a bit underdeveloped, the horror elements more than make up for it. This is one of her most action-packed and visceral books to date.

If you're a fan of cult horror, survival thrillers, or just want to see how bad things can really get, this one belongs on your radar. Just don’t read it alone at night.

This one had me tense from the start. A gorgeous island setting paired with a creeping sense of dread made for the perfect trapped in paradise horror vibe. The story starts off as a slow burn, but once things unravel, it gets dark, gruesome, and intense.

Between the cult backstory and the growing paranoia, the tension builds in a way that keeps you on edge. A solid thriller/horror blend that delivers both atmosphere and gore.

Darcy Coates is one of my favourite horror authors and no matter the plot it never fails to freak me out. This story was a bit different from her usual but the cult and the creepiness and the bloodbath was so intense I couldn't put it down until I'd finished it all

Darcy Coates can be hit or miss for me but this one was a big hit! I could not put this down and had to keep reading to see what was going to happen next. I loved the premise and the island setting. The idea of the games and winning prizes. Being stuck on the island with no way out once things started to go south was terrifying to read. Things got gory and brutal quick! I wish we got a little more backstory on Petition, but I also understand the book didn’t completely revolve around the cult. Overall this was a very entertaining read that kept me guessing the whole time!

<I>How Bad Things Can Get</I> is marketed as "<I>The Blair Witch Project</I> meets Fyre Fest," but it definitely leans more into a "Fyre Fest meets deadly cult" vibe than anything supernatural. Darcy Coates delivers another fast-paced, blood-soaked thriller, this time centered around a too good to be true influencer event on a remote island. Spoiler: it's definitely too good to be true.

The premise is a little far fetched: a rich YouTuber invites 600 people to a mysterious island for an all-expenses-paid competition with cash prizes. But if you suspend that element of disbelief, it’s an entertaining ride. Some of the plot twists are predictable, but there are just enough small surprises to keep things interesting. Coates wisely avoids anything too unbelievable, and instead leans into the slow, spiraling tension and paranoia that she’s so good at building.

This was a fun and compulsive read. I tore through it in one sitting. Perfect for fans of thrillers and horror stories set in isolated environments, especially those involving cults, manipulation, and the terrifying power of groupthink.

<I>Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.</I>

I've been a long time lover of Darcy Coates books, this one was so different I found than her usual, but I really really enjoyed it!!!
I felt like this was such a perfect summer slasher!! It kept me guessing and entertained. Some twists I did predict, but others not at all. This would make a wild movie!!

Thank you so much @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for the advanced copy!

Wow! This book was creepy and unsettling, and at times horrifying in the best way possible. The pacing was strong throughout and there were a few twists and surprises.

How bad can things get? ...Well pretty horrendous according to this novel by acclaimed spooky author, Darcy Coates. When Ruth, her boyfriend, and her friends win a trip to an exclusive island to hobnob with influencers, they are all excited. The reader soon realizes, though, that Ruth has a dark past she must contend with...and the island and her hosts aren't what they seem.
The pacing was great, I love reading about cults and the aftereffects so that was super interesting to me. It was darker than I remember her other books being, but I still loved it.
My only critique is that the violence started very quickly in the novel. I usually expect more of a tension and buildup of suspense. But I read it quickly and enjoyed it so....thanks Darcy Coates!

I've had Darcy on by tbr list for a while now, and man, I wish I had visited her stuff sooner. Her craft for storytelling and writing is brilliant.

I can see some people finding this slow, but I absolutely devoured every second of it. I loved the characters and living this story with them. Once I hit a halfway point, I didn't want to leave them. Once of those rare books where I could have read MORE.

Thrilling, exciting and genuinely scary. Darcy has a way of writing out a scene that will make you clench and your heart race. There was so many parts where I had to pause because my anxiety was going crazy. It was also gory! which i didn't expect lol

Overall, a perfect beach/summer read that will keep your blood pumping.

Darcy Coates has been crushing it with her recent releases. I love the break from her traditional haunted house stories. I think a cult centered, influencer driven thriller/horror is playing to trends and don't mind it. I will say that I don't love the gaslighting on the island. I also don't love when we have a "secret' that everyone seems to know and the MC refuses to acknowledge. Parts of this story really worked for me. Others fell a bit flat. Sadly, I didn't connect with the characters (maybe because 'influencers' aren't people I find endearing) so it was difficult to get invested in how things played out. Darcy is the Queen of vibes though, and the vibes were immaculate. One area that always falls a little flat are things wrapping up too fast and or not having enough closure with things. Darcy always builds a big story and then rushes through the finale. This book wasn't any different. Still, an overall enjoyable read.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC. This was a fun ride. If you like cults, secluded island gore, bloodbaths etc this book is for you. I like the different stories and how they intertwined. Pretty sure I read the last half of the book in a day. I had to know what was going to happen. Darcy Coates is always a favorite.