I stayed up way too late many a night to find out what was going to happen next! It was so clever the way the further you got into the story, how all the dots started connecting for a very exciting and unexpected ending! 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!

NO SPOILERS
How Bad Things Can Get
Darcy Coates, Author
Pub Date: August 26, 2025
Ruth and three friends were chosen to go to an exclusive event on an island in the middle of nowhere. Ruth is the sole survivor of an infamous cult. This weekend also coincides with the twentieth anniversary of the cults murderous demise. But Ruth has spent her whole life keeping her identity a secret from everyone, or so she thought.

This book had more horror than I expected and was a little hard for me to read. If you like horror you will definitely enjoy this!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. for providing this ARC for my honest review.

Overall, it was an interesting read. It definitely was different from what I’m usually reading. The plot was the most inventive part of the book, by far. The setting is exotic in a way, very summery so perfect for the upcoming months. The cast of characters was not my favorite, and I sometimes had a hard time distinguishing two characters. My main issue was with the pace, which was slow for me. The book could have also been shortened a little bit, it felt too long. Other than that, I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Darcy Coates is back and has done it again! Coates will forever be one of my top horror authors. How Bad Things Can Get is another one of her homerun books. I was sucked in from the very first page. The way the book starts, you can't help but staying up through the night to finish!

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

How Bad Things Can Get is disgusting, disturbing, insane... and sooooo fun. It was supposed to be the party of the century: miles of idyllic white sand beaches, lush jungle foliage...and then people start going missing. Following Ruth, the only survivor of an infamous cult, How Bad Things Can Get gets...really bad, really quickly.

Fair warning: this book is a gore fest. I loved it, and I was riveted/terrified/entranced for every moment, but it was pretty gross at times, so if you are gore-averse, I'd stay away. It is a true horror, not a mystery-thriller that's kind of spooky, but a genuinely scary horror that will make your skin crawl.

I enjoy all of Darcy Coates' books to varying degrees, and this one did not disappoint. I highly recommend this to any horror lovers looking for an action-packed horror fest involving cults, an island, influencers and a cannibal witch.

I have to start off by saying that this is my first Darcy Coates book and I had no clue what to expect.

This book had me saying multiple times “what the heck am I reading”? But in a good way. At first when they mentioned “games”, I thought that it would be something like the Hunger Games but it definitely wasn’t. The story follows Ruth, the sole survivor from a popular cult who just wants to enjoy a nice relaxing vacation. Things start to get really crazy & creepy on the island and Ruth must confront her past.

* Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this ARC!*

This book is definitely one for fans of creepy, gory stories with a dose of body horror (think skinning and clawing). How Bad Things Can Get feels like a mix between a reality TV competition and an escape room gone horribly wrong, with some deceipt and really inept producers in the background The cult element adds a weird and unsettling twist that keeps things interesting, and true crime fans might enjoy how the mystery unfolds.

Ruth and Zach’s relationship is a bit sketchy from the start, so readers might catch onto something feeling off in the book. Overall, this is a tense, creepy read that keeps you guessing. I'd give it three to four stars — not perfect, but certainly a fun time.

3.5 Stars

While I've enjoyed Coates haunted house novels, it's interesting to see her branching into slashers recently. The cult angle was unique, and one of the more compelling facets was Ruth's struggle to escape her past.

As for the rest of the story, there was simply too much going on. Too many threads being pulled throughout the middle that distracted from the main action. The Mr. Beast character and his issues, Zach being watched by Logan, Carson acting overtly suspicious, Ruth overhearing Petition gossip and melting down. The deaths in between felt incredibly downplayed as a result of all the mundane drama. And when we get to the big reveal, a lot is spoiled by Ruth's 'sightings' which are never explained (and in fact, contradict Ruth's own assertions about Petition). Also, on occasion, the motives of the 'bad guys' were bizarre and confusing.

The story is relatively fast paced and the gore level high, which makes the book easy to read in one sitting. The characters are fine, and mostly likeable. I'm torn on the setting, because I was getting 'I Still Know What You Did Last Summer' vibes the whole time.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I'm not sure how to really get into this without spoiling anything... But I found that I had to suspend WAY too much disbelief to even try enjoying this. So many things were just too much and didn't make sense.

There was nothing that had me rooting for any of the characters and it drove me absolutely insane reading Petra's name cut down to "Pet." It made my skin crawl each time.

I definitely would have been more interested in the original cult than whatever ended up happening.

In a new type of story Darcy Coates dials up the dread. I love this new direction!

In How Bad Can Things Get, she swaps haunted houses for influencer culture, dropping us into the beautiful Prosperity Island, a remote, location supposedly infamous for shipwrecks, cannibalism, and a long legacy of unexplained deaths.

When a content creator millionaire invites hundreds of fans to the island for five days of games and glamor, the vibe quickly shifts from paradise to panic. Guests begin to vanish. The games turn sinister. And the whole event starts to feel like a trap.

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

This is a different direction for Darcy Coates and I personally loved it. It still had an eerie vibe, but focused less on paranormal type stuff and switched to thriller and horror and cult stuff. I do believe this is also the first time she dives into influencer culture as well!

I really loved How Bad Things Can Get!

4-Star Review – How Bad Things Can Get by Darcy Coates

Darcy Coates delivers another chilling, atmospheric tale in How Bad Things Can Get. As an ARC reader, I was drawn in immediately by her signature blend of eerie suspense and creeping dread. The story builds slowly but effectively, drawing the reader deeper into its haunting mystery with each page.

While it didn’t quite reach the top tier of her best works for me, it was still a strong, well-written book. The setting was claustrophobic and unsettling in all the right ways, and the psychological tension was palpable throughout. I especially appreciated the layers of emotional depth woven into the characters’ experiences.

Overall, this is a solid gothic thriller that fans of Darcy Coates will enjoy. It’s not her scariest or most shocking, but it’s definitely worth reading if you love slow-burn suspense with a dark, emotional core.

Thank you for the opportunity on reading an early copy for a review. First off, Darcy coates will always be an auto-buy for me. All of her books are full of suspense, twists, amazing characters that stick with you. This one was a little different from her usual books, but it’s still JUST AS GOOD! I devoured this in under 24 hours, it’s such a page turner I couldn’t put this book down.

This book threw me into a survival horror setup where a group of people find themselves stranded on an island with secrets lurking beneath the surface. The atmosphere was tense and claustrophobic, which I liked, and Coates does a solid job building that slow-burning dread.

What held me back a bit was how much the story focused on surface-level drama and suspense without really digging into the characters’ inner lives. The emotional depth I usually look for in literary fiction was missing here, but the pacing kept me turning the pages.

If you want a thriller that leans hard into scares and survival tension, this will probably satisfy. But if you’re after a story that stays with you for its complexity or insight into human nature, it might feel a bit light.

Still, I appreciated the eerie vibe and the way the island setting almost becomes a character itself. It’s not perfect, but it’s a decent read if you like dark, suspenseful horror with an edge of mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I had so much fun reading this book! This dark, gruesome thriller elicited such a pulse-pounding intensity that I couldn't sit still. My nerves were on fire! The story was like a twisted combination of an 80's slasher film and The Purge. It was bloody and gory, and I loved it! The pacing was moderate, but it really picked up around the 75% mark. The ending was sufficient, but I would have liked it more if there was one more epilogue that told Ruth's story. I'm guessing the author left it out purposely to insinuate that most media handles only care about shock value and not the truth. However, as a reader who was fully invested in her character, I needed more closure. I would definitely recommend this to horror fans! It had all the makings of a cult classic!

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for granting me a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

In a new type of story Darcy Coates dials up the dread. I love this new direction!

In How Bad Can Things Get, she swaps haunted houses for influencer culture, dropping us into the beautiful Prosperity Island, a remote, location supposedly infamous for shipwrecks, cannibalism, and a long legacy of unexplained deaths.

When a content creator millionaire invites hundreds of fans to the island for five days of games and glamor, the vibe quickly shifts from paradise to panic. Guests begin to vanish. The games turn sinister. And the whole event starts to feel like a trap.

With a cast that includes a young woman hiding a bloody past and a journalist chasing scandal, this story is part horror, part thriller, and 100% addictive. I was hooked by the layered characters—and honestly sad to lose a few along the way. Nothing thrills me more than contemporary horror with teeth.

#DarcyCoates #HowBadCanThingsGet #ProsperityIsland #HorrorReads #Thriller #PoisonedPenPress #Sourcebooks#poisonedpenpress

Received this as an ARC and loved it!!! A private island, games, murder and cults. This book was very graphic but that doesn’t bother me. It had such a good ending. I could not put it down.

A quiet, haunting descent into isolation, control, and survival.

I don’t usually gravitate toward cult stories, but this one hooked me. How Bad Things Can Get is quietly chilling, with a heavy, creeping dread that lingers. Ruth’s story is heartbreaking and tense, and I couldn’t look away. The pacing dipped a bit in the middle, but the eerie atmosphere and emotional depth made it worth the read. Darcy Coates knows how to pull you in!

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my copy in exchange for my thoughts.

I love Darcy Coates so be able to read this arc made my day. I do enjoy a good cult book and this one was great. The story was well written and it hooked me in from the beginning. I read this in a day because I couldn’t put it down

I devoured this book in one sitting, I absolutely loved it!

I have read all of Coates previous books so i had an idea what going into this new book would be like and that's the thing i love about her work is each book is totally different but gives the WOW shock factor as you never know what is going to happen until it happens.

How bad can things focuses on a group of friends that have been picked alongside 600+ partygoers to an famous influencers island called Prosperity island where they can play games to win money. What should of been a few crazy fun days partying on the island takes a turn when guests start going missing and the games become dangerous as they later learn about the cult that resided on the island and is to be haunted to this very day. Soon they'll be wishing they never stepped foot on the island as darkness resides over the island in worse ways you could ever of imagined.

I really enjoyed the main characters POV as we go back and forth to her past and how she is dealing with the situation she is in trying to stay anonymous but she feels like somebody knows who she really is. Everybody has their own pasts and we learn about secrets, gossip and past scandals that some of them were apart of. No character was the same, each and everybody were uniquely portrayed which i really enjoyed.

How bad things can get will have you feeling squeamish and on the edge of your seat. There is graphic description of violence but this is normal if you have read any of Coate's previous works which i never mind. Full of secrets, twists and turns and overall a good amount of suspense that will keep you captured and reading on to the very last page you will not be dissapointed. I finished this book in a matter of hours, i was hooked from the get go, it is a definite must read and i would recommend to everyone to pick up.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers Poisoned Pen Press for the copy of this arc in exchange of my full honest review.

5*