How Bad Things Can Get

Publication Date: August 2025 | Thanks NetGalley for an ARC

Overall Verdict: Extremely descriptive and gory but underwhelming and forced in terms of plot and character development.

3/5 Stars

Book Summary: Online influencer Eton creates a lavish atmosphere on his own island and invites hundreds of his fans and fellow influencers to take part in a 5-day series of games.  Wanting to actually have some fun and put away the memories of her past life in a notorious cult, Ruth joins her friends on the island.  As she holds on to her secret of being the sole survivor of the cult, she begins to question the motivations and actions of those around her.  As people start to go missing or are found dead, Ruth must face the truth that she has not completely escaped her past.

My Analysis:  I have to start this off by saying I really adore Darcy Coates’s works, and this is the first of hers that I have read that I did not enjoy.  I found the pacing to be incredibly slow and drawn-out way too much, so much so that I almost chose to DNF.  There was one thing that kept me going and piqued my curiosity, but ultimately, I don’t feel it was worth it.  I get where Coates was trying to come from with how her story unfolded, but to me it seemed like she was unnecessarily trying to put two completely separate stories together in a way that seemed to be way too much of a stretch.  I will give a warning that this novel is filled with very descriptive gore scenes and murder, and if you are into that, those were very well written.  They definitely aren’t for everyone though.  I read this to see if it could be an adult title that could crossover to YA readers, and aside from the fact I didn’t care for the story, I would probably avoid putting it in the hands of general YA readers with how intense some of the descriptions were.  Ruth’s character was interesting some of the time and it was compelling to hear of her past experiences in the cult she grew up in.  But again, everything about this story felt very forced to me.  I gave it as high of a rating as I did simply because the writing itself was good, even though the plot was severely lacking and characters other than Ruth were under-developed.  If you really want to read some gore, give this one a try, but otherwise I’d recommend reading any of the other titles by this author instead.