I LOVE Darcy Coates. My first experience with one of her books was her YA novel Where He Can’t Find You during a particularly grueling jury duty. Her book made it SO much more enjoyable and I’ve been reading her horror novels ever since. To be completely honest, too, she’s the reason I like horror novels at all. So when I got accepted for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review, I was STOKED. 

How Bad Things Can Get did not disappoint me at all. It’s basically an island gameshow filled with cult-vibes, ritualistic sacrifices, and a whole lot of page turning. The pacing was unmatched and once I got to 60% through the novel, I couldn’t put it down and finished it within hours. I loved the characters, rooted for all of them, and wanted so much more in a good way. 

So, Ruth is our main main character. She survived a total massacre in the cult she was born into when she was just seven (I think?) years old. She was the sole survivor and has remained anonymous for twenty years since everyone has been obsessed with the cult that called themselves Petition. A journalist named Logan who exposes celebrities and social personalities for bad things they do is the second main character. However, there are many many different chapters with many different point of views. I didn’t mind because it offered insight into the story that you wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. A LOT happened in this novel and I honestly got attached to way too many characters. 

Pacing for the first part of the novel was slower, but by no means would I consider it “slow”. It’s just that the last 40% of the novel went at such a breakneck speed that everything else would be considered a snail’s pace. I honestly enjoyed the whole novel though and probably only got bored for a short time in between after the first game and before one of the big reveals. It was a very short section, so I don’t know if I can really even count it as boring so much as informative and a buildup to what was to come. 

As far as the ending goes, I LOVED Ruth’s self-revelations about the cult she was in and how things tied up for her. You don’t get a lot of “after” for the main ending, so don’t expect much, but it was still very much enjoyable. I’ll talk about some specific things that totally devastated me in the spoilers below. 

Spoilers ahead. 

Y’all. Carson’s death was so depressing. Like whyyyyy??? He fought so hard and still died not knowing what happened to Hayleigh. Also, despite helping Ruth in the end, Zach’s death was not a sad moment for me. Petra’s was, though. Like why does Eton get to live when Petra did everything to make sure she could at least fix something. Not fair at all but, sadly, realistic since the selfish ones are usually the ones who survive. And Makayla? Damn I wish we got more from her because in the small moments you see her, she seems to be such a badass. 

My favorite part of the entire ending was when they had Ruth tied up on the beach and she laughed in Barry’s face because he didn’t know anything about Petition except the lies and half truths that were said online. It was such an empowering moment and really gave Ruth closure about Petition. Because, like she said, they were just a fan club and they killed so many people based off of a cult they truly knew nothing about. It truly shows the dangers of obsession and becoming overly invested in other people’s tragedies. 

Overall, this was such a great read and really pulled me out of the slump I’ve been in. 4.5 out of 5 stars rounded up for social platforms. I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves horror, or even if you’re just looking for a thrilling read to keep you up way too late just to read one more chapter. 

Source: Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley

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