Lucinda Berry did it again. As if I'm surprised.

The Perfect Child has been my favorite of her books so far, I was so excited for this sequel. I have to admit I was upset it was a Novella and not a full length novel.

But I loved all 82 pages of her brilliant mind!

This follows the story of Janie as an adult, who manipulates Hannah and Christopher's son into believing her horrible telling of the events that happened in the first book.

4/5 stars

4⭐️

A psychopath reformed???! After Hope gets released from the psychiatric ward for committing horrendous crimes at the young age of six; the people she traumatized grapple with wether she is reformed or what her motives are for coming back.

Okay so just to make sure everyone knows this is the sequel to Lucinda Berry’s The Perfect Child. I did not realize this going in so now I’m back tracking a bit to go read the first one. Honestly though the short story stood on its own. It hooked me right from the beginning with its unique setting and hit punched me with all the acts of horror we unraveled through the story. My only issue is that it leaves off on uncertain terms so we’re not sure what happens to the main characters at the end.

CW/TW

Infertility
Child abuse

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy! I’m a huge Lucinda Berry fan and was super excited when I saw there was a follow up to The Perfect Child! Now, that isn’t my favorite one of hers but I definitely enjoyed the read, this one.. not so much. I thought the novella could have definitely been an entire book and I think I would have rated it better but the whole thing felt like a good build up with a subpar ending. After I was done reading this.. I was pretty disappointed but will say I was left wanting more. If I was Lucinda Berry, I would take this back - make it a full thought out book and I think it would land better. Overall 2.5 ⭐️ rounding down to 2 ⭐️ on Goodreads.

this book is the sequel to berry’s bestseller, “the perfect child”, and with this story being less than 100 pages: i was able to devour it in one sitting. this is another stellar story by lucinda berry that involves two adoptive parents navigating life while dealing with a sociopath named Janie for a child— & this time, she’s been released from juvenile detention and has made a name for herself with a memoir claiming she’s been reformed from her sociopathic tendencies.

overall, i give this novella four stars. although i did not expect the ending and thoroughly enjoyed the book, i really wish it was a bit longer. but, the story was quick and packed quite the punch at the end— just was a bit too short for my liking. i also would’ve really enjoyed more character development for Cole, who is the biological child of Janie’s adoptive parents. but since this story was shorter, i didn’t get to know him as much as i would’ve liked.

In A Welcome Reunion, a short story by Lucinda Berry, the gripping narrative begins with a bone-chilling premise: the return of a girl, Janie, whom Hannah and Christopher Bauer once adopted. With a backdrop of tension, fear, and a haunting past, Berry weaves a narrative that explores the boundaries of forgiveness and the lingering scars of trauma.
Having read The Perfect Child, diving into this novella felt like a reunion with familiar but unsettling territory. Berry, who is adept at crafting dark and gritty tales, presents a narrative that demands courage from its readers. The novella opens with Janie's reentry into the lives of the Bauers, now a beautiful and confident young woman. The scars of her destructive past have not faded, but she claims to have transformed herself, ready to make amends for her sociopathic actions.
The novella delves into the complexities of Janie's character. Drawing from her background as a clinical psychologist, Berry expertly portrays Janie's calculated behavior and explores the twisted psyche of a female psychopath. The author adeptly conveys the inner turmoil and desperation of the Bauers as they navigate their dread and uncertainty.
Berry's writing is clear, credible, and maintains a pace that keeps the reader hooked. The prose flows smoothly, urging the reader to turn the pages quickly, all while capturing the nuances of the characters' emotions. The narrative's strength lies in its relentless exploration of psychological trauma and its impact on individuals and families.
The relationship between A Welcome Reunion and its predecessor, The Perfect Child, adds depth to the reading experience. Those who have followed Janie's journey from her troubled past to her disturbing present will find this short story a gripping sequel, adding layers to the already complex character.

This was very fine. I actually wish it was a lot longer like a full length novel again because we could have gone into the complexities of Janie being released but this just didn’t deliver for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first read from Lucinda Berry but it won’t be my last. I typically read romance but when I need a palate cleanser, I always turn to mystery, horror, or thriller. This was a short story but it was creepy enough to keep me on the edge of my seat.

Told in alternating POVs, we get insight into both Hannah and Piper’s minds. Let’s be real: I’m on their team here. Janie is PSYCHO and the way Cole and Christopher just fell into her lap gave me the heebie jeebies.

If you’re looking for something short, I definitely recommend this one!

(3.5 stars) A quick short story thriller! This is an aftermath of Berry’s The Perfect Child (which I have not read). I enjoyed this book overall, but did feel a little lost. Makes sense now given this is an aftermath to a book I haven’t read. I am a social worker, so I enjoyed that aspect of the book. The descriptions of the events were pretty horrific and I found the dynamics between the characters to be very interesting. Thank you Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fantastic follow up to The Perfect Child. You can read this book on its own, but it really intrigued me to read more from this author! You follow multiple POV's from Piper and Hannah years later after what happened.

The Perfect Child is my favorite book that is centered around a disturbing child, so I was so excited to find out more about what happened to Janie and the Bauers. This story was well written and packed with all of the elements of a good thriller, despite its short length. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened, and was definitely shocked at the turn of events. If you enjoyed The Perfect Child, this is a must read! I did enjoy the ending, but I felt that it wrapped up a little too quickly and just wanted a little bit more to the conclusion. I’m looking forward to the release of her next book, Keep Your Friends Close, in November.

Thank you NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories, and Lucinda Berry for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I sped through this book and was thinking that we would get a concluded story but no Lucinda had other ideas and leaves you with a lot of questions. I was not expecting that ending at all like I have so many questions about everything and everyone.

After finishing The Perfect Child, I needed to know what happened next. A Welcome Reunion answers some of those questions but I feel like it was done in haste. The novella is set 13 years after events from The Perfect Child. It is told from the perspectives of Hannah, Christopher and Piper as Janie, now Hope, goes on a press tour for her book. Hope is now a media sensation and American Sweetheart. Since this is a novella, everything does move along rather quickly and I don't want to give too much away.
If this were a novel, I would have liked some excerpts of Hope's book to be thrown in to play around with Hannah or Christopher's recollection of events. Also, I feel like a chapter or two told from the perspective of Cole and/or Caleb would have been a nice touch. The story moves quickly but feels a little rushed and some of the GASP moments read like a soap opera. This is not a bad thing. If you have ever watched a soap opera, you would understand that is why you continue to watch them week after week and why I feel of this were just a excerpt for a 3rd entry Lucinda will have fans running to get their hands on it.

First of all, thanks to netgalley and Amazon original stories for the arc in exchange for my opinion.

Trigger warning: emotional and physical abuse.

To really enjoy this dark, short novella, it’s a benefit to have read the perfect child. That’s because this novella is about the same child, but now she’s released into the world again, and the family haunted by her, will need to handle what comes next.

The first book was to say it bluntly, dark and gritty. This novella is still all those things, and more. You can’t have a faint heart reading this, because you will read about acts of violence that are hard to imagine. Berry has previously worked as a clinical psychologist, and I’m sure she draws from some of her experience and knowledge to dredge up scenarios that gets under your skin. We all know that there are some real psychopaths out there, and the novella shows how a female psychopath my harvest her skills and terrorize others. I felt this ending to a chilling book I’ll never forget, was well worth the around 60 pages of time it took me.

Gripping story right away! Such a great choice to blend the background of a terrifying six-year-old against that same girl as she's released from state care at eighteen. It should be noted that this is kinda a sequel to one of Berry's novels. However, I didn't miss anything as Berry sprinkled the necessary details throughout to make this a standalone short.

Both the social worker, Piper, and adoptive mom, Hannah, convinced me of their struggles and need to fix the situation. Janie was a special kind of ominous and unpredictable. The lengths she has gone to and her unknown intentions for the future got my heart racing. There was the right amount of Janie's institutional horror history to raise genuine concern over her concealed conversations.

Fantastic bite-sized thriller that leaves me wanting more! Another sequel please!

A quick sequel to The Perfect Child I never knew I needed!! I loved continuing the story of Janie and the Bauers. I loved the short story, and I loved the ending!

No one writes psychological thrillers as well as Lucinda Berry! Gripping from beginning to end. A short story that will draw you back into The Perfect Child or leave you wanting to read it! Christopher and Hannah have never completely recovered from the havoc wreaked on their lives from a damaged six year old child and now she’s back. She’s 18 and out of the system. Despite what they hoped, she’s far from out of their lives.

This was my first Lucinda Read! Love the quick style, fun and easy to read. The ending of each chapter leaving you with a hmmmm? Looking now to add more to my tbr!

The Push is one of my favorite books and so I was anxious to read this little follow up. Janie is now “Hope” and is eighteen years old. She has written a best selling memoir and claims to be totally rehabilitated. Hannah, her former adoptive mother, and Piper, her former social worker, don’t seem to be buying it. Can Janie have really changed it is she still the sociopath 6 year old they once knew?

Honestly…I still need more. I could read a whole lot more about this crazy, messed up situation and it all ended too quickly for me! A complete novel would have made me happy!

This was such a chilling novella! I read it in one sitting and my mind is still thinking about it. I loved The Perfect Child, which this is a sequel to and can't wait to read more by this author.

A chilling look at what comes *after*: when Hannah knew her *before*, Janie was a violently abused child—someone in need of help, support, love. But Janie's disturbances went far deeper than that, and there was no recovering from what she did.

She's eighteen now. An adult. Released from juvenile detention, her record locked, going by a new name—and prepared to set the world on fire. And Hannah isn't prepared to see it burn.

This story is set sometime after Berry's "The Perfect Child". It's not necessary to read that first—I have not, and I didn't realize until I'd finished the story that it's a follow-up to a full-length book. I suspect (having skimmed some reviews for the book) that this will go a ways to satisfy readers who hoped for more of an ending to the book, but the creepiness of the violence in this story tells me that I will have to save consideration of the book for a day when I'm in the mood to be unable to sleep at night.

All told, a satisfyingly creepy shot of writing that begs the question—how far would you go to keep your world in one piece, and to keep someone else from destroying it?

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.