This book gave some some closer on The perfect Child. I loved them so much. i love this author and love her books so much!

I read this in ONE night! I am so glad you wrote this because it put the turn on The Perfect Child! HUGE fan! I did not see the twist coming at all! Thank you Lucinda Berry!!

Thank you to Lucinda Berry, Amazon Original Series, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5 stars

I will start off with I have not read A Perfect Child. I didn't realize that this was connected to that. But that did not take away from the story.

It was good, it held my attention, until the end. It just ended, just like that. I want to know what happens! I have so many questions.

I did not like Christopher, he was creepy in my opinion. He was obsessed with Janie. Hannah seemed miserable, but I guess after what she went through, I can't say that I blame her.

🔪𝙰 𝚆𝚎𝚕𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚁𝚎𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚗🔪
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝙰𝚞𝚐𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝟷𝟻𝚝𝚑

Well, the biotch is back! Yep, I am talking about Janie..you know that brilliant sociopath that has caused havoc all around her since she was around 2 years old! She is 18 now & out of Juvenile detention with a huge social media following & a new “tell-all”
memoir which has gained so much popularity that she is almost a mini celebrity now. Janie is out for revenge against the family & people that actually helped her the most in her past. Ugh. Bitch, indeed! 😑

I have seen a few people reading this and they haven’t read The Perfect Child first…ummmm🤔, what the what? No. Don’t do that. Read TPC first. Please. It’s still gonna grip you & have your jaw on the floor no matter what, but you will enjoy it more reading TPC first. This is a novella so with it being quite short you need that first book to get to know these characters more & be fully immersed in this one. Trust me. The ending is very abrupt that I thought it was a mistake in my advanced copy at first, but it wasn’t. If you loved The Perfect Child you will love this one too!
4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Berry is an amazing psychological thriller writer & for good reason. She’s a psychologist herself👩‍⚕️ & specialized in child trauma when she practiced. Super rad, am I right? Thanks for the fun @lucindaberryauthor! 🥳

There was a lot of exposition for the first half of this story. It makes sense since this is a sequel. However, it made it difficult for me to really get into the story. It picked up momentum in the second half, and even though there is a resolution at the end, I would like to see what happens next.

Thanks @netgalley for read number 109 of 2023. I love @lucindaberryauthor’s books, and this short story was no exception. Yes, her books are very disturbing, and the ending here was something else. I almost think that this book could have turned into another full length one, but I appreciated the quick read. I would highly recommend reading THE PERFECT CHILD first to know the back story. A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 read in my books. #avivaandfriendsrecos

I had not read The Perfect Child, which this short story follows up, so I thought I'd read this and provide the perspective of someone who didn't know anything going in. They seemed to go together so well, though, I couldn't resist and ended up reading the entire book first just so I could get the full experience out of this short story. That was an excellent plan and I enjoyed the combination. The reviews that said this is a great epilogue-of-sorts to a book that originally had no ending were correct!

When I saw on NetGalley that Lucinda Berry had a new novella available that is a sequel to The Perfect Child I immediately hit the request button. I loved The Perfect Child and all the creepiness that came with it.

This is a perfect example of leaving well enough alone and now that I've read this I wish I hadn't. I don't know if The Perfect Child isn't as good as I remember, if I've become a more critical reader over the years, or if this one just wasn't up to par with the original. No idea, but this was a disappointment.

Terrible dialogue, dumb characters, and a conclusion that left much to be desired. 2 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for my complimentary copy.

I have read "The Perfect Child" and was delighted to see this short story follow-up. But I have to say, it wasn't what I expected. It seemed a bit of a stretch that Janie would have been treated like such a celebrity after everything that occurred. I understand that any memoir she'd write would be completely one-sided, but not the fact that the public would buy into it so easily. Especially Sarah Haines, who interviews her on TV and barely questions anything she says. Her job would be to ask the hard-hitting questions and call her out on the biased memoir but she does nothing of the sort. Something like that would be scrutinized and fact-checked to the nth degree, so it's not believable that everyone would just take it at face value and see the Bauers as the bad guys. And their son Cole's behavior? Seriously?

I enjoyed the ending but it was too brief - I'm pretty sure readers will want to see what happens next and what the resulting media fall-out would be. I think this short story would have been better as a full-length sequel. But then again, it would probably focus too much on how everyone is gullible enough to believe whatever Janie says. How can people not comprehend that sociopaths lie all the time and try to manipulate everyone? I think in current times it just wouldn't happen as much, there are too many stories out there about evil children doing evil deeds. That's a follow-up I'd have liked to see - Janie is free and tries to fool everyone but no one falls for it and she's left feeling like the fool.

But anyway, if you read The Perfect Child, I think you'd enjoy this story and would better understand all of the characters' actions. You just might be left wanting more!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for giving me early access to this book. I loved it! Very fast paced right from the beginning. Quick and fun read!

I received an ARc copy of A Welcome Reunion by Lucinda Berry!

This book was a perfect follow up to the perfect child! We see Janie return as she has pretended to reinvent herself .. but will her true disturbed self come back!? I love how we get this follow up story after all of the chaos that ensued during the perfect family and get to see how the characters are doing! What a wonderful book !! Highly recommended for anyone that has read and loved the perfect child!

I REALLY enjoyed this little sequel to The Perfect Child. It was a sequel, we as readers, never knew we even needed, until now. This is a short story, only 82 pages, but boy did it pack a punch. I really loved it. ♥️
Janie is back. The little tormented girl from The Perfect Child is all grown up. She is 18 now and has written a book describing her awful life as a child. However, it appears to the public that she’s changed. She’s ready to make amends, tell her story and move on with her life. But has she really changed? What do you think? Has Janie really changed or is evil always evil? Guess you’ll have to read this short story to find out. 😉
Again, I really enjoyed this book. I liked being able to revisit Hannah and Christopher’s life and see where they are today after so many years have passed. My only gripe with this is that the ending ended too abruptly for me. I was expecting it to go on a little further, but instead it just ended. But other than that, it was great! And I did like the ending it just came too soon.
So, If you’ve already read The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry be sure to check this one out. You may be able to still get it on NetGalley. This was a satisfying ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars for me!!
I want to thank NetGalley and Lucinda Berry for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Pub Date: August 15, 2023

Do you love Lucinda Berry like me? What is your favorite book of hers that you’ve read?
(Mine would have to be Saving Noah 🥺 with The Perfect Child a close second)

This was a good but disturbing book to read by an author I like very much. The story is difficult for me b/c I have been a foster parent in the past and the book deals with the major issues within the system. Overall it was a quick finish and four stars. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this! I absolutely loved Perfect Child and this is the sequel. I loved the follow up story, but now we need a third book please!

I read the Perfect Child and loved it and now we have a sequel to it! I really enjoyed reading about what happened to all the characters after the first book,it drew me in like all of Lucinda's books do!
The only complaint was I wish there was more of the story,maybe a 3rd book?! That would be great!
Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read and review this book!

This short story gives me the information I've been in need of since finishing The Perfect Child. Lucinda Berry once again has me emotionally wrecked as I view Janie through the eyes of Chris and Hannah while they struggle, yet again with the best way to protect their family.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

OMG! What a great way to finish the story of Janie and the Bauers. This is a short read and can be finished super fast. Once you start it … you can’t stop! This is the second part to a perfect child so make sure you read that first! I highly recommend this book if you’re into thrillers!! #AWelcomeReunion #NetGalley

“A Welcome Reunion” by Lucinda Berry is a gripping short story that will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. This short story is an easy read that can be finished in one sitting. This story follows Hannah and Christopher as a child they once called their own returns into their lives. This short story will be released on the 15th of August.

Janie is a troubled child who was put in juvenile detention following poor decisions and a horrible upbringing. Upon release Janie releases a tell-all memoir but leaves out half of the ‘real’ story. Janie is that last person Hannah and Christopher want in their lives but Janie finds a way to be the center of their stressors. Secrets are shared and new revelations occur throughout this novel.

This is the first thriller novel I have read and I will be reading more of Lucinda Berry’s work. This short story is the perfect way to introduce new thriller readers to the world of thrillers.

Although this is a short story Lucinda Berry keeps readers gripped throughout, with a thrilling storyline and the same amount of shocking revelations you would find in a full sized novel. The execution of this story is immaculate and is perfectly done for a short story. This short story is a four star read for me, which is saying something as I don’t usually rate short stories so highly.

I wish that I got more from Janie’s POV or potentially a look into her thoughts and more information into her back story, however that would’ve taken away from the quick pace of this story. Now knowing that this is the sequel to the perfect child I am very excited to find out more about Janie. Nonetheless, this is a great read that I will be recommending to all.

“A Welcome Reunion” by Lucinda Berry is a gripping story from start to finish and I recommend this to any readers wanting to dive into the world of thrillers. The easy to follow thriller story along with the twists you don’t see coming are the reason I rated this book 4 stars. I thank NetGalley and Lucinda Berry for allowing me the opportunity to read this book before the release date and will be continuing to read Lucinda Berry’s novels in future.

Let me start my review by saying that I haven’t read The Perfect Child. I didn’t know when I started it, that this is basically an epilogue story to that one.
This can be read as a standalone, the author did a good job explaining what happened in the past, I never was confused about what happened.

Unfortunately I really didn’t enjoyed my time reading this one. I was so annoyed with literally all the characters, I disliked all of them.

I don’t know if I read The Perfect Child I would have liked this more. Maybe, but honestly I don’t want to find out, I really hated Janie who is the evil child in the story. And I know I’m not supposed to like her but still, she was so annoying.
She just turned eighteen in this one and I definitely don’t want to read about the things she did as a child.

I really want to say something positive about the book… but sadly I can’t. The only reason I didn’t DNF’d it, is because this was just a short story. But it felt so long and pointless.

Thank you to @netgalley for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This novella is apparently the sequel to The Perfect Child. As is becoming the norm, I haven’t read the first one 😂 That said, this little nugget packed an enormous punch and I was able to quickly get the gist of where the Perfect Child ended with the backstory cleverly peppered through.

Fundamentally, Berry explores the age old nature vs nurture child development debate. It’s pretty brutal and there are heavy (TW’s) child abuse of both physical and emotional themes throughout.

It was a gripping, terrifying and suspenseful wild ride with an ending that left me wanting for more. 4 ⭐️

Many thanks to @netgalley @amazon for an advanced reading copy ⭐️