This is a collection of short stories written in the jade city world. All events happen prior to the first book, but should be read after to help give context and understanding behind the stories. My favorite was of course Hilo and Wen. I’ve only read Jade City so far, but I feel like we’re just barely scratching the surface of what Wen is capable of. I very much enjoyed watching her calculated information gathering, and use of that information to meet her goals. Also seeing all the pieces of Anden’s story unfold, where his mother came from and went through, and being adopted, it makes his story arc make so much more sense. Shea is a badass, and this story really accentuated her shrewdness and capability. Overall this collection, while not integral to the story does provide some very interesting depth behind beloved characters. Thank you netgalley for the arc. My options are my own

Thank you to the publisher Subterranean Press, author Fonda Lee, and Netgalley for access to this eARC!

I was thrilled to once again visit the world of Janloon! I was worried when I first saw that this was only 136 pages, but out of the four stories, a reader gets a very well-rounded experience of revisiting some favorite characters from the Green Bone Saga.

(A) The Witch and Her Friend -- 5/5. This was EXACTLY what I wanted from Fonda Lee. We get to see a younger Ayt Mada, untried, less self-assured, and hungry. Yet Fonda teases us by keeping us out of Mada's head (which she addresses in an author's note after the conclusion of this short story). We also get glimpses of Anden's mother, who herself was formidable but was shaped by her bold choices and tragedy.

(B) Not Only Blood -- perfect as a lead-up to Jade City. It encapsulates Kaul family and clan-versus-clan dynamics.

(C) Better Than Jade -- not my favorite, although I definitely see the appeal for some fans. This is the beginnings of the Hilo and Wen love story. Here they are young, passionately in love with each other, and have not run into formidable life upsets outside of the general expectations of family and clan.

(D) Granddaughter Cormorant -- follows Shae when she was Kaul Sen's favorite grandchild but struggled with the weight of familial and clan expectations. Fleshes out info we already know about Shae's past as an Espenian asset, which was perhaps equal parts self-expression and discovery, compromise for her boyfriend, and rebellion against those aforementioned expectations. When reading Jade City, I had been a little baffled by her ability to go so far as she did in carrying out traitorous acts in her past, so this story helped me in reconciling her character's internal turmoil with her actions.

If Fonda Lee finishes her involvement with Janloon here, I am quite satisfied and thankful for all the amazing gifts she has given us. If not, I'd still LOVE a fuller story from Ayt Mada's perspective (...or a next generation Ayt Mada-style antihero).

A really nice "last farewell" for readers of the Green Bone Saga, although I don't think any of the stories is an absolutely must-have in order to better understand the main trilogy. There are four prequel stories, one for Ayt Mada and one each for the three Kaul siblings (Ayt Mada finds and loses a friend, Lan adopts Anden, Hilo and Wen fall in love, and Shae starts her career as a spy for the Espenians). Wen and Hilo's story is probably destined to be the biggest fan favorite but I enjoyed them all!

I absolutely adored this peek into the Green Bone world before the events of the main series! It definitely puts a lot of other little things in perspective throughout the series. Can’t wait to read more from Fonda!

Perhaps this is dramatic but it felt absolutely intoxicating to be back in the world of The Green Bone Saga and the Kaul family. I loved getting more of Lan (my favorite character, to my eternal despair) and a look into Hilo and Wen’s courtship and romance. I love this world, I love these characters and I loved getting just a bit more of them, even though the saga is over. I love Fonda Lee, I love her writing and I’ll read anything she writes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Subterranean Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fonda Lee returns to vibrant Kekon and its jade warriors in this anthology of short stories. She said that she couldn't quite let go of the characters she'd created and wanted to explore them a bit more. I also loved her characters and world and was grateful for the chance to spend more time there.

The stories go chronologically and I think take place entirely before Jade City. In the first story we meet both Anden's mother, a powerful jade warrior in her own right, and Ayt Mada before she was adopted by the Mountain Clan's founder. Mada (Madashi) was orphaned by the war in which the Kekonese drove out their imperial invaders. I liked seeing Aun Uremayada (the mother of Anden) as a young woman who realized that her mentorship could mean all the difference to a young woman alone. This also served as a glimpse into Ayt Mada's past and why she became the person she did.

In the next story, a young Lan, the scion of the Kaul family, decides that he has a moral obligation to care for Anden. Again, seeds of the future sown. A look at how Lan strove to become the leader that the clan needed, even against the will of his own elders.

Next we get to see the love story between Hilo and his wife Wen. Hilo had known Wen for some time since her brothers were his closest friends and henchmen. Wen, even though she was a "stone eye" (someone who can't sense jade) had set her sights on Hilo. The two of them had powerful chemistry and true love for one another and it was nice to see some happiness for the two of them as young lovers.

Finally, we see Shae as she becomes an asset for the Espenians, groomed by her romantic interest as an information source. The Espenians really don't know what they have in Shae, who is a powerful jade warrior, but she goes above and beyond to show them her worth. Shae thinks that she is using the Espenians for her own purposes. We see her motivations to leave Kekon before she returns in Jade City, westernized, alienated from her family, and detached from her identity.

These are all great little vignettes that shed light on important characters. I loved it and would read more of the same!

Thank you so much to Fonda Lee and NetGalley for this e arc. I really enjoyed jumping back into the story of Jade city with this book. Jade city is probably favorite fantasy series I’ve read to date and this book was no disappointment as you may expect with a revisit to a very popular and well loved trilogy. I will devour anything Lee writes and this book was no different.

Jade Shards isn’t a single story in the world of the Green Bone Saga, rather, just as the title indicates, it’s a series of little stories, shards if you will, of the magically beautiful big green stone that is the entire epic saga that begins with Jade City.

The stories in this collection feature the defining characters of Jade City, Jade War and Jade Legacy, but they are ‘before they were famous’ kinds of stories. In The Witch and Her Friend, we get to meet the towering figure of Ayt Mada on the very first steps of her journey to become the woman who set herself and her entire clan against the Kaul family.

Back when she was not a towering figure – and at that point in Kekon history had no hopes of becoming one. She was young, she was female, she was of unknown origin and she had been adopted into one of the two great families of Kekon. She was expected to be an asset to her new clan, but on the business side. She was never supposed to be the Pillar. WOMEN were not supposed to become Pillars. Period. But here we see the first inkling of the woman who did it anyway.

Ayt Mada was the powerful antagonist of the entire saga, but in that saga, she stood alone as her story does in this collection. The other stories dive deeply into the Kaul family, just as the other three stories here give us a peek into the early days of the three members of the Kaul family who drive the Green Bone Saga, Kaul Lan, Kaul Hilo and Kaul Shae.

All three were the heirs of Kaul Sennington, one of the two great heroes of Kekon’s liberation, along with Ayt Mada’s adopted father Ayt Yugontin. But where Ayt Mada was always alone, and had to fight to become the Pillar, Kaul Lan was always the intended heir of the Kauls.

Their three stories, Not Only Blood, Better Than Jade and Granddaughter Cormorant bring us perspectives on their characters before they became leaders. It’s a view of Lan as he is growing into the person he should have become, Hilo as he takes the first steps on the road to who he will be, and Shae as she attempts to fly away from her destiny.

Everyone who was enthralled by Janloon and fell in love with the characters that truly do live in the pages of the Green Bone Saga will be thrilled to get this glimpse into their earlier lives. And on this last trip back to Kekon will be caught between the pillars of smiling because it happened, and weeping because it’s over.

Escape Rating A+: I’m giving this one an A+ because that’s how deeply I escaped back into the world of the Green Bone Saga, how much I loved going there one more time, and just how damn sad I am that this looks like the last time based on the author’s introduction and notes in the book.

Unlike the first prequel to the Green Bone Saga, The Jade Setter of Janloon, even though all the stories in Jade Shards take place before the opening of Jade City, this is not the kind of prequel that stands alone, nor can it serve as an entry point for Jade City in the way that The Jade Setter of Janloon could.

The story shards in Jade Shards require prior knowledge of both the characters and the setting to have the resonance necessary to make them work. In other words, you have to already care about these people to want to read how they got to be the towering figures they eventually become.

It’s not nearly as interesting to watch their early fumbles and stumbles if you don’t already know just how sure and certain they eventually became on the roads they had to, or chose to, walk. But if you do care, if you’ve already visited Janloon, then Jade Shards is a bittersweet delight from beginning to end.

I finished the Green Bone Saga in tears at the end of Jade Legacy. By the end I felt like I’d walked the road with these marvelous characters and was beyond sad to their story end. It was a right, proper and fitting ending, but I just wasn’t ready to leave this world behind.

And neither was the author, as she admits in the notes for Jade Shards that these stories are a case of her writing fanfiction in the universe that she created. IMHO it’s a universe that is made even richer by these portraits of the clan leaders as young men and women. So I’m glad she was able to put these out into the world and sad that it looks like these will be the last.

The Green Bone Saga gave me the biggest book hangover I can remember in a very long time, one that is still stuck in my brain now two years after I finished Jade Legacy. To the point where I’m highly tempted to start listening to the damn thing all over again.

If you’re still a bit stuck in Janloon and looking for a way to alleviate the ache of missing it, may I recommend Ebony Gate by Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle. It’s the first thing that has scratched even the tiniest bit of my itch to return to Kekon. If you have that same itch, it might do the same for you.

And if you don’t have that itch and you’ve read this review to the end, what are you waiting for? Take your very own trip to Jade City and prepare to be captured and captivated.

*4.5 stars

I jumped at the chance to read this story story collection. Any time I get to spend with the crew of No Peak or the Mountain clan I’ll take it!

If you love the Green Bones Saga, this is a must read. You’ll love reading the background stories of fan favorites such as Ayt Mada, Aden, Lan, Hilo and Wen, and Shae.

I wouldn’t go into this collection until you’ve read the Green Bones Saga- or at least the first two books in the series. It’s not that you won’t be able to understand what’s going on- although some world-building elements are vague so you may feel a little lost- but the emotional impact won’t be the same.

Here’s a breakdown of each story and which one was my favorite:


The Witch and Her Friend- Ayt Mada is a fan favorite in The Green Bones Saga even though we never get a first person POV. In this story you’ll learn, through the eyes of her only friend Aun Ure, where Mada came from, watch the development of her fierce determination and ruthlessness, and see how her only friendship drove her to become the feared leader she is throughout the series.

Really enjoyed it! 4/5

Not Only Blood- Another background story, this time for Anden. This was a really touching story! I’d always wondered how Anden became a part of the Kaul family. Plus, I’m always happy to get to know Lan even more.

Loved it! 5/5

Better Than Jade-You want to learn more about how Hilo and Maik Wen became a couple? This is it! I’m not a romance reader, so this was my least favorite story, but I can easily see it being a favorite for many readers. I did like how contained the story was and how it kept the focus just on these two characters. It felt more intimate which fit the story perfectly.

3.5/5

Granddaughter Cormorant- This was a thrill ride from beginning to end. I loved it! Shae is my favorite character, so maybe I’m a little biased, but if you loved the action scenes in Green Bones and the political machinations, you’ll love this story, too.

My favorite in the collection 5/5

*Thank you to NetGalley and Subterranean Press for the digital arc. All opinions are my own.

This was a delightful addition to the Green Bone Saga. I loved getting a closer glimpse at certain characters and their dynamics, allowing for a deeper understanding and appreciation for them. I especially enjoyed how most of these stories were outside the typical setting and situations portrayed in the main series. Fonda Lee has a knack for writing stories, no matter the length, filled with heart and emotion. This should most definitely be read as a supplement to the original trilogy to allow for maximum enjoyment.

My personal favorites were the first two short stories. I was grateful to have the opportunity to visit this fantastical world one last time. These characters and their chronicles will stay with me for a long time.

“After everything tragic and triumphant they’ve been through, they deserve their rest.”

4.5

Jade Shards consists of four short stories. Each one focuses on the three Kaul siblings and Ayt Mada (told from the POV of Ure). It makes me happy and sad at the same time to read about the Kaul family because I miss them so much. Getting a glimpse of their lives before the events of the Green Bone Saga breaks my heart because they don’t know yet just how much their lives were going to change in a few years.

Before reading this, I thought I’d moved on from the events of Jade Legacy, but when I opened this book I was proven wrong.

Thank you Netgalley and Subterranean Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

ade Shards is a collection of four prequel stories to Fonda Lee's The Green Bone Saga (Jade City, Jade War, Jade Legacy), her award winning trilogy that combined concepts of mafia books like The Godfather with Wuxia/Kung Fu tropes from southeast Asia. The four stories include three which were originally published on Lee's patreon followed by a fourth brand new story, and together the collection only makes up the length of a middle-length novella (the stories also each come with an afterward explaining Lee's thoughts in making them).

I very much wound up liking The Green Bone Saga, so I was very willing to try out four new stories in this world. As you might expect from stories so short, they will only be of interest to big fans of this world, but if you did really like the trilogy, you will probably enjoy this quick look back at what happened to setup its events.



This collection contains four stories, all of which come in timeline prior to the original trilogy. The four stories are:

The Witch and Her Friend, which tells the story of the relationship between Ayt Madashi and Anden's mother Aun Uremayada, the "Witch" who once was known as a deadly assassin but who prior to the trilogy seemingly went mad and left Anden orphaned.

Not Only Blood, which follows Lan's perspective as he struggles with conflicting clan and friendship obligations as Anden's uncle and mother die and he insists Anden be taken into hte clan.

Better than Jade, which shows the first moments of dating of Hilo and Wen as the two finally come together in a relationship.

Granddaughter Cormorant, which shows a younger Shae and how she becomes an agent of the Republic of Espenia.

All four of these stories are well done, although none of them really hold up on their own if you aren't a big fan of the trilogy. Instead they color in the lines of the trilogy and further show how events came to be - how Anden's mother left the Mountain and started the path that led to her death all alone; how young Lan, Shae, and Hilo operated when their father was still very much alive and in charge of No Peak and how Lan became determined to do right by adopting Anden; etc. Yet while there's not enough here to interest those who haven't read the trilogy, the stories do all have enough substance on their own to satisfy those who have - these are more than flash fiction, but genuine stories showcasing moments in the characters' past lives, and they work quite well in those respects.

There's not much more to say here given how everything here is so short, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Not Only Blood is easily my favorite, as it's a steamy (especially in the second half of it as the protagonists finally get to have sex) and extremely romantic showing of how Hilo and Wen's relationship began, and it is just really sweet and lovely (and again sexy). I loved Wen in the trilogy (although I didn't love Hilo) and this was just really great as it showed how she took matters into her own hands to make sure that the relationship she wanted with Hilo came to be.

Thank you to Subterranean Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This short story collection is truly for fans of the Green Bone Saga. Fonda Lee had brought our favorite characters back for one last hoorah contained within these 4 short stories. Each one does a good job with providing some insight or context to our characters that would later affect them in the trilogy. My favorite story was "Better Than Jade" with "The Witch and Her Friend" as a close second. I loved seeing Kaul Hilo and Maik Wen develop their relationship to what we get to see in the trilogy. None of these short stories were misses, but 2 out of the 4 more hits than the other 2 for me. Nonetheless, I recommend this to every Green Bone Saga fan who wants to re-enter the world of Kekon with familiar characters.

Content warnings: blood, violence, murder, war, self harm, suicide, death of parent, & sexual content

Rating: 4.5 stars

Congratulations on Release day on Tuesday! 5 stars. Amazing writing as always from Fonda Lee. Thank you for this opportunity! Best wishes!

Four new short stories from the island of Kekon follow the four Kaul siblings before the events of Jade City. These stories definitely do not stand alone and require at least reading the first book in the series to understand the world, the characters, and the importance of each of the stories as background. It was easy to read as Lee's writing always is and I enjoyed this collection immensely. However, the author notes do not enhance the reading experience and I skipped them entirely. If you are fan of the series, you will enjoy this collection.

I loved this! I hope she does more of these stories. It was great getting more history on these characters that I love.

If you like:
- Jade City

Read: Jade Shards 

Its really as simple as that.

But actually Lee managed to pick out the exact pre-Jade City stories I wanted to hear! How Anden was born and later brought into the family, how Wen and Hilo got together, and Shae's history before she went to Espenia. The voice is so consistent with the rest of the trilogy that it meshed perfectly. I truly just love this world that Lee created, I am so glad she's written these short stories to keep fans WELL fed.

I also really appreciated her notes after each story for a little extra context and some reasoning as to why she chose to write that story in particular. It felt so personal. You can really feel how connected Lee is to these characters.

Thank you Subterranean Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review <3

This was an excellent collection! Anyone who loved the Green Bone Saga should absolutely pick this collection up. Fonda Lee gives us 4 short stories that offer some more insight into different characters before the start of Jade City and I enjoyed all 4 of the stories immensely.

When doesn't Fonda Lee absolutely smash it when it comes to the Green Bone Saga? Jade Shards is no exception when it comes to the beautifully crafted stories that Fonda Lee creates. Her characters all breathe life and thrive on their own two legs, giving us perfectly curated moments of heart and soul.

*I received an arc from netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
Jade Shards was an amazing way to see Janloon again. After Jade Legacy was released I missed the characters so much and this brought such a new light to them. All the stories really fit their characters and I enjoyed learning more of who they were especially when they were younger. Fonda Lee really gives a good backstory to the characters we see in The Greenbone Saga, and she answered a lot of questions I had about all of them throughout the series. There was not a point in the book where I was not enjoying it. I definitely recommend it to those who want to get back into the universe without having to reread the whole series.