I wouldn't recommend this book if you haven't read the Green Bone saga, but if you have read it then I don't have to say much to convince you to pick it up. Fonda Lee returning to the world of Janloon- of course it's brilliant!
This collection of short stories features the main cast of the Green Bone saga in the years before Jade City. Readers of the series will know these characters well already, but Fonda Lee still expertly crafts the origins of the characters, showing the smaller moments that contribute to who they become later on.
Some of the stories give information and fill in the gaps about timelines and events preceding the series. but other stories just allow readers to spend more time with the characters they've grown to love.
I highly recommend this and can't wait for more people to read this. Thank you to Netgalley and Subterranean Press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this!!!

„Jade Shards“ by Fonda Lee is a short story collection set in the world of The Greenbone Saga. As an fan of the trilogy and also of the novella „The Jade Setter of Janloon“ I was really looking forward to reading this.

The book is split into four story’s that are set before the events of the Greenbone Saga. We follow younger versions of established characters of the series as well as a few who have been only mentioned before. I won’t spoil the exact POV characters since I found it really refreshing to find out who I would meet while reading. It somehow made the reunion sweeter for me.

What I can say is that these stories had a great range of emotion. They where sad, happy, exciting and at some point even spicy. I didn’t know I had such a high level of nostalgia for the world since I only read the original trilogy at the beginning of this year but boy was I happy to be in Janloon again!

There is also a paragraph after each story that highlights the authors inspirations and thoughts, that really resonated with me.

Pick this up as soon as you can! It’s worth it!

A big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Subterranean Press for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t know how I got lucky enough to receive an ARC of Jade Shards, but I won’t question the god’s favor. I would read anything by Fonda Lee, especially if it involves the Kaul’s.

This collection of 4 short stories depicts small, yet meaningful moments from times before the start of Jade City: The Witch befriending Ayt Mada, Lan influencing the adoption of Anden, the start of Hilo and Wen’s courtship, and Shae (my absolute favorite lady) becoming the Cormorant.

One of my favorite things about the short stories was Fonda’s explanations for the rationale behind telling each individual story and her feelings about the characters. Must read if you loved The Green Bone Saga.

mi nepobabies favoritos. fue hermoso volver a este mundo, poder leer nuevamente los povs de estos personajes que tanto amo y conocer cosas nuevas que sucedieron antes de la saga principal. anden es mi protegido, fue muy tierno verlo de tan chiquito :( y confirmé nuevamente que wen es la verdadera mastermind

Since finishing Jade legacy I have not stopped thinking about the story and the characters. It’s a book that I know I will carry with me forever. This collection was the exactly what I needed. It was lovely to enter back into the world even briefly. I loved getting a look at some other stories and characters involved.

As someone who devoured the entire Green Bone Saga within a month and developed a parasocial relationship with fictional gangsters, having more stories about my favorite nepo babies brought me great joy. I love it when authors create small stories about events briefly touched upon in the main series, like Hilo and Wen's love story. 10/10, was so excited to be back in the Jade City universe.

As expected, Fonda Lee delivers. This time, she delivered 4 stories which give us glimpses into the lives of our beloved siblings in their childhood. It came with no suprise to discover these stories were once again filled with impeccable writing and world building. Lee will never fail to amaze me with the skill she has in her writing style and storytelling.

I expected brilliance and found it and then some. JADE CITY is one of my all-time favorites, and a chance to delve back into this deep, coherent, tightly-wound world again? Five stars, easily. A varied collection of short stories, each connected one way or another to the JADE CITY characters we know, and each cover a gap or a hole in the world we already knew felt so real. A definite recommendation.

Thank you NetGalley and Subterranean Press for the ARC. I was SO excited when I saw that this was being released! This book is what I was hoping the novella that was released last year would be like. I can't even explain how happy I am to be back in the world with these particular characters that I absolutely adore.

Because it's a novella and the stories are so short, I won't discuss the synopsis, but what I will say is this: your favorite character from any of the first three books will likely make an appearance here. The writing is exactly what you would expect from Fonda Less, and in addition to four really great stories, she has also added in little notes at the end of each of the stories explaining her thoughts and motivations behind each of them.

I know that I am personally not the biggest fan of novellas, but this one just really worked for me. It's probably because I care so much about these characters and in spite of knowing how their stories play out, I was just so glad to get to see them again and get some small backstories about events that made them who they were.

Absolutely loved this. Super quick and enjoyable read.

4.5/5

every green bone saga fan needs to read jade shards for clear skin, watered crops, optimal hydration, 20/20 vision. it gave what it needed to give: tempting glimpses into the pasts of our favorite nepotism siblings. you'll feel painful familiarity seeing young versions of beloved characters while knowing what happens to them in the future.

i just continue to be impressed by how fonda lee's created such a rich lived-in world with so many stories to share. i also really liked her notes at the end of each story, in which she analyzes her characters and reasons for writing these stories.

my only complaint is that there were only 4 short stories when i was expecting at least 15, but i'll take what i can get.

The Green Bone Saga is probably my favorite fantasy series of all time, and it was so much fun returning to this world and getting glimpses of a younger Ayt, Lan, Shae, Hilo, and the Maik siblings. My favorite stories were a Witch and Her Friend and Granddaughter Cormorant. It was so fascinating to see young woman Green Bones navigate the male-dominated society that they live in. Although this does not spoil the main series, as it occurs beforehand, I think readers who have already read the Green Bone Saga and are familiar with the characters will appreciate this the most. This was a really fun read, and I wish it was longer. I really hope Fonda Lee returns to this world at some point in the future.

I could read stories or books set in this world forever. Each story was a wonderful bit of insight into characters from the Green Bone Saga, a little bit of background giving more depth to them.
Keep them coming!

I MISS THEM SO SO MUCH

I AM SO HAPPY THAT I GOT THE ARC AAAAAH thank you so much!

the prequel stories are super interesting because we got to know to each characters even better. not just the kauls but also mada. if you are a fan of the green bone saga series this novella is a must read! i love every story but my top favorite one is hilo and wen's because they are seriously so adorable at their beginning of their relationship!

i love how fonda lee also put her thoughts at the end of each short stories so we can understand it from the writer's perspective.

the layout of the book is so beautiful and the cover is very unique!

Wow, it was so nice to read about these characters again!! The Green Bone Saga is as great as it is because of how real the characters and the worldbuilding feel, and these little stories are no different. I definitely think this needs to be read after you read the original trilogy. It won’t have the same effect if you don’t!
The first two stories were my favorites. In the first, we get to learn more about young Ayt Mada. The second is more focused on the Kauls! The third is a romance that shows the beginning of Hilo and Wen’s relationship, and the fourth is an action-packed short story about Shae.
Something that made this even better were the author notes after each story that explained her feelings about the story and the reason she decided to write it.
I want to reread GBS now!!!
(4.5 rounded up)

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

This book makes me wish Fonda Lee would continue writing in the world of the Green Bone Saga. Although ending on such a high note is probably the best outcome. This is a collection of four prequel short stories. I wish there were prequel books, but these stories are wonderfully written.

Fonda Lee is truly masterful at weaving stories together and Jade Shards is no exception. This book is a must read for all fans of the Green Bone Saga!

Perfect, just like the whole Green Bone Saga. I truly love these characters so much. I'll read anything from this universe and also everything else Fonda Lee writes in the future. Highly recommended.

I LOOOVEE THISSSS missing my family (The Kauls) so much I'd unquestionably devour anything with no crumbs left. full length trilogy. novella. and now short stories. ANYTHING. even reading the Author's Introduction note warmed my heart

This anthology consists of 4 stories:
1. The Witch And Her Friend give us glimpse into Ayt Mada's youth, when she was just still a newly adopted daughter of the reputable Mountain Clan. It's not an origin story but an interesting perspective about how her ambitions shaped her to later became the woman that she was in the trilogy.
2. Not Only Blood is a detailed story about how Anden ended up being a member of The Kaul family. now looking back at the trilogy really made this story multiple times sadder than it looks like:((
3. Better Than Jade is THE ONE I'VE BEEN MOST EXCITED FOR LONG. When I heard that Fonda Lee has a special Wen-Hilo story in her Patreon, it plagued my mind all the time. Then to figured that the third story in this antology is that exact story??? AND THIS IS LIVING UP TO MY EXPECTATIONS AND MOREEEE and same as the second story, this felt sadder because I've read the trilogy:(
4. Granddaughter Cormorant is focusing on Shae when She's studying overseas, how she got the code name "Cormorant". This one wasn't as appealing as I thought but still a good story nonetheless.

Nowwith these new informations from here I'm tempted to reread the trilogy but I don't know if I'm ready to experience the pain again help:(

I think this is the time for me to start The Green Bone Saga series. I haven't had the chance to read the main series, but I heard that this novella was a great starter to the main series. Even though the novella didn't have enough worldbuilding for a first time reader, the writing has completely convinced me to read the main series! I will definitely go back to Jade Shards after I read the main series!

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

Jade Shards

I’m speechless.. literally speechless.. i think the author is a genius! She’s able to weave the stories and able to catch my heart! As she mentioned in her intro that eventho the characters are fictional but i can feel that they’re real, like i really can glimpse a bit of their life!

This novella has 4 short stories. The first is about Ayt Mada and her friend, that turned out to be Anden’s mom. I think the author has a point saying that we need a bit story about Ayt Mada because she’s an all or nothing person! My heart break for Aun Ure, and can relate so much about her choice that gave her Anden.
In GBS, Anden has captured my heart! It’s so nice to see his background, to know about her mother while before we only knew him as an orphan and her mom died due to Itches.

Second story is about Kaul Lan. He’s always been the good guy, and here we know how Anden became Kaul’s family.

Third story is about our man, Kaul Hilo! I think there’s nobody who doesn’t love him!!

And last but not least is about Kaul Shae. Even in GBS i have a mixed feelings about her. But end up she gained my respect due to her epic battle with Ayt Mada. Here we’re provided with a glimpse of her life before she take off all her jade.

I don’t know how to describe my feelings, but for sure i’m so happy that i can meet with all the characters again. And i think from now on i’ll read everything she writes about GBS! For you who haven’t read GBS please please please read it. I think it’s one of my best read in my life! But please be reminded that you better read GBS first before you dive into Jade Shards so that you can have a better understanding about the world!

Thank you Subterranean Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC!