When They Burned the Butterfly by Wen-yi Lee

In this fierce, glamorous adult fantasy debut, Silvia Moreno-Garcia meets Fonda Lee, with the feverish intensity of R.F. Kuang's Poppy War trilogy.

Singapore, 1972: Newly independent and grappling for power in a fast-modernizing world. Here, gangsters in Chinese secret societies are the last conduits of their ancestors' migrant gods, and the back alleys where they fight are the last place magic has not been assimilated and legislated away.

Loner schoolgirl Adeline Siow has never needed more company than the flame she can summon at her fingertips. But when her mother dies in a house fire with a butterfly seared onto her skin and Adeline hunts down a girl she saw in a back-alley barfight—a girl with a butterfly tattoo—she discovers she’s far from alone.

Ang Tian is a Red Butterfly: one of a gang of girls who came from nothing, sworn to a fire goddess and empowered to wreak vengeance on the men that abuse and underestimate them. Adeline’s mother led a double life as their elusive patron, Madam Butterfly. Now that she’s dead, Adeline’s bloodline is the sole thing sustaining the goddess. Between her search for her mother’s killer and the gang’s succession crisis, Adeline becomes quickly entangled with the girls’ dangerous world, and even more so with the charismatic Tian.

But no home lasts long around here. Ambitious and paranoid neighbor gangs hunt at the edges of Butterfly territory, and bodies are turning up in the red light district suffused with a strange new magic. Adeline may have found her place for once, but with the streets changing by the day, it may take everything she is to keep it.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Praise for this book

Praise for When They Burned the Butterfly

"In When They Burned the Butterfly, fierce girls wrestle with mysterious gods in the early days of a new nation. This stylish, gritty sapphic fantasy weaves a slow-burn romance that smoulders with tension, building to an explosive conclusion that will leave readers breathless."–Zen Cho, award-winning author of Sorcerer to the Crown.

Praise for Wen-yi Lee and The Dark We Know

“A dark and compelling supernatural mystery buoyed by earnestly-written, queer-centric characters. I am enthralled!”—Gillian Flynn, New York Times bestselling author

“Heralds the arrival of a rare and exciting literary talent.”—Courtney Summers, New York Times bestselling author

“Gorgeous prose, palpable atmosphere, and intricate character work.”—Allison Saft, New York Times bestselling author

“A knife-sharp excavation… left me breathless.”—Trang Thanh Tran, New York Times bestselling author

“Eerie, introspective, and beautifully atmospheric.”—Andrew Joseph White, New York Times bestselling author

About the Author

Wen-yi Lee likes writing about girls with bite, feral nature, and ghosts. Born and based in Singapore and a graduate of University College London, she is also the author of YA horror The Dark We Know, and has published short fiction in venues like Lightspeed, Uncanny, Strange Horizons, and various anthologies. When They Burned The Butterfly is her adult debut about a different side of home. Find her on socials @wenyilee_ and otherwise at wenyileewrites.com.

---

Title: When They Burned the Butterfly
Author(s): Wen-yi Lee
ISBN: 9781250369468
Copyright 2025
Release Date: October 21, 2025
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group
Countries: United States, Canada | Learn more about available countries
Language: English
Format: None available | Learn More about our supported formats

---

Dragonmount is a proud provider of DRM-free eBooks. By purchasing any eBook from our store, you are not only helping support our website, but you are helping small businesses thrive in a market traditionally dominated by large companies. Learn more in our eBook FAQ.