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When They Burned the Butterfly

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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.

Reviews

Praise for When They Burned the Butterfly

“With its heart-pounding action and vivid imagery, this book will have you hooked from the first word to the last.” —NPR

"When They Burned the Butterfly will take the breath out of your chest and replace it with fire. Wen-yi Lee has written a dark riot of a novel replete with jealous gods, human cruelty and incandescent desire."–USA Today bestselling author Nghi Vo

"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 smolders with tension, building to an explosive conclusion that will leave readers breathless."–Zen Cho, award-winning author of Sorcerer to the Crown.

"Led by a complex yet compelling heroine, and set amidst the glitz and grit of 1970s Singapore, Lee's sweeping tale is unabashedly vibrant and original."–Sunyi Dean, bestselling author of The Book Eaters

"Lee weaves a dazzling tale of post-colonial identities, dangerous magic, and women ferociously carving their place in a world that rejects them. Burning with equal amounts of fury and tender, contemplative moments, this is a definitive must-read for years to come."–Amy Leow, author of The Scarlet Throne

"A truly cinematic novel."—Library Journal (starred review)

“A breathtaking combination of character-driven historical fiction and urban fantasy… A fiery story of love, gang violence and magic… Will leave readers burning to get their hands on more of Lee’s work.”—BookPage (starred review)

"Fans of R.F. Kuang's The Poppy War (2018) and its morally grey protagonist will enjoy Adeline's journey into the fire, and fans of historical fantasy will love the rich, complex setting in 1970s Singapore." —Booklist

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. She is the author of YA horror The Dark We Know and has published fiction and essays in venues like Lightspeed, Uncanny, Strange Horizons, Reactor, and various anthologies. Her work has been supported by the National Centre of Writing in the UK and the National Arts Council of Singapore, where she is currently based. When They Burned The Butterfly is her adult debut.

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Book Details

  • Imprint: Tor Books
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • ISBN: 9781250369451
  • Page Count: 480
  • On Sale:

    October 21, 2025

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