When They Burned The Butterfly: A glamorous sapphic historical fantasy set in postcolonial Singapore

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Wen-yi Lee

When They Burned The Butterfly

A glamorous sapphic historical fantasy set in postcolonial Singapore

Wen-yi Lee

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English

WILDFIRE
28 October 2025

Romance; Romantasy; Romantasy

'A dark riot of a novel' NGHI VO

'An explosive conclusion that will leave readers breathless' ZEN CHO

'Unabashedly vibrant and original' SUNYI DEAN

'A definitive must-read' AMY LEOW

A fierce, glamorous sapphic fantasy reimagining the secret societies of postcolonial Singapore, for fans of Jade City, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and the feverish intensity of RF Kuang's Poppy War trilogy.

Singapore, 1972: Newly independent and grappling for power in a fast-modernising 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 flames she can summon at her fingertips. But when her mother dies in a house fire with a butterfly seared onto her skin, Adeline hunts down a girl she saw in a back-alley bar fight - a girl with a butterfly tattoo - only to discover that 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 their link with this 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 neighbour 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, but with the streets changing by the day, it may take everything she is to keep it.

EARLY READERS ARE OBSESSED:

'A tragic masterpiece' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

'Intense, cathartic, and action packed' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

'So unapologetically lesbian' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

'A beautiful story of anger, rage, and desperation' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

'Grabbed me by the neck and destroyed me' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

'Imagine a Singaporean Godfather novel, but filled with queer lady arsonists' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

'A

By: Wen-yi Lee
Imprint: WILDFIRE
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 232mm, Width: 154mm, Spine: 38mm
Weight: 584g
ISBN: 9781035429936
ISBN 10: 1035429934
Pages: 480
Publication Date: 28 October 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Wen-yi Lee is the author of YA horror The Dark We Know and forthcoming adult historical fantasy When They Burned the Butterfly. Her writing has appeared in venues like Lightspeed, Uncanny, Reactor, and Strange Horizons, as well as various anthologies. She is based in Singapore and is a graduate of University College London, and likes writing about girls with bite, feral nature, and ghosts. Find her on socials @wenyilee_ and otherwise at wenyileewrites.com.

Reviews for When They Burned The Butterfly: A glamorous sapphic historical fantasy set in postcolonial Singapore

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. * Nghi Vo, bestselling author of THE EMPRESS OF SALT AND FORTUNE * 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 *