#c m alongi

[alanaartdream]

Kinda got my 1st monchhichi (it’s a keychain)

And got my first C.M.Alongi book (I enjoyed their TikToks with the Fay Cafe series so plan to read and check out their books 📚 waiting for more of their books to arrive in the mail to Australia 🇦🇺)

I’m also looking into checking out the monchhichi dolls/ toys 🧸 (in fact I have some coming in the mail they’ve not arrived yet)

Also might get that Fay cafe cookbook once it’s published in 2025

[tigger8900]

The Books I Didn't Review

I dropped the ball on book reviews in 2023. I'm not surprised. It was a rougher year than 2022, and I also dropped that particular ball then as well. It's hard for me to stay motivated, especially since when I get stressed out I simultaneously read more and want to write(including blogs) less. But this is a new year(I have realized, more than two weeks into it) and I can wipe this slate clean. Start with a book I'm very excited to review, and then...nothing! Empty pile!

So I'm going to do a very brief overview of some of the books I read in the last few months of 2023. Some stuff I read completely fell through the cracks, because it had to go back to the library and I just wasn't able to write up anything about it. Most of these are ones I'd tried to save though, because I was excited to make a record of them in the blog. So I'm disappointed in myself that I couldn't do as well as I'd hoped, but at the same time I recognize that I did as well as I could. Haven't ragequit my job. Still meeting the important bills. Am reading, and writing, and having weird-ass dreams about what if Beauty and the Beast were mutual beards. So it could be a lot worse. Let's see what happens when I give myself permission to start fresh.

Golden Boys, by Phil Stamper

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Young adult gen fic. This is Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but with less 00s-era weirdness. Brotherhood of the super gay boys, as I deemed it in a work e-mail. I didn't expect to like this one, but I actually found myself incredibly invested in these boys' lives. I especially appreciated how their friendships were centered above all else, even in the cases where romance was also taking place. I intend to read the sequel if I can find time, because y'all I have *got* to know where these boys go next.

The Darkness Outside Us, by Eliot Schrefer

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Young adult science fiction. This is a love story, but not a traditional romance(even though it starts out looking like a straightforward enemies to lovers in space). High appeal to people who enjoy brainfucky sci-fi as well as gay romance, though if you come solely for the romance you're probably going to walk away disappointed, confused, and possibly vaguely traumatized. I'm so glad my coworker insisted I pick it up, because I never would have read this based on the cover.

Horse Barbie, by Geena Rocero

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Adult memoir. This is about a Filipino trans woman's experience in the pageant circuit in the Philippines as well as her time modeling in the US. I wasn't really into the performance-oriented segments, but I found it illuminating how she contrasted the US's legal acceptance(but social hostility) of trans identity with the Philippines' social acceptance(but legal hostility). Someone who's more into glamour/fashion might get more out of it than I did, but it's still a solid trans memoir even if you're not into that stuff.

Never Whistle at Night, edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Adult short stories. This is an anthology of "dark fiction," horror-adjacent, centering North American indigenous voices. Almost all of the two dozen~ stories were good or great, hitting a diverse selection of tones and content. I loved too many of them to list favorites. The stories might not be the type to make you check under the bed, but come prepared to be unsettled and disturbed.

Citadel, by C. M. Alongi

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Adult science fiction. Featuring a nonverbal autistic protagonist, who seems to have been researched very thoroughly, this is a story about uncovering the truth about what happened long ago. My main gripe is that it ends rather suddenly, leaving me feeling like there's meant to be a sequel, but as far as I can tell there's no plans for that. But the story it told was fantastic, I just wish I knew where some of the loose ends and teased bits were going. Probably has strong crossover appeal to an older YA audience.

Blackouts, by Justin Torres

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Adult general fiction. Won the national book award this past year. Three and a half stars for the novel, bumped up to four for the excellent use of blackout poetry on found text throughout. It's about an inter-generational friendship between two gay men, one of whom is on his deathbed and gifts the other a selectively blacked-out copy of Sex Variants, a real publication from the 40s, as well as a selection of other photographs and artifacts. This is all characters and no plot. Highly recommend reading this in the print edition, as the best parts seem like they won't translate to audio.

Out There Screaming, edited by Jordan Peele

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Adult short stories. Horror-adjacent "dark fiction"(to borrow a phrase from a previous book) centering Black voices working in a variety of formats and genres. Picked this up for the names included(Nnedi Okorafor, Tananarive Due, N.K. Jemisin, Rebecca Roanhorse, P. Djèlí Clark, Tochi Onyebuchi, and of course Jordan Peele himself), but was happy to enjoy some of the other stories as well. My favorite story by an anticipated author was Clark's Hide & Seek(though it had stiff competition), and my favorite story by a new-to-me author was Nicole D. Sconiers's A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree.

The Possibilities, by Yael Goldstein-Love

⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Adult speculative fiction. A new mom struggles with contradictory memories of whether or not her child survived the birth. Then he disappears, as if he'd never been, and she has to go find him. I haven't read/seen Everything Everywhere All At Once, but people keep bringing it up when I describe this book to them, so it must be similar! Heavy content warning for baby-related trauma. This is not the book for you if you're going through an anxious time with a pregnancy or young child!

The Future, by Naomi Alderman

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Adult speculative fiction. In the near-future, tech bro CEOs have a plan for the end of the world. In the lead-up and as the plan deploys, we follow a survivalist blogger and a cult survivor who muses about the end of the world seen through the lens of god's wrath. A surprisingly hopeful pre-apocalyptic(the event itself happens roughly 3/4 of the way through) novel, with some sapphic shenanigans in the background. Funny coincidence: I finished this and handed it to my mom at the same time as she tried to hand me The Power by the same author. ����

Us, by Sara Soler, translated by Silvia Perea Labayen

⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Adult graphic novel memoir. Originally published in Spain, this is the story of Sara Soler's experience when her partner comes out as a trans woman. I read this hoping for more insight to their particular experience, especially when Soler mentioned early on that she discovered she was demisexual, but ultimately it reads as more of a primer to trans issues in general. No hate for that, it's just not what I was expecting. While this is marketed to adults, I think there's cross-appeal to teens who are interested in the subject matter. There was nothing that struck me as particularly scandalous, mostly a lot of swearing.

[the-bookworm-cafe]

C. M. Alongi Citadel Review

C. M. Alongi Citadel

C. M. Alongi is a popular Tik Toker full of skits from her books and is known for her skit Cafae Latte.

Citadel is a newer book, published in 2023. The first book of a future series. Edalide is an alien planet with Citadel being the only human, utopian society. The book critiques morality, disabilities, LGBT characteristics, revolutionary war and more. It is the first book I've ever read that has a first person POV of a mute autistic character. NOT A SIDE CHARACTER. Olivia is a head strong, social justice warrior that does not speak. As a main character, she brings along her sketch book so she can communicate through drawings or written statements. The book starts off explaining Olivia and her family, as well as her high school classmates and how/who they will become to join society as adults once the graduate. Olivia grew up having this headstrong opinion about demons that could never burn out, after visiting and exploring a forbidden shrine in a church when she was a little child. After graduating high school, Olivia runs away from home, to go on an expedition, creating her own adventure to hunt down and explore demon territory. These demons take on the look of Native American folklore and cryptids that haunt America. After rescuing a young demon from death, they bond, feeding each other, protecting each other and sleeping together every night. After eating a mystic plant Olivia and the demon were able to talk to each other telepathically. Now Olivia has the ability to talk and be understood, she joins a demon tribe and eventually goes back home to Citadel to preach the truth about demons that have been hidden and misunderstood for centuries!!

[shapeshiftershenan1gans]

Just finished reading The Horned Guardian by C. M. Alongi and totally normal about it

[allyekatdraws]

Some Cafae Latte fanart!

If you haven’t seen the series by C. M. Alongi on TikTok or YouTube, you should def go check it out. It’s so good and she’s writing a book!!

[erebos-mailbox]

"That's good"

Flying back to the clearing we found earlier, they land right next to the water, maybe a little too close..

Immediately touching the star, relaxing its wings and closing its eye, its void getting a little less neat and messier.

It was the day. Erebos was going to do it, it was going to go to a server. Which it has decided is going to be the Hermitcraft server for totally no reason (it wants there to be a chance of seeing it's first friend, Torchy).

Shaking its hands out, it carefully changes its void into skin, and creates some extra coverings with some void.

"this'll have to work"

It says, taking it's belongings and traveling in one direction. Taking one hand, Erebos makes a portal that leads into a random forest on the Hermitcraft server.

Suddenly extremely jumpy, it walks through the woods, keeping its wings pressed tightly to its back.

It keeps walking until it hears voices, stopping and looking in the direction of the sounds.

[ @torchys-mailbox ]

[thevaudevilledemon]

Remember, your favourite creators are on other platforms

Because the TikTok ban has displaced a lot of creators, I wanted to highlight some of my favourite creators and link to their YouTube channels.

Adventures in Aardia - Roll of Sandwhich

C. M. Alongi - Fantasy Author, CaFae Latte

Drew Talbert - Bistro Huddy

LaKenzo - Dandelion Crayon Collector, Vintage Trinket Collector, SpongeBob Crafter

Loren DiGiorgi - Piano Comedian

Thomas Sanders - That Story Time guy from Vine

B. Dylan Hollis - Vintage Baking

Edit: Totally forgot about SeeYaLater and their series Hell's Belles

[the-ghost-in-your-walls]

i was watching one of c. m. alongi's older videos called 'top 10 favorite fanfiction tropes' and just got hit with *thing that is literally gonna be in my cafae latte fanfiction* lol. so i have something going for me(ik she doesn't read fanfic about her own works but i thought it was a funny coincidence)

[alanaartdream]

I’m soo glad that C.M. Alongi got their TikTok back after they got hacked

And had to start a new one so now they have 2

[tigger8900]

Got my holiday reading, aka the book that I've renewed the maximum number of times and the two that have people waiting in the holds queue and can't be renewed. I know people talk about mood reading, but I can't usually hear them over the sound of "oh shit I have five books in my pile that can't be renewed and I haven't read them yet!"

[yuckydraws]

Heya! Have you heard of Cafae latte (by C. M. Alongi on YouTube)? I feel you might enjoy her stuff ^v^

(I’m not sponsored, I swear lol)

I have not! I did search her up after this tho and I do like the vibe!!

[biblionerdreflections]

Guest Post - Favorite SFF Books with Queer Rep by C. M. Alongi

Queer characters have gotten more and more visibility in media, and it’s about time, too. But they can still be hard to find, especially if you’re in a relatively unknown part of the rainbow like nonbinary or aromantic/asexual. So, these are my favorite sci-fi/fantasy books with queer rep to make that search just a little bit easier. This list is very incomplete, as they are simply books that I…

[ladylilithprime]

1, 4, and 24 for the book asks?

1. How many books did you read this year?

For a given definition of "read", probably about fifteen or sixteen. A really low number, but then we're only counting books here and not fanfics. XD

4.Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

I did! C. M. Alongi, who produces an online video serial called CaFae Latte, has several books published, including a cookbook. I also enjoyed Jill Bearup's book "Just Stab Me Now" based off her Generic Fantasy Heroine vs The Writer TouTube shorts.

24. Did you DNF anything? Why?

I had to look up this abbreviation, I hope you know. And the answer to that is complicated, because at least two thirds of the books I bought and "read" this year were cookbooks and pattern books for sewing/knitting/embroidery, so I'm not exactly sitting down and reading them cover to cover the way I would a novel.

[kdinjenzen]

If you'd like a book recommendation, I'd recommend Citadel, by C. M. Alongi! I just finished it and wow it was good

Adddddded to my list~

[meret118]

Week One (June 6)

The Endless Vessel — Charles Soule (Harper Perennial)

A few years from now, in a world similar to ours, there exists a sort of “depression plague” that people refer to simply as “The Grey.” No one can predict whom it will afflict, or how, but once infected, there’s no coming back. A young Hong Kong based scientist, Lily Barnes, is trying to maintain her inner light in an increasingly dark world. The human race is dwindling, and people fighting to push forward are increasingly rare.

One day, Lily comes across something that seems to be addressing her directly, calling to her, asking her to follow a path to whatever lies at its end. Is this the Endless Vessel to happiness? She leaves her life behind and sets out through time and space to find out.

From its opening heart-stopping scene in the present day at the Louvre in Paris, through the earthly meetings between Lily and her loved ones past and present, to a shocking and satisfying conclusion in a truly enchanted forest, Charles Soule has channeled history, science and drama to create a story for the ages—a story of hope and love and possibility. This is a novel you will not soon forget.

Translation State (Imperial Radch) — Ann Leckie (Orbit)

Qven was created to be a Presger translator. The pride of their Clade, they always had a clear path before them: learn human ways, and eventually, make a match and serve as an intermediary between the dangerous alien Presger and the human worlds. The realization that they might want something else isn’t “optimal behavior”. I’s the type of behavior that results in elimination.

But Qven rebels. And in doing so, their path collides with those of two others. Enae, a reluctant diplomat whose dead grandmaman has left hir an impossible task as an inheritance: hunting down a fugitive who has been missing for over 200 years. And Reet, an adopted mechanic who is increasingly desperate to learn about his genetic roots—or anything that might explain why he operates so differently from those around him.

As a Conclave of the various species approaches—and the long-standing treaty between the humans and the Presger is on the line—the decisions of all three will have ripple effects across the stars.

Week Three (June 20)

Citadel — C. M. Alongi (Blackstone)

Citadel, the only city on the planet Edalide, has a holy mission: exterminate the demons from the Flooded Forest. The unholy, vicious animals were a mistake made by their god that must be corrected. Or at least, that’s what everyone’s been told. When Olivia, a nonverbal autistic nineteen-year-old, has a chance run-in with a “demon,” she realizes that these beings are not vicious, animals, or unholy, but sentient people.

Forever scarred by her mother’s legally sanctioned murder, and determined to prevent either side from losing more loved ones, Olivia embarks on a hazardous journey into the Flooded Forest where she faces flesh-eating predators, telekinetic zealot-warriors, and the demons of her own past. Olivia’s quest for answers forces her to decide to either seek justice for both sides, or continue the cycle of war, revenge, and death.

The Infinite Miles — Hannah Fergesen (Blackstone)

To save the future, she must return to the beginning. Three years after her best friend Peggy went missing, Harper Starling is lost. Lost in her dead-end job, lost in her grief. All she has are regrets and reruns of her favorite science fiction show, Infinite Voyage. Then Peggy returns and demands to be taken to the Argonaut, the fictional main character of Infinite Voyage. But the Argonaut is just that… fictional.

Until the TV hero himself appears and spirits Harper away from her former best friend. Traveling through time, he explains that Peggy used to travel with him but is now under the thrall of an alien enemy known as the Incarnate—one that has destroyed countless solar systems. Then he leaves Harper in 1971. Stranded in the past, Harper must find a way to end the Incarnate’s thrall…. without the help of the Argonaut.

But the cosmos are nothing like the technicolor stars of the TV show she loves, and if Harper can’t find it in herself to believe—in the Argonaut, in Peggy, and most of all, in herself—she’ll be the Incarnate’s next casualty, along with the rest of the universe.

Week Four (June 27)

The Road to Roswell — Connie Willis (Del Rey)

When level-headed Francie arrives in Roswell, New Mexico, for her college roommate’s UFO-themed wedding—complete with a true-believer bridegroom—she can’t help but roll her eyes at all the wide-eyed talk of aliens, which obviously don’t exist. Imagine her surprise, then, when she is abducted by one. Odder still, her abductor is far from what the popular media have led her to expect, with a body like a tumbleweed and a mass of lightning-fast tentacles.

Nor is Francie the only victim of the alien’s abduction spree. Before long, he has acquired a charming con man named Wade, a sweet little old lady with a casino addiction, a retiree with a huge RV and a love for old Westerns, and a UFO-chasing nutjob who is thoroughly convinced the alien intends to probe them and/or take over the planet.

But the more Francie gets to know the alien, the more convinced she becomes that he’s not an invader. That he’s in trouble and she has to help him. Only she doesn’t know how—or even what the trouble is.

The Archive Undying (Downworld #1) — Emma Mieko Candon (Tordotcom Publishing)

When the robotic god of Khuon Mo went mad, it destroyed everything it touched. It killed its priests, its city, and all its wondrous works. But in its final death throes, the god brought one thing back to life: its favorite child, Sunai.

For the seventeen years since, Sunai has walked the land like a ghost, unable to die, unable to age, and unable to forget the horrors he’s seen. He’s run as far as he can from the wreckage of his faith, drowning himself in drink, drugs, and men. But when Sunai wakes up in the bed of the one man he never should have slept with, he finds himself on a path straight back into the world of gods and machines.

More at the link.

[larissa-lee-scribbles]

[Fiction Review] "The Witch Who Trades with Death" by C M Alongi

Full Title: The Witch Who Trades with DeathAuthor: C M AlongiPublished: March 11, 2025 by Angry RobotGenres: Fiction, Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Action & Adventure, LGBTQ+Edition Details: 384 pages, hardcover (my copy was 488 pages, paperback)Source: ARC – Requested directlyRating: {5/5 stars} This is a spoiler-free review. No details will be shared from the storyline itself that aren’t available or…