Games: A Love Story

by Anna Maria Volkova

Normal People meets Fifty Shades of Grey in this sharp and provocative coming-of-age debut chronicling the turbulent romance between a brilliant economics grad student and a magnetic Wall Street banker two decades her senior.

When Lili Marwan—seeking to escape the unrelenting pressures of her master’s thesis, recent rejection from her foster family, and unresolved grief from the death of her parents—has an intense one-night stand with Aleksandr Petrov, her restless mind finally goes calm.

At twenty-two, Lili is already opinionated beyond her years: whether it’s astrology, democratic socialism, veganism, or the ravages of late-stage capitalism run rampant. But when a tall, dark stranger buys her a drink in a FiDi bar, she meets her match. Aleksandr is formidable, fiercely intelligent, and infuriatingly disarming. He’s also two decades older than her, a Capricorn with a birth chart full of red flags, a neoliberal capitalist, and a strong believer in the power of free markets, having escaped the Soviet Union in its dying days.

He’s the opposite of Lili in nearly every way. He challenges her at every turn. And she can’t stay away.

Over the course of a heady New York City summer, Lili and Aleksandr reach across the divide of their differences and the decades of their lives, discovering startlingly shared experiences. Their casual arrangement—rough sex, hours where Lili does not need to make any decisions—gives way fast to an unexpected intimacy, by turns breathtaking, then devastating.

As Lili struggles to understand herself and the complicated threads of her ambition, pain, and desire, she will have to decide: is she willing to risk great loss again, for the hope of profit that is finally within reach?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Adult Fiction, Adult, Literary Fiction

432 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication June 2, 2026

About the author

Anna Maria Volkova lives and works in New York City. Personal family histories from within the former Soviet Union and the Middle East inform her writing, as do her professional experiences. Raised in the Pacific Northwest, she studied history and political science. Games is her debut novel.

Reviews

[Erica Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was tailor made for this exact version of me, at this exact point in my life. it cracked me open and let me free so much grief. it may as well have punched me in the fucking face

[daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart-wrenching, achingly beautiful, and insanely sharp.

The story sets up the honest and raw relationship between our characters, Lili and Aleksandr, from their very first conversation. We quickly come to learn that their two-decade age gap is somehow the smallest difference between them, because where they really differ is when it comes to their opinions on power, politics, and economics. This makes the baseline for what Lili herself calls “intellectual sparring”, and the desire Lili and Aleksandr have for each other is mirrored in this desire for debates and discussions that challenge them both continually.

As much as this is a love story, it is at its core also a story about navigating grief. It’s about how our childhood and upbringing, and essentially our trauma, shape us into the people we become and how these lived experiences dictate the choices we make as adults. We see how trauma and self-doubt can become a permanent crutch and lead to self-sabotage and deter a person from leaning on anyone in their support system.

I also think that minimising this to simply being a romantic love story is doing it a massive disservice. The platonic love in GAMES runs parallel to the love story between Lili and Aleksandr, and it feels just as tender and real. As much as Lili faces issues in her romantic relationship, she’s also met with issues and struggles when it comes to her three close friends, and I adored seeing how strong the bond and the love between them were.

This story really does cover a vast array of themes and subjects, and all throughout Anna Maria Volkova seamlessly moves us from one topic to another: sex, economics, capitalism, history, art, domination, submission, intimacy, grief, and loss.
She deserves such high praise for her ability to weave all these elements into the story in such a natural way. A way that always feels true to our characters and their arc and development.

There's no doubt in my mind that these characters, and this story, will stay with me for a long LONG time.

The publisher very kindly provided this arc through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[lily the brainless bookworm]

The book that changed my life

[jenna 💘✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars (at least) (this book will live rent free in my mind)

Thank you to William Morrow Books & NetGalley for the ARC!

GAMES: A Love Story is Anna Maria Volkova’s debut novel which, to me, is absolutely mind-boggling. This is a book that you just want to sink your teeth into. A book that makes you pace around your home, a little bit anxious, a whole lot invested, and desperate for more. GAMES is a insanely well-written novel, filled with beautiful prose, intimacy and a depth that has you reeling for at least an hour after finishing.

Through our main characters, Lili Marwan & Aleksandr Petrov, we cover a range of topics such as politics, philosophy, economics, art, and astrology. And through them we also explore the human condition. Grief, fear, happiness, sadness, desire, love, morality.

Lili is such a complex, raw, and deeply relatable character. She’s highly intelligent, stubborn, passionate, and outspoken. She’s also closed off, fearful, and struggling to work through so many heavy emotions it breaks my heart. Her grief that we see explored throughout the story, and how that shapes her, is heartbreaking & complex. She’s flawed and, at times, extremely frustrating, but also so easy to understand and care for. Her character growth throughout the story is something you can’t help but hope & root for, because she deserves so much love and happiness. I love her, my anti-capitalism gal.

Aleksandr is a complex male lead in a slightly different way. He’s older, more mysterious and self-assured. His intensity and radiating confidence is something you can feel through the pages, drawing you into him almost immediately. Uncovering pieces of him throughout the story, seeing his own walls come down, was beautiful. He’s deeply caring, scarily intelligent, powerful, flawed, and rich (of course).

Lili & Aleksandr’s romance is a rollercoaster, to say the least. The age gap of 22 years is jarring at first, but I felt as though Volkova handled this aspect extremely well! Lili and Aleksandr match each other scarily well. Their constant intellectual debates and banter made for such an addictive dynamic. On top of all of that, though, is so much chemistry, tension, and intense intimacy–both intellectually & sexually. Their relationship is messy, vulnerable, & raw. There is an intrinsic understanding between these two. Something that clicked into place almost immediately. For all the stress that they put me through, I love them a lot!!!

This book is messy, vulnerable, and, at times, frustrating. But this book is also incredibly well-written, addictive, and profound. It’s emotionally heavy at times, deeply sexy, intense, and intellectual. I didn’t want to put it down, I was greedy for more of them & more of Anna Maria Volkova’s writing. I have a strong appreciation for this book, these characters, and I know this will stick with me for a long, long time. I’ve become a fan of Volkova’s through this, and can’t wait to see what comes next!!!

[lau · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I'm pretty sure this book won't be everyone's cup of tea, it was definitely a hit for me. I believe I've read it at the exact right time in my life, and I feel like it found something in me that I didn't know existed.

Lili is such a complex character, with many flaws but also a character development we can notice through the chapters. She has convictions and stays strong-minded even in the face of what she criticizes, mostly today's system and those who benefits from it. Her aversion to capitalism, power imbalance and injustice was refreshing to read. However, being in her head and reading her thoughts, as rough, confusing and messy as they can be, was truly a lot. She is infuriating but through her grief, her struggles and her background, we have no choice but to love her and root for her. Her emotionally avoidant personality was clearly the result of walls built decades ago around her that seemed to be impossible to break in, even by the closest friends she's constantly surrounded with. And yet.

Aleksandr is the typical rich, powerful, two-decades-older-than-her business man. You'd never think they'd have a cordial conversation without tearing each other's head off, even less be with each other in any way. It was interesting to read about a character like him, who seemed more unbearable and self-centered than not, but that we can't help sympathize with. He's somehow more down to earth than we first would think, with understanding and patience that have to do with his childhood, his own struggles and, surely, his decades of life experience.

The details and depth of their endless conversations, more like intellectual debates and wrestling, was inspiring to read, made me realize how important it is to read books and learn from them. Lili and Aleksandr were so intense and I really appreciated the dynamic of them constantly challenging each other. Putting aside these moments, we find the incredibly raw intimate scenes, his bedroom the place where everything began and they keep learning the most about each other. It is this way they find themselves to be a complete match, Aleksandr trying to prove Lili she's more than she thinks she is and Lili just wanting to find an escape to an internal monologue full of unstoppable self-destructive thoughts, who she keeps hidden more often than not. But with him, she doesn't need to hide it and she doesn't need to form any words to say it either. Surprisingly, I teared up at many of these scenes. The author knows how to add psychological and immersive depth into them.

The main characters grow too, through the pages and chapters, which was needed. Don't get me wrong, I was here for the messiness of it all, but I could feel the ache of their miscommunication, as it often is, as well as the need for them to get a full view of the other's brain, even if they seemed to have a silent understanding. He learns to be more attentive and she learns to, at one point, open up. They go through loss, grief, guilt, hope and yearning that really makes you FEEL. There isn't a word that could describe the complexity of their relationship on its own.

On top of that, I must say I loved the writing from the get-go and was completely captivated by it. It was full of details, most times for pages, with carefulness to the characters emotions that made me want to always read more. I loved the precisions given to the major themes; art, politics, philosophy, economics, astrology. It never felt rushed to me, more like the contrary. I felt everything more deeply because of its pacing, slow because of the storyline and the prose. It is introspective, sexy, smart and totally meaningful for a twenty-three years old like Lili. There are so many quotes that stuck with me and that I resonated with. I'll be keeping her with Anna Maria Volkova's next projects for sure.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtful. Sexy. Bracingly intelligent.

Games left me bereft. How am I meant to move on?

This novel is expansive yet exacting. Socioeconomics, poetry, ethics, art, philosophy, government, power—these aren’t ornamental references; they are debated. As a former philosophy major I was helpless before their sparring.

Beneath the intellectual rigor runs raw and deeply human themes. This is a novel about pain, suffering, and grief. About vulnerability—not as weakness, but as risk. About growth that costs something.

The writing was the first thing I loved; its quality, style, and syntax—precise, daring, deliberate. There is no faster way to my heart. An unexpected turn of phrase. An adjective deployed with surgical precision. Sentences that feel engineered rather than assembled. Craft honed to a blade’s edge. I have over 200 highlights—some spanning entire pages of debate, others marking prose too sharp not to save.

It made me feel—viscerally. I shook my fist. I kicked my feet. I hoped for intervention and hoped against the inevitable. I was intellectually provoked and emotionally unraveled.

I am supremely impressed—quietly mourning that I cannot induce amnesia just to encounter Games for the first time again.

What a singular experience this was. I cannot believe this is a debut. Mark my words: Anna Maria Volkova is one to watch. I would read anything she writes.

Who would’ve thought economies and human behavior had so much in common?

[Yennefer]

Yes please, and thank you.

[Katie Grimes]

After getting about 30% of the way through this story my belief that this book and its subject matter were not for me was solidified and I did not think it would be fair for me to continue with this book and my review. Unfortunately as this was an ARC and without reviewing I was at risk of ruining my review score on Netgalley, I had no choice but to continue. The subject matter within this story is quite esoteric and feels pretentious with inaccessible language for what I feel like will be a majority of readers. While marketed as a love story, it didn’t feel like one at all and instead just felt like a lecture.

[Sanjana · Rating 5 out of 5]

there are so many things about this book that make it a “sanj” book: the way they argue themselves into falling in love, the way they relish in friction, the way they talk about power. but the thing i’m thinking about most is how the book is kind of an exercise in hegelian dialectics— not just in the content of their conversations but in the substance of the way they fall in love. that they are constantly confronted with dialectical skepticism that shatters and remakes them anew over and over. it’s in the architecture of the novel as much as it is in individual lines of dialogue- when aleksandr declares that optimism is a young person’s virtue but allows himself to hold that optimism in the very end for himself and lili- when lili decides that she is destined to be just outside of everyone else but allows herself to be on the inside with him in the very end. even in the way that their ending feels triumphant and like a surrender, like they are happily ever after and also that “happiness” is costing them both something by way of their principles. true bitter sweetness!! gemini season book for the ages !!

and I know that is tiresome for some people to read and I know this book will be divisive and I get why there is uncertainty about marketing this as a romance and I think I just don’t care. the beating heart of this book is too fucking good for that to matter (though the paris chapters could have been shorter).

better comps, in my opinion, are Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood & The Idiot by Elif Batuman.

[Magdalena (magdal21) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t realize this book started as fanfiction, but now that I think about it, it kind of makes sense, as it reads like a mix of tropes and nerdy references stitched together into a novel, just packaged as literary fiction. I wouldn’t call reading this a painful experience, and I finished it in one sitting. I guess this book knows exactly what it’s trying to do: first and foremost, it’s an age-gap romance novel. The problem is that I didn’t really like this book being a romance….. I know that saying it like this makes little sense, but this honestly kind of summarizes it? Anyway, let me elaborate.

The story focuses on a romantic relationship between Lili, an ambitious graduate student in economics with strong leftist views, and Aleksandr, a man twenty years her senior with a neoliberal mindset typical of a 40 y.o. banker. I think the main idea the novel tries to convey – and the reason many readers might find it appealing – is that these two people are constantly pulled toward each other despite their profound differences. Numerous discussions about economics, politics and art, apart from being quite pretentious and fanfiction-coded, serve to highlight the ideological divide between them. One could even start to wonder how such a relationship could realistically function. Someone wrote that this book reads like a romance between a girl and her sugar daddy – and honestly it’s hard to argue with that.

But putting reality aside, we all know that what pulls readers to an age-gap romance is the escapist fantasy of an older, experienced man being interested in a younger woman. And since it is 2026 and not 2006, the woman isn’t completely helpless and inexperienced, but opinionated and presented as an equal partner. Fair enough. But I have a huge problem with treating this book as an escapist treat or a romantic example. Just look at what the relationship between Lili and Aleksandr actually looks like. The BDSM sex they have is so far from safe that I honestly don’t even know how to describe it apart from saying that even 50 Shades did it better. I mean - no safe words, no real communication, zero protection. Insane. This is a story about a 40 y.o. man who is supposed to be experienced and responsible. Come on. No one should fantasize about a character like that, even if he’s well-spoken, educated, and knows Russian classics. Writing BDSM like this and framing it within a romance is a cheap move if the story doesn’t really acknowledge how problematic it actually is.

What positively surprised me though, was the clear stance this narrative takes on the Russian regime. Speaking frankly about contemporary Russia as it is – an authoritarian, repressive, and aggressive state, is still uncommon in Western media and literature. Anna Maria Volkova neither romanticizes Russian oligarchs nor does she dilute the topic, which is a big plus.

To be fair, there’s some character growth on Lili’s part – and this is probably why the book may be considered a coming-of-age story. But for me, it wasn’t enough, especially given how the book ends. So, three stars it is.

Thank You NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[macy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmmm… i really enjoyed the characters in this and how fully fleshed out they felt, with backstories and actual opinions and setbacks and the same is to be said about their relationships (both romantic and platonic).

However for me there was just a bit too much of the smut, which i know their relationship in the beginning was based upon but it just became excessive and repetitive to read especially in the first half (although perhaps my fault for reading a book advertised as similar to fsog), and the extensive economics and political theory talk, which whilst i did enjoy i thought there wasn’t the right balance of it, it felt more of an information overload. I also didn’t like their 3rd act break up… but reading this did remind me of staying up late reading wattpad age gap books so!

[Natalie Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m still processing all my thoughts but I will say I stayed up til midnight reading it, dreamt about it all night, and reread the end as soon as I woke up in the morning so …

[RavenCantRead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Games: A Love Story

This is pitched as if Norma People met Fifty Shades and let me tell you - that is very apt!

Lili, a grad student in New York, meets Aleksandr, an older rich investment banker. Their one night stand turns serious very quickly but Lili doesn’t want to admit it’s anything more than sex…

I have very mixed feelings about this one if I’m being entirely honest. There were some very beautiful moments and the end was well done (I cried lol) but the book was so loaded with walls of dialogue about economics or info dumps regarding backstory that didn’t feel earned in the context of the scene.

The sex is very much going to be the draw for a lot of readers and you can tell that the smut was written by a former FF author bc they’re the ones who do it best! That being said I did find their lack of conversation surrounding sex a bit frustrating. He doesn’t even ask her if she’s on BC until they’ve already been having very unprotected sex for weeks and weeks and there are no safe words implemented and the aftercare is…????

The whiplash of the rough sex with the economic debates was…something? That’s not to say they were two warring themes in the book, they are very much relevant to each other, the characters and the relationship that develops, but reading it felt jarring at times and exhausting at others.

So while I think the character development of Lili was done well and don’t mind the story as a coming-of-age, the rest of it felt a bit heavy handed to me. The writing was fine but overwrought in moments and the spice was definitely spicy! Lilis friends were pretty awesome though, I really loved themz

There is an audience for this, I just don’t think it was for me.

Thank you WilliamMorrow and NetGalley for the e-arc In Exchange for my honest review!

[Demi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Games is an unconventional love story. It doesn’t fit into neat tropes – there is no golden retriever boyfriend and black cat girlfriend – and therefore it may not immediately appeal to the romance book(tok) readers. And while I hope that people will pick this up and read until the final word, I’m not worried; this book will find its audience and community. I discovered this story many years ago in a different source and I’m so happy to love Lili and Aleksandr as much as the original. What Anna did with this story was give it life, and, as a wise man once said, life is messy. I’m here for all the messy parts and for every story Anna wants to share with the world. All I want out of a good story is hope, and Anna nailed it. (ARC provided by NetGalley)

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a very specific flavor of literary adult fiction that I find myself constantly sniffing for on the air. As someone who studied literature in college and now teaches it, I enjoy literary fiction that is sexy, but I want it to feel intentional—sex as a narrative device; sex as both a lens and subject of analysis. I want to think about it afterwards. I want it to leave me simmering, grinding my teeth at the lingering taste, turned on but not necessarily satisfied. I want the sex I read to tell a story, and I want the characters who are having it to matter to me.

I want to read books like GAMES.

Before I say anything else, let me be clear: GAMES knows exactly what it is. A masterpiece, obviously – but I will save my fangirling for further down. I’m talking about how incredibly intentional and self-assured this novel is. I think that, more than anything, is why I am so obsessed with it. For me, the magic of GAMES lies in the care that Volkova takes with every single word. Every description matters. Nothing is taken for granted. Her words do work. The end result is a story that practically writhes with tension and possibility. “Buzzy” isn’t enough to describe the way this novel makes me feel!

Consider the epigraph (and you should: again, every word matters.) Stacking Solzhenitsyn and Foucault on a page, the particular quotes selected – we know exactly where we are going from the beginning, who we are about to meet, where their minds and hearts live and what that means for the collision of their lives. All of that in two quotes. Volkova is having the time of her life from the onset, and that in itself is delicious to witness.

I am not a professional reviewer by any means. This is a freeform of my journey through this book (admittedly not my first, or even second). But I hope my manic glee is good evidence for why GAMES is so special and why everyone should read it:

The story takes place over the course of a hazy New York City summer, where graduate student Lili Marwan is finishing her thesis, toasting the season in the company of close friends, and definitely not looking for love. Neither is Aleksandr Petrov, the handsome and politically abhorrent CEO who takes her home from a bar one night and rocks her world. First: hot. But what follows is perhaps one of the most breathtaking love stories I have ever read.

Lili is a revelation. My Gemini genius is so beautiful and brilliant and relentless and heartbroken. I keep reaching for words: tenacity, but that feels too cutesy. Rigorous, but that feels almost bland? Maybe because it implies something measured – discipline with intention, but not necessarily feeling – when the reality of Lili Marwan is more frictive. I know people throw around “disaster queen” but she’s more than that to me. Lili is forever wrangling herself in, setting herself loose on her goals, and panicking when her own ferocity disobeys her. I relate to the intensity of her emotions because I, too, have strained against the contradictions of what I think, what I feel, and what I want.

Loud parties and mezcal smoke on the tongue. Verbal sparring that accelerates my pulse. Penthouses and tangled bedsheets, New York City in the summertime; crossing continents, chasing the night but never managing to fade into it the way she wants to – Lili falls in love and it's unbearable. Have we not all been there, in some fashion? Hating that we need something we swore we never wanted? Reaching for connection but distrustful when it deepens? The intimacy of Lili’s struggles leaves me gasping, and I love it. Volkova may be debuting, but she is a master of character work already.

Speaking of characters: Aleksandr. Where to begin. Since this novel is written in Lili’s POV, we experience Aleksandr through her lens. When Lili turns around at the bar and sees him for the first time, we all say “Fuck.” People will talk about how sexy he is. People will call him daddy and husband, and the real freaks (me) will say things that might get them censored in mainstream internet spaces. To quote Lili, “it is frankly unfeminist” what this man does to us poor readers.

It’s not just that he’s fine as hell—and he is, goddamn. Aleksandr is Lili’s intellectual and political foil. He is everything Lili can’t stand: a neoliberal capitalist whose breathtaking wealth repulses her socialist sensibilities. Too bad he is also intelligent, perceptive, and refuses to fit cleanly into the categories she assigns him. (Also, he’s 6’4” and I’m going to need more people to start talking about that.) The way they chafe against each other says so much about them individually, and part of what makes Aleksandr such a fascinating character is to see him become someone no one in his life, including himself, could have expected. It’s not that he’s a man in love. He is this man in love with this woman, softened in ways that might be frankly triggering to some characters (pour one out for Michael, I see you, baby.) They are so opposite, and not exactly complimentary, and yet. They fit. They work. It drives Lili crazy and that absolutely tickles Aleksander. It might be what most endears me to him.

“Intellectual sparring” is less rabid than whatever Lili and Aleksandr have going on. I would caution readers who didn’t come for the politics and academic debates in this book not to brush them off. This book wants you to try new things and reimagine what a spicy novel can be. It pushes us to engage with Lili and Aleksandr’s conversations as much as possible, because it’s how we get to know them as people. If you’re like me, you may not be familiar with all the thinkers, texts, and art mentioned, and that is okay. You can still appreciate the deeper emotional purpose of these conversations. Lili wants security and freedom. She pushes Aleksandr and thrills when he pushes back. She will never cower to a man, but she also wants to be relieved of the burden of always reining herself in. Aleksandr understands all of this and even empathizes in his own ways. He may be less obviously spooked by the intensity of their relationship, but that doesn’t mean he’s unaffected. It’s a deeper sort of commiseration at play between them, attunement against all odds. Lili wants love on her own terms, but she needs love that doesn’t ask permission. Aleksandr gives her that. He lets her be, until he doesn’t. Ready to prod and bait, ready to take over the moment Lili gives him the green light. Intellect and debate, the rush of challenge; Aleksandr doesn’t just welcome the fight, he chases it, too. Their banter has teeth, but it serves as the basis of genuine intimacy between them.

(As someone married to a Gemini, I know exactly what this is like. My husband is aggressively intelligent and thinks academic debate is a love language. I am not Aleksandr—for starters, I’m a Cancer—but I appreciate what he’s up against.)

Lili and Aleksandr’s intellectual warfare lends urgency to their sexual relationship. It exposes anxieties and old wounds, and it doesn’t always heal them. Lili vacillates between “I want him to fuck me” and “I want him to like me.” She finds the latter sentiment extremely offensive—“It doesn’t matter what she thinks, what he thinks. It doesn’t matter if they disagree. That isn’t what this is.” (Spoiler: that’s exactly what this is.) Readers will have a lot to say about some of the choices Lili makes in response to these emotions. I personally can’t see how their story would go any other way. Not after everything we learn about Lili and Aleksandr, their lives, their hurts. Volkova tells the truth about her characters. She spares no feelings, and I am grateful for the honesty with which she handles these characters and this story. She is tender, but she does not coddle. It gives Lili and Aleksandr power: power to love, to hurt themselves, to hurt each other. They struggle, they learn, they dig their heels in. They give in and change. It’s perfect. They’re perfect.

Take your time with this book. Don’t skip anything. Reread, find something tucked between moments that you didn’t notice before. This is such a gift! To have a story that unfolds over and over, that never stops bearing out on the page. It’s what makes a book more than a book. It is the beginning of conversations, of fandom, it is the type of story that inspires headcanons that take over social media and becomes a universe in its own right. It’s what turns a book into a phenomenon, and I fully believe that is what we are about to witness GAMES become.

Also: this book is so, so hot. That cannot be overstated. Their sex is fraught and dirty and aggressive and consuming, and I wouldn’t have it any other way because that is how they build intimacy. They do so unwittingly, accidentally, begrudgingly. Their sex is crucial to the narrative because of how it flays them both, how it exposes them to each other and to us as readers. Thank goodness for that! I do not say that ironically, but emphatically. I am so grateful that this book writes sex with such precision and desperation. Isn’t that what we crave, no matter how much we pretend otherwise? Lili certainly expends considerable effort trying to prove she doesn’t need the sex she has with Aleksandr, and watching her fall deeper in love despite her best intentions is almost as satisfying as watching Aleksandr give in to his obsession pretty much from the start (I don’t care what anyone says, that Capricorn is a lover boy!)

I imagine some people will complain that Lili and Aleksandr’s sex is unsafe. I don’t necessarily deny that. What I will not condone is a sweeping critique of depicting unsafe sex in media, as I rarely see people having critical discussions on the topic. More often, the issue boils down to kink shaming and moral posturing. It is one thing to say “I don’t like this kind of sex.” But to say that writing about characters who DO enjoy it is inherently problematic or irresponsible—and thus implying that such writing should not exist in the first place—is the kind of conservative non-argument that I find extremely uninteresting and, frankly, stupid. It makes me think of something a professor once told me: it’s not enough to take issue with something. If you want to critique a piece of writing (academic or otherwise) you must make sure you are doing so on the work’s own terms. To do anything else would be intellectually lazy.

(Besides: our girl knows what she wants in the bedroom, and if anyone is the “bully” in this relationship, it is definitely Lili!)

I love the full cast of characters and the relationships between them. We see so much love and care within Lili’s circle, and her friends—Jackie, Amina, and Jamie in particular—represent a platonic counterpoint to the romantic love she has with Aleksandr. Their bonds are different but no less strong, and even when Lili falls back on old avoidant habits, they don’t let her easily retreat. On Aleksandr’s side, we have Michael Vasiliev, who is my favorite character of all and the real hero of this story. My love for Michael, like his irritation for Lili, is boundless. Volkova has invented the enemies-to-enemies trope with these two. Michael had me cackling.

I know there has to be more after this book. The world Volkova has created is so full and vivid and I simply refuse to believe this is all we get of Lili and Aleksandr. I want more conversations, more passionate sex and sharp debate, their back and forth over the years and their children, new characters alongside beloved ones, more story, more heartbreak, more joy, I want more.

I know I’m not alone. GAMES is the kind of book that will only grow in fandom spaces, as ripe for academic analysis as it is for the moodboards and social media AUs that make online life so vibrant. People will form their own headcanons. They will superimpose these characters onto an ever-expanding pop culture landscape (the economics and astrology memes? The TikToks? It has already begun.) Simply put, this is the kind of book people can’t stop talking about. In the end, perhaps that is what any novel should strive for: a spellbound reader, earnest in their hysteria, cycling through denial that it is over and hope that it isn’t.

So let’s get to the point: give us Profit and Loss. We know it exists. We’ve been dreaming of it, catching glimpses, squealing in our seats and rubbing our grubby hands together for what feels like ages. I’m looking at you, William Morrow. Don’t play coy with me. I’ll say it with my chest. I’ll say it to anyone who will listen. GAMES opened the door, but Profit and Loss is the main event. I know it in my fucking bones.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[﹕ · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you tear through my skin, tissue and ribs you’ll find this book nestled into my heart.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is really, really something. It’s another fanfiction romance ((in)famously my favorite genre), but this time I didn’t consume the original IP, so I don’t know how it stacks up against its origin. What I do know is that this book is trying to be something much, much more than an escapist romance—and I don’t know that it’s successful in meeting that goal.

GAMES sets up interesting tensions right from the beginning, pairing 23-year-old Lili, a half-Lebanese Econ grad student, with 45-year-old Aleksandr, a long-ago Russian emigrant who now heads up some kind of major asset management firm. Lili has leftist politics, dead parents, and strong interests in urban farming, veganism, and astrology (got all that?). Aleksandr is a strong proponent of capitalism and a supposed workaholic who has a suspicious amount of time to develop an encyclopedic knowledge of economic theory, art, music, and literature. Their shared interests consist of drinking, extraordinarily rough sex, and arguing.

So! How are *these* two going to end up together? It’s a question with all kinds of fascinating avenues to explore. Lili is young, untethered, with apparently unlimited potential (almost everyone Lili meets tries to offer her a job) and unparalleled brains (we are told this, but whether her intelligence is actually supported by her conversations and actions is another matter). Aleksandr is older and far more experienced, set in his ways and perspective. Class, gender, ethnic origin, politics, an age gap wider than the Grand Canyon—is love enough to bridge those divides?

The differences between them seem more insurmountable, and therefore more interesting, from Lili’s perspective. She claims to abhor much of Aleksandr’s way of life—the easy way he wields his power, the downstream effects of how he makes his money—while also enjoying the trappings of his wealth. Her closest friends, too, are wealthy, and Lili doesn’t hesitate to take advantage of their charming vacation homes and gorgeous NYC apartments. The closest Lili comes to struggling with money in this book is getting a low balance alert from her bank after paying for a plane ticket to Paris. The book I hoped this would be would have truly interrogated the wide gulf between Lili’s stated politics and the way she lives her life, and what she might be giving up by choosing Aleksandr. But that is not the book we got.

What GAMES ends up feeling like is Volkova’s attempt to show how smart she is—and she IS extremely smart, don’t get me wrong—while ultimately wanting to write a fantastical romance about an orphan girl falling in love with a sugar daddy, lol. The book implies that the conversations Lili and Aleksandr have are mutually gratifying and equally weighted, but they feel more like Aleksandr teaching Lili about the world. And the second half of the book avoids grappling with any of the major tensions set up in the first half, reverting to a story where only Lili and Aleksandr and their love for each other matters. The book starts off appearing concerned with global material concerns—poverty and food insecurity and environmental decay—but ends in a bubble only big enough to contain the two main characters.

The writing almost made me stop reading. It’s better than some of the slop in the romance section, and Volkova clearly has a distinct style, but that style is really annoying lol. She absolutely loves to list sensory details in a construction that gets so unbelievably repetitive I felt like I was going crazy. Here, I’ll give it a try. *She writes her review in the cocoon of her basement while her husband plays music in the next room—hiss of central air, tufts of dog hair, patter of drum set, snow a blanket outside.* Now imagine 400+ pages of that. There’s also such an absurd amount of name dropping. Theorists, artists, musicians, books, designers, brands. It’s tiresome. We know you know things!!

This self indulgence is, and I truly believe this, a result of this book being fanfic. That’s what fanfic is—a way for authors to throw in references to all their favorite things, to show off their knowledge in their area of expertise, while writing about love and sex and romance between their favorite characters. It’s fun in fanfic, and often endearing. It just doesn’t translate the same way to original work.

I did think the third act romantic conflict was quite well done. If you ignore the fact that the book, again, just dispenses with all the big and thorny questions it set up at the beginning, the resolution of Lili’s and Aleksandr’s story is satisfying. But you have to ignore a lot.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the insane sex in this book, lol. This is not, for better or for worse, a manual for a safe BDSM relationship. There are no contracts, no safe words, and barely even any conversations. The sex can be disturbing. I think that’ll make a lot of readers mad, but it’s also refreshing in a batshit way.

I don’t think this book reaches its potential, but I’m sure many girlies will love it. For all my issues, it avoids some of the truly nauseating infantilization, treacly cuteness, and therapization happening in many contemporary romances. So it might be worth a shot for you!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️

There are books you read that fulfill their purpose, entertain you, and then there are others that completely change you, leaving you in a whirlwind of intense emotions and thoughts.
Games undoubtedly belongs to the second category.
I started this book expecting an intense, provocative story, with that irresistible tension that often accompanies romances with an age gap. And yes, I got all of that. There's chemistry. There are steamy scenes. But I also found something much more ambitious, and at times, more challenging than I anticipated. That's why I think it's absolutely necessary to divide this review into parts or main points, since Games, in my opinion, is much more than a love story!

Romance/Characters Relationship

The relationship between the characters is honest, raw, and passionate. There's desire, power, pride, and beyond all of that, admiration. Aleksandr doesn't belittle Lili, he sees her.
And she, despite all her doubts, slowly learns not to run from his gaze. From beginning to end, I was completely captivated by their relationship in the best possible way. There were so many moments where I smiled so hard, or kicked my feet with excitement at reading certain interactions between them!
The intimate scenes are hot as hell, and although they go far beyond desire, attraction, and initially, each character's personal goals, I personally found myself enjoying them more than I thought I would. It had been a long time since I'd read a spicy romance this good. Every moment filled with tension, passion, and longing between Lili and Aleksandr brought me back to life, making me realize how much I would think about this book after I finished it.

Emotions/Loss and Grief

The way the author addresses trauma and grief, that old wound that Lili specifically learns to hide under layers of sarcasm and desire, left me speechless. Volkova doesn't romanticize suffering; she shows it for what it is, a force that distorts decisions, contaminates relationships, and pushes us to sabotage what we most desire.
In Games, loss and pain seep into decisions, silences, in discussions that apparently deal with politics but are actually about abandonment, guilt, and the fear of not being enough. Some pages feel almost too honest, as if the author decided not to soften anything. This might be heavy for those seeking a light read. But it's also what gives this story its depth.

Politics/Economics

In Games, politics and economics aren't used as sophisticated scenery; the author makes ideas matter, encourages discussion, confrontation, and ultimately transforms them into bridges. The characters don't just desire each other; they challenge each other intellectually, test each other, and dismantle each other. Their conversations are dense, sometimes demanding, and may be difficult for many to follow if they are not used to that type of debate, but all this intellectual and political density is what makes much of the relationship between Lili and Aleksandr feel different.

Mention of Art

Art plays a very important role in this book; it is a source of conversation and appreciation for the characters, both alone and when they are together.
This makes Games an inspiring and intellectual book in many ways, immersing you in an artistic sea where each piece tells a story and forms part of the protagonists' own.

Characters Personalities

Lili is a hurricane, a one-of-a-kind creature. She is neither naive nor malleable; she is brilliant, impulsive, sometimes self-destructive. So human it hurts. She's a character I empathized with and identified with at many points, but I won't lie, I did get a little frustrated at times with some of her arguments, though not in a completely negative way. But I absolutely love her with all my heart, and oh my god, she's freaking iconic, wild, and daring-she's our beautiful, chaotic, silly Gemini.

Aleksandr (or should I say daddy?) is, to say the least, an interesting character, incredibly intelligent, powerful, dominant, and proudly a capitalist monster (and I know you were waiting for me to say that, freaking hot). You have no idea how refreshing it was to read an MMC like him, to learn about his views and perspectives.

The atmosphere felt unique and immersive, making me feel like I was right there on the streets of New York, in the places mentioned, with Lili and her friends, Lili and Aleksandr. I could see every moment so vividly in my head, and it felt like the best experience ever.

To conclude, I want to say that Games is not a light read, although I wish I could say so. It goes far beyond sex, romance, and what you might expect to happen. It's a book that sparks debate, makes you think, and reconsiders concepts and ideologies. But it's honest, ambitious, and features emotionally courageous characters with clear ideas.
This book alone demonstrates how intelligent the author is, but I'm still surprised that, for a debut, it's incredibly self-assured. The writing is meticulous, and I feel that Volkova isn't aiming for easy consumption, but rather wants the reader to participate. And while that might scare some, it's also what makes the novel feel singular and unique.
All that remains for me to say is that Games met my expectations and more, and I truly believe that even this review won't do justice to how much I love and appreciate this story. Anna Maria Volkova has just gained a fan, and I can't wait to read her future works.

Thank you, William Morrow, for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Games: A Love Story” by Anna Maria Volkova

5⭐/5⭐
5🌶/5🌶

“Lili looks at him, then. Oh, the fucking heart sear of it: how much she wants this man, how much she keeps wanting this man.”

Before I start my review, there are a couple of things I should mention about the story. They are spoilers, and I’ll put them under a spoiler cut. However, I know some readers will consider them hard lines and may not want to read the story if they knew it contained these details:

There is a scene where cheating is involved. It is described on-page, as is the fallout. It is very explicitly cheating, there’s no murkiness on whether it fits that definition.

The ending is a HFN (happy for now) rather than a HEA (happily ever after). The story ends on a promising note, with hope for the future. But there is no concrete resolution for the couple, there will undoubtedly be work ahead for both of them if they are to establish a true relationship.

If a reader is fortunate, they discover books that become the example of what future books need to live up to. The story becomes the bar, so to speak, that any new book gets compared to. I’ve read several of these books, but then again, I read a lot of books every year. “Games” has, without question, fallen into this category. I had a bookish sixth sense about this story, and I’m so pleased I was right: this book is worth every bit of hype and acclaim.

Addressing the elephant in the room: yes, this was originally fanfic. However, that made me all the more interested in reading this story. Some of the best fictional stories I’ve ever read either started as fanfic, or *are* fanfic. It’s also worth mentioning that this author has a very unique writing style. Dialogue is drawn out, sometimes for pages, and chapters are quite long. There are only ten chapters in total, some of which are extremely lengthy. Inner thoughts meander and intersplice with current events. That’s all to say, this author’s writing style isn’t for everyone; but it sure worked for me.

I found the story to be so intense, and I cried afterwards. You really bond with Lili through her struggles, even if you cannot personally relate to the decisions she makes (and she makes plenty of poor decisions). The author does a great job drawing readers further into Lili’s psyche, reassuring them, and then finally delivering a brutal blow that leaves readers no choice but to find out how the pieces can all be put back together. Can they? Is it even salvageable?

The story is set in New York City, and told in a single POV. Lili Marwan is a graduate student studying economics. She has an eclectic group of friends, loves her job, and feels confident in her world view and anarchist beliefs. Everything gets shifted off its axis when she meets Aleksandr, a man twenty years her senior and a staunch capitalist. It starts as no-strings-attached rough sex, but quickly becomes so much more for both of them.

It would be easy to say “this is a story about an age-gap romance”, but it’s so much more than that. I’d argue Lili’s character arc as she navigates unresolved childhood trauma *is* the primary story. She was orphaned at a young age, thrust into the foster care system, and has longed for someone to ground her. She yearns for unconditional acceptance, which was torn from her when her parents passed away. And all along the way, she has learned to guard herself in unhealthy ways. Simply put, she will hurt herself before you ever have the chance to inflict harm on her. She’s in an unhealthy cycle, but because she’s so damned intelligent and capable in other ways, she can still navigate life with relative ease.

In many ways Aleksandr and Lili are mirrors of each other, but he represents a future in more ways than one. Yes, he can be the life partner and support she has always longed for, but he also represents a life lived with total acceptance and confidence. While Lili is confident in her beliefs, she isn’t confident in her self-worth. She does not fully accept herself and her feelings; it’s as if she contains a multitude of walls. One wall allows her foster parents closer to her, the next her friends, the next Aleksandr; but all cannot truly reach her.

It’s hard to convey all of my thoughts concerning this story, because there’s a lot; I truly have not stopped thinking of it since I started reading it. I urge readers to give it a chance, especially if anything I said in this review resonates with you.

[sims · Rating 5 out of 5]

it took me a few hours to gather my thoughts. there’s this feeling i rarely get these days when i read a book and a specific word or phrasing being used at the perfect time makes me pause and listen, but when it happens, it’s so, so good. this reminded me of pride and prejudice in a weird, but actually hilarious kind of way. i had a lot of fun reading it.

i think the highest points are all in lili as a character, especially when it comes to how her grief is explored, but also how losing people and not being cherished as much as she needed to has affected her sense of worth. this book explores making mistakes in a way that’s very thoughtful, and knows how to balance acknowledging wrongdoings without feeling too melodramatic, which i really appreciated. i think her friendships were such a nice addition and gave more depth to the story, making it seem more alive than ever. it’s also interesting how one of her most important friendships was built around grief of losing a loved one, and it shows how death and life are two sides of the same coin. an end just brings out a new beginning, and that’s a really beautiful way to portray the ups and downs of life.

i think aleksandr’s character is interesting because he breaks the mold of an archetype that i found so very common in other romance books i’ve read. he represents the rich and selfish, in a way thoughtless. but in this case, he is presented as a character with a lot of depth and thought. thoughtless is the last word i’d use to describe a character like him. i think that his relationship beginning with him knowing exactly how to read lili shows exactly that, because he knows how to tell when she’s acting a certain way, or pretending to be something she’s not from the very beginning. i also think it’s important how he doesn’t underestimate her thinking, her mindset, her beliefs, but instead challenges her. it makes their relationship stronger and it gives lili something other than her own hardships and traumas to think about and look forward to. i could definitely believe they were not only attracted to each other on a physical level (their chemistry is off the charts lol), but also there was genuine friendship and respect there, and that’s something not many books manage to create between two characters from such opposing lifestyles.

i also love the use of language in this book. i was warned about it being something that can throw someone off, but it’s actually the type of writing i’ve been quietly obsessed with that only a few people know how to manage. there’s dialogue that feels grounding, like something someone would say in real life without it sounding like a complete parody of how people think. anna does this thing where make lili ramble in narration for a few lines as a way to build up anticipation or to show the character’s anxiety, but she does it so well, because many times i found myself thinking “this is exactly the kind of mindset i’d have in this situation”. and it’s just… human. the writing feels human.

and about what happens towards the third arc of the book, if you know me, you know i have 0 problems with that, so… if you know, you know.

this was a very interesting read, and i could definitely tell how much work went into all the economics discussions explored. i think so many parts made me recall a conversation i’ve had with professors, with classmates, and it’s funny to be part of a field and in some way realize we’re all echoing inside the same vacuum. i’ll definitely think about it again. maybe once or twice. or more.

[jay ☆౨ৎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I had to describe the experience of reading Games, it would be like sitting Centre Court watching a tennis match, neck cracking left and right and left and right. It’s intelligent, hilarious, sexually charged, and heartbreaking. And potentially one of my favourite books ever...? I was already excited going into this story for all of its various elements (Normal People comp, fusion of sex and art and economics) and it not only delivered, but far exceeded my expectations.

Games is so rich. It’s rich in concept, content, theory, character, execution. New York breathes in this novel. Lili is a young woman exhausted but driven by ambition, by her socially democratic conviction, her pain and sexual hunger. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt more seen by a character’s thought processes, her actions and reactions towards situations and life itself. I felt that I understood her completely. Then there's Aleksandr, who poses as her capitalist, neoliberal counterpart. I wanted to strangle him (so many times) but he unfolds into such a beautiful, nuanced character with his own rationale, belief systems and internalised pains from growing up in the Soviet Union. Also, he was really sexy, amen. And there is a cast of surrounding characters, Lili's friends and Michael, who warm this novel so much.

Lili and Aleksandr's age gap tastefully lends to their conflicting political and economical positions. Both characters stem from heavy cultural histories/backgrounds which shape their feelings towards modern America. It was truly refreshing to read about characters with diverse roots like this; Lili being Middle Eastern and Aleksandr being Russian. It was an illuminating divergence from the Western canon/narrative we see dominating literary fiction nowadays, and I was super appreciative of this element of the book.

Lili and Aleksandr argue constantly, about everything, but each argument is so intellectually stimulating. There's so much food for thought in this regard (e.g., Aleksandr's meditation on Marxism being akin to religious fulfilment: "there's an absolutism to it—answers to all your questions, direction for the rage, purpose to your suffering.") Like, that made me THINK. I'm aware the constant debating in this book won’t be for everyone, but I devoured every second of it. There’s also, obviously, a lot of sex; again, another interesting dynamic meticulously deconstructed and explored between the two characters. There is art and literature and friendship. The writer has imbued this story with so much knowledge it’s almost cavity-inducing, but I felt like I read this book at the perfect time in my life (case and point: I took a photo of The Economist the other day to post on my IG story; Lili takes a photo of The Economist to send to Aleksandr).

Though I now sadly have to leave Games behind (rest assured, a reread is coming in June), I walk away having been offered so much to think about. And what a gift from a book, what an achievement for the author. It’s staggering how much this book takes on but then, I think, life is exactly that: the intersection and overlap and messy, complicated blend of sex and politics and literature and art and pain. It's also really, really funny. Lili and Aleksandr will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you kindly to the publisher for the ARC!

[gaby · Rating 5 out of 5]

but him, she wants him: simple and foundational—through each kiss, and every breath, and into another day, after this, again, and again.

i went back and forth between 4.5 and 5 stars. i have my fair share of criticisms but i finished games: a love story feeling like anything lower than five stars would be disingenuous.

sure, the setup isn’t exactly unique: an older, very wealthy and very competent man; a young, messy but brilliant, hyper-opinionated woman who’s not like anyone he has ever met before. their foreplay consists of endless debates about economics, politics, and philosophy followed by extremely fiery sex. they can’t stay away from each other, but to anyone who reads the genre, this is nothing new under the sun.

regardless, games really stuck with me. i think i just happened to read it at the right moment. lili’s grief, her aversion to loss, and her tendency toward self-sabotage all felt too recognizable. she is difficult and full of convictions about everything. her internal monologue is a constant stream of references ranging from capitalism and food systems to astrology and art. opposite lili is aleksandr, a disciplined capitalist whose worldview appears to contradict hers entirely. they are a total mismatch. between their incompatible ideologies and their significant age gap, there is very little that suggests they should work. even with all that, i was willing to weather the highs and lows if it meant seeing lili and aleksandr come out on the other side. still i think the story would have benefited from pushing harder on those differences. there was also more to explore concerning lili’s politics versus her evident comfort within the systems she critiques.

the writing style is also… a lot. intellectually crowded and overly sensorial, sometimes to the point of feeling repetitive. the ao3 prose is pretty much indistinguishable in this one, so no surprise there given its fanfic origins. i will say, that is not necessarily a drawback. it was familiar to me and in this case, even lends itself well to literary fiction. it was sexy too. the lack of guardrails in lili and aleksandr’s dynamic was truly so scrumptious to me. there is no perfectly negotiated framework or tidy explanation of boundaries, just a volatile and impulsive mess… but they still have love and they still have hope. and somehow, they still have me in their corner.

no, it isn’t a flawless novel by any means, but it often felt like holding up a mirror. it also tapped into a very specific nostalgia from my years as a finance student in nyc, back before the pandemic upended everything and the hangups i harbored then. in that way, games is as much a reflection on forgiveness and moving forward as it is a love story.

sincere thanks to the publisher and netgalley for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Rea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was simply beautiful. I connected to it in a really deep and personal level. In fact connected to it so much that I will buy a physical copy when it comes out. I don’t know if I could give it a better compliment than that!
A lot of the romance books are so superficial and detached from any sort of reality that sometimes I struggle to connect. I had been craving a romance that leaned more literary vs. something that just fulfills tropes. This was absolutely it. It lived at the intersection of love, sex, economy, art, politics and global studies. It was so beautifully done that it made me wonder why aren’t there more authors that don’t challenge themselves in this way when writing romance. I think more writers should defy the rules of romance because they might create a beautiful book like this one.
Our protagonist, Lili, is a 20-something graduate student who is pursuing a degree in economics, Her focus is on using the acquired knowledge and studies to try and improve the world and its systems vs. working for Wall St. She has a traumatic past that still haunts her and affects all her relationships, social or romantic. The male main character, Aleksandr is a very wealthy man who runs one of the top private equity firms in the country. Also, he is close to 20 years older than her. Their initial connection is physical, their sexual chemistry is strong, but what becomes stronger is their connection. Despite how different they are, there is a pull they have for each other that defies all logic or so it seems until we slowly peel the layers of their characters. It’s classic young idealist vs. realist, but they each learn something from each other. Their conversations are deeply intellectual and rich. This is where the author shines in how well researched she is and intellectually diverse because the conversations span through a lot of different topics. I also loved how she humanizes the Aleksandr slowly by revealing his past and what led him to be so successful. In a way the book is a story of immigration too and the prices we pay for leaving our homelands, but also what we gain.
This is a hard earned romance, there are some very difficult moments. You will be angry at Lili, but then you will remember that she is young and has lacked a support system. It’s hard to know love when no one has ever showed it to you. This book is a reminder of the gentle humanity and that forgiveness is sometimes worth it.
I enjoyed this story a lot, but I do worry that it might have a hard time finding its audience. It goes deep into socio-economical issues, political issues and the in-betweens of these topics. You will have to go into it with a thirst for knowledge, not just a sexy romance.

Finally, I think why this book is so successful in allowing the reader to have multiple perspectives on different topics instead of forcing conclusions. I read it quite fast, but every time, after I would put it aside, I would keep thinking about it. It also inspired me to research some topics that were discussed.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember seeing this book on some "anticipated releases for 2026" list and it immediately caught my attention because 1) Ali Hazelwood blurbed it and 2) the premise was super intriguing. Normal People meets 50 shades? You have my attention.

However, I genuinely don't know how to rate this book! Because the things I loved, I really loved! But the things I didn't, I really didn't. I have such a tumultuous relationship with this novel, but it's also one that I think sparks so much discussion so it makes things very interesting! I am probably going to rate this around a 3.5 rounded up to a 4 for Goodreads.

First, we start this book off with a bang. Literally. Like strap yourselves in people because we do NOT waste time getting to Lili and Aleksandr's relationship. Their relationship from the jump was so interesting not only because of the sex but because of what Lili refers to as "intellectual sparring" where they have disagreements on capitalism, socialism, economics, power, etc. What seems like something that should cause them to repel actually makes them attract.

However, and this is where my main issue comes in, things very quickly become super repetitive and overkill to the absolute max. Not only with the conservations surrounding politics (this is not something I mind in a book at all usually, unless someone is a conservative asshole then please get out of my face), but being in Lili's head was suuuuch a struggle sometimes. Sooo many long descriptions, long recounting of memories, and drawn out conversations about Lili's thesis that, frankly, I didn't end up caring about and start skimming towards the end. It's clear the author is incredibly smart and I was so impressed with a lot of the research done, but this novel could have been easily trimmed down by 150 pages at least. At least!! I think a part of this is also due to the fact that this was a fanfic first, and I know those tend to lean a lot longer.

All that to say, the romance itself was tooooo good. I was kind of iffy about Lili and Aleksandr at first, but I was quickly sold. There's a few sections in the middle of the book that had me truly giddy. Like I became kind of obsessed with them!! The third act conflict was SO tough to read (I wanted to truly shake Lili so many times), but it came together in a beautiful way at the end. Even though I said this book was too long, after I finished the last chapter I found myself wishing I had just one more (short) chapter with them! I will be thinking about them for a long time.

I do not think this will be a book for everyone - especially if you dislike long internal monologues or struggle with books with large age or power gaps. And even though this book did frustrate me a lot at points, I still loved the core romance.

Thank you William Morrow and Netgalley for this ARC!

[triviareads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm on the fence about this one. Games seems to have elements of women's fiction and erotic romance, as the sex is plentiful and the means by which Lili and Alexandr's relationship develops, but on the other hand, this single POV story centers heavily around the heroine, her friendships, and her personal growth. While Games had some components of a romance novel that worked well— the third-act breakup and heroine grovel in particular were very good— other elements felt more suited to fanfiction.

Columbia Masters of Economics student Lili and billionaire CEO of thinly-veiled BlackRock Alexandr meet at a bar, and have an *intense* one-night stand. To be clear, the *intense* one-night stand (as advertised in the blurb) goes exactly the way you'd think: there's rough sex, he's more dominant. Lili wants to continue and keep it casual (yk... we're all about keeping it casual these days), and Aleksandr, presumably, is happy to go along with it, all the while engaging in deep discussions about economics and their radically-differing world views.

To be clear I don't think the economics of it all took away from the romance entirely— it's the means by which Lili and Aleksandr connect, and it's how Lili comes to understand him as a lover and a partner by the end of the book. That being said, those initial interactions— the long, meandering expositions and dialogues on economics felt clunky and dragged on— it's one of the places the fanfiction roots are very clear, and it could have done with a lot more editing. The ebook clocked in at 380ish pages, and it could have been much shorter. You don't particularly get the sense of a deeper connection between Lili and Aleksandr for much of the book: there's sexual attraction, respect on an intellectual level, but the emotional intimacy feels almost forced, by means of conversations about their respective tragic pasts.

I do want to note the tone-deafness of a heroine of Lebanese descent fucking and falling for a hero who runs thinly-veiled BlackRock, particularly when the book was happy to touch on current and past geopolitical conflicts, but stayed away from a Very Particular one.

The sex:

Classic darklina experience— more dominant hero, rough sex with choking, plenty of "him biiiig her smol" moments, a size queen heroine. There was some light dubcon in a somnophilia moment, but otherwise, nothing really out there. Lili is someone who uses sex as a coping mechanism, and while I don't think the unhealthier side of this was dealt with particularly deftly (this girl sobbing and insisting "HURT ME" to the hero was giving... 2010s erotic romances of That flavor), it was something of a turning point in their relationship.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Rating: 3.5/5
Heat Level: 4/5
Pub Date: June 2nd

[LI · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous novel. It feels like something that breathes.

Games follows Lili, a hyper-intelligent 23 year old postgraduate student in economics, and Aleksandr. Two decades her senior, he’s not, on paper, a perfect match. Where Lili leans democratic socialist, Aleksandr (CEO and Chairman of asset manager BlackRiver) is a strong proponent of the neoliberal order. More fundamentally, though, these two pair well. Certainly, this is not a novel that shies away from economics deep dives - much of Lili and Aleksandr’s early conversations revolve around Hayek, Keynes, etc. These aren’t fleeting conversations - but there’s a joy in reading something where you feel the author expects you to keep up. Aleksandr, perhaps especially, is well crafted. In the hands of a lesser author, his characterisation could so easily slip: stereotypes (however deserved!) of older men in finance. But Volkova imbues him with so much more: his understanding of power, of security, are well considered. We find that he grew up in the Soviet Union, a country that he strained against, but certainly shaped him. Here, too, Volkova is magnificent - her descriptions of both the USSR, and modern Russia, are virtuosic. This is an author who understands this country, who can speak to the rot in the state in a way that is nuanced and heartbreaking. She is a searing, sensuous writer: words become infused, phrases feel weighty. But there’s more here - it’s unexpectedly funny too. Volkova has a sly, well-considered, observant sense of humour.

Of course, this is marketed as romance, but it’s a romance in the same way Possession is a romance, or The English Patient is a romance - there is so much more here than just sex. The sex described is rough - and people may not respond to that - but Volkova crafts it in a way that allows for underlying thoughts, questions, ideas. This is not always a “clear/clean-cut” relationship; that doesn’t negate what you can understand from it. More so, the book prods at deeper questions (which the sex spurs in Lili): how we can understand ourselves through our relationships with other people - romantic, platonic, parental? From the memories we have of people, or the moments with them, how do we understand, and become, ourselves?

I appreciate this novel because I also think I learned from it, about wanting, and going after things. There are questions here that are good to consider, and rarely asked: What does it mean to deserve things, to take up space in the world? Who are we in it? How can we strive to be ourselves? What does that striving even mean, or look like?

Thank You Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley and for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-4.5⭐️

i think i could write a whole thesis on this book!!! (and this may have some of my personal favorite writing/prose of all time)

giving straight: you’ll enjoy this book if you— A. like age gapes. B: feel strongly about politics but you aren’t a right wing asshole. C. aren’t looking for the romance being primary, our FMC is the focus with her transformation in her life and with grief/trauma, the romance is plus. (i am going to include this sorta spoiler, there is cheating (Lili’s actions sadly make sense considering her past), the last bit of this book is brutal yet leaves with hope.)

this is a VERY academic centric book with a LOT of economical and political conversations. but as someone who likes to hear other view points and be in ‘the know’, I found topics discussed extremely interesting (where i think many could sorta… glaze over.) Lili one time called it ‘intellectual sparring’ and that’s exactlyyyy what a lot of this book is haha. i consider myself intelligent, i have an engineering degree, but lord AP macro in high school was my worst class ever, econ goes right over my head (compared to politics which this book talks a lot of, im very passionate and agree with Lili on A LOT of topics), and even i needed to do some googling to make sure i was on the same page as the characters

this book explored trauma in a way that was so intriguing and relatable (in some ways), but also how trauma can cause one to hurt oneself. the last 30% of this book is a HARD read, the events that take place are extremely sad (yet understandable considering our FMC’s past/trauma) but was not expecting it. this obviously isn’t a coming of age story yet this was a more mature iteration of it for Lili in a way.

this book had my heart hurting, i was so sad at times, anxious and happy. there’s amazing friendships and as someone who regrets her own career/academic decisions, the way the author wrote everything Lili felt, was perfect

i will read anything this author published simply based off the way she can put emotions into words. her writing is BEAUTIFUL and left me gobsmacked at it.

*ARC courtesy of netgalley*

(only reason this wasn’t a 5⭐️ is the cheating, this was on track to be one of the best books i’ve ever read lol. while it worked for the story, i cannot handle cheating in any form)

[Eileen Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬: 𝐀 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐤𝐨𝐯𝐚♡

𝟓⭐
𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬: age gap, Wall Street banker/economics grad student, spicy, angsty, stockmarket bf/astrology gf, coming-of-age, found family✨

"𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎 ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑘𝑒𝑒𝑝𝑠 𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑒."

did i devour this book? did it devour me? did i finish it? did it finish me? i wouldn't be able to tell you. this book is a wet dream for an age gap lover. and as the #1 fan of this trope, it was everything i wanted and SO much more.

the writing in this book was everything. my gods, Anna!!! you’re smart as hell, woman. i’m in absolute awe of you and i want to be like you when i grow up, okay? 🙌🏻 (let’s ignore the fact that I’m 28 oops) it’s been a long time since i’ve felt this kind of intense yearning to want to live inside a book for real. so heartbreaking to have that for just a little while😭 Aleksandr and Lili, the atmosphere, the friendships, the places, all the economics, politics, and art conversations, Aleksandr and Lili's "intellectual sparring"(as she calls it🤣👌🏻) i really didn't want any of it to end🥲

this book opened an old wound i don’t like to give attention to. the way it portrays grief is SO real. it genuinely fucked me up😭 the grief of losing a parent was handled so well!!! and when shit went down in this book? no joke, i felt like i was stuck in purgatory!! the uncertainty… omfg, the uncertainty!!!!!! i was DYING inside over the angst🥲 and also loving EVERY SINGLE SECOND of it!!!!! 🤣😮‍💨🤌🏻

Aleksandr and Lili will stay with me forever🫂 i finished it late at night and fell asleep thinking about them, dreamt of them and woke up thinking about them. also, i may or may not have cried a lil bit🤏🏻(shocking frfr) after i finished the book because the journey i went through with these characters was SO intense😩 FINALLY i have my top read of the year so far!!!! i kid you not, i knew it as soon as i read the first chapter🥹♥️

ANYWAY, here's some reasons why you should read Games:

if you love age gap romance, you need to read this.
If you love writing that’s BEYOND incredible, you need to read this.
if you love hot, older, dominant, powerful MMCs and hot, smart AF, spitfire, relatable FMCs, you need to read this.
if you love angst that will have you fighting for your life, you need to read this.
AND if you love spice SO intense and good it'll leave you literally panting, you need to read this!!!!!!

out June 2! thank you Anna and William Morrow for the arc! i'm so beyond grateful🫂♥️

[Maomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

thank you to William Morrow for access to this eARC through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

speaking objectively:

games is a coming of age story that follows 23 year old lili marwan, an economics grad student at columbia. it involves love, loss, pain, grief. it made me experience the full range of human emotions.

and now speaking subjectively:

if you, like me, have attachment issues, this book will dig your softest insides out for you to look at. it will keep you on your toes, dig into your flesh, and make you want to run away. but you can’t. because you will fall in love with these characters.

at first, Games is an intimidating book. there appears to be a lot of technical jargon and debates about economics and politics. but when you look at the bigger picture, the things that are core to the story, to its themes, are not gated behind these topics, so to speak. my professional background is not in either of these things, and i have enjoyed every page of this book.

overall, this is a wonderfully written book. the characters have volume, weight. they take up space, they have personality, presence, and substance. the dialogue and banter between lili and aleksandr is intense and witty, revealing so much about them without needing to explicitly state it in plain english. you can tell volkova loves these characters and it will make you fall in love with them too.

there’s also tangible growth and development in this book. it’s gradual and feels natural, like a dance. with steps moving forward and back. i felt a sense of pride and longing. pride to see that lili had grown, and longing because i want to have that growth for myself as well. a book making me want to work on myself is not unheard of, but to feel it this strongly? like i’m looking for therapists that will take my insurance right now.

the sex scenes are cathartic. the character work during these scenes makes them so satisfying to read. it reveals the rawest parts of lili, elucidating her trauma and reflecting it back to the reader. they are also very hot.

i cannot recommend this book enough. this has become my new roman empire.

tldr: this book made me feel physically unwell (affectionate). i’m telling on it to my therapist.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This will not be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s very political and readers from different political spectrums could dislike it for different reasons, but it’s more than the philosophical differences explored by the characters. So much more.

I went into this book expecting a tropey contemporary, billionaire, age gap, rough chemistry, fun/spicy but probably forgettable story. I was very wrong. This book is dense in a way I did not expect. It is full of philosophy, economic theory, and art history that are not just name drops. The characters debate these ideas and live inside them. I could follow a lot of it, but I do wonder how a typical romance reader will react, because it asks more from you than most books in this space. This aspect reminded me a lot of “Alone with you in the Ether” by Olivie Blake.

What surprised me most is the psychological depth. The relationship builds slowly and convincingly, and the way their histories shape their choices feels real. Every decision tracks. Nothing feels forced. It reads like you are watching two people, with all their baggage, try to figure out life.

There is also a storyline that could be difficult for some readers. Here, it feels painfully human and completely consistent with where the characters are emotionally. The fallout is brutal though. The pages of reckoning are hard to sit with but make the story feel honest. The book does not rush past the damage.

This is absolutely a love story and it does land as a true romance, but the road there is heavy. It is not light, not breezy, and not an easy emotional ride. What I thought would be an erotic romance with smart characters turned into something much more intense.

Even with Ali Hazelwood’s endorsement, do not go in expecting the tone of her books. This is more introspective, more intellectually focused, and emotionally tougher. I can already tell it may divide readers. Some will be put off by the deeper references to philosophy and art, but it is overall well done and far more ambitious than the premise makes it sound.