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Games: A Love Story
Not yet published
Expected 2 Jun 26"A complex, beautiful coming-of-age novel...a love story unlike any I've ever read." —Ali Hazelwood
"A soulful book about the politics of labor and submission." —Raven Leilani
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?
"A soulful book about the politics of labor and submission." —Raven Leilani
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?
432 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication June 2, 2026
7778 people want to read
About the author
Anna Maria Volkova
1 book56 followersAnna 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.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 21, 2026
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
Read
January 7, 2026The book that changed my life
Want to read
December 17, 2025Yes please, and thank you.
February 15, 2026
if you tear through my skin, tissue and ribs you’ll find this book nestled into my heart.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
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.
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.
February 7, 2026
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)
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)
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
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🫂♥️
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🫂♥️
February 8, 2026
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.
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.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This book has everything in a book I’m drawn to! The premise is really compelling and the dynamic between Lili and Aleksandr is something I’m allllllll in for, I just knew I’d eat up. I appreciated the novel’s willingness to engage with politics, ideology, and power. The conversations around capitalism, socialism, and identity were interesting in theory, even when the characters opposed one another. I feel like that’s what attracted them to each other in the first place. However, sometimes it came off as too much and a little pretentious??
Where I struggled was the writing style.
A lot of the dialogue felt repetitive, especially when the characters would go back and forth debating without it really pushing the story forward. Being in Lili’s head was so frustrating to meeeee. Scenes would stop so she could spiral into long memories or descriptions, which pulled me out. She has deep rooted trauma, I understand that. But it would be a lot of show and not tell for that.
The romance itself is different, but HOT. I have no problem with age gap! It has themes of submission and control in ways that will not work for everyone. While I understood the intention towards the ending, I found it difficult to accept emotionally. The third act conflict was frustrating rather than devastating. Their romance was a battleground from the start.
This is a debut that will resonate great for the right audience. I admired what she was doing with the story, even when I didn’t fully connect with how it was delivered. If you’re okay with dense internal monologue and ideologically heavy dialogue within a romance, I think it’ll really hit! It came off as fan fiction for me if I think about it.
Also, the author really knows NYC because the details were heavy on it for setting. To the point, if you don’t live there, it’ll go over your head (I live here, I appreciated it). Loved the blurbs from authors I respect too!
Where I struggled was the writing style.
A lot of the dialogue felt repetitive, especially when the characters would go back and forth debating without it really pushing the story forward. Being in Lili’s head was so frustrating to meeeee. Scenes would stop so she could spiral into long memories or descriptions, which pulled me out. She has deep rooted trauma, I understand that. But it would be a lot of show and not tell for that.
The romance itself is different, but HOT. I have no problem with age gap! It has themes of submission and control in ways that will not work for everyone. While I understood the intention towards the ending, I found it difficult to accept emotionally. The third act conflict was frustrating rather than devastating. Their romance was a battleground from the start.
This is a debut that will resonate great for the right audience. I admired what she was doing with the story, even when I didn’t fully connect with how it was delivered. If you’re okay with dense internal monologue and ideologically heavy dialogue within a romance, I think it’ll really hit! It came off as fan fiction for me if I think about it.
Also, the author really knows NYC because the details were heavy on it for setting. To the point, if you don’t live there, it’ll go over your head (I live here, I appreciated it). Loved the blurbs from authors I respect too!
Review of advance copy received from Author
A heartbreaking, furiously stunning debut that elevates the romance novel to the realm of distinguished literature
I've been reading GAMES from the beginning, following its journey from the fanfiction space to traditional publishing--at every stage in its development, it has achieved the same effect of moving the reader deftly from heart ache, to break, to piecing itself back together. Rich descriptions immerse you into the gorgeous atmosphere of New York, ferrying the reader smoothly into places, contexts, and conversations that bewitch the mind in a manner not unlike *actually good* poetry has the ability to achieve. The characters are intelligent, tender, and complex, fighting to have and hold onto something in this world--and each other--while haunted by tragic histories that tell them they deserve anything but.
One of the many things I love about this book, is that rather than exhausting us with the overwrought examinations that plague so many age-gap romances, GAMES situates the age gap relationship within a broader exploration of power--shaped by socioeconomics, culture, and trauma--rather than treating it as the primary site of tension. The intimacy with which Volkova takes us into psychologies of Lili and Aleksandr is beyond the typical character exposition I find in literature; she renders the interplay of themes of grief, cultural inheritance, and personal histories inextricably woven into the very foundations of their selves and relationship. These threads surface continually, shaping how the characters love, retreat, punish, and reach--giving their story a depth that feels both intimate and inescapable.
GAMES is a novel that is highly intelligent, sexy as hell, heartbreaking, frustrating, laugh-out-loud funny, and I dare not continue to list the innumerable other adjectives that come to mind because when will I be able to end--to put it simply, this is a book that will make you feel.
I've been reading GAMES from the beginning, following its journey from the fanfiction space to traditional publishing--at every stage in its development, it has achieved the same effect of moving the reader deftly from heart ache, to break, to piecing itself back together. Rich descriptions immerse you into the gorgeous atmosphere of New York, ferrying the reader smoothly into places, contexts, and conversations that bewitch the mind in a manner not unlike *actually good* poetry has the ability to achieve. The characters are intelligent, tender, and complex, fighting to have and hold onto something in this world--and each other--while haunted by tragic histories that tell them they deserve anything but.
One of the many things I love about this book, is that rather than exhausting us with the overwrought examinations that plague so many age-gap romances, GAMES situates the age gap relationship within a broader exploration of power--shaped by socioeconomics, culture, and trauma--rather than treating it as the primary site of tension. The intimacy with which Volkova takes us into psychologies of Lili and Aleksandr is beyond the typical character exposition I find in literature; she renders the interplay of themes of grief, cultural inheritance, and personal histories inextricably woven into the very foundations of their selves and relationship. These threads surface continually, shaping how the characters love, retreat, punish, and reach--giving their story a depth that feels both intimate and inescapable.
GAMES is a novel that is highly intelligent, sexy as hell, heartbreaking, frustrating, laugh-out-loud funny, and I dare not continue to list the innumerable other adjectives that come to mind because when will I be able to end--to put it simply, this is a book that will make you feel.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Volkvoka’s gift with prose blew me out of the water. Her writing is gorgeous and like poetry. The images she weaves can’t help but leap to mind fully formed, with all five senses in tact.
Not least secondarily: holy mother the sex scenes in this book. Some of them had me actually SWEATING. It is rare to encounter sex written this way: visceral and primal, but also intelligent. This author can write the holy bejesus out of a sex scene. It will have your jaw on the floor.
I have also never read a book that so accurately captures how heartbreak feels. She took all the ways I have ever felt after a broken relationship and pinned it down onto the page. I felt it deep in my bones as I read.
This book makes you feel all the things. You will be swept into the mind of Lili in all of her three dimensional-ness. You will smile, you will be sad and frustrated, you will be glad for her sweet friendships, and you will be rooting hard for her to outshine her patterns and for hers and Alexdandr's love story to prevail.
What a talent. I cannot wait to see what Volkova writes next - I will be first in line.
Not least secondarily: holy mother the sex scenes in this book. Some of them had me actually SWEATING. It is rare to encounter sex written this way: visceral and primal, but also intelligent. This author can write the holy bejesus out of a sex scene. It will have your jaw on the floor.
I have also never read a book that so accurately captures how heartbreak feels. She took all the ways I have ever felt after a broken relationship and pinned it down onto the page. I felt it deep in my bones as I read.
This book makes you feel all the things. You will be swept into the mind of Lili in all of her three dimensional-ness. You will smile, you will be sad and frustrated, you will be glad for her sweet friendships, and you will be rooting hard for her to outshine her patterns and for hers and Alexdandr's love story to prevail.
What a talent. I cannot wait to see what Volkova writes next - I will be first in line.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
4.75 rounded up
Wow. My mind is blown. I can’t remember the last time I stayed up past my bedtime because I simply couldn’t stop reading a book.
Age-gap romance. The yearning. The intellectual debate. The spice. Oh, the spice scenes. Past trauma. A complex political backdrop. Unhealed humans. Self-sabotage. I don’t deserve to be loved.
I get where she’s coming from, but at the same time I don’t fully get it. Using pain to forget pain. Is it like getting a tattoo?
I love how proud Aleksandr is of her. I usually despise age-gap romances when there’s shame involved, but not this book. He’s proud of her. He wants to show her off. I couldn’t stop. I had to know.
I also loved the friendships. One small thing: the economics and social commentary, the political and art conversations, sometimes felt a bit hard for me. Maybe I’m just not as sophisticated. But oh my god, I flew through this book.
I need this in audiobook form. I need this to be a movie. Love, love, love. She is an author I will absolutely follow.
Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow for the ARC!
Wow. My mind is blown. I can’t remember the last time I stayed up past my bedtime because I simply couldn’t stop reading a book.
Age-gap romance. The yearning. The intellectual debate. The spice. Oh, the spice scenes. Past trauma. A complex political backdrop. Unhealed humans. Self-sabotage. I don’t deserve to be loved.
I get where she’s coming from, but at the same time I don’t fully get it. Using pain to forget pain. Is it like getting a tattoo?
I love how proud Aleksandr is of her. I usually despise age-gap romances when there’s shame involved, but not this book. He’s proud of her. He wants to show her off. I couldn’t stop. I had to know.
I also loved the friendships. One small thing: the economics and social commentary, the political and art conversations, sometimes felt a bit hard for me. Maybe I’m just not as sophisticated. But oh my god, I flew through this book.
I need this in audiobook form. I need this to be a movie. Love, love, love. She is an author I will absolutely follow.
Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow for the ARC!
February 5, 2026
There is hurt in her, but there is also hope.
Games is just as seductive, agonizing, and breathtaking as the first time I read it. Full of stunning prose, beautifully flawed characters and the ache of nostalgia, this was a stunning debut. I can’t wait to see what Volkova writes next.
Games is just as seductive, agonizing, and breathtaking as the first time I read it. Full of stunning prose, beautifully flawed characters and the ache of nostalgia, this was a stunning debut. I can’t wait to see what Volkova writes next.
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