Games: A Love Story

Review Quotes:

"Volkova masterfully balances psychologically charged encounters with sharp conversations about capitalism, global finance, and moral compromise. Darkly compelling and intellectually provocative, her novel is a bold exploration of ambition, vulnerability, and the complicated ways people seek escape from themselves." - Booklist

"A soulful book about the politics of labor and submission. Tactile and frank, Games is full of feeling." - Raven Leilani, New York Times bestselling author of Luster

"Impeccably romantic and deeply introspective....Anna Maria Volkova perfectly captures the vulnerability and the raw, existential dread of falling in love, and deftly explores power imbalances, generational difference, and emotional unavailability. I could read a thousand more pages about these two characters discussing philosophy, economics, art, and their worldviews. In summary: Games is a contemporary romantic masterpiece that spoke to my soul." - Ali Hazelwood, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"A gorgeous, gritty love story of two people who see the world so differently and, somehow, in the exact same way. Lili and Aleksandr use their bodies to talk, to argue, to get by--until their hearts learn to do it too. Games is nuanced, passionate, and fully dedicated to exploring what breaks us and what makes us whole." - Lauren Okie, author of The Best Worst Thing

"Such a special book. Lilli and Aleksandr's story is sharp, bright, and hot. I adored their sparring and loved everything Games had to say while it unflinchingly held its focus on the love story. Truly one of the best reads of the year." - Tarah DeWitt, USA Today bestselling author of Lost and Found

"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

A 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 suddenly meets her match. Aleksandr is formidable, fiercely intelligent, and infuriatingly disarming. He's also more than 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?

Review Citations:

• Booklist 05/01/2026 (EAN 9780063437722, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:Volkova, Anna Maria

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.