{"product_id":"games-a-love-story","title":"Games: A Love Story","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"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.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A soulful book about the politics of labor and submission. Tactile and frank, \u003ci\u003eGames\u003c\/i\u003e is full of feeling.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRaven Leilani, New York Times bestselling author of Luster\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"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: \u003ci\u003eGames\u003c\/i\u003e is a contemporary romantic masterpiece that spoke to my soul.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAli Hazelwood, #1 New York Times bestselling author\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"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. \u003ci\u003eGames \u003c\/i\u003eis nuanced, passionate, and fully dedicated to exploring what breaks us and what makes us whole.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLauren Okie, author of The Best Worst Thing\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Such a special book. Lilli and Aleksandr's story is sharp, bright, and hot. I adored their sparring and loved everything \u003ci\u003eGames\u003c\/i\u003e had to say while it unflinchingly held its focus on the love story. Truly one of the best reads of the year.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTarah DeWitt, USA Today bestselling author of Lost and Found\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A complex, beautiful coming-of-age novel...a love story unlike any I've ever read.\" \u003c\/b\u003e--ALI HAZELWOOD\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A soulful book about the politics of labor and submission.\" \u003c\/b\u003e--RAVEN LEILANI\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA 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.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe's the opposite of Lili in nearly every way. He challenges her at every turn. And she can't stay away.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOver 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs 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?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/01\/2026 (EAN 9780063437722, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eContributor Bio:\u003c\/strong\u003eVolkova, Anna Maria\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnna Maria Volkova\u003c\/b\u003e 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. \u003ci\u003eGames \u003c\/i\u003eis her debut novel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"William Morrow \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496152072470,"sku":"9780063437722","price":38.4,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9780063437722.jpg?v=1783054153","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/games-a-love-story","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}