Games: A Love Story: A Smart, Sexy Debut Exploring Ambition, Grief, and Desire
Condition: New
Buy Now, Pay Later
As low as
$3
/ mo
Learn more
- – 4-month term
- – No impact on credit to apply
- – Instant approval decision
- – Secure and straightforward checkout
Ready to go? Add this product to your cart and select a plan during checkout.
Payment plans are offered through our trusted finance partners Klarna, Affirm, Afterpay, Zip, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. No-credit-needed leasing options through Acima may also be available at checkout.
Learn more about financing & leasing here.
Free shipping on this product
30-day returns
Learn more
This item is eligible for return within 30 days of receipt
To qualify for a full refund, items must be returned in their original, unused condition. If an item is returned in a used, damaged, or materially different state, you may be granted a partial refund.
To initiate a return, please visit our Returns Center.
View our full returns policy here.
Availability:
20 left in stock
Arrives
within 30 days
Description
"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 LEILANIA 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? Read more
Publisher : William Morrow
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : June 30, 2026
Language : English
File size : 5.7 MB
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Frequently asked questions
If you place your order now, the estimated arrival date for this product is:
within 30 days
Yes, absolutely! You may return this product for a full refund within 30 days of receiving it.
To initiate a return, please visit our Returns Center.
View our full returns policy here.
To initiate a return, please visit our Returns Center.
View our full returns policy here.
- Klarna Financing
- Affirm Pay in 4
- Affirm Financing
- Afterpay Financing
- Zip Pay in 4
- Financing through Apple Pay
- Financing through Google Pay
Learn more about financing & leasing here.
Similar Products
Top Amazon Reviews
Format: Kindle
This is not your typical romance, and thank god for that. It’s a love letter to New York City—cerebral, characters who feel real, with conversation that flows so organically it reads like eavesdropping on actual conversations. Full disclosure: my grasp of some of the subject matter is limited. I’ve read cultural theorists and philosophers and understood maybe half of Slavoj Žižek’s Like a Thief in Broad Daylight. All of it extracurricular, nothing I studied formally. (Watching a lot of Industry and Succession helped with the finance jargon, honestly.) But none of that should scare anyone away. Even when the discussions turn lofty, the banter is written so well that it still comes through. I wish more romance were written this way—with this much trust in its readers. This is the book I’ve always wanted and could never find, so thank you for writing it. What’s strange is the marketing: Fifty Shades of Grey meets Normal People. I can see the Rooney influence—the Marxism, the paradox of feminism entangled with subservient predispositions in intimacy. There’s even a line where Lili tells Aleksandr he could “do anything to her,” that recurs throughout Rooney’s work. But the Fifty Shades comparison only holds if you squint at the surface: a wealthy man, a relationship with faint BDSM undertones. Maybe it’s naive of me to say, but I never found the dynamic between the two main characters in this book as “kinky” so much as candid—it reads like most of my friends frank discussions about sex. Slight spoiler: the characters themselves admit that the intimacy they share is the exception, not a pattern. There’s no Mr. Grey playroom here, and readers expecting one will be disappointed. What I loved just as much is how the book holds to real-world parameters. You can see these people existing—no suspension of disbelief required to do the heavy lifting the way so many romances demand. These feel like people you could pass on the street in New York, and that groundedness is what makes the emotional impact land harder, not softer. This applies to the side characters. I walked away from this book thinking of Amina, James, and Jackie as real people. I also can’t get over how well the dialogue is written—witty, unforced, almost cinematic, like watching a Noah Baumbach film. My one reservation: some of the descriptive interludes interrupt the pacing. Nowhere near the level of Emma Cline’s The Girls, and I didn’t mind them much since the prose were sensorial and gorgeous, (show, don’t tell) but I occasionally wanted back to the story rather than the minutiae surrounding it. There are so many strong debuts from female writers this year. This one is in my top three. So good.
...
show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2026 by Ash
Format: Kindle
This was dark. Not in the sense of villains or touch her and 🔪 but in a deeply psychological and emotional way. Lili and Aleksandr’s relationship thrives on the way they challenge each other intellectually, emotionally and sexually. Two incredibly brilliant people who think alike in so many ways, yet couldn't be more different in how they navigate the world. Their connection is intense, layered, and constantly pushes both of them outside their comfort zones. But what really stood out was how every conversation felt like a battle of wits, every vulnerable moment carried weight and every interaction peeled back another layer of the trauma she’s held onto for years. It's the kind of story that gets under your skin, exploring obsession, desire, trauma and that fine line between love and self destruction. This was very thought-provoking and emotionally raw in all the right ways. If you're looking for a spicy romance that dives deep into the human psyche rather than relying on external conflict, this one absolutely delivers. 🎧Narrated by Jessica O'Hara-Baker and I FELT this story. Her performance was incredible and made everything feel real.
...
show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2026 by abcdiana_reads
Format: Kindle
I love Lili and Aleksandr…. Truly they found a place in my heart and Anna captured their love beautifully. I even enjoyed their banter back and forth even when they were talking about authors I haven’t read and the economic landscape also don’t fully grasp. Having said that…. Lilis angst started to wear on my nerves. Her internal monologue while in Paris went on for so long I found myself skimming pages. Her emotional self flagellation went on for so long I started to get bored with it. I would have rated this higher if it were not for that entire portion of the book.
...
show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2026 by Amazon Customer
Format: Hardcover
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.
...
show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2026 by Emma
Format: Kindle
I didn’t understand half the banter in this book…felt vastly under read to absorb their arguments aka four play. I also felt a little uncomfortable with how Lili chooses to handle her trauma. However, this book had me in a chokehold from the first chapter. I could not put it down. Maybe that is my own avoidance and trauma surfacing in a completely different way, but wow. The emotional weight of this book is immense. So many tears because it’s impossible not to feel right along with these two broken people who find love, acceptance and forgiveness unexpectedly.
...
show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2026 by Hayley
Format: Kindle
This is one of the most unique love stories I’ve ever read. It’s deep, poignant, tender, brutal, hilarious. There were moments so painful I couldn’t cry, and moments so hopefully I dared not breathe. Add in the political, philosophical, and economic conversations and it’s a unique execution of a common premise. Though nothing about this felt common. I will not soon forget this book.
...
show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2026 by Emily
Format: Hardcover
Anna Maria Volkova’s Games: A Love Story definitely wasn’t the book I thought I was opening. William Morrow, thank you so much for the gifted copy. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “She knows nothing good can come of someone meeting a need that deeply.” If you’d told me before I started that I’d be reading a romance packed with conversations about politics, economics, and philosophy, I probably would’ve looked at you funny. Yet here we are. I won’t pretend I understood every single discussion. I didn’t. There were a few places where I slowed down, backed up a page, and tried again. Oddly enough, that never bothered me because I wanted to spend more time with these characters. Lili tested my patience. Then she’d say or do something that made perfect sense, and I’d remember everything she’d been through. Grief doesn’t make people easy to love, and I appreciated that the author never tried to smooth off those rough edges. Lili stayed messy from beginning to end. Aleksandr isn’t the type of hero who walks in and magically fixes another person’s life. Thank goodness. He challenged Lili, argued with her, frustrated her, and somehow kept showing up anyway. Their relationship felt earned instead of rushed, which made the quieter moments hit even harder. I laughed once because I realized I’d gone several pages without caring whether they kissed. I just wanted to hear what they were going to argue about next. That’s not something I say very often after finishing a romance. Did every part work for me? No. Some sections felt a little long, and I was ready to move on. That’s really the only reason this landed at four stars instead of five. Even so, I closed the book thinking about these characters instead of immediately reaching for my next read, and that’s usually a good sign. This isn’t the romance I’d recommend to everyone. But if you don’t mind slowing down, enjoy complicated people, and like books that give you something to think about after the last page, it’s worth picking up. Have you ever finished a book and realized your favorite part wasn’t the romance at all?
...
show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2026 by Kimberly (bookscoffeebrews) Gerving
Format: Kindle
I absolutely loved this book and devoured it. It was one of those books where I started to get sad as it progressed further because I knew it had to come to an end soon. The writing style has more of a journal, stream of consciousness poetic feeling in parts and is different than the typical HAE romance books I read. It added an extra layer of depth and insight into the main character.
...
show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2026 by Amy B.