I was so bored the entire time I'm so sorry. This wanted to give something but ended up giving nothing.

The setting is the only good thing about this book. As someone who has been to Amsterdam many times, this made me feel like I was back there. Other than that I have no good things to say.

Thank you Berkley for the ARC.

a super cute read - i loved how relatable dani is and how alive amsterdam felt! i was actually vacationing vicariously through this book! it was pretty predictable most of the time but i was so invested in seeing dani and wouter’s relationship grow cause im a sucker for a second chance romance 😭

I enjoyed reading this book, because there were elements that aren't common in adult romances I've read. Dani's 1st love is Wouter, a live-in foreign exchange student from the Netherlands. They lose touch, as young lovers do, but SOMEHOW they run into each other 15 years later in AMSTERDAM when Dani decides to move there for a job. (I find myself asking How big is Amsterdam exactly? It has 860,000 people.) Anyway, they rekindle their feels, and it is kind of nice. (not EXPLOSIVE, but nice) I especially like Wouter's family and the very cool friend Dani makes who does cruise tours.

eARC from Netgalley

3.75 ⭐️

First and foremost I thought this was super cute & I really liked it!! I loved Dani & Wouter’s relationship I got butterflies just reading it!! I had a slight issue with the second chance romance especially when they said their relationship from high school was the best they’ve had. I can’t see how if you’re an adult the relationship you had as a young teenager is the best, but I digress. I think the pacing was a bit off especially in the middle of the book.

Thank you to Berkley & NetGalley for giving me a free copy of this book to review!!

Solomon’s newest book is a right person wrong time romantic comedy that succeeds in making grand tropes feel genuine. Its authenticity — from cozy moments thought the bustling city to realistic insecurities held by both Dani and Wouter — makes it much more than just a feel-good read.

RLS’s writing has me itching to back my bag for Amsterdam, hoping to fall in love with the city and culture the way Dani did!

Side note: this may be Rachel’s spiciest book yet 👀 There’s a scene that absolutely stopped me in my tracks — okay, Dani Bear, I see you 😆

Rachel Lynn Solomon does marriage of convenience and second chance romance? A sure winner for me, and ‘What Happens in Amsterdam’ delivered. I loved being immersed in Amsterdam through Dani’s eyes (and getting to experience Wouter’s Amsterdam through her). The story was well paced and felt believable (in romance adjusted terms) and their banter and dialogue was a delight. The storyline with Dani’s family was a bit much, and accordingly I didn’t like the writing or the characters as much at that point. I will say, Dani’s behavior during the 3rd act breakup (not a spoiler, I think, but a predicted part of a romance) was fairly inexcusable, but Wouter was far more understanding than I would have been, and accordingly I was able to feel more kindly towards her. Was delighted to get to know these characters and the city and RLS will continue to be a must read for me!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get far into this book before deciding to DNF it. The plot felt tired and predictable, and I struggled to connect with the characters. Dani came across as helpless, constantly relying on others to navigate her life, which made it hard to root for her. Wouter, on the other hand, was just uncomfortable to read. His behavior and dialogue consistently gave me the ick and secondhand embarrassment.

The story also tried to pack in every romance trope imaginable—marriage of convenience, childhood friends to lovers, slow burn, second chance romance, forced proximity, even the infamous one-bed scenario. It was trope overload, making the plot feel more like a checklist than an actual story being told.

I listened to the audiobook version, and that unfortunately added to the issues. The narrator’s heavy accent for Wouter made his dialogue almost unintelligible, which only increased my frustration and was a big reason I chose to stop listening.

Overall, this book just wasn’t for me. Between the flat characters, overused tropes, and difficult narration, I couldn’t find much to enjoy.

I loved this story! Rachel Lynn Solomon really nailed the environment of a European city, which makes sense, given she lives there. I really liked their love story and Dani’s self-journey in particular. It was very cute and had a lot of beautiful details. I also found the writing really enjoyable and easy to read! The only thing I wished is that he’d had a slightly better explanation for their initial breakup and his callousness. Something about that it was his biggest regret needed more for me. Even with that, Wouter was very likable and I enjoyed being in their love story!

What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5/5

This book was so cute!! It had all of the best spring vibes, and suffice it to say, I am OBSESSED with the cover art! Like seriously, have you seen a cuter cover? It’s actually adorable 💐 and is the literal embodiment of the tulip bouquet emoji. 🥺

What Happens in Amsterdam is the story of Wouter Van Leeuwen and Dani Dorfman, former high school sweethearts. When Dani unexpectedly loses her job and boyfriend all in one fell swoop, she decides it’s time for a change. She packs up her life and moves to Amsterdam … where she promptly manages to wreck her bike into none other than her high school sweetheart and her family’s foreign exchange student, Wouter. After reconnecting, Wouter and Dani discover that they might just be the solution to each other’s problems. Because a green card marriage of convenience is always the right answer, right? 👀

This book is like a love letter to Amsterdam! I swear after reading this, I’m also ready to pack my bags and go start a new life in a picturesque European country. Throw in a hot to go husband, and I’m set. I loved getting to explore and fall in love with Amsterdam with Dani and Wouter. It was the sweetest backdrop for a love story!

There were some really great characters in this book. I loved Wouter’s family so much, especially Roos. Iulia was also a shining light. My heart just melted when the girls took Dani dress shopping. And Wouter is the epitome of green flags. I really enjoyed reading about the dynamics between Dani and her family. Her struggle for them to see her as an independent adult who can make her own decisions and is confident in herself and her world was super relatable.

For some reason, I got stuck about halfway through and struggled to pick it back up and finish it. Once I did, though, I loved how the story wrapped up. I think Dani frustrated me a bit, too, as she was the architect of some of her own biggest issues, but I do think she had a lot of character growth and really came into her own by the end.

Thank you to Rachel Lynn Solomon, Berkley Publishing Group, and NetGalley for the eARC! All opinions stated are my own.

I love RLS books so much and this one was no different. Dani and Wouther's second meet cute was perfect and their messy history made enough sense that I didn't hate them getting back together (despite how I generally feel about second chance romances!). Plus, this felt like a love letter to Amsterdam that made me want to visit or at least eat a stroopwafel. Loved it.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.5⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: contemporary romance 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
Warning this book will leave you wanted to jump on the next flight to Amsterdam! A fun and heartwarming second chance romance

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Marriage of convenience
Second chance
Forced proximity
Relatable main characters
Family drama
Witty banter
Steamy moments
Organic romance

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
All the cultural details
Emotional growth
The notes!

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
Everything fell together so conveniently
FMC felt a little selfish
It was a tad slow in the middle

𝙵𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚀𝚞𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜:
★ “That kind of yearning is so specific, a dreamy ache that could be simple wanderlust or maybe something sharper, something that sits between your ribs and convinces you that’s where you’ll finally be happy. Able to breathe. The best version of yourself.”

4.5! Everything I wanted and moreeee. Loved the descriptions of Amsterdam and the food- I can’t wait to visit one day. This hit home as a 30 year old woman who also is on the other side of burnout and looking for what’s next. Great chemistry, too. 😮‍💨This has been my favorite RLS book by far. The .5 is only off because the high school second chance 10 years later and holding on to some resentment felt a bit... shallow? Immature? It contextually made sense but would've preferred if they had been together a lot longer than 6 months!

Thank you to the author and the publisher for the (post-pub date) arc!

✨ Review ✨ What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon; Narrated by Elizabeth Lamont

Thanks to Berkley, PRHAudio and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

In this second-chance romance set in the beautiful Amsterdam, Dani literally crashes into Wouter, her family’s old exchange student after she moves there for a job. They agree to a marriage of convenience to save his family-owned building and to help her stay in the country while she looks for a new job (she got laid off by the failing start up after only a few days).

This is truly a love letter to the city and its quirks -- featuring the leaning buildings, amazing desserts, and a silly boat tour company. There's a miscommunication between the characters that lasts a little long (and wasn't really resolved in a way that satisfied me), but otherwise this was such a delightful summer read!

🎧 I switched to audio part way through and really enjoyed the character's accents! It was fun to listen to or read with your eyes :)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: f/m contemporary romance
Setting: Amsterdam
Length: 11 hours 32 minutes
Pub Date: May 06 2025

Read this if you like:
⭕️ disability representation
⭕️ Amsterdam's history and culture
⭕️ second chance romance
⭕️ family drama

Thanks to the publisher for the gifted copy.

Rachel Lynn Solomon is back with another fun romcom read for the summer. The setting of Amsterdam was hands down my favorite part of this book, and made me bump it up on my travel bucket list.

What Happens in Amsterdam is a second chance, sort of fake relationship/marriage of convenience between Dani and Wouter. They met in high school when Wouter was an exchange student living with Dani's family, and fell in love, only for Dani to have her heart broken by Wouter when he returned back home to Amsterdam. He offered no real explanation for their break up, and Dani never truly got over him. When Dani moves to Amsterdam to start over after losing her boyfriend and her job, she literally smacks right into Wouter.

I loved how even though they had some unresolved issues from their relationship, they were able to cultivate a friendship that was just so sweet. Wouter was a great book boyfriend, and so protective of Dani. I liked Dani a lot too, and I think that many readers will be able to relate to her not knowing exactly what she wants to do with her life, and wanting a fresh start. Dani's parents drove me bonkers, as I think they were supposed to, but I adored her sister and wife.

There's a lot of mental health rep and Jewish representation in this book, which is always appreciated!

• looking for a fresh start, dani decides to move to amsterdam in her mid-30s in an attempt to get her life together. when the job she had lined up falls thru almost immediately and her apartment floods, she is left questioning if she made the right decision. but then she literally runs into wouter, the dutch exchange student who lived with her in high school (who she also secretly dated), and he proposes a solution to her problems: get married. chemistry is still sparking between them, and maybe this “green card marriage” will bring them together in ways they won’t expect.
• i LOVE a marriage of convenience trope when it is done well, and this was done SO WELL. it helped the story that there was a lot of unresolved tension between dani & wouter from their high school days, adding another layer to the character development.
• y’all this book is HOT. dani & wouter were so so great together, and the fact that this book was relatively calm in regards to miscommunication was so refreshing!

*I received an e-arc via Netgalley and the publisher. Thank you for the opportunity to review. All thoughts are my own*

What Happens in Amsterdam has so many tropes I love all in one adorable book: second chance romance, forced proximity and a marriage of convenience! This story was so fun, and just what I needed when I read it. The characters are very likable, and I appreciated their vulnerability with each other. I absolutely delighted in the setting of Amsterdam, and it totally made me want to visit!

If you enjoy romance, sizzling chemistry and beautiful settings, then pick up this book now! I highly recommend. Also, if you’ve read and loved Rachel’s previous works, I hope you love this as much as I did!

I enjoyed this story quite a bit. It was giving Emily in Paris vibes and I am here for that. I want to visit Amsterdam one day, it is on the bucket list, and this book just pushed it to the top of the list. However, while I can understand the characters struggles, especially with immigration policies changing everyday, I just feel that Dani jumped too willingly into the marriage of convenience issue. And yes, I know I am taking the jump into that solution too far and out of context. I understand this is a romance and there was history there, but I don't know why I wasn't sold on this being her only option. She had time to figure it out. She didn't have to do this for the Wouter right away. They could have ended up on the same path later on, but I needed Dani to struggle a little bit more and try to find a way out on her own before this was an option. Other than that, it was an enjoyable read. I am looking forward to picking up more of this author's adult work. I enjoy her YA books a lot.

What Happens in Amsterdam is a sweet (and quite spicy) romance. Told in single POV, this story follows the female MC as she seeks a change in her life and herself, and along the way she finds “the one who got away”.

The female MC in this story is relatable in many ways, trying to find herself and feel more adult, despite her age of 30 (I’m nearly 40 and still wonder about whether I’m “adult” enough). She battles depression, is searching for happiness in a career, and wants to find independence away from her family’s constraints. The male MC is so sweet and caring, and swoon worthy,

I really enjoyed this romance, with so many special moments, sexy scenes, and excellent writing.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this advanced readers copy.

This was, to say the most, a cute read!! I definitely am such a fan of Rachel Lynn Solomon’s YA books, but this one wouldn’t be what I automatically reach for. In fact, it took me months to actually get through this. The idea of a relationship between old flames sparking back to life through a green card marriage of convenience in Amsterdam???? FUN. The execution itself just felt a bit slow. Dani was your typical plucky heroine, but I appreciated her struggles with being constantly treated as fragile by her parents because she was born early. Wouter was very sweet, but almost TOO sweet??? I don’t know!! It’s a mixed bag from me. This feels like a book that will go out to everyone’s personal preferences—if you want a fun little romance this, this is definitely it. But something just didn’t totally hit for me.

Thank you so much to NetGalley & Berkley for this eARC!!

Rachel Lynn Solomon — Where have you been all of my life?

WHAT HAPPENS IN AMSTERDAM (W.H.I.A.) is stun-ning! Yes, it is so good, it deserves extra emphasis on both syllables. We need to create an entirely new form of pronunciation to describe properly just how re-mark-a-ble this novel is.

Solomon is an established romance writer with books like BUSINESS OR PLEASURE, THE EX TALK, and WEATHER GIRL — none of which I have read, but you can believe I will correcting that oversight right the hell away. Frankly, I should be ashamed of myself, and yes, I am. Back on track — Therefore, the author knows what her readers expect and what the genre requires — a.k.a. the tropes!

What do we have in W.H.I.A.? Lovers to enemies. Enemies to friends. Friends to lovers. Second chance at love. Lust at first sight. Yearning. SO MUCH YEARNING! Fake dating (well, fake marriage). Marriage of convenience. Forced proximity. Fish out of water. And that’s just to name a few.

And the spicy scenes? Yes, this book is a romantic comedy, but it is a spicy romantic comedy, because the main characters are flesh and blood who have desires, and it is natural to give in to those desires.

What I particularly admire about Solomon is while she incorporates these tropes into the book, she makes them her own. She does have a scene or two that are borderline cliché, but that is okay. The reader anticipates and expects those moments. All of the other times when these tropes come up, it is as if they happen organically.

This is a romance, yet it is also not a romance. The plot essentially is a coming-of-age story about a 30-year-old woman who has been treated like a baby her whole life by her parents, all because she was a miracle child. They are blind to the fact that she is an adult with adult needs and cravings, and in order for her to exert some independence and find her own identity, she has to run away to Amsterdam of all places. It is in the process of her trying to make sense of her life that she makes a mess of her life, and then, she truly can start over and figure out who she is, which is precisely when she runs into the one who got away. Her first love. Her first sex. Her first everything.

This book is magnificent. The prose is exquisite. The character development is both plausiable and easy with which to identify. The story is spellbinding.

Rachel Lynn Solomon — you may as well send me the draft of your next book, because you now have a devoted reader for life. For. Life.

Fans of Falon Ballard, Lauren Kate, Ashley Poston, B.K. Borison, and Ali Hazelwood should run, not walk, to their nearest bookstore and steal this book right away. It is un-put-downable. Thank GOD I live in a world where Rachel Lynn Solomon is publishing books.