Solomon strikes gold again in this winning romance. With deeply lovable and relatable characters, Solomon delivers an emotional journey that will make you want to pack your bags and immediately go explore Amsterdam.

Dani and Wouter had a secret romance when he lived with her as a foreign exchange student in high school. Though their first love didn't end well, destiny brought them together again when she took a job in Amsterdam. Dani struggles to live independently of what her parents and others expect of her and, thankfully, she figures out boundaries. This was a fun read but, at times, slow-moving. Business or Pleasure is still my favorite of hers.

I appreciate there are body positive romances now, but Rachel Lynn Solomon is the only romance author I have read who addresses men's body insecurities. In Weather Girl, the MMC is self-conscious of his weight, and in this one, Wouter is balding. It's very refreshing that she doesn't just allow the room for the FMC to have realistic body characteristics but also the love interest.

Read if you like:
•Second Chance
•Friends to Lovers
•Forbidden Love
•Only One Bed
•Marriage of Convenience
•Destiny

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Explicit Open Door: At least two intimate scenes, explicit language with a variety of sexual acts.

When Dani Dorfman decides to shake up her going-nowhere life and accept a job with a tech startup in Amsterdam, she figures while it’s a small country, her chances of running into Wouter van Leewun, the exchange student that she fell in love with when he stayed with her family for a memorable year, are low. When she literally runs into him on her bike outside of her crummy apartment, it’s the opposite of a meet cute, but it might be just the jolt she needs.

When Dani’s illegal basement apartment floods, Wouter happens to have a space available in his family’s building, and they agree they can let bygones be bygones and ignore each other while in shared space, but then Dani loses her job as the start-up folds, and faces being deported. Wouter shares his own dilemma that he won’t get to own the building unless he marries. They agree to a modern marriage of convenience and commit the heinous crime of lying to the government. His family is shocked, and she doesn’t even tell hers, except for her older sister, who knew that Dani and Wouter were dating back in high school. Dani finds Wouter’s family loving and direct, and life in Amsterdam is incredibly compelling. They try to resist, and fall in love all over again, and it all goes swimmingly–until her parents get invited to the party to celebrate their wedding.

Solomon excels at creating authentic, awkward, angsty, and likable characters. A preemie with some health complications since birth, Dani thinks she has her life fairly well managed, except for her overprotective parents and feelings of imposter syndrome and not having done enough given the heroic efforts to save her life at its very beginning. Constantly comparing yourself to others is no way to live, and while Wouter reassures Dani that who she is is amazing and enough, it’s not until she believes it that she gets the freedom that she needs to figure out who she is and what she really wants to do with her life.

Amsterdam has long been on my bucket list (the tulips! the cheese! the van Gogh Museum!) and I loved seeing it through Dani’s tourist’s eyes. The city lives up to all expectations. A new friend who works for a tour company is a really great device to impart some information, and the scene where Dani takes a canal tour is a wonderful example of showing not telling, because the character gets to impart some history about Amsterdam in an engaging way so the reader doesn’t feel like they’re being lectured to. It’s such a skill and it’s one authors think that they’re excelling at and don’t, and in this case it just really works.

Like in others of Solomon’s romance novels, the sex scenes are explicit but not grossly gratitious. She makes consent sexy, she doesn’t demonize STI testing, and there’s a lovely balance of the flashbacks of moments from being each other’s first lovers to experienced lovers who know what they want and can ask for it–while STILL have flashes of insecurity and uncertainty. The “good, giving, and game” sexy adultness of Dani and Wouter and are #relationshipgoals. A shoutout for anal play, which is uncommon in the books I read. I feel like it was a brave risk to include it and am cheering from behind my NetGalley app. Also refreshing: Jewish representation. While Dani is not observant, her Jewish roots and values are strong, and add to her character and to the story.

This was so good, that when I finished, I re-read Business or Pleasure, The Ex-Talk (and finally reviewed it!), and Weather Girl. And then I re-read What Happens in Amsterdam.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #WhatHappensInAmsterdam via #NetGalley courtesy of #Berkley. This review will post to HLBB 5/6/2025.

Dani and Wouter fell in love in high school, while he was an exchange student staying in her parent’s home. Their brief relationship ends in a painful breakup and Wouter goes back to Amsterdam and Dani tries to move on with her life. More than a decade later, Dani moves to Amsterdam for a job opportunity she can’t turn down. A very rough start to the move, a flooded apartment and one bicycle crash later sets Dani’s move on a whole different trajectory.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. Solomon does a good job of creating tension and misunderstanding between the two main characters to create the angst that seems prevalent in a second chance romance. Dani and Wouter have both spent time growing up over the last decade and that makes their reuniting believable, but the reason for their initial breakup was much simpler (and therefore a little disappointing) than what I expected. Both characters have personal growth arcs, a supportive network of friends/family and a genuine love and respect for each other.
3.5 stars, rounded down. The story felt familiar, like I’ve read it before but it was set in a different location.

This is another wonderful book by Rachel Lynn Solomon.
I want to go to Amsterdam now!
I liked seeing Wouter and Dani redevelop their relationship.
I loved seeing Amsterdam through Dani's eyes as she figures out where she belongs in the world.
I loved her sister Phoebe and the mention of her book shop. I would love to go there too.
The family dynamics are good too. I liked watching Dani get to know Wouter's family and then finally come to terms with her parents and really stand up for herself.
I had a hard time putting this one down.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

Dani's life seems to have imploded, losing her job and her boyfriend at the same time. A new job and a new life in Amsterdam seem to be the answer she is looking for. Except nothing is quite what she expected. Even the biking is hard, as she learns when she crashes into the one person she was hoping to never see again and also run into (but not literally). Wouter was an exchange student and first love when she was 17. Now they are both 30 and life has not turned out how either of them expected. This is a gorgeous book of rediscovery, a wonderful second chance romance, with a great single bed scene. I was cheering for Dani & Wouter all the way! It is also a love letter to Amsterdam. Highly recommended!

I love Rachel Lynn Solomon and recommend her books regularly. I enjoyed this one so much, but it is not her strongest story. Her MMCs usually feel a bit less stock, but this one felt a little too flat. I liked it a lot, but didn't feel it quite as much.

Rachel Lynn Solomon is a must-read author for me and this one was no exception. First off, the cover art is out of this world beautiful. The design team knocked this one out of the park. This is a second-chance fake dating story at the surface, but it's really a fish out of water story at its core. Dani is at a bit of an impasse in her life and makes the huge decision to move from California to Amsterdam, where she reunites with her first love Wouter by chance. Dani's family has always treated her like a child incapable of making her own life choices, so I think my favorite thing about her character is her bravery to take this huge leap all by herself. She had no idea she'd run into (literally) Wouter, so the fact that she decided to take this jump says a lot about the person she is and longs to be. I thought the relationship between the two MC's was sweet and the book as a whole gave off very cozy vibes. This book has a lot of heart and emotion, but find a nice balance of lightness so that it doesn't feel too heavy. There's a decent amount of spice, similar to many of her other adult titles. Solomon does a great job of giving you heat without venturing into gratuitous ick. I absolutely adored this title and would recommend it to fans of Abby Jimenez and Emily Henry.

Ex-lovers’ second-chance romance meets marriage-of-convenience and forced-proximity tropes in the picturesque setting of Vincent Van Gogh’s birthplace. Welcome to "Love at Second Sight in Amsterdam," complete with a meet-cute involving a bicycle accident!

The story revolves around thirty-year-old Dani Dorfman, who desperately needs a fresh start after her life in Los Angeles falls apart. Reeling from a breakup with her cheating ex and losing her job after accidentally sending his personal emails to her entire office, Dani feels adrift. For years, she’s struggled to find her passion, hopping from job to job, avoiding deep connections, and dealing with overprotective parents who have coddled her due to her asthma and growing anxiety. When a job opportunity with a startup in Amsterdam arises, she leaps at the chance, defying her parents' concerns.

But life in Amsterdam isn’t as smooth as she hopes. Her new apartment floods, her job seems to lack real potential, and she’s struggling to adjust. A chance reunion with her ex-lover Wouter van Leeuwen—courtesy of a bike accident—changes everything. Wouter offers her his lower-level apartment, which is in far better shape than her dark, damp basement unit. Though wary of living so close to the man who broke her heart a decade ago, Dani accepts.

When Dani suddenly loses her job and faces the possibility of being forced to leave Amsterdam, Wouter proposes a mutually beneficial solution: a green card marriage. Wouter needs to fulfill his grandmother’s condition of marriage to inherit the family apartment, and Dani needs the stability of a visa. The arrangement is simple: they’ll pretend to be happily married for a year while keeping the secret from Dani’s parents and placating Wouter’s family. One year should give Dani enough time to decide her next steps—whether to find a new job or return home.

Their childhood romance was just a fleeting crush, and surely they’re mature enough to let bygones be bygones, right? But as they share an apartment and old sparks reignite, their chemistry becomes impossible to ignore. Pretending to be in love quickly becomes less of an act. When the truth comes out, Dani must decide: can she trust her heart to the same man who reshaped her views on love so many years ago?

Pick up this delightful romance to find out!

Overall: The charming Amsterdam setting, heartfelt second-chance romance, and themes of self-growth make this a standout story. Highly recommended for romance fans!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing this heartfelt romance’s digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

As always, Rachel Lynn Solomon's romcoms hit with just the right amount of depth, heart, and heat. I love a second chance romance, and I especially love a second chance romance where both characters have had a chance to grow on their own and continue to grow once they're back in each other's orbit. Dani and Wouter are just so wonderful individually and together. I loved the complexity of their relationships with their families, particularly in that both of them are shaped by what they think the people they love most think about them, and the entire story revolves around the beauty of learning to communicate better not just with the person you love romantically, but with all of the people you care for deeply. It just felt so human and tender! The story was beautifully crafted, and I absolutely adore the little nod to the main characters in Business or Pleasure near the end.

Thank you to Rachel Lynn Solomon, Berkley, and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I'm a late discoverer of Rachel Lynn Solomon, and I'm a fan! This book is a fun escape to Amsterdam and finding second-chance love. I'd recommend this book to my many friends who enjoy light and spicy romcoms with a bit of escapism and travel. Thanks to Netgalley for the arc!

Rachel Lynn Solomon is one of my favorite romance writers and I was so excited to read her fourth adult romance novel! I loved the Amsterdam setting; she brings so much color in her vivid descriptions of the city! I am always interested in how authors can find a way to tackle the "marriage of convenience" trope in a contemporary romance. A green card marriage is one of the most logical ways to do this, but I loved that this book takes it one step further with the male love interest as a former foreign exchange student and the protagonist's long lost first love! As always, Solomon's characters are so well fleshed out; they feel like real people who could walk off the page. She also writes the best dog characters - I loved George!

Dani leaves her heartbreak and overprotective parents behind and takes a job in Amsterdam. The unexpected happens when she runs into an old love, and the two become engaged (and married) for convenience's sake but can't prevent those former feelings from resurfacing.

I liked this book and the setting is original and worth the read for me. I wasn't entirely bowled over by the chemistry between the two, nor did the fact that her former exchange student/love interest just happened to bump into her half a world away one afternoon - it seemed a little contrived. That being said, the storyline between the green card marriage and getting to know the in-laws, dealing with strict but loving parents, I believe it was sweet and relatable in a lot of ways. It was missing a certain bit of charm, though, it could have been more dynamic.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

THIS WAS SO CUTE it made me kick my feet and now I want to move to a different country and live my best life even though I’m married with kids 😂

Rachel Lynn Solomon does it again. Good writing, believable characters, an interesting setting and a simple but moving story make for an easy and enjoyable read. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book.

Overall very cute story, with dramatic conflict & stellar characters, both main & side.

I wish that the characters were developed a little more because I didn’t feel overly connected to any of them. Despite relating to the FMC a great deal— I felt like her entire personality was based in not ever feeling good enough, & I simply craved more from Danika.

The post-it notes were enough to carry the entire plot. I love the language & cultural aspects of this book. It was a fun way of incorporating the history of Amsterdam.

I also went into this read pretty blind & didn’t expect so many open-door scenes, which I am A-okay with despite it feeling a bit rushed. Frenzied is how I would describe the spice, which was fun & so reminiscent of those late teenage years.

I would definitely pick up another book from Rachel Lynn Solomon.

Now I need to go to Amsterdam! Such a sweet story in a beautiful setting. I’m left needing a stroopwafel.

Thanks to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Such a fantastic read! This was the first book I’ve read by this author, and it definitely won’t be the last.

This is another winner by Rachel Lynn Solomon. With this book, I’ve read seven books by her and given all of them five stars. And with the short cameo of the characters from Business or Pleasure at the end of this story, I reread that one again too! I highly recommend this author.

WHAT HAPPENS IN AMSTERDAM is sure to appeal to travelers, late bloomers, and new adults of any demographic. I thoroughly enjoyed the exes-to-lover relationship as well as the marriage of convenience. Wouter is very dreamy and such a fun character to interact with. I really enjoyed Dani's struggles with finding what she wants to do and distinguishing between hobbies and what she loves to do.