I very much enjoyed this book!

This story follows Dani in her quest to discover and connect more with herself after growing up sheltered by her parents and having some big life events all come at her at once.

What I liked a lot about this story was connecting with Dani on her adrift feelings about life. She has so many hobbies and activities and things she wants to pursue, but she always feels like she is not good enough at them, so she moves onto something else, and she has not settled or found her niche really. I think a lot of people can relate to that feeling, especially as we get older, about feeling like you don't quite know where you belong and will be your happiest. I know I find myself feeling that way very often. I liked Dani's willingness to try and try again, even if she could fail- that is something that I would like to work on for myself! She has good character growth- it feels like she grows up when she gets to Amsterdam and has that space from her overprotective family, and she finally makes choices for herself to please herself, and not others.

Her relationship with Wouter and the flashbacks were bittersweet to begin, and I really liked the journey they went on together to get to know one another as adults. I was happy that we got those flashback moments, because it made me appreciate their relationship all the more. I think that his excuse was a little bit base for why he cut her off, but, that is the reality of how teen minds think. Of course it is a solvable thing that they could have worked out, but when you are a teen, things are not that easy. I felt it was realistic.

The second-chanceness of it all was angstier than I expected (a definite pro) and I thought they had great chemistry and it felt very natural that they got back together, and I appreciated the tough conversations they had to have to really get into their feelings and resolve old wounds. This was definitely the sauciest RLS book I have read, and I like where she peppered in the intimacy and steamy moments.

I thought it was really cool that it was set in Amsterdam and it made me want to visit there!

Overall, I felt that this story had deeply relatable characters and the romance aspect of it was for me, angsty, steamy, and satisfying. I really enjoyed my time in Amsterdam with Dani and Wouter!!!

Synopsis: After suffering a messy break-up and losing her job, Dani moves to Amsterdam for a fresh start. She has always wanted to travel there since she fell in love with Wouter, a foreign exchange student in high school who broke her heart. What she did expect was to (literally) run into him during her first week there.

Thoughts: First of all, l'm obsessed with this gorgeous cover! I really loved this sweet and steamy romance set in such a beautiful place! I don't think l've read a book before set in modern day Amsterdam, and I am immediately adding traveling there to my list now. As for the romance - second chance is one of my favorite tropes, and this was a super unique take on it.
Sometimes marriage of convenience plots can feel a bit far-fetched, but I thought the characters' history and circumstances gave this a believable feel. While the romance is tender and sweet, it's spicier than Rachel's past books, just a heads up! I loved Dani as a relatable and messy main character just trying to figure it out and making a big brave move to a new country. I just would have loved to see a chapter or two from Wouter's POV. Overall, highly recommend this one!

Read this if you like:
second chance romance
Amsterdam
marriage of convenience
self-discovery
family
secret tattoos!

Good story, good characters. I loved getting sprinklings of their high school relationship throughout the book. And I loved Dani's overall story arc, not just about Wouter, but her growth as a whole. Coming to terms with her health, standing up to her parents and finding a job that she truly seemed to love.

This book really snuck up on me.. I needed a break from my planned TBR, so I picked this one up and it ended up being one of my favorite reads of the year so far!

What Happens in Amsterdam is the perfect mix of self discovery, independence, and romance. The tropes in this book are some of my favorite: second chance / first love, marriage of convenience (she needs a visa, he needs to be married for his inheritance), forced proximity, TATTOOS FOR EACHOTHER!! The setting of this book also created such an immersive reading experience that I may have started preparing my pitch for Amsterdam to be my next European vacation!

This was my first book by Rachel Lynn Solomon and I am now rushing to read her backlist!

🌷 first love
🌷 second chance
🌷 marriage of convenience
🌷 forced proximity
🌷 tattoos for each other
🌷 set in Amsterdam
🌷 mental health rep
🌷 post-it notes

Dani Dorfman's life just imploded. She needs to start over with a clean slate. Dani moves to Amsterdam to start a new job and to find a new life. Shortly after she arrives the tech start-up sponsoring her visa closes. Dani must find a way to stay in her new home, and it comes in the form of Wouter van Leeuwen. In high school, Wouter had been an exchange student staying with Dani's family. The two had fallen in love but had not spoken since Wouter broke up with her. Wouter needs a wife to inherit his family's home and Dani needs a husband to stay in Amsterdam. The two agree to a marriage of convenience but it quickly becomes more.

This book was a pleasant surprise. I have read several of Solomon's teen books but this is my first adult book by her. Dani is the type of character that feels like a friend. Her story is relatable while having just enough drama to make you want to keep reading. Wouter was an adorable romantic lead. It was impossible not to root for them from the moment they reconnected. The book is spicy with swoony romance but it's also realistic in a way that is unusual for the genre. Dani and Wouter have a mature romance that makes their story more realistic and, in some ways, appealing. I wanted to spend time in their lives because it was comfortable. The book was a romantic and spicy read with sweet moments that made me want to read more.

Exes in a green card marriage arrangement... except they're falling for each other all over again in Amsterdam, it definitely won't blow up in their faces right? Dani Dorfman moved to Amsterdam to start a new job ad is just trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. she's never really held down a relationship after a certain exchange student who moved in with her family when she was seventeen and had a secret relationship with for six months with until he moved back and sent her a message telling her they're down and that she had no ambition.... and ghosted her afterwards broke her heart... and on her first week there she runs into that very same guy, Wouter van Leeuwen. Dani's just lost her start up job and if she wants to stay in Amsterdam she needs a new job and a new place to live... so when Wouter offers her a place and he can be her landlord it's a great chance... but then he offers her a green card marriage then she has even mor time to figure out her life ... the only problem is she is falling for him again and keeping up all the lies and the act is hard when he's treating her like his real wife. This book started off fun but honestly just got annoying by the end. I hated that the miscommunication, a huge thing, was never brought up until the very end. How are you going to just move in with the guy who broke your heart and ghosted you, for what??? Their relationship did not feel earned at all and for a second chance romance, if that doesn't work then the relationship really doesn't feel worth it. I would have loved it more if that was the first thing they addressed and then Wouter won back her feelings but to just instantly go into dating and sleeping with him again without addressing the huge breakup? Yeah no thanks. This book had the potential to be a fantastic second chance, but it just missed the mark for me.

Release Date: May 6, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This is a very cute contemporary romance. I enjoyed the FMC and the MMC but for me the setting made this book. Having been to Amsterdam, reading this book brought back so many great memories. I also loved the emphasis on art. Vincent Van Gogh is a wonderful artist and art being what Wouter and Dani bonded over when they were teenagers was beautiful for so many different reasons. I am starting to really love second chance romances and this romance explains why. The journey Wouter and Dani have transitioning from teenagers into now their late 20s/early 30s was so understandable and relatable for so many. This book also had the perfect amount of spice. This is a very enjoyable, feel-good romance.

What Happens in Amsterdam- Out 5/6/25 This second chance romance is set in idyllic Amsterdam with Solomon’s signature steam. 🥵 The narration is superb for capturing Wouter Van Leeuwen’s Dutch accent. Read this if you want to take a trip abroad. Thank you @prhaudio for the ALC and @berkleyromance for the E-ARC. #berkleypartner

this book made me want to drop everything and book flights.

dani leaves her life behind to move to amsterdam and promptly runs into her first love who left her behind. in the wake of getting fired from her job and needing a way to stay in amsterdam, wouter suggests the wild idea of a marriage of convenience.

second chance romance and marriage of convenience are two of my favorite things!! i usually eat them up. the yearning and oops these feelings are real always get me so good!

i saw the third act breakup/conflict coming from a mile away and i hateddddd how she treated wouter. he deserved better.

read this for the travel vibes and wanderlust!

thank you berkley romance and prh audio for the arc and alc!

what to expect
⟢ second chance
⟢ marriage of convenience
⟢ wanderlust vibes
⟢ fmc starting over

Thank you to the publisher for the free book!

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Dani and Wouter were in love thirteen years ago when he was a foreign exchange student living with her family…but now she’s living in Amsterdam and even after more than a decade apart, they’re about to find themselves in a marriage of convenience…

I loved the atmosphere of this one—it really made me want to visit Amsterdam, and I loved Wouter and Dani so much. There were so many sweet and swoony moments (the tattoos?!?!?! RACHEL you’re killing me) and it was my favorite kind of second chance. In fact, all of the tropes here were some of my favorites, and I also really appreciated Dani’s journey and growth.

This was also such an immersive world, and I’d love to see Rachel return to Amsterdam for future stories! Extra special shout out to the tiny BUSINESS OR PLEASURE easter egg at the end, which felt like a cozy little hug. In short, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and highly recommend it!

CW: Mental health/depression; chronic illness/traumatic birth

After a bad break up, getting fired from her job, and realizing she’s being smothered by her parents, Dani spontaneously decides to leave the country and take a job in Amsterdam. Her bad luck starts to follow her to the picturesque city she’d dreamed of moving to, and she runs into her ex (literally, with a bike), the foreign exchange student and boy who broke her heart, who told her of the city when he lived with her family in high school.

This was the perfect spring-into-summer second chance romance with themes of new beginnings, starting over in a new place, finding your passion, independence, and forgiveness. It also made me feel like I was learning a new city alongside Dani, with all of the details mixed in about the city’s history, culture and language. We even visited the popular tourist attractions! I loved Wouter and his family, and while we didn’t get his perspective, I feel like we got to know him and his motivations very well, and we got so many moments of tension between him and Dani. It was also surprisingly spicy (Wouter’s dirty talking caught me off guard in a good way).

I would recommend this to anyone who has ever felt just slightly behind in life and dreams about packing up and starting over in a new country (because don’t we all?).

Dani is in her 30’s, has just been dumped and then fired, and has no idea what she wants to do with her life. Dani would also like to get some distance from her loving, but overprotective family, so when she sees a job opportunity in Amsterdam, she applies and can’t believe her luck when she actually gets it.

A few mishaps during her first week in Amsterdam have Dani second guessing herself, but then she runs into Wouter, a Dutch exchange student Dani’s family hosted back when they were in high school. Dani and Wouter were secretly dating while he lived with her family, but their time together ended in a painful breakup.

The incredible chemistry between them is still there though, and when Dani’s job falls apart and she needs a visa if she’s going to stay in Amsterdam, which she desperately wants to do rather than having to crawl back home and admit defeat, she and Wouter decide to get married. Thanks to his old fashioned grandmother, he needs a wife in order to inherit a beloved family home, so the arrangement is perfect for both of them.

I adored both Dani and Wouter, and it was so fun watching them get reacquainted after all of these years. They have so much history together, and it’s obvious that they have unresolved feelings for one another. They definitely have to work through some baggage relating to that history but I was rooting for them to figure things out because they really were great together.

Second chance romance and marriage of convenience are two of my favorite tropes. Throw in Dani’s journey of personal growth & this was a near perfect read for me, especially when set against the backdrop of Amsterdam, which I immediately added to my travel bucket list!

4 1/2 stars

What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon is a delightful rom-com that combines second-chance romance with a marriage-of-convenience twist, all set against the charming backdrop of Amsterdam.

Dani Dorfman, in her thirties and unsure of her life's direction, impulsively moves to Amsterdam after a job loss. There, she unexpectedly reunites with Wouter van Leeuwen, her high school ex and first love. When Dani faces the threat of deportation, Wouter proposes a temporary marriage: he needs a wife to inherit his family home, and she needs a visa. What begins as a practical arrangement soon rekindles old feelings, leading to a passionate and heartfelt journey of rediscovery.

Solomon's writing shines with humor, emotional depth, and sizzling chemistry between the leads. The Amsterdam setting is vividly brought to life, making it feel like a character in its own right. Themes of personal growth, love, and the courage to start anew are woven seamlessly into the narrative. For readers who enjoy steamy, character-driven romances with a touch of humor and a lot of heart, What Happens in Amsterdam is a must-read.

Thank you to Berkley for the eARC!

4.25⭐️

When Danika is fired from her job and breaks up with her boyfriend, she decides to accept a new job in Amsterdam, a city she has dreamed about visiting since she was a teenager. But when Danika arrives, life is not as magical as she expected. Her new company is going under, her apartment has flooded and she runs into Wouter, her family’s former foreign exchange student and her first love. Danika only has 3 months to find a new job before her visa expires and Wouter needs to be married before he can inherit his grandmother’s canal house, so he proposes that they get married to solve both their problems.

This story was so fun and the setting was absolutely magical! This book really transports you to Amsterdam and I need to book a trip there ASAP. I loved both characters and they were adorable together. I loved how relatable they were and their dynamic had me laughing out loud at times. This was such a cute story and I highly recommend it if you are looking for a beautiful romantic comedy to read this summer.

What to expect:
🌷 Romantic Comedy
🌷 Marriage of Convenience
🌷 Second Chance
🌷 Mental Health Rep.
🌷 Takes place in Amsterdam

Thank you to Rachel Lynn Solomon, Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: In all transparency, I DNF'd this at about 70 percent. Now, I'm not sure if this a hard DNF in the sense that I never plan to go back to it. I am truly not sure if it's a me problem or not (probably is). I still feel like I would like to share my thoughts on the book (at lest what I know of it) to help you decide if it's something you want to pick up.

One of my worries going into this was that the fake dating to marriage, and randomly seeing someone so significant from the past, would disrupt my ability to believe in the story. That actually was not the case. Rachel Lynn Solomon did a wonderful job of making those aspect believable and easy to follow. I am a big fan of Rachel Lynn Solomon, I have read and enjoyed every book by her. If you are also a fan of hers, I think this book will appeal to you. In her typical fashion, she does a wonderful job of creating complex and thoughtful characters. She really brings the characters to life through small details as well as allowing us to experience big moments with them. Rachel also does a great job of showing not telling which I really appreciate. Her storytelling is diverse and always includes a wide range of characters. I didn't find it to be cringey at all and enjoyed both the MC and the romantic interest quite a bit.

So, you're probably wondering why the "soft DNF," I'm not sure tbh. I just ended up getting bored and not really caring where the story went. I think some of it is a mood problem for me and just knowing the characters are going to end up together, I just didn't care to experience the rest of their journey together. I do think this is coming to me at a time where I'm a little burned out on romance but also, I have read others this year I really enjoyed all the way through. This is just something I have to sit on and decide it I want to go back and finish. As for you and your reading, I really don't have any major complaints about this book except something fell off for me around 70 percent. I think the majority of people will really enjoy it.

I love RLS and this was a really fun story that did not disappoint. The Amsterdam setting was so vivid and descriptive and I really liked the romance between the two main characters. The tension was amazing and I enjoyed this second chance/marriage of convenience story (which is a trope I don’t normally read).

The spice, dialogue, and experiences between the characters (even side characters) were everything. I also really appreciated that this was a reinvention story because I can relate to feeling lost in my 30s and like I didn’t pick the right paths for myself. The depression and anxiety rep was also so incredibly relatable to me. So many aspects of this story really worked for me, and quite a bit just did not. The FMC and her parents really got on my nerves. I enjoyed this but it had some aspects I just didn’t vibe with!

I just hated the conflicts in this story, they felt so repetitive and predictable - I saw the 3rd act conflict coming from a MILE away. Besides that, I fell in love with the relationships in this story & would love to visit Amsterdam someday. This definitely changed my perspective of what Amsterdam has to offer & as someone with a sweet tooth I was dyingggg at all the delicious food descriptions. And burn out leave???? …. If only 😭 Also, there’s a dog named George Costanza because of the MMC loving Seinfeld when he was a foreign exchange student in the US as a teen 🥲

Thank you Berkley for this ARC!! 💕

I really enjoyed this book! Dani and Wouter are just two real, messy people trying to figure things out. This book has second chance romance and marriage of convenience which are two of my favorite tropes. This book is also a love letter to Amsterdam. I was lucky enough to visit there last year and I felt the same excitement Dani was feeling being there for the first time. The mental health rep in this book was well done. Dani has anxiety and depression and I thought the way it was discussed and represented felt authentic and realistic. I love that the author didn’t shy away from mentioning Dani’s use of medication or seeking out therapy. I was happy to see the little Business or Pleasure cameos at the end of the book! Overall a great read!

While I was reading this book, I could picture it in my head like a romcom! I definitely think it would adapt to screen very well!

I enjoyed this one a lot, but it is not my fave RLS by a long shot. I was disappointed in the major reveal, and the last 20% fell flat to me.

However, I still had a great time. Thank you for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

First of all, if we're judging a book by its cover, this one is stunning, and I have to point that out. After things fall apart, Dani decides to start fresh in Amsterdam. While there, she quite literally runs into Woulter who was an exchange student she secretly dated when he lived with her family in high school. It's been thirteen years since they broke up (his decision), and they haven't spoken since. What follows is two things - 1). It's Dani and Woulter figuring things out. Oh, and that does involve a marriage of convenience along the way. 2). It's lots of time in Amsterdam. The way the setting is set adds to this story. This one is definitely a rollercoaster ride - especially the last quarter -but a fun spin on the second chance romance. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the look at this May 2025 release.

I love finding a new-to-me author! This is my first Rachel Lynn Solomon book and I want to read the rest of her work now.

What Happens in Amsterdam is a cozy read. I love low-stakes romance where the love story outweighs the drama, where there isn't a third act breakup and the conflict feels very real and not-forced.

Also, I need to hop on a plane to Amsterdam, like, yesterday. You can really feel Solomon's adoration and love for the country.

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Thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.