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.

Oh my goodness, I’ve loved every book I’ve read by this author so far and this one was no different! It was super cute and it had me hooked from the first chapter. This is the perfect romance for spring/summer!

I love Rachel Lynn Soloman's romances and this is no exception! Very cute, loved the setting of Amsterdam. I love books about books/bookstores

Rachel Lynn Solomon always writes cute romances and this was no exception. While it wasn't my favorite of her books, I still really enjoyed this one! I thought the setting was fun and the spark between the characters was done really well.

This was such a refreshing and honest take on a romance novel, and I really enjoyed it.
The main characters felt so real. Wouter is a direct and sometimes guarded Dutch guy, and Dani is an American expat who struggles with confidence after growing up in a very overprotected life. They’re total opposites, but that made them such a great pair.
The story includes familiar romance tropes like second chances and fake marriage, but it goes deeper than that. I loved how the author showed both characters as real people especially since they’ve grown up and been through a lot since they first knew each other as teens. It made their reconnection feel natural and honest. Their slow journey to rebuilding trust and friendship so well done.
I loved the vibe of Amsterdam in every scene. It made me want to pack my bags and plan a trip while rooting for a happy ending.
Five stars from me! this book was a total win!

Rachel Lynn Solomon's What Happens in Amsterdam has me ready to pack up my life and move across the country. On the one hand it's a story of fresh starts and new beginnings, on the other hand, it's a second-chance romance with a fake marriage. Little from here, a little from there, mix it together and I love it all. I couldn't fully identify with the infantilization of the main character, but perhaps that's my privilege speaking.

This was a sweet second chance romance that takes place in Amsterdam. The setting was described so beautifully I felt like I was there and am now sad I wasn’t. The story was fun. I enjoyed the meet again cute. This probably wasn’t as good as previous books. I kinda found the way the teenaged mmc’s actions to be lame, and I felt the fmc got over it too quickly. But otherwise it was a lovely read.

A breezy fun read with a romance that is perfect for a quick summer read or a cozy winter adventure. I adored the Amsterdam details and Solomon did a stellar job making me feel like as if the reader was traveling along.

I was really looking forward to a fun romance and, in many ways, the author delivered on that promise. I love a second chance romance story; it's my favorite trope, I think.

But this one just felt a little off for me. I can’t quite put my finger on it, except that the female lead was so indecisive and frustrating in many ways. It's like she's wired not to take chances and leans on others for approval. In many ways, she seemed a bit clueless.

Thank you to @prhaudio and @berkley for the advanced reader/listener copies of this. All thoughts are my own!

Oh, I absolutely adored this one. Listening to this made me want to book a flight to Amsterdam myself. I've always wanted to travel there and I think Rachel did a lovely job of truly transporting the reader to the city so we were experiencing it alongside Dani.

Wouter and Dani had such a wonderful love. I don't often like second chance romances but in this case, I thought it was so well done for a good dose of angst. It was a matter of right person, wrong time for them and sometimes the universe speaks as to what our path is and I felt like that was a theme of the book overall. It's hard to know what we're meant to be at certain times in our lives and there's nothing wrong with not having it all figured out.

Wouter was sooooo dreamy as the male love interest in this and I truly believe he never stopped loving Dani all that time. I loved the character growth that both them had throughout the book during their oddball marriage of convience scheme!

I highly highly highly recommend listening to this book on audio, Elizabeth Lamont does a fantastic job and I will eagerly await any future projects from her. Her accent work is so well-done and she had such a tone of humor that really made this book fun to listen to.

Some things you'll find
🩷self-discovery
💛marriage of convenience
🩷a dog named George Costanza
💛mental health rep
🩷lots of stroopwafels

This is probably my new favorite RLS book, so take this as my recommendation to check it out as soon as you can!

as the self-appointed Queen of Second Chance Romance, i approve this international marriage of convenience 👩🏼‍⚖️

this was so cute and fun and sweet (literally and figuratively) and mr wouter has a DIRTY mouth (who knew???), and i am so mad my parents never hosted an exchange student omfg??? Hot???

also, i love seeing dani become more sure of herself, and proving that it’s never too mate to start all over. 💌

i need a ticket to amsterdam immediately (not kidding - i’m going.)