I was lucky enough to visit Amsterdam a few years ago, and absolutely loved every moment, even though I was there during the cold, dark month of December. If you've been there, "What Happens in Amsterdam" will make you want to go back, and if not, get ready to start dreaming about a vacation, because this book's sense of place is so strong that you can practically smell the tulips and taste the poffertjes!

After learning that her boyfriend was cheating on her and getting fired from her job, life-long Californian Dani Dorfman decides to shake up her life by moving to Amsterdam to work for a start-up. Dani was a super-preemie dubbed a "miracle baby," and she's always felt she's never lived up to her potential—since she survived against great odds, shouldn't she have done something amazing by now? Her medical fragility made her parents very overprotective, even though she is now 30 years old.

During high school, the Dorfmans hosted an exchange student from the Netherlands, and Dani and Wouter had an incredibly intense teenage romance. She had hoped they could continue dating long-distance, but Wouter dumped her via text shortly after returning home. Naturally, after arriving in Amsterdam, Dani literally runs into Wouter while trying to get the hang of riding a bike in town.

As a fan of Rachel Lynn Solomon's previous novels, I didn't read the plot summary in advance, just clicked download immediately. There's a pretty giant plot twist which happens fairly early in the book, which I'm sure will be described in most of the reviews, but I was NOT expecting it, and my jaw dropped! Needless to say, Dani and Wouter have a second chance at romance, while she tries to adapt to a new language and culture. Oh, and there's an adorable dog named George Costanza, too.

This is a delightful book that lived up to my high expectations based on Solomon's earlier work. (She lives in Amsterdam now, and based on this novel, she obviously loves it a lot!) Thanks to Berkley for the advance copy, via NetGalley.

This is such a swoony second-chance romance!

Dani Dorfman has no clue what she wants in life. After getting fired from her job, she impulsively applies for a position in Amsterdam. She ends up crashing her bike into Wouter, her ex and former Dutch exchange student. So much tension and undeniable chemistry between them.

Wouter needs to be married to inherit a canal house, and when Dani's job falls through, she needs a visa. Their solution is a marriage out of convenience. But, then old feelings start to resurface and they must decide if this is another mistake.

I absolutely loved the chemistry between Dani and Wouter and their banter was hilarious. The Amsterdam setting was pure magic. It had me dreaming of a vacation!! The marriage of convenience trope adds just the right amount of drama for their slow-burn romance. I also adored the secondary characters in Dani's sister (and wife) and Wouters family. This one was full of so much love, humor, and adventure. Highly recommend it!

I adored this! I'm a sucker for second chance romance, and pairing it with fake dating (my fave trope) made me immediately excited for this one.

I found Dani to be very relatable, and I usually don't find that in romance novels. Her midlife crisis felt real and vulnerable and well written. I liked that there was more of a slow burn and the characters didn't immediately jump back into things, it felt more realistic, which can be hard with marriage of convenience stories. It was refreshing to see them work through their problems. Wouter was so sweet and gentle with Dani without babying her, and I adored how he was willing to help at the drop of a hat or go out of his way to do something for her.

I loved getting to learn more about Amsterdam and the culture too! It was a quick read, and my only problem fell within the third act breakup that happened too close to the ending for my personal taste (as well as how everything happened.) Overall, this author has become a favorite of mine. If you like marriage of convenience, second chance romance, good spice and a sweetheart MMC, pick this up!

Once again, a wholly immersive read from RLS. I have always wanted to visit Amsterdam, and I do even more so now. The way she portrayed the city as a third main character allowed me to insert myself right into this book alongside Dani and Wouter--who, by the way, were perfection. Extremely relatable, two "normal" people falling in love once at seventeen and again as adults. I was gripped from the vey first page, and I never wanted this story to end.

this was probably one of the sweetest books i’ve ever read 😭

can’t stop tearing up trying to write this review!! this book transported me to amsterdam and it’s probably going to become a hyper fixation for me until i go visit now lol.

danika + wouter had the most perfect second chance romance and im obsessed. two of my favorite tropes in one book and it worked PERFECTLY!! i loved the friendships dani made and seeing herself finally stick up for herself. her realization that you don’t always have to have things figured out to be a strong person hit me so hard. i have 0 critiques for this book and the more i think about it, the more i realize how much i loved reading this.

This was an incredibly heartwarming rom-com that felt so realistic as the characters tackled the issues that plagued them from their past, as well as continued into their present. They both were so easy to fall in love with, and both Wouter and Danika have wormed their ways into my heart forever. I can't wait for this book to release just so I can recommend it to every romance fan I know!

I thoroughly enjoyed this second chance romance between Dani and Wouter, who first fell in love when they were teenagers, and fall for each other again more than a decade later in Amsterdam.

Dani’s parents have always been a little suffocating, and after a messy breakup (and subsequent firing,) she decides to escape LA and take a chance on a new start. Unfortunately, her new job in Amsterdam is terrible, her apartment floods, and it feels like a huge mistake. Then, amazingly, she runs into the one person she knows from there — the foreign exchange student her family hosted in high school, who she dated in secret until he dumped her over text.

I loved getting to spend time with Dani and Wouter, and seeing Amsterdam through their eyes. Their relationship takes an unusual course, but they definitely still have a lot of strong feelings for each other that they can’t hide away — especially when Wouter suggests they get married. I don’t typically enjoy marriage of convenience tropes, but I think it works so well here, and adds some good tension. I’ll recommend this to contemporary romance fans and those looking to get a good escape in.

What Happens in Amsterdam is a second chance romance/marriage of convenience story about a woman named Danika who is looking for a drastic change in her life. She moves to Amsterdam and (literally) runs into her ex-boyfriend who was a foreign exchange student when they were both in high school. They were each others’s first loves, but Wouter broke up with her after returning to the Netherlands and they haven’t spoke in over 10 years.

The company that is sponsoring Dani’s visa has gone under so she needs to find a way to stay in the Netherlands and it turns out that Wouter needs to get married in order to inherit his family’s house, so they decide to get married. Having watched several seasons of 90 Day Fiancée, it seemed a little unlikely that the Netherlands wouldn’t have some sort of complicated bureaucratic process in place for marriage visas, but apparently it’s totally fine and no questions are asked.

I loved the setting of the book and it definitely made me want to visit Amsterdam. I did feel that there was chemistry between Dani and Wouter, but I found the lack of communication about their feelings very frustrating by the end. Part of Dani’s story is that she’s a late bloomer who doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life. She has some baggage from her childhood and she needs to set boundaries with her protective parents, which definitely impacts her relationship with Wouter. I could understand that she needed to figure out what she truly wanted, but there was a part at the end where she kind of left Wouter hanging, even after she had decided.

Overall, I found the ending satisfying, it was just the process of getting there that wasn’t my favorite, so I’d say this was a 3.5 star read for me.

This book was a truly enjoyable read. The writing flows effortlessly, drawing you into the story from the very beginning. The characters are well-developed and relatable, and their experiences feel authentic and heartfelt. The plot unfolds at a steady pace, with moments of reflection that keep you engaged without feeling rushed.

what happens in amsterdam by @rlynn_solomon 💐

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

“when he kisses me, there are thirteen years of yearning pounded into it. teenage firsts and misguided texts and the cosmic coincidence of finding our way here after all this time. the swish of water beneath us and the ever-present plink of bicycles.
i breathe him in and it feels like coming 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦.
𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦. at some point the two became inexorably intertwined.”

🌷second chance romance
🌷self-discovery
🌷forced proximity
🌷marriage of convenience
🌷mental health rep
🌷finding your independence
🌷moving abroad

guys. this is gonna be a long review so strap in. i have been in a reading slump for about 2 months, and this is the first book ive finished in a while and BOY DID IT PULL ME OUT OF MY SLUMP!!!!!! i absolutely adored this book. it combines my two of my favorite tropes (second chance romance and marriage of convenience/fake marriage!!!!)

this is such a sweet, romantic, emotional and thoughtful read!!!!!!! it’s a low stakes romance, and is absolutely perfect for spring!!!!!! we follow dani (perfect angel girl) and her journey of self discovery during her move from LA to Amsterdam, where she re-meets Wouter (sweet lover boy), her first love and family’s former foreign exchange student from Amsterdam!!

dani & wouter’s relationship is such a special one, and i absolutely adored every single one of their interactions. they are both so sweet and wholesome and perfect and i just adored them. seeing them re learn things about eachother and get to know the adult versions of eachother was so special!!!!!!!!!! i don’t wanna give my favorite detail/moment away or spoil it- but it’s the TATTOOS!!!!!

although i absolutely loved dani & wouter’s romance and their story, my favorite aspect of this story is the self discovery. i found dani to be such a loveable fmc and watching her find herself and her independence and happiness was so special!!!

thank you so much to berkley, netgalley and rachel lynn solomon for the arc!!!!! 🫶🏻

I've really enjoyed Rachel Lynn Solomon's past works so was excited to see her upcoming release. It follows her typical style, however I found the characters to be a little flat, or unlikeable at times and didn't find them as captivating. The location though was fresh (Amsterdam!) and her choice of tropes (second chance romance & fake marriage) were good and I appreciate Solomon trying something different in her story telling.

Sometimes you have to go to the other side of the world to figure yourself out.

Dani's life is in a bit of a shambles - she's left with no boyfriend and no job and decides to apply to something exciting across the world in Amsterdam, a place she's dreamed of ever since her family hosted an exchange student from there when she was in high school. She gets it, and she stumbles into him almost immediately after arriving. Did I mention they were more than friends back in the day? And that he broke her heart? This is the story of their second chance.

This book is awesome. From the cover to the characters to the interesting steamy scenes the type of which I've never encountered...I won't be forgetting this one anytime soon.

Turns out running away from your problems doesn't actually solve anything, and her first few weeks in Amsterdam are not as idyllic as she'd hoped. She needs a new place to live and a new job if she wants to stay, and lucky for her, Wouter has a whole building he's caring for and helps her out with the first of those things.

If you don't love Amsterdam already before reading this book, you'll probably fall in love with it just as much as the characters. Dani's journey navigating her new life full of new friends and experiences is the kind of escapism we need in this timeline!

I bought in full stop with the connection between Wouter and Dani. There is big chemistry there, and though their past leads to some uncomfortable awkwardness at the start, when they loosen up, there is a great basis for friendship there that develops right alongside everything else.

This book got really close to five stars for me, but I couldn't go all the way there. In this case it feels like mentioning some of the tropes is introducing spoilers, so I will just say that there's one here that is usually really hard to pull off, but in this book, it mostly works. For me there is some level of cheesy about it though that is just never gonna wash off. The only other thing that sticks out as a strike is Wouter's reasoning for breaking things off the way he did when they were younger. It didn't cut it for me, but he's an honest guy, so it doesn't feel like he's lying either...it just felt like a weak point in the backstory.

Would I recommend this book to other romance aficionados? Absolutely. This is one of the 2025 spring/summer romance releases I think you won't want to miss!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

What Happens in Amsterdam is the sweetest second chance romance! I read this book while I was in Amsterdam which made it feel so much more special. Dani fell in love with Wouter when they were 17, and he lived with her family as an exchange student from Amsterdam. He completely broke her heart when he moved back home and dumped her. Now 13 years later, Dani moves to Amsterdam for a job and runs into him. They end up getting into a marriage of convenience while only being friends and the slow burn was perfection. I loved their connection and chemistry. Dani was relatable and Wouter was so romantic. I couldn't give it a 5 star because I really hated how Wouter broke up with her and his explanation later in the book just didn't make up for it to me. Definitely a must read for romance lovers! Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the arc!

RLS does it again! She's an expert at crafting believable characters. Even when they're flawed, they come off as real and relatable. I can't wait to buy a physical copy of this one!

RLS always delivers!!

This was a good international romance with a dash of second chance romance. RLS writes real, raw characters who I just want to meet and be best friends with. A fun springtime romance to read in place of visiting Amsterdam to see the tulips.

This book is perfect in every way! It transports you to Amsterdam (gave me even more reason to go), and has such good writing when it comes to descriptions and the characters and everything in between. Wouter is the elite man and no one can change my mind.

This may be on me, because I keep reading Rachel Lynn Solomon's adult romances and being disappointed, but even though on paper this was excellent, it just didn't hit for me. I never quite feel invested or attached to the characters.

Also, the miscommunication in this was DUMB and her parents were really frustrating.

What Happens in Amsterdam
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks so much to @berkleyromance for the free eARC! #BerkleyPartner #Berkley

SUCH A SWEET BOOK!!! This book felt so peaceful, which I feel isn’t a word I generally use to describe books. This story had such a relaxing, refreshing energy to it.
We can call it a low-stakes read with lots of tension.
The setting of this book was described like art. Amsterdam is already stunningly beautiful, and the author did a great job bringing these descriptions to the page. I wanted to move there immediately.
Our main characters both have hearts of gold. Dani and Wouter have a unique history and now find themselves reunited years later under even crazier circumstances.
I adored both of them. They bring out the best in each other and it was so sweet to read. The banter was so fun and the tension was strong.
I think my favorite part was how delicately the mental health aspect of the story was written. You could tell that a lot of care went into writing the character's feelings. This book has a strong theme of self-discovery and finding happiness, and I really appreciated the way it was presented!
You can read “What Happens in Amsterdam” on May 6th!

Read If You Like:
🌷marriage of convenience
🌷super forced proximity
🌷traveling abroad
🌷finding happiness
🌷mental health representation

Such a cute romance! This definitely makes we want to visit Amsterdam even more than I already did. Dani and Wouter had a great second chance romance. They had great chemistry between them. I highly recommend everyone read this!



Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

When Dani Dorfman decides to uproot her life and move to Amsterdam, she expects to have a new adventure, make new connections, and leave her old life behind. She doesn't expect that her past might end up catching up to her on the other side of the world. When she crashes into her former high school love, she never expects the adventure that unfolds!

In this second-chance/marriage ploy romance, you'll be sure to fall in love with Amsterdam and the Netherlands! The book is truly an ode to the country and made me want to book a plane ticket to go visit! When I read a "travel-focused" romance I look especially to having that new area of the world be brought to life and Solomon delivers fully! I also loved that the FMC has a port wine stain which is fully addressed and embraced! I only wish they had shown her birthmark on the cover in some way!

Overall this was a solid read that I'd add to any list of travel centered romances!