What Happens in Amsterdam
Author: Rachel Lynn Solomon
Reviewer: Sophia Rose
Rating: B
What I’m Talking About:
When it all falls down around an LA woman from career to relationships, a woman resets her life… in Amsterdam. Rachel Lynn Solomon’s books have been on my radar for a bit, but I confess that I was extra jazzed to pick up this one because it was set in The Netherlands.
What Happens in Amsterdam opens when Dani Dorfman first arrives in Amsterdam, jet-lagged, dreary, and re-thinking her brash decision to relocate to the other side of the world. The basement apartment is sketchy as are her prospects and that was before she lost another job, ran into her teen crush ex who broke her heart, and he became her landlord then Green Card marriage match.
To say that Dani hasn’t gotten life worked out by her third decade is obvious and she knows it. She feels like a screw up- a screw up who is now floundering in another country. Except Wouter slowly goes from being a stranger who once broke her heart and set the bar for all disappointing relationships after that to being someone who saw her and liked who she was. They were faking it and had those rules they made, but it was also the realist thing she’d done in, well, ever. All their circle and his family become familiar and the fake starts to feel very real. Of course, the truth will have to come out and that reckoning came when they least expected it. Now, they can end it or take a chance on love if Dani can finally stop running when life gets real.
What Happens in Amsterdam piles on some fun tropes- second chance romance, foreign exchange student teen crush, fake Green Card marriage, forced proximity, and its all set in the delightful local of Amsterdam. I liked that the Dutch city life and culture are seen through an ex-pat American perspective so I was learning and seeing something new at the same time as Dani was. I was glad it wasn’t just distant background and especially because the male lead, Wouter is Dutch. It felt authentic to me and, I’m glad to note, my Dutch buddy, Lola, confirms I was not wrong.
As to the characters and the romance, Dani and Wouter were flawed, engaging characters who also felt authentic as did their road to happiness. Dani’s something of an obvious mess not having her life mapped out and making a mess of relationships plus dealing with chronic illness, but Wouter, though quieter, has his struggles, too. They were good for each other and were strong supporters of each other. Neither got over their first teenage crush and it affected all relationships since. I appreciated their second chance romance was an opportunity for them to put the past to rest, do some repair work with their families and lives, and grow familiar and appreciative with who they are as mature adults in the present. I liked them together and it was quite obvious that they were a real couple even when they were fooling themselves it was just for the Green Card. I liked how it gave them a chance to relax and iron out the wrinkles before they realized they were playing for keeps.
All in all, What Happens in Amsterdam was a satisfying second chance at romance with a pair of characters who were something of a mess, but I enjoyed cheering them on to happy. So take up a plate of stroopwafels and tea and have at it!
My Rating: B Liked It — Recommend
Sophia Rose
About the Book:
Dani Dorfman has somehow made it to her thirties without knowing what she wants to do with her life. So when an office romance ends poorly and gets her fired, she applies for a job in Amsterdam, idly dreaming of escaping the mess she’s created, but never imagining she’ll actually get it.
Except she does. By the end of her first week in Amsterdam, she’s never felt more adrift or alone. Then she crashes her bike into her high school ex-boyfriend—and suddenly life is blooming with new opportunities.
Wouter van Leeuwen was a Dutch exchange student Dani’s family hosted, a forbidden love that ended in a painful breakup. Years later, there’s still sizzling chemistry between them, and okay, maybe a little animosity. More importantly, Wouter needs to be married to inherit a gorgeous family home on a canal—and when Dani’s job falls apart, she needs a visa. As the marriage of convenience pushes them together in unexpected ways, Dani must decide whether her new life is yet another mistake—or if it’s worth taking a risk on a second chance.
Release Date: May 6, 2025
Publisher: Berkley
Series: Standalone
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format(s): paperback (384 pages), e-book, audiobook
Book Source: Publisher