It’s become a romance genre motif that the city where the events take place acts like a third character in the story. From Woody Allen’s Manhattan, which rhapsodized poetic about the city’s romantic virtues, to Sex and the City, and even Donna Tartt’s novel, The Goldfinch, New York City underscores, sentimentalizes and enriches the story.

The “third character” in Love Match is San Francisco. It’s a place I know well, is loaded with memories, and in many ways still has a hold on my heart. I wanted to show the places that have inspired scenes in the book—some are real while others are fabrications. All photos are taken by me unless otherwise noted.

She resided in Sea Cliff: an upscale enclave near the beach, populated by rock stars from the sixties, old-money families, and new-money venture capitalists. Her ocean view may have been to-die-for, but the marine layer was often locked in for days, even weeks.