In this review, author Michele Roberts calls Isabelle Allende's Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses a "charming" recipe book and treasure trove of advice for sharpening one's culinary and amatory skills. Roberts observes that for Allende, the real joy of the twinned themes of eroticism and food seems to be the words and stories she uses to prepare her novel recipes.

Just as the pleasures of eating can replace the pleasures of sex, so reading about food can provoke as much satisfaction as flicking through some soft porn. Isabel Allende's charming new book aims to reconcile the two appetites, offering sensual recipes to tempt jaded palates. I don't think her collection of tips and stories is meant to be swallowed too seriously; these are tidbits for grazers; amuse-gueules in the French tradition. Not a pot-boiler; rather, a spicy word-salad. The compilation opens with Allende's ruefully honest admission...