Take A Break with Take A Break (Take A Break)

Member Name: ChrisChoice

Product:	Take A Break
Date:	04/08/09 (44 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, Chance To Win

Disadvantages: Can Be A Bit Depressing

Take a Break is a weekly magazine aimed at women. It is priced at 78p an issue and for that you not only get a great selection of stories, letters and tips but also a wide range of puzzles.

There are certain things in each issue of the magazine. These include a letters page, a beauty questions page, tips on saving money, a cookery page, a review section and a fictional story, and of course the puzzles.

The readers letters are over 2 sections. The first is at the front of the mag and is called Take A Break Street. This is short captions and photographs that people have sent in, and can be quite humourous. The second is the last page and contains longer letters and a smaller section where readers have nominated someone close to them to appear on the throne or in the stocks.

The beauty section contains letters to the Beauty Editor, Liz. She will answer the letters and also advise readers on what products to buy. There is also a section here where readers can praise products. Liz doesn't always recommend expensive products so this section is quite good at recommending affordable products.

The Brainwaves section is over one page and is where readers can write in with hints and tips on how to reuse items, and save money. At certain tips of the year this will be focused on one theme, ie Christmas, Easter.

The cookery page is over 2 pages and shows lovely recipes. It always breaks down the cost of the dish for each person and how many it will serve. Again this can be quite seasonal, and also shows some really simple recipes.

The review section is quite funny. The reviewers are a family called The Grumps. This consists of a mother, father, son, daughter, granny and granda. They all have different, often widely so, views. This can review everything from Easter eggs to smelly sets.

The fiction story is on one page, and is some issues there are two stories. They range from romance to mystery, but are all enjoyable.

Most of the puzzles are ones where you can win a prize and the prize fund is normally around £30,000. There are normally around 14 puzzles and three chances to win just by ticking a box. The prize puzzles range from £50 to £3000, you can also win a shopping spree, a holiday and shopping vouchers, as well as one puzzle where you choose what you want to win from a set list. Normally there is just once chance of each prize. The puzzles are a mixture of wordsearches, cross words and code words, which something suitable for most people. You can enter just one puzzles or all of them. You can enter via post, fax, text or online and all prize winners are named in a later issue. You normally have around 2 weeks from date of issue to closing date.

The stories are nearly all true life and can sometimes the whole issue can be focused on really sad ones. Sometimes they will run a story over a few months or even a year. A few years ago this was based on a woman called Donna who was fighting a battle with illness. The stories each week told a different event which was taking place within her life. This can be very emotional.

Take A Break is a good value womans magazine, which gives you the chance to win big every week.

Summary: 78p Of Value For Money