Road Tripped (Satan’s Devils MC Utah #1) by Manda Mellett – Review by Francis O’Sullivan
Road Tripped by Manda Mellett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
In Road Tripped, we are introduced to the Utah chapter of Manda Mellett’s Satan’s Devils MC. Wow! I had been a bit sceptical – were there not enough Satan’s Devils chapters already? – but Utah really adds something new to the series and a whole new family of characters to get to know.
Swift is fantastic! Possibly my favourite character in the series so far. She is so cool and skilled and strong, but the thing that sealed the deal for me was when she reveals that she has Yorkshire Tea shipped over to America by her British parents. As a resident of Yorkshire, I have been known to bring a few boxes of our superior tea to relatives across the pond!
Something that really stands out in this book was the representation of disabilities. There are multiple characters with different disabilities, and these are represented sensitively and consistently. Road, for example, has a damaged knee from an accident. He can’t ride for more than a few hours at a go, so when he’s riding a longer distance it takes a few days as he needs to stop along the way. But over a short distance he’s faster than any of the other bikers. If he’s been standing for too long, someone usually notices and offers him a chair. We see him taking painkillers, using a walking stick, strapping his knee and doing physio exercises. Mostly, this is peripheral to the story and the action but it feels realistic and representative.
This book definitely gets five stars from me! I cannot WAIT to read more about the Utah chapter. Is it a good place to come into the series? I feel like I enjoyed it more having read some of the main Tucson series in particular, to get to know people like Drummer and Blade. You absolutely could jump in here though, as we get enough background for everything to make sense.
