Celebrate Lit Blog Tour: The Last Disciple: Crisis in Jerusalem

Book: The Last Disciple: Crisis in Jerusalem

Author: Kurt Brouwer

Genre:Christian Historical Fiction

Release date: November, 2022

He was the Beloved Disciple…

…and he would be the last.

The mantle to tell the whole story has fallen on him.

From the cross, Jesus entrusted John, the youngest disciple, with the welfare of Mary, Jesus’s mother. Over thirty years later, as Jerusalem becomes a cauldron of explosive tempers, he receives a calling he doesn’t want.

Will he listen and follow?

And if he does, will it be too late?

In 62 AD, the Jewish high priest executes James, the brother of Jesus, triggering a bitter fight for power in Jerusalem that shatters the quiet life of John. The Jewish people he loves are making dangerous choices that will change the land of Israel forever.

Should he stay in Jerusalem and help hold off the Roman onslaught? Or is it time to reach out to those beyond Israel’s borders?

If he chooses to leave, what will be his message to these foreign believers? What new words of comfort could he possibly share?

Set against a backdrop of actual events, The Last Disciple: Crisis in Jerusalem is the first novel in a new series based on the Bible and Christian history.

Follow along while John faces multiple crises and comes to understand what it is to stand alone and lean on only the Lord.

Your heart will embrace The Last Disciple: Crisis in Jerusalem because John’s story is the story of our hope and promise.

 

Click here to get your copy!

Biblical Fiction, especially Christian Historical Fiction, is a great genre. The Last Disciple: Crisis in Jerusalem by Kurt Brouwer is the latest in this genre that I had the opportunity to read. It is Book 1 in the Last Disciple series. 

I will admit that I first thought this would be more like a study book but I was pleasantly surprised that is more of a novel and story. The author has done a GREAT job doing the research for the time period, which as 62AD, and the characters align with the times of the book. I really found this account of John a very interesting and intriguing read. John really had many struggles that really tested his faith but the story shows that he also had hope and obedience. I had a hard time understanding parts of the book, but for the story really gave me some new insight. I am looking forward to more books in this series. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Christian Historical Fiction with Biblical Facts. GREAT BOOK!

 

About the Author

 

It all started the morning I learned that the Gospel of John was published fifty years after Jesus died. Fifty years! What did John do all that time? Where did he live? Why did he wait? Frankly I got a little obsessive about this man who became the last disciple.

Living in Hawaii

For the past 20 years, I’ve been a member of a Bible-based Christian church in Hawaii. About eight years ago, our pastor, Kahu Billy Mitchell, challenged our Elders group to pray and read the Bible for one hour every morning.

It wasn’t as though we were not reading the Bible or praying every day, but he challenged us to take our devotions up a few notches. So, I did just that.

During one of those early morning sessions, I was studying the books of the New Testament in a broad sense. Who wrote them and when? What were the broad themes covered in each?

I found out that a huge gap of 50 years elapsed after the ministry of Jesus and the publication of the Gospel of John. That morning something else hit me–John outlived all the others to become the last disciple. I couldn’t stop thinking about how lonely it must have been to be the last one standing.

A few years later, I began writing The Last Disciple Series of Christian historical novels about the life of John.

The Last Disciple Series

The Last Disciple is a series of Christian novels based on the Bible and Christian history. The first in the series: The Last Disciple: Crisis in Jerusalem, begins in the year 62 AD. In it, you walk with John through the streets of Jerusalem. With him, you face multiple crises and come to understand what it is to stand alone and lean only on the Lord.

This book, The Last Disciple: Exile in Ephesus is the third in the series, following The Last Disciple: Escape to Antioch (book two) and The Last Disciple: Crisis in Jerusalem (book one).

Blogging With Carol, April 12

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 13

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 14

Texas Book-aholic, April 15

Artistic Nobody, April 16 (Author Interview)

Lots of Helpers, April 16

She Lives To Read, April 17

Locks, Hooks and Books, April 18

Guild Master, April 19 (Author Interview)

An Author’s Take, April 20

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, April 21

Fiction Book Lover, April 22 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, April 22

The Lofty Pages, April 23

Cover Lover Book Review, April 24

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, April 25

To celebrate his tour, Kurt is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2b465/the-last-disciple-crisis-in-jerusalem-celebration-tour-giveaway

Celebrate Lit Blog Tour: The Last Disciple: Crisis in Jerusalem

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FrontGate Media Blog Tour: As Long As You Need by J.S. Park

Veteran hospital chaplain to the sick, dying, and bereaved, J.S. Park offers you both the permission and the process for how to grieve and heal at your own pace.

In As Long As You Need, J.S. offers an honest and unrushed engagement with grief, decoding four types of grieving—spiritual, mental, physical, and relational—and offering compassionate self-care and soul-care along the way.

If you are struggling to process loss, pain, or grief from the last few years or the last few minutes, J.S. is an experienced and deeply empathetic listener and grief catcher who has held the pain and questions of thousands of patients. While social and cultural narratives about grief are dominated by "letting go, moving on, or turning the page" in his nearly decade of service as a chaplain at a major hospital with a designated level one trauma center J.S. understands firsthand how rushing or suppressing grief only adds a suffocating layer of pain on top of the original wound.

From his unique window into the stories of the ill, injured, dying, and their families, J.S. offers you:

Permission to dismantle all too common myths about grief and replace them with a guilt-free and unrushed approach to navigating your losses.

Encouragement for how entering grief, rather than avoiding it, leads to a hard but meaningful holding of your loss.

Empathy and hope if you are struggling with a crisis of faith in the midst of grief.

Recognition that grief spans a wide narrative of loss: loss of future, faith, mental health, worth, autonomy, connection, and loved ones.

Affirmation that your grief is your own. While the DNA of grief might be universal to the human condition, how you experience and process grief is unique to you.

From the ER to deliveries to deathbeds across every sort of illness and injury imaginable, J.S. Park has provided meaningful counseling for people in all walks of life and death. Now, through his book he wants to assure you that, while everybody else might rush past your pain, grief is the voice that says, take as long as you need.

J.S. Park is a hospital chaplain, author, and online educator. For eight years he has been an interfaith chaplain at a 1000-plus bed hospital that is designated a Level 1 Trauma Center. His role includes grief counseling, attending every death, every trauma and Code Blue, staff care, and supporting end-of-life care. He also served for three years as a chaplain at one of the largest nonprofit charities for the homeless on the east coast.

J.S. has a MDiv completed in 2010 and a BA in Psychology. He also has a sixth-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. J.S. currently lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife, a nurse practitioner, and his three-year-old daughter and their adopted dog.

Grief is something that affects everyone at some point in life. Grief can be overbearing and each person responds to grief in different ways. I lost my Dad 10 years ago and we had a CLOSE relationship. I tend to express my grief through memories and have been told by some that maybe it is time to "let go and move on". I really appreciate this book as J.S. Park really expresses that grief is in stages and looks differently for everyone. I LOVE that he validates that long term grief is a real thing and he says that everyone should go at their own PACE of grieving. The book is filled with compassion and validity of feelings. Grief has no end time! I highly recommend this book to anyone who needs encouragement through the grieving process. GREAT BOOK!

Grab a Copy of the Book

WEBSITE   FACEBOOK   INSTAGRAM   X(Formerly Twitter)

FrontGate Media Blog Tour: As Long As You Need by J.S. Park

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JustRead Tours Blog Tour: The Garden Girls by Jessica R. Patch

Welcome to the Blog Tour for The Garden Girls by Jessica R. Patch, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Title: The Garden Girls
Series: Strange Crimes Unit: South Division
Author: Jessica R. Patch
Publisher: Harlequin Love Inspired Trade
Release Date: April 23, 2024
Genre: Christian Psychological Thriller

On a remote Outer Banks island, a serial killer collects his prized specimens. And to stop him, an FBI agent must confront his own twisted past. 

FBI agent Tiberius Granger has seen his share of darkness. But a new case sets him on edge. It’s not just the macabre way both victims—found posed in front of lighthouses—are tattooed with flowers that match their names. There’s also the unsettling connection to the woman Ty once loved and to the shadowy cult they both risked everything to escape. 

Bexley Hemmingway’s sister has gone missing, and she’ll do anything to find her—including teaming up with Ty. That may prove a mistake, and not just because Ty doesn’t know he’s the father of her teenaged son. It seems the killer is taunting Ty, drawing everyone close to him into deeper danger. 

As the slashing winds and rain of a deadly hurricane approach the coast of North Carolina, the search leads Ty and Bex to an island that hides a grisly secret. But in his quest for the truth, Ty has ignored the fact that this time, he’s not just the hunter. Every move has been orchestrated by a killer into a perfect storm of terror, and they will need all their skills to survive…  

Christian Thrillers are not a genre I normally read, but the synopsis of this book looked interesting. The Garden Girls by Jessica R. Patch is Book 3 in the Strange Crimes Unit: South Division. I have not read the first 2 books in this series, although I am planning on reading them soon. 

The setting of the book is the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The  2 main characters are Tiberius Granger and Bexley Hemmingway.(Ty and Bex). Ty is an FBI Agent and he and other agents have been trying to capture a Serial Killer. Ty and Bex have a past relationship and they both escaped a cult. Ty agrees to help Bex find her missing sister. Danger lurks for Ty and Bex as they search for her sister and it seems the danger is targeted towards Ty. The search leads them to many places, including an island that holds secrets. Will the Serial Killer be caught and identified? Will they locate Bex's sister? Will there be a rekindling of their past relationship? 

WOW, this book really was an intense read. I am very glad that I read it during the night and not right before bed. The storyline of a Serial Killer and they missing sister had many dangers. Ty is a GREAT character in the book. It seems his past is hindering the investigation and search, but he remains strong and aware. Bex has many secrets she is hiding. I don't want to give too many spoilers as I think everyone should REALLY read this book. I have to say this is the first book that I have read by Jessica R. Patch, but I can guarentee is won't be the last. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Thriller and Mystery with Faith and Romance. FABULOUS BOOK!

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | ChristianBook | Bookshop| BookBub

More Books In This Series

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Jessica R. Patch is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author known for her dry wit, signatures twists, and complex characters. She loves reading true crime books, discussing cold cases over chips and salsa with her girlfriends, and hunting down serial killers in her romantic suspense novels and psychological thrillers.

Jessica loves to encourage and inspire people to forward living devotionals through her monthly email newsletter. You can join the Patched In community at her website. 

She resides in the Memphis area with her husband and her spoiled tri-color Shetland Sheepdog since becoming empty nesters. Jessica is represented by Rachel Kent of Books & Such Literary Management. 

Connect with Jessica by visiting jessicarpatch.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.

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(1) winner will win a signed paperback copy of Her Darkest Secret and A Cry in the Dark and a $25 Amazon card!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight April 15, 2024 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on April 22, 2024. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only for print. Ebooks available if winner is Canadian. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

JustRead Tours Blog Tour: The Garden Girls by Jessica R. Patch

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Celebrate Lit Blog Tour: Night Falls on Predictment Avenue by Jamie Jo Wright

Book: Night Falls on Predicament Avenue

Author: Jaime Jo Wright

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Release Date: April 9, 2024

In 1910, Effie James is living a dream for two. Her younger sister is harboring a secret that has left timid Effie determined to fulfill her daring sister’s grand plan of seeking out adventure in their small Iowa town. When a British gentleman arrives, disrupting their peace with efforts to find the wife many claim lived her final days at the now abandoned house at 322 Predicament Avenue, Effie is thrust into intrigue she couldn’t have prepared for. But what she finds inside will forever link her to the scandal staining the house’s walls and to a woman whose secrets promise a curse.

A century later, Norah Richman is living out her late-twin’s dream of running their great aunt’s bed-and-breakfast on Predicament Avenue–a place Norah believes nothing good can come out of after her sister’s abduction and murder thirteen years ago. Her first guest is a crime historian and podcaster, and Norah resolves to stay far away from the charming and enigmatic man–until another guest is found dead. As they dig deeper, something sinister unfurls that will reveal an ominous unknown far greater than the possibility of death itself.

 

Click here to get your copy!

Christian Mystery with Romance and Dual Timeline is the genre of this book. I have come to really enjoy both of these, so this was a a MUST Read for me. Night Falls on Predicament Avenue by Jaime Jo Wright is the latest book that I have read. 

I will say that this book started off a little slow and it took about2 chapters to really get into the storyline. The story started flowing and it got really interesting. I have to say that my favorite part of the story was with Effie James back in 1910. Effie stood out from other women in that time period and she was unique. Her secrets that she had and helping her sister with adventure in their small Iowa town were quite intriguing. Norah Richman in the present time also made the storyline very intriguing. I LOVE that Norah had a Crime Podcaster stay at the B&B that she helps her Great Aunt run and handle. The investigation in the Present time of the murder that happened at 322 Predictment Avenue in 1901, the same address as the B&B, was a super intriguing part of the book. The book is filled with Mystery, Suspense, Present Day and the Past, 2 unsolved mysteries at the same residence in a Small Town. I also LOVE the faith aspect of this book! I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Dual Timelines stories and Christian Mystery! GREAT BOOK!

Jaime Jo, the coffee-fueled and cat-fancier extraordinaire, has entwined her life with the legendary Captain Hook, residing serenely in Wisconsin’s rural woodlands.

Her literary vocation involves penning Gothic tales, a baffling change from that of Austenites, with a preference to the master of dark, Edgar Allan Poe.

 

 

More from Jaime Jo

True crime did NOT just become popular in this century! Scour the old newspapers for a full and detailed telling of the latest crime. That’s how I got the idea for Night Falls on Predicament Avenue! Yes! I read an old newspaper article from the late 1800’s in which they described in quite delectable detail, the crime scene of a murder in a house with questionable history. That being said, it’s also important to note, that forensics DID just recently become popular in the last 50-100 years. In the 1800’s, if you were murdered, it was common for your neighbor to tour and trample over your crime scene out of curiosity and/or the hope they might be of service in solving the crime. More likely than not, they were merely wanna-be podcast listeners of true crime shows simply born too early for that technological advancement.

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 10

Devoted To Hope, April 10

By The Book, April 11

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, April 11

Inspired by Fiction, April 12

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 12

Texas Book-aholic, April 13

Blossoms and Blessings, April 13

Locks, Hooks and Books, April 14

Blogging With Carol, April 14

Betti Mace, April 15

JESUS in the EVERYDAY, April 15

Live. Love. Read., April 16

For Him and My Family, April 16

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, April 17 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, April 17

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, April 18

Holly’s Book Corner, April 18

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, April 19

Tell Tale Book Reviews, April 20

Sylvan Musings, April 20

Bigreadersite , April 21

Back Porch Reads, April 21

Lily’s Corner, April 22

Simple Harvest Reads, April 22 (Guest Review from Mindy)

Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, April 23

Denise L. Barela, April 23

The Lofty Pages, April 23

To celebrate her tour, Jaime Jo is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 gift card to Baker Book House in Grand Rapids, MI and an autographed copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2af9e/night-falls-on-predicament-avenue-celebration-tour-giveaway

Celebrate Lit Blog Tour: Night Falls on Predictment Avenue by Jamie Jo Wright

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JustRead Tours Blog Tour: The Vanished by Cara Putman

Welcome to the Takeover + Review Blitz for The Vanished by Cara Putman hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Title: The Vanished 

Series: Secrets to Keep #1 

Author: Cara Putman 

Publisher: Kregel Publications 

Release Date: April 16, 2024 

Genre: Christian Mystery & Suspense

Janae Simmons left the small town of Kedgewick, Virginia, ten years ago to pursue her legal career and never looked back--until a professional mistake leads her to her grandmother's historic carriage house and to the town where her past threatens to find her. The quiet streets echo with her grandfather's sterling reputation, one that conflicts with fresh questions that claw at Janae, launching her on a reluctant journey to unearth his secrets. When her new job at a local law firm doesn't live up to expectations, she wonders if coming home was the right decision.

Carter Montgomery starts his art preservation career with the only job he can get--director at the Elliott Museum of Art. At least Kedgewick is a nice enough town to provide him and his nephew with a safe place to grieve the loss of Carter's sister. But Carter's calm days disappear when an elderly woman claims two paintings in the museum's collection were stolen from her family during World War II. 

Carter enlists Janae's help to unravel the legal labyrinth of art ownership, and the peaceful facade of Kedgewick morphs into a hot bed of secrets. When an attorney turns up dead and Janae uncovers another painting, what began as a simple legal issue spirals into a race against time. As the web of intrigue tightens, the duo must confront a looming question: What dark truths lie beneath the surface, waiting to be exposed? 

"Putman's legal expertise shines in this compelling and intricately plotted romantic suspense. Highly recommended!" --Colleen Coble, USA Today best-selling author 

"Cara Putman has once again created an exciting cast of characters. I was immediately drawn in by Janae and Carter's unique chemistry. This is one story you don't want to miss." --Rebecca Hemlock, award-winning author of Fury in the Shadows

I got into Christian Mystery and Suspense books a couple years ago, after not wanting to read them for many years.  The Vanished by Cara Putman is the most recent book that I have read in this genre. 

 The storyline quickly got my attention. I really like that it is focused on the Stolen Art and WWII. The main characters, Janae and Carter, really make the story intriguing. Carter hires the legal services of Janae when an elderly woman claims a couple pieces of Art in the Museum he manages belong to her. I really enjoyed seeing them get attracted to one another as they began working together to solve the Art Theft Mystery. The storyline had many twists and turns it and certainly made the book intriguing and on the edge of my seat. The author researched the time period and history very well. I HIGHLY recommend this book for anyone who likes Christian Mystery! GREAT BOOK!

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook | Bookshop | BookBub

More Books in Series

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Cara Putman is the award-winning, best-selling author of more than thirty-five novels, including the Cornhusker Dreams series and the Hidden Justice series.

Connect with Cara by visiting caraputman.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

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(1) winner will receive a signed copy of the book, art-themed notebooks, and stickers that inspired the art stolen in the book!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight April 17, 2024 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on April 24, 2024. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

Enter Giveaway

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

JustRead Tours Blog Tour: The Vanished by Cara Putman

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