Stones River: A Civil War Story of Courage, Sacrifice, and an Otherworldly Love by M.F. Jones

Official iRead Book Tours banner for Stones River by M.F. Jones. Includes the book cover, tour dates September 17 to October 14, 2025, and buttons for guest posts, interviews, reviews, and giveaway information

“Stones River blends meticulous Civil War history with a tender, supernatural love story, showing how courage and sacrifice can echo across centuries.”

👋Welcome, friends!

Today I’m excited to host a stop on the iRead Book Tour for Stones River: A Civil War Story of Courage, Sacrifice, and an Otherworldly Love by M.F. (Mimi) Jones. This sweeping historical novel follows Jessie Gibbs, a modern woman who falls in love with Lemuel Sanders, a ghostly Civil War soldier bound to his battlefield grave until one final mission is complete. It’s a moving blend of history, romance, and the supernatural, and I can’t wait for you to read Mimi’s guest post below. As many of you know, I’m a knitter myself, so her reflections on creativity and handwork strike a special chord. I think you’ll love them too!

Wide blog header banner for the Stones River review and guest post. Shows the book cover centered between two pull quotes on a faded battlefield background, author photo with dog on the right, and giveaway text “Win an author-signed copy!” along the bottom with GinaRaeMitchell.com link

👇 Keep scrolling for the giveaway.

📝 Novel Notes

Stones River by M.F. Jones: Book Review, Guest Post & GiveawaySTONES RIVER: A Civil War Story of Courage, Sacrifice, and an Otherworldly Love
By M.F. Jones
Series: THE SENTINEL HEART TRILOGY Book 1
Published by Fieldwood Books on September 2025
Genres: Adult Fiction 18+, Historical Fiction, Paranormal, Romance
Formats: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 302

When Jessie Gibbs meets Lemuel Sanders, she thinks she has finally found her ideal man—until she discovers that he is the ghost of a Civil War soldier. For 144 years, Lem has kept vigil at his unmarked battlefield grave, seeking someone to complete a personal mission so he can go to his final rest. As love grows between them, Jessie is torn. If she succeeds in fulfilling Lem’s wish, she’ll lose him when he passes into the afterlife. But if she fails and he remains in the world, she’ll never be free to find intimacy with a living man.

​A riveting story of faith, passion, and selfless devotion, STONES RIVER shows the power of love to overcome all obstacles—even death itself.

STONES RIVER is Book I of The Sentinel Heart Trilogy, with Book II, SOLDIER’S JOY, coming out in 2026!

Source: iRead Book Tours, Kindle Unlimited

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🛒 Where to Find Stones River

Available on Amazon

Final full-size book cover for Stones River by M.F. Jones. Features a young woman in the foreground and a Civil War soldier in profile behind her, with a cannon on a misty battlefield and the subtitle “A Civil War Story of Courage, Sacrifice, and an Otherworldly Love.
📦 KINDLE  |  PAPERBACK

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Prefer to shop local?
🛍️ You can also purchase Stones River from your favorite indie bookstore online.

Bookshop.org is an excellent option that supports indie authors—and book bloggers like me—while avoiding the big-box route.

Also available at:
📘 Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million

✨ My Thoughts on Stones River ✨

The Tennessee mountains aren’t just a backdrop—they breathe and witness the love at this story’s heart.”

Stones River is extremely well-researched, and the paranormal thread is woven in so seamlessly that it feels not only natural, but inevitable. The well-loved “modern woman falls for a Civil War ghost” trope lands beautifully here, thanks to grounded historical detail and genuine emotional stakes.

The Tennessee mountains are rendered with such care they’re practically a character in their own right. Hard to believe this is Mimi Jones’s debut—it’s wonderfully entertaining and confident from page one. Written in third person, the story balances romance, mystery, and history without losing its warm, human core.

What sealed it for me, though, is how Jessie and Lem’s relationship is built on tenderness and tough choices rather than gimmicks. Their chemistry has warmth and wit, but it’s rooted in trust, consent, and the ache of knowing that helping him finish his mission might mean saying goodbye.

The reenactment scenes, local lore, and small-town side characters enrich the backdrop without crowding the love story, and the pacing rises to a quiet, powerful crescendo that feels both earned and deeply satisfying—bittersweet without spoilers, and a graceful setup for the Sentinel Heart Trilogy to come.

“This haunting first book of The Sentinel Heart Trilogy proves that the power of love endures beyond time, tragedy, and even death itself.”

🌟Review at a Glance

  • POV: Third person

  • Setting: Tennessee mountains; past & present with modern Civil War reenactment elements

  • Tropes: Ghost/human; love across time; reenactment framing

  • Vibe: Romantic, emotional, atmospheric; paranormal that feels believable

  • Great for: Readers who enjoy historical fiction with a gentle supernatural thread

I received a copy of the book for the tour. This review represents my honest and unbiased opinion.

Today I’m especially delighted to welcome author M.F. Jones to the blog for the Stones River iRead Book Tour. Many of you know I’m a knitter myself (and I hear from plenty of you who are, too), so Mimi’s guest post feels like it was written just for us. In “On Pens and Needles,” she shares how the quiet rhythm of knitting balances the solitary, unpredictable life of a writer—and how that meditative craft mirrors the patience and creativity it takes to bring a novel to life.

🖋️ Guest Post: On Pens and Needles

By M. F. Jones

When I’ve had a hard day of writing, or an exhaustingly good one, I lay down my pen (or, more often, turn off my computer) and pick up my needles. The rhythmic movements of knitting, the fun challenges of new patterns, the feeling of the yarn’s gorgeous colors seeping into my skin, all restore me.

Working with my hands is a perfect antidote to staring at a screen or a page. Sometimes I listen to audiobooks as I knit, but much of the time I’m content to let my thoughts wander, to look up from my work and gaze around the room or, outdoors, over a scene of natural beauty.

So much of writing is solitary. It can be lonely. My lovely local yarn store is a place where I can always find good company. I take a two-hour class once a week, and it’s more than knitting instruction—it’s encouragement, life advice, laughter, and psychotherapy, in a setting where the joy of creativity is the air we breathe. The online knitting community is also warm, helpful, and noncompetitive.

Rejection is an unfortunate reality of the writing life. With knitting I get to experience creativity without rejection. I believe every writer should have a handcraft outlet—needlework, woodwork, painting, pottery, mosaic, gardening, cooking—something absorbing that lets us make something beautiful with no fear of judgment. Something, too, that grounds us in the physical world after spending so much time in ideas and imagination.

Knitting teaches me patience. Sometimes I’ll find a mistake so far back that there’s no choice but to rip out inches and hours of work. Resignedly I rip away, knowing it’s all part of mastering the craft and making something of beauty and integrity. So, too, is cutting and editing my writing. It may hurt, but the end result is always so much better.

Last, putting on my handknitted sweater and having it fit perfectly and have no visible mistakes is a great reward. Even greater, though, has been holding the first printed copy of Stones River, my first published novel—twelve years in the making, a lifetime in the dreaming. The satisfaction of these dual accomplishments makes me happy to spend the rest of my days on pens and needles.

Whether you knit, crochet, quilt, or simply admire beautiful handwork, I’d love to hear your thoughts on Mimi’s essay. How do you find balance between creativity and everyday life? Share your reflections in the comments below!

 ✍️ Meet M.F. Jones

Photo of author M.F. Jones smiling on a porch while knitting, with her rescue dog resting beside her. Casual candid image for the Stones River iRead Book Tours featureBefore beginning to write full-time in 2008, M. F. (Mimi) Jones was an editor at Viking Press, where she discovered Judith Guest's bestseller ORDINARY PEOPLE in the slush pile and became its editor. She went on to senior editorial positions at Redbook, Family Circle, and Reader’s Digest magazines.

In addition to writing, she’s a devotee of reading, knitting (while listening to audiobooks), choral singing, and hiking with her rescue dog, Ruby. She lives in Tennessee with her husband, composer Douglas Hedwig.

 

 

Connect with the author:   Website  ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon

🎁 Giveaway!

Enter below for your chance to win a signed copy from the author!

If the giveaway box above vanishes like a ghost, enter the Giveaway Here!

Please visit more stops on the tour for extra chances to win!

Official iRead Tour Page 

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📜Closing Notes

Thank you for joining me on today’s tour stop for Stones River. I’d love to hear what you think of Mimi’s “On Pens and Needles” essay—whether you’re a fellow fiber artist or simply appreciate a good creative outlet. Drop a comment to share your thoughts on the book, the guest post, or your own favorite way to unwind. Happy reading and happy creating!

Quick Book Tour Recap:

Book Title: Stones River: A Civil War Story of Courage, Sacrifice, and an Otherworldly Love by M.F. Jones
Category: Adult Fiction (18 yrs +), 302 pages
Genre: Historical fiction with a supernatural love story at its heart.​
Publisher: Fieldwood Books
Release date: September, 2025
Tour dates: Sep 17 to Oct 14, 2025
Content Rating: PG-13 + M: The novel has a married sex scene that is intimate, though it does not have explicit details. There is no profanity in the book, except for mild curses like "damn" and "hell."

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Posted 09/22/2025 by Gina in Author Guest Post, Blog Tour Reviews & Spotlights, Book Reviews, Historical Fiction / 3 Comments

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3 responses to “Stones River by M.F. Jones: Book Review, Guest Post & Giveaway”

  1. Mimi

    Dear Gina, I’m awed by the warmth, insight, and grace of your review of my novel Stones River. That my work moved a discerning reader like you is an author’s dream come true. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I look forward to your future posts about books and crafts. Warmest regards—Mimi (M. F. Jones)

    Reply