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Psy-Changeling #5.2

A Gift for Kit

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A short story involving Kit & Rina from the DarkRiver pack.

Timeline: Takes place some time after Hostage to Pleasure and before Branded by Fire.

This story can be found on Nalini Singh's official website.

5 pages

First published January 1, 2009

12 people are currently reading
2232 people want to read

About the author

Nalini Singh

248 books26.8k followers
I've been writing as long as I can remember and all of my stories always held a thread of romance (even when I was writing about a prince who could shoot lasers out of his eyes). I love creating unique characters, love giving them happy endings and I even love the voices in my head. There's no other job I would rather be doing. In September 2002, when I got the call that Silhouette Desire wanted to buy my first book, Desert Warrior, it was a dream come true. I hope to continue living the dream until I keel over of old age on my keyboard.


I was born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand. I also spent three years living and working in Japan, during which time I took the chance to travel around Asia. I’m back in New Zealand now, but I’m always plotting new trips. If you’d like to see some of my travel snapshots, have a look at the Travel Diary page (updated every month).

So far, I've worked as a lawyer, a librarian, a candy factory general hand, a bank temp and an English teacher and not necessarily in that order. Some might call that inconsistency but I call it grist for the writer's mill.

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5 stars
1,615 (36%)
4 stars
1,478 (33%)
3 stars
1,103 (25%)
2 stars
184 (4%)
1 star
22 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 205 reviews
Profile Image for Sophia Triad.
2,241 reviews3,769 followers
July 15, 2018
Rina gives a heartbreaking gift to her brother Kit when he becomes a soldier.
You may shed a tear in the end.

“You’re a good sister, Reen.”
She elbowed him. “Shh.”
Laughing, he held up a hand. “I won’t tell. Promise.


Profile Image for Angela (Angel's Book Nook).
1,681 reviews975 followers
April 23, 2021
Free read on Nalini Singh website.

This was adorable. A Gift for Kit is sweet, heartwarming, and a little sad. I love these little shorts into the life of characters in the Psy-Changeling world.
Profile Image for Annie .
2,506 reviews940 followers
February 20, 2011
A Gift for Kit is so adorable cute and sad at the same time. I love these little free reads that Nalini Singh writes! There’s not much of Kit in the series yet, so it was great to see little aspects of his life. It’s definitely a short teaser for what Singh has planned for Kit. Loved him!

Favourite Quote:
“How’s it going?” He knew she’d had problems with Barker—the guy had fallen for her, and Rina was too strong to accept direction from a man who’d let her take the reins in another area of life.
She made a humming sound of contentment. “He busts my balls on a regular basis.”
“Er, Reen? You don’t have those.”
“According to some, I do. Big brass ones.” She grinned.
Profile Image for Ronda.
891 reviews182 followers
December 6, 2012
How can a short story bring me to tears????? Well this short one of Kit and his sister Rina did just that!!!
Profile Image for Sarah.
3,360 reviews1,234 followers
August 15, 2021
1st read - July 2014
2nd read - September 2020
3rd read - August 2021

Such a cute little freebie! I definitely want to read more about Kit & Rina, I hope they're both going to get their own book!
Profile Image for Siobhan.
5,041 reviews595 followers
October 5, 2018
Much like the other short stories offered on Nalini Singh’s website, A Gift for Kit is a nice little extra for fans of the Psy-Changeling series, giving an extremely quick read you can dive into after Hostage to Pleasure. I said on my review of some of the other short stories in this series that I’m not the biggest fan of these kinds of shorts – in fact, the only case I can think of where I’ve happily devoured all the shorts is with Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series – but I was curious to see how Nalini Singh’s shorts would play out. After all, there’s so many of them, with so many people seeming to enjoy the extras, and I thought it was at least worth the try.

In truth, after my first two, I debated whether I wanted to read any more. I was feeling generous and gave two-star ratings to both The Cannibal Princess and A Conversation, but when it came to A Gift for Kit I found I could not do so. As with the two other shorts, this is more of a one-point-five-star rating than the actual star rating it was given. Unlike the two other stories, however, I could not bring myself to round this one up.

For me, A Gift for Kit failed to bring about any emotion from me. It gave me a tiny bit more insight into a character I’ve been curious about, but it wasn’t anything substantial. In fact, I’d been hoping for something much more. All we received was a single scene, one that did not add anything much at all. It was nice to get the insight, but it was not enough to please me.

If you’re a big fan of the series, and if you enjoy extremely quick reads that offer an insight into the lives of characters, then I’m certain you’ll have fun with this. Otherwise, do not feel as though you need to read these shorts to understand the series.
Profile Image for Monique.
550 reviews
July 3, 2017
Well this was a sweet glimpse into Kit and Rina's life after Kit had officially moved up in the rank from a juvenile to soldier. It was nice to get to know them a bit better and know a bit more about their past and their family.
Profile Image for Julianna.
Author 5 books1,343 followers
August 30, 2020
Reviewed for THC Reviews
“A Gift for Kit” is an extremely short story of only approximately five pages that takes place between Hostage to Pleasure and Branded by Fire in the Psy-Changeling series chronology. It features brother and sister duo, Rina and Kit Monaghan, who lost both of their parents, so now all they have is each other and their pack. Rina is a DarkRiver soldier and on the day that Kit becomes one, too, she plans a surprise for him that includes a special gift.

It can be really difficult to rate these little extras because of their brevity, but I did very much enjoy the playful and loving siblings interactions between Rina and Kit. I think my biggest issue was simply remembering who they were, because neither has yet headlined their own book. At this point in the series, they’re both still pretty young and have only been seen as supporting characters. They certainly have potential, though, so perhaps they’ll get stories of their own sometime in the future. "A Gift for Kit" can be read for free on the author's website or with a subscription to her newsletter, it can be downloaded for free as part of the anthology, Newsletter Exclusives: Volume 1.
Profile Image for Fanny.
2,396 reviews50 followers
August 12, 2017



Esta escena corta al igual que las otras no es que sean muy importantes pero me encanta leerlas porque siento que me ayudan a conocer mas a estos personajes, en esta escena en concreto nos muestra un poco mas la forma de ser de Kit, un personaje secundario en los libros anteriores.
Espero que en el futuro la autora escriba su historia, me cae muy bien.

2.5 Estrellas!
Profile Image for Kathy Davie.
4,876 reviews737 followers
February 10, 2020
A very short, free story, 5.6 in the Psy-Changeling paranormal romance series, revolving around a pack of shifters outside San Francisco. The couple focus is on a pair of siblings, Kit and Rina. If you're interested, there is a chronological listing of the Psy-Changeling books on my website.

My Take
Not one of Singh's best, it's still a sweet insight into the love of parents for their children, using third person protagonist point-of-view from Kit's perspective.

Well, it may not be fair to say it's not one of her best. Singh does include a good bit of information about Kit and Rina and makes it homey as well. And it may well bring a tear to your eye.

The Story
It's a uptick in Kit's life — he's made soldier in the DarkRiver pack — and his sister carries through with their parents' wishes.

The Characters
Rina and her baby brother, Kit, are leopard shifters.

DarkRiver is...
...the cat clan in the San Francisco area with Lucas as their alpha. Dorian is a Sentinel and sniper. Barker is another packmate, who's interested in Rina.

The Title
The title is "A Gift for Kit", one into which his parents put thought...and conjures up memories.
Profile Image for Shera (Book Whispers).
620 reviews303 followers
September 7, 2013
All right! All right, I'll admit it! This little shorty made me tear up. It was so fun getting to peek in on Kit and Rina, they're both side characters that I've loved seeing throughout the series. The best part was their banter. Rina is such a firecracker! Oh, she has to have a book!!! Anywho. It's great that we get to see the two interact together, and I love the family bonds that are shown here. If your a faithful Psy/Changeling fan you do not want to miss this.

Oh, another freebie from the author.

Sexual Content: Some sexual humor.

5/5- Fabulous, a beautiful obsession!

Originally reviewed at Book Whispers.
Profile Image for Sophia.
Author 5 books403 followers
February 6, 2017
This shorty packed an emotional punch.

Rina is the bearer of a special gift to Kit from their parents for making it to soldier status in the Dark River Pack. Touching and I can't wait to see what comes for Kit and his sister Rina.
Profile Image for Kasumi.
617 reviews49 followers
November 9, 2012
Aporta poco a la serie, pero te acerca un poco más a Kit, al que espero que en algún momento se le dedique su propia historia... O a su hermana, después de leer este freebie.
Profile Image for Darcy.
14.4k reviews543 followers
April 17, 2015
I can't believe how much this one made me tear up in a few words. I loved the love that you could feel between the family, even those members that aren't around anymore.
Profile Image for Mara.
1,985 reviews4,324 followers
July 11, 2021
Aw, this made me tear up - I forgot about this moment with Kit & Rina. I can't wait for him to get his own story
Profile Image for Erica.
623 reviews5 followers
May 29, 2023
Aww, this was cute.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 205 reviews

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