These Heels Step Heavenward - A Jade Beauty's Isekai Gone Wild

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

What is a woman to do after reincarnating? Her cultivation crippled, the realm she inhabited foreign, and even her old name lost to her. There was one familiar comfort left to Daphne in these trying times: shopping.

There were some fates worse than dying Daphne supposed. She could have been poor.

This is a comedic take on the adventures of a xianxia cold beauty.

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Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2021
Author: HaltWrite

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 880
Views: 179,798

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

lungsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The first, sometimes the only, question that needs to be asked with a story like this is whether or not it's funny.
I could talk about the hows and whys of why Halt's humor lands: The way Daphne is disassociated from the setting. The times that the incredible and incredibly frustrating punchlines hits where you expect it and the times where you got completely baited. The way the prose manages to simultaneously set the jokes up and also be excellent.
But doing all of that stuff properly doesn't make a story funny. And Halt's story happens to do all of these things.
That's the issue with humor - you just have it or you don't. Your jokes land or they don't. You can read a hundred books about how to write humor, tell jokes, et cetera - and people do! But that sort of thing rarely works for improving the most important thing in a comedy.
Sometimes, you just have to have it. And this story has it.
There are many parodies of xianxia themes floating around the internet. Most of them take the form of memes or one line quotes of particularly egregious examples of the genre. That leads to the biggest problem of this story. It's more funny than the content that's like it. I'm finding it more difficult to be entertained by that kind of content because of this story. To me, that's the highest bar there is.
edit: 1/2star deducted because how dare you
spaizzzerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Daphne's gonna go to heaven, and all of us are gonna get dragged along with it. It's amazing stuff. Hugely, hugely amazing.
Grammar so far is wonderful (a lot better than mine for sure)
Story - pretty interesting - we follow Daphne's shenanigans.
Style - Awesome. The words flow nicely and the use of xianxia terminology interspersed with magic is nicely done.
EmdemianRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A refreshing take in an often stale genre. Halt's writing is evocative and and enjoyable to read. The storytelling is immersive and the worldbuilding fascinating to read, with all the hints dropped so far. I would read a book set in this world! The plot of the story features a standard (or perhaps stereotypical) Xianxia character dropped into a high fantasy world that operates under different paradigms. Such that the main character's internal narration often feels alien (but extremely enjoyable) to read.
Exiled ImmortalRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
It's a bonkers concept executed well. The "comedy of errors" aspect and the main character's obliviousness is funny and strangely endearing. There are some strong foundations here for more serious plotlines or events, although the stakes are mitigated and the tone kept lighthearted (even when there are serious things happening around her) by the fact that the main character is badass enough to handle most threats to her person. As a reader I find myself rooting for her to just totally break the setting and leave everyone utterly confused in her wake.
GrimbadtheTerribleRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The story is lovely, well-written, and the character conveys the *cultivator's arrogance* very well.
I've been greatly amused and surprised many times, and the clash of different perspectives and genres is executed very well.
I can't wait to read more!
Apparently, reviews must be at least 50 words long, so please excuse my pointless rambling and word-salad, which does not even begin to approach the descriptive and eloquent speech of the esteemed Jade Beauty with Heels who steps on obstacles on her path towards....heaven? Enlightenment? Ultimate power? I really don't know, and I'm really eager to read more to find out.
KunzeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Well, this story is refreshing. I recently jumped head-first into the xianxia bandwagon, and after reading three or so stories, I thought I'd already seen it all.
The story thrives in the absurdity of a protagonist with a worldview incompatible with, y'know, the actual world around her. One of them will bend, and so far, the actual world is taking a beating. She's prejudiced and rigid, and the way things work out as she - mostly - expects, despite her tangled thought process and questionable character is a delight.
I think I'd enjoy this even more if I had greater familiarity with the tropes in use, but it's an enjoyable story all the same. Kudos, author.
ManiRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The Dao of parody is exceptionally well trodden by this author, truly they must face great tribulation for their AUDACITY.
In all seriousness, hilarious parody of the xianxia genre, with a main character bordering between wise and insane.
It might also be a parody of otome game "reincarnated as the villainess" novels, with it's setting of a classical magical western fantasy world, a prince to court, and a magical academy for drama. Though the MC is wholly unaware of any of this, being from a cultivation world and knowing nothing of the world she's in
MeerkatsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A refreshingly self aware look at overdone Xianxia tropes told through the lens of an Otome Isekai novel.
Too often is the basic premise of an otome isekai about the Isekaiee bringing sanity and normalcy to their new strange world, so far this story is the opposite of that. It is witty, well written and will doubtlessly make you laugh.
Lady Daphne can step on me on her path to the Heavens.
CromajoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
One of the most frequent joys in fiction is seeing contrasting themes, settings, and ideas be crossed in interesting ways. Sometimes it's done in a way that leaves you wondering how it hasn't happened before. That's how I felt with Virtuous Sons, and that's the feeling I get with These Heels Step Heavenward. A traditional Jade Beauty straight out of Xianxia land, injected straight into the veins of an Otome setting. Just seeing that sentence alone should set your mind to racing if you're familiar with either genre, and how much fun it would obviously be.
And that's what this is. Fun. The style is minimal yet it hits hard when it wants to. The grammar is flawless. The story, such as it is at this early stage, is clear about what it wants to be and will be. A romp through Otome fantasy land by a character whose own setting mandates the kind of misconceptions that'll leave you smiling. Daphne is the only character of note in the first two chapters, but she looms large over the setting - helped, in no small part, by her exceptionally high heels.
I can scarcely think of a better way to while away a little time online. Try it, you'll like it.
SneedRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
It's pretty good so far. The MC is a Xianxia jade beauty who is dangerously genre savvy in the wrong genre. It's best to read this after you are already familiar with the Xianxia genre, otherwise you will be very confused. I'm not sure if the genre she was Isekai'd into is actually Otome as some of the other reviews are saying. It seems like a normal western fantasy, though it's too early to say for sure.
I find her deep concern over her looks and her arrogance to be quite entertaining. It's definitely worth a read and I hope the author keeps it up.