The Fourth Consort: A Novel by Edward Ashton
A mission to space gets stranded as they encounter an alien species. They are also not the only foreigners there, as another alien race is also on a mission there. One human man becomes the fourth consort to the alien "first among equals". He also learns of domestic conflict among these creatures. There are some fights with the humans and near deaths on all sides. Eventually the man is challenged to a duel by one of the aliens. They have "spears" as weapons. He throws the spear and kills the alien. This was scene as unconventional, but no illegal. He then meets with the other alien species and decides to join them. It is an interesting exploration of alien contact as well as relationships and morals.
The start of the book had potential. A struggling school teacher in Philadelphia discovered she had millions of dollars in an investment account. It seemed like somebody may be encouraging the happenstance that makes this happen. (She found her mother's house was broken into and the file folder just happens to be opened.) She feels betrayed. Her mother has hidden this from her as she has struggled with student loans and a menial career. Her dad had abandoned her at a young age, yet it turns out he had been sending all this money. She decides to go explore her Irish heritage with one of her gay male friends. She writes a blog there and they even encounter people that knew her father.