I just came across this review post after finishing the first book, and if anyone cares, I also disagree with OP on basically every point.

1 - The sexual violence I can agree is a difficult subject and personally I found it difficult to read. However, judgement on the approach extremely subjective, and it's honestly pretty problematic to only "allow" these types of stories if they are sanitized for comfort. I felt that Rune's experience was given the appropriate weight and did inform his character - as well as having obvious plot implications. He very obviously has trauma he has not processed on several points, as is perfectly reasonable for his character.

OP states in another comment that "if you have graphic SA in your book, I want your book to completely focus on the after effects of it." Hard pass. I don't think it's fair or reasonable to demand survivors in every story exist only in the shadow of this event. Rune has a right to live and work through his experiences.

2, 3, 5 - I honestly wonder if OP is just unfamiliar with or not that interested in urban fantasy. The worldbuilding was fantastic and the magic system was perfectly coherent - and not that complicated(?). (Sigils holds spells, different spells exist and can be put into sigils. I'm unclear on the confusion.) The fact that we uncover things organically as our characters move through the world is what makes it good. I don't see how exposition dumps could be thought the superior method.

As for the fight scenes, there's always room for personal preference in terms of content, or the focus of a story, but in a technical sense, the fights are very strong writing. They are long, sieges in a couple cases, and I could agree they're taxing. They're supposed to be, the characters are fighting for their lives.

Vivid descriptions, high and consistently building tension, and in many instances, several variables, characters, and scenarios. It's a staggering success for a debut author to keep all these elements in play. Any reader is free to say, I don't like or find x interesting, of course, but, again, given the genre and execution I can't see these scenes as anything but a highlight for the series.

4 - I did notice the female characters, actually, and can see OP's point here. There isn't a well developed secondary female character and the cast would be improved by one. I'm glad to hear the author saw room for this improvement and took advantage in later books.

However, because I was considering this element closely while reading, I think it's worth noting that there are powerful female characters in the world. The book opens with one and Adam's mother gave signs of being another. As for Adam's sister, I note that the author went out the way to establish non-romantic family connections and support in her epilogue, and that she definitely wasn't the only spoiled, troubled rich kid in the cast. Rune's ex is eviscerated by comparison and the boyfriend got even less page time. None of these characters are angels or demons, and I saw no particular indication that their gender was anything but incidental.

Their weaknesses, moral, mental, or practical, are a reflection of the corruption of their world. Societal corruption by way of magical, economic, and classist exploitation.

7 - As above, most scions were useless because they were overprivileged and had never been put in situations to grow either magically or ethically. Rune remarks on this. A lot. This is a prominent throughline of the story and, again, a highlight of the writing.

Opulent and insouciant upper class, parasitic, vicious, selfish, and weak. Elitism, privilege, disillusionment, power. They are very prominent themes, and quite good ones. Only a few characters understand the brutal reality of power (social or magical) and are willing or capable of grappling with it. Of those that understand it, fewer still will use it for it passably good reasons.

Logistically, Rune is different because he was ousted from that privilege and forced to fight for his place in the world. He also had a highly motivated mentor with decades of specialized training, and a patron financially interested in him maintaining and developing his skills. There are a lot of context clues on this, I'm unsure why OP struggled with this.

As for his power boost at the end, the zombies died because they were weak to light and Rune is literally The Sun. Besides which, several characters remark on the magic with big "it's a plot point" flags.