First of all, thank you for taking the time to write out your thoughts about the game!
I agree that it can be frustrating when you only get shitty cards and have to re-roll in the first round. I hope this changes once I implemented a tree cutting/land placing mechanic like you mentioned. This will give the player more choices and the game more depth.
I think giving the player the power to rotate buildings would make it too easy, but I might give it a try in the future. I wasn't really going for "Tetris meets city builder" kinda game, the shapes just reminded me of Tetris and I could combine the name with "island" :D. But I can see how the looks and the name can be misleading.
I'm glad you liked the style. I had an image in my head of how the game should look and I'm happy it worked out so well even though it's so simplistic (and very game jam friendly).
Again, thank you for playing and giving highly detailed feedback!