Popular books on Amazon can draw dozens or even hundreds of reviews. But no matter how many reviews a book gets, two reviews have a special impact by design--a pair designated Spotlight Reviews. Amazon displays Spotlights above all others, sometimes permanently. Because they're usually the first bit of independent information buyers see about your book, Spotlights are crucial. Many browsers read only those two reviews before deciding whether to buy.
Spotlights don't appear until your book has several reviews posted. When your book is new, the first reviews appear about midway down your book's detail page. New reviews appear on top, bumping earlier reviews down a notch. When the sixth review appears, Amazon selects one review as a Spotlight and places it on top. After your book receives a few more reviews, another review is selected as the second Spotlight.
The selection process for Spotlight Reviews is automated. The review with the most "helpful" votes by customers usually gets the top spot, although reviews written by Top Reviewers carry more weight. Subsequent reviews appear in reverse chronological order below the Spotlight reviews. A maximum of six reviews appear on your book's detail page, along with a link to all previous reviews.