I have roughly 20 reviews in the past year and no "references" (I assume you mean white list entries??)...I don't make it a point to ask to be white listed so tough to use that as a guide for legitimacy.  If a provider has more than 3 or 4 reviews and they are all relatively consistent I don't personally worry about the validity of the reviewers, especially if the reviews span a period of time.  If there are only 1 or 2 reviews or if the reviews are chronologically close to each other I dig a little deeper.  

I would question the validity of a provider with only 2 reviews where the reviewers both have less than 2-3 reviews posted.  Also be weary of a provider with radically different reviews, they legitimately may be a 2 but have a reviewer shill for them and throw in a good one.  Pay attention to the menu and style of the session, radically different reviews may be mistaken identity or multiple girls passing themselves off as the same.

There is a provider I've seen near me that looks similar to her pics but when reading reviews, there are two distinctly different types of sessions...I swear the girl is actually a pair of sisters

What I tend to look at is a lady with at least one full page of reviews.  Next, I look to see that the guys have a few reviews (pick a number over 4).  I hope to see that I can't triangulate back to her.  For example, if reviewer 1 has seen providers 1,2,3 & 4, but the other guys that have reviewed #3 have almost all reviewed at least one of the other 3, I immediately discount all of their reviews.  I also look to see who they have reviewed that I've at least met socially, to get a feel for their taste in women.  If their best scores go to women that I'm not interested in, I greatly reduce the value of their review.

I also look at as many pictures that a lady has posted and focus on the worst one.  If that appeals to me, I'm comfortable that she'll be attractive.  If there's one where she looks off, I just know that it's the untouched one.  If her pictures don't ring true to what was written, I assume that the guy is hard up for pussy and that his scores will be inflated.  Since I'm not, and I'm very picky, those precautions work well for me.  I'd rather see one lady per year than have a bad experience.

at least 6 reviews by established reviewers (at least 5 or 6 reviews over time, meaning not all this month) should give you a safe experience.  However, you need VIP to read the juicy details in the reviews to see if the lady provides services that you are seeking (i.e. BBBJ, MSOG, etc).  If the review says everything is covered and you only get 1 pop, move on.