[reactjs] Inline CSS styles in React: how to implement a:hover?

I'm not 100% sure if this is the answer, but its the trick i use to simulate the CSS :hover effect with colours and images inline.

`This works best with an image`

class TestHover extends React.PureComponent {
render() {
const landingImage = {     
"backgroundImage": "url(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/09/01/18/2BE1E88B00000578-3218613-image-m-5_1441127035222.jpg)",
"BackgroundColor": "Red", `this can be any color`
"minHeight": "100%",
"backgroundAttachment": "fixed",
"backgroundPosition": "center",
"backgroundRepeat": "no-repeat",
"backgroundSize": "cover", 
"opacity": "0.8", `the hove trick is here in the opcaity slightly see through gives the effect when the background color changes`
    }

  return (
    <aside className="menu">
        <div className="menu-item">
          <div style={landingImage}>SOME TEXT</div>
        </div>
    </aside>
      ); 
  }
}
ReactDOM.render(
    <TestHover />,
  document.getElementById("root")
);

CSS:

.menu {
top: 2.70em;
bottom: 0px;
width: 100%;
position: absolute;
}

.menu-item {
cursor: pointer;
height: 100%;
font-size: 2em;
line-height: 1.3em;
color: #000;
font-family: "Poppins";
font-style: italic;
font-weight: 800;
text-align: center;
display: flex;
flex-direction: column;
justify-content: center;
}

Before hover

.menu-item:nth-child(1) {
color: white;
background-color: #001b37;
} 

On hover

.menu-item:nth-child(1):hover {
color: green;
background-color: white;
}

Example: https://codepen.io/roryfn/pen/dxyYqj?editors=0011